Life On The Ranch

Butch Cassidy Days Buckaroo Rodeo

2009-07-30T19:40:00.000-07:00

Tonight we went to the Buckaroo Rodeo and entered our Grandsons, Kaleb (6) and Kyler (4), to mutton bust. Kaleb cowboyed up and rode his sheep like no other. Kyler "Cowboy" decided he wanted to wait for next year to ride his sheep. Kaleb stayed on that big ole sheep like a real cowboy. They both received a belt buckle and I bet Kaleb remembers his ride every time he wears it. Grandpa and Grandma are so proud of Kaleb for showing that sheep whose boss. Yee Haw!!!!

It Does A Mama's Heart Good

2009-07-25T21:45:00.000-07:00

For the last two days, Danielle and Courtney, spent precious time together. They seemed to be inseparable all day Friday and most of the day today. I love it when my girls laugh together and enjoy each others company, immensely. The last two days have shown me their sisterly love. They both get along really well and I am so thankful for this. Friday they hung out all day and then went to a movie together. Today was a messy day and the videos below will prove this. I know they both had a blast spending time together. Courtney, especially, is thankful for their time together because Danielle seems to be preoccupied with work and her boyfriend and Courtney often tells me how much she misses spending time with her sister.

I pray that all four of my daughters will have a close relationship through out their lives. This, truly, does a Mama's heart good!!!!!

Short conversation between me and Kelly as we are going over to watch the girls mud bog (across the street from out house).

Kelly: Those girls better not get that 4wheeler stuck (something like that).

Me: Did Brad say, "Tanner better not get that truck stuck". (gotta love that kid.)

Kelly: Yeah, but that's different, he's a boy and these are girls.

TYPICAL FATHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but...... gotta love that father.

Great Memories!!!!!

2009-07-10T16:53:00.000-07:00

What great memories I had while repainting this cow and these two birds that my sweet and caring father inlaw made, whom I truly miss. Kelly's brother, Brad, moved to Georigia and had some things left at his house in St. George that he wanted Kelly to have and these were included. I was excited to see these things that Kelly's dad, Merlyn, made cause we didn't have any of his awesome welding creations. While Kelly was in Colorado, the week before last, I wanted to surprise him by repainting his dad's cow and birds (years outdoors had done it's toll). It took me some time but what a blast I had. I took them down to our barn and plugged in Courtney's latest CD and let my memories flow. I could, almost, hear Merlyn telling me that spray paint is the way to go. I'm sure I didn't get my spray paint, here locally, as cheap as he did but, it worked just the same. OK, I cheated on the body of the cow and used the paint I had left over from painting our living room and kitchen. I really enjoyed working on the cow and birds, thanks Brad for letting Kelly have them. Now, if only I can figure out a way to weld that damn leg back on the cow. Stands up pretty good with the leg just leaning against it....... until the winds come. Again, great memories!!!!!!!

Danielle and Courtney milking Grandpa Holt's cow back in the day! I will admit, Dad's spots on his cow looks loooooots better then mine.

Danielle and Courtney riding Grandpa Holt's cow. Such cute little cusses!

Our Little Cheerleader

2009-06-23T18:12:00.000-07:00

This is just too cute not to blog. Princess Laynee may be following in her Aunt Courtney's footsteps.

Rock and Roll

2009-06-23T17:27:00.000-07:00

Always fun at Grandpa and Grandma's house. Last Wednesday Kaleb and Cowboy came to our house for four days. Once again, never a dull moment with grandkids. Here is a little sample of how the Dunn Boys roll at our house.

Cowboy Rockin' with his friend Daxon

Kaleb Rockin'

Cowboy still rockin'

Fun With Jade

2009-06-10T11:33:00.000-07:00

We had Jade with us last Friday through Sunday evening and it was never a dull moment while he was here. He is such a good and fun boy to be around. Him and his Aunts had a good time with the video camera. They have great imaginations when it comes to videos. Last time he was here Jade and the girls did a country music video (hilarious). This time they did a Twilight spoof (even funnier). I'm glad that he has such a great time when he comes to visit.

The cast of "The Real Twilight" video. That's what they named the video.

What a bunch of Spaz Monkeys but, ya gotta love em.

We had to have Jade home by 8pm on Sunday so I decided to have a really early dinner with Baby Back Ribs and Shrimp, YUUUUUMMMM! If I do say so myself, dinner was awesome.

Another Long Day

2009-06-01T17:03:00.001-07:00

Well, our Little Man didn't make it. He died in Kelly's arms while we were at the vets around noon today. Couldn't ask for a better looking colt. His mama is really missing him now. We brought him home and buried him in the yard.

Long Day

2009-05-31T19:25:00.001-07:00

We had to take our new colt to the vet today. When Kelly went to check on him today he found him on the ground and unresponsive. So we loaded him and his mama up and rushed him to Dr. Utley's. The Dr. gave him 3 bags of liquid to rehydrate him, antibiotics, and other medication. The vet said he has pneumonia on top of his diarrhea and dehydration. We left the baby and his mama at the vets so he would be able to keep a close eye on him through the night. Let's pray he makes it through the night so maybe he will have a chance.

