Reflections

I don't often think about things too deeply because it usually seems to add stress or other "stuff" to my plate, BUT I was at a convention about a month ago and the new president of the association (Carl Lufkin) said,

"How rich is the man who gets up every morning and does what he loves and always dreamed about doing?"

 

This statement has stuck with me for the last month and I just can't seem to shake it. Think about it. Think back to when you were a kid, laying in your bed, playing dolls, fighting dragons, etc. What did dream of being when you grew up? Are you living that dream? Kudos to you if your answer is yes. Are there some of you that cannot remember clearly what the dream was, has it changed so many times that you can't remember? That's me, that's what I remember. It seems like my dream changed as often as the weather. I don't remember having one clear dream that stuck with me, EXCEPT horses.

 

I love horses. I love being with them, I love being around them. I love the quiet time (usually) when you are brushing them in the early morning hours or late evening, getting ready for a day of riding. First brush their backs where the saddle will lay, then their rump and down their back legs to make sure they look good. Then I grab the mane brush and comb out snarls in his mane and tail. His mane stands straight up in the spots where he reaches through the fence to get the most tender grass. This quiet time is priceless, I slip him a horse cookie. He never ever talks back, he may pitch his head or something minor, but he never judges me, just goes WITH me. We are a team, no one else clicks with him or me quite like he does, he is a good friend. He is so kind and gentle with the kids, a gentle nudge and a sniff and a glance with his big, kind eyes. My dream has always included a horse.

 

So I AM living a variation of my dream. And better yet, I am living it with my kids and their horses and Wade and his horse. And we are blessed enough to raise beef and provide food for others. I have also realized that Agriculture is a passion that I hold very close to my heart. And my job allows me to work closely with many aspects of the ag industry. I work for the farmers and ranchers of Southeast Idaho to provide financing for their operations, to provide food for others. I can't say that I dreamed of working in the lending industry and busting butt in my "free" time to try to get our cattle taken care of, but I love agriculture, I love ranching so how much closer can I get to living my dream than what I am doing right now?

 

Who knows? I guess I will be "rich" every day and not look for the pot of gold each day.

 

How rich are you? Don't waste any of your money, pay attention to the things you have, not the dollars you don't.

 

 

So much going on!

Saw these three in Mackay a few weeks ago, love my office view!

Is there anything better than the cattle business right now? Fall colors, cattle, mountains and green grass, sounds like heaven to me!

Another view from my office. I love my road trips when the weather is nice. This was in Challis, what a great day.

This girl is amazing. She is a beast, and has her own personality.

Ninja Ryder, Halloween is a 3 day celebration at our house. Lots of candy, parties and fun. We carved pumpkins, decorated the house and had a great time. We were exhausted by the time Halloween finally got here.

And then we have Princess Merida (from Brave). She wouldn't wear the red wig, but oh well, she still looked adorable.

Ryder just had to make a leaf angel at the church. Too bad snow is on it's way, we were really enjoying fall.

There Are Days

I attended a training last week that was all about teamwork, improving yourself and generational differences. It was very eye-opening and made me think about several situations both at work and at home.

There are people in this world have claim to have made "life changes," improved themselves, their lives and are better people for it. My question is, what if only 10-15% of the population commits to making these changes? Do they really live a more fulfilled life, are they really happy since they have to deal with the other 85-90% of the population that are not "happy?" Happiness is a habit, isn't it? What if those around you don't have the same habits, can you still be happy? Is this all too confusing, just ramblings that only make sense to me or do these thoughts cross others minds? One might not ever know and that may be how it is supposed to be. Maybe this is where that life lesson of "worry about yourself," comes in to play? If you are happy and live what you consider to be a fulfilled life then who cares about the people you are acquainted with that have not chosen the same path......

As the leaves change and the air starts to have that cool feel to it in the morning as I am locking the horses in the corral for the day, it is a refreshing start to a day filled with new expectations and goals. It is nearing the time to wean calves, sell yearlings and put the garden to bed for the winter - what a great time of year. Maybe a little less stress not worrying about having sick calves, heifers in the neighbors or if the garden is too dry? Probably not, with each season comes new concerns, new obstacles, new challenges. I am ready. Welcome fall and all your adventures
.

