A few things...

It's one day closer to the weekend and I have a few Things to blog about. First off a new set of animals has set up shop on my back porch along with Banjo and Birdie.

They look like this:

And they still remain nameless..

They enjoy looking at their reflections in the sliding glass door... 

And yesterday they learned to peck on the glass... Sean and I were watching tv when there was a knock on our porch door.  The uninvited guests were hungry.

This morning I went outside and Birdie and Banjo were lounging in their corner and Birdie was giving the evil eye to the chicken drinking out of Her water bowl...

They also took over the dog food bowl and I'm pretty sure there would've been a pretty good fight between dog and birds if the bowl hadn't have been empty.

I really thought it was cute that they were hanging around until my Rooster did this.

See that little splatter of what looks like spit?   It's Chicken sh*t. 

That nasty thing didn't even stop and think about it..just kept on walking.

Now I have to power wash my porch...which shouldn't be a big problem since my flowers need watering anyway  :)

Ok, I'm serious this time.  Help me Name these Creatures!  I've asked before but never named them.  What do I name them?  I want something funny because these birds are hilarious.   And no....I'm not doing as somone anonymously suggested on the last post and name them after my parents, Mark & Kim.... and i have a pretty good Idea of who lef that message by the way! ha

OK In other News which should probably be a whole nother post, but I'm going to jam it on the end of this one...

Yesterday was Sean's Birthday!  Happy Birthday Sean!!  

Check out the present my dad and I made for him.  My dad is super creative and I gave him my idea and he took it to a whole nother level!! 

Isn't it awesome!!  I'll have to dig up three more of his buckles and add a photo but isn't it cool! 

Here...I photoshopped a photo into it for your viewing pleasure...

THe buckles are sitting on Horse shoes and held by Horse Shoe Nails.  Check out that wood...We dug it out of an old pile of barn wood that had fallen over earlier this year.

I told Dad he should start selling these, I'd pay a lot for one!!

Well have a great thursday!...and don't forget to Name My Chickens!!!

Winner?

Well I wish I could Begin this post by saying that Everything worked in our Favor and Sean won another saddle, but sadly I can't.
Let me just give you a run down of what happened.

Sunday afternoon The rodeo began at 2.  The Steerwrestling was the second event after the Bareback riders.  Sean was third from last to go, so there were 12 guys in front of him.  When it was Sean's time to run his steer the fastest time so far had been a 4.2.  Sean had to be faster than a 4.2 to assure him money in the round, and money in the average, which would put him ahead of the guy that was Winning the year by about 500 dollars. 

It all came down to one run.  One nod of the head, one jump off the horse, one steer on the ground.  Sean backed into the box and I turned the video camera on.  I was shaking so hard the camera was shaking.  Sean had drawn the perfect steer.  This steer was the one he wanted and the one he knew he could be faster than a 4.2 on. 

Sean nodded, frosty took off, the gates flew open and Sean threw the steer in 3.3 seconds!  Then.. (cue sad music)  the line judge that checks the barrier threw his flag, meaning Sean had broken the barrier, he had left to early, about 6 inches to early, .1 second too early.  This added 10 seconds to Sean's time.  I saw the flag fall to the ground through the corner of camera screen.  My heart fell into my legs.  I got misty eyed and sick at my stomach.

I wanted to throw up.  Had Sean waited .1 second he would've been a 3.4 with no broken barrier, won $2,400, a saddle, and a buckle for winning the year, and a buckle for winning the round. 

I wanted to curl into a ball and cry.  I can't imagine what went through Sean's head. 

We really needed that money, but I guess God has other plans.  Sean was over it in about 20 minutes.  By the time I walked out to the truck he was over it.  I'm still not over it.  I'm still upset.  I wanted Sean to win, bad.  I'm mad a little bit.  Not at Sean, becuase I know he didn't do it purposely. I'm not really sure who I'm mad at, I guess I'm just mad at the whole situation.  He was worried about leaving the box late like he had the night before and just went to early this time.  The steer was supposed to leave faster than he had, he just didn't.  It just wasn't in the cards this time.

I asked Sean how he wasn't upset and he said, "That's the way rodeo goes.  There's always another Rodeo to win money at. You win some, you loose some." 
.....Sean should've married a less dramatic woman is all I can say.  I'm still pissed.