Piute Pageant

2009-05-31T08:18:00.000-07:00

Last night was the Piute Pageant. Danielle was running for Queen with four other contestants. Courtney was not able to run for Teen Queen this year because she was the Teen Queen last year and they are not allowed to hold the position 2 years in a row. She did perform last night and did an awesome job. Danielle took 1st Attendant and we are so proud of her. She performed with beauty, dignity and grace. She's the Queen in our hearts.

Thought I Would Blog After 2 Months:)

2009-05-29T11:12:00.000-07:00

Let's see if I can remember how to blog, hehe. It has been quite awhile since I've blogged but, as you can see, my husband decided to blog. It only took a beautiful new colt to inspire him. Our new little guy has been so much fun. Anyway, the last two months have been quite busy. Between birthdays, Easter, graduations, cruise, getting garden ready, having Courtney's 3rd CD recorded and my parents coming to visit for 3 weeks, life has been nothing but boring.

I'm just going to post random pics of the above events to show you what has been going on at The Holt's. Enjoy!

And I just thought she was FAT

2009-05-21T14:50:00.000-07:00

Horse Colt - May 21, 2009 (about 4:00 AM)

That says it all!

Drill Team Review

2009-03-25T17:45:00.001-07:00

Better late than never. I'm slacking a little. Last Thursday the girls danced for the last time of this school year. In Danielle's case it was her last dance being on a drill team:( It was pretty emotional. Every time she did a dance (they perform all their dances for the review) I kept thinking to myself, that's the last time she'll ever do Military or Prop or Hip Hop etc. Of course, I got teary eyed.

When Danielle was in 9th grade and was on the drill team at Hurricane High, the team had their fathers escort them at their review. Kelly had to go out of town for a meeting and was not able to escort her. Her Papa, from Virginia, flew out to escort her (he is the best). Anyway, at Piute they have boyfriends or "guy friends" escort them. Danielle chose, instead of her boyfriend, to have her dad escort her since they missed out that first year. Very sweet, huh. Her being the only Senior on the team I thought that was so appropriate. She's a sweet girl.

Danielle and Courtney their last dances together

Danielle and her Daddy

He was the best looking escort there

Courtney on the left and Dani on the right

19 Wonderful Years!!!

2009-03-21T15:39:00.000-07:00

Today, we celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary. Instead of going out to celebrate we decided to stay home and spend the time with our grandson, Jade, before he leaves tomorrow. His two Aunts have been monopolizing his time today but, as long as he is having fun.

Kelly has been the best husband any wife could ask for and then some. He is a very loving, kind, caring, supportive and handsome husband and father. I am so thankful for Heavenly Father for guiding me to him. I am very blessed.

Taken a few months after we were married.

Taken a year ago.

4 Wheelin

2009-03-21T13:30:00.000-07:00

The activity that Jade liked to do the most, at our house, was 4 wheelin. His Aunts and him are going to be making a music video, today. It is so windy, right now, and if it doesn't calm down we will not be able to do the camp fire. When I told him this he said that was o.k. because we could always do marshmallows on the gas grill. He is such a good kid and a great sport.

Forgot to mention before, on Wednesday we picked up Courtney from school and went to Richfield for her birthday party stuff. On the way, I gave Jade a piece of gum. Five minutes later he informs us that his tooth just came out. So, that night his sneaky Aunt Dani tells him to write a note to the tooth fairy telling her DO NOT take the tooth. So that way he could take his tooth home and try it again. The next morning he wakes up and finds five dollars and says to me, "Grandma, since the tooth fairy gave me five dollars I don't think I need to do it again". Told you he's a good kid.

Check Jade out!!!!

JD

2009-03-21T12:00:00.000-07:00

We are having an awesome time with Jade. Unfortunately, we have to take him home tomorrow. He said he had a great time at Court's party last night. There was a lot of good looking girls there so, that must be why he had a great time. He has requested to have a camp fire, in our yard, tonight to roast hotdogs and marshmallows. I'll post those pics tomorrow. Here is some pics of our awesome week with Jade and a couple of days with Kaleb and Kyler.

Jade giving Dani a ride

Super Jade!

Boys rockin out, rock on Cowboy!

Having a picnic at Jade's favorite spot

Does he dare????

Can't have a picnic without playing in the water

Our Baby

2009-03-20T08:02:00.000-07:00

Today, our baby turned 15 years old. Out of our four girls I don't think any of them were more excited about their birthdays than Courtney is every year. She will start telling you, about it, 2 months before. She's so cute.

Danielle and Courtney left at 7am to get Court's hair done at Dani's school. She must have been excited to get up that early. She got to miss school today cause her principle lets the students, with good grades, miss with excused absent. She is having a party tonight and her and Jade are pretty pumped.

Happy Birthday Wort!!!!

