We're heading to Lewistown, Montana for the Montana Junior Beef Expo; thus begins our summer travels. A couple of years ago when Hannah decided to take market and breeding beef we realized that it would take up a big chunk of our summer, what we didn't know is that it would take up the whole summer!! This summer our livestock show travels will include Lewistown (which is a great little cowtown that I have fallen in love with), Laramie for the Wyoming Hereford Field Day, Kansas City, MO for the Junior National Hereford Show and then back home to get ready for the Johnson County Fair and Rodeo and then the Wyoming State Fair. We are going to put some miles on the pick-up for sure!
We've spent the last couple of months in the barn getting 2 steers and three heifers ready. Trust me when I say that we spend way more time on their hair than I ever spend on my own! Over the years my brother Joel, his wife Karri and their daughter Lauren have acquired so much knowledge and skill in the world of show cattle, we have been blessed with their expertise as well as their willingness to give of their time and energy in helping Hannah. Showing cattle requires a lot of hard work and it may not be what the average person would choose to do with their summer, these cattle shows are not the relaxing, fun filled vacations that most people are used to, but it's what we love!! Catching up with good people, looking at good cattle, working together as a family. Traveling to cattle shows in the summer makes up a lot of my childhood memories; so many of the people that we run into at these shows are people that I got to know through the years at various Hereford shows when I was the one at the end of the show halter. One of the most vivid and treasured memories was when Coby was a baby and our single cab pick-up no longer had room for Joel or I, so we got to travel in the comfort of the nose and front end of the gooseneck trailer, with our steers in the back compartment. I still see the looks of surprise on people's faces when Dad would let us out of the trailer at gas stations! Can you imagine the trouble that we would get into today if we stick our kids in the nose of the horse trailer and proceeded down the road? Right this minute I am pretty tempted as Kade has reached the limit of what he can handle being contained in his carseat and Hannah insists that she is most comfortable with her feet stuck up in my face!
We are going to need all of the prayers and helpful tips we can get when we hit the road for Kansas City in a month!! No, it may not be everyone's cup of tea for a family vacation, but it's part of the life that I love and I feel blessed!
Tomorrow look for a guest blogger, Kendra Thornton, who will be sharing some really great tips and advice about traveling with your family for the summer. Kendra is a stay-at-home mom who was formally the Director of Communications for Orbitz. She is a great resource for summer vacation know-how. If, however, you are needing tips and advice on how to survive a summer filled with traveling to cattle shows....ask me at the end of the summer I bet I'll be a lot more in the know :-)
Blessings from the Courageous Mommy
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