Life is the sum of your choices- choose to buy a heifer.

No new babies on Monday morning. Dad went to the Palouse and got pellets, he said it is snowing there. Ben and Kaine unloaded the trailer and then took it up to feed cows. Bouncing Betty lost a tire on Saturday, so we are down a flatbed trailer. Jaxsen had an FFA competition on Monday, Toni thinks Jaxsen is going to be short lived with FFA, he got to miss chores but did not miss any school. The boys placed really well, they were first, and the girls team was 2^nd. Good job guys. Jax tied for first on the meats test. The kid knows his food.

No new babies on Tuesday either, and Playin would like someone to play with. She is being evil to her mother. It was Savannah’s birthday on Tuesday and a lot of times we have a foal on her birthday, but not this year. Anna went to the Jr high to do a presentation for FFA on ag related jobs. Dad went to work running tractor for Luke. Kade worked on opening and closing gates on Mauney. We are done halter breaking the foals, but we still have Bellini in the round pen due to her eye graft. She gets the graft removed from her eyeball next week. She is doing really great, but has lots and lots of energy and needs to be out of the roundpen.

Toni went and got her stolen child and brought her out to see the horses on Wednesday. She got to pet Libby, pet horses, hug Abby, etc. Things a small child likes to do. She wanted to pet all of the cows, but since most of the cows are not halter broke and don’t like small children, that was a no go. Coffey had to come back out and work on the freezer, it had an error message. 626B calved, one of the last few stragglers. She was a show heifer and produced a really pretty little heifer for Kade. Dad went out to drive tractor again and dropped mom off to stay with grandma. Toni stayed with grandma Wednesday night.

On Thursday we had a big ditch break at work, but it could have been worse, no one was injured. We are starting the main canals up to start water on the 13^th. Toni checked cows and horses when she got home, no one new. We got a gorilla cart and some circle tires in the Booker auction, which was good. We were bidding on some hay spears in the Yarboro auction. Hopefully we get those too. We missed some weed shearers in the Booker auction that would have been really great to have on the Russian olive trees. I was really disappointed we missed those. Toni is also watching those standalone 24 foot panels at Booker, but they went too high. She may have access to those panels delivered to Othello for $350 per panel if anyone needs any.

On Friday Ben and I went with Anna, and Lane and Miles were also there, to Moscow to tour the University of Idaho. We had a great time in the walking tour and then Micheal Colley took us for a tour of the production cattle, feed lot, sheep and dairy facilities, etc. We all had a great time. I had an emergency board meeting at 1, so I missed part of the tour. Toni had a bunch of meetings, and Chad was out so Toni was busy with him. We are trying to get all of the yearlings trimmed up for the first time. They got three yearlings done then four big mares in the time they had. The yearlings were all good, but they were the ones we expected to be good. They also had Celeste in to get a trim but Celeste is only good when Celeste is doing what Celeste wants to do. She was not into having her feet trimmed. Mom helped hold horses as well. Kaine went snowmobiling with Maxx, Marlo, Kade and Toni did most of the chores. We got home about six so Ben and Anna did go feed the cows.

On Saturday morning Anna and I went to the Big Bend Annual meeting for her to accept the scholarship she won. She got to read her essay to the meeting attendees. We sat with Uncle David and Shattucks. Our whole table won door prizes, we were a pretty lucky table. Dad went with Kade to Colton for Trap. Dad and Kade both reported it was a cold and windy trip. They then went to St John and saw Uncle Skip and went to Ed Hayes before coming back. Ben went around and got all of the auction items we bought, circle tires from Booker, hay spears from Yarboro. In the afternoon Ben and Anna rolled up fence. Toni and I moved mares and stallions around. We are trying to get the open mares out with studs asap before the mares with foals go out. We turned our 2 year olds out in the big pasture, but Gunner and three mares in their pen. MC got moved to Gunner’s pen with 2 mares. Cappy was able to stay in his pen with 2 mares. Dude and Bug still don’t have mares just because. I stayed with grandma on Saturday night. Anna and Lane went to Ritzville prom in Spokane.

On Sunday Wagners came out and looked at bulls. Dad and Ben went to Alans and got a harrow, checked on the Charolais cow and had cinnamon rolls with Alan. Anna went out and pulled more posts out of the fence. Kade tied up his steers, Anna washed her steers and heifers. Kade rode Stormy out to check things. Then Toni, Kade, Jaxsen, and I went out and got a few mares in out of circle 5. Shiney had foaled and had a big, pretty, grulla colt. We are very happy he is alive and healthy, but this is the second stunning grulla COLT she has had. It isn’t too much to ask for a filly is it? We have more to get in, but the main ones we wanted came in so we left it alone. We just had our little old white trailer so we took them in two loads. It was super windy so we called it a day. Then we did chores. Kaine got home in time for chores. Kaine had tons of fun on his trip, but it was good to get him home and back to work.