The Nice Weather Never Lasts Here!

It is not fit for man or beast out there right now. The windchill is only -25, but I would swear it was -50. My face is beginning to thaw and it is painful. I went out to sort out a mess that the horses created last night by opening a gate to the yearling bull pen. Instead of fixing it last night when the weather was decent, I put it off until this morning. I should've paid closer attention to the forecast. Needless to say, it is done and I put Copper and Mighty Mouse in the barn. I figure the 38 year old horse and the one witnessing his first Canadian winter definitely deserve a place out of the wind. The others will make their way back to the bush to seek shelter.

Today is hockey day and reading log, so I plugged the truck in when I went out. I need to get to town to the grocery store, but that may have to wait. They are giving blowing snow and poor road conditions on the radio. However, I can make it to reading log and hockey with only driving on about two miles of pavement.

With not much else going on, I thought I might just post some pics I've taken the last couple of days.


A True Canadian Birthday Party


Race on the Pond




Sunning


My Sweet Little Mare


38 Years Old


Armstrong Pork

Chinooks!

The worst part about winter in Alberta , or I should say one of them, is that the weather man gets you all geared up for warmer temperatures. Well, in order for those warm temperatures to happen, the wind has to blow gail force out of the west. It is beautiful outstide right now until you step out from behind the shelter of the trees and buildings. I had big plans to ride in all the deep snow. It doesn't look like that is going to happen.

Tuesday was Jessie's school ski trip to Canyon Ski Hill. It is only an hour away. It has one chair lift, a t-bar and a tow rope. It is a perfect place to take kids who are learning. Out of the 100 kids in the school, seven stayed behind. The kids all take morning lessons and then get to ski until 2:00. We had a lot of fun. Jessie is getting to be quite the little skier. I have to tell her to slow down every once in a while. She is getting enough confidence to ski straight at someone standing at the bottom and blow snow on them when she stops. It's all fun and games until she doesn't get the stop just right. She was getting on and off the chair lift by herself as well. The only time she fell is when I tried "helping" her. I did get an earful a couple of times.



Kelly is hauling hay, so I've been busy entertaining myself today. Now, I realize some of you might think this is a mean thing to a weiner dog, but he wanted to follow so I let him. He's in the house laying in a sunny spot now. Not to worry, no animals were harmed or lost in the shooting of these pictures







Well, it's back to work now. Have a good one.

Happy New Year!

I hope that this is finding everyone's New Year going well so far. We all made it home safe and sound from Texas. We even had decent weather to welcome us. I'm not saying it is overly warm or anything. It just isn't blizzarding. We even took Jessie sledding on Sunday.



Christmas in Texas was lots of fun. The best was Cita's Christmas surprise. Bobby was not impressed at all, but thanks to the Harkey family, Sarah and I have a place to celebrate Christmas next year. Betsy assures us that no gifts are required. Nestor, the long eared Christmas donkey, is winning over hearts quickly. Even the braeing has made Bobby smile a time or two. We are sure that this is a Christmas gift that will keep on giving. It has given Cita a job, Jessie something to play with while in Texas, Bobby one more thing to grumble about, and Kelly and Sarah endless ass jokes. Kelly was not allowed in on the surprise. When we asked him if he could keep a secret, he said "NOPE!" Chase felt this was quite unfair that he was punished because of Kelly's loud mouth and did not get to see Nestor before Christmas morning.

Needless, to say, Sarah and I owe the Harkey's a big Thanks for helping us pull off Operation Christmas Ass. They hid the donkey in their barn for a few days and Logan, the donkey whisperer, gentled him down a bit. If anyone ever needs assistance in the donkey area, I highly recommend Harkey's Mule Barn.


Christmas Day, of course, we branded calves. Chase held off going to his family Christmas, so he could brand at ours. Poor guy has no excitement in his life. Kelly taught him to brand and was very impressed with his abilities. I am hiring Chase as my replacement. He did not get yelled at once. So not fair! If you are going to get the full Armstrong/Byars branding experience, someone needs to get yelled at.

And of course in true Byars family tradition, why not end the holiday with shooting something. We gave a donkey for a Christmas gift, we branded on Christmas day, so Bobby and I completed the holiday season by killing a pig. You might be a redneck.....!





