Bachelorette Party Begins ...

June 3, 2017

After the branding dinner ... the ladies were getting ready to celebrate Alana’s friend ... (Paige) ...

Bachelorette party ... 

All the kids were so excited when the Limousine arrived ...

They were allowed to go inside and check it out inside ...

Of course ... the boys had to pop there heads out of the sunroof ...

The ladies were ready to party ... a night out in the city ...

 Oh boy ... could be trouble ...!!!

And ... they’re off ...!!!

The guys all gathered around and enjoyed the evening ...

while watching all the children ...

The kids had a great time ... playing games ... watching movies ...

just having fun ...

It was getting late and I was ready to go back to the house ...

The grandchildren were rounded up ... and we made our way home ...!!!

Tomorrow was going to be another busy day ...!!!

 

 

 

Branding Day ...

June 3, 2017

It was going to be an exciting day for the Knight family ...

A new experience for the kids ...

It was branding day at Alana’s friends ranch ...

There were so many helping hands for this day ...

The kids were taking it all in ... waiting for the action to begin ...

Nathan paired up with one of the guys ... to get down and dirty ...

holding the calves ... while the others treated them ...

The kids were mesmerized watching the activities ...

The kids got tired of watching ... and headed out in the field to play on the hay bales ...

Then while the calves were being separated from the cows ...

the gang had to stay up on the fence for safety ...

As the calves were rounded up ... in the corral ... one got away ...

and Nathan captured the calf and carried it back ...

The horses were resting after rounding up the cows and calves ...

The kids were able to sit on the horses ... they were loving it ...

Alana was with one of her friends ... holding a sweet baby cowgirl ... 

There were 2 calves left ...

Craig wanted to try and wrestle down and hold a calf with his dad ...

He had a lot of guidance from the bystanders ...

Craig did a great job ...!!!

Craig also wanted to experience riding on a calf ... 

Once he was finished with the calf he was holding ... he went to the other one ...

and waited for that crew to be done ...

 

The team held the calf and guided Craig on the technique ...

to make his way onto the calf ...

AND HE WAS UP ...

“Hold on Craig” ... yipeeeeee ...!!!

 

Oh my ... whoa ...!!!!!

the calf has won ... Craig was on the ground ...

Whatba trooper ... he was up and smiling ...

It was a short but good ride ...

Way to go Craig ...!!!!

The boys went back to the tame horses ...

learned how to mount and dismount ...

as well as taking the reins and going for walk around the corral ... 

They loved it ...!!!

The calves were released back to be with the cows ...

They were all rounded up and taken out to the pasture ...   

The rest of us were all heading back to the ranch house ...

to enjoy a fabulous meal ...

of “Fried Prairie Oysters” and roast beef dinner with all the fixings ...

A good days work for all ...!!!

 

It was quite the experience ... 

and it brought me back to the days ...

when we used to have brandings in our area ...

with all the families and friends getting together ...

 

 

Tom’s 40th Birthday ...

June 2, 2017

We arrived at Alana’s brothers 40th birthday party ... 

oh my goodness ... everyone was dressed up in costumes ...

from the 60’s...!!!

Tom was dressed up as Elvis ... and he played the part well ...

Alana was looking pretty cool ...

Not quite sure who Nathan was ... but it was a hoot ... the kids wanted to try on daddy’s wig and beard ...

They were hilarious ...!!!

We had brought flowers for Alana ... congratulating her on graduating from college ...

Elvis was having a great time with the kids ...

Alana’s family posing for pictures ...

Oh oh ... looks like Elvis got into trouble ...

The families were having a blast ... posing for pictures ...

The kids and I stayed for dinner ... and the gift opening ... 

It took a few people to keep Elvis busy in the house ... so that the gift could be brought outside ...

and for Elizabeth (who was dressed up in a shark costume) to climb into the box ...

Colynne and Jessica-Lee managed to keep things well hidden ...

