A Post!!!

Well, both kids are asleep!!!! So I figured I better post something now or never. Connor is such a big boy and is sooo ready to start school in the fall. And, yes, I cut my hair- and surprisingly Henson didn't kick me out of the house (he does not like short hair)

Haidyn turned two in January and is potty trained now and as you can see, fights almost nonstop with her brother.

I am still pursuing my dream of training and competing on our ranch raised horses. Hopefully by next summer, Lynx and I will be ready for rodeos!

What can I say- ranch life is crazy busy- especially in the warmer months. We've really been trying to sell, sell, sell our horses. I even made a website! (jhearthorses.com) We are also going to try to have a real horse sale this fall and maybe we can get rid of 30+ horses in one weekend because as you can see there are lots that need homes.

Me and my first barrel horse Lynx

I know it has been forever since my last post but I have been keeping really busy. For one, I'm training my own barrel horses (having absolutely no experience). I have been working with two others but Lynx is the furthest along and he is only going to be 4 this year. I hope to be seasoning him this spring and maybe we will be winning some money this summer. It has been a long journey trying to train a horse without a real practice arena two little ones and a crippled husband- haha sorry Henson! I'm sure most of you know that Henson had a herneated disc and was having chronic pain for over a year so we finally decided to have surgery. He is in his sixth week of recovery so he will be able to start doing more soon. We have been practicing in Holbrook at the rodeo grounds- I have been trying to go there at least once a week. Our first race will be on Feb.5th so wish us luck!!

(I was going to post a video, but it was taking too long)

I have a youtube channel if anyone is interested in seeing videos of me and my horses here's the link I hope it works for you: http://www.youtube.com/user/dbarnhill6?feature=mhum

Halloween costumes

Branding day fun

Connor, Haidyn and Ross all had their turn riding calves

Weekend of fun!

We had such a great weekend! We were able to take a couple of days off and go to Durango for Labor Day Weekend. We left on Saturday afternoon and ate at Bar D on Saturday night. For those of you who dont know what Bar D is, I will tell you!! They start off by serving you (and like 700 others!!) a delicious supper of steaks or barbecue with baked beans, baked potato, a dinner roll, applesauce and spice cake. (I thought it was pretty good or maybe I was just starving because we got there sooooo early!) Then the Bar D Wranglers perform a music show with cowboy songs and they are pretty funny too!! Connor loved it. He was entertaining everyone with his dancing.

Sunday we relaxed most of the morning- we actually got to watch television!! Its been so long since we have watched satellite or cable, whatever you call it. I can't believe all the craziness on TV, anyway, we watched fishing most of the time. In the afternoon we took a drive to Silverton- I can't believe how cold it was there. That evening walked around downtown Durango. It was great to see all the sights again- Henson and I honeymooned there over 5 years ago!! There must have been some kind of biker rally or something cause there were Bikers everywhere!!!

We left on Monday and took our time driving home. I wanted to go to all the tack stores in the area and buy me a saddle but being Labor Day, almost everywhere was closed so that was a bummer. :-(

I didn't take any pictures cause my battery was dead, oh well!!

Our next vacation will probably be for the NFR in Las Vegas in December- I can't wait!!
Until then, back to work!!

Summer fun

These pictures were taken at the Spurlock Family Reunion at Bison Ranch in Overgaard, AZ. We all had lots of fun playing vollyball, tetherball, swimming, watching movies, and eating. This was our first year going and hope we get to go in the years to come- it was a very relaxing getaway.

What a big girl!!

Yay! Connor is four years old now! It's kinda wierd though because since the day he turned four he stopped taking naps. He is into break dancing right now, and has some great moves. He is such a sweet big brother to Haidyn too. We love you Connor!!


In the beginning of June we went to visit my Dad in Belen, NM for his birthday and were also able to visit with my nieces. One of them is Haidyn's age and they had a blast together (I took that last pic just before they fell over together!)

Little angels

(Oh how I wish they were like this on all road trips!)


Haidyn is walking now (she started just before Easter). She has also learned how to defend herself against her brother, as you can see on Connor's face. She is such a sweet and smart little girl. She loves to be outside and can spot out an animal anywhere!!

Connor is so excited for his birthday that is coming up on May 15th, and thinks he is old enough for school. Connor is into Power Rangers right now and won't wear his cowboy boots anymore because "power rangers don't wear boots"

Its been a while!

Wow, I can't believe it has already been almost 4 months since we moved back. We have been so busy and have done a lot of things! We love working on the ranch and something exciting happens everyday. In the next few months we will see lots of baby colts and calves- we have even seen some already. The weather has been so nice lately, but I'm sure there will be at least one more storm so I'm trying not to get spring fever yet.

We took Ross, Haidyn and Connor to the Phoenix zoo a couple of weeks ago. They all had a blast and were completely worn out after three hours of running from animal to animal. We tried to take a family picture with the giraffes behind us- but it didn't turn out so well. As a matter of fact, I dont think we even got the giraffes in the picture (thanks Linny)




We also celebrated Haidyn's first birthday!! She loves to walk holding Mommy and Daddy's hand. She's not walking by herself just yet. However, she says words like 'uh oh' 'hot' 'woah' (to the horses) 'hi' and 'eyes'.