Now, the holiday excitement is over. We are back to the grind. Jessie has hockey practices two days a week. I have hockey games at least once a week (we don't practice). Kelly is wanting to ivomec today, and I'm trying to talk myself into riding a horse or two. It is barely below freezing, but I'm still finding it tough to get out there. The novelty has worn off of snow.

Best of Wishes in the New Year!

'Twas a Week Until Winter...

And school was cancelled because it was -30* this morning with windchills of -45*. However, as luck would have it, Jessie has spent the morning throwing up and only one waterer was frozen. LOVELY!! It is supposed to warm up to -11 tomorrow with windchills of -25. This means buses will run and there will be hockey practice.

Kelly spent last week in Vegas at the NFR. I stayed home to do chores and take on dance recitals and hockey tournaments. Cita came up to help out. Luckily, the weather was nice while he was gone.

Jessie has been busy wrapping up dance class and playing hockey. She had a tournament last weekend and was extremely pleased to get a medal. She even scored her first goal. It was more of a deflection and she didn't even realize it. She is really enjoying hockey and is getting to be a good skater.






Other than that, life is pretty much routine around here. Kelly is out doing chores as I type this. I went out this morning to check on my horses. They were surviving the cold, so I came back inside. Today, I get to bake cookies for school and clean house. WooHoo!

Weaning Calves!

I'm back. Sorry I'm not keeping up with this very well, but the fall has been so beautiful that we rarely spend a day inside. However, that should not be an excuse as it is getting dark at 4:30 and as I'm typing this at 8:00 am, it is not quite daylight. This, I do not care for.

We spent the day weaning calves and preg testing yesterday. Now to some, this might be a low stress everyday job. When you add 75 mothers of bucking bulls into the mix, it turns into complete chaos. They are upside down, backwards, and inside out going down the alley. I had two near death experiences when posts came flying at me. Seeing that our pens have to be somewhat higher than the average cow/calf operator, these posts are about level to the neck when they get kicked out from behind a cow. Vets, along with wives, are not easily talked into showing up on this day either. We have a vet drive an hour to come. He is the only one brave enough within this distance. He showed up yesterday and strapped on a backpack, some kind of virtual glasses, and wielding a wand, he proceeded to preg check cows. Now, if that isn't the answer, I don't know what is. It sped up the process and he wasn't risking his life for near as long by doing it the old fashioned way.

Kelly was, of course, in his usual high stress, temper flaring mode. He threw one of his famous screaming cussing fits because he let a few cows through forgetting to Ivomec and let a couple more go the wrong way. I sit back on the alley walkway and laugh to myself, of course, at the vein popping out in his forehead. I truly believe that sometimes you get what your deserve and the universe will act on this in strange ways sometimes. As he is throwing one of his fits, the side bar on the squeeze comes undone and falls and hits him right square in the top of the head. I restrained myself from laughing out loud and even bit my tongue. This may surprise some of you, but that is hard for me to do. It would have been best if it had knocked him out and the vet and I could have finished in peace. No such luck. However, it did mellow him a little bit.

Last night when I came in the house covered in blood from dehorning a couple of cows, snot from being hooked at through the fence, and the excretions from the opposite end of the cow, I told Jessie to get dressed and brush her hair. When asked why, I told her because dad is taking us out to eat tonight. She broke the news to her dad the minute he stepped in the door. He dared not argue. After a quick shot of Crown with very patient vet, we headed into town.

Jessie is full swing into hockey. She is skating very well. Stopping is another thing, but that will come. She played in her first game on Saturday. They won, so she was ecstatic. Next weekend, they play in a tournament in Stettler. They are so much fun to watch. There are kids as young as four. The last game, one of the little girls got tired, so she crawled on her hands and knees back to the bench and the coaches had to lift her off the ice. Jessie played goal twice. She stands right inside the net. Even if she stops the puck, the other team is going to score.

Well, that is the excitement in our life as of today. I am headed out to catch horses for the horseshoer. I found out last week that Legend has navicular, Lucky has a sore suspensory, and last night the vet was looking at Chula and said she was trying to grow a club foot. Now would that not be just my luck. So, today I am having a horseshoer to the wagon burners come out. I think if he can fix all the problems on the chuck wagon racing circuit, he can surely deal with these problems.

Have a super day!

Trick or Treat!!

