Ok before you yell at me, let me warn you. This post is LONG with probably more pictures than I've ever posted in a single blog entry.
You've been warned.
Let's begin.
For Labor Day weekend Matt and I decided to take advantage of the three-day weekend. Saturday we would head to his parent's house on the ranch. Sunday we would go to my parent's house for their famous Labor Day BBQ. Monday we would... be lazy. Bums. Completely useless. It was going to be great.
This blog post is about going to the ranch. I always make sure to bring my camera as I never know what will happen, but this weekend I went with the intention to document the ranch. I have to say, I didn't do the ranch justice. My brother-in-law and his boys stopped by for a visit as well so I took to taking pictures of them instead.
Sorry about that.
Anyway, here is my take on the ranch. Here is my little male model nephew, Hayden. When he runs, he stares at my camera. It makes for some pretty hilarious photographs. Not to mention he's adorable. Run Hayden, run!
Ah... boys. That's Robert, my brother-in-law (Matt's step-bro) and his two sons. Hayden is on his back, he turns 3 in November. The big smiler is his older brother Payton, who is 4. They're starting to play soccer but the game quickly turned into a wrestling match.
This is my mother-in-law, Lisa and her oldest grandson, Payton. He was a little warm and she took to sprinkling cold water on his face. Being a big fan of Spiderman, he has taken to climbing everything in sight, including the porch railing!
Awww, if I tell Hayden to look at me, this is the shy smile I always get. ADORABLE! Makes my uterus skip a beat.
"I think my uterus just skipped a beat"
Ok here's where it gets complicated. The older man on the right hand side of the photo? That is my father-in-law's (Matt's step dad) father. So he's my step-grandfather-in-law. Whew! He loves all the kids running around him and always has that sweet smile on his face.
Ah, my little model. His face is a little blown out from the light, forgive me for not editing the photo before posting them here. However, does this really look like a 2 year old?? I think this is a photo where we can see what he will look like when he's older. See that mole on his chin too?
*swoon*
Ok, I switched to the pups. This is the largest of the three male labs they have here on the ranch, Gus. He's got BEAUTIFUL golden eyes, and if I properly exposed this picture you'd be able to see them better. I'll do better next time, I promise.
Awwww Coop. His name is Cooper but I always call him Coop (I wonder if it bothers my MIL?). He was dead asleep with his head up against the house, but if you watched him his head would slowly creep down the wall into the pillow beneath him. Out of the three dogs, Coop reminds me the most of our boy Charlie. The shape of his face, the way he leeeaaaaans on you when he wants to be petted, and his jumpy little walk when he gets excited. They're practically twins!
And this is why I love my 24mm. The boys wouldn't stay still for a photo so I stood back and got most of the tree, and the sun flare. Ahhh the sun flare goodness.
I love this porch. I met Matt before they painted the house and remodelled inside and it was wonderful then, but when they repainted the porch everything was a vibrant red and white. Here's my hubby talking to his grandparents while the boys play out on the grass.
My in-laws own 15 acres of land in which they keep their cows. When the seasons change they may have to put the cows up in the hills while the grass here grows back in, but this time of year they're on their own property. They are strictly a Red Angus Cattle Ranch, but the grandparents have black angus. The last of their herd (5 mamas and 5 calves) has joined the pack until black angus is completely off their property (and my MIL can breathe again).
I have learned a lot about the cattle industry, but I still have a lot to learn. I can at least hold an intelligent conversation with the in-laws though, that is essential! Here is a view of their property from the end of their driveway.
You heard me. It's a long driveway. They don't own the trees that are in that pile though.
My MIL can't leave animals alone, one of the many things we have in common. About a month or two ago she found these two stray puppies at the end of her driveway and couldn't bare to let them go without food. So a few times a day she goes down there and throws dog biscuits at them. Here's the male out to check us out.
The gorgeous remodelled front of their home.
The view from their front porch. A cow and a bull were in the front pen. Their two horses, Cash and Paco, are in the pens furthest from this view.
Ahhh, #45. This is one of two bulls on the ranch (the one in the previous picture is to be sold soon). We don't deal with names anymore, MIL gets attached and then can't sell them. This cattle operation isn't commercial, many of them get sold for breeding rather than meat. This boy will make some very pretty babies in the years to come.
Ok this one is just because I think he's pretty. Look at those ears!! And those signature wrinkles above his eyes. This boy is so new he doesn't even have an ear tag yet. Based on his size he's probably only a few weeks old. He was curious though, and so was I. I've bottle fed calves before so they don't really scare me, but those calves can do some damage if they wanted to.
The other bull, numero 78. Also a pretty boy. He likes to act all tough and give me the "evil eye" but he sat there licking one of his girls faces in between posing for a picture. My in-laws don't just raise cattle, they raise gentlemen!
So that's it! I have a ton of pictures (400 to be almost exact) from that one day, but I had to pair it down to my favorites. Now I'm off to get prints of everything because I'm the only one in the family who takes pictures... and they all beg me to make prints and send them off. It's quite the job, but I like having a niche in this family :-) Until next time, y'all!
