In Addition to Rodeo & Baseball ...

... we recently enjoyed a wonderful visit with extended family. I had not seen one of my aunts and cousin in 25 years.  I can not express how blessed we all were to have them visit.  I've prayed for restoration in my family for more than a decade and I am confident our Lord is working that out.

I am so glad we have finished kidding.  It was a tough season for us.  We lost 5 babies, one doe, 3 of our does had miscarriages, and we had to pull one kid that was stillborn.  I am glad it is over.  We ended up with two bottle kids, Tuffy and Cotton.  Tuffy, the little black kid was a preemie and could not push up on his front legs for more than two weeks after birth.  Cotton, the little blonde kid was born to a doe who was having some health issues and was not producing any milk.

As you can see from the photo, both Tuffy and Cotton are now doing well.  They follow me around and were a big hit with younger children at the rodeos.  Yes, I had to take these two with us because I am still bottle feeding them every 6 hours.

We have 5 kittens (baby bunnies).  Three are gray, one is black and one is white with gray spots.  I've sold three of them to a 4-Her and they are ready to go to their new home this week.  I am excited to see how they will place at this year's county fair.

It appears all the goings on have made Farmer Boy as tired as I am. Yesterday I caught Farmer Boy "walking" his 4-H lamb, Chuckles - hee! hee!  I had a good laugh when I saw this and I hope it brings some laughter to your day as well.

Mom's Brag Book

The high school graduation announcements have been arriving in the mail.  We are excited and proud of all the 2016 graduates.

The B house doesn't have any graduates this year, but we are just as proud of our youngin's.  I mentioned in an earlier post that baseball and spring rodeo season had begun.  I've remembered to take my camera to some of the recent outings and here's a few photos of Songbird and Farmer Boy.

Although not the fastest in the arena, Songbird continues to enjoy barrel racing.  In each competition, her times improve by a few hundredth seconds.  Consistent improvement paves the way to the winner's circle.

This spring Songbird decided eliminate pole bending and add girls goat tying to her rodeo competitions.

She will be practicing with our goats in our pasture throughout the summer and hopes to give the current winner's circle leader a run for her money next fall.

Since her tenure as a Montana 4-H State Ambassador will come to an end in July, Songbird decided to serve as District 1's 2016-2017 High School Rodeo Event Director for pole bending and goat tying. Service is a cornerstone of 4-H and it pleases me to see that Songbird is carrying those service values into other areas of her life.

My favorite season, baseball season, is in full swing and Farmer Boy continues to be an excellent athlete.

This season his coach decided to play Farmer Boy at home plate.  He is always very engaged in the game and loves the catcher's position.  He's one of the best in the league.

Last week he hit the ball out of the park!  Not only did he score a home run but also gave his team 2 RBI's.

As he took his jog around the bases his big smile says it all.


This spring rodeo season found Farmer Boy participating in Jr. Boys' flag racing, break-away roping and goat tying.

After a few weeks of over shooting the 1st barrel on Songbird's Quatro in the flag race, Farmer Boy seems to have finally got the timing down and had a perfect run in Forsyth last week.

Although Farmer Boy missed this calf, I got a terrific photo!  Upon review of this photograph, Farmer Boy recognized that he need to drop 1-2 more coils off his rope for this throw.

I couldn't resist the above photo.  If Farmer Boy had not tripped during his dismount, he would have taken 1st in goat tying last week.  But we are still proud as he won 2nd, even with a face plant in the mud.

Three weeks ago Farmer Boy not only won the goat tying event in Jordan, MT, but also set an arena record for his age group on Saturday and then broke his own record on Sunday.   His prize was this lovely set of spurs.  Last week in Forsyth, MT, he won 2nd in goat tying and took home a paycheck covering 1/2 his entry fees.

Well, that's all for this brag session.  What have all your youngin's been up to?  I'd love to hear about it.

Winter Project(s) ... Completed

Each winter I have high hopes of getting all sorts of indoor projects done.  You know, things like quilts, numerous homemade Christmas gifts, remodeling projects, the list goes on and on.

This past winter wasn't any different.  I started a cowboy quilt for Farmer Boy and I began helping Songbird with a nine patch quilt for a 4-H project; neither of which is completed ... yet.  However, in addition to completing a few homemade Christmas gifts, and my sewing alcove and closet, I wanted to update our basement "den".  I am happy to report that, aside from hanging some artwork on the walls, I did get it finished.

Here's the before and after:

BEFORE:  We had a daybed and a full size bed in the basement den. I tried using bolsters and throw pillows to make for comfortable "sofa" type seating, but they remained very uncomfortable when sitting on them. Also, they never looked very nice as the covers, pillows and such were always a mess, especially after the kiddos finished watching a movie or playing a board game.

BEFORE:  In addition to watching movies, this room is often used as a "play room" for little visitors. The cupboards store our camping supplies, a few boxes of keepsakes, window fans and non-electric heaters. More than 4 years ago Grandpa and Mr.B told me they would convert the plywood panels that are leaning against the cupboards into doors. This winter, I found myself still waiting.

AFTER:  I donated the daybed and full sized bed to a family in need and replaced them with a sleeper sofa. With a sleeper sofa, we can still use this room for extra guests if all the upstairs beds are taken. I changed the window coverings, added a prettier throw rug and "purged" many of the toys, books and movies. The storage ottoman keeps bedding for the sleeper sofa convenient and out of sight. Unfortunately, Mr.B's unsightly treadmill still takes up a lot of space in this room. But it is frequently used during the winter months and I certainly do not want it in my living room or bedroom.

AFTER:  The plywood panels are gone and have been replaced with fabric panels. The draping fabric panels look so much nicer than plywood leaning against the cupboards. Also, since we no longer have to move a 4 ft. by 4 ft. sheet of plywood our storage is easier to access.

What sort of projects did you work on this winter?