Was March really the last time I posted something ;)

Well a lot has happened since March and I've been slacking at writing. My goal for this post is to let everyone know what is going on in our life. I don't want it to come across negative because it may get a little overwhelming... and we are a little overwhelmed but we are loving life so I want to make sure that is clear. I don't even know where to start... first things first. The guy that has been working for us for over two years gave his notice that he was leaving. He was offered a full time job playing the fiddle in Jackson Hole. We knew it would be coming but I have to say the timing wasn't the greatest but he did give us a months notice so that was very nice of him. I have to say hiring new help is the worst thing EVER. You get a billion job applications and most of them are awful and can't even spell basic words right. Not to go into great detail because its a long story that doesn't really matter... we hired someone and now they are leaving this week and we have a new person starting for us Monday. Its been crazy to say the least! I hope our new employee works out but so far I feel good about it. We move cows to Island Park in two weeks from today! It is a lot of work getting cows sorted and everything gathered to get on semi's to go up there. Not to mention what little time Matt has after work we spend breeding mares. Our stud is currently in reining training with a trainer in Idaho Falls. This means that we have to haul mares into Idaho falls, go get the stud which is a 20 min drive one way and then back to Matts parents house to breed and then back out to the arena. It takes FOREVER and is a very time consuming thing, considering we have about 9 mares to be bred this year. So in the evenings that we breed mares Owen and I go along for the ride so we can see Matt.

Our "expensive" little filly that needs a name ;) I'll take suggestions

My favorite so far- Mandy

 

We have had 4 babies so far this spring and we have one more that hasn't been born. They are so cute and fun to see run around the pasture. Owen is his usual cute self-he has started mimicking so that is a great step with his speech. It is great to see a little progress even if he is still very behind. The program we have is the program he is in right now for speech only goes until he is 3. Then the school takes over his speech therapy if he qualifies. This had me worried because it is basically preschool for special needs and I'm not ready to send my little boy off to school. I didn't think I had to think about Owen and school for a couple more years. Owen will go to school in Blackfoot which is crazy. We just found out that he qualified and will be going to preschool in the fall twice a week for two hours. I'm loving that idea since before I was told it was longer day and 3 times a week. I was worried I never was going to see my baby! It will still be a lot of driving but we are used to it, hopefully this new baby will adjust quickly to the traveling we do.

 

I'm due in 4 weeks and I have so many emotions about it. My body is done being pregnant- my feet are swelling and my back is killing me! However I need her to stay in until the last week in June. With moving cows and everything going on it is very important that she stay put. I still have a lot that I need to get done before she gets here. I'm still trying to get the house de-cluttered and deep cleaned and everything just the way I want it. Haha it isn't going to happen. With Owen around and my body being the way it is, I don't get as much done as I would like. Matt is so busy with everything else that when we have a spare minute I want to go do something fun. That means I try to do as much as I possibly can without his help. We are excited to meet this sweet little girl- she will be here before we know it. I hope she knows what she is getting herself into. ;) This summer we are hoping to build a house out here on the ranch. We have definitely outgrown our current house and there is no place for this little girl. We can make it work for the first little bit since she will sleep in our room anyway. However we need something else real soon. In the summer Matt and I usually live in a 5th wheel up in Island Park. It has worked out okay but I've been worried about having a newborn baby and a 2/3 yr old very active little boy in a 5th wheel. We could make it work and luckily there is a lot of stuff that Owen can probably go and help Matt do. However less than two weeks ago an opportunity presented itself for Matt and I to possibly buy 10 acres right next to our leases in Island Park. It would be a fixer but the price is right and it has a fairly nice house on it. We thought we didn't have enough on our plate in the near future so we would add to it ;) It will be a crazy ride for us the next little while but we are excited for what the future might hold. I love seeing pictures on blogs so I'll include some random pictures... mostly of my cute boys :)

Flynn and our bottle feeder calf are good friends apparently

Owen got a trampoline

Owen got cow horns in a kids meal- He LOVED it!

He was being so cute with Misty tonight- they were like best buddies

 

 

Time needs to slow down a little..

