Memorial Day Weekend

This is long, so be sure to scroll down to the bottom to see the all the cute pictures of Shelby and the horses.

On Saturday we headed to a friend’s place in Eagle Lake to spend some time by the water. We had a good time and took tons of pictures of Shelby playing in the water. There wasn’t really a beach front since it was on the river, so we had her play in a little pool that was there. She had never been in water that deep or the cold before so it took some getting used to. If you click on her link you’ll see all the funny faces she made while getting used to the water. Once she got used to it she had a lot of fun playing and splashing in the water.

We did take her to the end of the boat ramp on the Colorado river for a little while. It was really muddy and so we didn’t stay that long since she started sinking in the mud.

We had so much fun we decided to come back today (Sunday) with the horse trailer so we could stay the night. It makes it a lot easier because it gives us a ‘home’ for Shelby to go and take a nap or watch a video for down time. As I type I’m putting her down for a nap. She was screaming, but has settled down and is now ready to sleep. Hopefully Ryan won’t come in and wake her up.

We were going to go to the beach but a line of thunderstorms was coming through so we decided to wait. It was good for Shelby so she could take a nap. Unfortunately, the thunderstorms are passing so I’m not sure if we’ll be able to go to the area where the beach is at cause we have to get a ride in the mule to get to the nice area. Oh well…I’m sure they will come and get us after a while.

Shelby normally lays down with no problems, but because she’s in a strange bed (her play pen) and a strange area (the horse trailer) it takes a little more for her to settle down. I’m glad to see she’s adjusting and didn’t cry more than a few minutes. It will make the trip to MI easier, I hope.

I only have 9 more days of school. This week is a 4 day week and then next week is a 4 day week for the kids but a 5 day week for us. I’m really looking forward to the summer and enjoying more time with Shelby and riding the horses. My true loves…oh, and of course Ryan! J

Well, I guess that’s about it for now. I’m sure I’ll have more to say after we go to the sandbar on the river. Even though the water is dirty, it is still nice not to have to deal with the salt water. The ocean looks so pretty on TV or in the pictures, but it sure does taste bad! HA!

It is now Monday evening and what an adventure the last 24 hours have been! We did head down to the river to enjoy some time by the water. What made it interesting is how we go there and how we left. I learned to get to the Colorado River can be tricky. We took the mules down the road, through a HUGE pasture and eventually to a thicket of trees with a drop off of 100+ feet. So, the tricky part was finding a way to get down to the river where the sandbar was. Jesse, one of our friends, took off on foot to scope out the thick wooded area that had grapevines everywhere. After about 10 min he came back and told us he found a spot to go down.

As I tell you this, keep in mind I have my 7 month old daughter with me throughout this adventure. We started towards what looks like a rainforest when I realize we are going to go through this thick brush. I took a thick beach towel and covered Shelby with it to help protect her from any strange brush, etc. She didn’t like that too much cause, like her Mom, she is adventurous and didn’t want to miss a moment. We started going through the brush and grapevines which led us to the steep drop.

That’s when the “feeling” came to my stomach. You know that “feeling” you get as you reach the top of the first hill of the biggest roller coaster? Yes, so I felt a little exhilaration, but panic as I realized I’m going down this “roller coaster” with my most prized gift…Shelby. Jesse warned me not to panic as we might slip, but he assured me we were not going to roll over. So, off we went, down the steep incline and sure enough the last ¼ of the way we started to slip. We slid the rest of the way to safety. Phew…deep breath…breathe….It was a lot of fun, but scary too since I had Shelby in my arms trying to peak through the blanket with the big, excited eyes of an adventurous child.

So, then we drive off down the sandbar a little way to find a good place that had shade to park the mules. I changed Shelby into her swimsuit, which is tooooooo cute and took her off into the river. She had sooooo much fun. She laughed and giggled while splashing in the water. Ryan took tons of pictures so we could save those memories for us and share them with you.

After a few hours the thought that had been sitting in the back of mind was starting to become a reality. We had to go UP that STEEP hill we slid down. Jesse kept reassuring us it would be no problem, but I have to admit I was feeling very doubtful. By the time we packed up it was around 7:30 PM. Shelby’s bed time is usually around 8 pm. That’s when she begins to rub her eyes and start fussing. So, I was a bit concerned with how I was going to deal with that if we were delayed for a long time as the men determined how we were going to get back up that hill, which looked like a mountain to me!

