Look Who's Nifty!

Things have been busy, and I haven't been able to blog, but I wanted to catch up and write about my surprise birthday parties. The first party was a part of our Christmas White Elephant exchange when we got together for Teryn Lee and Holly's wedding. Ivy, my sister, brought the red hat and associated gear, and we had a lovely Christmas and birthday celebration all rolled into one. Teryn Lee came in a saw me with the red hat and said, "You're not going to wear that to the wedding are you?" I was awfully tempted!

At the time I thought I was celebrating with all my favorite people, but Teryn reminded me that I had quite a few other favorites. I didn't realize it then, but I got to celebrate my birthday with my other group of favorites too.

Every Saturday evening for the past 5 or so years, Teryn and I get together with a group and study the bible. As you can imagine, the group has become pretty close knit! Anyway, Tricia arranged to have a surprise birthday party for me at our chapel meeting. It was a complete surprise! Holly and Teryn Lee, Tricia and her kids, and all the chapel group helped to celebrate the occasion. My sweet, and talented, friend Karen even wrote a very special song for me! I can't say how blessed I am to have so many people that I love, and who love me back.

Friends

We had a treat last week when Michelle and the girls came to visit. We got out our trusty saddle donk, and the girls helped me train him a while. Ivy is riding Mihijo almost all by herself in this picture. We took a walk in the creek and found a nice sandy, place to sit and talk while the girls played. It was great getting to spend time with them again!

Crock-A-Diddle-Dandy

And you thought the Croc was a bachelor! Nope, he's been married almost 30 years! I've been thinking for a while that I was married to him, but yesterday I knew for sure! Last night when the goats came in, we could tell that one of the nanny's had kidded while they were out roaming. Problem is that the ranch is huge, and the goats go where ever they want. The babies could have been anywhere! We decided to go looking for them on the off chance that we might get lucky! We headed North East bacause we saw the goats come in from that direction. Pretty soon we saw some buzzards, so 'Croc' said, "Lets go look over there." Sure enough we found 2 beautiful, healthy baby goats. On the way home, we found another Nanny hidden behind a cedar, she also had just had 2 babies, and the buzzards were beginning to circle. 'Croc' put her in the truck - the only place she would fit was the front seat between my legs, and he held the babies till we got to the pens. This morning all 4 babies and their mamas are fine! We're pretty sure that if we hadn't found them, and if the buzzards didn't get them, the coyotes would have!

The story of Croc-A-Diddle-Dandy is an old one! One of the exchange students was trying to say Crocodile Dundee, and said it wrong! It's never been the same since!

Hee or Haw???

We started driving MiHijo today, and he did sooooo good!!! We didn't have any problem at all with the saddle, the ropes, starting, turning, and stopping. The only problem is that I want to teach him voice commands and I don't know if hee is left or right! I'm looking for info from anyone who might know.

I also uploaded a picture of a dog Teryn and I saw at the grocery store the other day. The picture is a bit blurry, but the dog was so cute, we had to take his picture!

AWOL Goats

The other day, the goats got lost! They were gone for 4 days before Teryn got a friend to fly his airplane to look for them. Teryn and Ty got to go up with him. They found the goats pretty fast, about 4 miles from home. After they located the goats, they got to do some sightseeing. They saw Capote Falls and a rock castle that some people from Germany are building. After they landed, they drove back to where the goats where, and then walked and led the goats home. Amazingly none were hurt or missing. I guess Chivo protected them, but just couldn't find the way back! Anyway, we were real relieved to get them back.

TLee and Holly with the 4-H

Teryn Lee and Holly led the 4-H horse group this past weekend. They had a good turn out with 10 kids. I think they make a great team!

4-H Show

The 4-H show was this weekend, and Ty's goats made the heavy weight division. We're happy to report that we raised the top 4 goats in Ty's class, with Ty's goats winning 3rd and 4th. We were also very pleased that one of our goats won grand champion again this year. The sale was great - it was fun, and the people of the community were very generous!

More Pictures

Wedding Pictures...At Last!!!

I'll start with Friday night events. After a BIG mexican supper, most of us headed to the bowling alley. For many of us who live in rural areas, bowling was a big treat! Teryn Lee hit a strike in this picture! Saturday morning was spent helping do what needed done, as well as shopping, visiting, and watching a cutting. I thought the picture of Dad helping TLee put on his bootineer was a sweet one! Finally, the picture you've been waiting for - Mr. and Mrs. Teryn Lee Muench, ll. They're set up at the ranch, and are starting 7 horses right now. Every time we see them, they seem to be in total bliss!

