Rodeo Camp Set-Up Shenanigans & Chainsaw Drama

Another early morning—not by choice, but it worked out since S had rodeo duties starting at 9. Coffees were poured, and he grabbed some toast before heading off, dump trailer and skid steer in tow. Meanwhile, I got to work uploading photos and videos for Monday's blog post. 

Between uploads, I started unpacking the car and sorting everyone’s newly acquired “treasures” into little curated piles: the girls’, S’s, and the ever-growing “figure this out later” pile.

Top to bottom and side to side FULL

each girl has a pillow made with part of Grama's wedding dress

S was back from the rodeo grounds just after 11, so it was trailer time. He hitched it up and pulled it out front while we gathered booze, snacks and clothes. Harley was loaded up, and by 2:30 we were pulling out of the yard, adventure-bound.

Well… almost.

We arrived at our site only to discover it was pretty much inaccessible—a horse trailer next door had it nearly blocked off. I tried my best to guide S in, but between the awkward angles and a very much in-the-way dead tree, it wasn’t happening. Cue: chainsaw chaos.

The first chain saw flooded. Of course. They then sourced a reciprocating saw from the infield after S cut 2 posts with it while waiting, the dead tree came down, and just as we were regrouping with cold drinks at our friends' trailer across the way, the owner of the rogue horse trailer finally returned. A helpful stranger stepped in to assist, and S was finally backed into place by 4 p.m.

Now that’s how you make an entrance.

With camp finally set up and more trailers rolling in for the big weekend, we kept it easy: bagged salad and pepperoni sticks for supper and then made the rounds visiting old friends and familiar faces and meeting many new people too (for me at least).

Let the rodeo weekend begin!

Wednesday Tales: Medicine Hat Visiting, Sorting & a Car Full of Treasures

Woke at 6:30—of course, the one day I don’t need to be up early, I am. If I had a 7 a.m. flight or a job to get to? I'd be dead to the world till 9. Go figure. Once S stirred too, we gave in to the morning and made our coffees by 7, did our Spanish, and S scrolled X like the well-caffeinated retirees he's clearly auditioning to be.

I fed Harley, soaked the horse food, filled our water bottles, grabbed some snacks (a travel snack is essential) - an apple and a banana, and we hit the road east by 8:30. on the usual bumpy two-hour shuffle to Medicine Hat.

First stop: Grama and Papa’s new digs at 433. Papa was into his ball game, and we met Grama booking a hair appointment. After catching up, we headed down to the dining room for lunch: soup and either Hawaiian pizza or a tuna sandwich, finished off with fruit cocktail or ice cream. (Guess which one I picked and Sheldon.)

After lunch, we met up with Candace and kicked off Operation: Sort the Heirlooms. Let’s just say—there are a lot of treasures tucked into that house. I sent pics to the girls as we worked and slowly loaded our car to near max capacity.

GG Kuhns fur hat

AWEEE - kids and Casper

Mid-afternoon, we took a break to check out Candace's new apartment and helped her haul some big pieces upstairs. Then it was back to the house for more sorting. Colleen and Elton popped by for a classic beer break and visit—never a dull moment with those two.

Back in Toronto the girls and boys were enjoying time on a friend of Matt's boat in the harbour 

By 5, we had Papa loaded into their car and headed to the Medicine Hat Brewery for supper. Candace, Riley, his new girlfriend Mia, and her mom Amy joined us for a fun dinner celebrating the “Irish twins” birthdays. A great meal and even better company. Thanks again for supper!

Sheldon's birthday super thick steak with mashed potatoes and grilled Brussel sprouts

We dropped the folks off at their place, tucked the car in their garage, and hit the road back home. I convinced S to swing through Tim’s for an iced coffee for the drive, and we made it home just after 9:30.

The car remains fully packed—I’ll unpack tomorrow. Harley got her bathroom break, and I deadheaded a few flowers... until three mosquitoes promptly declared war on my ankles. Retreat!

Inside, I found S stretched out in bed scrolling his phone. After his shower, he went right back to it while I cracked open the book I brought along to the Hat… and didn’t read a single page of in the car. Naturally.

Sunshine and swimming

The sun was already shining when I opened my eyes a little after 7. Renn followed shortly after at 7:30, happily chatting to herself and rearranging her “stuffies” before calling out, right on cue, at 8 when the sound machine turned pink—“Nana!”

mermaid Renny

her rocker lazy girl chair

Grandpa was already making coffees as we curled up with a few morning books on Big Brown. Ada soon joined us, to Renn's excitement (plus Harley of course). Toast all around—except for Renn, who chose a be-mama (banana) and declared herself a monkey: “Oo oo!” She’s got an imagination that doesn’t quit. Then Ada and Renn discovered the French fry “bread” cutter and entertained themselves making fries.

After breakfast, it was swimsuit time! We all hit the sunshine and splashed in the tub. Renn’s gaining confidence by the day—one or two more tries and she might just start swimming. 

brave girl

Mid-soak, Harley let out a yelp from under the deck—turns out a squad of wasps was building a nest in the cat bales and didn’t appreciate company. One even stung S on the knee! He launched a full counterattack with wasp spray and declared the mission (hopefully) accomplished.

By 10:30, S was off for yet another rodeo prep day. He sure puts in many hours—though apparently, there are guys who log even more hours! Meanwhile, Renn had Ada's help bouncing on to the next toy, as toddlers do.

another rodeo task of the day

Around noon, Aislyn was begging Amanda to come out, so when I texted the invite, they showed up quickly. The next couple hours were full-blown playtime heaven—Ada and Ais catered to Renn’s every whim, even helping her with lunch. When they finally left, she was a little heartbroken. Fingers crossed for another cousin playdate soon!

