Blog - The Idaho Rancher's Wife

Growing a Kid Crop, Growing a Calf Crop

January 11, 2017 by Allison

2016 will go down as a big year for The Rancher’s Sidekick. It’s amazing how fast kids can learn and grow and change. This boy went from baby to a boy overnight. I know, that’s not how it actually happens , but when you are the momma you just can’t let your oldest grow up. But then one day you wake up and he is going to school and totally ok without you. And then he comes home from school and he can read and write and likes girls and he just isn’t the same kid you sent out the door.
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Click “Read More” for the rest of the story!

Obviously school wasn’t the only place he was growing up on me but at home and on the ranch too. Can I just say how amazing it is to finally have a kid that can help out around the house?! My kids have doing chores and helping since they were little (in our house everyone helps in the home and on the ranch as soon as they can walk… not really, but young… I believe in teaching my kids how to work). But The Rancher’s Sidekick can actually really help now. Like do a job on his own. And not like the I’m-doing-my-chores-but-mom-really-does-all-the-work-because-I’m-too-little-to-do-a-good-job kind of on his own.

Can you tell I’m pumped?

This may be as freeing as potty training!

Ok, I may be dramatizing things a bit, but it’s so nice to have him growing up and able to have a little responsibility and him handling it so well. Proud momma here.

And then there’s the growth he’s had on the ranch. There’s a reason I call him the sidekick because he goes everywhere with his dad. In fact, this last summer, he would wake up early to make sure that he wouldn’t get left behind. There were very few day that he didn’t go about to work with The Rancher and stay out there all day. And he wasn’t just a tag along but actually helped get the work done. I couldn’t believe the stories he would come home telling about his adventures throughout the day. In fact, I would sit there, eyebrows raised at The Rancher, when I would hear about how he had pushed the cows all alone out on the range. It seems just like yesterday I would have to go with him if he wanted to ride and now all of the sudden he isn’t just riding by himself but pushing his own herd of cows! Of course, The Rancher would smile and beam with pride at his growing boy and slowly my heart would slow down and I could see that our boy really was growing up and he is becoming someone I am so proud of.

Now, it complete transparency, he is still a typical little boy that is currently in big trouble for not listening to his momma. And he absolutely drive me crazy with all the boy noises, farting, burping, and how he torments his sister. But, as we are all a work in progress, I can’t help but be so pleased with his progress.

Ya know, on the ranch we are all about growth- we’ve gotta get out calf crop BIG. We select genetics to grow big calves and to have cows that milk well to grow big calves. We have genetics to have calves that grow big out on the range and desert and genetics to have low birthweight calves that will gain fast. We supplement our cattle with protein and mineral to help with nutrition to grow big calves…. Its all about growing big calves! At home we are worried about growth too, but less about physical growth and more about what kind of people our kid crop is becoming. We want to see them grow into hard working, responsible, caring, and committed people. We want them to grow into people that

So far, I think we are doing pretty ok!

Range Weaning Out to Black Pine

January 9, 2017 by Allison

Not being a local girl to southern Idaho, its been pretty fun for me to hear and learn little bits of the history, especially the fun tidbits that relate directly to the family, the ranch, or the land we run on. And since the family has been around for more than 100 years and we run on like 50,000 acres (ok… I don’t really know how much land it is, I just made that up… but its a LOT) of public ground, there is a lot of history there. History ranging from the construction of the transcontinental railroad to the wagon ruts from the Oregon Trail to the local Indian tribes that lived in the valley.
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Click “Read More” for the rest of the story!

We summer our cows in the Black Pine and Juniper mountains and just above our ground at the van Colman is the old Black Pine gold mine. When I first heard an out the mine, I pictured an 1849 old prospector panning for gold in the stream, finding his fortune a nugget at a time. But of course that was wrong because there aren’t ANY streams crossing through Black Pine and I don’t think the mine was open in 1800s. The mine was open more recently, like 1990s recently. Crazy, huh?

