Cowboyin' it Up

This past week Danny, my little brother Reed, and I were able to go to Danny's grandparents ranch in New Mexico. We did a lot of fun things like driving cattle to a new pasture, branding, cooking, playing cards, and just catching up with everyone. Reed had a GREAT time because this is something that he has never done before. I wasn't able to do a lot of the ranching stuff because I'm pregnant, but I sure had fun watching everyone!









Grandad is rounding up a cow to brand it.



Reed was the bucket boy :) He loved running up to the cow and catching the balls as Danny cut them out haha.



Danny would trap the cow in the Nordfork (occasionally he would miss the head and have to just tackle the cow) and then everyone else would run in and give the cow shots and brand it all at once. Then Danny would cut off the sacks and balls and give it to the little boys to collect and cut the ear so that we could tell which cows have been done.



Danny had to tackle this one



Gran was so hardcore. She would march up to the cow, put her foot on it, and stick the hot brand into its skin. It was pretty cool to watch.



This cow was a BIG one whose balls had already dropped. And of course this is the one that Danny missed with the Nordfork. So a couple of guys had to tackle it and he chopped the stuff off. Reed went to gather the goods and as he ran away from the cow he said "Those are the biggest oysters I've ever seen!" We all just about died laughing :) Good ol' Reed. After Danny took away his manhood, the cow got pretty mad and head butted him. He had a couple of fat lips for a little while.



Reed was also lucky enough to try riding a calf! He didn't last too long though.



Reed felt really cool when he got the cow's blood on him.





Everyone kept asking Reed if he wanted to be a cowboy when he grew up. His answer was, "I already am a cowboy!"



This pic was taken right before Grandad's horse, Kid, went crazy on us. Danny and I took Reed out to ride the horse a little bit and while he was riding it started to rain. We were quite a ways away from the house and when it started raining Kid freaked out and started running home. We yelled at Reed to stop him and he yelled back "I'm trying!" Before we knew it, Kid was in a full gallop trying to get home and Reed was just holding on for dear life! I was so scared. I yelled at Danny to go run after him but he said there was no way he could catch a running horse (Danny and I were just on foot). So I had to stand there and watch this horse run off with my little brother. Reed stayed really calm though and just held on for dear life. When we were walking back to the house we realized that the horse also jumped over a ditch. I couldn't believe that Reed got to ride a galloping horse and jump a ditch with him. Grandad wasn't too happy about Kid running off but everyone thought it was the funniest thing in the world. I was scared out of my mind but it was still really funny to watch Reed on that running horse.





Gran fries up the cow balls after branding and has everyone eat them. Reed ate about four of them. I ate a piece of one on a big chip with salsa and just about threw up as it went down. It didn't taste bad, but the thought of eating rocky mountain oysters makes me sick ha.



We went shooting and Reed was the best shot out of us all.





This is Grandad's super nice cowboy hat :)



Danny had to put on Grandad's hat for a picture.

We had a TON of fun at the ranch and the family reunion this year. Reed was a blast. He was such a good helper and he got to do a lot of cool things. Danny's family is incredible. They are some of the nicest and most giving people I have ever met. I can't wait until next years reunion!!