In late May (yes, I'm that far behind!), we spent 9 days in Alberta. We left home on Friday night, May 16th, and drove all through the night in an attempt to have the drive be as easy on Finley as possible. (It sort of worked...)
Ben and I took it in turns to drive, eventually arriving at our weekend destination around 11am on Saturday morning. Our destination was our friend Nicole's family's ranch, where it was branding weekend! It had been 2 years since
our previous visit, and once again Roxy met us there.
Luckily the branding had a delayed start due to rain, or we would have missed most of it. After lunch in the farmhouse with the many friends and family assembled for this highly-anticipated annual event, it was time to head out to the cattle yard and brand those baby calves.
I was able to stay out of the action this time by using Finley as my excuse, which suited me fine as I find branding a little bit heart-wrenching! Ben got right in there and wrestled calves to the ground though, and I think Roxy had a turn using the spray bottle.
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The only photo I could find of me!
(Nicole's photo) |
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| (Nicole's photo) |
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| Aunty Roxy and Finley |
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| Nicole and Cadi |
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| Ben in action |
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Back at the house... Finley in the (slightly
too big yet) Wranglers Monica got for him! |
After lunch on Sunday, Nicole and Monica went for a walk with Cadi and Finley and took a few cute snaps...
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| (Nicole's photo) |
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| (Nicole's photo) |
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Monica and Cadi
(Nicole's photo) |
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| (Nicole's photo) |
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| (Nicole's photo) |
That afternoon we headed up to the cabin for a picnic around the fire pit. We ate hot dogs and made s'mores and had a short sing-along until we started getting rained on. It was wonderful!!
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| (Nicole's photo) |
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| Nicole and Cadi |
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| Tyson and Cadi |
Back at the house, Cadi and Finley had their baths in a picturesque old-style wall-mounted basin, complete with antlers for a soap holder. It was a gorgeous photo opportunity... and a time of great merriment for our boy, as he discovered that the more he splashed and screeched, the more the assembled crowd would laugh! Along with his excitement levels, the height of the splashes continued to grow until waves of soapy water were cascading onto the floor... :D
It was a delightful weekend at the ranch, with the warm hospitality of Tom and Monica's family the fondest memory of all. Thank you all so much!