How cool that only 20 years ago guys were saying that they were gold miners! That sounds more like somebody’s alternate life not a reality in this life… super cool- not that I wouldn’t want to do it, but super cool for someone else to do. The idea of going underground in a dark creepy mineshaft just does not appeal to me! Maybe that’s still picturing the old prospector kind of mining and not the modern machinery mining…

Back in the day, when The Rancher was just a little buckaroo, they used to take school trips out to the mine and check out the operation in progress. Being the kid he was, he was totally in awe with the equipment- loaders so big the entire school could fit in the bucket! (remember, we have a small school out here so its only like 30 kids instead of 300…). As they would tour around they would get to see them blasting the hillside. It was actually more of hearing it than seeing it as it was pretty far away, but still super cool for any little boys that enjoys demolition! And then to top it all off, they could see the final product of it all- gold bars.

Unfortunately, the mine is shut down now, not so much from a lack of gold but more to the financial troubles the company had… So all that’s left there now is a few old shafts and remnants of the old mining carts and tracks, just memories of the old operation. I always wonder how much more gold is down there, especially with new technology and innovations. Maybe if I wasn’t a busy rancher’s wife I could be a gold miner. With the way cattle prices have gone recently, maybe a little diversification wouldn’t be a bad idea!

Confessions About Truckers…

January 7, 2017 by Allison

I have a terrible confession to make…. Growing up I had a very narrow minded, very terrible perception of truck drivers. There… I said it. And the sad thing is that it was an opinion I formed in the first grade that took me YEARS to change.

I very vividly remember my little 6 year old self sitting around a table with a few of the boys of my class hearing them say that all they wanted to do when they grew up was to drive semi. Now, if you please, imagine a very cute somewhat bossy, sassy, darling and very opinionated little girl that was sure that the only dreams worth living were her dreams… that’s me. In my mind, the only guys that drove semis were fat, stinky single fathers that drank and smoked and were on the road so much that their own mothers had to take care of their kids. It was like they couldn’t get a job at home and the only thing they could do was drive. I took them for failures and therefore anyone that drove semi or wanted to, were failures at life too. Pretty terrible right? At the time I didn’t think so and so you can guess that when I heard these boys I was absolutely baffled why someone would want to choose a life as a failure, destined to be stinky, lonely, and fat from sitting on their rear all day.

Great opinion, huh? Remember I was 6!

Fast forward 14 years and all the sudden there I was marrying a man that loved semis just like those boys, and although he didn’t want to be a truck driver all his life, he did love the opportunity to haul cows in the semi. Eek! I kinda couldn’t believe it and I really didn’t ever want to admit that my husband did such a thing. But after riding with him those first few years, my opinion drastically changed.

Having an up close view of just what it is like in driver’s seat helped me realize that first, driving semi isn’t easy and isn’t for the faint of heart. That moment when you have to pull your rig across the highway, stopping all lanes of traffic to get turned around to get backed into that tight spot to load up just about makes me pee my pants… And I’m just the passenger! And speaking of backing up, can you imagine backing up a 50 foot trailer a quarter mile when you struggle to back up your car 10 feet?! I seriously thought truck driving didn’t require a brain but then my mind as BLOWN watching The Rancher drive.

Being the wife of an occasional trucker help to debunk the all-truckers-are-fat-stinky-losers myth pretty fast. I mean, with a wife as awesome as me, how can you NOT be rocking life?! Haha… But seriously, The Rancher’s character of being an honest, hardworking, giving, God-fearing family man easily proves that truckers are great men too.

Do you hate me? I seriously had a terrible perception and really discredited a lot of good men (and women!) with my shallow stereotype. But now every time Smokey and The Bandit comes on, I have a sense of pride for my trucking husband. So now I am here to tell you truckers are people too! And good people! Sure there are a few that give them all a bad name, but that’s in every job and industry we see. They are good, smart, skilled people that just have their own dreams.

PS On a similar note, The Rancher says to give a little love and share the road with those truckers. Just remember, they are bigger than you!

My 2016 Christmas

December 30, 2016 by Allison

Merry Christmas! What a fun, crazy, fantastic whirlwind of a few weeks we have had! I have been trying to send my greetings to you for over a week but I’ve been dealing with some technical difficulties… Well lets just say that the computer may have won then, but I’m winning today!

So yes… Merry Christmas! Doesn’t it always seem to sneak up on us and then all the sudden it is gone again? Every year I am determined to get going on it sooner or to be more organized to hopefully make the season seem easier. I think in order for that wish to come true, I’m gonna have to hope for next year! A small piece of advice- don’t wait to go shopping until 10 days before Christmas… Its not that we procrastinated our Christmas to do list, but it just seemed that the Universe was against us.

