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DesignZ by DeDe

Live Life * Tell the Story

You are here: Home / Archives for dirt

dirt

Life 2012 | Moving Cows

I’m finally getting to blog about our annual trip to Bull Rush (my family’s land on the Arizona Strip). I remember that growing up this was always something I looked forward to. Every year in the first part of June, we would head out to the Arizona Strip for the week to move our cows to the summer range at Sink Valley (my family’s ranch near Alton, Utah). It is always a time of work, play, talks by the fire, and great family memories.
 
I’m so happy that my kids have had the chance to experience this special time. Even though, my kids are what my daughter calls “city kids,” I grew up a country girl and I’m glad that I’m able to give my kids just a little part of the country life.  Sometimes I long to go back and live in my small town and raise my children the way I was raised. But things are different now and even if we could go back – it just wouldn’t be the same. But at least a couple of times a year they get to spend time with the family at the ranch and I hope that it will still be something that they will have so many great memories of – the way I do.
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We left Orem in the afternoon on Sunday, June 3rd. I was sad that Joey couldn’t come with us, but one of these years I hope he can use his vacation time to go with us! We got to Bull Rush before dark and I was really glad “Toothless,” our old mini-van made the trip across the rough dirt/gravel road. It was good to see all the family-including many of the Harris Family (cousins on the Sorensen side of the family) that I hadn’t talked to in awhile. I love that people will come out and help! We slept in the van that night, since my parents occupied the house. It was not the easiest night – pretty uncomfortable, but we survived. The rest of the nights – my parents slept at Sink Valley after hauling a load of cows – so we got the house. The Harris Family and my sister Kori’s family had nice trailers to stay in and many of the kids slept out on the springs around the house. It was quite the camp!
 
The next several days were spent gathering up cows, branding the calves, teaching my kids to ride a horse on their own, exploring, and lots of memories. I got to pick up my old job of vaccinating the calves during branding and my kids got to come and help me. The kids had such a great time playing with their cousins and getting dirty. It was definitely really hot too – and that is not my favorite part of being out on the Strip.  I was able to spend a lot of time with Kori – and it was really fun catching up with her and I really enjoyed the nightly cook-outs and just being together.  I enjoyed connecting with my little nephew, Dustin who is just growing up so fast.  One night – the kids and I sat and watched a big moon rise and it was an amazing experience. The land out on the strip is so flat and stretches out for miles and so watching the moon come up from the far distant mountains is just really neat. It was fun to see the gorgeous sunsets that are always present out there too. 
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Unfortunately, it has been an extremely dry year and so the cows suffered quite a bit. Many of the cows ended up missing and later we discovered that several died trying to get down a canyon to water. We really really need rain. We did take a trip and hike to the canyon to see if we could find the cows and the kids enjoyed looking off into the “big ditch.”
 
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Beth had the chance on to go with her grandparents on the Peterbilt to Sink Valley on one of the trips and she spent the night there. She loved having all the attention from the grandparents and Uncle Clint and the much cooler air at Sink Valley. She especially loved playing in the treehouse and hanging out with her pal, Smokey the dog!
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For the weekend, we ditched out on the final couple of days trying to search for missing cows and headed off to cooler weather to Sink Valley. We went to Orderville first and showered. It felt so good! Then we spent the night at Sink Valley and it was fun to visit and be with my parents. We loved having a cook-out and we even watched a movie on Grandpa’s old setup of an old tv with a vhs player and a car battery! 
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The kids love playing on the tire swing, the treehouse, and the old farming equipment. 
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JJ’s favorite was riding on the old buggy that Grandpa has been building out of all different kinds of parts.
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We left for home on Sunday, June 10th and it was good to get home and see Joey. We really missed him. It was a great week though and I hope that we are able to keep it a tradition for many years to come!
** Here’s something ironic for you – we really did go to move cows, but it turns out that I didn’t take any pictures of the cows! LOL
 
 
My 2-page Scrapbook Layout:
 movingcows1 movingcows2
I used my A Little Bit of Cowboy Charm, plus a layered template from the ScrapDelicious My Creative Life Workshop

Filed Under: Layouts, Life 2012, Personal, Project Life Tagged With: 2012, adventure, buggy, bull rush, camp, cook-out, cousins, cows, dirt, dog, family, horse, kids, layout, memories, moving, ranch, sink valley, treehouse