Tom wasn’t sure what was going on ... when he came outside ...

Elvis decided to play a few tunes before the shark jumped up out of the box ...

 

He was bombarded with silly string ... everyone was laughing and clapping ...

He was still unsure of what was happening ... until he was given an envelop with a letter inside ...

While reading the letter ... he all of a sudden stopped ... he was in shock ...

He was given a trip to be up close and personal with “SHARKS” ...

He was so surprised ...

 

It wasn’t long until we were all singing Happy Birthday and the “shark theme” cake was served ...

This party crowd was getting a little rowdy ...

The kids and I decided that it was time to head back to the house ...

and we would have our own party there ... playing games ...

watching movies and munching on popcorn ...!!!

 

 

 

Heading East ...

June 2,2017

Mike and I headed to Alberta ... I was spending the weekend with the grandchildren ...

and Mike was heading to the town of Mossleigh ...

for a weekend Trap Shooting Tournament ...

Nathan and Alana were at work ... so I gathered up the gang ... 

and before we left the ... the kids received a little gift from my friend Dagmar ... a special clip for their iPad cords ...

We drove into Okotoks to take Craig to his Art Classes ...

then James ... Ella and I ... went to go shopping at Costco ...

The two of them were a big help ... part of the time ... until we were in the toy and outdoor sections ...

They could not resist sitting in the huge chair ... 

Two hours of shopping and playing ... it was time to pick up Craig ...

We ended up going to the park ... to wait for Nathan & Alana ...

as we were going to a birthday party ...

The kids had a blast ... almost making me sick ... with all the spinning ...!!!

We decided to go for a walk along the river ...

and of course stopping to pose ...

so grandma could take a few pictures ...

 

A Day to Celebrate ...

June 1, 2017

It was a special day for Alana ...

this was her Commencement ceremony at Mount Royal University ...

Congratulations on receiving your diploma ...

“ Bachelor of Business Administration”

We are so proud of you and what you achieved ...!!!

 

An evening of celebrating with the family ...

 

 

Wood ... Then Pool ...

May 31, 2017

Another day of getting a few loads of wood ...

On our last trip down the hill ... we blew a tire ...

Guess there was a little too much weight on the truck ...

We were able to drive it into the field ... where all the logs were stacked ...

Mike then nursed the truck up to the shop and changed the tire ...

The ground was so soft  that there wasn’t any damage to the rim ...

After Mike was finished with all his jobs ...

He decided to go for a swim ...

It was still a little to cold for me to jump in ...

Mike pushed the solar blanket out of the for now ... we were waiting for the straps for the blanket to be delivered ...

The pool reel will be installed later ...

Mike enjoyed floating around the pool ... it was so relaxing for him ...

after busy day ...

 

 

Let’s Surf ...

May 19, 2017

Daigen and Nixon couldn’t wait to hit the waves ...

Ian and Kendall decided to take the boys surfing for the weekend ...

with the Waves of Impact group ...

It was also Kendall’s birthday so they decided to celebrate it with the boys ...

in Galveston ...

The boys had a great time surfing ...

Chilling out on the deck with mom & dad ...

after an awesome day of surfing and playing in the water ...

 

Happy Birthday Kendall ...

happy you were enjoying your weekend ... !!!

 

A New Light ...

May 29, 2017

Today we were going to install a new solar light for dads special place ...

I went into town to bring mom out here for the afternoon ... it was dads day of birth ...

On my way to town ... I was brought to a stop...

when a gaggle of geese were crossing the dirt road ...

We decided to take the quads up to dads ...

This was the first time mom has gone for a ride on my quad ...

She was surprised how comfy it really was ... 

Once we arrived up the road ... we stopped and hiked up to the top of the mountainside ...

Mike proceeded to install the new light ... we decided to get a flat solar light ... 

as the animals kept knocking done the other one ...

We loved the new light ... a glimmer of light that can be seen from down below ... 

When we were finished with the light installation ... and made our way back home ...