But on a good note we finished the Season with a total of $4,200 won through out the year in the UPRA finals a total of $6,290 in the ARA and $8,972.83 in the CRRA finals.  In reality Sean won about $10,000 this Rodeo Season. (some of the rodeos we went to were co-sponsored by the ARA & CRRA so you got money in both association for winning one rodeo)  Plus he also two saddles and two buckles.  If you consider all the money it takes to get to the rodeo and entry fees, I think it's safe to say we came out way ahead this season.     Not too shabby for amatuer rodeo if you ask me?  

Next step..Pro Rodeo. yikes!

Nerves

I think that I'm going to have a good long rest this winter after all these Rodeo Finals are over.  I've been so nervous these past few months with all the finals going on that I might have a heart attack.  Sean is 915 behind the guy in First place for the End of the Year Championship.  Last night he didn't place because he was a little bit late and had a long time of 5.6.  He is still sitting 4th in the Average but that doesn't pay but 500 and we need more than 915. 

The money would be really nice too if he'd win the round and place in the average, it would win us around 2000 or more.  I don't know if I can take the pressure.  I sure couldn't if I was in the rodeo.  I'm just glad Sean can handle it.  Let me just try to describe what it's like....

Today the rodeo is at 2:00 pm.  I woke up this morning with my heart fluttering, nervous already. I have such High hopes.  I dreamed about Sean winning the round, and winning the year end and another buckle and saddle.  I can't eat because my stomach is so nervous, but I have to act normal so my nerves don't make Sean nervous.  He's so close to capturing the title, so close to having a big payday.  The suspense is killing me.  I just want these next hour to fly by so we can hurry up and start the Rodeo.  I'm doing anything I can to keep my mind off how close we are to winning, and how close we are to loosing.  So I guess writing about it is not really taking my mind off of it.  It makes me feel better though.

I really just want to go shopping and have Sean just call me and tell me how he did.  I can't stand to watch.  Every time we're in a tight situation like we are in now I get sick when he backs into the box.  I really don't know how he does this.  Actually, I think this adrenaline rush is what is so addicting to him. 

It takes about 30 seconds between the time He starts by backing the horse into the box until the time it's all over.  Those thirty short seconds determine whether my heart drops into my stomach in disappointment or my eyes fill with tear of Joy for my husband and his win.   Those same 30 seconds determine whether we struggle to pay the bills for the next month or whether we've got it covered no problem. 

You'd think I'd be used to this by now...I'm not.  I guess I'm going to have to get used to it, because he wants to rodeo full time starting in January.  He and two other guys have the months of January and February planned full of Pro-Rodeos.  They start in Denver and stay west for a few weeks.

Great.  Why didn't I just marry a guy with a desk job?   Secretly... i wouldn't have it any other way than it is now..keeps me on my toes.

Good Luck Sean, You're a winner either way to me.   

Rodeo Weekend

Hello from Sulphur Springs TX!  Last night was Round one of the UFR (United Finals Rodeo)  It's wet and cold and miserable here, good thing the arena is indoors and heated!!  Sean entered into the finals in fourth place and after last night he is still sitting in fourth place but only by 10 bucks!!  He placed third in the round with a time of 4.5!!  Third one him $575 woo hoo I'm going shopping!!
He is now $915 behind first place but it's really anyone's game because the rounds are paying $1,200 and the average pays $2200!  Only eight guys out of the 15 in the finals caught their steers so Now Sean's only competeing against seven guys for the average!! 

Be thinking of us because We could really use the money!!  and I really want Sean to win the saddle!!  We only have on problem, Sean pulled or tore something in his Left Shoulder tuesday night at practice and is really in pain.  It's the opposite sholder of the one he uses to Steer Wrestle so that is good, but it's still keeping him from being %100. 

The lighting in this arena wasn't too hott.  I took some photos but not all of them turned out like I had hoped.  I was using my 400 zoom without a tripod so I think for what I was shooting with they turned out ok.  Tonight I'm going to use my 150 zoom lens that has a larger apeture so hopefully I can get better shots!!

Sean:

Winner winner chicken dinner!

Well Saturday Night Sean's time was a 5.1 which won him second in the Average just a half a second behind the average winner who just so happened to be Little Brother Jason! After it was all over Sean ended the year with a total of just under $9000.00 won, around $1800.00 in front of Chet, to make Sean the 2009 Steer Wrestling Champion!! Jason brought home $2300 which put him the third highest money winner of the year. He received buckle for winning the average! So the Thomas boys showed out this weekend!


