Life in the Country

I know, two posts in two days. It's quite amazing isn't it? I have shocked myself.
Well, over the last couple of weeks I have really been reflecting on our life in the country and what I love about it. There are so many things that I have grown accustomed to that I realize, this is the life I was born to live. I can remember being a young girl and wishing we could move to the country. It really has been a dream of mine for many years. I can now see that horses are definitely in my future. This is just a fun post that I wanted to share with all of you. Here are the things I love about the country:

• Driving up our long road in the dark, with the brights on, watching for the rabbits to go hopping through the fields. (The kids get a thrill out of this.)
• The stars at night, well they don't get any better than they do out here.
• Stepping outside our door into all the open space and the beauty of God's land.
• The amazing sunsets at dusk.
• The peace and quiet on our hill. I can never go back to a 'normal' neighborhood now.
• The easy going nature of life in general, at least some of the time.
• A true sense of community.
• No lines at the post office.
• Going outside half dressed, if necessary, to retrieve the dogs.
• All the different types of wildlife we have all discovered together. Mice, well that's another story. I am proud to say at least I don't always scream at the sight of one.
• Watching the kids discover new things.
• It's safe for the kids to play outside without having to hover.

I am sure there are more, but that's all for now. Thanks for staying in touch with us. Click on the column to the right to let us know that you are following our blog. More to come soon!

A Quiet House!!

Today I find myself at home, ALONE and it's Saturday. I will tell you this is rare. I decided it would be a good time to update my blog. I do try, although I'm not the best at it. Credit for attempting, right? The kids had basketball again today and they did really good. Carson just gets out there and gives it his all. He really does enjoy this sport. Kynlee is really getting into the game and I do mean physically. She learned real quick that girls don't always follow the rules on the court. She has learned that stealing is okay and sometimes you just have to push right back. The team we played today was more aggressive and sometimes we were beginning to think they thought this was hockey and not basketball. Who knew girls could be so pushy out there. Her age is a lot of fun to watch and the action just keeps you going. It gets very exciting to watch them play.



We also survived Girl Scout camp last weekend. Thank Goodness! The first night the cabin heat was out and it was in the low 30's. I didn't think I was going to the deer lease again, but it was beginning to feel like it. We had a fireplace going, but in such a large open area it didn't do a whole of good. Needless to say, we bundled up before going to bed. Saturday the temperature got into the low 70's and a large space heater arrived before dark. We all slept and felt much better that night and stayed warmer, at least compared to the night before. The girls all had a great time digging in the dirt and going on hikes during the day. Here is a picture of Kynlee and the house she built in the dirt.



The kids also had dentist appointments this week and I am pleased to say there were no cavities. Carson has had some receding in his lower gums and she was concerned about that. We now have an appointment with a periodontist the first week in February. It looks as though he may have to have oral surgery and/or a gum graph. Poor little guy. For those of you who don't know this is extremely painful for adults. Now can you imagine for an almost seven year old? We'll wait and she what the periodontist has to say and I'll keep you posted. Please pray for him because I know this is not going to be something he will be happy about. I would love to think she may not want to do anything yet, but I really doubt it.

I'm getting ready to change the look of our blog and add a new title in the next few weeks so stay tuned. Thanks for checking in on us!

Fast Forward to 2009

I have finally found a minute to get an update to this blog. I’ll do a quick fast forward since the last post after our trip. Halloween came and the kids had a great time. Kynlee was a witch and Carson was Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Carribean. We traveled to Austin and San Antonio for Thanksgiving and enjoyed catching up with everyone. We had a great time.

Next came Christmas which really snuck up on me this year. I was late with getting decorations up and shopping, but finally got it all done. I’ve posted a few pictures of the kids during the holidays. We went to the Bass Pro Shops this year for their Christmas Wonderland and the kids had a lot of fun. The both got Nintendo DS’ from Santa and so far it has been great for me during our longer car rides. They now have a distraction besides picking at each other. We had a very relaxing Christmas this year and it was really nice. Scott’s mom and dad came to spend Christmas here and we had fun just hanging out. I’ll post a few Christmas picks along with one of my parents with all the grandkids.

Now basketball season has begun and the kids love it. Kynlee has moved up to play with all girls grades 4th-6th. This is a bit more challenging for her, but I think it will be a great experience. They are much more aggressive and the rules have changed since last year. They can now steal the ball from each other and more fouls are called. We’ve only had one game so far. I think after a few more she’ll get the hang of what’s going on out there a little better. It surprises me that she jumps right in there and gets aggressive right back. Most of you know she’s more the shy type when it comes to this stuff. Carson is also doing great with his team this year. You can tell when he gets out on the court that his adrenaline is really up. He’s bouncing around trying to do his best guarding his opponent. It’s quite funny to watch these smaller kids play. They really don’t know all the rules very well and you can tell by the looks in their faces half the time. His team consists of Kindergarten and 1st graders. I’ll post some pictures of them playing soon.

