Before we left for our Thanksgiving trip there was one last major job that needed taken care of.

I was able to get the reluctant Goblin Child out the first day by promising she could ride with Cowboy Bill. Fortunately she was able to. 8 Gets all excited in his carrier when we get on a four wheeler, he starts bouncing up and down making happy noises. It started out quite nice. The cows came pretty easy and crossed the highway much easier than last year. The wind had come up and the temperature dropped by the time we got to the pasture so I rushed the kids home while the guys took the trailer to get a cow that wasn’t doing good and couldn’t make the walk home. Because I had to get the kids in and maybe because I was completely unneeded 😉 Sometimes the crews for these things are a bit larger than strictly necessary.

The next day the wind blew.

For anyone who hasn’t enjoyed this type of wind there is no explaining it. It’s bad. We huddled in the house. I was sick. The next day was beautiful. Warm and still and perfect for moving cattle. But looking out the pastures looked fuller than they had before. Sure enough the guys, I don’t know who I didn’t even know they had done it, had brought cows home. I can’t imagine how miserable that must have been. At least they would’ve been up wind from the cattle for the whole five miles.

Saturday we weaned and worked calves. It was chilly. Cara was going to watch the kids but 8 woke up and screamed when I tried to leave him. So I bundled him up, tied him on front and put my coat over both of us. He seemed happy and kept me warm. I don’t know how I did it with The Goblin Child without any baby wearing paraphernalia. The Goblin Child was napping and missed playing with Cowboy Bill.

Then, Sunday, it was time to bring the big bunch home from way over west. The morning was relatively warm. 8 was tied in front again and as we all prepared to climb on the four wheeler the neighbor was sitting next to us in his little two seater Razor. So we put the Goblin Child aboard with him. They zipped around the pasture in the sportster honking its road runner horn. It’s not meant to be a cow herding working vehicle but it’s cute and they had fun. She may have fallen asleep.

The cows came in easily to the corrals where we would load them into semis and trailers for the trip home. My cow loving husband and I took turns as usual hopping off to chase on foot. I didn’t drop any children, nobody froze or locked themselves in the pickup. It was a good day. With diapers changed and some layers off we proceeded to haul them home. I got the pickup and trailer and the very first load. My multi-talented husband followed, eventually, in a semi. The next time our paths crossed I sent the Goblin Child with him. Soon all cattle were home and lunch eaten. OK, not soon. It was a late lunch and I thought I was going to die of starvation by the time we got done hauling. But I do hate to complain.

After lunch The Goblin Child stayed at the big house to play with the other kids and I moved 8 to the backpack and we ran the calves through that we had just brought home. About half way through The Goblin Child joined us working and played with Bill. Hopefully she learns to how to properly work cattle from him. He is the master. Then as the sun set and the temperature dropped  my otherwise occupied husband finished the work he was doing and took over for me. I ran 8 into the warm house and started getting ready for our big Thanksgiving trip. It was a long week but they are home and got here before this last little snow and even colder weather. Now the only thing that needs done is the feeding of them. I can never claim boredom.

With great fear and trepidation we headed south for Thanksgiving. Who doesn’t dread a two day drive with small children? But it was worth it to see Grandma, Grammy and Different Papa. The only thing that could have made it better would have been for my brother and his family to be able to make it. This trip is going to be our Christmas so we won’t be going back to see them this year.

The trip down was uneventful and the two small children traveled very well all things considered. The roads were clear and Missouri is so beautiful. We got to Grandma’s house as soon as we could and she immediately started giving the children their Christmas presents. Even without those they were so thrilled to see her and I love to see her bouncing around like a little kid with 8 and The Goblin Child.

The next day, Thanksgiving, my parents got there. The party was going again immediately. We played and laughed and visited and ate of course. The only problem is that as always it never lasts long enough. And maybe that it rained most of the time. We had hoped to go to Silver Dollar City to see the Christmas lights, oh well. With visits to Lamberts, Home of the throwed rolls, The Bass Pro Shop and PFI squeezed in our short time was over all too quickly.

It didn’t stop raining just because we had to drive home, so with lunch at Steak and Shake we started off. The drive was beautiful we tried a back way through the rolling hills and farm land, crossing rivers with water falls and small towns much more reminiscent of the Missouri I remember as a child than the modern well off developments we drive through now on Highway 13. By dark the rain was still falling as we watched the temperature drop to thirty. When we could see the trees and grass along the road it was coated in ice but the road stayed wet.

Passing only one wreck but two separate ambulances we made it to Lincoln for the night. Despite our incredible rudeness in not mentioning our coming through, we had meant to we really did, my husbands aunt had called us and invited us to spend the night after she heard about it from another source. We got to see her new house, beautiful, and she treated us to a delicious breakfast she made and the children loved playing with her. The room to run and play was great after being couped up in the car so long.

The next day we bid reluctant farewells and set out to finish the journey. Interstate 80 was packed, it was till raining and the temp hovered in the upper twenties. After debating the benefits of the interstate, more traffic, verses the drawbacks, more traffic, we got off at Grand Island and headed north. After lunch at Valintinos of course! And a quick stop at Good Will for more leg stretching, where I wound up buying more stuff despite a car packed to the gills already.