I'm so lucky to have such a talented husband!! Next stop....Shreveport LA!

More info about this weekend to come!

Update

Update...

I'm doing this in a hurry because I don't have time, gotta get back to watching the Razorback game!! Go Hogs Go!!
Thank you to everyone who wished us good luck and said prayers and sent positive thoughts our way...It worked!!! Sean placed second in the round last night with another time of 4.1!!!! He is now $880 ahead of Chet and winning the average. Each round pays 800 to win so Chet could still pass Sean up tonight if Sean doesn't do good. Little brother split third and fourth in the round and is only .10th of a point behind Sean in the average so we have a little bit of sibling rivalry going on in our trailer. They are both talking so much smack to each other it's hilarious!! So keep us in your thoughts and prayers!!! I'm so nervous I can't think straight!!

Only in Arkansas

Well I've been quite a bit busy the past week. We've been getting ready for the CRRA (Cowboy Regional Rodeo Association) finals in Ft. Smith. Tonight was the first go round. But before we get into the rodeo...check out how much Birdie has grown!! She's looking more and more like a lab every day and less like a awkward puppy.I've probably explained this before, but for those of you who don't know, Sean has more money won than any other Steer Wrestler (bulldogger) than any other guy in the CRRA. He's ahead of Mr. Chet Woodall out of Oklahoma, by 200 dollars only!!! The year end winner wins a saddle, a buckle, and bragging rights, etc. Sean and Chet have been battling it out for a couple months now. Chet's been in the lead all year and Sean just passed him up a few weeks ago. It all comes down to who wins the most money at the finals.

Tonight was round one of three. They pay four places in the rounds and six places in the average of all three rounds. Sean, being number one, was last to go. This guy, in the picture below, number 15 in the standings, was first to go. He's gonna feel that tomorrow...

Little Brother Jason is sitting in fourth place in the year end standings. He showed out tonight throwing his steer down in 3.9 seconds winning second in the average, a guy in front of him was a 3.7. Chet was second to last, being second place in the standings. He had an awesome run, throwing his steer down in 4.1 seconds, making him third place for the night. Which would win him about 400 dollars and pushing him 200 dollars ahead of Sean, if Sean were to not place.

As Sean backed his horse Frosty into the box my heart started beating so fast I thought I was going to cry. I don't understand how he stays so calm. Maybe it's beer?? Ha! Seriously though, I wouldn't be able to stand the pressure, knowing I could win the year end saddle and buckle and I had to be better than a 4.1 to make sure I didn't loose the lead?...couldn't handle it... I would buckle under the pressure.

Sean nodded and the steer took off with Frosty close behind. Sean slid off the saddle beautifully and the slammed the steer down. It was fast, I knew it was fast. I was standing behind the boxes so I knew the barrier wasn't broken. All we had to do now was wait to hear his time. I couldn't help but pray, "please beat 4.1 please beat 4.1." I knew it was way faster than a 4.1...i just knew it! Except...I was wrong. His time..... 4.1. He had tied Chet.

I was so relieved that he had won the exact same amount of money as Chet had, and was still 200 in the lead for the year end. The only problem is...I have to go through all of this again tomorrow!
After watching the video we got a little sick at our stomachs. Sean had a late flag, which means the judge dropped the flag a split second later than he should have making his time longer than it should have been. The judge told Sean after his run, "Man, I had to flag you late because you're steer had a leg underneath him" (which is a rule in steer wrestling, all four feet must be showing) Sean thought as he left the arena that he had just been unlucky and hung a leg.
After watching the video...there was no hung leg. The judge had just miss-judged.
I've told you before, everything during a Steer Wrestling run must be perfect, the horse, the steer, the hazer, the bulldogger, the judge, the timer, everything!
We are a little disappointed that Sean didn't place ahead of Chet but We are just excited that he won his entry fees back so far and there are two more nights to go which means two more chances to Win the Saddle. Be thinking of us tomorrow night around 8:00, hopefully Sean's time is faster than anyone elses!!

PS.
After the Rodeo we went to Sonic and saw this at the drive through...


Only in Arkansas Right??We talked to the interesting Character while eating our dinner on the picnic tables. He's been riding across country on horseback since 2006!!! He's started in Nevada, went down to Tombstone, Down into Old Mexico, back to Oklahoma and onto Arkansas. They are doing a documentary on him, calling him on his cell phone every two weeks and meeting him to film. He was so cool, had all his belongings on the back of the horse, tent, fishing pole, etc. He's actually staying at the Arena next to us tonight in his tent, we are in the live-in quarters horse trailer.