Kynlee and I are off to a Girl Scout camp this coming weekend and are really looking forward to it. It may get pretty cold, but at least we’re camping indoors which will be much warmer. I should get some really great pictures of this. The last campout we did was a lot of fun and I took some really great pictures. Now if I can just get them in a scrapbook that would be even better. That’s a whole other project that I’m way behind on. I’ve decided until I finish school some things will have to wait or at least get done when I can get to them. Speaking of school, things are going really well. I can’t believe I’ve already been going for more than a year. I’m in the process of trying to transfer so when I find out about that I’ll put out an update.

The kids and I went with Scott on New Year’s Day to the deer lease for the last hunt of the season. We stayed in a friend’s fifth wheel and really had a relaxing, fun time. It was a different experience from ‘normal’ camping, but all in all it was okay. The first night Scott thought there was plenty of gas in the generator, but at about midnight it ran out leaving no heat for the rest of the night. We were freezing all night and by morning when Scott returned from hunting the kids and I were in the truck with the heat on waiting to go get more gas. When we left around 9:00am the temperature was 28 degrees. Did I say it was COLD!! I told Scott that’s not a really great way to introduce me to going to the deer lease J. After that it was much better and a lot warmer. Although he did not shoot a deer this trip the kids really enjoy sitting in the blind waiting to see if one would along. Kynlee was really excited and gets into the whole thing. Carson just kept asking why I came if I wasn’t going to actually ‘hunt’ with them. Roxi and I (aka ‘sissy dog’) just stayed back and enjoyed the peace and quiet. I will say by the time it got dark I was watching for the headlights. It got a little creepy out there! Oh, and Roxi is doing good although I’m still trying to get her completely house broken. I’ve been pulling my hair out with this, but I keep thinking the light bulb is bound to shine bright real soon! Overall she does good, just still has accidents more than I would like. She was nicknamed sissy dog by Scott’s dad since Scott has really grown attached to her he felt it appropriate. Don’t worry I don’t call her that, just in reference.

That’s our update for now! I didn’t realize it would be this lengthy and I know I should post these more often to keep them shorter. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

More Magic!

We made it back from Disney late on Friday night. We decided to leave on Friday instead of Saturday because it was going to be raining all day. We arrived in Houston without a hitch and then found out they had canceled some Dallas flights that morning. Needless to say we sat in the Houston airport for NINE long hours trying to get home. We knew we would get there eventually so we just stayed put. Trying to fly on a Friday, non-rev, is never easy. For those of you who don’t know the terminology non-rev aka FREE! We were all tired by the time we got home, but I have to say the kids were real troopers. Thank goodness they have remodeled that airport and we had some decent choices for our two meals.

We all had a great time and enjoyed ourselves tremendously. We’ve already decided we want to go back in two years. There is so much to see and the fireworks and parades were awesome. Kynlee enjoyed all the rides, especially the roller coasters. The faster the better and she could not get enough. Then we have Carson. Poor Carson had to spend some time waiting while two of us took Kynlee on a few rides. We tried to find something for him to do in the meantime. I say poor Carson because we did drag that kid on a few rides he really did not want any part of. We only did this on a few that we knew once he got on it would be fine, and then there is always that one that in the end you feel kind of bad about. The last ride was the Hotel Tower of Terror that you ride in an elevator to an old spooky hotel and the elevator drops a few stories and goes back up and drops again. You know the way a cat looks if you drop it and all fours are stretched to the max and their face has that terror in it, well that’s pretty much how he looked during that ride. At this point Scott and I are feeling like awful parents. In the end, he was just fine and didn’t think it was that awful! We certainly didn’t put him on there kicking and screaming just a lot of protests. He has never been one for fast rides and may never like them.

They had a great time getting autographs from the characters and having their pictures taken. I honestly didn’t think they would get into that very much. I was wrong and they were excited every time we happened upon a character and had to get that autograph. If the lines were too long they didn’t care to wait so that worked out great for us. J

On our last day Kynlee got a great surprise. In the afternoon after being at Epcot all day we decided to head back over to Hollywood Studios for a few last rides. Once we got there and were headed to a ride we saw a small group starting to gather in the middle of the street with a cameraman. As we got closer we realized that the Cheetah Girls had arrived to film a small segment. We got to watch the filming and take some pictures; however, they were not signing autographs. One of the PR ladies with Disney walked up to Kynlee and asked for her name. She took a picture over to the girls who each autographed it for her. She was the only one we saw get this special autographed picture. Needless to say she was on cloud nine and thought this was the perfect end to our trip.

Not the best picture, but they weren't posing!

