February 21st - 27th

Well buckaroos, here is the Wrangler again.  For some reason this year it is getting more and more difficult to write in my Tally Book... must be all the good times we are having with Cowboy Tom and Steve & Penny Dail.  Of course the Olympics being on TV every night hasn't helped either.

Let's start with last Saturday... the day Arda started to celebrate her birthday and yes it lasted until last night, one week later.  Saturday we all went to Sierra Vista so Arda could pick out her birthday gift from Tom.  He bought her a Wii game called sport resort and guess what?  Vicki, Penny & Arda spent all Sunday afternoon playing the different games... was our trailer ever rocking!

Sunday night we went to dinner at the local Mexican Restaurant (L' Esperanza) where 11 of us helped her celebrate.  We ate an excellent dinner and then went back to our trailer where Penny had a cake for Arda.  Of course Penny wanted to celebrate all week.

Here are some birthday pictures... Arda's & Arda's Parties

Monday dawned at last with Arda and Penny in trepidation as they were starting a week of Cowboy School with Bob King.  I don't think either of them  were all that thrilled but once they started, they has a blast... even with their sore tail bones!  Bob is a great teacher and very, very patience but of course he had to be with these two!  By the end of the week Arda was looking very relaxed in the saddle (now if we could only put it on a horse! Just kidding) so that she was trotting and loping around the arena.

Thursday the ladies were so committed to riding (or was it because Bob told them they had too) that they rode for a couple of hours in the morning before we headed to the Tucson Rodeo which is in its 85th year.  We met Arda and Gerry any Willie and Vicki at the rodeo grounds and enjoyed a very good afternoon with the temps in the low 70's with a slight breeze.  The rodeo was also good.  After the rodeo, we went back to look at Arda and Gerry's new motor home (very nice!) and then we went to dinner where yes, once again it was a celebration only this time there were two Arda's celebrating - double trouble.  They both enjoyed the strawberry shortcake and the restaurant crew sang happy birthday to them.  It was a fun time.

Here are some photos from the Tucson Rodeo... Tucson Rodeo

The Wrangler didn't ride until Friday as it was girls' week, besides I had to wrangle my taxes which took a couple of long days.  I did go one day and watch... it was amazing to see the progress both ladies made.

Every night we got together to eat/share dinner and watch part of the Olympics.  Penny also provided dinner for all on 2 different nights... she can cook for me anytime.

Saturday we went to the Tucson Studios where many of the western movies were made.  There are over 300 movies that were made on this site.  We wandered from one set to another which was very entertaining.  Of course it wouldn't do to walk past the ice-cream store without stopping in... ice-cream is a magnet to Arda and Steve!

More pictures from the Tucson Studios where over 300 movies were made... Tucson Studios

On the way home we stopped at the local Mexican Restaurant again... they really do have good food.

Well that is it for this week.  I hate to do this to you but I will be adding more pictures later as I have over 600 pictures to sort through so I can put the best out here so check back later in the week.

Until next time, keep your loops open.

February 13th - 20th

We had a busy week with Wrangler Dave attending Cowboy School along with Cowboy Tom and Steve Dail (Tom's friend from Colorado).  We worked a lot on getting our balance while riding which in several instances turned out to be a good thing.  One thing Bob did was change how I sit in a saddle so I am so  much more relaxed & comfortable.

Arda, Vicki, and Penny had a chauffer by the name of Willie who drove them to Bisbee where they met up with Arda (1) and Gerry.  They spent the day wandering the streets, drinking coffee and eating.  Fortunately they didn't find a lot to buy as it is a very artsy town so we saved a lot of money  :-).

The weather has been great so every evening we had cocktails outside the trailer.  Once the sun went down, we headed inside as the desert cools off very quickly.

Steve and Penny have not had TV since they were here so they have brought their dinner over so they could see the Olympics.

Last Sunday we played tourist and went to Bisbee (saw the big hole in the ground) and then to Tombstone where Cowboy Tom treated us to a stage coach ride around town.

Yesterday (Saturday 20th) Arda started to celebrate her birthday with dinner in Sierra Vista at the Texas Longhorn.  The video shows her sitting on a saddle while the restaurant yelled "yipee".  Be sure to have the sound turned up when you watch this.

Arda has at least 2 more birthday dinners... tonight at a Mexican Restaurant and  Thursday when we go to the rodeo.

Well that's it for this week.  Keep your loops open until next time.

February 8th - 12th

Sorry for not getting this done sooner but there wasn't much happening last week.  The Wrangler wound up in bed for 3 days with a cold and then just lazed around trying to recover for this week at Cowboy School.

In the meantime Arda visited with Vickie and Willie van Hoof, Penny and Steve Dail (friends of Cowboy Tom) and of course, Cowboy Tom.  She did a lot of walking and a little bit of bike riding but she is having a good time.

That is all for now... more next week with pictures and until then, keep your loops open.

January 31st - February 7

Another week gone by and the weather is improving each day… as in getting warmer and dryer.  Arda’s cousin Arda 1 and her other cousin Willie along with his wife Vickie were here all week to there was lots of things to do, besides visiting and talking that is!

Gerry, Arda 1’s better half was in Phoenix and Las Vegas at an equipment show as he owns a gravel, and road construction company in Petawawa.  He is not sure if he bought anything or not but Arda and he did buy a new motor home while they were in Phoenix… it is huge and beautiful!

In the meantime, Wrangler Dave has been learning how little he really knew about horsemanship.  Bob has focused on this for the past 2 weeks and I have stiffness where I didn’t think there were muscles… do you think that is the problem?  On Friday started practicing our roping on Bob’s calves as preparation for Saturday we branded them.  It was a gorgeous day, blue sky, light wind, and about 72 degrees so what more could one ask for. 

Today is “Super Bowl Sunday” and we are having about 12 people coming over to the trailer to watch the game.  It should be fun as everyone is contributing something to the food.  Even if the game is a bust, the food will be great!

If you are interested, there are some pictures to see if you want to follow this link…  Family + Branding

That’s all for now.  Keep your loops open until next time.