Halloween is over and the sugar high keeps going and going! I'm slowly throwing away candy so as not to be noticed. However, I do eat the homemade popcorn balls. I would hate for those to go to waste.

Hannah Montana cruised the streets of Big Valley with Raina while we followed along behind. This is the first year I can remember that the Halloween costume did not have to be pulled over a snow suit. There wasn't even snow on the ground. It was beautiful. Of course, there are a few houses that we hit where Jessie gets special treats. So, there is no shortage of junk food around here.





The weather has been amazing here when the wind hasn't been blowing. I got three horses ridden yesterday and never put on a coat. Now, that is weather I can live with. Kelly is hoping it stays like this because I'm a little easier to tolerate.

I better hit the road for now. It is supposed to be warm again today, so we have a big day planned of doctoring calves, dummying bulls, and getting some horses ridden.

Winter It's a Coming!

Once again, I have to apologize for my lack of blog entries lately. It seems that the pace of life never slows around here. It only gets faster. October is flying by. We have spent the last week getting cows closer to home. Kelly and I brought the Angus cows home yesterday. The Lone Ranger opted to ride his trusty steed Silver, so I picked the most broke horse we own because I knew he would be absolutely no help. Not to my surprise, I was right. As the cows were trying to elude us in a willow patch, he was riding around the outside telling me what to do. One willow branch nearly lodged in my thigh, laying flat as I could to get through the bush, I emerged successfully with the bull and cows I went into get. Solo! No help from the self proclaimed boss of the operation. As I was loping up a hill covered in dead fall and bush, I realized how nice it was to ride a quiet horse for a change. There was no spooking, no hump in the back, nothing. For a minute it was boring, then I nearly stepped on two deer. They jumped up and headed out. Nothing, not even the slightest reaction. If I had been riding anything else, I would have been a goner. Luckily for Ray Hunt, I spooked them off before he came along later. We went on to sort and load without incident. No one got hooked, chased, run over. Nothing. At the end of the day, I came to the conclusion that I love Angus cows and broke horses. It leads to less stress and definitely fewer screaming cussing fits.
No protrusions of blood vessels across the forehead, which around here is something of a blessing.

Jessie has been doing quite well with her hip hop class. They are dancing to the Lean on Me remix. She definitely has her Saucy's dancing ability. Of course, practicing with her ipod in front of a mirror has helped tremendously. Kelly just shakes his head and grumbles. He nearly had a meltdown when she asked me to take the princess picture off of her CD player so she could take it to school. He asked why she didn't want the princesses anymore, and the reply was...."Uhh Daaaaaad, I'm too old for princesses now." His blood pressure sky rocketed leading to vein protrusion in the forehead. I'm quite sure by the time she is 16 well will be visiting him in a home where he is not allowed to handle silverware without supervision.

So, this wraps up the life of the Armstrong's lately. Tune in next time for more experiences of life in the North.

I'm Still Alive!

Yes, I do exist. However, with this Indian Summer we've been having, I tend to stay outside and busy. The weather has been absolutely beautiful here the last two weeks. Winter will be here soon, so we've been roping every afternoon and getting everything closer to home.

Kelly found a new truck this week. Thank Goodness! Truck shopping is painful. I get the question, "Well, what do you think about this one?" It looks like another truck to me. I don't know the difference between a Detroit, Cat or Mercedes motor. Nor do I care. Why should it make a difference to me if it is 18 speed or 13 speed. I can't drive it. Nor do I care to. We ended up getting a Freightliner just like the other one, which is good I guess. We can use parts from the wrecked truck on this one. Kelly's happy with, so I don't care. Jessie thinks it's "awesome" because she got her bunk beds back plus a refrigerator. She requested a flat screen be installed. Kelly told her that might be asking a little much. She is no longer allowed to watch the truck makeover show on CMT.

Kelly is at the Canadian Tour Finals this weekend in Calgary, Jessie is off to the grandparents, and Bossy's Blues are back on the ice for their '08/09 season. Due to the fact that our team is aging and we lost the youngest member, I foresee us attending our first team funeral this year. It could be mine seeing that we play two games today and one tomorrow. There have been 0 practices and only one girl on our team exercises more than just her drinking arm. We are bound for glory. Let me tell you.

Well, I better get on with it. I've gotta go tape my stick and sharpen my skates. Have a good one.

Jessie's Birthday!