Christmas Ride

Live Nativity

Teryn Lee was King Herod one night, and he led a camel another night. I thought a picture would be good for his resume, but he said that the camel picture was strictly off the record! Tricia and Ryanna were angels one night, but I didn't have any good pictures!

Merry Christmas

Kiddos Christmas Pictures

Never Teach a Dog to Drive

The other day, Jake, our Border Collie, decided to help Teryn out with the driving. Teryn was loading the pickup and had the door open, when his back was turned, Jake jumped in the cab of the truck and accidently put it in gear! The door of the truck narrowly missed pinning Teryn to a post in the car port! The truck (and dogs) went a little way before hitting a clump of cedar trees and stopping! Now the door on the driver's side doesn't open and Teryn has to get in on the passenger side. Rather than scooting over, he just drives from the middle, using his left foot on the accelerator, brake, and clutch!

Wanna Play With a Porcupine??

Cody just had to know about that funny looking little creature!

Dean's List

I was goofing around on the internet, and found a news article where Clay was listed on the Dean's List for the Spring '08 semester. WAY TO GO CLAY!

Never Teach a Donkey to Dance!!

The title might be a bit misleading, but sounded too catchy not to use! The real title should be "Never Teach a Donkey to Use It's Lips Like Fingers!" MiHijo is pretty much like a 2 year old kid - into everything. Just lately he has: unplugged Teryn's diesel pickup, figured out how to open the gate, figured out how to open the gate even when it has a pin in it, drags stuff off the flat bed, sticks his head into the open window of Teryn's truck and drags stuff out (the truck is old and we can only open the front doors by reaching outside - thus the open windows!) Teryn curses the donkey and laughes at him in equal parts! I just laugh at them both!

"Moore" Pictures

We were driving though the ranch and I took some pictures of the beautiful scenery! So I thought I'd post a few pictures to entice our new friends who want to move to Texas!

Princess Ryanna

Ryanna Belle turned 1 year old on the 25th. She was very regal and, as usual, absolutely adorable during her birthday party!

The Real Home Sweet Home!!!

You can see in the picture, there is a portable building that would make a great tack room, next a nice patio, then the bunk house, a wash rack area, and an 8 horse stall. I also added a picture from a hill close by, looking down on the place, and a view of the surrounding hills.

Home Sweet Home

I wanted to send Holly and TLee some pictures of their home-to-be, but have trouble emailing pictures, so I decided the blog was my best bet. Pictured are the house, the tack room, and the outhouse. The outhouse needs a little work cause the walls are falling down, but a little bit of tin and some elbow grease will go a long way!!!


JUST A JOKE!! I'm sure the next blog entry will be a relief!

ECR National Finals 2008

I was pretty short with ECR news in my last post. I finally have a little time to sit and describe the event! Unfortunately, I don't have many pictures, I was busy trying to keep my hands warm and holding Ryanna! But, Merrick studios was there, if you want to go to that site you will find 80 pictures of Teryn Lee as well as a folder of pictures titled, "Thrills, Spills, and Remarkable Moments." The easiest way to go there is to do a search for Merrick Studios Distinctive Equine Photography, then click on the Cowboy Extreme photos. As you look at the photos remember that it was freezing! One of the contestants was completly submerged in water when her horse stumbled going through the tank. Another highlight was the "Mare From Hades," that they had to ride and 'pony' through the "Extreme Ravine." They had some great obstacles! Craig Cameron likes a "light hand." So one of the obstacles was riding a portion of the course using yarn for reins. I think TLee and only about 3 others were able to successfully complete that obstacle. What made Teryn Lee's ride so remarkable was that his horse is only 3 years old. Most of the competetors brought seasoned horses! Another obstacle that I liked was where they had to blindfold their horses and lead them over board planks! It takes a lot of trust and obedience for a horse to agree to do that! On some of the pictures you can see snow /sleet on the horse's rump and on TLee's hat. We were a little disappointed because Teryn Lee wound up breaking his winning streak by getting 2nd place, but we look forward to seeing him reclaim his title next year! Teryn Lee has some more exciting news. He's loved being in Whitesboro with Mark and Marsha, and has learned a lot, but he's missed home - he says he's wanted to come home for about a year! So he and Holly decided to move home and train horses here for awhile. He says that he still has tons to learn, but the easier schedule will be a better way for them to start out their married life - and they will be living on a ranch about 5miles from us. Needless to say, we are really excited for very selfish reasons!

