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Christmas Sledding, Mackay Style

January 16, 2017 by Allison

Its winter here.  Full blown winter.  It has been cold.  Not as cold as some places, but there is a point that cold is just cold.  But its not just the cold that has us knee deep in winter, its the snow.  SO MUCH SNOW!  Like, now that it has settled and been rained on, we are down to about 2 feet.

Yep.  Full blown winter.
….
Click “Read More” for the rest of the story!

But that’s mostly ok because we really need the moisture and this is the slow time of year anyway.  So except for the super, SUPER cold days, we are loving winter.  The Rancher takes every chance to go coyote and bunny hunting, snowmobiling, and the kids and I pull out the tubes and sleds every chance we get.  We have had snowball fights and built snowmen.  We have made snow forts and even had a herd of snow angels until they were snowed on again.

Its been lots of fun.  Most of the time I’m too busy being the mom immersed in the fun to take a step back to take any pictures (which I need to do for posterity’s sake) but I do have some awesome stories and pictures from sledding over Christmas break while we were in Montana with the cousins.

Even though the temperatures were hovering just about zero (when you were OUT of the wind) we thought we would pull out the sleds and four wheeler and have a go.  Because it had been so cold, the snow was really fine and powdery, even though it was nearing a foot deep. That meant snow was flying everywhere!  Spraying in our faces, going down coats and shirts.  So cold!  Most of the littles only lasted a few minutes outside, and I don’t blame them.  At the end there was only a handful of the big kids and then the even bigger kids, aka- the parents!  

And that’s when one of my brother’s had the idea to build a jump.  He’s an engineer so of course he figured out the math to make it a pretty awesome jump.  He figured the perfect spot on the downhill side, coming off the corner so that we would have the most momentum swinging around as we hit the jump.  After just a few runs I had to grab the camera to settle in to catch it all.  But that might have gotten me in a little trouble when the mom’s looked at just exactly what we were doing!

Have a look!

The super fine powder was everywhere when they would fly through the snow.  And I’ll admit, I got a little excited with it being backlit…

These kids would FLY through the air when they hit the jump!  Their feet would be above their heads as they sailed above the fence.  It was a pretty crazy site.

When I took a turn on the tube, my sister grabbed the camera and caught a few of me and my brother.  We went as hard and as fast as we could and didn’t come off.  But to save ourselves we had to let go so we didn’t run into the parked car at the bottom of the hill!

You can’t really tell, but this is my brother and his son.  They were riding side by side, but about this time, my brother ended up on top of his boy and then….

… they landed the jump like this!  It sorta looks like a bomb went off here…  So cool!

 I still stand by what I’ve said so many times in the past, ranchers are boys that just couldn’t stop playing… Now they have bigger toys and even more fun! 

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: My Montana, Off the Ranch, Our Winter Coat, Play Time

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About Allison

Hello! I'm Allison, The Rancher's Wife! There's nothing I love more than being out on the ranch with my husband and kids. Join me for a look at what goes on here at the ranch and the life being a rancher's wife!

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Hello! I'm Allison, The Rancher's Wife! There's nothing I love more than being out on the ranch with my husband and kids. Join me for a look at what goes on here at the ranch and the life being a rancher's wife!

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theidahorancherswife

Idaho ranch wife + mama 🐮🤠
Living on cattle, cocoa & kids running wild.
Daily ranch life, western style all with a side of dirt.

Doctoring a calf from the comfort of the warm side Doctoring a calf from the comfort of the warm side x side. 

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The 2027 Idaho Rancher’s Wife calendar is headed t The 2027 Idaho Rancher’s Wife calendar is headed to the printer. 🎉🎉
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When I married The Rancher, I don’t remember agree When I married The Rancher, I don’t remember agreeing to an official job description. But apparently, I’ve qualified for everything from personal assistant and feeding buddy to security guard and sorting-gate specialist.

The hours are unpredictable, the notice is usually nonexistent, and the benefits package could use some work. 😂

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More on the blog: The Ranch Wife’s Job Description. Link in bio!

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The cattle got worked + everyone kept their promis The cattle got worked + everyone kept their promise= another great ranch day in the books! 

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We see lots of cattle. Cattle on the range. Cattle We see lots of cattle.
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Cattle on the ranch.
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We see lots of tags.
Blue tags. Red tags.
Tags with numbers.
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It’s starting to sound a little like Dr. Seuss around here. 😂

But have you ever wondered what all those cattle tags actually mean?

The funny thing is, there isn’t one right answer.

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“Do I have to do it as good as you?” Our youngest “Do I have to do it as good as you?”

Our youngest asked me that after wrestling with a stubborn fence post one winter day.

I wasn’t sure how to answer.

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Raising kids on a ranch has taught me that high expectations and room to grow aren’t opposites. We can expect our kids to contribute, be responsible, solve problems, and do meaningful work while still giving them the time and grace it takes to become capable.

Sometimes that means pulling out the crooked fence post and trying again. Sometimes it means looking at a field of missed hay and asking questions instead of jumping straight to frustration.

The standard doesn’t have to change just because someone is still learning.

I think that’s true far beyond the ranch, too.

Today’s learner might just be tomorrow’s expert.

Full story on the blog. 🤎

https://theidahorancherswife.com/the-fine-line-between-high-expectations-and-room-to-grow/

#lifeonacattleranch #marriedtoarancher #ranchkids #ranchlife #raisingranchkids
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