The Newest Kid

Well if you have been following my blog this past summer you probably read the one about our goats. Although I am not a huge fan of grown goats I have to show you pictures of our latest kid. Even I have to admit that goat babbies - they are called kids - are so cute. They rival puppies. This little kid was born last night, thank heavens, because we are starting another cold snap today. We haven't named her yet but I wanted to show everyone the pictures because she is pretty cute!

On another note - I hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Christmas Baking Time!

Well I don't have any pics to post but I did want to write about my baking experience. A couple of weeks ago I mentioned to Ben that I thought I would bake some poppyseed bread and some carmels and take them to our neighbors - He thought it was a great idea and immediately began forming a list. Well the list got longer and longer and needless to say I am still baking. So I decided that I would make my family's world famous poppyseed bread (I won a blue ribbon with it at the Utah State fair in 4-H), homemade carmels and red and green butter cookies. Well yesterday I rolled up my sleeves and started my project. After throwing out one batch of carmels and having my husband tell me the red and green cookies taste like cardboard I am down to poppyseed bread and well thank heavens my 4-H skills didn't fail me there and it turned out great!

I think for years I have taken for granted my mom baking for Christmas time. I didn't realize how much work and time was involved but I am faithfully carrying out the tradition. These recipes were passed down to me from my mom and hopefully I can pass them down to my kids as well.

I love Christmas and presents and the whole Santa thing but I the older I get the more I love the Christmas traditions. So here is to Ben and I and carrying on our families traditions along with making our own traditions as well.

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and for those of you that received some baked goods from us - beware of the red and green cookies because even I admit they taste a little like cardboard!

Thanksgiving - Hawaiin Style

As usual I am late on catching up my blog but oh well I did want to write about our Thanksgiving.

Ben and I got to go to Maui for Thanksgiving this year. Ben usually goes over and works the USTRC roping there for our friend Peter Baldwin and this year I was able to go with him. We went a couple of days early and so we did a little of the tourist thing. It was a great trip. Thanks so much to Peter and his family - they let us eat Turkey dinner with them and yes even in Hawaii they have turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing ect. for Thanksgiving. It was a wonderful meal and we really enjoyed his family!

Dinner Fri. night with Peter Baldwin, Myron Duarte, Dick and Julie Foreman

The roping was at Piioholo ranch (Peter's ranch) and what a beautiful place. He took us for a tour and there are some pics below. It is amazing to see cows on the hill and the ocean below - how lucky can a person get!

You can see Peter's pastures, some of his cows and the ocean - What an amazing view!

We went down to the ocean a couple of nights and it was so beautiful. We were on the north side of the island and so the waves were pretty high - at least to me. My only complaint about the whole vacation was I could of spent more time on the beach but I never seem to get enough time at the beach. There is something so relaxing about sitting on the sand, listening to the waves and soaking up some sun!

We were on our way to dinner and stopped at this beach - needless to say I went to dinner with wet shorts...

I thought this was a great pic of Ben!

I was trying to body surf but all I seemed to do was end up with a suit full of sand!

Probably the highlight of the trip was getting to go on the Piiholo zip line. They are putting a zip line in on Peter's ranch across a beautiful deep gorge and so a bunch of us got to go! It was so much fun and if you are ever in Maui you need to go on that zip line!

Peter and Ben on the Zip line landing called the Tree House.

Ben and I getting ready to Zip line. Aren't we all geared up! LOL

Look close you can see Clay and Bobbi Tryan going down the zip line.

Well besides doing all of the tourist stuff we also got to rope. Ben has been wanting to win a Hawaiin buckle for a long time now and he finally got it done. He and Alex Shulman were the Gold Plus champs and he is sporting a new buckle - yeah for Ben. I also roped but didn't get anything done.

All in all it was a great way to spend Thanksgiving!

Oh no - My Truck!

Well I have finally had the time to sit down and write about my poor truck. Although it has been a little over a week ago, I still wanted to write about it. I was headed early Sunday morning down to the Lonestar to work a roping (probably going to fast) and drove off of our county road. Well there isn't much shoulder to our road and so through the trees I went. I swerved just in time to get it back on the road before hitting solidly into a tree trunk but my back end fish tailed and the pics below show the proof. I am so sad - I know that it can be fixed and it is in the shop right now but I still feel bad. I immediately called Ben and what a great husband he is. He didn't once scold me for being stupid and not paying attention rather he was just worried that I was alright. Which I am! Thank heavens.

I am so thankful that I am okay and my wreck wasn't worse than it was. It could have been pretty bad. Oh and one more thing - thanks Ben for not getting after me about this....