Cute Videos

2009-03-12T17:42:00.000-07:00

O.K., I should be cleaning, making dinner for my kids, working on the Drill Team Review movie or napping and this is what I want to do but, it's too late to "nap" now . Dani and I stayed up until 3am girl talking and watching TV last night, mostly girl talking. Kelly has been in Colorado all week and hopefully he will be home tonight. Anyway, I get a call at 7:15 this morning asking me if I could fill in for a teacher who's kids were sick (dang kids). Of course, I have a hard time turning down extra cash for mine and Dani's cruise. Needless to say, I'm pooped. So, I'm chilling at my computer to pass time until Kelly gets home. He just called and it doesn't look like he'll be home until after midnight. I have time to kill. So, here are a couple of cute videos for you to enjoy!

Our Grandson, Jade

2009-03-12T15:52:00.000-07:00

We are so pumped. Our grandson, Jade is coming to spend his spring break with us. We are picking him up this Saturday and he will stay with us until the 22nd. We have a lot of fun things planned for him while he is here, weather permitting with a few of the plans. He is pretty easy to please for a 10 year old boy. Grandpa has plans to build a new bunny house with him and of course we have to picnic at his favorite spot up on the mountain from our house. We love spending time with all of our grandkids, the more often the better.

Our Trip To Moab, Utah

2009-03-03T18:25:00.000-08:00

Last week, Kelly called me up, while he was in Colorado, asked me what I was doing on Monday. I told him I was probably working. He said he wanted to take me to Moab and stay at this awesome resort. Of course, I said work could be put off. We left Monday morning to stay at the Red Cliff Lodge, BEAUTIFUL resort!!!! Kelly's territory includes Moab so he was doing business while we enjoyed the scenery. Our room was so nice I told Kelly that I could live there. We played until dinner which we had at the resort. I tried really hard to stick with my diet and I think I did a pretty good job. Kelly ordered the fillet mignon and I had the grilled fish. We decided to split the fillet and fish, very yummy. Next time I think I'll try the Elk Medallions.

On the way home, Tuesday, we went through Capitol Reef National Park. We hiked, looked at petroglyphs and took pictures. It was a great two days spending alone time together. We need to do that more often.

Kelly working away in the dining area.

King size bed with 32inch TV.

Goes up two steps toward front door. To the right, down the steps, is a western sleep sofa. Behind me is sliding glass doors leading to the patio with furniture.

Looking out from the patio to the right. Colorado river behind us.

Looking out from the patio to the left.

In a hole at Capitol Reef.

Resting on the steps on our hike (this was the beginning of the hike, hehe).

This was the end of the hike at the top. Well, almost the end.

Just Me And The Animals

2009-02-25T19:46:00.000-08:00

I was going to post this blog, on Monday, after we got home from our trip to Wyoming, but I've been too busy until now. Today it has been just me and our animals. Kelly left for Colorado on Tuesday and today the girls were at school and went straight to the Boys Basketball Region Competition in Cedar City to perform. So, I've had the whole day to myself. Now now, settle down ladies. Yes, it has been wonderful and I have gotten a lot of cleaning done. To keep me company I have kept the radio, tuned to country, on all day. Besides cleaning I have printed pictures for Kimi and Jade, made a poster for a Free Dog (we're giving our dog away), copied 33 CD albums on my computer, talked to my girls and husband (off and on) on the phone, sent emails, fed animals, said some prayers for safe travel for my family, threw some rocks at my dog to quiet him down (sorry animal lovers) and rejoiced for some quiet time here at Holt Ranch.

Enough of bragging about today, let me brag about my awesome trip to Wyoming to visit our daughter, Kimi and her family. Sami, her boys, Jade (Kimi's oldest) and I left Friday morning from my house to head for Wyoming. We had a very peaceful trip, the boys were angels the whole trip (not kidding). It was so awesome spending quality time with Sami and just to kick back and talk about whatever. We got to Kimi's house around 5ish. She has a cute house just outside of Pinedale (looooove that little Pindale town). What a joy it was to see Kimi, Mark, Kelly, Wyatt and Laynee. We celebrated Kelly's birthday Friday night, we played games, we shopped, and just enjoyed being with each other the whole weekend. We had a great time. Thanks Kimi and Mark for putting up with us.

O.K., the top paragraphs were written Wednesday night and then I was too tired to add pictures so now I'm continuing this morning. Here's some pictures of our fun time in Wyoming. Note that there isn't any pictures of moose because Kimi failed to show us any while we were there. If you would like to see one, go to her blog. I think she was holding out on us, hehe:)

Me and the boys playing cards, they kicked my butt.

We celebrated Kelly's 7th Birthday

Kelly and Wyatt helped me cook dinner.

Mark and Princess Laynee

Kimi and Sami with all the kids, of course we couldn't get them all to smile at the same time.

Me and the lively bunch.

We stopped at Chuckee Cheese on the way home. The boys had a great time.

Bunnies and Cats Can Be Friends Too!!

2009-02-11T16:03:00.000-08:00

Last Friday and Saturday we had Kaleb and Kyler with us and we had some fun. Grandpa decided to experiment with one of our cats and the bunnies. Little scary, at first, but as you can see they got along splendidly.

Kaleb feeding the bunnies carrots. Spiderman, the cat, didn't want any.

Hey, get back here!