Sean said he would love to do that, I'd love it too but said I'd have to be able to take along more stuff than he did. Sean laughed and said it would take 4 or 5 pack mules to carry my crap across country Which is SOOO not true...

It would take two or three.

Goodnight!! have a great Friday and I'll be posting updates on the CRRA Finals tomorrow night!!


Only in Arkansas Right (from my window on the interstate)

Rodeo Weekend

Well we had a Great Weekend had the Arkansas Rodeo Finals!! Sean ended the year in First place and won a Trophy Saddle and Buckle. I'm so proud of him! He placed second in the average at the finals and won one of the three rounds. Here is a picture of all the steer wrestlers in the Finals...they are all short and stocky...the typical build of the Steer Wrestler. ha!Thursday Night Sean was the last guy to run his steer. The time to beat was a 5.7. Sean completely showed off, throwing down his steer in 4.7 seconds, winning the round! I was super ticked because my camera died about 2 minutes before Sean's run..go figure..

Friday Night Sean drew a steer that was a very fast...and I mean fast.

Just FYI there are many many different factors in having a good run on a steer. The bulldogger has to be good, the horse has to be good, the hazing horse has to be good, and the steer HAS to be good. Other wise, things go wrong.

Sean's Steer was so fast that he didn't catch him until the very end of the pen making his time a long 8 seconds. This really disappointed Sean because it put him third in the average instead of first...the photo below really made me feel bad for him. You can tell he was a little sad.

Saturday Night Sean drew another sucky steer that almost tripped Frosty, his horse, but somehow Sean caught the steer and had another long time. His total time of all three nights was 22.3 which normally would be horrible, but because the Steers were bad he ended up second in the average. His spirits picked up on Saturday and his goofy self showed up during the awards ceremony. I asked him to take a picture with his buckle and to smile...

...this is what I got.

Then I told him to shut his mouth and smile and I got this....Finally he smiled. I swear...taking a picture of Sean with a normal smile on his face is like pulling teeth!
Here is Sean's Saddle. It's a really nice tooled Cactus Saddle.

Here's his new buckle. I already put it on his belt. Guess it won't be shiny for much longer after he steer wrestles in it a couple times!

We had a really great time hanging out at the Arkansas Finals Rodeo this year! Every night we hung out after the rodeo with everyone and they played guitars and talked about rodeo stories...which turned out to be quite interesting and quite hilarious. Well we're rodeo free until weekend after next where we will go to Ft Smith for the Regional Rodeo Finals (which includes mostly people from AR, OK, & part of TX.) Sean leads the year in the Regional Association by about 300.00 so he HAS to do really good in the finals to win the year and the saddle and buckle. So keep him in mind weekend after next!!

HELP I Heart Faces!!

Help! I'm new at photography so I thought I would participate in the I Heart Faces Constructive Criticism thingy today.

My husband is a steer wrestler (aka bulldogger) for those of you who don't know (that's not him pictured below though) anyway I bought my Canon Rebel XS to learn to take photographs before I spend the "bigger bucks" on a more advanced camera. I bought it specifically to take Rodeo pics.

So help me out here. I was using a 300x zoom lens, not on a tripod because lets face it, who wants to carry around a tripod to rodeos?? It was really sunny obviously and I got great detail in the dirt but the bulldogger's face is way out of focus and the exposure is weird. I played with this photo in Corel PaintShopPro but this is the best I could get.

I'm not gonna lie, I have no clue how to tell you what settings I used because I've already deleted this picture off my camera, but I'm pretty sure I was in Tv mode and it was up close to has fast as I could get it to go.

***Edited to add
Focal Length: 281.00mm
Exposure Time: 0.0003s (1/4000
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO equiv: 800
White Balance: Manual
Metering Mode: Center Weight
Exposure: Shutter Priority
Thanks Jessica!! Didn't know that was possible!***


What can I do to make these more clear??? Help!

Also... How in the world do you take great photos at Night Rodeos?? If I turn the ISO up to get a clean shot I've got white noise galore. With the largest aperture I can't get a clear shot, it's too blurry. I've been told to get a lens with a larger aperture, 4.5 is what I'm using now. I can't afford to buy a new lens right now... any suggestions???

