widow maker rides again

December 31, 2009- I guess instead of Widow Maker rides again it should be Pecos rides Widow Maker again. He's been having lots of fun riding his new pony. Today he brought me his chaps, boots, jacket and wild rag and said "I'm ready to ride my roping pony. Let's go pen some cows." The cows are actually our cats- a white one and a black one- which he calls his Charolais cow and his Angus cow.

The sunglasses were a last minute addition to the outfit as we walked out the door. She still looks a little on the heavy side but believe it or not she's lost about 15 pounds since her arrival here at the ranch. Casey says Pecos' riding style is a loose rein and a sharp spur. Pecos has asked to ride with his spurs but I don't think either one of them is ready for that yet.Here's another photo of our Top Hand.

naked cowboy

December 29, 2009- Pecos got a toy guitar from Oma & Opa for Christmas. I needed to vacuum the rug in his room so I set this horse up on his bed to get it out of the way. Next thing I know, Casey had finished giving Pecos his bath and then Pecos ran in the room naked, jumped on the horse and started playing the guitar.

Anyone need a singing naked cowboy for their next party?

christmas 2009

December 25, 2009- We had a great Christmas this year visiting family in Louisiana, then back home for Christmas day and spending the following week home working on all sorts of projects around the house.

Pecos had fun with MiMi and Paw Paw in Louisiana. The shop in the background is not the remnants of a hurricane. It is new construction on a shop for Paw Paw, which Pecos thinks will be his new play space. We'll see.

Pecos made cookies for Santa and insisted that Santa's milk be served in the boot mug from Germany. Santa left his boot prints in the fireplace ashes. Mighty big boots there, Santa.Number one on Pecos' list this year was a roping pony. And Santa delivered. This is the roping pony that Pecos named Widow Maker. This photo was from his first ride on a very cold Christmas day. Santa did good, but the postal service let him down on delivery of tack in time for Christmas. So we had to make due with whatever we could find to fit this pint-sized pony. After this ride Pecos dismounted and declared "I'm the World Champion!!"Then Casey decided since the pony's name is Widow Maker she ought to be ridden like a bronc. Did I marry Casey Tibbs or Casey Worrell? At times like these I'm not sure.Number two on Pecos' list this year was a boot shine machine. He got acquainted with such a machine on our trip to Germany. Two days after our return we took him to see Santa where he announced he wanted one for Christmas. And since Pecos was such a good boy this year he got just what he asked for. I think it is the first request from a 3-year old for a boot shiner that Santa has ever heard.Other Christmas fun was a gingerbread house that Pecos thought served much better as a 24-hour candy buffet than holiday décor.And a Happy Birthday cake for Jesus.We finished the holidays off with Worrell family Christmas on the 30th and Pecos now has enough toys and gear to get him through another year.

adiós tejas, hallo deutschland!

December 2-9, 2009- Our trip to Germany was fantastic and sort of quasi-National Lampoon's European vacation style. The logistics of getting there were challenging with a cancelled flight and a newly renovated Frankfurt airport that has the rental car counters hidden in the depths of an underground abyss. But once we worked through it we were on our way to sausage and sauerkraut.

Here's some highlights from our trip:

Which one is the nutcracker? Pecos enjoyed serving as navigator...good thing we had a GPS.
We were packed like sardines. If our rental car had a luggage rack we would have used it, but instead this is how we loaded up. We had to stop shopping because we were out of room.

We managed to find just barely enough snow to build this tiny snowman. Look very closely and you can see it.

Pecos with Oma and Opa on the train ride to see Neuschwanstein Castle. Riding on a train has been a lifelong dream for Pecos.

A photo of all of us with the castle way in the background. Pecos was sleeping and wouldn't wake up for the photo.

We ran into St. Nicholas at the Christmas Market in Munich. Pecos took the cookies from his angels but wasn't too sure about ole' Saint Nick.

These two were the only cowboys in Germany...go figure!It only took them 20 minutes on our first day to find a cow. Pecos wanted to know if he could rope it.

Since we couldn't get ESPN in Germany to watch the National Finals Rodeo, my two cowboys decided to demonstrate it for the locals. First on a pig.Then on a lion.The national snack of Germany- a pretzel. With a pretzel in one hand and a doughnut in the other Pecos fit right in with the locals.Casey couldn't resist the chance to participate in a local Christmas tradition- Gluhwein, a warm red wine served in a boot mug. It was disgusting and after this photo he tossed it out.

This is how Pecos spent the 10 hour overnight flight to Germany.

And this is how he spent it on the way home...not an overnight flight.

turkey day...and then some

November 26, 2009- Pecos had a great Thanksgiving holiday. We read books about it and tried to teach him about being thankful. At MOPS he had a craft with a turkey on it and his teachers wrote down the things he said he was thankful for on the feathers. Pecos was thankful for Momma, Daddy, Ice Cream, Cowboys and the PBR. All the talk of Pilgrims and Indians must have got him thinking because he asked me if there would be Indians at Oma's for Thanksgiving. I told him "only your dad and Uncle Duke."

