You Big Chunk of Meat

Belle, our Olde English Bulldogge has grown up a lot since we brought her home. She was so tiny and smelled so good. I love the new puppy smell. Now, she is a bit different. She is big and a bit stinky. As one of my son's good friends has said, "Belle is a Big Chunk of Meat!" And that she is. She is 65 pounds of solid meat. She also is emotional. She gets so sad when ever Mr. Cowboy leaves. She sits in that green chair and watches him drive away. Then she gives me the "look". The look of, "I don't like you, why do you make my daddy go away" look. I just had to laugh at Belle's back rolls. And I love how she sits like she is a human. But she doesn't love me. I am just the one who feeds her, takes her for walks, scratches behind her ears. I am not fun at all. Not compared to Mr. Cowboy, who will run and play with her. Cowpokette tried to make Belle feel better with some scratches, but the look just got more pathetic. Really, life with me isn't that bad, I promise. Cowpokette even gave Belle some hugs. I am not sure if that really made anything any better. But Belle was sure sweet about it all. Belle is the best kids dog ever. She just loves the kids, just not me. I guess someone has to be the disciplinarian. And that someone gets to be me. Come on Belle, put on your happy face. Belle's response, "This is my happy face."

Awesome Ozzie

It has been a long time since I have ridden Ozzie, my 4 year old gelding. Probably a few months. Mr. Cowboy has ridden him but not me. I have been having speed issues with him. He likes to grab the bit and trot at speeds of 24 mph. Okay, maybe not that fast but it sure feels like it. Well, yesterday I went to our first barrel lesson. And you know what? Ozzie was AWESOME! He had not been ridden in about a month. I lunged him the day before the lesson and then when we got to the lesson, I saddled him up and CiCi took him out to the round pen. She watched him go both directions and then got on him in the round pen. She just wanted to get a feel of him. She then rode Ozzie out in her arena where he was a super star.

CiCi then had me get on Ozzie. I knew that was the entire reason why I went there but I was nervous. For some strange reason Ozzie freaks me out. But I got on and Holy Awesome Horse Batman!! We started in a small circle and Ozzie was fantastic. Then we got to ride around in her arena where he stayed steady and for the first time since he has been broken out felt like a normal horse.

I had loose reins and he stayed on a perfect circle. It was like he all of a sudden let all the training click. Or for the first time in 2 years I finally wasn't super nervous while riding him. My heart rate was normal and I wasn't trying to half halt him every other step.

It was the best two hour ride ever. Ozzie just did one time trotting circles around the barrels with CiCi. She thinks he is going to be a great horse. She really likes the way he moves and how light he is. I just really enjoyed riding him. It felt so wonderful. Finally!! I have always known he was a sweet boy, I just had to relax and let him be. I can't wait to do it all over again, if this rain will ever stop.

He's So Tough.......

He cries dirt.

Guess Who's Two!

It's really crazy how fast time flies by. It seems like just yesterday we brought Cowpokette home from the hospital. And now she is two years old!We had a small family party for her. Which was perfect. I didn't have to send out invitations and plan a big party. Plus she is two, she won't remember if she had a big party or not. She loved the fact that the presents were for her. She has watched both her brothers have birthdays, and finally it was her turn. Cowpokette looked into the bag and said, "A BABY!" She is absolutely obsessed with baby dolls. This is her very first Cabbage Patch Kid and they have the same name!She got a Mrs. Potato Head. Some clothes. Some hand made baby doll bedding from my Mom. She loved the pillow and blankets for her baby. A baby doll car seat. She has been dying for one of these. Yes, Cowpokette freaks out when ever we walk down the baby doll isle. Great Grandma got Cowpokette a big baby doll. She was so surprised and so excited. She also got some old baby clothes that were her Great Aunts when she was a baby. She was really excited about all the gifts she got.She was just overjoyed. All the cousins. All of Cowpokette's babies had to be in the picture too. Then it was time for the cake. I have been having some bad cake making sessions. So, I decided to just go with a plain cake for Cowpokette. Just a simple white cake with some pink flowers. I got frustrated with the icing so it's not that pretty. Happy kids wanting to eat some cake!We sang happy birthday to Cowpokette and she tried to blow out her candle. I still can not believe she is two already.She blew and blew and finally with some help from her cousins the flame went out. And she got to lick the candle. That is the best part. It's amazing how fast time flies, my baby is two years old.