Saturday was Jessie's 7th birthday. I know it is very hard to believe. Of course, she decided on a slumber party. So, I mumbled and groaned, allowed only four invitations, and got a room at the Ramada. Yes, you heard me, the Ramada. It was the best idea I have ever had. They swam for an hour and a half, finished off a large pizza and half of the birthday cake and then swam for two more hours. I'm quite sure the waterslide has never seen that much action. The best part about the whole weekend was leaving the mess for someone else to clean up, and I came home to a clean house. I'm not even denying the fact that it might have been a little selfish. I did make the cake myself, so I feel that makes up for it.

Today was picture day at school, so this morning, of course, there was quite the drama over what to wear. As I'm sitting on the floor in Jessie's room, I hear a noise. I looked under the bed praying that a cat had snuck in at some point. My biggest fear is a mouse in the house. I would probably have to move if this happened. I creeped around the bed toward the scratching noise as bravely as possible. The sound seemed to be coming from the box of Legos. Ready to freak out at any moment, I peered into the box and just about succumbed to cardiac arrest when this was looking back at me.......




I'm not sure what the hell it is. Better yet, how did it get in my house and into a Lego box? I think it's a salamander or a gecko or something. Being the brave man of the house, Kelly got some toilet paper and picked it up and we put it in a plastic box with some grass. Now what? I do not know. I think these things are meant to live in the tropics, and right now it is far from that here. I guess he hasn't heard there is snow forecast for next weekend. Jessie said her principal has lots of stuff like this. She was going to ask him if he wanted it. I hope he does. I'm pretty sure he won't make it through the week here.

Back in The Swing of Things!

Day 1 of School

Well, we made it home from Texas with no major catastrophes which is new for us. We could hardly believe it. Jessie made it to school on Wednesday at about 11. She only missed the first six days of school. She was glad to be back and shocked at the fact that 28 desks could be crammed into her classroom. There are only about 100 kids in the school and 28 are in Jessie's class.

Day 2: Jessie picks her own clothes

Since we have been home, it has been business as usual. Of course day 1 of school, the horses are loaded as soon as the bus leaves and off we go to bring yearling bulls home. Well, that went wrong in every possible way. By the time we had two horses in full lather, we had four bulls in four different pastures and were headed home, which was still seven miles away, in the rain.

We called in backup before we got home. We had two new horses tied in the barn drying off when we got here. They got saddled and away we went to get the renegades. We got two roped and drug in the trailer. One was nowhere to be found, and another just brushed up and got away. So, 50% around here isn't too bad. We did find the other bull yesterday, so now we are waiting to find someone willing to put their horse through that to help.

Saturday, we got to bring recip cows home. Jessie went along for this trip. It was only 5 miles, so she and Legend plodded along with us. I'm sure if Legend could speak he would have been complaining as much as Jessie. However, I have learned that you don't take Jessie riding without a saddlebag full of food. So, she rode along and ate strawberries and drank a juice box not caring that we were 1/2 a mile behind the cows. I think by Saturday afternoon, Kelly was figuring that I was done, so I got to go to a barrel race. Believe it or not, Kelly even went. I see him being lynched if he ever goes to another one. You shouldn't maybe laugh out loud.

Last night we dummied 23 of our own yearling bulls and 21 for another guy at our house. I got a new camera, so I sat around and took pictures.

That is all I know for now. I'm off to install a closet organizer which I have already determined, after drilling six holes in the wall of my closet, that the instructions that came with it are way off. I know it is not my precise measurements.

Conversations With Jessie.

So, we've been watching the Olympics around here every night. Jessie loves the gymnastics. The other night we were watching the men's diving. Kelly and I were commenting on a low score given to one of the divers, and Jessie pipes in saying, "Maybe if he wore a boy's bathing suit instead of those panties, they would give him a higher score."

Last night, as we were watching the recap of the Olympics, they were talking about table tennis. Once again, Jessie lets us know what she's thinking. "Ping Pong as an Olympic sport! You have got to be kidding me! Ping Pong?"

You never have to wonder what is going on inside her head.

The Road Goes On Forever......

