testing the waters

Sorry I was really shaky with the camera but if you can make it to about the last 20 seconds of this video, Nyla actually does do something cute for us when I ask her to! I couldn't believe it!



Ok so it may be nothing special to anyone else, but I love these little milestones and I know the parents and grandparents will enjoy it. :)

(P.S. The video shows clearly when I play the file directly from my computer, but for some reason when I upload it online, it looks out of focus. Sorry about that.)

shades of light

Above is a photo of a typical Hereford calf (this one was born this spring on my parent's farm). My parents and grandparents have purebred Hereford ranches, where every cow, calf and bull are the same markings and colors... Except for one special bull calf that was born this spring. He is albino.

He still has the outline of a Hereford's markings, just bleached out coloring.

All the cattle of the herd are born and raised on my family's farm so they have never seen any other breed/color of cattle other than a purebred Hereford. This little guy really stands out! So I guess that may contribute to the fact that the mama cows treat him like he doesn't belong. They run the poor little guy out of the herd like he's a coyote or something. His mother does accept and protect him though.

 

Poor guy is an outcast but I think he's kinda cute.

horsin' around

I have tried multiple times lately to get a good video clip of Nyla doing something, but she just doesn't do tricks on command! And you never know when a toddler is going to do something funny for the camera so it's hard to tell when to have it rolling.

So for those that haven't seen Nyla in action for awhile, this is the best I can do for now. Each of the following 3 clips are about a minute long...

Sand, Sunshine and Sassiness
Playing in the sandbox...


Playing is Hard Work
Using one of her favorite sentences lately... "Help me!"


The Secret Language of an Almost 2 Year old
She's getting tired at the end of the day, but she's got some jabber going on that I'm still trying to decipher... When she's bobbing her head around talking about midway through, she's watching herself in the glass door.


(Note: If you're viewing this post via email subscription, you'll need to click on the posting title above to go to my actual blog website in order to view the videos.)

thirty for thirty

I am proud of the company I work for, and I'm really proud of who I work for. So I'm going to take a moment to brag on her.

For the 5th time, my boss, Sheryl Garrett, was just named as one of the most influential people in and around the financial planning profession. She is accompanied by some big names on the list that you will recognize. Check out Thirty for Thirty to see for yourself.

Click here to read Sheryl's bio. She's done a lot of cool things.

wide open spaces {part 2}

Last night, Nyla and I went with Daddy to fix fence.

She was Daddy's Little Helper.

Nyla found many treasures - wildflowers, old shotgun shells, sticks and cow manure piles. She tried to pick up the old cow patties multiple times and was constantly tripping over them.

After some hard work, Nyla and Daddy took a break to look at the cows and chew on some grass together.

Nyla thinks she's pretty funny lately when she waves and says "hi cows." She also tries to help call them in by hollering "moss" when Daddy is calling them by yelling "sue-boss."