Mike fired up the BBQ ... to grill up some burgers ...

It was a beautiful day to enjoy our meal out on the deck ...

of hamburgers loaded with all the fixings and a bean salad ...

The best part for me ... was the fresh Rhubarb pie for dessert ... 

looks like Oma was happy to sink her teeth into it as well ...

We spent a lovely afternoon together ... !!!

 

After our dinner ... I drove mom back into town ...

It was wonderful to spend this special time together ...

On my way back home ... making my way up our road ... 

I spotted a turtle on the side of the ditch ...

I stopped the car and took a few pictures ... 

and continued to watch as it made its way into the grass ...

 

 

 

 

Loading Logs ...

May 27, 2017

Another day of getting firewood ...

We decided to just cut cants and stack the logs in the field ...

to let them dry ... we would buck them up later ...

We were on a time frame to get the logs off the wood lot ... Mike cut the logs into 9 foot sections ...

Thank goodness we had the tractor to do the heavy work of loading and unloading ...

 

After we cut and stacked a couple loads of logs ...

I ventured down to the garden to start planting seeds ...

I love seeing the apples blosoms on the trees ... 

There was a few wasps loving the blossoms as well ...

It was time to get the seed potatoes planted ...

in the potatoe boxes ...

The growing season has begun ...!!!

 

 

Pool Opening and Firewood...

May 25, 2017

It was a stay at home day ... time to open up the pool ...

Mike brought all the tools needed to get the system running ...

The winter cover removed and we were ready to start filling the pool with water ...

It usually takes a few hours to fill it ...

The water level was reached ... all hoses connected ... it was time to start it up ...

With the warmer weather approaching ... it won’t be long before we’ll be swimming ...

 

May 26, 2017

Today we decided to get out onto the wood lot and start getting firewood ...

Our neighbour who had finished logging in the area ...

had set some stacked logs aside for us ...

We met Larry and Rosa getting their wood supply as well ...

With it being a beautiful Spring day ... I guess they had the same idea as us ...

The woodshed was empty ... so we stacked the green and dry logs in the back ...

where they have time to dry before we needed it for the winter ... 

It was a very productive day ... feels good to get a start on the firewood supply ... !!!

 

 

 

Gone Fishing Again ...

May 24, 2017

We had arranged to go fishing with Rod and Nicole earlier in the week ...

this would be their first time out on a boat and fishing ...

We had left our boat at Premier Lake after the long weekend ...

Even though it wasn’t a very nice day ... we had to go pick it up ...

We decided to leave the camper on the truck ... just in case the weather turned on us ...

and we needed a dry ... warm place ...

We had a great time ... it was a real learning experience for them ... they were so happy to catch some fish ... 

They would love to come back sometime and go again ...!!!

We were getting cold ... so it was time to go ...

Rod offered to help Mike load the boat on the trailer ... Mike backed the truck down the ramp ... 

Rod put on the hip waders to avoid getting wet ... the water was cold ...

Mike drove the boat unto the trailer ... it was tricky with the wind and waves ...

I was grateful Rod was there to help out ... !!!

Our original plan was to have a fish fry at the park ... but the weather turned nasty ... so we decided to drive home ...

and cook them up there where it was warm ...!!!

Mike and Nicole decided they needed some martinis to warm up ...

before dinner was ready ...

We ended up cooking the fish in foil on the barbecue ...

I had penne noodles with pasta sauce and corn on the cob ready to be heated ...

a quick salad was made and we were ready to have our dinner ...

Once the dishes were cleared and kitchen cleaned up ...

Nicole and I relaxed with our drinks in the living room ...

while the guys spent their time in the hot tub ... 

 

It was a busy ... thrilling day ... and us ladies were tired ...

We ended up going to bed early ...

Rod and Nicole were leaving early in the morning for home ...

 

We had a wonderful time and totally enjoyed their visit ...

hoping we can get together again ...!!!