As per usual around the Armstrong hacienda, something has to go wrong. Thankfully, yesterday, it didn't go as wrong as it could have. Kelly and I got up and sorted bulls so he could begin his 14 hour trip to Kamloops, B.C. Jessie and I opted out of that. He left here at 8:30. At 10 I get a phone call. I've been in a wreck, I'm okay the truck is @#$%ed. Someone crossed the center line in a minivan and hit the truck right under the door then bounced back and hit another SUV. Miraculously the driver of the van, after being flown away from the crash, only has a concussion and some broken ribs. Everyone else is fine. One bull had to come home. He is still up and around this morning. We are not sure what is wrong with him, but he definitely has a problem. Kelly borrowed a truck from a friend who came to the crash. He hooked on to his trailer and hauled the bulls to an auction mart to unload. Finally, at 4:30 yesterday afternoon, he left. He said they got there at 5:30 this morning. Needless to say, we have something to be very thankful for today. Kelly definitely had a guardian angel with him yesterday. As for the Freightliner, I believe she is going to pass on to truck heaven. She will be missed by all.

Kelly gets home Monday. We are hoping to leave Wednesday for the NBBA finals in Fort Worth. I'm working on all the paperwork to get the bulls across the border and trying to get my paperwork done for my permanent resident card that I have to carry to cross the border and not get deported. It expires in November, and I should have done this a long time ago. It isn't a quick process. I'm mailing them my itinerary for our flights in December in hopes it will give them some incentive to get it done in less than their usual time frame. Jessie cried and said she's not going when I told her we had to drive to Texas. This is going to be a pleasant trip. We have to make it straight through because there isn't too many places to unload bucking bulls between here and there. Jessie is also missing the first week of school. Not good, but such is life.

Jessie is going to Saskatchewan with her grandparents this weekend. Kelly's sister turns 40 and our niece is trick riding at a rodeo, so the whole family is gathering in Maple Creek. I get to stay home and care for an injured bull and try to get packed to head south.

Jessie's friend, Hailey had a tea party for her birthday the other day, so the girls all dressed up and put on their jewels and went for a tea party. They looked beautiful and had a great time. It was so good that they called that night to ask if they could sleep over. Jessie and her best bud Raina showed up at noon the next day looking exhausted and still wearing the party dresses.

That is all I know for now. I am off to town to get a passport photo taken and secure my spot in the Great White North. Have a good one, and hope to see some of you in the next couple of weeks.

Harvest Is Upon Us!

It is 10pm, the tractor is still running and the silage wagon is pulling in and out of the yard. The neighbors are helping Kelly cut silage. Actually, they are doing all the cutting and Kelly is packing the silage pit. I even did the farmer's wife thing and fed them supper in the field tonight. It was complete with homemade sourdough bread and peach cobbler. Talk about the domestic housewife.

The fields are already turning yellow. I've heard rumors of leaves already changing colors in places. A friend of mine who lives about 15 miles away told me that on August 2nd, the hose leading to her horse troughs had ice in it that morning. This, I do not find humor in. Summer is not long enough here.

Because we were going to silage this week, we thought we'd take Jessie out and take her picture in the barley before it got cut. She was none too happy about this, but the pictures turned out great.

We were in Olds for the rodeo this past weekend. Jessie got to play with her friends Cooper and Charlee. They are the pick up man's kids. They set up barrels and roping dummies and terrorize rodeo clowns, cowboys, and innocent bystanders. Barrel racers despise them.

Well, that is all I know for now. It is bedtime on the farm!

What Year Is This?

Could it be 1978 or is it 2008? You could never tell from the cap he insists on wearing that he found in Shane's basement.

A Little Summer Fun!

I took a few pics yesterday of Jessie outside. She had the sprinkler under the trampoline and put dish soap all over the trampoline. Talk about fun. I'm sure we broke every rule in the owner's manual. Heck, I bet they haven't even written one about dish soap. However, she had fun.



Yesterday was Ella's birthday, so Kelly went to town and picked her up. He took her for a drive and then brought her out for supper. We had steak, pasta salad and ceasar salad, made from lettuce out of the garden. I made Saskatoon/Raspberry Cobbler using Peggy's awesome recipe. It was so good. I can't even screw it up. Oh and the Saskatoons and Raspberries came out of the backyard as well. I think Ella enjoyed herself. We didn't get her back to town until 9:00.

While she was here, Jessie had to show her how she could ride a bucking horse. Ella thought it was so funny, and the horse was beat.







