Marlboro Man, the kids, Tim, his kids, and the cowboys got up at 3:30 Tuesday morning in order to drive over an hour away to work cattle. I also got up at 3:30 Tuesday morning, not because I was going with them to work cattle–but because moms in the country have to get up when their kids and husband get up or they look real, real dumb. And because I had to crawl under sofas, look under stacks of books, dump out boots, and peer behind bookshelves in order to help everyone find all the spurs, gloves, and hats they invariably can never find at 3:30 in the morning. It’s amazing how that happens. And because I have to kiss them and hug them and lay my hands on them before they go, and tell them to be careful, have fun, and help their dad.
Then wait till I see the truck driving away on the gravel road before I violently hop back in my bed for another hour or four of shut-eye.
Marlboro Man took my camera that day.
I loved the shots he came home with. The land where they went to work is very close to where his mother grew up–it’s right on the Kansas line, and it’s even more remote than where we live. It’s beautiful countryside.
This is my baby.
And there’s his father, my husband, my father’s older daughter’s mother-in-law’s son, snapping shots on his strong, faithful steed.
Hi, baby. You’re the youngest in the family and you make me proud every single day of your life.
See that home in the distance? That’s where my mother-in-law grew up. She’s told me so many stories of her childhood, about her summer days spent walking the creek with her Border Collie, about her sister, who loved staying in the kitchen and cooking, while my mother-in-law loved lying in the fields and looking up at the huge sky.
I get a lump in my throat when I visit this place, either in person or in photos, because it’s the place my mother-in-law has told me about so many times. She used to lie on the ground and stare at the sky, she tells me, and think about all the places she wanted to visit and travel to and explore and live when she grew up. Her sister, on the other hand, dreamed about staying close to home.
So here’s what happened: her sister married an Air Force man and lived in Japan, Germany, and everywhere but home.
My mother-in-law married a rancher and moved to the next county.
We always laugh about that.
Her big dreams took her one county over.
Her sister’s small dreams took her across the world.
See those kids coming out of the creek, bringing up the tail end of the herd?
And their dads, who are presiding over it all?
They’re here because my mother-in-law went where life and love–not her dreams–took her.
And I, for one, am so grateful she did.
Ree Drummond is the founder of The Pioneer Woman and a lover of butter, basset hounds and life on the ranch! Ree started her blog in 2006, and now millions visit ThePioneerWoman.com every month for her trusted recipes and fun family stories. Here’s what she has been up to since it all began:
New York Times Bestselling Author
Ree has written two memoirs (Black Heels to Tractor Wheels, and Frontier Follies) plus nine bestselling cookbooks:
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl (2009)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier (2012)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays (2013)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinnertime (2015)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Come and Get It! (2017)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: The New Frontier (2019)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Super Easy (2021)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinner’s Ready! (2023)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: The Essential Recipes (2025)
Food Network Host
Since 2011, Ree has been sharing simple, family-friendly recipes—and the occasional kitchen prank!—on her award-winning show The Pioneer Woman, filmed right on Drummond Ranch. Ree is also a regular judge on Food Network competitions, including Christmas Cookie Challenge.
Founder, The Pioneer Woman Collection
Ree has been creating and selling kitchen and home products at Walmart since 2015 and she’s involved in designing every piece and pattern. The line now includes best-selling appliances (you have to see the floral blender!), plus hundreds of pieces of cookware, tableware, and more. Ree doesn’t like to play favorites but the Agatha print has a special place in her heart.
Restaurant and Hotel Owner
Together with her husband Ladd, Ree has opened several bustling businesses in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, including The Pioneer Woman Mercantile—a bakery, restaurant, and general store that draws visitors from across the country (many come for the biscuits alone!), P-Town Pizza, Charlie’s Ice Cream Shop, and The Boarding House, a charming hotel with eight different rooms decorated by Ree and Ladd.
Media Personality
Ree appears regularly on national TV shows like Today, Good Morning America and more—all while managing to keep flour off her shirt.
Wife, Mom and…Grandma!
Ree’s kids (daughters Alex and Paige and sons Bryce and Todd) are all grown up, and as of December 2024, Ree is the proud grandma of the cutest baby ever, Sofia Scott, born to Alex and her husband Mauricio. Ree still cooks for Ladd (and the kids when they’re home), and she also looks after a few mischievous ranch dogs.
