Author: Amy
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Cowboy Logic Camping
My husband told our kids once, A campground is about as close to living in a city as you can get, when they mentioned how much they liked staying at a campground. Considering the way we choose to live and the idea behind camping, I had to agree with him. Experiencing the outdoors and connecting…
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Birde Lover
When I saw a bumper sticker that said, Have you hugged your kid today? I couldn’t help but think that’s a no-brainer but did consider whom I haven’t hugged lately. After contemplating those I’ve neglected, I realized the kids’ babysitter needs a lot more appreciative squeezes from me. I don’t know of any ranch family…
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Our Summer Tradition
For most of the summer, my kids have slept outside. It’s become a tradition my son started a loooong time ago. Once the nighttime temperatures in the Black Hills hovers around 50Ëš or higher that’d generally be around the end of June I join my kids. Luckily, the mosquitoes haven’t been a major problem this…
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Amy’s South Dakota/Life in the West Recommended Reads
I’m open to reading a variety of different books, but am most drawn to non-fiction. I’ve read some excellent fiction, but if it’s a really good story, it’s disappointing to me in the end if I have to remind myself that it’s not true. I enjoy history, especially about women, but overall, I just enjoy…
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A Working Ranch/Marriage
The column “What I’ve Learned,” about my sixteenth wedding anniversary evolved while trying to come up with material based on an idea I had to write about things I’ve learned since my husband and I got married. During my free-writing session, I created two lists; one that went into my column and another that was a list…
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What I’ve Learned
My husband and I recently celebrated our wedding anniversary. After sixteen years, I’ve discovered a few things about him and marriage in general. Namely, that I started out married to a perfect stranger. The following are ten things I’ve learned about my spouse in sixteen years. 1. Do not, under any circumstances, wake him up…
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My Dad Taught Me A Lesson
My dad taught me all of the things a girl needs to know about things girls aren’t supposed to know because they’re not boys. It didn’t matter that I was a girl; my dad wanted to share his interests with me and taught me things that were typically of interest to boys. He spent one-on-one…
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Sporty at Forty
For twenty-some years, something’s been missing in my life; a void that needed to be fulfilled. Getting married and having children didn’t satisfy the void, although both have been very fulfilling. Getting married gave me a husband who knows how to fix the problems I create or encounter and with whom I can kiss every…
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The Mother of All Branding Day Stain Removers
The mere sight of my son’s Wranglers would’ve killed a normal mom. To most mothers, the mixture of boy, mud, and calf wrestling would’ve rendered his jeans laundry mission impossible. Mud wants company and has a hard time being left alone. It likes a clean car, but loves a pair of boys’ good clean Wranglers…
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The Deal on Wheels
Early in my marriage, I started getting phone calls from strange men asking me questions I didn’t like answering. The calls began to cause marital problems between my husband and me. One day I finally told my husband I didn’t want to be his phone girl anymore. Back when cell phones were still considered a…