Update #2

Well I am just a little leary of doing another update on my dad because after posting the last one he went into shock and was life flighted down to LDS hospital but here goes. For those of you that know he has been in the hospital for the last several days but finally got released Wed. night. I flew up to Utah to be with my family last Saturday but I have returned now and I think things are going good. It was a scary time for the Cornia family and it makes me appreciate my wonderful family so much. My dad's health has returned to normal although he is still hobbling around from the hip surgery. He suffered kidney and liver problems along with a clot in his lungs and a mild heartattack. We are very blessed and I truly believe in miracles because last week we didn't know if he was going to survive and this week he is driving my mom crazy. Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers. We really appreciate it. So Happy Birthday to my dad since today he turns well anyway it is his birthday and we are so thankful that he is around to celebrate it with us!

Update...

Well just a quick update. My dad is doing great (well a little quizy in the stomache because of the pain meds but other than that - good). His surgery went just fine and pretty soon we will just call him the bionic man as he races us around the ranch. My mom has stayed down with him at the hospital (they are releasing him today). It is usually her in the hospital bed and us visiting her so I am sure it is a welcome change to be the visitor this time. Most of his therapy revolves around walking so I guess he can get some use out that walker that my mom conned him into buying. Good present dad - guess you finally get some return on it. Ha Ha!


Thanks for all of the thoughts and prayers that came his direction. We really appreciate it.

My Dad!

My dad is the most awesome person I know! He is the greatest dad ever and I love him very much. He goes in for hip replacement surgery tomorrow morning and so he had been on my mind for the last few days. I know the surgery will go just fine and before we know it he will be back wanting to foot race us! So good luck Dad I know it will go just fine! I can't wait til you can finally be ibruprophen free!Good luck dad and don't forget to do your therapy - Ha Ha!

Tess's Birthday, USTRC Finals ect..

Well I am trying to keep my blog updated but it seems that everytime I turn around I get behind so here is the latest. It was Tess's one year old birthday Oct 22 and yes I am wishing her a belated Happy Birthday. She is the cutest little thing I have ever seen and I am so glad that she could come join our family - she is a blessing to everyone. While I was in Utah we had an early birthday party for her so here are some pics. She loved her presents and I can't wait til Christmas because she will be so much fun by then. She says woof for the dogs and go for the Rebels when they play football!! What a cutie!

On to the next note - Ben and I just got back from the USTRC finals and thank heavens they are over with. For those of you that don't know he had an appendicitis attack while we were there and ended up having his appendix taken out there in OKC! It was crazy but he is doing much better and if it had to happen at least we were in a sizable city and not in some small town in timbucktoo! I want to say thank you to everyone that has asked about him and a special thanks to Paul Freed and Jerry Jensen for giving Ben a blessing before his surgery. It meant so much to me!

Congrats to Doug Sorenson and Merrill Staheli from Utah they won the Century and filled their pockets. I always like the finals because you see so many people there and can catch up with everyone. I worked the Challenge pen this year and believe me it was a Challenge but I survived so YEAH! So another year is done for the USTRC and they can look back on it and be proud - it was a great year for team roping!

Well for those of you that read this today don't forget to go out and vote! It is quite the election and to be honest I will be glad to just have it over with - I am so sick of all of the campain crap. So tomorrow we will wake up with a new president. I am sure that this election year will go down in history and it is exciting to be a part of it.

Well that's it for now! I will post more later but that pretty much catches everyone up for the last couple of weeks - Oh and one last thing - GO REBELS! I will be cheering you on from Texas on Saturday!

Anshutz - Brrr Cold!

Well for those of you that do not know I was able to go home for a week and help my uncle and my dad gather cows. We have run our cows for years up above Evanston in the Uinta Mountains at a place called Anchutz! It is beautiful there and I have told myself that if I ever win the lottery that will be the first place I will buy. I had a great time - worked my butt off but still had a great time.

Now for those of you that are reading this and are from Texas you probably don't know how to get cows in in the snow and still stay warm but it is all about layering and with my mom's help I think I wore an average of about 5 layers each day (tank top, underarmour shirt, long sleeve shirt, sweatshirt, down vest and then of course the carhart coat). You should see me try to get on my horse but luckily I was able to ride my dad's horses and they are all stump trained (which means they will stand right by a stump so you can get on it and then get on your horse). Now I know that to most people this attribute of a horse really wouldn't really increase the value of the horse but to me and my short legs it means alot! So thank you dad for letting me borrow your horses - I really appreciate it.

