Phone Photo Fun

Hello and Happy Monday!

Today, I'm linking up with Savanah and Ashlee for Phone Photo Fun.
I found this fun link-up via Amanda's adorable blog!

 

Saturday morning, we spent a little time with the Little Lady's pony, Poncho.

Here, the Little Lady's feeding him an apple.  Poncho and the Little Lady both equally delight in this treat!

 

Saturday evening, we headed to a ranch rodeo in a nearby town.  Our cowboys didn't compete in this one, but we went to watch some neighbors.

 

The Little Lady enjoyed a snow cone at the rodeo!

That was the perfect treat for this weekend, it has been scorching hot here.  At one point on Sunday our thermometer read 116 degrees.  Us Colorado folks aren't used to that...especially in June.

 

The Little Lady's busy weekend wore her out...asleep in her high chair at dinner Sunday evening.

 

I'm finally jumping on {and loving!} the Instagram bandwagon.  If you want to follow me, you can find me @trailerhoodaristocrats.

Here's to a great week my friends!

Proud Mama

Look at my little volleyballer!

What form...

And that intensity on her face...

 

Volleyball was a huge part of my youth and I still love to play, but unfortunatley I just don't get to as much as I'd like.  But I'm not gonna lie...I'd love it if the Little Lady loved volleyball as much as me : )

Our Little Buckaroo

Yesterday, we went for our follow up ultrasound. 

This time she was easily able to get all of the measurements and said that everything looks great!

 John Wayne thinks that the Little Buckaroo looks like a Hammer,

whereas we all know the Little Lady looks like a Golding.

I guess we'll see...?!?

If you look at this picture for a minute, you can see that he's sucking his thumb.  

We could see his mouth and his tongue moving.  It was pretty cute : )

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So yesterday was the first appointment in two months that I've seen my doctor.

He's be gone...

climbing Mount Everest!
Pretty awesome, huh?!?

Knock You Naked...Brownies

I hope that you all had a good weekend and that all of the Daddy's out there had a good Father’s Day.  We had a pretty low key Father’s Day.   My Mom and I fixed lunch for the family and we spent the afternoon trying to stay cool, watching the Little Lady splash in her pool and eating homemade ice cream. Homemade ice cream is a staple around here on Sunday afternoons in the summer.

I decided to make PW’s Knock You Naked Brownies. I thought they’d be the perfect accompaniment to the homemade ice cream and they were just that! They were really yummy and simple to make, I’ll for sure be making them again.

I managed to snap a few pictures in the kitchen, but didn’t get a single picture of the Little Lady with her Daddy or Grandpas : (

Hope you all have a great week!

Branding - John Wayne's Calves

This weekend we finished up the branding around here, branding John Wayne and I's calves.  Thankfully, we had a good crew and not too many to do, because Saturday turned out to be a scorcher.

John and Wayne and his brothers.

One of our dear neighbors, and a good friend that we don't get to see often enough.


John Wayne's Dad branding a calf, our nephew and one of John Wayne's best friends flanking.


The Little Lady and her big cousin watching the action.

John Wayne flanking.

 

Good help.

John Wayne has a really nice set of calves this year and with a little help from the hay wagon, the mamas still look good too.  We're headed to our summer pasture next week, but as you can see in the background of the picture above, this country is dry.  Please pray for a good drink of water for this parched land and so much land around us.

Branding season is always one of my favorite times of year, a chance to work with and spend time with good neighbors, but it's also something that I'm always kinda glad to be done with too.  This Saturday, the meal was my responsibility.  It's not that I mind cooking the meal, but since our cows are 60 miles away at John Wayne's Dad's place that we lease from him, I have to haul the meal over there.  It kinda feels like how many coolers and crock pots can I fit in my Suburban!  But with help on this end from my Mom and once I got there, help from one of my sweet friends, it wasn't bad at all.  And with that, branding is done for the year.

Life in Phone Pictures

Hello InstaFriday friends!  It has been quite some time since I've linked up...but having pictures on my cell phone to participate this week, can only mean one thing...I'm feeling better!

We branded calves on the ranch this Saturday.

I was in charge of the beans.

It takes A LOT of pinto beans to feed a crew of hungry cowboys!

You can find the recipe for Branding Beans here.
You can find branding pictures here .

After the work was done, the Little Lady had the right idea...swimming!

Sunday, it was really hot.  So the Little Lady took the liberty to strip down, which I can't say that I really blame her...and eat her popcorn standing at the kitchen table.

In preperation for the arrival of a little brother, we got the Little Lady her big girl bed.  We don't have a lot of room here in the Trailerhood, so rather than give up my office/craft room, the Little Lady and the new baby will be sharing a room.  It'll hopefully only be for a year or so until we build our new home, so hopefully it works out and won't be too bad?!?

First night in her big girl bed!

Tuesday, I hit the road and traveled to the State FFA Convention.  Since I haven't been feeling very good, I've been sticking pretty close to the office, so it was a welcomed change to get out and about again!

I hope that you all have had a good week and have a good weekend planned.  We have one more branding and then we're done for the year...yay!

Branding

We branded calves on Saturday. I didn't do as good of a job in the picture department as I usually do, something about this belly being in my way, but here are a few.

John Wayne flanking. 

The boss men - my Dad and Grandpa. 
 The Little Lady's calf, Uno.

 
This is one pregnant Mama who spent too many hours in the saddle.  Sunday at 1 o'clock in the morning, I woke up with killer leg pains and wondered if I'd ever be able to get out of bed?!?


It wouldn't be branding without my "Trust everyone, but brand your cattle" shirt.

John Wayne dragging calves.

 

Time for a cookie break with Daddy.

Ranch Wives Cooking Club - Branding Beans

This weekend we branded calves.
I got off easy and just had to make the beans and several desserts.

In the past, I've always done my beans in the crock pot, but then one day I decided to try them in my dutch oven, and I'll never go back.

I cooked A LOT of beans this weekend, but I'll give you the method for one pound of pintos.

The night before, rinse, and sort any bad beans out.
Then cover and soak them in water overnight.


Prepare a half pound of bacon per pound of beans.
I cooked my bacon in the oven.
I lined baking sheets with foil, placed the bacon on the sheets, placed in a cold oven and turned the oven to 400 degrees.
I lost track of time, but I think it took around 15 minutes.


Place the beans into your dutch oven, cover with water and add the crumbled bacon.

Bring the beans to a boil and boil for two minutes.
Turn the heat off and let them sit, covered, for an hour.


Remember, the directions I am giving you are for one pound of beans, the pictures represent more.

Dice up one large onion, one jalapeno and one clove garlic.
Saute with butter until tender.



Add the mixture to the beans, along with a generous dose of salt and pepper.


Then cover the beans and simmer until done.
This can vary widely depending on amount and conditions.  In my experience, sometimes a pot of beans just cooks faster than others?!?
These got done pretty quickly, around an hour.

The picture below is just after adding the onions, jalapenos and garlic, they have not simmered yet.  Once the beans have simmered, they'll look a little plumper and the onion and jalapeno will be cooked down even more.  I got busy and didn't get a picture of the finished product.


These are super easy, and along with beef and potatoes, are sure to please a crowd of hungry cowboys!