Update from The Olds Ranch

Our unusual trees at The Ranch:

Been awhile since I have posted anything about the ranch.
We have been busy clearing fence lines. Sawing up fallen trees (lost some to drought and to H-Ike). Picking up rusty barbwire from an old fence line we found in a stand of trees. Found out later that there was an old house and barn in this area. Makes more sense since we found a hand dug water well in this area. The rancher that runs cows on the land put an old round bale feeder around the well to keep the calves out. We have been worried about the tank running dry. Worries over... we had a huge rainstorm (dropped over 4 inches in 24 hours) and the tank is running over. YEAH!!
I planted daffodil bulbs last fall - Dan laughed at me - said they were pig food. Well the pigs did get some, but I had daffodils this spring. (Now that they are bigger either the deer or cows are eating the tops off of them... oh well!)
Still working on the barn/shed plans. Latest news is Tracy has signed up to take a welding class so she can weld her pipe fence and the cattle pens.
Biggest news is that the old tower is down and removed. YEAH!
I have added pictures taken at the ranch.

Dan & Tracy resting and planning.

Another ski story

I wanted to share a video with you but first I have to give you a little background. First of all, I finally won something - a Flip Mino HD from the Ellen DeGeneres show. I KNOW!! I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT EITHER!! I put Ellen's assistant through h-e-double-hockey-sticks proving to me this wasn't a scam. Anyway, I received my Mino in the mail and we used it on the ski trip. It is fabulous.

A funny incident happened to me while standing in the line picking up our ski tickets. I was waiting patiently in line (oh yes I was...) when I heard a couple whispering behind me. Saying - "yes those boots are called rear-entry and they don't make them anymore. " Well, I knew they were talking about my boots. Yes, they are really really old. My first pair dry-rotted and I had to finish that ski trip with them duct taped together. Kendyl found a pair on eBay and that is one of the best Christmas presents I have ever received. You see Nordica made these about 20+ years ago and they are the perfect fit for me - without too much lean on my poor old knees. I can ski standing up in them. (I don't do bumps anymore -not worth the pain later.) Dan - bless his heart - bought me some really really expensive boots but they about tore my ACL my first trip out with them - so now Tasha skis in them. Lucky her! So anyway, I have my Old School Rear-Entry Nordicas. The second topic of their conversation was about my skis - at this point I had to turn around and talk to these folks. My skis were older than they were. Yep, still ski on Old School straight skis. They are showing their age and have turned from white to yellow. I do however have new bindings - this is for safety! (I just bought new shaped skis and new bindings for next season.. we'll see if I like them - will take my Old School Roosters just in case.)

Enjoy the video and watch for my Old School equipment.

There is no editing on this video, Dan is filming - we girls are skiing.
In the video, the Olds women are in black (girls have white/ivory sleeves); the other girl snowboarding in yellow and blue is one of Tasha's friends that lives near Breckenridge.

March Madness-Olds Family style

March absolutely flew by. Tasha has officially moved to China. We spent the month helping her with her many to do lists. Her house is rented; she is moved out-stuff went to storage; lots of stuff was sold; the renters have moved in; Maverick now lives in Fort Worth with their old neighbors (and he is loving the adventure there); the Lexus and bicycles are at Kendyl's house; and Tasha has reclaimed her old bedroom at our house for when she/Curt are in the US. Makes you dizzy doesn't it? Anyway She is in route to Shanghai at this very moment where Curt will pick her up. Dan is traveling there in a few weeks on business, so he will be their first family guest at their apartment in Suzhou. You will have to read Tasha's blog/facebook to get the rest of the info.

We did sneak in another ski trip - this time to Breckenridge. We drove and Kendyl flew in because she is saving her vacation for other trips. We had a great time. This was the first time in many many years that it was just the four of us skiing together.

Here are some pictures from this trip.

This is from the very tip top of the mountain looking down at Breckenridge..

It is a long way down. There is a new lift that takes you up, but you have to climb up the rest of the way.

This is for the Extreme Double Black Diamond skiers - Dan, Tasha & Kendyl slam-dunked it!

This is now supposed to be the highest ski run in North America (beat out A-Basin). They had a great time and there are stories to tell.

The Olds Daredevils at the top after the hike up and before their hair-raising decent to the bottom - not really but it was steep.

One story from this trip: We were all skiing together and usually Dan follows me down the mountain. This year HE had a hard time keeping up. It appears that I am now a much faster skier than he remembered, so he was dawdling around thinking he was letting me get a head start but when he looked up - he couldn't find me because I had already made it down to the lift.... My trip in January followed by this trip really improved my skill level. I am back to what I used to do when the kids were little. I bought new skis for next season, so I will have a learning curve.

More later - will try to post a short video from the trip as well. Will get some ranch pictures up soon too.