"The path we choose to follow, will help us write our own story."

Making a Change

I am a firm believer at this point in my life that 90% of being able to make a significant change in your life involves a new mind set and way of thinking. I found a great quote that I find inspiring and true in several aspects of my life:

"THE FIRST STEP TO GETTING ANYWHERE IS DECIDING YOU'RE NOT WILLING TO STAY WHERE YOU ARE."

 

I love this because it can be applied to lots of different situations. Decide that you don't want to continue down the road you are on either emotionally, physically, etc. and get off that road, tell yourself that you are done with it and plan your new route. Once you make the change it is empowering and will motivate you to change other things in your life that may have seemed too difficult.

 

FATE ~ a power that is believed to control what happens in the future. : the things that will happen to a person or thing : the future that someone or something will have

 

Do you believe we control our own destiny or IS their a "power" that controls our future? Think about it.

Garden, Garden, Garden

In the blank spots of my garden I planted 4 bell pepper plants, we love green peppers! Much to my surprise they have done pretty well. Every time I go out to the garden there are new peppers coming, hiding inside the plant under the leaves. I have chopped a whole bunch and froze them for later use, I sure wish I knew how and was interested in canning! Kinsley and Ryder help me wash everything, which is great, but what a mess!

We also grew sunflowers in all colors to brighten up the garden, but mostly to give me something fun to take pictures of! We have one so far, with hopefully 2 more opening when we get home tonight!

And we had corn for the first time on Sunday. It was super yummy. They say it is ready when the end of the silk turns brown, well I still have to peel back the husk and peek!

5 Years, Where Does Time Go?

Yep, that's right he's 5 years old. For Ryder's birthday we went to the zoo and to iJump. Then a party at home with pork chops, mashed potatoes & gravy and corn on the cob for his birthday dinner. He got to pick the day and the dinner. We had a fun day. I wish I would have made it my rule to take the day off for my kids birthday about 5 years ago!

Then came the family party with the How to Train Your Dragon theme. Again Lisa made the cake and exeeded all expectations. I love her cakes because all you do is give her a flavor and a theme and she designs it and you pick it up on party day! Big surprise for everyone. We had a blue raspberry cake with a hidden surprise inside. I honestly could have eaten the entire thing over the course of a week. I had to throw it in the garage (out by the road) so I wouldn't eat any more of it!

We happened to plan Ryder's party on the same weekend as our Just Family Reunion, so Todd, Julie and Kellan were able to come! Todd and his family were also there - they are usually in Bear Lake. Grandpa Jim came! It was a full house, tons of fun, good food, lots of good people.

I love this kid.

And here's the surprise inside. It was jam-packed with Sixlets, Swedish Fish, Bubble Gum, etc. It was so cool, the kids loved it. It looked like the cake exploded when we cut into it and everything came spilling out.

What a fun time. Great memories.

Happy Birthday to my most favorite little man on the planet!

Good Times

Kathy calls this the 3 Musketeers. But I would say it should be called Superwoman since the lady taking the picture wrestled these 3 (Colt 1, Kinsley 2, Carly 3) all by herself while the rest of us rode for 2 or 3 hours. Good times with cousins, I remember those so clearly from when I was young. Both on the Christiansen side and the Mattson side. Memories to last a lifetime. Friendships that may fade a little, but a connection that is always there called family.

Let me set the scene. This is our "crew." Left to right: Ryder & Jalepeno, Grandma Kathy, Tiffany & Peanut, Grandpa Wayne & Yellow horse, Lauren & Wes (way back), Katie & Roy, Whitney & Paskel. Yup, that's it, what an awesome day, everyone survived, had a great time and this is less than half of the riders. We are missing 3 grandkids that are too little to go, Todd and Wade. Just wait, couple more years and we will fill up this photo, all on horses. All three kids ride by themselves. Whitney can get on and off by herself. Man, they are getting big. Ryder is 5, Lauren is 7, Whitney is 10!