My bad luck started early, like December 1, when we went to get a Christmas tree… I had a massive cold that wasn’t backing down. Now, we could have gone for a tree another night, except there really was no other night to do it. I guess I did have a teensy bit of luck on my side because I don’t think the tree hunting has ever been so easy. We spotted the tree from the road, hiked up a bit, chopped it down and we were done (well, we had to get a few little trees along the way, but they didn’t take any extra time…). Once we got the tree in the house it was all I could do to get the lights on the thing… There may still be a lot of ornaments and fluff still in the boxes because spending any more of my non-existant energy just wasn’t happening.

We have been terribly blessed with several snow storms coming through the valley the last few weeks that added to the craziness. I say blessed because we are always thankful for moisture, but it was always terrible timing. Like the first day we tried doing some shopping… I had a babysitter and everything lined out so it was bound to be a great night. Or not! It was wet and slushy and we couldn’t see to drive. I just wanted to cry… And then there was that one other time we had lots of snow that made us SUPER late for the school Christmas program starring The Rancher’s Sidekick (when there is only 8 kids in the school, every was is a start!). Thankfully everyone else had the same terrible roads so we weren’t the last ones to arrive.

I had hoped that even if I wasn’t going to be terribly organized this year, at least I could totally immerse myself with all of the fluff and fancies of Christmas to make it feel super cheery. But I felt thwarted at every turn. We did get our tree up and decorations, but I didn’t get to watch all the classic Christmas movies or spend my nights wrapping fancy gifts. I didn’t even manage to make any Christmas cookies or candies! Gah! What is Christmas without Christmas cookies?!

Does it sound like I’m complaining? I promise I’m not… just musing. And this sort of musing and pondering brought to me some great insight.

Even though I wasn’t able totally immerse myself with Christmas fluff, I immersed myself in my family. I spent time reading and doing homework, snuggling sick babies and rescuing my stranded husband. And enjoying (or enduring…) them was immersing myself in the greatest gifts I’ve ever been given. Yes they are crazy, demanding, frustrating and some days I might refer to all of them as the most terrifying terrorists, but they are mine. All mine to hug and love and squish and squeeze and occasionally spank.

So when I thought my Christmas wasn’t very Christmasy I was wrong. Because what is more Christmasy than being with and serving the people you love most? That’s what the first Christmas was all about- family, love and service. And so my friends, I’ve learned a valuable Christmas lesson, maybe somewhat like the Grinch (don’t worry I love Christmas, I was just slightly off target)… Christmas isn’t about the fluff and fancies. You may try so hard to make Christmas, Christmasy that you get frustrated with the people and things that seem to get your way. But if you focus on those things and people, Christmas will find its way to you.

Merry Christmas!

2017 Cowboy Calendar

December 3, 2016 by Allison

I don’t know what kind of terrific mood I was in this fall, but I was DETERMINED to get my calendar up and going way earlier this year. And I did! It was a good thing that I did since it took a while to get the proofing and shipping and what-not done.

But…

No more waiting! The calendars are here at my house waiting to send them to you!! If you are interested you can either email me directly at theidahorancherswife@gmail.com or you can find it on my etsy shop online HERE.

Here is a little taste of the photos featured in this year’s calendar!

Not Lost, But Certainly Not Sure Where we Are

September 19, 2016 by Allison

Hey, friends. Do you feel abandoned…. again? Summer just gets so darn busy (I think I’ve told you that the last 3 years!) that some things just have to go and since I can’t stand to go without clean underwear or cleaning my house it is, unfortunately, my blog that gets neglected. But lucky for you I still take lots of pictures and remember the good stories so I can still keep you caught up.

Like this one day that we were almost lost.

I say almost because I don’t want to ever admit I was lost, but if there ever was a day, it was this one.

Let me set the stage. It was a beautiful and lovely fall day when the guys were gathering the cattle from Cow Hollow (the summer range pasture) to take into Black Pine to wean the following week. It takes about three days to get everything gathered and moved to the corrals (not to mention the week that it takes for the lost stragglers to make it down!) where they can work them and we were on the last day. The herd goes right past another set of corrals that conveniently works great to stop and sort off any extra pairs that don’t belong or castrate any bulls or that sort of thing.