 Where did January and February go? It has been a little crazy in our household so I'm just barely getting around to writing. The first part of January we learned that something was definitely wrong with our septic system. Of course the day we tore into it I became very sick with the flu. Not something you want to happen when you have no water or toilet. Thank goodness my parents happened to be in Blackfoot at a Dr. appointment so Owen and I hitched a ride back to Carey with them. It was so nice to have help with Owen as well as running water and a flushing toilet. My parents and Kelly got to deal with us for 4-5 days since Matt ended up having to put a completely new septic system in and it took awhile.

The end of the month we had our long awaited gender check ultrasound right before Matt's birthday. The baby of course wasn't cooperating with us but the lady was pretty sure it was a girl. This whole pregnancy I have felt like it was a girl and so we ran with it. Even though she only gave us an 80% prediction. I told Matt I just wouldn't buy anything until we went in for another ultrasound a month later... well... that lasted about an hour. :) Our little family is so excited to be welcoming this sweet girl into our family!

 

January 16th (17weeks)

 

 Matt turned 30 on the 31st so my parents watched Owen for the afternoon evening so Matt and I could go to dinner and a movie. Then on Saturday we took Owen to Leo's place and played in the arcade and had lunch. (Matt wanted to :) Then had cake and ice cream with Matt's family that night. I wanted to do something more exciting but it just wasn't working out. Hopefully someday Matt and I can get away and go on vacation soon to celebrate a bit more.

Owen Helping make Matt's Birthday Cake

 

Playing skee ball our favorite!

 

 Much of February has been spent getting Matt's horse ready to go and sell at an auction this past weekend. We've had some beautiful weather this month and Owen and I have enjoyed getting out of the house and outside more. For Valentines day we stuck around and had our traditional valentines dinner but with some twists. I froze pomegranate juice in a heart shape ice tray and had the fancy 7 up with the ice cubes in it. Owen enjoyed "cheers" all night with his wine glass. I'm pretty sure he hardly touched the rest of his dinner. That was ok since earlier in the day he had thrown up randomly. I made raspberry jello with mousse and whipped cream on top. I saw the recipe on pintrest and it looked so cute. Mine however didn't look NEAR as pretty as theirs. It still tasted good though. Then we had green salad and homemade pizza.  Then to top it off I made strawberry cheesecake. I only make the "real" cheesecake on Valentines day. I tried a new recipe and I have to say I wouldn't do that one again. It had a lot more sour cream in it than the one I did last year. It still got eaten so it must have not been that bad. haha All in all it was a nice day spent at home relaxing.

Two weeks ago Owen and I went to Carey to spend a couple days with Derrick and Kelly before they  left for China. They will be over there until the end of June teaching English to kids in China. I'm excited for them to have this experience and can't wait to hear all about it! It was fun to be able to stay up late chatting like we used to do so often. This past week we spent at the Dr. and getting ready to leave to go to the horse sale for 4 days. I had another ultrasound to check gender again and do the anatomy scan. It was a huge relief to find out that she is definitely a girl and she is healthy. She is measuring a little on the small side of things but the Dr. will just monitor her measurements a little closer and possibly do a later ultrasound. I'm not concerned at all... she just might be a petite little girl like her mom was. It's amazing how much love you feel for these tiny babies ALREADY. I've had tons of fun buying and looking at girly stuff and spending lots of money. :)

 

Matt's shoulder has been really hurting and we were worried that he wouldn't be able to rope on his horse at the preview they do before the sale. So with some help from the chiropractor (and perhaps the vet... don't ask) Matt's shoulder was still very sore on preview day but was better enough to be able to rope. Our trip really went rather smoothly. My parents took Owen and I'm so glad they did! With us trying to buy as well as sell Matt's horse, it was nice for me to be there instead of catering to Owen. Matts horse ended up bringing more money than we thought, so that was awesome! Now the money is burning a hole in his pocket and we might not look or talk about anything but horses until he finds another one to buy. :)  Now its back home and calving season is officially in full force so we aren't going anywhere for the near future. From now on out until we move cows up to Island Park in June its pretty crazy. This year it could even be worse since I'm due two weeks after we move up. It could be ANOTHER crazy summer but all in all life is good!

        Matt's horse he sold (Jagger)



Owen loves Hats! He doesn't care what it is- he will wear it on his head. We have had to hide his cowboy hat numerous times so he wouldn't have a fit when we wouldn't let him wear it to nursery.