So, let's just pretend like it's April 18th again....so we can say HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GAMMY!
We actually were with my Mom on her birthday, so she already got our greetings in person, but I wanted to share some cute pictures of her celebration...and of all the other fun that made her weekend "eventful".
We headed to Mineola last weekend (after waiting an extra day for AK to recover from her "fever virus") to help out with Mom & Ron's first "fair day" at the ranch. This is an event where you showcase your cattle and hope to make some business contacts, and even sell a few cows. (Mom and Cailee if you're reading this, I realize that I most likely did not explain that right, but what do you expect from this city girl? I'm learning...)Anyway, the whole event was family-operated....and most of this family is NOT born-ranchers. So, it made for some pretty funny moments. Luckily, we have Uncle Adam who grew up doing this kind of thing, so we relied on him and Ron for a lot of the "know how". The only thing us girls added to the whole thing was this:
...The beautiful table decorations. :) Adam had a good laugh when he saw that we were "decorating" for a cow field day. Apparently, that's not exactly the norm among ranchers. Ha ha. But, we sure did have bright colored tablecloths, flowers, and even live music for the delicious lunch that my mom (and friends) made. And, of course, many tough ranch guys came up and said it was the best fair day they had ever been to. So, I guess even cowboys appreciate pretty spring colors (even though none of them wanted to sit at the "pink" tables...Carlie would, of course!)
My favorite story from all the preparation time was from my dear husband. As I've mentioned before, I have been very proud of him for not only adopting many new outdoor hobbies, but for really, truly enjoying them. All night Friday night, the guys were tagging cattle, separating cattle, chasing cattle who had escaped, and getting every last cow ready to show the next morning (might I add, that alot of this was done in the dark...yes, it all took longer than expected.). Anyway, Mark was right in there with the ranchers & Adam, and was helping the best he could. One job that had to be done was tagging the calves. Adam happened to have experience in doing this, and although I wasn't there, I understand that he was quite the calf-tackling stud out there. Well, Mark decided that he wanted to try it. So, a rancher guy roped the calf, and Mark's job was to get the calf to the ground by using the techniques that Adam taught him. Well, he tried hard...but he ended up with the calf using his own technique, called the head butt. So, instead of the calf being tagged, Mark was tagged...right in the forehead by a calf. Poor guy. He has the wounds to prove it too. He's determined to try again next time around. And, I will be there to watch!
Meanwhile, back at the ranchhouse...Poor Mom was having a "simple" celebration with us girls, while the guys were being headbutted by gigantic animals. We ordered pizza, baked cupcakes,
enjoyed lots of chocolate (some more than others...)
gave her presents, 
and sang to her. Here she is blowing out her candles that were never lit because the guys had the lighter. :) 
Mom, I hope you felt a little bit celebrated in the midst of the craziness. We love you!!We hit the ground running the next morning (after finally going to bed around 1:30) to get everything ready to go. It really was a fun event, and we actually pulled it off, and hopefully even appeared to know what we were doing! Kendyll helped us at the registration table, writing nametags and giving directions to all the guests. It was pretty cute to watch her in action.
And, it was fun to get to sit back, chow down, and enjoy these guys playing their guitar & banjo after it was all over. 
We were also treated to a delicious catfish dinner by Papa Ron and Gammy after the hard work was done. And, needless to say, we all slept really well on Sunday when we got home!
(Is there anything better than wet-from-the-bath pictures? And, could she look any more like Carlie?)
and a whole lot of cuddling with her...
We got to have Braden and Avery for part of our weekend, and had the best time with our little family of seven. We even braved TWO restaurants with five kids. We decided that five under the age of six is a handfull, but entirely too much fun when they are nieces and nephews that you don't get to see enough (and that you get to give back! ha ha). It was pretty fun to watch people's faces when we walked in somewhere, as they mentally calculated how in the world we could have that many toddlers. I'm sure we were quite the sight. And, actually, when Adam and Cortni came home, we did the calculations. And, scary enough, we really COULD have a 6, 3 1/2, 2, 1, and 2 month old in our family. CRAZY!! 
I have to admit, the cuddle time sure did make me miss having a baby around here. :) But, don't worry, we'll just continue to borrow someone else's. Cort and Adam, your kiddos are PRECIOUS. Jodi and Cassie, when are the other cousins coming for their camp time??