Thank you for all the help I can get!!!

Sean's Blog Debut

Since I blog all the time and Sean just discovered a few weeks ago that I even had a blog, I thought I'd introduce you to him. Sean's quiet unless he knows you and then he annoys you because he talks to much. He loves to joke around and he is hardly ever serious. He doesn't dwell on anything for very long and he is a very straight forward kind of guy. He's also very loving and what you see is what you get with Sean. He's a country boy through and through, loves to hunt anything that moves, loves to steer wrestle, plays the guitar, and works on the farm but not by choice. He's a jack of all trades and there isn't hardly anything he can't do, the hard part is getting him to do it!!

I'd like to take this time to Brag on my husband and his accomplishments in the Rodeo this year. Since the Sean started in May he's won about $7,000 dollars. After you take out fees and gas that number is probably closer to $5,000 profit but I think that's pretty good for amateur rodeos. His biggest check has been $900. Most of them average out to be about 300 a rodeo. He really wants to start the pro-rodeo tour next year.

Josh told me It would be interesting to get Sean's point of view on the rodeos he goes to and I thought It would be cool to do that also. Sean thought otherwise. He's very shy and he's not a man of many words so I had to pry this information out of him. Hopefully he'll warm up to it because I'm gonna keep on interviewing him periodically whether he likes it or not.

We conducted this "interview" last night while watching TV so he was quite distracted with the Outdoor Channel. I do realize that next time I do an "interview" with Sean..the TV will have to be off. I started with a few Icebreaker questions that took me asking him three or four times before he realized I was talking.

Q. What's your favorite food ?

Q. Sean, what's your favorite food?

Q. Sean!

A. What?

Q. What's your favorite food?
A. Meat and Potatoes

Q. Where do you see yourself in two years?
A. If its the same time as now..in bed. (it was 10:30)

Q. What your favorite TV show?
A. Family Guy prolly'

Q. Are you excited about Duck Season?
A. Baby, why are you asking me all this crazy stuff?

Me: For my blog, now answer my questions..

Q. How did you feel when you broke the barrier Yesterday?
A . (made a farting sound with mouth) I don't wanna talk about it.

Q. Ok so what's the biggest pet peeve you have about me?
(he's quiet for a minute or two)

Q. What do I do that annoys you the most?

A. There's a lot I'm still trying to decide which one bothers me the most. (he's teasing...or at least he pretends to be teasing) OK..That you can't keep up with anything.

Q. Do you ever think you'll learn to take out the trash when I ask the first time?
A. Whatever!

Q. Are you excited about this finals weekend?
A. yes I'm very excited.

Q. Where are we gonna put the new saddle? if you win it?
A. In the paper for sale.
Q. How much are we gonna ask for it?
A. 20,000..just kidding

Q. What's the fastest time you've ever been at a rodeo
A. 3.2 I think

Q. What are you doing tomorrow?
A. Baling hay

Q. When did you learn how to steer wrestle?
A. when I was in high school

Q. Do you ever get nervous at the rodeo.
A. Not what I call nervous... I don't know it just depends where I'm at. I try not to get nervous. You only compete with yourself.

Q. Do you like it better with a big crowd watching or no crowd at all?
A. You don't notice em.

Q. How do you feel about queens contests
A. Don't' make me answer that truthfully
(Let me insert here that Sean HATES the Queens' contests they do at the Rodeo. They are always before the Steer Wrestling and they take about 30 minutes and it's an awful long time to wait before steer wrestling and who, besides little girls, wants to see the Queens competition? I apologize if I've offended anyone...but we still think they are ridiculous)

Q. How many bruises do you have on your body at the current moment from steer wrestling?
A. (starts to count them) Like seven or eight.

Q. What's your least favorite part about going to a rodeo?
A. Driving

Q. What's your favorite part?
A. You get to see all your friends

Q. How do feel about your facial hair?
A. I told you not to ask me stupid questions or I wouldn't answer them.

Q. Will you shave your face soon?
A. No.

Q. When is the next time you'll shave your face?
A. March, maybe.

Q. Does it itch?
A. no

Q. Does is bother you when icicles get stuck it them? (while duck hunting he grows a very long beard and icicles grow on his beard, it's gross)
A. No you don't feel them, that's the beauty of having a warm beard on your face.

This is what I have to kiss every duck season....I'm really dreading it. He's already started growing that ugly thing.

Next time I'll actually have something interesting to ask him about....