Three of my most favorite and important things in the whole world right in one spot: Family, Horses and the Hills!

Rain, Rain go away.....?

Just look at this rain gauge! I dumped almost 2" of rain out of this in the first 2 weeks of August. Now there are a lot of different opinions of the rain at this point. If you are a rancher, we call this "the million dollar rain." Meaning it could not have come at a better time, it softens the existing grass, brings on new growth, settles the horrible dust and renews the land for the upcoming fall season. If you are a hay farmer and had your 2nd crop hay down the rain could not have come at a worse time. It all but ruined the 2nd crop, we are even hearing reports of hay being chopped and blown back on the fields, not even worth baling. And then there are the barley and wheat farmers, this rain also could not have come at a worse time. It came right as farmers were beginning harvest and made the fields and the grain too wet to harvest. What does that mean? The grain starts sprouting and molding in the heads, while still in the field. What does that mean? The grain in not useable by the grain companies at closer to $5.75/bushel, now the farmers can only sell it for feed at around $3.00/bushel! This is terrible for the farmers, but it is also agriculture. Lots of reports of a total loss of the wheat and barley crop in East Idaho, only time will tell. Today it will hopefully be dry enough to start cutting again and get the grain done before potatoes officially start around the 25th.

I often hear that agriculture is like a double-edged sword. In order for one commodity to do really well, another commodity or two have to have some type of loss. Sad that we almost have to hope another producer has struggles so our industry will pick up. But this is the ag cycle, this is life in agriculture. When grain is up, corn is down. When corn is up, cattle are down, etc. We as producers have been on an extremely good ride for at least 8 years that I know of since being in the lending business, I am sad to say that it is about time for a little down turn to the markets to bring us all back to reality. And even though cattle at ridiculous highs, they too will have their time.



We should as beef producers should be thankful for this time and count our blessings. Plan for the future when things are not as bright. Agriculture is the best life I know, but it's also one of the hardest, hence my full-time job in town. But at the same time, I still deal with the down turn to the full extent at my job in town professionally every single day. Stupid occupation? No. I GET to live the life I love and deal with agriculture and it's people every day. Some days that's good and some days it's not as good.

Work

It's not often that I mention my job, but it is a big portion of my life and I think it is worth mentioning. I work for a great organization (IACA) in Blackfoot, Wade and I also borrower money from them for our cattle and hay operation. IACA is a very open minded company when it comes to employees, their families and education. I am always willing to go to a training or learn something new, which more times than not has got me a new project or "title." This week I was able to attend a seminar in Pocatello and it was really good, I only thought I was going to fall asleep once and it was only for about 3 or 4 minutes, so it doesn't really count! The whole seminar was based on communication, which I do a lot of both at work and at home, so it was very interesting to me. I would be willing to say that I had several "ah-haaaa" moments on some pretty basic stuff that is a little embarrassing, so that's right, I am going to talk about them!

1. The instructor asked, "Do some people make you mad?" The whole room says, "yes, all the time, etc." He says, "No they don't, you are in control of you. You are the one that decided to get mad." Ah-haaa #1 - Um so as much as it pains me to admit that this was a "moment" for me, IT REALLY WAS! So true if you stop to think about it. I am not saying that we should smile and let everyone run us over like a dog, but that we should be questioning ourselves more and deciding if getting mad is really the best thing to do, does it help the situation or does it just make YOU feel better at that moment? Does it do any good to yell?
2. In a recent study, part of a basketball team practiced free throws everyday for 30 minutes, the other part visualized a perfect swish everyday for 5 minutes and the other part did nothing. At the end the players that practiced shot 24% better, the players that visualized shot 23% better and the players that did nothing shot slightly worse. What is the moral to all of this? Ah-haaa #2 - VISUALIZING is so powerful, our minds are so amazing! Think about it.
3. Saying stuff out loud is extremely powerful too. For example, if you are a smoker. Say to yourself repeatedly during the day, "I do not smoke, I am not a smoker, I do not like to smoke." This will aid in breaking your smoking habit. Ahaaaaa #3 - For myself and my current situation I would say several things, but for example, "I do not like sweets, I do not eat sweets." Simple right? You may sound crazy, but if it works and makes the transition easier, who really cares?
4. To go along with #3 it actually takes 30 - 40 days of a repeated behavior to "reprogram or change" your mind and actions. Ahaaaa #4 - In short, if you want to kick a bad habit or start a good habit, you have to do it everyday for 30 - 40 days in order to get it to stick in your mind/body. That is why most recovery programs are 30 or more days. If you skip day 19, you start over the next day with #1, it has to be consecutive days.
5. Last but not least, did you know your body can store 4 times more negative energy than positive energy? Ahaaa #5 - no wonder it's so hard to stay cheerful everyday. The chips are stacked against you. Who cares, I like a good challenge.

