Cattle

My dad has always had a dream of owning longhorns. He grew up in Texas and was a UT fan. I grew up hearing him sing their fight song and learning the how to make the Longhorn sign. Even though I grew up in OK, I proudly let people know that I was born in Texas. Seriously, I'm 33 and I think people want to laugh at me when they ask me where I'm from. I can't just say, "We live in _____________". My answer is ALWAYS, "I was born in Texas, but I grew up in Tulsa". I LOVE TEXAS!!! And, with that I have been a Longhorn fan for as long as I can remember.

How perfect God's plan was to allow us to have best friends that own a longhorn ranch: Semkin Longhorns. We immediately started buying meat from them (b/c we love them, but also b/c longhorn meat is leaner than most all other meat). From there, my dad decided it was time to fulfill his dream. He bought longhorns.

 My dad's longhorns stay at the ranch in Perry, OK. On Father's Day, we decided it was time for him to meet them. :) We drove to the ranch and got a GRAND tour of all their land.

These beauties are about two years old. They are old enough to become Mommas, but their horns aren't quite "long" yet.

Meet Gus! He is the oldest longhorn on the ranch and his horn-spread is over 100-inches long! He's super sweet and super friendly! We enjoyed loving on him!

We were able to see a couple new babies too! They were probably one day old and hadn't been tagged yet. They must have been having a play-date b/c their mommas were just hanging out while the two babes played together. They look like they could be related, but I don't know if they are. I just love their white color!!! So clean!

One of the bulls - He was pretty determined to get the treats we brought and wasn't interested at all in sharing. :)

This little one was BRAND NEW! We must have missed its birth by minutes!!!! Okay...it could have maybe been an hour, but probably not longer than that! What was really awesome was that we got to see it stand up on its own for the first time! Precious!!!

Meet Unbreakable. He and my hubs go way back. :) They have a very strained relationship. Apparently, Unbreakable had met a new lady friend that belonged to another rancher, which is a big "no-no"! KP was ranching that day with our friends and had to tear Unbreakable away from his new love interest. Needless to say, Unbreakable was not very happy about it and, funny enough, seems to remember KP every time they see each other. KP also calls him "Ruger with horns". :)

And, finally these last pictures are my dad's "dream come true". :) These are all longhorns that he owns. We love them. They are more like pets than they are cattle, so they'll probably be a part of our family for a long time.

I guess this is kind of a dream come true for me too. Ever since I was a little girl, as we would drive through Texas, I'd listen to my dad say that he'd own some one day. I kind of took on that dream too. Along with the dream of living in Texas and having my own ranch someday. So, these longhorns are kind of like having a little bit of Texas!

Father's Day 2012

Father's Day as so much fun that we seriously lost track of time! My parents came to town and after a quick lunch, we were on the road to Perry, OK.

My dad has had a life-long dream (okay...it may not be his entire life, but its been a dream of his for as long as I can remember! And, since a parent's life only starts when their child's life does....right????) of owning longhorns. And, it just so happened that KP and I became friends with some longhorn ranchers a few years ago.

Matt and Mel (owners of Semkin Longhorns) have become some of our best friends and since knowing them my dad and Grandma Lavalle bought some longhorns. {Below is a picture of Gus. He is the oldest longhorn on the ranch and his horn-span measured at over 100-inches this last year!}

For father's day, we took my dad out to the longhorn ranch for the first time. We saw SO many!!! Including all the one's my dad owns (which I will save for a separate blog post). They are such beautiful creatures!

We were able to not only look at them, but hand feed them as well. There are a few that will even let you pet them. The older they are, the more friendly they are. The young ones aren't as trusting of humans yet, but I know one day, they'll be eating out of our hands too.

Check out these little "toddlers" - the longhorns in the pictures below range in age from one year to two years old.

We seriously had no idea how long we had been on the ranch until we were heading home four hours later. We were all super hungry and I was very thankful for that because I made my dad's favorites: Fried chicken and Lemon Meringue Pie!

 

Hope all you dad's had an enjoyable weekend of being celebrated!!! 

{And, if you were dying to know...Ruger and Rossi celebrated KP in a big way! They bought him a card and there MIGHT be a video on his phone of the three of us singing Celine Dion's "I'm Your Lady". Poor Ruger had to sing a girly song, but he is SERIOUSLY the best singer in the family.}

Happy Father's Day

Wow! The weekend has come and gone and we celebrated twice. :)

We actually celebrated a week before Father's Day b/c it was the best time for all of my family to get together. We met at my parents' house and had dinner on the patio while the kids swam. There was also a pretty intense game of pick-up ball on our basketball court. I believe it started as 3-on-3 and ended with a 5-on-5 game. My hubs isn't the best shooter....but I was told that he was very aggressive! They had a lot of fun and it was good to see everyone.On Father's Day, we went to church, to the grocery store, and picked up the house before my parents came into town. I can't believe I didn't get a picture with my dad...but we had a very relaxing afternoon. I always feel the need to "entertain" when people come over, so it was really hard for me to accept that we were just going to sit around and visit. It was so hot we couldn't be outside very long....and there just wasn't much to do in our little town. I felt it bordered boredom, but my parents have reassured it was fine. Then I think that it probably was a blessing just to get away and do nothing. My mom spend most of her time in the kitchen helping me make dinner and dessert. Everything ended up being really good! We had guinness-braised chuck steak, horseradish mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli, rolls and homemade lemon meringue pie!!! :) I so enjoyed having them there and getting to spend time with both of them.

Its hard when Mother's Day and Father's Day are separate holidays b/c I can't think of one parent without the other (I'm so grateful that I can say that, too). So when I think of all the ways that my dad impacted my life, I feel guilty not thanking my mom at the same time b/c she has her own list of ways (and since I took my Mother's Day post to share what we did that weekend, I'm going to be thankful for both of them in this post).The best thing that they did as parents was to lead me to the Lord and raise to love and serve Him. If everything else had been a catastrophe, that is the most precious blessing to me. Growing up in a home where both my parents love and serve God brings back incredible memories! I also truly believe the 2nd best thing they did for us, is that they loved each other. Growing up in a home where my dad loved my mom and she came first and where my mom loved and respected my dad is something that I will have with me the rest of my life. Its truly a gift. They have provided and protected. They have supported me and seen me through many trials in this life. They have helped me live out some of my dreams. They have become my best friends. Things were never picture-perfect; they aren't in any family. Learning who my parents are as people and loving them as an adult has been such a great experience. Someone posted on facebook late last week something that has really stuck with me: "It's funny, most people say "man, I won't be like that when I'm a parent." I myself try daily to be like my dad. Love you dad. Thank you for all you've taught me". While I'm not a parent yet, this is exactly how I feel. Both of my parents have such good qualities that I can learn from and try to take with me every day. I pray that I can savor those qualities and become just like them, so that one day (if my parents aren't here), my kids will have a glimpse into their lives.

Unfortunately, this life is short. I was reminded of this as I walked into work this morning. I am thankful for every single second that I get with my parents. I pray that as each day goes by, I won't take for granted what I have in my relationships with each of them.

Praying that you enjoyed your weekend and however you celebrate your dad! Make sure to hug them and always say, "I love you".