Coming Home! (from Nebraska)

Jared was watching a movie on the way home (from Nebraska). We thought it was funny that he had his hands behind his head.

When we were on the Big Horn Mountains, I had to pull over and get a picture of the kids in the beautiful leaves that were turning colors.

Cute, little Jared

Ashley playing with a little leaf.

Abby sitting with Jared for the picture.
She'd grown a little while she was gone and her beard grew longer and lightened up. What a good looking dog!

One of the pretty Aspens that had changed colors.

On our way down the mountain, we ran into a cattle drive. We had to wait for a while. We get to see this quite often, but it is still always exciting to see.

When we started down through the cows we passed the cars that were sitting there coming the other direction. They were from California, had their windows down, and were videoing this exciting event. We laughed--but then I realized that I was taking pictures too! How funny!

Cabelas

On our way home we saw this when we were passing "Wall Drug". It is a skeleton of a caveman with a dinosaur on a leash. The kids liked it!

This is a scene that they used in a movie. We didn't stop, we just took a picture as we were passing by on the interstate. It looked like a neat and interesting place though.

We (Ryan) just had to stop at "Cabelas"!

Here's Jared posing by the big bronze statue.

It's always fun to go into Cabelas and see the animals, the kids always get so excited! It is pretty amazing!

Picking Up Abby

It's time to head back to Nebraska to pick up Ryan's Drahthaar pup, Abby. School just started for Emily and Jacob, so they stayed home with Grandma and Grandpa Mangus. Ryan and I took the two little ones with us, Jared and Ashley. They did great on the trip! It is a ten hour drive to get there.

The kids and I stayed at the hotel the next morning while Ryan went to the little ranch to ride out on horses with the guys, to see Abby in action.

Abby would find turtles in between birds. It was funny, there are so many turtles, frogs and snakes there! There were so many that got hit on the roads.

This is to show how flat the landscape is. It felt like we were in the middle of nowhere.

The trailer is where the men would stay for those few months during the summer while they trained the dogs. The guys were great and so friendly!

This is what the dogs would stay in. Definitely not the "Hilton"!

Here is Abby on her "condo".

She has been here for three months. We wondered if she'd remember us. She did!

Abby on the "chain gang".

There were about 23 dogs that were there being trained. Here are the pups that Abby trained with everyday. The pups stayed together.

Waiting for her turn.

Can't wait to go get that bird!

Roy taking her out to find the bird they planted.

She sees it! Roy helps the pups to keep their point by pulling up on their tails and pushing them so they keep a strong hold.

Abby pointing the bird. It was fun to see what she'd been being trained on while she was away. Good job Abby!

Cruisin' with Grandpa

Grandpa got a new four wheeler and is trying it out. We live next to them and share a driveway. He stopped by to see if the kids wanted a ride. They definitely did!

Boy, they sure had fun--so did Grandpa! :)

Learning to Eat

These pictures make me laugh! Ashley is nine months old and is learning to eat by herself. We'd put her in her highchair with soft food and let her feed herself. It looks like she'd know how to put the food in and then wouldn't know what to do because she'd just be sit there.

Learning to Walk

Dang is she cute!
(Ashley 9 months old)

Ashley is starting to walk. She likes walking with her little doggy walker! It barks and whines when you use it. All the kids used it to help them learn to walk too.

Jacob's Soccer Team

Jacob played soccer for the first time this fall (Kindergarten). It was fun to watch him--he did a great job!

Ryan and I had the opportunity to coach Jacob's soccer team. We coached one of the kindergartner and first grade teams (there were three different teams) for the Cowley Recreation Department. Ryan did the main coaching and I was his assistant coach. He'd be on the field refereeing the games and I'd be on the side managing things. Lots of work, but it was fun! Our team won all but one game--awesome job!