Making ourselves happy is a mental challenge. All the negativity we hear every hour, every day it is so easy to fall into the trap. What if every one of us made the commitment to not say or do anything negative for 1 hour per day? I don't know about anyone else, but I could stand to be less negative. And I could stand to hear less negativity from others. Negativity is like a dark cloud that forms and shadows our lives, it dampens our spirits and darkens our days. Life is too short.

I started Facebook a few short months ago and just last weekend saw for the first time a negative comment that was directed at my family and truly meant to hurt us. First thing I felt was shame on that person for being that childish. The second thing I thought was, what a jerk. The third thing I did was comment back, "Oh ******, really. Sad." I thought that made me feel better, but in fact I had only stooped to his childish level and became negative all at the same time. I have not been on Facebook since. It in a way hurt my feelings, what a baby huh? Before the Facebook posting we had a disagreement with this gentlemen that posted on Facebook. And I was really upset for a couple days and felt bad that we wouldn't be close to him and his family. Then I received word that a wonderful family that we know had lost their 5 year old granddaughter and after I quit hysterically sobbing I realized, I have my kids, my husband, my parents, my in-laws, my brother (sister-in-law), grandparents, nieces and nephews right here in Blackfoot, I am so blessed, so lucky, what does it really matter that one guy is mad at us?

It doesn't.

"I've see a great many worries in my time... and some of them even happened." - Mark Twain

Little Buckaroos

 We love the Little Buckaroo Rodeo in Firth. Most of all I love taking pictures of the kids BEFORE we go to the rodeo. They are getting so big and so dang cute!

 I am not sure if she's going to a rodeo or a shootout?

 We love pictures with grandparents, they are priceless.

 Grand entry time! Ryder, Lauren, Whitney and Carly all paying tribute to our wonderful country by taking their hats off and listening intently to our National Anthem. 5 contestants from our family this year. Ryder & Lauren - sheep riding, Whitney - barrel racing, Kinsley & Carly - stick horse racing

Colt and Kinsley - snuggling? Maybe at first, but it quickly turned into a head-wrestling match! 

Oh my word this is cute! One of my many favorite cowgirl nieces.

 

The rodeo was great. It clouded up and was a beautiful night, not too hot. Kids did wonderful (as usual). It is amazing to me each year how great the rodeo is and how cute all the kids are. They had a record # of kids at 413 over two nights, pretty hard to believe that Firth draws all those kids.



Random Photos

I love flowers and I love to take photos of them. There is just something about the vibrant colors, fragile petals and delicate lines of a flower that makes me smile. I snapped these little beauties at The Bunch Ground in Firth.

Ryder, Kinsley and I decided to take a walk the other day. Ryder took his bike, Kinsley took her doll and stroller and I took my camera. It is a great walk except the tenth of a mile from our driveway to the football field. It takes longer to get through that than the entire walk just because I am so paranoid about the kids and the traffic! The greenbelt along the river and trees is great, so peaceful on a Sunday morning. We met a new friend and her two dogs and they walked all the way home with us. It was nice to get away from the house and the kids loved the adventure.

Grain harvest already, seriously? Guess so. This was the scene on July 26th as I came home from Miner Creek. 2nd crop hay is in full swing, grain harvest is just beginning, potatoes will be next, beets and then the cows will come home and hopefully the snow will fly. It is hard to believe how fast life goes anymore.

