Cattle drive

When Justin and I moved to Laramie we met some people that have come to be good friends of ours; Montie and Cheryl Munroe. They have a paint horse breeding and cattle ranch in Encampment, Wyoming. Every year about the 15th of July they drive 160 head of cattle from the ranch to the Colorado border on the national Forest. This was the first year that I was able to go (since I wasn't pregnant or nursing a baby).
So we met Grandma and Pop Pop on the highway and they took Natalie for a few days, then headed off to Encampment. The first day we start about 5 pm and drive the cows through some sage brush on mostly flat ground to the base of the mountain. Then the second day we start at about 4am and drive the cows straight up one side of the mountain, then straight down, and then strait up the other side, then along a dirt road for another few miles. Hunter was very excited to go, so we decided that he could ride along the road the last few miles. So he stayed with Cheryl for the day and rode around in the truck with the trailer and the other kids who were going to ride later in the day.
It was a long few days, but a lot of fun. We had a good group of riders who could keep most of the cows going in the right direction and out of the thick brush and trees. I hadn't uploaded all the pictures off of our camera before we left, so we only had 2 pictures left, so even after deleting some, we didn't get very many pictures. And I didn't get ANY pictures of the HUGE ups and downs of the drive, because I was too busy moving cows!

Hunter on King, Me on Rebel on the road the last few miles

(Justin and I traded off on Rebel for that last little bit with Hunter

because Luke lost a shoe)

Justin on Rebel, Hunter on King


Hunter holding King from the truck (he was

passing out drinks) on the first day

The view on the first day (with King's ears)



another view of the first day

P.S. At first I thought it was silly to wear the western shirts and cowboy hats, but they really do make a big difference! It was dusty and sunny and there were a lot of branches that could have scratched my arms, but I was cool and sunburn and scratch free.

Happy 4th Birthday Hunter!

Hunter turned 4 today! I can't believe he's already 4 years old. It seems like it couldn't have been that long ago that I looked like this:

2 days before Hunter was born (I can't believe I'm posting this)

One day old, the day he came home

One year old

Two years old

three years old

four years old

He asked for a gun, a Spiderman cake and a party. He wanted to have a party with his friends, especially since we are moving soon. When I asked him what he wanted to do he said that he wanted to have a water fight. Since our air conditioning is broken and this is what the thermostat in our house read, we said yes.

Yes, that is correct 83 degrees INSIDE

Hunter's Spiderman cake that I made

pictures from his party

Pictures from his party

Hunter filling up the water gun

Everyone in the front yard for the fight ( the pool is filled with warm water)

Happy birthday Buddy, Turbo, Bucko, Buckaroo! We love you Hunter!
(P.S. happy birthday to Whitnee, Beth and Pat too)

The 1st Walker Family Pack Trip

Justin grew up with two parents who were teachers and so spent a lot of time in the summers going camping and on pack trips. He had a dream of taking his own family on one since I found out I was pregnant with Hunter. Justin, his dad, and I went on a pack trip when Hunter was about 1 year old, but his dream was to take his kids and do something he had grown up doing and come to love.

Now since Hunter is almost 4 and Natalie is almost 2, we figured that it was time for the 1st Walker family pack trip. We planned for weeks and picked a place that was close enough that we could get to the camp site with only about 1 hour of riding. Grandpa Walker came along and brought a pack horse so we could take plenty of stuff. We soon realized how difficult it was going to be with two kids who are not old enough to ride alone. Hunter has been riding on his own horse with a lead rope and Natalie rides with me. But with three adults and a total of 6 horses it was a little bit of a challenge to get everyone loaded and up the trail. To make things more complicated, the two pack horses had never been packed before and Justin was riding a horse who had been gone for the last 9 months. But we made it in with no big problems.

We camped, we fished, we played and ate...then the rain started. Camping is great, but keeping two kids inside the tent to stay warm and dry is NOT very fun. Justin and Grandpa got horses ready for us and as soon as the rain let up for a bit Justin, the kids and I rode out. We made it out without getting wet, but Hunter had a little tumble. The horse Justin was riding got spooked by something and backed into the horse that Hunter was riding and his little hands and legs couldn't keep him on, so he bailed and jumped at the last second. He cried and cried and I was afraid that he was really hurt even though he landed on his feet and bum. When I asked him what was wrong he said, "I'm not a REAL cowboy, because cowboys stay on!" We had to laugh. We told him that real cowboys just get back on when they fall, so he did and rode the rest of the way out. Then Justin went back to help Grandpa take down camp and bring the rest out. It was a great trip, we had lots of fun, but I think that we'll wait until the kids are a little bit older to try it again!

Grandpa watching the fire

The family and I, of course, couldn't put down my plate

The horses tied up for the night

The two cutest kids ever

On the way out, ready for more rain