Normally the cowboys are on their own for an exciting sack lunch, but on this lucky day, one good ranch wife suggested we meet up at the corrals with the cowboys to grill some burgers. We jumped on that idea, because the cowboys were tired of eating sandwiches, we were tired of making sandwiches and we were really tired of seeing some of those sandwiches come back home. Ya know, we ranch wives end up in a terrible conundrum- we have to make sure that we make send enough food and enough sandwiches to keep the cowboys full and happy. But at the same time, too many sandwiches are a bad thing. They come home all warm and soggy and no one wants a leftover sticky, soggy sandwich so they end up in the garbage. So you can see why we jumped on the burger idea.

We, The Montana Girl, The Cattlewoman, and I, loaded up in the truck with 4 babies, a load of buns, patties, and sheet cake and headed out to find the boys. I had never been to the corrals we were headed to but The Rancher had given me some sketchy directions where we headed. I knew the general area we were looking for hope that the landmarks I did know were enough to help us get. Luckily, Rancher Sr. gave his sweet heart even better directions than I had, so I just opted to leave the navigating to her.

Our instructions were pretty simple- after the road goes straight, take the only road headed to the right shortly before the road goes under the freeway. Pretty simple, right? We thought so. We got to the straight part of the road and started looking for a road that headed off to the right. And we found one, but it looked more like a goat trail, so we figured it didn’t count. We kept going and saw ourselves another road and this was a real road. It had to be a real road because it actually had a road sign. And we were sure we should take it because the sign said “Cow Hollow” and that’s where the cows were coming from. So we took it.

We knew that once we got on the road, all we had to do was drive a half mile and then take the fork to the right and we would see the corrals. Well, we didn’t see the corrals…. buuuut we could see some cows so we kept going. We got to the cows and they weren’t ours and our cowboys were NOWHERE to be found. So what’s a girl to do in such a situation?

Just keep driving, of course. I have to tell you at this point we just kept laughing (laughing seemed a better option than crying) because we knew that something was up. Either we didn’t follow what seemed to be simple directions or our directions were bad. And to make our situation seem worse, we were out of cell phone service so we couldn’t even call anyone to let us know where to go or what to do! Typical, right?

So we kept driving. And driving. We figured they had to be this way because they were bringing cows from Cow Hollow… and the road we were on was Cow Hollow so logically we were headed in the right direction, right? So we kept driving. Through one gate… and then another. The farther up the road we got, the more we laughed and slowly conceded that we didn’t really know where we were going. But despite our dire circumstances there was a bright spot in it all- we had the cake and chocolate cake makes anything better!

We were steadfastly watching our phones and Tada- finally we got service! The Rancher picked up and just laughed when I explained our exciting predicament. We were way, WAY off! So we found the least scary place to turn around at (because there aren’t too many places for a U-turn out in the hills) and headed back to the road. It turns out that it was really simple to get there, we just hadn’t gone far enough down the road to take the right right! All we needed was for someone to have said, turn JUST BEFORE the highway, or AT the turn. Nevertheless, we made it.

Now if there is a lesson in all this, its this: a man should know to give detailed directions to his wife. Sure the directions we were given were accurate and simple, but without the details we had to fill in the blanks ourselves and that didn’t turn out good! But we know that DETAILS just aren’t a part of a man’s brain so the reality is that detailed directions will never happen. Which means the real lesson in all this is that every ranch wife needs to know EVERY inch of land, EVERY road, EVERY corral… EVERY blasted sage brush so that when they say “meet me here,” you actually know where to go and don’t take an hour long scenic route.

Despite the craziness and somewhat stressfulness, it was a lot of fun. Not any fun I want to repeat anytime soon, but we certainly made some memories.

Come Gusting Wind and Ghastly Dust and Aching Strep, We Get the Job Done

May 17, 2016 by Allison

Have you ever been at a loss for words? Me either. I always have something to say. Ask The Rancher… I can talk his ear off. Like, he has learned to not even turn the radio on in the car because I will chatter enough to keep him busy. And I bounce around all over asking him about this and that and then I remember this one thing that I wanted to tell him and then… Well, you get the point.

Thus far, I haven’t really done that to you. I’ve been able to stay pretty well on point.