So one of the categories in the photography portion of the Eastern Idaho State Fair is "Still Life," and I have asked myself and others each year, what is that? I have entered two or three times with various types of pictures, but have never had any success! It may be that I just take crappy pictures, or it may be I just really don't know what falls in to this category. So I took some time and wandered around over the weekend with "Still Life" on my mind. I saw a lot of rusty stuff in my yard, I saw some moose horns, I saw old toys, I saw dead trees and I saw a clothes line. This is one picture I snapped, this is life standing still for a minute or two. This is great, letting the clothes dry in the ever popular Idaho breeze/wind. This is calmness, stillness and still life at our house on the weekends. Just one example of my "Still Life."

I know they are getting big. I know they are adorable. I know they are amazing. I know I love them more than life itself.

View from my backyard. I love Idaho and my memories that are here.

You know how everyone has a friend or two that they have known a long time? Well, I have two ladies that I may not talk to on a regular basis or go shopping with each weekend, but they both will always have a place on my "friend" tree. That is because I was born in April 1980, one was born in May 1980 and the other was born in August 1980 and that is exactly how long we have known each other, our whole lives. We all three grew up together, played together, went to school together, fought together, played basketball together, drank beer together, and so on and so on. Now we are all grown up, have kids of our own and lives that are speeding by. The one friend basically saved me when I called her for her opinion on some health questions, she referred me to a specialist that got me on the right track and I have never felt better. I will always be thankful that she answered the phone that one day that I called her, when I hadn't called her for several years. The other friend is always good for a laugh. I can still think back to funny things she has said over the years and get a smile on my face. I saw a post from one of these ladies on Facebook (which I am new to and don't really know how to use). She had recently moved to Washington with her son and she was wearing and Idaho necklace. She looked amazing. She looked beautiful. I suddenly realized that friends don't always have to call you, they don't always have to be in touch, they should just always know that they touched your life in some way or another. And those two did.

Our Hearts are Heavy for the Joe Pratt Family today. We wish them all the best and full recoveries. Please keep them in your thoughts.

"Live Life for Today, Because You're Not Guaranteed Tomorrow"
 

Catching Up

So in a recent study I read it said to be a good, active, informative blogger you need to blog 2 times per week. Whoa, I did pretty good at that number during winter, but then I fell off the face of the earth! The last post was from Kinsley's birthday, the last part of March. Let's do a quick catch up, fast forward to get us all on the same page + + + + + + + + +

So after Kinsley's birthday we had Easter, what a great time. We decorated eggs, went to an Easter egg hunt and the kids were spoiled rotten. Oh ya, and I hit the big 34 mark! That's my age, not measurements! April was busy as always, we finished up calving, branded calves and began spring time work around the yard, hay field and pasture.

 A common sight around the branding chute when your processing heifers and steers. We cut out the ear tags from the previous owners and put in our ear tags so we are identified as the owners. This is a small representation of several calves journey's to our branding chute.

Ryder is always interested in helping. He's cutting out the old ear tag in our new replacement heifers and then Wade will put in their new orange tags. We call them "earrings."

 

Then we all start itching to get the cattle turned out on grass and that last month seems like it takes forever. Life at work in April for me is starting to slow down and we are coming up for air. We have most of the farmers and ranchers set up for their new operating year and they are starting to work their fields and some are even planting spuds, yep in April.

 

On to May. More branding at the Christiansen's. It's a family event, most of the grandkids are there (if they are old enough). Whitney is old enough to keep track of the calf numbers, Lauren is insistent on pushing calves, which is crazy. You don't ever want to show an interest in that terrible job! Ryder is pushing cows up the chute with Grandpa. Grandma is organizing tags, vaccines and helping Whit. Tiffany and Todd are in charge of the calf chute crew. Thank goodness for Blackfoot's high school's football coach, Stan Buck, he sent a couple of the football players out to push calves. These boys are lifesavers. Tiffany and I decided not too many years ago that we wanted to retire from our supervisory calf pushing/pee on (literally) positions! And Wade, Dad and I worked the momma cows. It was a great day. Good food, good people, good times.