Minnie Mouse by Ada and Bluey by Aislyn art

Nap came easy at 1 after all the excitement. I launched into toy cleanup, kept the laundry spinning (yay for solar-powered wash days!), and caught up on Saturday’s blog. By 2, I was out picking peas, letting Roo roam, and lightly sanding a custom tabletop that still has sticky spots.

Renn woke sweetly at 2:45, singing and chatting away. After a quick snuggle on Big Brown, I realized a tub butt rinse and full outfit change were in order—good thing it had warmed up enough for butterfly shorts.

Then came the Great Swimsuit Discovery: a whole bag of toddler suits I didn’t even know were hanging on the coat rack! She insisted on carrying the bag herself and made me get a shopping bag to join in her adventures. She insisted on wearing my black flip-flops for a walk, which hilariously do not fit her, but after a slow-motion walk across the deck, she settled on runners for our walk.

That walk was stop-start, complete with repeated hat try-ons, but eventually we met Dada arriving. He vacuumed the car and installed her car seat while I packed her things. By 4, they were off to the city, and just like that, the house fell quiet.

The shopping bag on bended elbow cracks me up, she insisted I carry mine the same way

I jumped into project mode: added raised stencil work to a custom tile, cleaned up my tools, and sanded Sharon’s ruler edges and a coat of grey stain oil on both sides. Drawer fronts and the nightstand top got a grey coat of stain oil too to soften the pull shadows.

Back home, Renn spent lots of Dada snuggle time XOXO

Then it was deep clean mode—every toy away, vacuum humming, and Harley’s dishes scrubbed post-supper. I dug up potatoes—some absolute giant sized ones!—and harvested the first zucchini. Dinner was ready to go alongside pre-done ribs.

S got home by 6:30 after a full day of volunteering (again), but he’s taking tomorrow off for a run to the Hat. B came out to feed, still not well, though she did sneak in a quick ride on Roo before the bugs drove her off.

In Toronto this crews having fun at the concert

To top off the night, S was gifted homemade carrot cake by one of his rodeo buddies (a generous Hutterite fellow), and wow—delicious. We wrapped up with laundry folding, final vacuum swipes, photo uploads, blog posting, and a fresh episode of Untamed. But by 10 p.m., I was ready to sleep —lights off, dreams on.

“Oo Oo!” Says the Monkey: Rainy Day Shenanigans with Renny

Renn stirred just before 7 but tucked herself back in till 8, perfectly timed with her sound machine switching off and glowing pink to declare: it's morning! Outside? Another grey, rainy day, with nearly 3 tenths of an inch having fallen overnight. I had woke briefly at 4 to the sound of it starting—again.

her little chatter to herself then my beckoning <3

Grandpa joined us in the kitchen just as the games began and I was making our coffees. Renny devoured not one, but two bananas, proudly declaring, “Be mamas! I’m a monkey—oo oo!” She had us laughing early, her imagination in full swing, and her sentences becoming impressively complex for such a tiny human.

Having her second banana while hanging out with teddy bear - a gift from Great Grandma Stolz to Kaylin when she was this age.

the ONLY iPad or TV time she wanted - she would take phone games/YouTube if she could whenever but didn't as I made my self some toast and cleaned out dishwasher. Look at her tech skills.

Sheldon left his nail clippers out as usual and little miss thought she should trim her babies nails :)

The rest of the morning was full-on play mode. Upstairs, downstairs, around the dog—Harley included. Outside was a no-go thanks to the drizzle and a high of only 18°C, so we made our own sunshine indoors. After lunch, Renny and I built towers (again), and then she was off for a nap by 12:30. A brief protest followed by some quiet self-chatter and she was out. I wish I could fall asleep like that.

Meanwhile, Sheldon juggled calls and texts organizing his rodeo crew before heading to the rodeo office. I dove into blog catch-up mode—so many photos and videos to sort through—but managed to get Saturday’s post wrapped up. I also submitted my project recap and social numbers to the paint company to make this month’s pay check official.

after waking frothier nap and trying out the baby rocker she insisted we grin it upstairs to relax in

By 2:30, Amanda and the trio of littles arrived just as Renn was waking from her nap—her usual soft singing and chatting around 2 turned into full-on delight when she saw her cousins. Instantly, they were off playing inside, outside and downstairs while Amanda and I had iced tea and grown-up conversation.

Ada was staying the night for a little babysitting “training camp,” and Renn could barely contain her excitement at having her big cousin around. The rest of the crew packed up around 5:30, leaving Ada and I to a  dinner of spaghetti and sauce I made—Renn choosing her signature bunny noodles, of course.

Renn lit up at the sight of Auntie B arriving to do her chores while S rolled in shortly after from a full day of rodeo prep, finally ready for his dinner and a break. With the skies brooding, thunder rumbling, and a storm watch overhead, our planned evening swim was officially rained out. B popped in just before 8, still not feeling her best, but managed a quick hello-goodbye.

As the rain began to fall in earnest (another tenth, bringing the day’s soggy total to 4/10ths), we rolled into bedtime mode. With Ada on assistant duty reading bedtime stories and tucking her into bed, Renn put up a token protest, but within 90 seconds—boom—dreamland.

We wrapped up the day with snacks, card games, and Ada showing off her card shark skills. Outside, the rain tapped a steady rhythm on the windows—nature’s own lullaby, perfect for a cozy evening in. By the time we headed to bed after 11, S was scrolling his phone, I had my book in hand, and the house was finally still.