Here is a picture of the kids at the T-Rex Café in Downtown Disney. It’s brand new and the kids really liked it. It’s owned by the same company that has the Rainforest Café so the set up is the same except with dinosaurs instead of the rain forest. It was really neat.

Next up…… Halloween!!

A MAGICAL TIME!!!

We made it! For those of you who don't know we planned a surprise trip to Disney World for the kids. Don't feel bad we didn't tell many because we didn't want the kids to catch on. We arrived on Saturday and they were thrilled. They were led to believe we were going to Corpus because that would be normal. We told them while we were waiting in New Orleans for our connecting flight and at first I don't think they really believed us. It took a little while for it to set in. They were so excited when we arrived and we are having a great time. I promised some pictures so here they are. We've had a busy two days and I'm about to drop so I'll post more later. Enjoy the pics for now!

EVERYONE LOVES MICKEY AND MINNIE!!

MOM AND DAD TOO!

SILLY HATS AND SO MANY TO CHOOSE FROM!

October

How time flies! I know I have not been near as good at posting as I had hoped. We've had an interesting Octoboer already. Our septic has gone bust and now we're in the process of having a new one installed, better I hope than the last one. It was quite a site seeing the guys out there knee deep in mud and yuck trying to find the problem. I really should've taken a picture of that. Now the fence, that I so desperatly need, is on hold for a while to say the least.

We had open house at the kids school tonight and got a funny story from Carson's teacher. She said that at recess today he walked over as white as a ghost and said he felt real sick to his stomach. She said his little eyes were in a daze and asked him if he'd just gotten off the tire swing. She immediatly knew what the problem was. Other kids get to pushing and if you stay on too long the dizziness and nausea kicks in. He laid out across her lap for a good ten minutes and she said he did not move a muscle. She was afraid when it was time to go in she was going to have to carry him. I guess the ten minutes of stillness was all he needed. He got up and was ready for lunch. I heard the story right after school, but of course miss all the good details. I guess he will be staying clear of the tire swing for a while. He knows once he's on he can't always get the other kids to stop so he can get off. Meanies :)

For those of you who don't know, I'm going to be an aunt again. Scott's sister, Stephanie, is expecting in late March. We are all soooo excited to have another baby around. Kynlee is so excited she can hardly stand it. The night she got the news from her Aunt Stephi she started screaming and jumping on the bed. I guess if she can't have another baby brother or sister the next best thing is a baby cousin. She's finally realized no matter how many times she asks, the answer will be the same, NO! We're all good in that department.

Carson joined Boy Scouts last month and he's very excited about it. He thinks he should have a meeting every few days. Here is a picture of him in his new uniform.

Kynlee got to walk in our homecoming parade with a friend's miniture horses. It was a long walk, but they were real troopers. That's one thing I love about our small town. When there is a parade, the whole town comes! It was actually pretty long for a little town like Maypearl. Anyone can have a float, so that explains a lot. Here is a pic from that.

I'll have more pics in about two weeks so check back. We'll having something fun to post about.

September

The kids survived the first week of school and are enjoying it so far. That is until the homework gets underway and today is the first day for both of them. I was only able to get one picture of them before heading off the first day and Carson refused to have his picture taken once at school. Do you think they were embarrassed, their only 6 and 9? I really thought I had at least a few more years with Carson. Kynlee was fine with it so maybe it's a boy thing.

Now that hunting season has begun and we're outside city limits I'm hearing the sounds of the shotguns that surround us, including our own. Scott got home late last night and came straight in to get his shotgun and was back outside. This was about 8:00 so he had a little daylight left. I went outside and there he was sitting on his tailgate with shotgun in hand just in case a dove happened by. We sat there together for a few minutes watching and enjoying the cool air. I really felt like a redneck sitting there on the tailgate with a shotgun in the driveway no less. Things are definitely different around here! I told him why did he have to go off to go hunting when he can sit in our own pasture and shoot all day long. I guess it's just not the same, at least I tried.

Amber and Robert are settling in fairly well next door. At least the best they can living out of their RV while finishing the apartment. Should be the end of September. We're keeping our fingers crossed. I know it's hard for her having three kids and one who is crawling in an RV most of the time. Needless to say it's been a little hectic around here on the weekends with everybody coming and going trying to help where they can. Did I mention kids? Lots of kids and people. It seems for every adult we have two kids, talk about crazy!

Last week after school Kynlee and Carson really enjoyed having their cousins as neighbors. Carson has Caleb to play with and Kynlee gets to help with Kelsey and baby Chloe. She is a little mother and I see so much of myself in her at that age. She'll be wanting to babysit for money in no time for everybody she can. She loves babies and really is great with them. She can change a diaper, feed her a bottle and now even baby food. I'm so proud of her and the helper she is! They love walking back and forth from house to house and it's nice seeing them more. Amber and I are getting a chance to spend more time together too.

Stay tuned.... more to come soon!