 

Ryder also graduated from preschool, what a big day. We are so proud of him. He did a good job and made some great friends. He has a late birthday so he will go one more year of preschool, so he's a little bummed about that.

 

Finally, the snow is melting, it is warming up and the grass is growing. Time to load the cows on the trucks and take them to the hills!! Probably in the top 5 of the best days of the whole year! No more hay, no more standing in the blowing dust, no more worrying about them every single day. Turn them out and for us with our full time, town jobs, see them in a week! Heifers were all turned out in Wapello and Idaho Falls, yippeeeee!

 

We had a rough end to May. Ryder startled his horse and was kicked on a Friday, his horse shook while we were riding and he fell off on Saturday, there was a propane gas leak at Wallace's ranch while they were sleeping on Saturday night and a 2 hour cattle job on Sunday took around 5 or 6 hours! It was a hell of a weekend, but we all survived, we figure Ryder used at least 2 of his lives.

 

And then there came June. School is over. Loan season is over. Cattle are on the range. My goodness, things are looking up. Oh I forgot to mention. I planted a garden this year, about the first of May. I had no idea what I was doing, never grown anything in my life besides cattle and grass! I planted peas, carrots, radishes, onions, potatoes, corn, pumpkins and sunflowers! Thanks to Leslie, the internet and Arlin, my garden jumped of to a good start. I thought my peas were a total crop failure, but turns out they were just late bloomers. Since we live on the river bottoms, I picked rock on my hands and knees and a 5 gallon bucket for 2 weeks! I still have a lot of rock, but now I have veggies. I also attended the Idaho Cattle Convention. I had an excellent time and met a lot of great producers. We went on a range tour to Harriman State Park and Mesa Falls.

 

July has been a whirl wind. We had a great 4th. Bill and Susan bought the kids a trampoline, so we slept on it for the 4th, set off fireworks and went to Bear World. We have been trying to keep track of cows and bulls, seems like one or two of them always seem to wonder to the neighbors! The garden looks amazing, but is sadly slowing down. I got 3 crops of radishes which was really fun for Wade since he is the only one that eats them. We have tons of carrots, onions and finally peas! We also dug red potatoes. We have had a blast digging/picking fresh veggies and taking them right in the house to have dinner. Kinsley is my garden buddy. She rarely misses a chance to go out with me. She picks the weeds and sings most evenings, it is so fun to listen to her. Not many of the peas make it all the way into the house between Kinsley, me and Wade eating them. The carrots just keep coming and coming. I made Grandma Janet a batch of creamed carrots on Sunday with ham. And on Saturday I made peas and potatoes for Grandma June. What a great journey we have had growing a garden, weeding, harvesting, fertilizing, watering, it has been really fun. I have decided that my garden time is my "quiet time." Everyone needs quiet time, that is it for me!

 

 

I also helped with a dinner and presentation for Ag in the Classroom for 25 teachers from across the state of Idaho. They traveled the state in a weeks time to learn more about Idaho Agriculture. I had a great time talking with them and listening to their stories. Something that I think we all forget as Idahoans is that just because we all live or grow up in Idaho doesn't mean we all understand and know everything about agriculture. So don't ever miss an opportunity to educate someone, that wants to be educated, about our great industry and what we have to offer and what we contribute to our world.

 

 

I also had the best time riding with my brother and my dad a week or so ago. I hadn't rode with those two for years. I offered to go with them to get some heifers in that had escaped and it turned in to like a 5 or 6 hour ride. We got  some heifers out of one field and drove them to the one they were supposed to be in, then we rode another 45 minutes to another field to get 8 more heifers out of the neighbors, then while riding back we found 7 more that of course instead of running down the road and through the gate, ran across the road and up the canyon, straight through the trees and to the top of the mountain. My poor horse was exhausted. He is used to flat ground over at Crane's Flat, then I take him to Miner Creek where it is straight up and straight down, he was a trooper. He is such a nice horse. He gets going just a little faster than I like down hill sometimes, but he will go anywhere and do anything, I love that horse! The whole day was like "old times." We used to ride like that every weekend. Like my dad said, "that is why we all had nice horses." Isn't that the truth! It brought back the best memories and I walked away so tired and had such sore knees, but it was stinkin' awesome! I will make more time to do more of that!

