What I learned...

Never take a horse that hasn’t been to town for four years, into town, riding bareback, with your four year old daughter riding jauntily behind you clinging to your waist, urging you to go faster. Even a good old horse is liable to have a snort attack and shy and snort at everything he sees. Add an out of shape thunder butt like myself to the mix and WATCH OUT!! Hee hee. Luckily we made it into town safely and L was able to ride home in the car with her Granny after work.

The following pictures depict scenes from our strenuous activities : -)

Thunder Butt Rides Again!!!

... and she managed not to topple off!

"Helping" grandpa set the sprinklers up in the field. Ella and I are deep in thought here it seems!



We helpfully used the lawn tractor to take all the sprinklers out to the field. Boy do I love mom's lawn tractor!

Ella's Activities

Ella has been having a great time these last few weeks. We've been at a different church every Sunday which is tiring but during the week we've mostly just been staying home and Granny's, playing with all the cool toys, jumping on the trampoline, riding horses and watching movies.

We've had a lot of "outside time" too, which is exactly how I imagined our time here being. Ella is so much like her Granny it's funny. They enjoy all the same things and are pretty good pals.

We enjoy visiting Granny at work. This is the boutique section... My mother working at a boutique of all things is a real kick :)

Ella helping her Granny in the video store section

Come to find out, Ella is a fanatical horse rider. The kid loves it! And I love taking pictures of her... I am resisting the urge to push her and try to teach her how to steer and stuff because although a large child, she is only four years old. We will wait until next time we come, when she's six, to start any real riding lessons.

Coordination - standing on a bucket brushing her (rather large) horse

Cowgirl gear - boots and a ball cap :)

Hankie storage - I loved this!

She rides around singing, talking and "doing tricks." She is so much fun to ride with, even if it is around and around the front field for 45 minutes at a time... ;) I can't believe that God gave me a kid who enjoys horses almost as much as I do!

First trip to WY

Long time no blog because I've just been so darned busy and productive to take a break and update my blog. NOT! Hee hee. The weather has turned BEAUTIFUL and I can't just find it in me to sit inside and do any computer work. Only the most essential and um, well, blogging doesn't quite fall into the essential category :)

We have now been in the States 2.5 weeks. It seems like we've been here a lot longer but um, I guess we haven't. I've spoken at three different churches and the chapel at the college that I graduated from, with the next three Sundays, a Saturday and Thursday booked until I get a Sunday off. Yah, and I don't do public speaking! Right :) What a great opportunity it's been to catch up with old friends and supporters and to make new friends as well. I am so amazed and impressed at the hearts of Montanans and just how darned nice they are. After being gone for four years I sort of thought I'd have been forgotten about but nope, that's not the case at all.

Ella is doing AMAZING. A lot of this is due to her strong and healthy attachment, which has made her a very confident little girl - so different than the frightened, insecure little tyke a year ago! She's been doing great meeting all the different people and attending all the different churches. She's even been happy to go to the nursery by herself without me or her Granny, which really is amazing. She is such a little trooper and I'm so grateful to God for helping her.

Yesterday I left her with her Granny and headed out by myself for the first time. I loaded up the dogs and my saddle and we headed down to a friends in Wyoming. My friend, Tiffany, has a four year old horse that is green broke and she wanted someone to take her out with and pony her along while she rode. We had a beautiful day and Arley, the four year old, did great! There were no rodeos and we just had a great time. I'm not even sore today! It is so good to be back in the saddle again :)

We hooked up the trailer and trailered the horses out a couple of miles to some BLM land

Shorty drove

and Nola got to ride in the back

Carter Mountain in the background. Beautiful country, eh?

Nola and Shorty

Tiffany digging around in the fridge. Tiffany brings about half the contents of the refrigerator whenever she rides!

Mmmm... nothing like a little cantaloupe!

Dear old Kipp, my trusty stead :)

I feel like I have the best of two worlds. Being from such a wonderful area as MT and WY and being able to live and work and make my home in the best of all African countries, Uganda. What a blessed person I am!

A Cowgirl and her new COWGIRL BOOTS!!!

Ella's Granny bought her cowgirl boots yesterday! We got them at Shiptons and they were even ON SALE, which was a good thing because I would not have allowed my mom to spend $70 on a pair of cowgirl boots for her granddaughter. Boots sure weren't that expensive when I was a kid!

A pair of little RED cowgirl boots!

I always had a pair of little red ropers when I was young, so this is sort of like reliving my childhood - only with nicer boots!

Ella is just amazing with the horses. Very confident and not afraid at all. She loves them!