We met Kelly's sister in Brooks today and dropped Jessie off. She is staying until Tuesday she says. They are finishing up the visit with a trip to the amusement park in Calgary.

Still Chasing the Dream!

Hello all. Sorry it's been so long, but this hectic summer schedule is keeping us on the road. I'm pretty sure Jessie hates rodeo more than any child. She is asking for golf clubs for her birthday. Not necessarily a bad thing.

We have put on two NBBA three year old bull derbies this summer. One being at our house. Not fun. Thankfully, Sarah was here to help. We have one more to go in two weeks. These wouldn't be near as bad if I hadn't been volunteered to secretary all of them. I hate that job. Hopefully, we will be headed to Fort Worth with a trailer full of bulls for the finals and come home with an empty trailer. Sell! Sell! Sell! That's our motto.

Kelly took a trailer load into town this morning to the sale and informed me we are dummying more tonight to see what else can go. He sometimes gets in one of these moods and a lot of bulls go missing. Not necessarily a bad thing either.

The cows are all turned out and we've been putting bulls out lately. So really, there is not too much exciting happening around here. Sarah did get to witness first hand the dealings with our cows. She was standing in the middle of the road trying to help us turn them in the driveway when they crawled the fence into the neighbors barley. I'm pretty sure Kelly threw his fencing pliers across the road off his horse, yelling words not to be repeated in polite company, faster than Chase can throw a fast ball. Anyways, two hours later and one wrecked barley crop, we got them back home. The last one did have a rope around her neck. The barley was so tall that it was up to Kelly's knees and he was riding Wiley. I was riding Chula and it was up to my hips. I told Kelly there were places I had to drop my reins and part it with my hands to see. The wind was blowing and the waving barley nearly made me sea sick. Don't laugh. I had the same problem riding in the ocean in Australia. You have to look at the horizon. Anyways, Kelly called the neighbor and explained to him what had happened to his barley. It was renegade heifers not crop circles.

Well, that is about all I know for now. I'm off to look after sore horses who are ruining all my great plans of doing nothing but roping all summer.

Have a good one!

Another Day In Paradise!

Well, we are now halfway through July and it has barely been summer here. Everyone is talking about silaging and harvesting. I'm so not ready for that.

We had a great visit with the Harkey family last week. We are so glad they finally made the trip up. They got to witness the Armstrong luck while they were here, as the washer flooded the basement. Poor Logan had to vacuum up water with Kelly and Betsy spent her night preparing supper for the rest of the company that was coming. Thanks again for all the help ya'll. We did take them to Calgary one day, so they didn't have to work the whole time they were here. We also took a tour of the Hudderite Colony. That was interesting. I'm over there a lot, but I have never really been into all the different areas. Kelly wants to join the colony. I'm still a little hesitant about wearing a polk a dot dress and head scarf and cooking for 125 people. Not to mention giving up my driver's licence. Women aren't allowed to have those. I think I'm safe for a while. I won't worry until Kelly starts trying to grow a beard and learns to speak German.



We also had a visitor from Australia. Nicole is a friend of Roudy and Angeline's. We had a great time with her as well. She brought pics of Roudy and Angeline and kids. They appear to be doing well. The kids are getting big. Nicole was also great help to have around. Coming to our house is definitely not a vacation.

We made it through another Calgary Stampede. The bulls bucked good, but the best part about it is that it's over. Talk about a rat race.

Jessie went to a roping and riding event at Stettler the other night. Before it even started, she fell off her horse. Talk about unhappy. We convinced her to get back on and I led her through the events. Not cool. I'm too out of shape to be doing the poles on foot. I'm not sure what events all took place to lead to the crash, but I heard several stories. She says he didn't buck but he took off with her. At first the story was she got bucked off, now she jumped off. She is definitely her father's child. She then told us how stiff and sore she was the next day. You can definitely tell she has witnessed some pile ups lately. She knows how to tell the story.



She was back on the next day and chasing steers up the return alley for us. However, she says that is it for Legend. She is waiting until Mighty Mouse gets better. We'll see about that.

That is really about all I know for now. We are back home for a few days, so it is
as they say, "Head Down, A@@ Up" until the truck heads out again.

To What Do I Owe This Pleasure?