I finally got my computer up and running so hopefully I get to post more often now.

Halloween

This year Connor was the only one who dressed up. He was an 'indian'.

A new chapter begins!

We have officially moved to the ranch! We will be working on the ranch and we'll get to see our bucking bulls almost everyday! So I know almost everyone who reads this knows how hard ranching is, but there might be some who might think "How hard could it be? There are big open pastures that the cows roam around in, eat, and take care of themselves right?? Oh no!- Henson will be mending fences, building corrals, feeding the animals that are not out to pasture, checking each pasture to make sure none of the animals are on the wrong side of the fence, doing day-long horse rides to move the animals from one pasture to another, hauling water, loading and unloading hay, cleaning out horse pens, welding stuff, breaking and halter breaking colts, branding, and I'm sure there's more, but I can't think of them right now. ( I bet Cleo could think of some more)

And all of this Henson's parents have been pretty much doing themselves! So we decided we needed to come and relieve them, cause Henson says they're getting too old. Jerry and Nancy are the hardest working people I know and do EVERYTHING together. They are also the most generous and selfless couple in the world! They do so much for everyone and I have never heard them complain or ask for anything in return. What a great example they set for us- we love them to death!!!

We are all excited for this change, but also bummed. We have made a lot of friends in Flagstaff and the surrounding areas and will miss them so much. We are so happy that Connor and Ross (Henson's baby brother) get to grow up on the ranch together. I am looking forward to living closer to family again and hopefully that means I can ride my horses more with all the babysitters!

I will post pictures as soon as all this moving madness ends.

Weekend in Payson

Last weekend Henson's sister, Tally, took us to Grandpa & Grandma Spurlock's house in Payson. We had a great time with the Grandparents and we got to relax for a change. Sunday was a beautiful day so I took the family outside for pictures. Hope you enjoy!



Haidyn is sitting on the very first saddle that my talented husband made.

Navajo rug weaving

A couple of months ago I asked my grandma if she could weave me a saddle blanket and being the awesome grandmother that she is, agreed. I was so excited and while she was putting the loom together I had an epiphany- "I should learn how to weave!!!" So we made a small loom for me and she started my saddle blanket. She finished my 3' x 5' blanket in about three weeks. Here is a picture of me and my brand new saddle blanket (its folded in half). The rug behind me on my right, and the little one on my left are some she wove a long time ago and gave to my mother who then gave them to me. The one in the middle was given to us as a wedding gift by Nancy (Henson's mom). Sorry the picture is crooked- Connor was my photographer.

Here is a picture of mine...... two months later. It is hard for me to find time where I can work on it without someone 'trying to help me'- All you parents know what I'm talking about. I have just done straight lines for now cause I haven't learned how to do other designs yet. Weaving with only one color is an art of its own, and coordinating colors and coming up with a design is just crazy! But I'm sure I'll get there one day. My grandmother is now weaving Henson a saddle blanket. I'll post a picture when it is finished.

Here is a picture of my grandma holding Haidyn a while back.

Winn Family Reunion

This year we had the Winn family reunion at Lyman lake for the second year in a row on Labor day weekend. It rained a lot but there was a lot of sunshine too. Thanks to all the chefs in the family we ate real good- we had fajitas and shrimp boil (a tradition) for dinner- yummy! The adults sat around the campfire and talked nonsense, the teenagers played cards, and the kids (or their parents) made bottle rockets. I think Connor's (I should say Henson's) went the highest and had the coolest spin on it.


Last but not least, we all had fun on the boats. Life jackets and Cowboy hats- it doesn't get any better than that!

No more Bean

Last week we lost Bean. I have had her since 2001-she was just a pup. We have been through a lot together- she lived with me in college, and was probably a little upset when I married Henson and her spot in the bed was taken. She welcomed Connor into our home and was also accepting when Haidyn came along too. She developed cataracts when she was about three years old and still got along very well. We will all miss her and maybe one day she will be back, but for now we can just hope that she is in good hands.

On a brighter note, a couple of months ago Henson's mom gave us a german shepherd puppy named "Filly" she isn't small anymore and is such a good dog. Nancy was originally supposed to give her to her sister but ended up giving her to us- I guess she is where she is supposed to be.

A True Cowboy

Henson just started breaking his 500th colt (I might be exaggerating but he has broken a lot)! It is really neat to see the transformation that Henson is able to make in these horses. The colts come just barely halter broke and in a day or two he will have them saddled. After a few more days he will be riding them out on the ranch gathering cattle! He learned from his dad when he was 13 and has been doing it ever since. Pretty soon he will be teaching Connor! (right now he is making me train my own horse but that is a whole 'nother post!')

Mom and Dad bought me a new "jumpoline"

I love to jump on my new jumpoline. I especially love to play 'bucking bulls' with my pops. He 'bucks' really high and I can hang on really tight. Thanks mommy and daddy!