The Weanling Fillies

I haven't done a post about my two weanlings in a while. I haven't taken pictures of them in a few months. I just go out to the barn, feed them, clean up after them, brush them, walk them around, and then turn them out, and some how I forget to take pictures. But yesterday I made sure I took my camera with me. They have gotten so big. Josephine is the strangest color ever. Genetics wise she is a buckskin, but looking at her I would never say that. Josephine has gotten tall and has filled out a lot. She is still more prissy and more cautious than the other filly. I guess you could say she acts more "Thoroughbred like". She isn't spooky but she needs some time to warm up to you first. Josephine also has a chip on her shoulder about Mr. Cowboy. Mr. Cowboy changes her hoof bandage and they have had some words about it. Josephine tired to talk back, but Mr. Cowboy won. Now she stands like a lady. I hope this isn't a sign of how she learns things. She'll let you do it the first time, then freaks out about it the second time. The third time she will fight back, and the fourth time she lets you win. She is nothing like Tater/Luna/Moon. This filly is the first one to meet ya at the gate. She wants you to love on her, scratch her rear and feed her. We can lead her anywhere, trim her hooves like it's nothing, and even let the kids brush her. Also, poor Tater/Luna/Moon doesn't really have a name yet. When I talk to Mr. Cowboy about her, I just say, "Your filly" or "Blaze's filly". What I do know is that this girl has a booty!! It's HUGE!! Josephine is a bit jealous. Every girl wants to have a nice booty. Josephine has a nice booty, it's just not as HUGE as Tater/Luna/Moon's. But Josephine has one thing up on Tater/Luna/Moon. She has some pretty sweet legs!! Oh I can't wait to ride her. To really see what she can do. She naturally has a level head and is flat kneed. Yearling Lunge Line Classes here we come!! She even sets up on her own. See how she just holds her head? I am really hoping she is going to be a star. If I can get her hoof back to normal. We are duck taping it and waiting for the toe to grow out. Which seems like it's taking forever. Beefy horse and Beefy Dog are both eyeballing the food. Belle was hoping Tater/Luna/Moon would share her food. Both fillies are really good with the dogs. They are really good with all the normal and not so normal barn noises. They are used to screaming children and all sorts of ruckus. I need to get them ready to get hauled to places so by next February they will be used to going to shows. Mr. Cowboy is really excited about showing Tater/Luna/Moon. He says, "I am going to kick your butt". Which I do not think is funny. I am hoping to show to get PAC points on Josephine. We have three shows by us that do PAC points. But her being a solid paint, I wonder if that would still work? I am really excited to work with both of these girls. And if anyone has any tips for yearling halter and yearling lunge line classes, please share!! I am trying to be prepared for the months ahead. And this silly boy is going into Barrel Racing training. He is Josephine's half brother, Ozzie. I am doing the training my self. I am going to start some lessons during the week with a trainer to make sure I am doing it right. Being that I know NOTHING about barrel racing. Ozzie just likes to go. We rode him at a rodeo last month. I need to post about that. He did a 24 second run. That was his first time in that arena, he trotted to each barrel, stopped at each barrel, and cantered home. I ran a 24 with my mare cantering the entire thing and thought I was going fast. Ozzie can sure track some ground!!!

Old School Rodeo

Here are some pictures of Mr. Cowboy back in his Rodeo days. He was the All Around Cowboy in Bareback, Saddle Bronc, and Bulls in the Little Britches Rodeo Association. And he was the number one bull rider in Little Britches the same year. I think he is just nuts! All in a days work!

First Bus Ride of the School Year

I am always late to everything, so for the first day of school, I was late. I was running around trying to get three kids dressed and ready to go, all before 7:30 am. School starts at 7:45 and I really needed them all in the car and buckled by 7:25 if I were going to be there on time. It was just not happening. I did manage to get one picture of Little Cowpoke on the first day of school. But I just waited until the first day the kids rode the bus to take pictures. I know, this picture is all out of focus, but it was cute anyway. I was having camera issues that morning. It was really humid outside and my camera kept fogging up. I even had set it outside 25 minutes before I wanted to take pictures and it still was fogging up. Little Cowpoke was pretty excited for school. He was all about going once a day or so, but he goes to Pre-K five days a week from 7 am until 3:30 pm. Little Cowpoke thinks it is a bit much. I was so excited for him to wear his uniform. I love his tiny tennis shoes!! They are so cute. I was all excited about those because all my kids wear are cowboy boots, muddy boots, or flip flops. And if anyone can tell me what I can do about the washed out sky in all my pictures, I would love to know, it's driving me nuts! Now, one may ask where Big Cowpoke is? Well, Big Cowpoke did not want his picture taken. He was being an old stick in the mud. See that happy face? And see the fog on my camera lens? I swear, the south is like living in a tropical rain forest! It's so humid. But the bus was coming and the kids were excited about getting on the bus. I love how big Little Cowpoke's book bag is! It's the same book bag that Big Cowpoke used in Pre-K and Kindergarten. I am a cheap mom and refuse to buy new book bags every year. If the bag doesn't have a hole or a broken zipper, they have to use it! And now that they are both gone from 7 am to 3:30pm it is quite and I still don't get anything done.