Thanksgiving at the Ranch

Last weekend Katie and I flew out to North Dakota for Thanksgiving. Her family has a ranch in central ND, so we stayed there for the weekend. It was a lot of fun to see everyone and get some R&R. I also got to go hunting for the first time. We warmed up first shooting some trap. So I figured I probably wouldn't do that well, but Katie would keep me company because she hasn't really shot much...she hit the first three in a row. In the end we all did pretty well though. We didn't have much luck with the real birds, however. We only saw a dozen or so over the two days of hunting, so we didn't have many opportunities either. It was still a lot of fun, and we had great weather for it.

And what would a Thanksgiving be without a hicup or two? The night before Thanksgiving the, oven decided it had had enough and wasn't going to work anymore! Luckily a very sweet lady in the nearest town offered us her electric roaster, so we were able to have turkey! She also decided that wasn't quite enough, so she baked us a few homemade pies, homemade rolls, and a homemade pizza for lunch the next day! You just don't find that kind of hospitality everyday, we were very thankful for all her help!

The last day, Nick, Randy and I got to working on an entry for the ranch. I'm still a bit baffled that we actually built the thing, it's huge! But a little planning, elbow grease, and heavy machinery can go a long way!

Rylan and Mackenzie were as cute as ever and are getting more and more fun as they get older. Mackenzie is walking all over the place now, and Rylan will carry on a conversation with you until you're blue in the face! We had a great time with everyone, and we can't wait to come back for Christmas in a few weeks!

Katie just before she blew the clay out of the sky

We didn't get any birds, but at least we looked good!

Rigging one of the posts for the new entrance. Heavy machinery is so cool!

The finished product

Oh something else I fogot to mention...Katie almost got thrown off a horse! He reared up, but Katie held on like a pro!

We had some awesome sun rises/sets

This is the original homestead on the ranch. It's pretty crazy to see something like this and realize somebody used to live here hundreds of years ago...and built it with their hands!