Anniversary Cheers, Renn Arrives & a Full Moon

Today is Kaylin and Nathan’s first anniversary—cheers to a fabulous couple! XOXO ❤️

Mom’s eye surgery was cancelled because of her cold symptoms, with the coughing worse last night than the night before. Hopefully she can get on the mend and have her next two surgeries done when she’s feeling healthy.

We started the day with a big breakfast of side pork, scrambled eggs with veggies and a pot or two of coffee, especially welcome with it sitting at -1° outside.

Kaylin arrived with Renn for a visit and lunch, while Amanda popped out for a visit sans kids, who were of course at school. S was tuckered out from his week in Acadia Valley and was back in bed for a nap, while Chuck eventually did the same. Once wake, Grandpa took Renn downstairs to play in her castle and kitchen, which she was very excited about, giving the gals some uninterrupted visiting time.

Kaylin applied some fancy new eyelash clusters and got herself organized for her Banff get away, while we taught Amanda the new dice game before she headed to town for the kids’ after school activities. K eventually loaded up and headed off to Banff to meet Nathan, who has a conference there till Wednesday evening. Kaylin gets to enjoy some relaxation time while he’s busy.

The afternoon turned out really nice, so I let Hank and Roo out for a little herd break and then everyone headed onto the deck for some much-needed vitamin D.

Then inside for some sudoko and art :) and rums!

When supper time rolled around, Sheldon and Chuck ran to town to pick up KFC. The girls took Harley for a walk down to the gate and back, with a little horse visiting along the way, arriving back just before the guys did. Time for another KFC feast! I should be good for a while now. LOL.

Harley has been itchy again, so I started her back on Apoquel. (These boring notes in the blog are used to remind me when meds were given and other ranch facts)

Renn kept us entertained while we played more cards, with plenty of breaks to play with her. When B came out to feed her horses, Renn wanted to help, so we dressed up and headed outside too. It was a beautiful evening, and we even got to watch the full moon rising.

Back at the house, it was more visiting before B headed home around 9. Auntie Debby read three stories to Renn, then she said her goodnights then I took her to her bedroom for another story and some made-up songs. It took a little while, but she was finally asleep around 9:30.

Back upstairs, we finished our card game, played a dice game and eventually headed off to our bedrooms. S was promptly asleep, while I read for another hour before calling it a night.

A busy day with a little bit of everything—family, horses, games, KFC, a very special little girl and a full moon to finish it off.

Frosty Morning & a Full House of Family

The entire ground was covered in frost when I woke up, definitely feeling like fall had arrived. I made coffee for the four of us—Mom, Debby, Chuck and me—and put croissants in the oven. Sheldon finally got up around 9:30, just in time to join us as they were hot out of the oven.

Shaina rousted herself after 10:30, but she had a headache like me, so we both took Tylenol and she headed back to bed. I let Roo and Hank out with the others around 11 for some herd time while S and I prepared a cooler full of beverages. The Schmitts headed to town for some snack supplies and Matt arrived soon after. I made latte he took to Shaina hoping it might help.

More family members made their way to the ranch.  Dale and Stacie arrived around 12:30, followed by Travis, Vance, Amanda and all four kids, with Brittany making it back to join us too. Missing from the family get together: Craig was still out farming, Kaylin was at work, Nathan was getting his presentations ready before heading to Banff for a conference, and Renny was of course with them. Mya was with her boyfriend and of course all the Schmitt kids were at their respective homes down south.

The afternoon and evening were exactly what you’d hope for with everyone together—lots of visiting, stories and plenty of fun. Supper was delicious, with Mom bringing salad and desserts (dang the fact that we forgot the corn!), Debby making her always-tasty bean dip and guacamole with chips, Amanda for the much needed veggie platter, and Stacie’s Japanese salad, which is always a favourite.

The smaller folks went out to visit the horses

Thanks for Debby for photo collaboration!! I added more for yesterday's blog as well if you happened to miss them.

A memory photo is always a must <3

Poor Shaina’s headache plagued her through much of the day, but she eventually felt well enough to join everyone. Amanda and the kids eventually headed off to get Asher back to Okotoks and the other kids home for school tomorrow, while B fed her horses. Shaina caught Mac and brought her in to groom and work with her, and I after they were released, I headed down at the pit to catch Hank and put him back in his fat pen with Roo.

Dale and Stacie headed off, followed a little later by Travis and Vance. Shaina then drove Mom into the city for her scheduled eye surgery in the morning, dropping Mom’s car at Kaylin’s for parking while Matt followed them.

B stayed and played cards with us for a while before heading home around 9 to get ready for the week of work ahead. The rest of us called it a night too after a bit more visiting, heading off to bed with our books.

A frosty start turned into a full house, a table full of food and a day filled with family. Just the kind of busy that makes a ranch feel especially full.