Greatest Cowboy Ever

Grandpa loved to get his lariat out and rope random things, and you'd think that I'd know what he was up to when he'd tell me to take off running....but I didn't! I'd take off running as fast as I could. Within seconds I'd feel a tug and be sitting in the dirt with Grandpa's lariat around me!

And did you know that when I was little I had quarters hidden behind my ears! I could pull and pull and pull on my ears and never seem to find those quarters. But whenever Grandpa tugged om my ear....BOOM there was a quarter behind each ear! That was good enough to buy 50 tootsie rolls at the Egin Merc! Which by the way was Grandpa's second home.

Speaking of candy....Grandpa had magic pockets on his shirts. There was a never ending supply of peppermint or butterscotch candies in those pockets , and he was always quick to share. He also had a magic hat. After putting in his days' work of riding out on the desert he'd stop in to see us kids, only to surprise us with a horny toad riding under his hat. I think there was an endless supply of horny toads too! It's a good thing they were so small, he'd probably try to rope them too!

I learned quick to never pick a feather up out of the sand. Grandpa always said, "Be careful, there might be an Indian on the other end of that feather!" So if I ever see a feather stuck in the sand, I think I'll just let it stand!

Grandpa must have made friends with some Indians at one time or another because whenever I was having troubles getting my colt to cooperate while breaking her, Grandpa always fixed the problem. And when I'd ask how he did it...his reply, "Oh just an old Indian trick!"

I also learned how to saddle a horse just right. Grandpa could spot a flaw 2 miles away. The easiest thing to do was go riding when you knew Grandpa wasn't around. Then you wouldn't have to worry about getting a saddle inspection!

And if by chance you ever got thrown off your horse, just hurry up and dust yourself off and get your butt back up there before Grandpa saw you....show that horse whose boss! Even if you still can't catch your breath and your back feels as if it's broken! Grandpa was not only the greatest grandpa in the world or my greatest teacher...he was my hero!

Grandpa will be missed by many. But we know that he is having a great reunion with Mom and his family.
I love and miss you Grandpa!

Mothers

Mothers are the place where love

Emerges from the earth,

And happiness rings out like bells

In honor of our birth.
Mothers are the sun that lights

For life our inner sky,

So we may know that we are loved

And need not question why.
Mothers are the moon that shines

Upon our black despair,

So even when we weep, we know

That someone's always there.
Whatever fear, or stress, or pain

Might them to anger move,

We know that underneath the storm

We have, always, their love.

Winter Fun

Winter was never Mom's favorite time of year at times they could be pretty long. But we found ways to get through them. One year we all got cross country skiis and decided to make that a fun way to pass away these long winter days. It was so fun watching everyone learn how to make these long skiis do what they were supposed to without breaking our neck. And of course we couldn't have asked for a better place to live to put these skiis to use....we went everywhere! Our favorite place to go was out to the sands.

But I have to admit that going out there on a white-out day was suicide! We done that a couple times and that was interesting. We couldn't tell if we were going down a hill or up a hill until one of us would totally wipe out and then the laughing would start! Oh if I could count the times we all wiped out and laughed until we cried. Mom and I decided to go skiing out to Pine Butte, which is out on the Red Road, the Clark County line. What a beautiful day it was and the snow was just right. Coming back to the Red Road it's a pretty easy ride, gets a little steep for a bit though. I remember taking off down this hill first and all of a sudden seeing Mom coming up beside me with that cheesy grin on her face. By this time we were going pretty fast, the snow was melting just enough that it was slippery. All of a sudden I hear Mom's skiis clank together and then this sound of skiis, poles, water bottle, camera and the "swooosh" of snow all combined together! Mom was down!! And usually if Mom went down I wasn't far behind because of laughing so hard! Needless to say she was just fine, hurt the pride a little but just fine! It's amazing that we never broke any bones. We all took some pretty crazy crashes!

Another fun activity we all enjoyed doing was snowmaching. Especially the night rides across the desert. Dad would gather a bunch of riders and we'd all set off out across the desert about 5:00pm and ride up to the A Bar or the Shotgun store in Island Park for a burger. That was always such a fun time. I remember Mom always saying how it scared her the whole entire time but she loved doing it!