I loved riding with my uncle Pete and my dad everyday but I have to tell you that my uncle is notorious for thinking he sees a cow and then we ride for about an hour and finally finding out it was either a bush or a moose. On a place that is over 90,000 acres you can ride awhile just looking for a few cows. We were lucky and it snowed the first weekend and so most of the cows were waiting at the gate ready to go home but we did have to do some riding to look (which is the best part). So after years of listening to my uncle about a cow over there a few miles away I brought some binoculars and that seemed to solve the situation!

All in all it was a great week and I hope I can come back next year with my husband to ride because I know he would love it.

Ranch Rodeo - Go K Bar Team

I know I have been horrible about keeping up with my blog - life just seems to be so busy but I did want to write about the ranch rodeo we went to in Sept. It was alot of fun and I got some pretty good pics!

I don't know how many of you have ever been to a ranch rodeo. I hadn't until I moved to Texas but they take them pretty serious around here. My husband has a yearly tradition of entering the one held in conjunction with the Permian Basin County Fair (yes I got my yearly intake of fair food - gotta luv it). Now this is a big deal and when I say big deal - I mean he prepares for weeks in advance even to the point of borrowing a fancy cutting horse to ensure his team's victory. His team has won it I don't know how many years and so there is alot of pride and ego on the line.

His team is made up of his dad and a few of his friends. There are five members on the team and they all compete in a list of different events from cutting and sorting to branding, bronc riding, trailer loading and wait don't forget the goat roping. Let's just say that the first year I went out to watch while we were dating I learned alot. My husband is a pretty easy going guy but when the ranch rodeo weekend is here - his competitive edge comes out and he is going for the kill and taking no prisoners. Well anyway it was a great weekend and yes the K Bar team did it again - They are the CHAMPS! So congrats to you guys - you did awesome and I was so proud of you and thank heavens it is over for another year!

The Fans

The K Bar Team

Trailer Loading

Branding

Ben and Dane planning strategy

Rescue Race

Sorting

Ranch Bronc Riding

My husband - The Pickup Man

I don't know which one's more tired - Raven or Ben

The Winners!

(L to R - Bob Clements, Ben Clements, Dave Driver, JW Todd, Drew Leeton)

Just the way it is....

As some of you know, my husband is the editor of the Superlooper magazine. This is a magazine of the USTRC (team roping). Well he wrote the following for his September editorial column (Just the way it is...) and I was so impressed with it that I wanted to post it on my blog. It has taken off like wild fire and he has had lots of interesting comments about it. I hope you enjoy it and come election time don't forget to VOTE.

Just the way it is...

September 2008
By Ben Clements

As everyone knows, this is an election year and we are facing some extreme changes and lots of uncertainty in our country. I have avoided talking about the election and politics all together, but I think it is time to discuss the issue, because there are a lot of concerns out there.

I heard a quote the other day and it undoubtedly applies to this time in our lives. "We are voting as if our lives and futures depend upon it. Not because we fear someone is going to come out and kill us, but because we fear that if we don't get this right, our children and their children will not enjoy the privileges this generation has enjoyed as Americans—the economic opportunity, the prosperity, the education, all of those elements that have characterized our existence and our flourishing. After Florida in 2000, everybody knows that every vote absolutely counts."

Wow, what a quote. This is very true and something we need to pay attention to. It is true that every vote does count and it is critical as Americans that we vote. It is important, however, to vote for the best candidate. I am not exactly thrilled about the options out there. I cannot believe with all the Americans in the world these are the best alternatives, but that is a mute point since Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain are the choices we have at hand.

Barack Obama is quite a guy, but not the man to be the President of the United States of America. Anyone who is not proud enough of his country's flag that he takes it off his plane does not need to be the President of that country. Anyone who does not believe in the "Pledge of Allegiance" does not need to be the President of the United States of America. Anyone who puts down the Bible and what the United States of America stands for does not need to be the President of the United States. This nation was founded on the Bible and has survived for more than 230 years as "One nation under God," Who does Barack Obama think he is that he can totally transform the greatest nation in the world?

Obama is a great public speaker and a very convincing public figure, but if you really listen to what he is saying and if you pay close attention to what he stands for you will realize, as an American, he is a fraud. A man like that is not someone we need as the President of the United States of America. In a speech, in 2006, he openly put down the Bible when he bashed the Book of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. He also spoke out against the story of the Sermon on the Mount. Whether you are a devout Christian or not you have head of the "Ten Commandments." And I would probably guess most of us feel the "Ten Commandments" are a pretty good code of ethics to live by. The "Ten Commandments" come from the book of Deuteronomy in the Bible.