'Ketchup'

I have a lot of blogging to 'ketchup' on! I'll start with Ryanna! She's just starting to walk solo. It's not a great picture, but you get the idea!
Next comes Ty. Some of you may recognize the dirt bike in the picture! It was Clay's when he was about Ty's age. Clay sold it to a friend, and Ty bought it back. He zooms all over the ranch!
Nothing is really new with Clay, except he's working hard and going to school!
Teryn Lee was in the Extreme Cowboy Race National Finals in K.C. Missouri. The obstacles were great, but he wound up getting 2nd place this year. Pictured are most of the cheering section - they deserve recognition - because the weather was freezing!
Tricia is the next one with news! She's been accepted to nursing school, and got several very generous scholarships and grants. She's set to go in Jan.
Big Teryn has been living his dream doing lots and lots of day work! He says he feels guilty because he's getting paid to do something he loves!
Can't forget MiHijo! He's learning to bow, so I can get on him more easily when the time comes! That's about it for me - other than playing with MiHijo, and working, I stay busy just trying to keep up with everyone!:^)

Oops

I was in a rush when I was blogging yesterday. There should be only one t in lookat in the address for TLee and Holly's pictures. The corrected website is www.lookatmccoy.com Sorry for any inconvience! Also I found out the the calendar Clay is in is the 2010 Western Horseman Calandar. I believe it will be on sale in July. That's all the news for now!

Ain't Technology Great!!!

Teryn Lee and Holly had a photo session yesterday, and you can see the results via computer if you go to: www.lookattmccoy.com
Once there, go to 'enter and enjoy', then go to 'clients,' next type in the following password to get to their pictures: 10100852tandh.

Clay is doing a photo session of his own today with Western Horseman for their calendar! I don't have a website, but I think it will be a reshoot of the picture for Bit and Bridle magazine - only "duded up."

On His Knees

Teryn just celebrated his 52nd birthday and I was thinking about the ways he's changed since I've known him. He was a diamond in the rough when we first met, the rough is all gone now, and he's a diamond! In the picture, he's on his knees playing with Ryanna. When I saw him playing with her like that I realized that I love him the most when he's tender, and I'm seeing that tender side of him more and more!

MiHijo LOVES Ryanna!!!

I had to add this picture! The other day I went walking with Ryanna, and MiHijo followed along. As we walked I begain to notice that MiHijo was always on my left side next to Ryanna. I was curious to see if it was by chance or design, so I tested it 5 times! I carried Ryanna on the side opposite MiHijo, and it would only be minutes before he would be on the same side she was on! Since then we've gone walking several times, and EVERY time MiHijo walks as close to Ryanna as he can get!

How do you like my Arabian donkey? Actually his head gear is a fly mask that a friend crocheted. I think he looks very exotic!

4-H Project

This is a picture of Ty and his 4-H goat, Chuy. You can see from the picture why Ty named him that. Last kidding season, Chivo's inexperience got us. This was one of the 1st kids born, and Chivo didn't know what to do. In his anxiety he chewed off the baby goat's ear. The county agent says not to worry, the ear problem shouldn't hurt in the placing. Hopefully Chivo will do better this year. The other picture is of some baby chicks Teryn got to replace our layers with. Ryanna is carrying on the tradition - she loves the animals!!

Pinto Canyon Mercantile

I've been wanting to do a post on the Pinto Canyon Mercantile! Teryn slows down on Sundays, and we usually use that time to get supplies. What that means is that we go up to the barns and get produce from the garden, and eggs and milk from the refrigerator in the milk room. We milk in the room pictured, then strain the milk, and put it in the refrigerator as quick possible. We drink it raw, and the quicker it cools the higher quality the milk. We keep the chickens in the goat pens where they are safe from predators. So we also store eggs in that refrigerator. It works out really good, because it is a central place, and who ever needs supplies, just goes and gets what they need. One goat and 6 chickens gives plenty of milk and eggs for us, Tricia's bunch, and Dale.