Farewell Cruel 2015

Here it is the end of the year....finally.  2015 was a bit of a trying year for many reasons  and although we came through it relatively unscathed, we're glad it's over.

The bad luck started during calving with the freak Easter weekend storm.  Not that we're not anticipating or preparing for bad weather during calving; we just hope that we don't have to endure any too severe.

Then in April we had the scary shop fire.  see blog post here

May brought seeding, but no rain to go with it and the grass didn't take off because of the lack of moisture and cold temps.

In June we lost our unborn grandchild which put a damper on everything else.  And, still not much rain.

In July we got rain......along with a bunch of hail that totaled out a lot of our crops.  We had several thousand acres that we didn't even harvest.  We have land spread 35 miles east to west and nearly every acre was hit.  My brother, ever the smart one, said we need to start expanding north and south.  J leased some land on the Canadian border and it was hit also so I guess heading south is our only option. see blog post here

August brought the short and depressing harvest.  It's always my least favorite month anyway.

In September we finished the harvest (or cleaning up the mess).  M was contemplating seeding winter wheat but just wanted the crop year to be over so couldn't bring himself to make it happen. see blog post here

In fact, he needs to start making plans for next year and can't quite get into the right frame of mind for it yet.

By this time the cow/calf market had tanked.  Thank goodness we had contracted MOST of our calves in June for a price well above what it was at shipping time in October.  Shipping is always stressful no matter how smoothly it goes.....hmm, has it ever gone smoothly?!  see blog post here

By November I remember M saying "we still have two months of this year to get through?"  see blog post here
That was about the time he came home after the umpteenth day of fencing and said that he discovered his post pounder had an automatic shutoff.  Really?  "Yep, when I can't lift it over a post anymore I know it's time to quit".  Hmm....

And then, Kyle Busch won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.  Talk about NASCAR depression!!

Finally, we made it to December and through December with a great adventure to cap off the year. see blog post here

We really do have a lot to be thankful for and appreciate what we have and who we have in our lives.  It is just a lot easier to be positive on some days than others.  That's why I plan to do a journal and/or jar to each week add a note with a good thing that happened.  I saw the idea on Facebook and thought it was a great one since it's too easy to focus on the bad things that happen....and in our business there seem to be a lot of those!

It's been a good week for me since I've been spending time with my favorite littles.

Happy New Year from our family--the people I love most.


 

A Great Adventure

We have had such a nice fall that M and R have gotten so much work done.  Lots of fencing and building of windbreak.  I swear the place is starting to look like a fort!  I was actually almost hoping for some bad weather so we could do something else (I said, almost).  Finally, the the time arrived for the trip we had been planning so off we went to Vegas, baby!  I was definitely ready for a vacation.

We were supposed to see Merle Haggard on our first night there, but he ended up in the hospital so we went to the rodeo instead.  We had to find seats at the last minute and they were really great seats--lower level to the side of the bucking chutes.  The rodeo was excellent!  The next night we went again.  Our seats were upper level but still good.  We went dancing at the rodeo after party one night and to Gilley's the other night. 

The next night we went to see Brooks and Dunn and Reba McEntire who were awesome.  I've always been a big fan of Brooks and Dunn so was happy I got to see them. 

We met friends afterward at the rodeo after party and stayed out a bit too late so the next day was kind of low-key.  We went down to Fremont street and wandered around and then rode the zoom line.  That was really fun.  I've always wanted to zip line.

From there we went to Arizona to celebrate my mom's 90th birthday.  All three of my sisters were there and one of my brothers.  We were supposed to go on a hot air balloon ride on Saturday but the weather didn't cooperate so we went bowling instead and then went out dancing.  On Sunday we had cake for her at church and then an open house at my sister's house.  It was fun to meet her friends and put faces to names. 

The crew of favorites

The perfect cake--so many books, so little time.

From there we went to a Christmas concert put on by my sister's choir.  She made sure I sat where I could watch the harpist.  I've always wanted a harp and have vowed that some day I'll have one of my own!  I love Christmas music, and it really helped put me in the mood for the holiday.

The rescheduled balloon ride was rescheduled again, and by then two of my sisters had gone home.  The only reason I was thankful for a late flight home.  It was a pretty cold ride, but it was memorable and so fun!  Entry and exit was a bit interesting, but we discovered that Mom is pretty agile for a 90-year-old. We are so blessed to have her in such good shape mentally and physically.

Me and my mommy, waiting for our ride.

Ready to go!

The view from 4000 feet

Cheers! We did it!

The weather was unseasonably warm when we left home, but winter arrived while we were gone.  There was a big storm the day before we got back to Billings so our pickup was covered with snow, and the roads home were a bit interesting, but we made it home safely.  Junior was so glad to see us--as we were to see him!  That's the worst part of traveling, leaving the dog behind.

We've been enjoying the Thievin Seven Days of Christmas this week with M's family.  It's a bit cold so today is a good day to hang around the house enjoying some hot cider and some down time and talk about our great adventure.