I cleaned the cage before I took this picture and Kaleb said, "Grandma, you forgot the poop on their house". Cleaning poop up after 15 rabbits I guess I'm allowed to miss a few.

"Hellooooo, is anyone home ?" Look he's got a tail.

Cowboy's just making sure there's no hanky panky going on, you know how rabbits can be.

Beautiful day, love being with our boys, kids and animals happy, just an all around great day.

Homecoming

2009-02-10T07:14:00.000-08:00

Last Friday was Homecoming for Piute High. Danielle was nominated for Homecoming Queen. She got 1st Attendant. The girl in the pink dress got Queen. The girl in the white got 2nd Attendant. We didn't get very good pictures, all were blurry.

The Drill Team performed their dance that they did at the HS talent contest last Thursday. They all picked old costumes to wear and they did a Spice Girl song. This is the outfit that Danielle and Courtney wore. Courtney sang a song for the talent contest and won 1st place. The Drill Team took 2nd and then there was 3rd and 4th places.

Fill Your Hands You Son of a B......!

2009-02-06T05:22:00.000-08:00

This is just a test to see if our videos work on this.

Yep, it works. It just takes a heck of a long time.

State Competition

2009-02-01T11:15:00.000-08:00

Once again, the Thunderettes are awesome. They took 2nd place in all dances and 2nd for Overall at State Competition yesterday. The place was packed with 1A, 2A and 3A dancers and spectators. It was a great day.

Danielle and her Daddy.
It was quite emotional day for Danielle, being her last competition before graduating and hoping they would have at least beat Duchesne in one of the dances. It's hard to beat a team that does the same dances every year, they've had a LITTLE practice, haha.

Courtney and Danielle with their trophies and their teary eyes.

The whole team, coach and manager. Didn't get such great pictures cause there was a lot of crying for Danielle's last competition and happiness for taking 2nd place. Their coach got the Coach of the Year award for 1A division, which she is holding. We are so proud of the girls and have enjoyed watching their hard work pay off. Kelly, always the softy, got all the girls and coaches roses for this exciting event. He is quite the guy.

Region Champions!!!!

2009-01-25T13:55:00.000-08:00

Thunderettes took Region in Cedar City yesterday. They did awesome, 1st place for Dance, 1st place for Military and 1st place Overall. The above picture they are performing Dance.

The team with their trophies. They were pretty excited. Their Principles took them all out to dinner after the competition and when they were coming home they got a police, ambulance and fire department escort from Circleville to Junction. A great day for the Drill Team.

The girls with their coach and the Overall trophy. It's getting closer to Danielle's last competition which will be on the 31st at UVU. The girls were really happy that their sister, Sami, could be there for this competition and see them do so well. You're awesome, Sami. The competition on the 31st is State so hopefully they will do as well as they did at Region.

Some People's Kids

2009-01-22T20:14:00.000-08:00

You would think living in a small town you would feel safe and secure and parents, in the town, would have the time to teach their children good morals. Wishful thinking.

Here's our story........ When it's game night, which one of them was tonight, Courtney leaves for school at 8am and doesn't get home until after 8pm (school, drill/cheer practice, and then Freshman, JV and Varsity games) so, of course, I'm concerned about her getting something to eat between games. I asked her last night if she had money, left over from other games, to get something at the concession stand for dinner. She told me she had plenty (don't know exact amount). Kelly and I usually go but we didn't go tonight. Anyway, Danielle comes home after their Drill Team halftime performance (she is not a cheerleader so she doesn't have to stay and cheer at the game) and informs me that Courtney got her money stolen out of her wallet in the locker room. Yes, for you mothers out there, I AM PISSED. What do you do??? When Courtney got home tonight I asked her about it and she told me that another Drill/Cheer member got her money stolen as well. She said that they reported it to the Principal and there was nothing else they could do. So, needless to say, the little Bathturds got their thrill and will brag about it at school (hopefully when I am subbing their class, hehe). Buy them books, send them to school.....................

Thunderettes Rock !

2009-01-11T08:11:00.001-08:00

What a blast. The girls worked really hard and yesterday proved it. The Drill Team Competition in Richfield was really long but worth it. Here are the places they took out of 4 teams in 1A division:
Hip Hop 1st place
Military 2nd place
Dance 1st place
Prop 1st place
Overall team 1st place

Do they rock or what? All the girls had a great time and they stayed focused on their goals.

Courtney and Danielle holding the 1st place Overall Team trophy.

On the 24th they will go to the Drill Team Region Competition at SUU.

Beautiful Dog, But .................

2009-01-03T19:43:00.001-08:00

He doesn't like my chickens, rabbits or cats. So, he has to go. Any family or friends here in Utah reading this and knows someone who can give this beautiful dog a home, for free, comment me. Never thought I would use our blog to give a pet away. But, ya gotta do whatcha gotta do.

Happy New Year !!!!