But I think the day has come that I have so many things to say that they are all going to just get all wrapped together in this post. There is just so many things that need mentioning. I promise they are relate because they all happened on this same day of branding. And I’ll do my best to tie them together but just be warned… It was just really full of ups and downs and sideways-ness…

Here we go-

Every year this day of branding is a big deal. All the other weekends of branding, we are branding with the association which means that not every calf coming in is ours. And there is ooodles of help. But the day that we brand on our private ground and all 300+ calves are ours. Friends… that is a lot. A LOT. At least for this girl.

So we call everyone and their dog, scratch that… everyone and their horse to come and help us. Normally we have big group, like 30 or more. And we had all those fine helpers lined up to come this year, until the rains came. And came and came and finally rained us out of our originally planned day (but we didn’t complain!). We postponed to the next week and ended up losing a lot of the help. But don’t worry, we managed… It was all a little slower than normal, but we made it.

There were parts to the day that were, well… miserable. Don’t get me wrong, I loved it all but it was still miserable. I mean, there is nothing nice about working on a hot, EXTREMELY windy and equally TERRIBLE dusty day when you have strep. The night before I started getting a sore and swollen throat and I knew it was strep. This was my third bout of strep in almost as many weeks so I knew how it went down. Seriously… It wasn’t enough that I was still recovering from giving birth and waking up multiple times in the night for said baby, I had to develop strep that would equally keep me from sleeping (it just isn’t as cute as my baby)…

Part of me contemplated heading to the doctor before heading south to brand, but I knew that just wouldn’t work. It would take too long to get in, checked out, a prescription filled and out to the range. With so few cowboys coming to help, they actually really needed me! So I pulled up my cowgirl pants and just dealt with it (and thank you tylenol and ibuprofen for making that possible!).

I did occasionally get a break when baby requested me or rather was saying it was time to eat. It was great for an excuse to rest my tired aching body, but I felt bad to leave the guys because that meant someone else had double duty giving shots too. And not meaning to toot my own horn, but I have gotten a pretty good system down to keep the shots flowing fast. So I just kept bouncing back and forth between the corral and the baby, going where ever I was needed most… although what I really wanted to do was go to sleep. On the bright side, I’m pretty sure I earned myself some substantial Rancher’s Wife Stripes!

Normally, this day of branding is one that I can quick jump on a horse and help gather. But being the momma bear that I am, I hate leaving my baby. Not wanting to be left behind, I convinced The Rancher to bring the gator down with us so I could load up all the babies, the dogs, my camera, my pal, The Montana girl, and the kitchen sink and still come help (I don’t know if I really convinced him to bring it or if they were already planning on it, but I’d like to think it as me…). And I was so grateful and had a fun, bright spot in the day getting out there. There fresh air was just as good for this girl as any medicine!

We gather the herd in and then sort all the mommas out, making its lots easier and faster to rope the calves. Its certainly noisier, but who needs their hearing? This few minutes of sorting is a highlight for the cowboys. Ya see, whoever is running the gate has the responsibility to risk life and limb to make sure that not a SINGLE calf gets through. If they do, they owe the whole group. What do they owe- I dunno… Some say beer, some say steak, some say a candy bar… I don’t think anyone has ever actually paid up, but the potential is always there for a good time. They can get away without paying up because a calf out means that those cowboys get a good chase and roping that is better than any beer, steak or candy bar! Unfortunately there weren’t any missed on the first round of sorting. But someone must have paid off the gate-man because there was a good handful for the roping come round two!

Oh, hey… Lets talk about that wind. So the day started off beautiful. Sunny, warm but not hot with a teensy breeze to keep the smoke from hanging around. But the rude weatherman forecasted gusting winds in the afternoon, about the only weather prediction they can ever get right (says The Rancher). As we were gathering in the second herd, true to the forecast those winds picked up and it was near impossible to see. Aside from not being able to see, like, anything, it made it super hard to keep your hat on. You might not think that’s a big deal, but all the sudden we find ourselves with a bunch of awkward, naked topped cowboys finding it hard to rope. It was really probably do to the wind, but I’m sure the thought of losing and being hatless just threw them off their groove.

