Fun in the Sun

Good morning everyone! I'm currently consuming my daily limit of caffeine trying to get motivated for the day. Shawn is already out fixing fence so he could get it done before the heat of the day. I worked the past three days at the hospital and I'm a little worn out but I *think* I'll make it through the day and hopefully get a lot accomplished. Is it just me or does everyone else's house seem to look as though it's never seen a mop or a dust rag after just 3 days away from house work? Well, my house is a disaster zone so I'm hoping to get caught up on the housework so I can get going on some other projects on my list. I thought I'd share a few of the new things going on around the ranch lately.

1. A new pony for Little Man and Lil Sister (I'm sure a post on "Oreo" is in my near future)!
2. A new indoor/outdoor cat that is actually tame and won't scratch out the kiddos eyeballs if they try to pick him up. So far, so good!
3. There is actually sunshine in SD now! The high is 88 today, and I'm sure Little Man will have me talked into letting him run through the sprinkler's today! Something about running through the sprinkler's brings out the kid in everyone. We might have to get Dad in on the action too!
4. We picked up a trampoline for little man at a yard sale a week or so ago. It has been a ton of fun for everyone and so far has only caused one doctor's appointment. Oh the joys of having a rambunctious boy around the ranch! I hope everyone has a great day!

Branding

Good Morning! We once again had a busy week on the ranch. Imagine that! We branded on Thursday of last week and again yesterday. We lucked out and had good weather both days and had great help to get the job done. Big thanks to all our wonderful friends and neighbors! I was able to get a few pictures in each day when I wasn't busy running cookies out and making salads. I had a good friend come out from work yesterday for her first branding and it was a lot of fun showing her the ropes. Yesterday was a pretty small crew and she didn't stay long because of previous plans but I think she got the idea! The kiddos each had a great time, too. Lil Sister was extremely intrigued by all the bawling babies and mamas. Little Man was not so keen on the whole situation. He would rather run around and play and didn't really want to help this year. Hopefully next year he'll be ready to jump into the mix! Here are a few pics of my favorite time of year! Some are of the actual branding and some are of the great family times had after the work is done. I love summer time!

Hope you all have a great week! The weather is looking to be a bit better up here finally (but I'm NOT complaining about the moisture)! Now that branding is done we're now busy getting the bulls checked out and getting them turned out with the heifers. The cycle begins again!