2009-01-01T09:05:00.000-08:00

Lots of fun at the Holt house New Years Eve. I can't remember when we started our family tradition but this is how it is every New Years Eve. We party, kid style. First, we start out with a big spread of food, of course. Hot wings are a must according to Kelly. Then it's game time (my favorite is Scene It Jr.). More food. And of course, at midnight we scream outside like a bunch of banshees. Courtney had her friends, Trisha and Ashton, and they were real party animals. Kaleb and Kyler were with us again this year, can't break traditions. Kaleb made it to midnight and then some, but Cowboy just couldn't keep his eyes open for the big event. It was an all around good time. Happy 2009 to all.

Kyler made me laugh. He's sitting on the potty and I'm sitting on my bed waiting to wipe his butt. This is what he said.

Kyler: Hey Grandma, guess what I'm doing?
Me: Cowboy, what are you doing?
Kyler: I'm sticking my finger in my belly button and touching the food in my belly, how amazing is that!

Never a dull day with that one, huh Sami.

The Littlest Things Make Me Happy !

2008-12-29T08:07:00.000-08:00

Hooray, we have our office back. For two years, Kelly and I had to put up with nosey little girls in our office. Now that they have their laptops it has been nice and quiet in the office. Before, the girls used my desk for the "family computer" and I had a makeshift desk (card table) off to the left. Having to listen to some of their music while they were on the computer was annoying (unless they were listening to country).

No more card table and monkeys in the office. So nice to have my desk back and the quietness. Especially, with my new message chair Kelly got me for Christmas. Life is Grand!

Merry Christmas !

2008-12-25T05:46:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all. It is now 7 am. The girls got us up at 4:45, I think they were excited. This year Kelly and I were tricksters. For a month now the girls thought they were getting cellphones for Christmas. So, we bought toy phones and wrapped them in a box with a picture of an iPhone. We're so bad. The looks on their faces when they opened them was priceless.

What they really got were laptops. I think they prefer the laptops then phones so all is good

Kelly was a happy camper cause he got one too. Here he is holding laptop training classes. Our
Christmas Eve was pretty special. We had a nice dinner, played games, opened our PJ's and watched a movie. I am so thankful for my family and the many blessings in our lives. I am most thankful for our Savior Jesus Christ and His wonderful teachings.

Drill Team Competition (Provo)

2008-12-18T16:02:00.000-08:00

Better late than never. The girls took 2nd place, in two catagories, at the Timpview Competition on Dec. 6th. They did great for their first competition of the year. They are heading to their next competition in Bountiful on Dec. 20th. I love going to these competitions and seeing how hard the girls work. Kelly and I are old pros now, this year is our third year of competitions. Kelly is such a sport for always attending these events with us girls. He really is the best Dad/Husband. Cross your fingers for the Piute Drill Team this saturday. Go Thunderettes.

Snow Storm

2008-12-13T20:33:00.000-08:00

We sure do appreciate the festive snow this time of year. Looks real purty on the windows and surrounding the house. The wind, on the other hand, sucks. The wind was shaking the house and garage so bad we thought maybe we were in Kansas (minus the tornado).

What beautiful pictures of the snow on the windows.

What the wind did to our patio fence is not so purty. Power tools will come in handy for Kelly tomorrow.

Second Christmas Tree

2008-12-13T20:22:00.000-08:00

Well, one tree just wasn't enough. This year we decided to put our tree upstairs in the rec room where it would be warmer Christmas morning (after 2 Christmas' here, we were tired of shivering while opening our gifts) . The downstairs living room looked empty of festive fun so I decided that we would go cut down a tree to hang the girls ornaments from their elementary years . It's been 4 years now that I've been decorating the tree my way.

Kelly asking me if I was sure this was the one.

This is why we brought Dani's boyfriend.

Final creation with our evil cat posing.

Family Pictures

2008-12-11T20:32:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday we were finally able to take our family pictures for the Christmas cards. Weather was perfect. I asked Kelly to go down to the barn and set up a place to have them taken. He made it so nice, better then I expected. He's the best! We hadn't planned on our cat "Coon" being in the pic but, he must have felt left out cause he jumped up on Courtney's lap and settled right in. Worked out pretty good. Of course Kelly wanted his horses in the pic with us but, just wasn't enough room.

Love This Pic of Danielle and Courtney

2008-11-17T17:09:00.001-08:00

Halloween Fun

2008-11-06T17:03:00.000-08:00

Here's the grandboy's pics that Savannah sent us. Jade (Motor Cross Racer) Kelly (Ninja) Kaleb (Dead Pirate) Kyler (Batman) Wyatt (Grim Reaper ?).

I was teaching at the school when the students were dressing up so I had to dress up or I would never hear the end of it from the students. I was a doctor and I performed surgery on Kelly that morning and it got kinda messy.

Kaleb and Kyler. Too cute. They wore their costumes for school.

Dani and a senior classmate dressed as nerds.

Courtney the friendly vampire. She's such a "Twerd". But she looked awesome.

Fun On The Ranch With KW and Cowboy

2008-10-27T19:16:00.000-07:00

Well, we think Kaleb and Kyler had a good time here at Holt Ranch. They had fun coloring halloween pictures, playing in the barn and with the rabbits, gathering eggs, decorating cookies, carving pumpkins and just spending good quality time with Grandpa and Grandma. We sure love it when they come to visit (or as Kyler would say,"Stay for three weekends").