Long story short, Jesse put his mule in 4 wheel drive and took off up the hill. I chose to walk up the steep bank with the fear of him flipping. Good choice since he got stuck in the slick mud about ½ the way up. Ugh…Then, the guys decided to have LeeJ, who had the other mule, which was not 4 wheel drive, up the same bank. He got stuck about 20 or so feet before the first mule. Great, two stuck mules, 5-6 kids, and 8 adults all looking up at these stuck mules and wondering how we were going to get back. We were several miles away from where we were staying and in the middle of nowhere. Seriously, look at the pics if you don’t believe me.

As I’m looking at this situation and wondering what on earth were they going to do someone (Ryan said it was his idea) came up with the GENIOUS idea to take a rope, put it on the 1st mule, put it around the tree above it, and then tie it to the 2nd mule. Then, the 2nd mule would go in reverse, which would then pull the 1st mule up towards the tree! A simple machine…sorda…as a teacher, I can really appreciate this simple, but very effective way of solving a really difficult problem. So, then, the 1st mule was up out of the mud enough so that it was able to pull the 2nd mule up the bank. We all then climbed up the bank and got back on the mules. All we had to do is go through the thick brush and grapevines and were back in the pastures and heading back to the camp. Phew!

The rest of the evening was, thankfully, uneventful. Shelby went to bed around 9 pm after giving her a shower. Well, that was kinda interesting since I’ve only given her baths in her safe, non-slip, bathtub. Hahaha…babies are VERY slippery when they are wet and covered in soap. Ryan and I had to team up. I held her and he hosed her.

Anyhow, around 11 pm I went with some friends on a pontoon down the river while Ryan stayed behind to take care of Shelby. It was very relaxing to drive down the river. So relaxing it made me very sleepy. We got back around midnight and it wasn’t long after that when I went to bed. Everyone stayed up and partied til late in the night. I woke up at 2 am and heard them, went back to sleep, woke up at 3 am when Ryan stumbled back into the trailer then again at 4 am when Shelby woke up. I brought her to bed with us and she slept til 6:20 am. Ugh…I was so tired and she was so not tired! So, we hung out til 8 am when she got tired again and slept THREE HOURS. That was wonderful! I even woke up before she did.

We were all going to go back down to the river again. Yes, we were going to take the mules down that embankment again! The guys had a plan though…leave one mule behind so it could pull the other one up when we wanted to leave. Anyhow, at that time Jesse and Rebecca’s son, Colton, went to check on the dogs. (They had dogs there cause they would go hog hunting in the morning.) Anyhow, one of the dogs had gotten poked by a tusk of a hog right next to his private parts. The poor dog had some fat seep out of the hole. Jesse thought it was guts. Anyhow, we all decided to pack up and Ryan offered to take the dog to the vet. He figured the injured dog would be more comfortable in the back of our enclosed trailer and not bothered by the other dogs.

So, we take the dog with us and stop by the Wharton vet. I hadn’t been to this facility and was anxious to see it. The facility is VERY nice and has a wonderful set up for large animals. I was happy to know I have to wonderful vets so close to where we lived. A back up is always really nice to have incase of an emergency.

Ryan has his way with vets. He has been in surgeries with vets and seen lots of interesting surgeries. Anyhow, this vet was alone and asked Ryan to help out with getting the dog put out so he could cut him open and find out whether it was fat that had fallen out or his guts. We were REALLY hoping it was fat. Next thing I know they are cutting the dog open and digging around his guts. Very cool to see! However, Shelby started fussing and I didn’t think the vet needed us in there with Shelby squealing…yes…squealing…it’s something she learned this weekend. So, I took her out to the horse trailer and we waited for Ryan to return. The good news was it was fat that had fallen out and I believe the dog will be in the vet’s clinic for a couple of days, but he should be fine.

So, after that we came home. We were so tired from the adventurous 24 hours we just laid around the rest of the afternoon and took a nap when Shelby did. It is now going on 11 pm and I ‘m awake writing this cause I took my nap and wasn’t sleepy at my normal bed time. I can see this is VERY long so, I better close here. Enjoy the pictures of Shelby. My friend, Rebecca, is going to email me the pictures of the mules going up the embankment so I hope to add them soon. I’ll let you know when I do.

PS: Happy Memorial Day – God bless all my friends and family who have or are serving in the military!

PSS: Happy Birthday to my sister Michelle! I’m so sorry I didn’t call today! It was 11 pm your time before I realized today was the 25th and I hadn’t called. L I hope you had a great weekend and I look forward to hearing about it! Love ya!