As per usual we were at it again today. Our victim this time was a yearling bull that Jessie has named Mango Tango. He just happens to have foot rot in a pasture with no pens. Our only option being to rope him, we embark on our journey. Kelly leaves first at a high lope on a young horse. It is seven miles to the pasture and he figures by the time he gets there, the buck will be out of him. Jessie and I load up our horses, the beef bull, a late calver and a salt block and head out a little bit later. Halfway we run into Kelly and a tired Hooch, so we stop and pick up the dog and leave Kelly on his merry way. After taking care of the beef cows, we head up to the next pasture full of yearling bucking bulls. Once again, I choose to ride a broke horse, so I am the resident roper. I head out through the bush going full bore, and Kelly and Jessie stay back. The chase gets quite heated and Jessie's horse is getting to be a bit much, so Kelly decides it would be best if she went back to the trailer. She, by the way, has the medicine bags tied on her saddle. Meantime, I dislodge myself from the bush and find the bull out in the open again. He heads for some scrub brush and I am in hot pursuit. I get a rope on him when he turns around to hook me. Now, I am not close to the trailer. I can't get to the cell phone in my pocket, so I'm screaming at the top of my lungs for Kelly to hurry up. He grabs the vaccine gun and LA and kicks old yeller into a lope. Within three strides Kelly is bucked off. I can see this all happening, so I hang on to the bull assuming Kelly will get up and get back on. Well, when I see Jessie climb out of the truck and standing over him, I toss the rope and head back to the truck as fast as I can. I was really genuinely worried. Really I was. I get over there and he is trying to get up and swears he just got the wind knocked out of him. After a little discussion about what to do next, I took his rope and headed out again while he put his saddle on Jessie's horse. We searched high and low through the bush for this bull. After Kelly says forget it, he walks out of the bush in front of us. Kelly hands me the medicine and takes his rope and gets him roped around the horns. I jump off and grab my rope and dally up to choke him down. We finally get him treated and on his way grasping for air himself. A job completed.

As we are riding back, I asked Kelly if Jessie was scared when she saw him on the ground. He said, "No, she just walked over and said, "Daddy, should I call 9-1-1."" Now that's our baby.

Kelly said if he had only known he was going to get bucked off this much lately, he would have kept riding bulls. At least he would be getting paid for it.

So that wraps up another day in the life of an Armstrong. I promise I do not make this stuff up. As Kelly likes to say, "We are chasing the dream and living the nightmare."


Based on daily activities around here, I wrote this:


Dear God,

I hope this letter makes it through your Pearly Gates
Cause I don't know how much more I can really take

You see that prayer you answered
'Bout how I want to live

Well, God I've changed my mind
This cowgirl life I'd give

To the lowest bidder who first walks through this door
This cowgirl life is killin' me
I hurt right to the core.

Stretch marks, calluses and wrinkles aren't all they're cracked up to be
I dare not even mention that bruise from my ankle to my knee
From where that bay mare bucked me off for the branding crew to see.

Today, I roped a yearling bull and as I got my dally
I saw my husband get piled up off a bronc you'd swear was Cool Alley.

I dropped my rope and hit a lope back to where he lay.
Our little girl was standing over him asking, "Daddy, are you okay?"

Lord, the reason I'm sending you my letter of resignation
I do believe it is this ex-cowgirl's obligation

You see God, when I rode up and saw my husband's neck not broke
All that I could worry 'bout was that yearling.
He was wearing my brand new rope.

First Day of Summer Vacation!

It's finally here. Jessie made it through another successful school year. Now on to 2nd Grade. She is growing so fast. Today she helped weed the garden for 30 seconds and then helped gather the roping steers. One cut back and she headed out on her own to go get it. She stuck with that longer than the weeding. I can't imagine why. We were going to practice poles and barrels for her first playday today, so hopefully the storm will pass. She is quite worried about the goat tail tying. She wants to practice by tying Hooch at one end of the arena since she doesn't have a goat.

It is raining again as I type. We got back to the barn and unsaddled just in time. A thunderstorm blew in. We are under a severe thunderstorm warning right now. We desperately need another hail storm. Uggghh! I guess it would put my garden out of its misery. I could quit weeding it, and I wouldn't have to worry about the rototiller that I ran the tiller off of yesterday. Biff is going to be mad at me when he has to fix that, my weedeater that I somehow wrecked and Kelly's chainsaw that the chain fell off of. He must know how well things are going here because I haven't seen him in a week or so. Kelly and I had to mow the yard ourselves. Heaven Forbid. For those of you who don't know Biff, I am attaching a picture.