Funny comment. I was feeding the boys breakfast, one morning, and I asked them if they would like some beet jelly for their toast. Kaleb said, "No thanks, I'll just have this grease on mine", referring to the butter on his toast. Too funny, huh!

Cosmo Fantasy Contest

2008-10-26T18:43:00.000-07:00

Last week, Danielle entered a Fantasy Contest at her school. They had to use a model and do their hair with some kind of theme. She had Courtney be her model and she did a witch. She didn't win but I thought she did an awesome job.

Missing Our Friend

2008-10-22T13:54:00.000-07:00

On October 18th, a good friend of ours, Jeff Alder, passed away due to a motorcycle accident. He has been a caring, dependable and great friend to Kelly since childhood. He truly will be missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Cathy, and his children.

No Elk :(

2008-10-14T11:08:00.000-07:00

Well, the boys didn't get their Elk but, they sure had fun playing Guitar Hero. The competition was severe. Just look at the concentration on their faces. Dani and Courtney asked their Uncle Paul if he wanted to play. They were so excited when he said, sure. Now they think Uncle Paul is way cool.

Still No Elk Meat!!!!

2008-10-09T20:28:00.000-07:00

But they saw some beautiful country. Kelly and Paul came home with this picture after an evening hunt. They still haven't had any luck. Kelly left for his meeting in Flagstaff this morning. Paul is on his own until Saturday for the hunt. The girls and I wish him luck.

Elk Hunt

2008-10-04T19:57:00.000-07:00

Opening morning for the Elk Hunt. Dani was so pumped. The weather changed that real quick once she got up on the mountain. Down here at home it was raining, up top it was snowing. Kelly, Paul and Dani left the house about 6:15 am. They came home pretty bummed out cause they didn't see anything but deer and other hunters. There's always tomorrow.

Courtney Has Gone To The Darkside

2008-10-04T19:47:00.000-07:00

Our little Vampire, we're so proud. This is what the "Twilight" series has done to our little girl. She now requests our horse's blood for dinner. We alternate from the chickens, rabbits, cats, dog and horses. The rest of the family refuses to change.

Princess Laynee

2008-10-02T20:51:00.000-07:00

Here's some pics of our Princess Laynee. Kimi and Laynee are both doing really well and Kelly and I are so thankful for this beautiful gift from God.

Princess Laynee Is Here

2008-10-02T06:35:00.000-07:00

Last night, October 1st at 11:14 pm, our beautiful granddaughter was born. When we left about 1am this morning, mommy and baby were doing great. Kimi and Mark named her Laynee Jo. Her weight was 7lbs. and 20 inches. Lots of dark hair. What can I say, she's beautiful just like her mama. I'll post pics later.

Fun With The Kids

2008-09-02T12:09:00.000-07:00

Two fun filled weekends. The weekend of the 27th Sami, family, Kimi and Mark (Jade, Kelly and Wyatt were with their dad) came up to go camping with us. It was alot of fun, minus the bugs. The weather was perfect. This past weekend Kimi's boys came up and we decided to go camping again. Saturday's weather started out beautiful and the boys were having a blast at the camp site. By 6pm, the thunder rolled. But, that didn't stop us from cooking chili and hotdogs on the fire and corn in the coals. We're standing around the fire, in the rain, eating while watching the boys having a great time. Even Courtney was having fun (Dani was still at work missing all the fun). Here's some pics of our camping trips.

The watering hole

Phil and Kyler building the dam for the watering hole

Sami and fam sitting around the campfire waiting for stories

Kimi and Mark looking nervous about the campfire stories, hehe

Mark, Dani and Wort discussing the stars

This is how Jade and his Grandpa split fire wood

Kelly and Jade panning for gold

Celebrating Wyatt's 5th birthday (a few days late)

Boys making an indian colony in the creek

This is how Courtney likes to camp

FUNNY STORY (well, not for me) !!!!!!

2008-08-19T13:56:00.000-07:00

Now, there is some of you out there that will laugh at this . Those of you who sympathize with me, thank you. This morning I was playing with my cat "Coon" on the bed before I had to go to the school. Kelly went out to feed while I took a shower and Coon followed him out. When Kelly came back in he had a sad look on his face and I figured it was because of the baby bunnies (whole different story to tell). But no, he told me that my cat was killed by the dog "Koda". The flood gates opened up. I have to tell you that I'm not that much of a cat person but this little guy has a piece of my heart. I sat on the bed and just bawled and the girls came in the bedroom and asked me what was wrong. According to Dani I said,"Koda killed Coon (hick up hick up). I hate that dog, I loved Coon". I was so upset I didn't remember that brief moment. I started to compose myself so I could get ready to go to the school. I was blow drying my hair and I looked over my shoulder and there was Dani holding Coon in her arms, ALIVE!!!!! What a cruel joke my husband played on me, huh? Just kidding, it turned out to be another cat that looks just like Coon (we think it was Coon's son that is wild but we had named it "Junior" because it did look just like my cat). Oh, happy days (sorry Junior but I really do love MY cat). So, all is well on the Holt Ranch, that is until I come in the house and tell Kelly that his favorite horse is dead and then announce, "My bad, it was just the neighbors horse". He He

Good Times!!!!!!