As for the Sermon on the Mount – It is a commentary on the "Ten Commandments," The Sermon also contains "The Lords Prayer" and Jesus' interpretation of "The Golden Rule." All of this doctrine is what America was founded on and what America symbolizes. "The Golden Rule" says to treat others as you want to be treated. That my friends, is American and a good standard to live by, and one that our past generations held true to and our future children need to aspire to.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus also said, "I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you."

You might think I am picking on Obama because of his race. There are plenty of African Americans out there who could serve this country well as President. Unfortunately, such figures as Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice are not candidates. The color of ones skin has nothing to do with being a good President. Morals, values, and being a true American is what counts when it comes to being President of the United States of America. Barack Obama does not fit this description at all. His allegiance and loyalty are lacking when it comes to serving this nation. His lack of experience is well documented.

That leaves Senator John McCain. Now this guy is by no means perfect. He is kind of crazy and he is old. He has a history of having a bad temper, but so do a lot of people I know. Senator McCain knows what it is to serve his country as a soldier. He served America to the point of almost losing his life in a POW camp. His son serves in Afghanistan as we speak. He knows what it is to salute the flag and he respects his country. He was willing to die for it. He has values – American values! He believes in right and wrong and he will put his hand on the Bible to swear in when he becomes President. He is American to the core and he will lead this country to the best of his God-given ability. He is not perfect and he might not be the best man in the world for the job, but of the two choices, he is the only clear option for President of the United States of America. If we are talking about experience and credibility, McCain certainly has the advantage.

I do not care if you are a Republican or a Democrat, you should always vote for the best person for the job. Don't vote for someone just because they belong to one party or the other. Vote because they will be the better option. Vote because the future of the United States of America depends on it. Vote because you are an American with American values and standards. Vote because every vote does count and vote because we have the freedom and right to do so. Vote because you belong to the greatest nation in the world and vote because you live in a country, which was founded on the fact that we are, "one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." Vote because you care and that my friends is just the way it is………….

Becoming a Texan...

Well I did it....I finally took the Utah plates off of my truck and attached Texas ones to it. I have to say that giving up my Ut. plates and changing my drivers license over to a Texas one have two of the hardest things I have done. (It has taken me three years and getting married to do it) Maybe I am crazy, it shouldn't be that big of deal but it is!!! (No offense to those of you that are Texans) I think it has something to do with the fact that for the many years I have dated Ben (on and off, of course) I always distinguished myself as the "Utah Girl." Even after I moved here I was known as the girl from Utah. Now to some of you it might be a detriment but to me it made a statement!! I am proud of my heritage and those pioneers that braved the way to "This is the place" and even though Texas is a great place it will never take the place of UTAH!!! So on to the next chapter of my life as a Texan but just so you know - I will always be a UTAH GIRL at heart!!

So long Utah Plates....

Move over Texas drivers and get ready for a little Utah driving....

Kennedy Reunion

Some of you already know that I spent last month in Utah visiting my family. It was a great visit and one I thoroughly enjoyed. It was a very busy month and I am sure I will end up posting a few blogs about it. From my family's USTRC roping in Vernal to barrel racing with my friends in Pocatello it was a fun filled month. Before I begin on some of the month's activities I just want to thank my wonderful husband for being so good about me being gone. I missed him tons and he was such a good sport about it.

Well to start the month off my family put on our annual USTRC roping. It was a good roping and although I didn't win anything my brother Lex won his first saddle in the #8. So congrats to him!! I was so excited for him and hopefully he will be able to use his shootout at the finals in OKC in Oct. and I can cheer him on there.

The next weekend was the Joe and Lota Mae Kennedy reunion. This would be my grandma's family. Well we were the hosts for the reunion this year and it was a crazy two days. We put my aunt Kristy in charge and she did an awesome job. From the food to the entertainment it was a great time. I just wish my rubber ducky in the rubber ducky race would have won....I think the best part was listening to my grandma tell about getting married in England during WWII. It was an incredible story.

My grandma telling her story

My mom - the crafter!

3 on 3 tournament (the old men still showed the youngsters some moves)

My dad - Head of Security AKA "The Cook"

As you can tell from the pics we had a great time. It was fun to spend time and catch up with all of the relatives. I will write more on the rest of the trip to Utah later.

An Assault To Your Senses....

Well here I am blogging again. I just wanted to fill everyone in on my trip to Ft. Worth yesterday. My friend Chandra and I decided to go shopping. She use to live in Ft. Worth and so I love to go with her because she knows the city. Well I figured we would do the usual western stores and such but she told me she wanted to go to the grocery store. Now Stephenville is small and sometimes you can't find exactly what you need but it isn't that small so I just kind of looked at her like she was crazy. I am not a big grocery store shopper in fact I pretty much hate it but I thought oh well here we go.

