Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be Cowboys...

Too late! Look at the smile on Gunnar's face! A lil' cowboy in the making! He doesn't look like Daddy at all, does he? I can't wait to look out and see Gunnar riding around on his little pony in the coming years! Yesterday we went to the Camp Crook Rodeo held at the fair grounds in Crook. It was a fun time spent with my two boys! Painters are such a talented family, and did very well once again!

On the way to Crook we came across a creature neither Nathan or I am very fond of..Mr. Rattlesnake. Not just a little rattler, a BIG one! We hit it, on purpose, with the Explorer. After making sure it was dead, we put Nathan's hat beside it to compare.

After knowing it was dead-ha-Nathan measured him at 3 1/2 feet and robbed him of his rattles which added up to 14 rattles!

The other exciting news from last week is that we got Gunnar's proofs from his 3 month pictures! Oh my gosh they turned out SO cute, and I'm going to have such a hard time picking the ones I want framed!!

This week will be a short one. All week I will be getting laundry caught up and packed so that on Thursday we can head to the Hills for Jessica Painters wedding! My parents are coming from Iowa and meeting us in Spearfish, and after that wedding, we head to Pierre for Kit and Kayla's wedding! Nathan will have rehearsal on Friday, and the wedding is on Saturday! After that wedding, Gunnar and I are riding back to Iowa with my parents and staying for a week! Then on Sunday the 30th, my Mom is driving Gunnar and I back home to Buffalo, where she will stay for 5 days to a week! We're hoping my Dad can sneak out with us, but it all depends on what he has going on. SO phew! I am tuckered out just thinking about ALL of that! Then, we're into September, how is that possible? School starting Wednesday here, and archery antelope is already open-wow! Many more posts and pictures to come with fun weddings and memories!

Busy Times

This last week was a busy one! Gunnar & I went and rode in the truck with Nathan on Tuesday, while he was hauling hay! It was fun, and worked great, because the semi has a sleeper, so I could feed him in halfway comfort while Nathan was busy loading the truck again! You get to see different views and areas of the ranch that we don't go to very often! After riding with him that afternoon, I had Dresser Club that night, so Nathan took care of Gunnar for me. It was a nice 3 hour break, but no so much for Nathan. I guess Gunnar wanted his mama most of the night, and wasn't content until I got home! At least Nathan earned another new respect for me-hah!This is one of the nice views while out in the truck with Nathan...

Wednesday we went to the Hills. Gunnar had his 3 month pictures taken, and did pretty darn good. We only got a few smiles out of him, but at least he wasn't screaming his head off, right? We'll be back in October for his 6 month pics, and might even get family ones done! I love pictures, professional or mine, I just love them! We met up with Kit while in Spearfish, and it was great to see him. Him and his fiance' just bought a house in Belle, so we are SO excited to have them close to us, and can't wait for our future get togethers! After Walmart and other errands, we headed home, we were all beat!

Thursday night when Nathan got off work, we headed over to Jamie & Justin BROWNS ranch. They got married last night (8.8.09) so we went over to their house while they were getting last minute things done. It was fun to hang out, and Nathan's cousin was there visiting too, so it was great to visit with her! Gunnar was ready to go home, so we left around 9:00. Needless to say, he IS a scheduled little boy, just like his mama, so he was frazzled that his schedule was off. He was up until 11:30, making sure not to miss a thing-ha! Finally, he caved in and slept to his usual 6:00 a.m.

Yesterday we headed back to the Hills for Jamie & Justin's wedding at Besler's Cadillac Ranch outside of Belle Fourche. It was a beautiful outside wedding, but with thunderstorms moving in, after the vows were over and the couple announced, it started pouring! While everyone got inside, a beautiful rainbow was appearing, and it was a true happy ending! A big wedding, full of love, for two great friends! We'll be back to the same spot in 2 weeks for Jessica Painters wedding, which will be another fun time! We didn't end up finding a room in the Hills, since everything is full due to the Sturgis Rally, so we drove home last night. Needless to say, we didn't get a dance but got home around 11:30. Once again, Mr. Gunnar woke up, and didn't go back down until 1:45 this morning-yuck! We slept until 7:00 this morning and all just took an afternoon nap, with Gunnar still sleeping! Here we are getting ready to go across the bridge for the wedding, what a beautiful place!

What a neat place!

Jamie & Justin Brown 8.8.09
Jamie is so cute and little! I look like a giant compared to her! What a beautiful bride!

Later on today we have to go clean Continental, but other than that, a lazy Sunday! We hope that everyone is enjoying the last few weeks before school and new routines start up again! Hard to believe summer is coming to end!

Our week long visitor, Cullen!

Last year we had Nathan's little brother, who is 13, Cullen, come and stay with us for a week. We decided since he had so much fun last year, that he should come back this year! So last Sunday after Nathan got home from his bachelor party, Cullen came home with us! We had a week full of memories. From him getting to drive, put cows in, ride Rex for a bit, ride the four wheeler a bunch, play with the girls, trap some coons, help us clean Continental, hold Gunnar for me, and be my "Cullen, go get this for me" guy, to LOTS more, the week did go fast! With me being at home with Gunnar, it was nice to have another hand around, so I do miss having him here! And THANKS Cullen, for ALL of your help, since I know you are at the library reading this! ;)

Here's Gunnar & Cullen watching Open Season together! It was so cute when I came around the corner and saw this!

Another first for Cullen was eating Ribs! He had never eaten ribs!! He found them quite tasty! Ribs and Sweetcorn..YUM!
Last year Cullen learned about trapping coons. I've been trying to educate myself more on trapping, and even though this is only a live trap, the little stinkers are smart, so it's fun to try and outsmart them. We caught 2 babies, which are too darn stinkin cute to shoot, so we have our "Coon Relocation Program" for them, but the big buggers, they are who we target. They make such a mess out of everything, and with more than enough running around here, the few we trap aren't even making a dent in the population! Here we are with a big ol' coon! And yes, it was chilly out that night! While we were out there, a litter of coyote pups was howling in the distance.

We haven't had a picture of just US taken in awhile, so Cullen snapped one for us!

This week is full of events. Tonight I have Dresser Club, a time for a group of girls to get together, which is a lot of fun. I took Gunnar with me last month, but Nathan thought he might be home in time to take him for him. Tomorrow I am taking Gunnar down to the Hills for his 3 month pictures, I'm pretty excited for that! I'm crossing my fingers that he is our normal happy guy and not crabby! Thursday, Gunnar and I are going over to my friend Jamie's house to help her with some wedding stuff, since she gets married on Saturday! Nathan's cousin, Kelly will be there too, she is friends with Jamie, and we haven't seen Kelly in ages! Thursday night we will have to clean Continental, and then this weekend is Jamie's wedding! We're thinking of just staying in the Hills Saturday night, which would be nice, I get tired of running the road all of the time! So phew, a busy week ahead still! Nathan is busy stacking and hauling hay, so the end IS in site!