Despite the extra juggling because of less help, having a sweet, hungry baby, terrible winds and dust, strep throat and everything else crazy going on, the work got done. We may have had a pound of dirt in our eyes and ears and I lost my voice for the nest 4 days, but as cowboys do we faced the work and got it done!

Click Read More below for dozens more photos!

The Family That Brands Together, Stays Together

May 16, 2016 by Allison

I’ve been feeling somewhat emotional about family this week. It could be leftover mushy feelings from Mother’s Day extra stirred up from all those post-partum hormones flowing through my veins and totally exaggerated from looking at all these photos of my favorite people.. but I dunno. Regardless of the why, I have a mega-sized dose of love for family and all I keep thinking is, “I love my life!”

Seriously, how often do families get days like these? How many times do you have a chance to take your kids to work? It happens pretty much daily around here. How often do you see three generations of men working together? Yep, every day. We are pretty lucky that even the brothers come around the ranch often. And when I say often I mean, like, weekly! I know guys that would give anything to be able to work with their dad and brothers like these boys get to. Of course, the fun doesn’t stop there- we have sisters-in-law that love this life too and that, my friends, is no easy feat. Honestly, its hard enough for brothers to marry wives that like each other, but then to find wives that love ranching and cowboying too?! Good work boys… Good work!

We all have varying jobs at what we do to help or entertain, but no one is sitting around. Some come packing the camera and some bring the cinnamon rolls (thanks to The Cattlewoman, for sure!). The kids are always elbow deep in the work (sometimes making more work for the rest of us, but at least they are out there wanting and willing to work!) Some live the dream life on the back of the horse and some do the dirty grunt work. Even if you think that you are just going to spectate, crazy things happen to get you moving.

Check this out. Quick story time- The Buckarette… This girl was 39 weeks pregnant on this fine day of branding (which is why there isn’t a SINGLE picture of her… hmmm…) She came out planning to just sit on the back of the truck and, ya know, just take it easy. Then she starts holding the calves back and helping sort out the already branded calves. Then she starts helping with shots (which is admirable in itself because that meant bending over and if you know pregnant ladies, that gets a little difficult when you are growing a human being in your middle!). And then she suddenly swings her way up on the horse to get out and rope! We teased her that she had better be careful where she dallied because her belly was a little close to the horn. She got up there, turned her horse to the calves and before you knew it, she was back dragging one in. She gets extra kuddos in my book because it had been a good long while since she had roped and she was as smooth as ever. Honestly, we should have had her out roping lots earlier because she caught every calf she swung at! She told us that she as only going to rope one, but once she got started, we couldn’t stop her. Ok, not really… but she did have her good handful of them.

Anyone can tell you, working as families can be rough. One person wants something done one way and someone another, and some crazy fight ensues. One person feels like they are doing all the work while the others get the benefits. One suddenly thinks they are the boss and the others stop working dead in their tracks. It can really happen… But I don’t think feelings like these have ever come up around here (I’m crossing my fingers that even though I am saying it out loud, nothing changes…). Sure we have our moments of frustration or disagreement but I have never seen an operation run so smoothly. Family comes first and with that, everyone works together towards a common goal that brings us together. At the end of the day, we are all apart of making Eliason Livestock successful and sustainable. More importantly we are apart of a family legacy, building from our heritage something for the future that we can all be proud of.

A Letter to a Sandwich

May 12, 2016 by Allison

When you have three kids and your husband is gone a lot and returns home tired to the bone and just falls asleep, you tend to not get much adult interaction. And when that happens, you tend to start having conversations with yourself. And when that time is prolonged for a few weeks, the conversations with yourself in your head turn sideways. All of the sudden you think, “Man if I have to make one more sandwich…! Boy, I’d tell that sandwich…! I’d tell it….!”

Suddenly you have a letter written to a sandwich, that doesn’t exist, and if it did, it did nothing to you to deserve such retribution. And that letter would go something like this:

Dear Sandwich,

We are back to our annual hot-and-heavy-relationship again. I must say that as the days drag on, I find you less and less desirable. Getting together every once in a while is manageable, but lately you have been coming around WAY too much. Lets face it, you have nothing new to offer. When you whittle it down, you are just two slices of bread with a piece or two of meat and cheese in the middle with a little mayo slathered on to provide a little lubrication for the trip down.