2008-08-14T11:30:00.000-07:00

Full house and good times. It was so awesome having our family from Virginia, mom, dad, niece Elizabeth, brother Tim and his family, here for a couple of weeks. Mom and dad stayed an extra 12 days so they could be here for the county fair. I'm so thankful for our family and the little time we get to spend together. Mom and dad left 10 days ago and I miss them already. There is so many pics to post so I made a slideshow of our good times. Enjoy!

Click twice on slideshow click view album then click slideshow to view larger with captions.

Things In Our World

2008-07-01T15:38:00.000-07:00

Just some things that have been happening in our little world, lately. Kaleb and Kyler came to visit on Thursday and stayed til Saturday morn. As usual , we had a great time with them. Kyler is a big help in the garden with me and Kelly. But, I did have to keep checking on him because he kept wanting to pull the veggies instead of weeds. He was still a great big help.

Saturday, we held our first Piute Idol. I was able to get three professional judges. Courtney, of course, blew the judges away. The finalists will be opening up for Charley Jenkins on July 29th. Courtney is pretty excited. One of the finalists decided that she was going to go to SLC to tryout for American Idol on that day so she will not be here to sing. After the auditions on Saturday one of the judges told me to take Courtney to SLC to tryout but, I told her she is only 14. The judge couldn't believe it, she thought that Courtney was 16. Final competition is August 2 for Piute Idol so cross your fingers for Courtney. Winner gets $250.00 plus a recording session.

This morning Kelly took our cat "Coon" to the vet to get snip snipped. Something Kelly should have had done many years ago, hehe. Coon isn't feeling so hot right now but well on the road to recovery. No more cattin' around for that little guy.

Eleven more days until I see my family from VA. I'm so excited I can't wait.

Miss Piute Pageant 2008

2008-06-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

Last night was the Miss Piute Pageant and both of the girls were participating. Danielle in the Miss Piute category and Courtney in the Miss Teen Piute category. Danielle won 1st attendant. The girl she talked into doing the pageant won Queen (go figure). Courtney is now the new Miss Teen Piute Queen. She's replacing Dani from last year. The girls both did an awesome job. We are so proud of them. Courtney knocked the talent division out of the ball park.

Danielle taking her last walk as "Miss Teen Piute Queen".

Danielle and the Queen and 2nd attendant.

The New "Miss Teen Piute Queen"

Now isn't that a purty Queen.

My Birthday Celebration

2008-05-22T19:49:00.000-07:00

Sunday, May 18th, my wonderful husband and children made my day. Kelly arranged to have Kimi, Sami and their gang (minus my loving "Son", Phil. I missed you kiddo) come to celebrate my birthday. What a great, relaxing day it was. I say relaxing because I didn't have to lift a finger unless I chose to. For those that know me well, that was hard for me to do. I am so thankful for my family and every day I say this. Sami, thank you for helping Dad out with getting the food. I know you are always busy so that meant so much to me. I so much enjoyed the grandboys. It was great to see them all together and running around the property without a care in the world. They are truly awesome and loving boys. Thanks again for my special day.

No room at the patio table but the boys didn't
seem to mind. Peace Ty!!

My Husband Cooks!!!!!!!

Cutting my cake that Sami, Kaleb and Kyler made.

Sami and Kimi minding the boys by the water.

Kelly being Kelly (gotta love him).

Getting Excited !!!!!

2008-05-12T09:54:00.001-07:00

Two months from today my wonderful family, who I miss dearly, will be coming to visist (by the time they get here it will be a year since I've seen them). My brother, Tim, and his wife and three kids, my mom and dad and my niece, Elizabeth, will be here on the 12th of July. I'm getting so excited. They are bringing my new niece, Hailey Jo (I call her HayJo), that I haven't met yet. They are only staying for two weeks but, I'm trying to talk my mom into staying a couple of weeks extra so she can stay for the Piute Co. Fair. Since I'm in charge of the entertainment at the fair I thought I would slip my girls in to perform. Tim, Nicole and Jacob haven't been out here for 10 years so I think it's about time they came. Lots of activities on the agenda, Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon, rafting on the river, fishing, BBQing, horseback riding, Valley of Fire and three days in Vegas. Should be loads of fun. They're going to need a vacation from their vacation.

The day before Mother's Day we bought two female rabbits. We're hoping to have some baby rabbits by the time my fam gets here. For the longest time, we thought our first rabbit was a girl, nope, it's a boy. His name is Shrek, the biggest female is named Fiona and the littlest one is Arial. We decided to name the rabbits after Disney characters, that's if the Grandboys want to name their baby rabbits that too after they're born.

Awards of Excellence

2008-05-07T20:18:00.000-07:00

Tonight the girls and I went to the Piute High Awards of Excellence dinner. They both got awards in various classes. We are so proud of them for trying so hard and caring about their grades. Keep it up girls.