Project 365 | Week 24

Monday, June 8, 2009
jun8After more working on the truck – we gathered a load of cows. We branded them and got a load sent off to Sink Valley. JJ got to go on the truck with Uncle Clint and Grandpa and Beth stayed with me so we could go gather more cows. She was so excited to finally be riding a horse! I can’t believe that at her age, I was riding horses by myself. I feel kind of sad, that my kids don’t get to do that – except for once or twice a year, but I guess that’s just how it goes. The kids enjoyed playing in the dirt, riding horses, and riding Austin’s mini-bike today!

 

Tuesday, June 9, 2009
jun9I enjoyed taking pictures of the kids today, in between my branding duties. My brother, Clint had branded my name into the fence in 2005 (the year Beth was born) and today he added JJ and Beth’s names to the fence. The kids got a real kick out of it, especially JJ. He was so proud! Once again, JJ got to go on the truck to Sink Valley and Beth stayed with me.

We had an extra fun night – Bruce Harris came out with his trailer and generator (his son, Blair and grandson, Stetson was already out here with us). He cooked us some amazing BBQ Chicken and Rice Pudding. And then while the kids were doing their thing – smores, games, talking – we played a game of Trivia Pursuit! I did awful – but I had a great time and I think I even learned some stuff. Beth was exhausted and went right to sleep and since JJ was on the truck – I could just enjoy being with my mom, my sister, and Blair and Bruce! We had a good time.

 

Wednesday, June 10, 2009
jun10For as long as I can remember, my part of branding has been to vaccinate and to track the number of cows. The vaccination guns and the tracking systems have changed through the years (for the better), but I have always had this job. Occasionally, I have tied some calves, but I pretty much stay behind the scenes and that is really how I live my life. I like it that way. Not out in the spotlight – not the one really doing the heavy work – but the one giving support and keeping everything running smoothly.

Today….another load of cows off to Sink Valley (with JJ going on the truck again), another horse ride with Beth (she fell asleep on the horse for awhile), more visits with Kori, and more photo taking.

 

Thursday, June 11, 2009
jun11“The last cup of hot chocolate and the last bale of Hay.” That’s what my Dad said this morning as we were branding the calves. I thought it sounded like the perfect title to a scrapbook page! Today is the last day at Bull Rush for this year. We packed and cleaned up camp, branded the last 4 calves (the biggest ones this year), and took lots of photos. Kori and some of Colby’s friend’s that came headed home. Colby and Clint took off hiking for awhile why Grandpa once again tinkered with his truck. When it was finally time to go – we loaded the cows and the horses and then we headed. As I took photos of the Peterbilt leaving camp (from the back of the white truck) – I felt kind of sad it was over. It seemed to go really fast this year. I didn’t really ride horses as much and it just wasn’t quite the same this year for some reason. But I’m still glad that my kids get to do this and I can only hope that this family tradition and way of life continues!

 

Friday, June 12, 2009
jun12It was a slow, lazy day. The kids played outside all day and I played on my computer. Staying in my Grandpa and Grandma’s House just brings back so many memories of my grandparents. I really miss them. Looking out the front door, I see my Grandma’s beautiful peace roses. I couldn’t help but take several photos of them and this one is my favorite!

 

Saturday, June 13, 2009
jun13We were so excited to see Joey this morning! It was a long week without him! We were able to go up to Sink Valley and help my Dad and it was fun for Joey and I to ride horses together. The kids love it at the ranch. So much space to just run and play – they especially loved Daddy pushing them in the tire swing!

 

Sunday, June 14, 2009
jun14We had a great week, but it was so nice to drive in and see the #13 on our trailer. HOME. We just relaxed today and I took a long nap. The kids were so excited to see their room and their toys!

Filed Under: Life 365-2009, Personal, Project Life Tagged With: 2009, branding, bulrush, cousins, dirt, family, home, horse, memories, moving cows, ranch, rose, sink valley, tire swing, truck, vaccinate

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I'm a wife, a mom, a blogger, a lover of crafting, and a graphic designer. I believe in living life to the fullest, sharing your heart and talents to enrich the lives of others, and then telling your story to leave as a legacy for those that come after you.



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