Sure, you could be a bit more. A little fluff can really go a long way. In fact, I enjoy a little tomato and lettuce on my sandwich. Heck, I’ll even take some pepper or cucumber to make things a little interesting. But that’s only when its fancy-sandwich-day at home. Sorry to tell you, but a fancy sandwich doesn’t fly out on the range. A juicy tomato turns a sandwich sitting in lunch box in the back of the truck soggy REAL fast. And limp lettuce is even less appealing! Knowing that adding the extras in an attempt to change things up is all just wasted effort and just makes you even less alluring.

I know that if we get creative things could be a little exotic with some tuna. But The Rancher is a land creature and can only take so much tuna. And we could get the creative juices flowing and pull out some spicy mustard and add a little zip or zing to it. Heck, The Rancher even gets creative out on the range when he tries to pep you up with a few chips to give you a little crunch. But even with all the creativity, you are still just two slices of bread with a piece or two of meat and cheese in the middle with a little mayo slathered on to provide a little lubrication for the trip down.

What I am trying to say is that I am done with you. I am tired of all your fixin’s taking up so much space in my fridge. I’m tired of looking for ways to mix it up. I’m tired of making you and then seeing you come home when you just weren’t worth eating. Lets go back to the days of only getting together once in while. A man needs a man lunch that will stick to his sides for these long days. Sorry, but a sandwich day after day isn’t going to cut it. I’m severing ties and turning to cold pizza for now. Go find some other lunch box to fill…

Sincerely (tired of fixing and eating you!),

The Rancher’s Wife

Finally Moved in!

January 14, 2016 by Allison

I hope you have ear plugs in because I have something loud to tell you.. WE HAVE MOVED INTO OUR NEW HOUSE! I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am to be in. It has been a LONG summer of building. And really it has been an even longer year of tearing the old house down to get ready to build. But it has all been worth it.

There has been so many ups and downs in this process and lessons learned. Like, do you know how many banks think it is ridiculous to build this far out in the country? I mean, how do we ever plan to sell it?! The idea that we are building on our ranch, where we work and live, was such a hard concept to grasp. I also learned that living out in the middle of nowhere makes it hard for contractors to want to come out. But with the promise of a home cooked meal and a place to sleep we were able to get the workers to come. And let me tell you, when they give you a date, whether its when a project will be completed, when they will start something, or the day you get to moved in, whatever date it is, add on about half as much time and that is your realistic time frame.

The Rancher has turned into a fine electrician, plumber, negotiator, excavator, framer, and all around handyman. I could probably hire out as a great painter, with a twist of high wire acrobatics if you are lucky. And if anyone wants any advice in picking paint, flooring, cabinetry or anything else that has color, I would love to help you…. But its pretty stressful so you are on your own!

As we were building there were a few musts that we had to have. I wanted a real laundry room for the mountains of dirty clothes we accumulate from ranch fun. And it had to be separate from the mud room because a laundry-room-mudroom combo means just exchanging dirt rather than actually getting rid of the dirt. I needed to have a bathroom close to the back door so The Rancher wouldn’t track mud and dirt and poop through my new house (because I already know that the boots aren’t coming off…). The Rancher wanted a garage, one big enough to TWO trucks in and his 4 wheeler and his tools and still have room to work in. So pretty much our garage is as big as our house… Ok, not really. His final must have for the garage was that the roof couldn’t slope so that the snow didn’t dump off in front of the garage doors, something we are already so thankful we planned for!

After all being said and done (even though we aren’t all done…) it has been such a great experience. Everyone needs to build their own home at least once in their lives. And when I say build I really mean build. Being the ones to string wires, put in flooring and cabinets, to paint the walls and hang garage doors has helped us to appreciate our home so much more. When we began building I told The Rancher that this house was to be a house of perfection- everything absolutely perfect. But I’ve learned that it is more a house of forgiveness- mistakes have been made, some that can be fixed and some that we cover up and some that we just live with. But imperfections and all, it is ours.

I promise there will be more details and photos to share later, but that will need to come as we get everything finished and after it is decorated all fancy and after I do some cleaning (its amazing that even though it is a new home it is a lived in home and is messy already!) But here is a few shots of my LOVELY kitchen, the kids play room, the mud room, and our bedroom. Now don’t judge that things aren’t finished and that there are things hiding under my bed… just look past it all!