Branding 2017

We've had a lot of family stuff going on lately (Caleb's blessing, Lydia's birthday, Kevin's graduation, etc.. etc...) and we thought about not trying to go branding this year. A new baby + the fact that I had to give a short talk at the Stake Baptisms the morning of Branding made us think maybe it wouldn't be worth going. (We were going to be late, and even when we got there - we wouldn't be much help!) But we decided to go, and I'm glad we did. We helped basically zero with the actual branding, but I was able to help with lunch, we got to see our family, and my kids got to play at my grandparents house (that alone made the trip worth it). 

One of the best parts of the day was after my dad was done with all his work and he took the kids out to ride in the Ranger and on a Tractor. Austin was so excited to tell me about how he got to "drive a tractor". The kids loved it (and so did my dad). He loves to share his love of the Ranch with them.

The neatest thing: I was chatting with my grandpa about how much I loved watching my kids play in the big tree in their backyard and he started telling me about how he used to play in that tree when he was just a little boy more than 70 years ago. (He's 81 now.) Apparently, his family used to live just up the road (which I did not know) and his friend had a house here on the Ranch. He'd come down and they'd play together and climb that tree. "It wasn't that big when I was climbing it," he said. It's amazing to think that four generations of Walkers have played on that tree as children. My grandpa, my father, me, and my children. What a neat, neat thing. 

***Okay, update with more details. I called my dad and got more information from my Grandpa's childhood. I thought my Grandpa grew up at the Ranch House on Walker Lane, but that house was actually built by my Great, Great Grandfather, John C. That is where my Grandpa-Great, Ellis, grew up. After his dad passed away, Ellis and Kimba (my Grandma-Great) lived there for a while, but they actually moved around quite a bit. They lived in Evanston, in town, and for a while they lived just up the road from where my grandparents live now. There is a big white barn on the road to the ranch, which was the Lyman Experimental Farm. My Grandpa-Great worked there for a while (he was also at one time or another the Sheriff in town, worked for the phone company, and ran a drive-in movie theater). When he worked at the experimental farm, they lived across the street in a little house that is now just a copse of trees. My Grandpa, Ramon, was about 7-10 at this time. His best friend was Rulon (Pete) Twitchell who lived with his family in the little white house on the ranch. Eventually Grandpa bought the ranch from Pete's dad, Frank Twitchell. But when they were just boys, Pete and Ramon spent a lot of time playing in the very tree that my dad grew up playing in, that I grew up playing in, and that my children spent their weekend playing in as well.***

I love my grandparents house and don't really have the words to express how much it means to me to have my family be able to come and make memories there. I have so many childhood memories from this place and hope that my children will, as well. I missed my grandma terribly today and am so grateful for the time that I got to spend with her in this home before she passed away.  

Walker Branding 2017 - in the books! (Or at least, now it will be in this book.)