My Sister Adventure With Betsy! (2024)

My sister Betsy has lived in Seattle for years. She wasn't able to come back and visit for over a year during the pandemic, and when she came back for Alex's wedding in May of 2021, she decided she wanted to start coming back more often. She and my nephew Elliot visited for Easter last month, and when Elliot headed back to be with his dad in Seattle, Betsy decided to stay an extra few days! One day Ladd invited us to drive up to Kansas and meet him where he was burning some pastureland. Here are some photos from our sister adventure!

After the second gate, we parked my pickup and got into a different vehicle Ladd had left for us. Then we drove on and met him at this creek, where I discovered I'd left Ladd's boots back in my vehicle (he had asked me to bring them to him), so while Ladd drove all the way back to my pickup (haha), Betsy decided to skip rocks in the creek while we waited. Never a dull moment when it comes to me remembering the small details of life!

Ladd finally got back with his boots, then he hopped back in his jeep and said "Okay, follow me." Whenever a cowboy says "Okay, follow me," you can be sure you're in for an adventure. Or at least a bumpy road.

Before long, we arrived in the pasture where the burning was going on. Betsy has seen burning before, but it had been awhile and she wanted to get her bearings, i.e. make sure she had a clear exit strategy. (Kidding/not kidding?)

So here's what's happening in this photo: My brother-in-law Tim is in the front (you can't see him) in a white jeep lighting a straight strip of fire along the fenceline. Following behind him is Cowboy Josh in a red fire truck, spraying water on the edge to stop the fire from spreading beyond the fence (the wind was in our favor.) And if you look very closely, you can see Ladd following along on foot with a leaf blower, blowing debris into the fire to ensure little sticks and embers don't come back to start a fire later.

Betsy kept looking out the window at Ladd, making sure he was all good. I looked too, but if there are three things I've learned in all the years of being an agricultural wife, it's that a) the dude is gonna do what the dude is gonna do, b) he knows what he's doing since he's been doing it his whole life, and c) Jesus take the wheel, because if something goes wrong, I can't do anything about it anyway. There's a certain level of resignation required in this role I'm in! 😂

The middle of this pasture was so thick with dead, dry grass that it turned into a huge inferno when the main fire met up with the back fire (the guys light a back fire in order to stop it from spreading.) Such a crazy sight.

I love having my sister (and nephew!) here more and more! No one knows me better, makes me laugh more, or makes things more fun than Betsy...and the good news is that when she is home, Ladd doesn't have to pay attention to me 24/7 and he can have a little break. 😂

(Oh, and can you keep a secret? Several months ago, Betsy and I decided to buy a house in Pawhuska together and have been fixing it up ever since. She will stay in the house when she comes back to visit, and she and Elliot will be here all summer! Then we'll also use it as extra accommodations for the filming crew and other family, and might offer it as a bed and breakfast in the future. We're calling it---get ready---Sister House. I'll share more updates soon. Okay, be sure not to tell anyone! Haha.)