Mimi and Paw Paw came to visit and spent some time spoiling Pecos. We went to the lighting of the German tower and Christmas tree at Marketplatz. We hope to see more of these towers next week while we are in Germany.Then we took in a horse carriage ride.

And what would Thanksgiving be without hunting? Paw Paw shot this nice 8-pointer.

a cowboy goes to the dentist

November 18, 2009- Cowboy Pecos was due for a dental exam and cleaning. I was not looking forward to it based on his last exam, if you could call it that, right before his
2nd birthday. We left that appointment with a paper that told us how many teeth to expect, barely a glance in his mouth and one unhappy cowboy. So it was time to find my little cowboy a new doc.

Leading up to this appointment we read the Berenstain Bears and Little Critter books on going to the dentist repeatedly for a week. Pecos' biggest concern what that he would have to wear a bib and he was 100% against it.

When we walked in there was a big horse to climb on in the waiting room. Things were looking up. And the hallways were painted with horses and the whole place was decked out in cowboy decor. Pecos was right at home.

Next up was x-rays and he aced those. Since he didn't have to wear a bib he was up for just about anything. And he was promised an extra special prize when we got home if he was a well-behaved buckaroo. He was a star and even let the dentist check all his teeth, clean them and paint on the fluoride. She said Pecos was so good she let him pick 2 prizes out of the prize box. Such a hard decision for Pecos but he picked rubber snakes! I couldn't believe it. Never in his short life has he ever shown an interest in bugs, lizards or snakes. Dirt- you bet, but never the creepy crawly things.

When we left the dentist Pecos said "I didn't have to wear a bib! And I had no cavities!" Next time he goes he'll see the hygienist and I think there will be a bib involved....hope he's over the anti-bib movement by then.

if the shirt fits

November 2009- Pecos and I went shopping recently and he insisted on this shirt. At first I thought I'd stick to my guns and not give in to his demands. The more I thought about it I realized, if the shirt fits, wear it!! Ok, so that is not exactly the cliché but I thought it sounded funny.That's right, Pecos is going to be a big brother. I'm due May 30th. Yes, I'm feeling fine and no, I haven't had morning sickness but I have battled bronchitis and a stomach bug. Yes, we were surprised and yes, we are thrilled. No, we don't know if it is a boy or girl yet but we do intend to find out. Does that cover it?

Two days after we informed Pecos of his big-brother-to-be status it was his turn to be the reporter for the day at school. Keep in mind Pecos is only at school two days a week so his turn to be reporter only comes up every 4 or 5 weeks. Of all days, it had to be his day. And this is what he reported. So there you have it, another ranch hand will be added to the gang and we wanted you to know!

P.S.- please don't send Pecos a cow for Christmas unless you also intend to send feed for it for life!

halloween derby

October 31, 2009- And they're off in the running of the Halloween derby! Well, not exactly, but that's what our little jockey thought. He's been anxiously awaiting the day he could wear this costume ever since the stick horse races on the 4th of July.

Pecos hit up the community Fall Festival to celebrate Halloween. He had a great time with this little bull fighter- his best buddy, Jace.After the event we hit up a few houses for trick or treating but Pecos started to feel bad- he's getting the crud I've had for the past week so I guess it is off to see the doctor on Monday. We ended the night early and put our tired little jockey to bed. Happy Halloween!!

happy fall, y'all

October 2009- It has been a busy fall so far. We started the month out with the completion of our little construction project- a concrete slab for an eventual carport and a patio for the backyard. And lucky for Pecos, the workers left behind a big pile of dirt. What's more fun than a pile of dirt? Pecos has spent many hours in this dirt pile.

And why just stand on it when you can lay on it and slide down? Clothes get much dirtier that way.
Plus those workers left behind a big mess to clean up. Nails everywhere! So Pecos did his part to help clean them up with a magnet.

And of course this clean up took place after yet another play session in the dirt pile. Have you ever seen such dirty feet?
We spent the day out at the 3C Ranch with the Walber's. Jace is always happy to give Pecos a ranch tour in his jeep. Pecos is always happy to ride along and has no interest in doing the driving.
Casey performed a few roping tricks. The boys loved it.

Then they tried their hand at calf roping. Pecos is signaling he has tied up the legs.

After all that roping the boys went in search of Indian artifacts- arrowheads!

Pecos left his mark in a cactus petal.

Next up- Pecos took his first big field trip for school. It was off to the Pumpkin Patch in Medina. He really likes to ride the bus.
The kids made a pomander to take home. He wasn't too sure about poking cloves into the apple.

It was double trouble- Pecos and Jace- which two are the turkeys in this photo?
The boys spotted a tee-pee and went in search of the Indians. Since they didn't find any Pecos told me they were out hunting buffalo- of course!
Off to the hay maze. Pecos was not quite pleased with the arrangement of pumpkins and did a little re-arranging to line them up to his approval.
These two had to be moved.
Okay, this is much better over here.
Oh wait, this one needs to be moved too. It was just a little too big but he gave it a good try.

These did not require moving...Pecos just sat on them.

Can you tell how much fun he had?

And finally, what do you do with a pumpkin? You pick out the most difficult pattern from the carving kit for dad to make!!!