Tuesday, May 26, 2009

They were Rhinestone Cowboys!

Okay, so maybe they were really just two little boys who LOVED living a day in the life of a cowboy during our trip to George Ranch about two weeks ago. I can't believe I had not taken the boys there before as it is only ten minutes (at the most) from our house. We used to take our fourth graders here at the end of every school year, so it was nice to get to enjoy the ranch with my sweet boys. And believe me - they were in heaven which meant I was in heaven x 2.




We saw cows before we got out of the parking lot! This particular cow liked Grant... Who wouldn't with that cool "Durant Toyota" cap he's wearing that Pops gave him??



Grant was sooo happy to be at the ranch, he wanted to push Rhett's stroller. I was really happy with that as well. I knew right then that this trip was going to be a success!


Grant standing next to an old saddle in the little museum at the ranch.




Look at this cool old truck! Grant LOVED it (although that is not apparent by his facial expression)... It was just like the ones in the books we get from the library!
We got to see cowboys lasso cows.



We got to visit the blacksmith's shop. This was by far G's favorite thing. Too bad the blacksmith was on his lunch break by the time we got to his building. I promised G that the next time we went to the ranch, we would be sure to see the blacksmith in action. Since there was nothing to watch, Grant went around touching and twisting and grinding anything that had a handle.

And this is what Rhett did in the blacksmith's shop: He saw a horseshoe and immediately put it up to his face... Hmmmmmm...

Grant and Rhett enjoying the gorgeous view from an old porch on one of the old houses on the ranch.

Rhett had fun watching the "old timey" baseball game that was occurring in the field next to the house.

And this is thrown in for fun. I asked Grant to take a picture of Rhett and myself on the beautiful porch with the huge tree behind us. So, he took this picture... not sure who that man is, but can you see us in the verrrrrrrrrry back of the picture? What? You can't?? Did you squint? Try again...

This is the HUGE tree house the boys played in. It is built in a 200+ year-old oak tree. Notice that the trunk is sooooo big, they were able to build a staircase around it leading up to the tree house itself.

Fun in the tree house.


This was the main reason we decided to visit the ranch on this particular day: They were hosting an old tractor show. This was Grant's favorite tractor from the early 1900's. See that big wheel behind his left shoulder? That is what you had to turn to start the tractor. The nice guy there did it for us, and it took FOREVER. We learned quickly that all ranchers should be thankful for tractors with KEYS.



I loved this one: An old cotton picker attachment. It attached backwards to a "regular" tractor and the driver would essentially drive the "regular" tractor backwards to make the cotton picking attachment go forwards. Whew! I'm confused.

We got to ride the "tram" at the ranch (aka: a covered wagon type thing that was pulled by a tractor). The boys loved it! Look how red poor Rhett's face is! He was getting hot by that point!


Since this is a REAL working ranch, there was work to be done. And since we were there, we "had" to help. So, we grabbed hold of the rope (see Grant in the dark green hat) - - - -

- - - - in order to help this man pull his plow.

Later on, Grant took a try at moving the plow by himself with no luck...


A rooster and his chickens live on the ranch and walk around with you. Rhett was totally impressed.


This "intelligent" man showed Grant and other young boys how to start a fire with hay, flint and iron. Let's just hope Grant never has all three of these supplies in his hands at the same time. Thank goodness for insurance, huh, Josh H?
This ranch woman is showing Grant how to get the cotton seeds out of the cotton so it can be spun into thread using the spinning wheel behind them.
Rhett wanted a turn.

Once they turned the cotton into thread, she showed Grant how they used a loom the size of a powdered bathroom (it was ginormous) to turn the thread into clothes and blankets.

And to end our trip on the cutest note ever, Rhett wore G's hat to the car.
Yes, this is the way he wears all hats. No, he can't really see where he is going, hence the reason he was not wearing one in any of the pictures seen above.
What a perfect nut!


And just for funsees (sp??)
This is what I found today upon entering the living room after I had been putting laundry away.
It seems Rhett had decided to play with all three gerbils. We are lucky of three things:
1. That Grant was in school so he did not see this happen and therefore he did not flip out.
2. That Rhett did not squeeze them too hard (I think).
3. That all three gerbils are still alive.


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