Remember Sparkplug?  Well, we still have him and Truett loves him but he really needed a gentle horse that he could ride all by himself right now.  We bought an old horse named Smokey who is super gentle and gets Truett perfectly.  I’m not particularly fond of gray colored horses but Truett loves him and that’s all that matters.  He goes everywhere on him and rides every day.  I can’t wait to take his first ‘cowboy works’ photos!

Man I just love that kiddo.  He has such a sense of pride when riding him and I LOVE the way he watches me to see if I’m watching him.  He shows off by turning Smokey in circles and backing him up.  4 year olds rock!

Anyways, I’m gonna take video next time so you can listen to him.  He’s fun to listen to ’cause you never know what’s gonna come out of his mouth.  Until then…

p.s. He is bareback. We believe a kiddo should first learn to ride bareback before a saddle. He’s been doing really good at staying in the middle….

Obviously he enjoyed the weather today….clearly thinking it was a warm day.

He also felt like  tryin’ a little bareback riding.  He got Sparkplug up next to the fence and jumped!

This brings back SOOO many memories for me. Tyler did the same thing when he was little except he would jump up on horse’s backs by the age of 5.   Because Sparkplug has gotten so fat, Truett had a hard time keeping his legs tight enough to ride him so he decided it was time to break out the saddle.

While Dad is saddling up the “bronc”, Truett decides he better check the back feet…you know, to make sure there were no rocks or anything.

Then of course, once saddled, he had to ‘break him’.  You see, he’s been watching Tyler break horses lately so he’s learning the ropes.  Once he got him settled, he got on and rode for a bit.  Ahhh, the life of a cowpoke.

When the horses come close to the yard, he doesn’t care a lick whether or not he’s got pants on. He shoots outside just so he can get close enough to pet on them.  If you listen closely, you can hear him whispering things to them too. I don’t know what exactly but most of the time it seems like a deep conversation by the way his hands move around.

He’s fun to watch and if you bother him during his convos with the horses, he’ll stomp all the way back and tell you to leave him alone and that he’s busy!

While Sparkplug doesn’t stay in the yard anymore, we do occasionally let him in so that Truett can pet on him, lead him around, and now check his “shoes”. He’s been watching my man shoe horses and pretends to shoe Sparkplug.  If you look closely, you can see him lifting Sparkplug’s foot………

Days like this just make me smile.  Absolutely precious to see how smart and independent he is.

From the day Truett’s Uncle Andy sent us a text photo of Sparkplug, little man has not stopped thinkin’ ’bout his horse. You know they’re excited and all but it’s when you pull up to the ranch and see the expression on his face that makes the $100+ of gas & spur of the moment drive worth the trip. Of course getting to see family is icing on the cake.

He was tickled now. He kept saying, “that’s MY horse Dad!” and even told Nana, “now I can chase cows”. Yep, he thinks he’s set to go horseback and work cattle with his Dad now but little does he realize he’s got to learn how to ride first.

His cousin Prescott (pronounced Presscut) was there to greet him and walk him over to look at his horse. It was such a sweet moment. Even though they’re cousins, it seemed like they were brothers.

In no time, Prescott helped him settle and saddle his horse.  Cowboys hard at work.

Moments later, both were saddled, Prescott on his new horse and Truett on his.  Two cowboys ready to ride the long trail………….

After a fun day with family, we headed home, Truett in front, Sparkplug in the back.  It was a funny site to see us hauling a big ol’ trailer with this little fella in it.  I’m sure my man would have loved for folks to see that a 3yr old was in the truck as well…cowboys do have reputations to uphold after all and hauling anything miniature doesn’t exactly spell out MANLY. lol

We decided to let Sparkplug hang out and graze in our yard for a few days.  He might help keep the grass mowed down a bit and definitely doesn’t take up too much room.  Truett couldn’t wait to get him saddled again and ride.

He wanted Dad close by for a little bit but then in no time, he didn’t need his Dad around.  He said he could do it.  So grownup…just like someone else I know.

He went from holding Dad, to hands free with Dad close, to holding the rope himself.  A proud moment for anyone, but especially for ranch folk who raise their kids in this lifestyle.  He was truly becoming a real cowboy.

After all the ridin’, and for the next 2hrs, Truett hung around Sparkplug like he was his shadow.  While Sparkplug grazed on the grass, Truett knelt down beside him, watching and even helping by tossing a few grass blades his Sparkplug’s way.  It was one of the most precious moments ever and it reminded me of when my oldest were that little with their first horse.

and my favorite….a perfect picture to a perfect day.

Thank you Kelly for being so generous. I thank you, we thank you and most of all Truett thanks you.  He’s couldn’t be any happier.

If any of you would like to do something generous, consider attending the Tom Butler Memorial Bronc Riding in Post Texas or purchase a piece of Ridin’ High Butler Style apparel.  All proceeds go to the Tom Butler Memorial Scholarship Foundation, helping ease the financial burden a bit for those attending college, a worthy investment.

“Mom, I need to crap”.  Ahhh, such an accomplishment to finally get a three year old to understand potty training but teaching #2 or the poop seems to be a daunting task.  So for now, ‘taking a crap’ will have to do.

And did I mention that throwing everything he can in the toilets is one of his favorite hobbies.  Lovely isn’t it?  Not to mention the constant dinosaur growling ALL.THE.TIME.

Despite his tiny terror ways, he melts my heart.  His frowning face, saying “You make me sad”, when I have to get on to him just turns me into fluff.  His 5 minute morning cuddles and the hands on hip poses make it all worth it.

You cannot get that boy around any kind of horse, bull, cow, anything or else he puts on a show!  Within just a few minutes, the bronc ridin’ cowpoke was yeehawin’ around the store like he was competing for a truckload of toys or something!

I wish I had a video camera at the time, but since I switched purses, I didn’t. It was the cutest thing ever, facial expressions and all.  A couple walked in during his performance and said, “Wow, I didn’t know we’d get to see a rodeo!”

Anyways, little man loves to be with dad and becomes quite the helper during the works.  I think he needs some leggin’s though don’t you?  He also needs a horse, bigger socks, and some new boots.  Anyways, after “helping”, I saw him just standing there, either takin’ a break or playing boss-man..not sure which but he looks just like his dad standing there when he puts that thumb in his pocket.  Cute. I could squeeze them both.

Hope you guys have a great weekend!