 

So this is a very long post and I know I have rambled and rambled till it is a little embarrassing, but I am really trying to decide where to take this blog. I don't have a lot of followers or interested people, but I do have a lot to say. I started the blog in 2009 to show off my baby boy. My baby boy is two weeks from turning 5 and I have realized that so much in my life and my way of thinking has changed. My inspirations and dreams have mutated and I am at a loss for where the blog should go. My family is my pride and joy. My lifestyle (cattle, hay, work, gardening) is a big part of my story. I feel the need to inform those that don't know where their steak, bread and potatoes come from. I have been inspired by several ranching ladies to expand message, but I don't want to venture too far from my family showcase. Bare with me while I try to find the balance between these two worlds. Read, share and give me feed back on what should, should not or could be included.

 

Love to all. Good times. Good friends.

Happy 2nd Birthday Kinsley!!!

Today is Kinsley's 2nd Birthday and I decided that I am done feeling bad for dropping my kids off at the babysitters on their birthdays. So I took the day off and the kids and I had a great day. We had pink pancakes for breakfast, got ready and headed to Idaho Falls. We ran a couple errands and went to lunch at Chik Fil A so the kids could play in the play yard for 1 1/2 hours, then to get birthday balloons at the party store and then to Blast Off for the kids to play for another 2 1/2 hours. All three of us had a great time, no schedule, no deadlines, just fun all day, it was much needed for all of us. We wandered home and Wade brought pizza home, we opened gifts and ate cupcakes. WHAT A GREAT DAY.

Ryder in the ball pit, he had so much fun and was sweating most of the day from running constantly.

Kinsley had to try on all her outfits and push her stroller. This picture is the best because it captures Kinsley's attitude, humor and cuteness in one pose....

It took about 15 tries to get the candles lit since the kids would blow the minute Wade lit the lighter! So funny, good laughs.

She never even ate any cupcake, it was all frosting.

And here's a great pic capturing Ryder's attitude, personality, humor and cuteness all at once. Notice how sweaty his hair is!

They were absolutely perfect kids today. If they would promise to be that good everyday and I didn't need the paycheck, and no insurance, I would quit my job and stay at home full time!!

We had a lot of fun. Can't wait till Ryder's birthday! My kids are wonderful and the light of my life, Wade's in there too.

I can't believe how big they are getting, shocking. They change weekly and mature a little less often! Good times.

Thought for the day:  "Happiness is a Choice."

Thoughts and Prayers

So this past week has been a roller coaster. I have been informed of just three of the many people in our community that need our thoughts and prayers.

 

We are sending out well wishes to Anita B. and her entire family as they embark on a difficult journey over the next few months. I really don't know that I have ever met any nicer people and am thankful that they are such a huge part of my family's life. Keep them in your thoughts and send them well wishes.

 

Another family needing our support is Jessie Woodland's family. She is just 25 and in her second battle with cancer. I have included the information for donations to her for medical bills. Please keep their whole family in your thoughts and prayers, they need all of us right now and we wish them the best.

 

A fundraiser has been set up for Jessie online at www.gofundme.com/755rqk with a goal of $10,000.
Raffle tickets are being sold for $10 at Blackfoot Medical Clinic and A to Z Pawn (in Blackfoot) for chance to win an XDM-45 subcompact handgun. And, an online auction is being held through Uptown Photography in Pocatello. For information on the auction, find Uptown Photography on Facebook.

 

We are also asking for you to keep Grant Hacking and family in your thoughts. He has a severe heart condition and is in Salt Lake. He needs lots of support and well wishes. There are two fundraisers being organized, one of which is tentatively scheduled for May 10th in Blackfoot. There is to be a live band, food and live auction. I will keep you posted as more information becomes available.

 

Some things in life don't make much sense, but I believe everything happens for a reason. We just may not agree with the reason.

 

Stay safe. Hug your loved ones and live each day to the fullest.