The little cowgirl in her boots wrangles up her horse, Fixie

I saddled up Fixie for Ella (with the first little saddle that I ever owned!), saddled Rowdy for myself and rode around and around the front field for at least 45 minutes.

Ella rides like she does everything else - singing, clapping and generally being a clown

Rowdy, Ella and Fixie

Poor old Fixie looks a bit like an old plug in this picture, but really he's not! He's just the only horse I'd trust to put my fearless 4 year old on.

This is a dream come true for me! My daughter happily riding my old horse, Fixie, in my old little saddle!!! Could I ask for more? The weather has been very horse riding condusive too.

Big Sky country!

Yesterday evening we took a drive out to our friends farm. Montana at this time of the year is just beautiful, especially at dusk when you haven't been here for the last four years!

Ella, enjoying the beauty of God's creation

You can't see them very well but this is a large herd of deer. We saw tons of them - where were all the hunters last fall?

We even let Ella out to run with the dogs! She didn't last too long though....

This is Ella poking around in the ashes of the fire pit with a stick. I knew she'd like to just putz around playing in the Montana dirt when we got here!

It ain't all fun and games around here though. L also works alongside her Granny doing various chores.

Poop scooping is one of her favorites. I love this "grossed out" face!

And of course helping Granny hang up clothes on the line :)

"I'm gonna saddle up my pony..."

Ella is a natural born horse rider. Not only is she fearless, but she thinks it's fun as well. She likes to ride behind me and even lopes! Yesterday I saddled up Fixie so that she could ride by herself and I think they both liked it. I would not throw my four year old on just any horse but feel absolutely confident with Fixie in charge.

All ready to go

One of Ella's new found delights is checking the mail. Imagine the joy of having a little box at the end of the driveway that not only can you open, but provides you with a bunch of junk mail to play with to your hearts content!!

So you ride your horse down to the end of the driveway...

Open up the mailbox, pull out your mail...

... climb back on your horse and ride home!

I'm still in wonder at how confident this usually cautious child is on a horse... What a little cowgirl!!

Tractors!!!

You'll never believe what Ella's Granny and Grandpa got for her. I hardly could! It's her own little electric LAWN TRACTOR!!! She LOVES it. Jumped on and zoomed off right in the middle of my driving lesson! She took to this like a duck takes to water...

It was hilarious when they gave it to her. See, my mom has a lawn tractor and we had been talking about riding on it when we got to Montana. They gave Ella her little tractor before she'd seen my mom's. She was all happy driving it around and then I told her that Granny was going to get her lawn tractor. With a VERY surprised face Ella exclaimed, "This is for ME??!!!" She seriously thought that she was driving her Granny's big lawn tractor the big whole time!! The assumption cracked me up :)

It even has a little trailer for picking up sticks and such

Is this just not too much? The one thing about our family is that we sure do like to have fun!

The Matriarch on her red Craftsman lawn tractor

The Matriarch and her little protege

Ella was getting pretty cocky and doing tricks (that her GRANNY had modeled for her!)!

Ella hunkers over the wheel and gets a fiendish look in her eye. Seriously. I think being raised as a passenger in Kampala and other parts of Uganda has had a detrimental influence on the child! It's also a little frightening when my typically careful child yells, "Faster! Faster!" while driving her tractor. I'm beginning to dread the day she turns 16...

L's Grandpa is looking into getting this shipped back to Uganda with us. Isn't she fortunate to have such doting "grandpeople?"

Fun and Firsts

Ella's first strawberry (this was tried at her "anti taste bud adventure" stage but she's learned to love them since)

Bundled up and ready for chores or play

Moping the kitchen - this is fun for her! She could do it all day...

Granny's toy box is full of cool things, including.... this cool drill! Ella proceeded to "fix" her truck and barn with this cool little "drill"! Cracked me up... ;)

"She's a rootin' tootin' cowgirl with a six shooter gun!"

Ella brushing my old horse, Fixie. There is absolutely no fear involved here, despite the fact that Fixie is a 15+ hand horse!

Ella seems to be a natural with animals. Very confident.

All aboard!

Ella enjoys backseat driving on a horse just like she does in a car or on the back of a motorcycle. "Faster, faster!" she'll holler or, "Lets lope, Fixie!" I simply can not believe that she loves to lope around on a horse, the first and second times she's ever ridden one!

My old friend Tiffany and sister Becky, aboard Rowdy

Grandpa and Ella

Jumping on the tramp with Tiffany

Jumping on the tramp with Grandpa

Ella, Tiff, me and Shorty

Martha, L and Granny

Can you tell that we're having fun??!!!!