Horse Creek Ranch

Viva Las Vegas at Red Rock

2009-05-13T13:21:00.004-05:00

The boys have been taking swim lessons at the Y most of the winter and spring so that when we travel with Daddy they could enjoy the swimming pool on their own and not always have to have one of us in the water. Lessons progressed well, and they are definitely more comfortable in the water. We had an enjoyable time at Red Rock swimming and also went to see Monsters vs Aliens in 3D IMAX. Very Cool!! It was a great time but both boys also came down with Bronchitis while we were there and we spent some time at the Urgent Care and Hospital. We were concerned to have them checked out since Daddy had just returned from Mexico City the week before....thank goodness no flu symptoms!! Here are some of our fun in the sun pictures.

More Soccer Fun -- boys score Goals!! Whoohooo!!

2009-05-13T12:48:00.004-05:00

I have been watching the boys on the soccer field and wondering who is my soccer player. Jackson sure hustles and sometimes Austin seems a little uninterested. Well, what does that have to do with anything, because their last game they both really got into it and scored! It may have been many things, but I am chalking it up to my pep talk I had with them prior to the game. We sat in a circle and I told them how important it was to take the ball with their feet away from the other team and to forget everything I had ever told them about being nice and sharing. It was an awkward moment for me and obviously not for them because they completely understood. I also told them if it helped to make a grrrrr sound if they wanted. Jackson jumped at that and Austin rolled his eyes at me. The actual soccer game was awesome. All the players had a sense of pride and they all tried real hard. Next soccer experience is British Soccer Camp the first of June!

Austin Loves Dusty Dakota!!!

2009-04-16T16:17:00.000-05:00

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BATMAN LIVES!!

2009-04-16T11:17:00.006-05:00

Austin is getting ready to have a birthday party and loves his superheros. He also really likes Star Wars, but we have decided to hold off on SW for next year's party! He has a Batman costume that he likes to dress up in and save the world from evil! He wasn't feeling very good when I snapped these pictures, but still proud to be associated with Batman.

Tell it to the Judge!

2009-04-16T00:17:00.006-05:00

Jax can really dress up a hat and put some drama into a normal afternoon...

Sharp shooter Jax!

Pee Wee Soccer Game 2 - learning the game!

2009-04-15T23:18:00.008-05:00

Share, share, share. Don't take that from your brother without asking. Be polite. It's not nice to take things from your friends. Well all that means nothing when playing soccer. The boys love to run and see their friends, but we are still working about taking the ball away from others. This is a great experience into the world of organized team sports and provides some wonderful entertainment.

The team we played tonight had some advanced players that know how to move the ball down the field at break neck speed (or at least it seemed that way). Austin loves to be goalie and seems to really take it seriously. Jack loves to be playing with big brother and his new and old friends on the team. Coach Benson is awesome with the kids and does such a nice job. We appreciate his attitude working with so many 4-5 year olds!! Takes patience and dedication. If you see this blog Coach...we love you!!!

Jackson Ice Skating

2009-03-02T08:31:00.000-06:00

Facebook | Kristy McKechnie

2009-02-16T21:15:00.000-06:00

Facebook | Kristy McKechnie

2009-02-10T09:49:00.000-06:00

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State Line Horse Show photos from 2008

2009-01-20T13:46:00.001-06:00

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Photos from our 2008 horse show circuit ~ State Line Horse Shows!

Planting Pine Trees - Oct 2008

2008-12-29T09:52:00.003-06:00

Food means energy for planting our trees!

Digging holes is a lot of work!

We are planting white pine trees in front of the house. It is so much fun to do stuff as a Team! We hope they will be big trees by the time the boys head to college. (Smile)

Welcome Sally!

2008-12-29T09:16:00.003-06:00

Sally Girl!

Milroy & Hoss saying hello!

Austin loves his dogs!

Living in the country provides us with the opportunity to help those less fortunate 4 legged creatures. Our friend Sally arrived at our house in October '08 and we cleaned her up and tried to find her owners. We are not sure they miss her so we continued to take care of her. She is so sweet. Gets along with all the other dogs and just wants to be loved. Welcome Sally to our part of the world!

Go Gorillas - Oct 2008

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Go Gorillas! We love spending Saturdays at the PSU football games and seeing our friends from Pre-school like Braden and Joey. Go Pitt State!

Building at the BARN - October 2008

2008-12-29T08:41:00.004-06:00

Boys helping Daddy load up some hay for Mommy at the horse barn!

Mr Bright Eyes barn that Rick is building. Jack says it is not done yet!

Austin do you think I can walk across this home made bridge???

This is the bet pile of rock ever. Can we keep it?

Playing in our rock quarry with our diggers. We love the dirt. Thank you God for all the dirt!

October weather still brings us incredibly warm days with little barefeet playing in the sand and dirt at the barn. Our barn time is the best time of the day most days. Austin and Jackson have a quarry they have built in one of the pastures that they work on daily. Good work boys.