Kelly's 47th Bday Celebration

2008-05-06T11:55:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite pic cause Cowboy posed

on his own.

I sure love this handsome man !!!!

This has got to be the cutest and coolest family.

Sunday was so fun. Alot of work but, worth it. We went up the canyon from our house to picnic with some pretty tasty food. To quote Jade, "It was a meal of a life time". It's so nice when we are able to get the whole family together to have some fun. It doesn't seem to happen very often since we moved to Junction. Hopefully, this summer we can have more get togethers.

Kaleb and Kyler decided that they wanted to stay at our house for a few days after the get together. I took the boys to the park for a picnic on Monday. They didn't seem to mind two picnics in a row. We had fun then the wind picked up (story of our life here in Junction). Beautiful day today so it's time to go outside.

Get Your Motor Started,

2008-05-01T08:16:00.000-07:00

Get On The Highway!!!!

Yep, she did it. Dani is now a "legal" driver. Look out Piute Co. Load off my mind cause I didn't want to drive her to and from Snow College.

Took Kelly to lunch for his birthday, yesterday. The waitress heard me say that it was his bday and took it upon herself to gather the other waiters to do the dreaded act. Yep, you guessed it. They sang "The Song". He wasn't very happy with me and he said that paybacks are hell. I'll be spending my birthday far away from resturants.

New Thunderette!!!!

2008-04-26T08:05:00.000-07:00

Dakota, Courtney's escort. Not her date, cause she's only 14. Dani kept teasing
her and calling him her date. We did let him drive her to the dance.

Court, being announced as a new Cheer-Dance Team Member. The school board decided to combine the two, big mistake. Most girls didn't want the two combined. It was sad not to see Danielle up there too.

We forgot to take her picture, with her sash and gown, when we got home. So, the PJ's work just fine. Dad got to the dance just in time to have a dance with me then Court. The one dance we had was perfect.

Celebrate Good Times!!

2008-04-23T11:40:00.000-07:00

YeeHaw
Danielle got her acceptance notice from Snow College. She told me not to open it so I had to go to the school and get her out of class cause I couldn't wait until she got home. She's pretty dang excited. I'm excited but a little sad because she can't do drill for her last year in school. Speaking of which, Courtney's drill team tryout is Friday. Cross your fingers.

Wind or No Wind

2008-04-21T14:29:00.000-07:00

If the jeep don't start, you make do. Took this picture from our bedroom window.
Jade jammin like no other. The wind didn't stop us from having a great time with The Whitlock boys. We can't believe how fast all the grandboys are growing up. Thank goodness for the little Johnson baby on the way. Cause after our 2 1/2 months scare of thinking we were going to have a little one, we were kinda getting baby hungry. But, all is well, we're content with the GRANDBABIES. When the weather gets better, and boys can actually stay outside more then a minute, we'll have another shindig with those handsome monkeys here at The Holt Ranch. We have two hens nesting so maybe we'll have some baby chicks to add to the clan.

"A Night Under The Stars"

2008-04-19T18:41:00.001-07:00

Prom Night!!!!!!

Our beautiful, little girl is growing up. Here in Junction, the parents get to attend Prom too. Her date wasn't her boyfriend. She got asked by the new kid in school. The juniors really did a great job with the decorations, really pretty. Their theme was
"A Night Under The Stars". Dani had a great time and after the dance a few of her friends came over to watch a movie til 2am. Jade stayed up to chaperone.

Some of the junior girls didn't get asked right away so a couple of the (popular) senior boys asked them. I thought that was so sweet. You won't see that in the bigger schools. Anyway, here's a funny story. Kelly and I are laying in bed, the morning of prom, and we're talking about pity dates. I asked him if he's ever been on a pity date and he said yes. Before he could continue, I asked him which popular girl asked him out. He He. He didn't think that was very funny.

We Be Shakin'

2008-02-01T16:24:00.000-08:00

Literally!!!!! Yep, we had us an earthquake just before midnight last night. I had just turned off the TV, Kelly was already asleep, and then said my prayers and thought to myself "Wow, that wind is really blowing". A few minutes later the house starts swaying to and fro. Thought to myself again "Damn, that wind is blowing". Then it hit me that it was an earthquake so, of course, I wake Kelly and Dani comes out of her room with her eyes as big as an owls. I asked her if she felt that and she said, "Yea, I jumped out of bed and thought I was on a house boat". Kelly and Courtney slept right through it. No damages or injuries.

Oh, How The Weather Turns

2008-01-16T06:58:00.001-08:00

Here in peaceful Junction the weather can be so crazy. Yesterday morning when I went out to feed, the weather was COLD but calm. In the afternoon in the sun, the temp. was 70 degrees. By 5:30 pm, it was 18 degrees and the wind about knocked me on my butt. If it wasn't for the animals, I wouldn't have stepped foot outside. Danielle came home from school yesterday sick. Tonsils red as a beet. Of course she stayed home from school today. She's worried because she's suppose to dance with drill team tonight. Oh, to be a teenager and have that be your biggest worry.