Well let me tell you this was the grocery store to beat all grocery stores. It was the most amazing place I have been and you know if I am writing about a grocery store in my blog it made a pretty big impression. It is called Central Market by HEB and is located on Hulon street (http://www.centralmarket.com/cm/index.jsp). I could spend hours in this place. If you have ever heard of it they have it.

The produce was amazing - there was every kind of fruit and vegetable you have ever heard of. I bought some freshly squeezed pineapple/orange juice - Minute Maid watch out!

Then we went to the meat part all I can say was WOW - there was the usual beef, chicken and pig but then just add fresh fish from every part of the world along with goat, lamb and every other edible creature out there. I tasted their sushi and it was amazing!

So on we go to the bread section. Now I am not a huge bread eater but this was amazing. (Almost sprung for the sourdough but remembered my diet) The cheese section had everything from feta and goat to then some. Let's just say Rachel Ray would be impressed.

Now I know that I am a small town girl but I have been to the city and I have never seen anything like this. Salt Lake City - you need a market like this!! Let's just put it this way I called Ben and told him next time we had some free time we needed to go grocery shopping in Ft. Worth. I know he thinks I am crazy but it is like going to the zoo only it's edible. So for all of you cooks out there (Steph I am thinking of you)- here is the place to shop!

The Goats Are OUT!!

If you know anything about me, you know that I have never been around goats. They were pretty much banned from the Dee Cornia ranch (with the exception of Pete's but it was pretty much like a dog). This came from the excuses of "You don't want to be a goat tyer, you will just blow out your knees" and "they are just a pain, don't bother with them we are a cattle ranch so we show beef calves at the 4-H sale." Being the athlete (HA HA) that I was these excuses were just fine by me and so you now know I have little goat experience.

Now when I married my husband I didn't realize the love for goats that he has and believe me I never thought we would have a goat herd ourselves. But lo and behold we now have quite the herd. Goats are like mice once you get one they just seem to multiply. Now I have to give my husband credit the accquiring of our first nanny was an experience I will never forget (it wasn't through the typical sale barn). I would go into that story but it is for another time. As for the rest well let me just say that the sale barn calls us every week and lets us know that they have nannies because we are such good customers. We have sold two goats so far but it seems when we take one goat to the sale we just exchange it for 4 more (along with a check lol). I have to give my husband credit though - we went to the goat sale last week and sold one and didn't buy any, not for the lack of trying.

Well onto the rest of my story...about two weeks ago at the unheard of hour of 6:30 am I hear my husband shout out "Jodi get some shoes! The goats are out!" Well as I try to awake from my deep beauty slumber and stumble to find my shoes - I realize that this is not good. Although we own 8 nannies and a billy, only one is tame - if you call it that. As I slip on my flip flops visions of us running down our county road with ropes in our hands and goats scattering everywhere run through my head, and then I hear my husband say they are just in the backyard. So I walk to our sliding door and there is the goat herd complete with the watchout goat (never knew there was such a thing) standing on top of our tractor. (See below) Luckily they had only been out just a bit and our prized tomato and pepper plants were still in tact! So for all of you wondering the moral of the story - well there isn't one except that yes a goat can climb to the top of a red International tractor.

The Goat Watcher - Spot

Dolly & Spike

My Goat - Dolly!

Painting...What a job!

I know it has been quite awhile since I have wrote but I have been very busy. From working ropings and rodeo's to painting some rooms in our house, life has seemed to be stuck on the fast forward button. The summer is flying by and I don't know where it has gone too!

I have been telling people about my painting projects and so I finally took some pics today to show everyone. The pics don't do the rooms justice but if you remember the moss green walls with bears, wolves and elk borders this is a big improvement. While Ben was gone last weekend I tackled the small room that I use and he liked it so much when he got home that he asked when I was going to do the other room. Here are some pics for you to see. Below is the my dresser that I gave a face lift to and painted it chocolate brown. You can also see the wall that I ragged. I was worried about the ragging but it turned out great. The lamp was actually brass with a green middle and so I painted it black and added my red shade that I had. I changed the bedding to brown and we bought a small desk to put in the corner so that my computer can actually have a place to reside rather than the kitchen table!!!

Here are some more pics of the other room. These walls were painted a desert rose with a border of horses and barns. The border wasn't too bad but the pink deseret rose was enough to make you puke! I used the same ragging technique and colors because I had paint left over from the other room.

All in all I thought both rooms turned out great and now we have two awesome guest rooms so I invite ya'll (texas term) to come visit!