You Shoud Be Dancin....yeah-- Dancin...yeah "Sept. 2008"

2008-12-29T00:25:00.005-06:00

The boys have their own form of dress-up. Spiderman, or whatever costume they can find in the house. It is so much fun to see what they will put together!

Jack with full uniform

AJ with Hoss

Patrolling the yard

Austin is giving John Travolta a run for his money in this newest video clip. While it is true, Mommy loves to dance, I don't think I have demonstrated any of these moves to my son just yet. He does have the rhythm and the moves. Jive Talkin!

Riding & Reining

2008-12-29T00:09:00.003-06:00

Jack on Honey - CHEESE

Austin on Dusty

One little 5 year old loves his pony!

The boys keep getting better at riding so we asked them to ride their ponies from the house to the barn so we could practice some horsemanship skills in the arena. Yeehaw!

Watco Company Picnic -- Sept 2008

2008-11-20T19:44:00.006-06:00

Maggie Snow sat with Austin and Jack and I sat in front of them. The boys had fun, but thought it was a little rough!

Jack coming down the slide....weeeee

Austin coming down the slide - so much fun!

The Watco Company picnic is always a lot of fun and held at Lincoln Park in Pittsburg. There are all kinds of rides for the boys at Kiddieland and then Watco brings in a bunch of bouncy slides and things that little boys and girls will enjoy. It was a beautiful Saturday in September that we enjoyed good company and food....and rollercoaster rides!

Our Last Horse Show of the Season -- Sept 21, 2008

2008-11-19T22:59:00.009-06:00

We have had a rainy 2008 and a bumper hay crop. Yahoo. However, so much rain has kept us several times from holding our horse shows at the Hepler Arena. Our last show was held indoors to make sure we could finish out the season. We met at Bridwell Arena at Frontenac Kansas. There was a special costume class that the boys had prepared for over the last few months. Austin and Mommy were Native Americans with their buckskin pony, Dusty Dakota. Jackson and Daddy were Union Officers on their palomino US Cavalry pony, Honey! We had a great time and were blessed to have our Nana and Papa at the show besides Nana Jane from Kansas City. Austin is really becoming quite the rider and Jackson loves dressing up and showing everyone what he can do. In the costume class, Jackson took 2nd and Austin came in 3rd out of 7. Our friend Bailee Heenan took first as a prairie school girl. We were proud of Bailee and she looked so pretty. The boys wore Papa Art's neck ties in the Lead Line class and looked real nice. Papa Art would have been proud of the boys! Everyone fell asleep on the way home from the show except Mommy!

In the Company of Dogs....

2008-09-23T00:58:00.005-05:00

The dogs are so much fun to watch play. They get along so wonderfully and are such a treat to watch. The boys love to play with the dogs and especially like to feed and water them. Our dogs are Cy, liver/white/tri Springer; Private, black terrier mix; Mimi, black lab; Milroy, golden greyhound mix; Emily, golden retriever; and the Hoss man, black and white Springer.

Update: Our friends the Van Elders in Leawood have asked to have Emily join their family. After much thought we have agreed to let her be a city dog!!

Dogs were out enjoying some comfortable fall weather and enjoyed posing for some pictures!

Can You Say White Water Rafting

2008-09-16T23:13:00.005-05:00

Okay, we didn't take the more challenging raft trip because the river was dry at the time of year we visited. Also, because we had a 3 and 5 year old and their parents and grandparents. We were more about enjoying the scenery along the Colorado River. It was also pretty spectacular to see a Bald Eagle. We see plenty of hawks in Kansas, but nothing compares to the wingspan of an Eagle. Incredibly beautiful.

McKechnies on Holiday ~~ Colorado

2008-09-16T21:23:00.004-05:00

We headed out the last week in August for a week of hiking, fishing and family time in Colorado. Other than the mountains....Colorado is almost as pretty as Horse Creek! Collen and Bill spent the week with us and also joined in on a Colorado River Raft trip.

We watched the Democratic Convention every evening and cheered on our very own Kansas Governor, Kathleen Sebelius. I actually was able to read a book and relax with a nice glass of Pinot Grigio. Wow, life away from the Ranch was pretty cushy. We also had some great meals at the Condo. We certainly didn't go hungry.

The first day we took the ski lift up to the top of the mountain at Granby Ranch and hiked down the mountain. The boys thought it was awesome and made little mounds of dirt as they hiked so they wouldn't lose their way. It took us about an hour to come down the mountain, and it psyched us up to do more hiking in Rocky Mountain National Forest.

The swimming pool at the resort was a fun place for the boys to spend about an hour each day. They practiced jumping into Daddy's arms and sitting on the steps. The pool temp was very warm and cozy.

We had some great hikes in Rocky Mountain National Forest. Adams Falls was pretty cool with a steep climb to get to the top of the falls, then a more relaxed hike along the river. The Holzwarth Historic site was a beautiful valley hike with displays at the original dude ranch. The boys loved it...especially when they were allowed to practice their roping skills. Driving up to the Continental Divide and hiking to Lake Irene were also spectacular views. We did a little fishing but mostly just took time off from the bustle of our everyday lives!!

