Piper went up the cottonwood tree again today but this time didn't stop at a few feet up. More like fifteen. I got Dad's ladder and Matt went in the alley and we tried to coax her down. She didn't come for a while (we don't know if this was because she was having a fabulous time or because she was scared). Eventually she worked her way back down the branch to me and I scruffed her. This was the motivation I needed to update our contact information linked to her microchip!

Yesterday was the Hamm family reunion. The Hamm family is Mom's father's branch of my family tree, for those not in the know =P They have a reunion every year and this year Mom volunteered to host it at the ranch. Well it went off smashingly...I got to meet all sorts of relatives, including great-aunt Veydene, "Cooter," Aunt Sissie, "Kiddo," and many other distant relatives with unusual nicknames. We had barbecue and fifty different desserts (including many cobblers, home-made ice creams, and cakes). The kids and kids at heart enjoyed horseshoes, darts, ping pong, badminton, frisbees and ball throwing. The pair of ducks made an appearance, as did the mobile vet, called in to look at Story's back hooves. She'd been limping - turns out she has hoof issues because of all the wet weather. So she has to have her hooves wrapped for a week, get daily anti-inflammatory medicine for six, and until the rain stops and the fields get dry, she's banished to the barn. Montana and Pindar are very confused and want to know where their gal-pal is.

While we were at the ranch this weekend we also got to have some lake time, floating, jet skiing, and going down the Pous' slide into the water :) I got to know cousin Katie a little better too, as she's on the cusp of teenagerhood and much more of a real person than the last time I was around her. I'm hoping she can come hang out at the house later this summer.