It was always fun rounding up the family and going out to play in the snow....but watch out for those snow tubes! They will kick your butt if you let them...haha another Mom story! :)

Christmas Memories

Christmas has come and gone yet for another year. Every Christmas I think back of when I was little and how much fun Christmas was. As I searched through the family albums I found myself laughing at how much fun we had as kids during Christmas time. I'm sure Mom and Dad wanted to strangle us kids on Christmas morning because we were always up so early....no really, like 4am. I remember getting told to go back to bed for a couple more hours....those couple hours took a lifetime to pass!! Every Christmas Eve Santa would find our house and always leave us spoiled rotten. I remember times being tough when I was young, but Mom and Dad always made sure our Christmas was one to remember. Thank you Mom, Dad and Santa!! I've added a few pics of us kids and our Christmas trees over the years.

Me and Jennie

Jennie and Lacey

Me and Jennie playing with our new Legos...those were the best!

Lacey playing with her new baby doll.

Us girls playing with our new dolls. I got a Roller Skate baby and Jennie got a Rainbow Brite doll.

Kelly catching a ride in our new wagon and Lacey stripping in the background! haha! Always gotta have one in the family! J/K Lace!

Dad, Jennie and Lacey trying to get toys working.

Kade posing with his new coon skin hat!

Kami getting excited for Christmas.

One of my favorite gifts under the tree...Tazzi, his favorite place to be this time of year.

I hope that we always remember those fun Christmas memories and never let the child in us die!

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on the things that we are most thankful for. I think it is fair to say that Mom was most thankful for her family as are so many of us. When asked, "what is some advice about family," mom said this...."Stay so close. Even though things get tough and frustrating. I've never had a close family until I had my own little family and husband. When you get frustrated it's time for some space but not so much that you start to loose time and closeness with eachother."

I hope that everyone has a great Thanksgiving surrounded by lots of delicious food and most important of all.....lots of loved ones to make precious memories with!! Happy Thanksgiving and Enjoy!!

Girl Number Three

It was on November 16, 1983 when Lacey Dawn decided to join our family. Another sweet little girl weighing 6lbs, 14oz. I was still too young to remember too many details of that day, but I do remember being pretty excited to have another sister!

This is Lacey when she was just 2 weeks old. I remember her being a good little baby, hardly ever cried.

This is Lacey on her 10th birthday with our dog Sammy at her feet. She and Sammy were pals. I think Sammy only liked Lacey and Lacey was the only one that liked Sammy. He was such a mean little stinker.

Look at her go! Climbing our favorite tree in Kilgore.

Ha ha Lace....sorry but I had to put this one on here! This is my most favorite picture. This is what true camping hair looks like! And notice the toad accessory! I miss those days, miss catching those huge toads!

Lacey is quite an animal lover! She loved Buddy, the family poodle. If she wasn't snuggled up to him on the couch or dressing him in doll clothes she was toting him around!

Here is Lacey with her cute family....Zach, Kaidynce, Karter and Twitch the poodle!

Happy Birthday Lacey! Hope you had a great day! Love ya lots!

YOU'RE HOW OLD!!!

Happy Birthday to you Daddy Poo!! Today us kids and a few other family members went out to celebrate Dad's birthday with him. How old you say.....51 years old today!! But don't worry Dad all that gray hair and those "old man" glasses that you have to wear when you are reading don't mean a thing!! It just adds character! When the hearing aids and Depends start appearing then we'll worry about ya!!

Dad and Diane with the help of Grandma Larson and Aunt Patsy cooked a great meal. Thanks for such good food! Then we got to watch Dad open his presents. It was a fun afternoon hanging out with the family!

Here is one of Dad's most favorite things to do!

Dad showing off a couple different birthday cakes. Mom always made sure Dad had a nice birthday cake!

Just out enjoying a day with the family! (love the shirt, haha!)

Dad I just want to tell you how much I appreciate everything you do for us! I love you so much and look forward to celebrating many, many more birthdays with ya!! Hope you had a great day!!