May - so far

 The first weekend of May, Kevin and Jody had some calves to brand. They were small calves, so Kevin decided we needed a slightly different crew. The above picture is the boss. Below is the whole crew. :)

 "Yep, Dad. I know how to do this. I have been watching you for three whole years."

 Last minute instructions before the calves start coming.

 Getting the girls going for the first time! Go Jozie and Ivey!

 These two decided maybe next year. The calves look bigger when you get down there and think about grabbing a tail or a rope! :)

 The calves didn't have a chance. Anything the kids lacked in experience, they made up for with determination.

                                                 Shane got his share of the action.

 The boss man got in and flanked a few just to show the others how it is done. :) Honestly, does it get any cuter than this?!

                                                                         Girl Power

                                              Love it.

Wish I had some of the pictures that are at Dad's house of when Monique,Melody, and I were Ivey's age and first wrestling calves (in the north is it wrestling calves -in the south it is flanking. I am stuck between two worlds). :) Pretty cool to see the next generation learning and enjoying the same things. I stood there watching her and had a flashback to a picture of me at that age that Mom took. Felt my age there for a minute. Then I got over it and enjoyed the day. :)

On to the next big event May held. Morgan's birthday!! Ivey made the glitter flags to decorate the cake. Do you approve, Hatty?

 The next picture is for Hatty, Hannah, and Rose. If it doesn't make sense to anyone else, don't worry. :) I'm sure it makes Shane's aunties proud to see him embracing their frosting entertainment. :)

 Ivey had purple streamers everywhere to make it festive. This is when Morgan read Hatty's card that said "Happy Birthday, Fathead!"  A childhood term amongst the siblings. Is that not hilarious?

 Moving along, the next day Shane and Ivey had a piano audition where they played for a judge.

 Their sweet, sweet teacher coaching him before he went in for his turn. I love his stance. He looks all business. Ready to tackle anything that comes his way. :)

 Meanwhile, Ivey was checking out the stained glass window and I couldn't resist taking some pics. This is the only picture where she was unaware of me taking pictures. I love how hard she is trying to figure something out about the window. :)

 This is what happens when they get to pick how the picture is. I love it. :)

                               Sisters. Different as night and day. Close as can be anyway. :)

Going over Shane's results. They both did awesome and they loved getting to play a grand piano!

While we went over Ivey's results, Shane was busy putting his award pin on and checking it out. Cracked me up.

 No more tension in their smiles. They have their "Superior" pins on, have faced the scary judge (who ended up being a very sweet lady), and have conquered the grand piano (which seemed scary but was lots of fun). Whew!

 We had rain yesterday and it sure seemed like it might last awhile. Sadie is sorta like the postal system. She feeds her animals first thing come rain, snow, sleet or hail. Off she went with her umbrella and the cat following her.

 But wait! Umbrellas work well in places where the rain comes down but the wind isn't howling, but here they just get turned inside out!

 New strategy....point the umbrella down and work with the wind. The horses and donkey wondered what sort of contraption was coming toward them! They don't see umbrellas very much. In fact, we only have one because our neighbor was giving hers away for lack of needing it in this area.

Sure enough....minutes after she got back, the rain quit. Rats. :)

Lastly, Mother's Day. I got up and went to the kitchen to get my tea and look who was waiting for me.

 A darling little wire man Morgan made from the wire off of a feed sack! Cute, sweet, and totally made my day!

Oh, wait! There's another one! A wire boy with a little flower! Shane made him for me! Morgan had also managed to find a few wildflowers and picked them for me. Shane said "I never thought I'd see my Daddy crouching in the bar ditch, picking flowers for Mama." I smiled and thought "That is the best thing in the world for you to see. Take notes! Some lady may appreciate that trick some day!" :) 

One funny Mother's Day story for you. My older sister, Monique, has an 18 month old boy. She loves being a Mom. He keeps her on her toes now that he's into everything. Mother's Day was no exception. They were all getting ready for meeting and right before they are to walk out the door, she finds him in the bathroom. With the toilet lid open and both arms down in the toilet up to his elbows, stirring for all he is worth! Can you imagine? All dressed up for meeting. I wish I had a picture of his face. And hers. Nothing like a very real "Mom" moment to celebrate Mother's Day! :)