I think I know more people with birthdays than anyone else! Boy, howdy, there’s been a lot of them lately!

Today’s special birthday girl is none other than my lovely and likable niece Lauren. She is my brother’s first child, and man is she sweet! Would you like to see some pictures of her riding horses at Galloping Grace? Yeah, me too! Unfortunately, Lauren is part of the family that up and moved to Oregon. The good news is that they’re coming for a visit in two weeks so I should be able to take lots and lots of pictures during their visit.

This is Lauren almost four years ago taken at the big ranch during branding weekend. One of the events we had for the children was a muddy pig wrestle. I think this is about as muddy as Lauren got. She’s a real smart girl that way. She’s a real smart girl in a lot of ways. Miss Lauren practically taught herself to read fluently when she was only four years old. Need to know the lyrics to a song? Just ask Lauren. The child’s memory amazes me. These next few pictures are to prove that not all children made the same decision as Lauren that day. Some got down and oh so dirty!

The disgustingly gross thing is that the pigs were left in the area with the water and mud for almost a week. Please imagine, if you will, the aroma lofting out of that pen. Not all were deterred by the stench. Oh, contrare. The vast majority dove right in. It was an absolute maelstrom of activity!

That’s good times right there, I don’t care who you are! Wanna see which child had the most fun of all?

That would be my always serious, never wants to have fun, would hate to stain a perfectly good white shirt hubby, Max! If my memory serves me correctly, Lauren wasn’t asking for any hugs from Uncle Max after that event. As a matter of fact, I think I avoided the man for a while myself. I must mention that the laundry piles lined up for the washing machine were gigantic and stinky. Wow! Definitely not my favorite memory of the festivities. (A festivus for the rest of us! Hee hee!)

Please excuse that tangent. I didn’t mean to muddy Lauren’s birthday tribute with such silliness. OK, I did. I couldn’t resist showing highlights of the fun. I’m sure Lauren will understand. (Her mother is another story. I better brace myself for the lashing!)

Here’s a picture of everyone nice and clean. Look at Lauren there in the middle! What a face. The girls were so proud of the wild bunny they got to “nurse back to health.” Please, no comments about rabies and other dangerous stuff. Trust me, I’ve already worried about that. And, since this picture was taken years ago, I think we’re safe from this particular bunny. We are such great parents out here in New Mexico.