Our last day we spent the morning on a white water rafting trip down the Colorado River. The boys sat in front to begin the trip and we managed to get pretty wet as the rapids were pretty strong at the beginning. The 50 degree temp water was a reason Austin decided to move to the middle of the raft. He was the smart one because Jack and I continued to sit in the front and enjoy the spray of water. We warmed our feet halfway down the river in a small hot spring -- very nice. I need a hot spring at the barn after I ride or clean stalls!!

I guess one of the more pleasant parts of our trip was the drive to Colorado. We drove to Salina the first day out and then stopped in Hays to visit the Sternberg Museum. WOW it was cool. The boys were a little concerned the dinosaurs might come alive, then a robotic t-rex actually did start to move and make noise. Mommy and Daddy were advised to move away from the t-rex by their very concerned sons. They love us. The Kansas scenery is so beautiful with so many different colors and a beautiful blue sky. Reminds me of the Kansas state song, Home on the Range....

Carly rides Dusty....Nathan takes a nap on a pallet!

2008-09-15T23:17:00.000-05:00

Austin and Jackson headed to bed early tonight. They were pretty tired from the day of chores and fun with their cousins. Our Cousin Nathan decided to take a small nap on the pallet outside the hay barn....sounds REAL comfy Nathan!! Carly decided she was going to show us how to run a barrel pattern! Yee haw.

2008-09-15T22:57:00.001-05:00

Our Level 3 equestrian riders, Joel and Carly, showed us how talented they are by riding Honey and Dusty around the back yard. Carly was able to practice a barrel pattern real nice and kept Dusty on the pattern. It takes COURAGE and a positive attitude to ride a horse and our Cousins have both of these.

Meanwhile Back at the Ranch

2008-09-15T22:09:00.000-05:00

My sister, Tracy and her beautiful children, Joel, Carly and Nathan, along with Nana Jane, came down for a visit this weekend. It finally stopped raining and although the ground is good and soggy, we all managed to spend lots of time outside playing on the barrels, riding in the tractor, feeding the horses, playing in the hay barn (and in the MUD), and petting and riding horses/ponies. Ed made a spectacular dinner on Sunday of homemade fried chicken with mashed potatoes, gravy biscuits, corn on the cob, and cake the boys made for dessert. Aunt Kristy made breakfast the next morning of pancakes with the secret ingredient and Nana Jane made lunch of macaroni and cheese, sandwiches, corn on the cob and fresh fruit.

We were really excited to see Cousins Carly and Joel riding Honey and Dusty by themselves. They picked up how to ride pretty quickly. Nathan also joined in and let me lead him around on Honey. Carly indicated she might want to show Dusty next year ~ GO Carly!

Aunt Tracy was amazed at all the dogs at the Ranch who provided as much entertainment as anything. Milroy running through the pasture like a deer, Private coming from behind as we headed up the barn driveway, Emily tasting Nathan, Cy holding onto a stuffed animal and sitting quietly with mouth wide open on the chair, Mimi sleeping in her crate and Hoss constantly tackling Emily. Jackson shared his kittens with Cousin Carly and they held them in the garage for quite a long time. They are so cute!

Joel was able to catch two tree frogs, one for himself and one for Austin. We are keeping them watered and fed in jars. All of our cousins are soo much fun. We were so glad to have them visit and will look forward to seeing them again soon.

Happy Birthday Dad!

2008-09-15T21:02:00.000-05:00

We celebrated Dad's birthday this last Saturday in Kansas City. He doesn't look a day over 50!!! We had a great dinner at Kokopellis and cake and ice cream at the Connealy's house. The Connealys, McKechnies and Rineys all joined in for a great evening. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD ~ I hope to look as good as you do at "70"!!

Momma Sybil & Company

2008-09-12T18:01:00.000-05:00

Sybil is the smaller bay mare in this group of 4 mares. She is 24 years young here and foaled some beautiful babies in her time. Other mares with her are Angel (brown) Leotyne (big bay), and Sage (dun). They love the boys.

Teamwork Pictures

2008-09-12T17:50:00.000-05:00

Austin is riding Grano Chief Waggoner "CHIEF" and loves that he turns so well. I've been riding Chief everyday and he runs over to the gate when he sees me heading with the halter. He loves to work...just the way we like our horses to be.

Daddy gave Austin lots of good advice about riding Chief. Austin was very excited and gave Chief a nice pat after the ride.

Austin and Jax continue to prove how close they are and they are best friends. They both offer lots of advice to each other. Of course, Austin worries a little too much and Jax responds, "don't worry it will be okay."

The boys have been building a house with some wood in the barn and other various items they have found. We think teamwork is important and they also like to feed Sybil and company in the west pasture. Sybil thinks they often forget how much they feed her and she thinks that is a good thing! Good Ole Momma Sybil.

Blowing Bubbles

2008-09-09T23:22:00.000-05:00

Somedays Jackson practices blowing bubbles in the bathtub...other days he blows them in his milk, but the ultimate bubble blowing bonanza occurred earlier this month at "the barn" in one of the mare pastures....tooo funny! Oh, and we do not live close to a beach.