Friday was the field trip to Drumheller and the Royal Tyrell Museum. If you like dinosaurs, you need to visit this place. It is amazing. I, however, couldn't care less about a dinosaur. It is neat to see how they recover all the bones and fossils though.



That is about all I know for now. I suppose since it is still storming, I should get supper on it's way. Hopefully, after supper we can get back to riding. I left the horses in the barn, so they would be dry. Wishful thinking.

Let Me Bring You Up To Speed.

Well, it's been a while since I have been on here. I have to apologize, but it is summer and life is hectic. We come home from one rodeo long enough to do laundry and head out again. It has rained off and on all week. If it isn't raining, I am mowing.

Last Friday was Jessie's track meet at school. Now there is some excitement. All four of the first grade girls competed against each other, and I was their fearful leader. When I finally snapped on one at the high jump for telling the other one she was always the loser, the teacher came over to see what was going on. I assured her all was well with the world it was just a little bickering amongst the girls. She looked at me understandingly and said "I like to call it the hyena gene." Regardless, we survived. Jessie brought home lots of ribbons. She tied for first in the high jump and I think she won the ball throwing contest. Her high jump technique is one that olympians should adopt. It was priceless. There were people lined up around to watch. Of course the pole was right at the top of the mat, so that made it even more funny.


We were in Marwayne on the weekend for the rodeo. Jessie took her horse and we camped out like real stock contractors would. Poor Legend was sick and tired of trotting up and down the arena with a wannabe trick rider on his back. He handled it quite well though. If I had only known that my barrel horse was the perfect kid horse, I wouldn't have spent real money on Jessie a new horse that happens to be crippled right now. What is it they say? "If it weren't for bad luck....."

I secretaried the bucking bull derby on Thursday night. I don't know why anyone in their right mind would want to do that, especially if their husband is a contractor. Most people have terms of endearment for each other like Honey, Dear, Babe. Not here. I'm sitting in the announcer stand, and hear "Wife! What the hell just happened there?" I stepped kindly out of the back of the announcer stand and we proceeded to have a bit of a domestic due to the lack of communication between the ground crew and myself. You see, they drew the second round without letting me in on it. That is usually something the secretary needs to know. He was just lucky I didn't feel like limping down the stairs and beating him with his yellow hotshot he was waving all over the place.

The rest of the week has been kind of a blur. I remember mowing a lot and framing lots of pictures. I even did some of them twice after it rained in the shop one night. I'm considering medication for the twitch I have due to the lack of anything going right.

We bucked a few bulls on Tuesday night between rain storms. Kelly has found a new, young victim who can be talked into getting on young bulls. I'm sure the novelty will wear off for him like it has the others.

Kelly went to reading log on Wednesday because I was busy trying to get some pictures done for this weekend. He said Jessie's teacher makes him look at the floor when she speaks to him. Now this is funny. He did get in trouble for wearing his cap in the classroom the first time he went. I'm surprised he even went back.

Jessie and I helped gather bulls this afternoon. Jessie headed out and was right in after them. I had to head off to get one that was trying to sneak away, and she held in there and pushed the others like she was supposed to. I had to tell her a few times to back away. If one even sneezed within ten feet of Legend, he would spin and head out. I'm pretty sure this would not go over well with his new jockey. However, he's not to blame. He has had a few close calls in his life.

Speaking of close calls. You will all be glad to know that the blood is slowly moving down my leg and settling into my ankle. The swelling isn't as bad this week. Kelly made the comment that maybe in a couple of weeks I wouldn't look like I have gangrene. Nothing but compliments around here.

Tomorrow, Jessie and I get to go to the Royal Tyrell Museum for a field trip. This is a world renowned museum. It contains a huge collection of dinosaurs. Jessie is very excited. I actually am interested to see it as well. We also get to visit Reptile World. I will get pictures posted sometime in the next six months I'm sure.

So, now that I have everyone up to speed on the trials and tribulations of being an Armstrong this week, I need to get some sleep. Oh and I am posting some pictures in a slide show because I was having trouble getting them on here. They are of Jessie's High Jump, her and Legend, and some of my latest creations.