More Ag

Good morning, hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the beautiful rain we are receiving. It's a little inconvenient, but we will be dang glad we had it this summer.

Calving is in full swing, that's why the rain may be a little inconvenient, but sure needed. I wanted to give out a little more information about Ag in Idaho. I mentioned before the Idaho Preferred Program, I wanted to give out a little more information on this, because I don't think many of us know what this is all about.

Idaho Preferred is a marketing program set up by the Idaho State Department of Agriculture which promotes the quality, diversity and availability of Idaho food and ag products. If you take the time to look in the grocery store you will see the Idaho Preferred label on some of the items. If you see this logo it identifies products grown or processed in Idaho. Which in turn means you are supporting local farmers and communities. Their website: www.idahopreferred.com has links to help you find local products, programs and events, Idaho recipes, gift ideas, school events, nurseries and retail & food service partnerships. It will also help you determine what fruits and veggies are in season at a particular time. Everything from apples to winter squash and what you can expect to see at your farmer's markets. This is a great website, everyone should check this out.

In the above picture you will notice the Idaho Preferred logo that we should all be watching for when grocery shopping. Idaho ag has so many great things to offer, we as consumers just need to support it!

Ag Facts

I am all about agriculture and have learned that I need to be more of a promoter of all ag, since my entire livelihood depends on it. I have a unique situation since my family and/or myself have had cattle my entire life and for the past 8 years I have worked in the ag lending field, so literally my livelihood depends on agriculture and it's success.

Since completing my last session and graduating from Leadership Idaho Agriculture I have come to the conclusion that I have lived with blinders on my eyes for quite some time. I have always assumed that people in Idaho know where their food comes from, how it's produced, grown and harvested! WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!! There are people of all ages right here in Idaho that don't know where their food comes from and granted due to our overwhelming exports from other countries a majority of our food does not come from Idaho, yep I said it, we have got to buy Idaho. Here's a couple interesting facts provided by Idaho State Department of Agriculture:

If Idahoans had to consume all products produced within the state in 2012, every Idaho resident would need to consume EACH DAY:

• 210 slices of bread
• 55 potatoes
• 2 lbs. of cheese or 43 glasses of milk
• 1.5 lbs. of beef
• 2 onions
• 3 cups of beans and more......

Amazing? Yes, why are eating food that is not grown in Idaho? How much safer and fresher can you get than grown right here in our beautiful state?

Top 5 Countries we Export to:

• Canada
• Mexico
• China
• Japan
• Korean Republic

2012 Top Idaho Commodities as a Percentage in US Market:

• Potatoes
• Trout
• Hay
• Austrian Winter Peas
• Barley

We are #1 in he US for the production of: potatoes and trout; #2 in Hay, winter peas, barley, sugar beets and wrinkled seed peas and the list goes on......
Another growing industry that many don't know about is the wine industry. The first grapes were grown in Idaho in 1864! We now have over 1600 acres of vineyards with over 50 wineries producing wine!!!

Top 5 Idaho Commodities:

• Milk
• Cattle/Calves
• Potatoes
• Wheat
• Hay

A little shocked that potatoes are #3, join the club. We produce many crops in Idaho in larger quantities than many are aware of; dry beans, onions, mint, trout, lentils, peaches and mink - just to name a few.

Anyone know what the average age of an Idaho farmer is?  57
Nothing against these 57 year olds, we wouldn't have much of what we all have today without them, but this says to me that we need young farmers/ranchers to step up, take control and start producing.

This is my vent subject for today. We need to buy Idaho, grow Idaho and support the young producers entering the market.

SUPPORT LOCAL AGRICULTURE

More Random pics, just can't help it

Look how beautiful the frosted trees are, oh and the horse isn't too bad either. This is out our front door, what a beautiful day.

The sun was amazing and the river was beautiful today. I snuck out of the house and went on a mini photo safari down the road to the river.

The kids thought the baseball field was so fun. We went on a little walk to shake some of the winter dust off of us.

Idaho Beauty

Ryder's horse, isn't he a cutie?

Wade's horse, isn't he a nutt! I can't keep him far enough away from me to take a decsent picture!

Looks so cold....