The Scott Family

A {Very} Quick Update

2012-01-01T19:16:00.001-08:00

I heart this picture of my little cowpokes before the Red Stegall Ranch Rodeo this year.
My hippy, S.W.A.T. team guy, and Ranger player on Halloween.

We kicked off the Christmas season with our first Elf on a Shelf. Our Elf was named Claude and he was very mischevious, always getting into the sweets {and lipstick}!

Daddy's favorite thing to do is wrestle with the kids after work.

Ugly sweatshirt party at the Pittman's.

The cousins went to see Christmas lights, and this one won the prize!

I was very proud of myself for having a Party at the North Pole birthday party for Tate's 5th birthday this year. It's so hard to squeeze a party in before Christmas and this one was just right! We wore pajamas, ate pancakes and drank hot cocoa, made reindeer food and ornaments, had a scavenger hunt, and a pinata. It was so much fun!

We got to have a girl's night at the ballet. After Emmy's recital we went to eat at Gloria's and to see the Nutcracker at Bass Hall. Such a fun tradition with our girls.

Santa came to visit at Nana's house this year, and he left so many treasures!

New hats.

A new Kindle.

A big boy bike.

A guitar.

These boys sure love each other!

We had company for Jerrod's birthday and New Year's and Brycen found the dryer :)

Jerrod was teaching Summer how to make calf fries :/

Our New Year's babies...the few that stayed awake!

Time flew too quickly these last four months. Praying your 2012 is full of blessings!

A Weekend of Birthdays

2011-08-11T07:27:00.001-07:00

We celebrated Will's 7th birthday by going to the Ranger's game! This boy loves baseball! We had a blast celebrating with family and friends!

Then on Sunday, Mom took Tatum and Lexi to the American Girl store...which was amazing! If you have a girl, you must make this trip!

What Happened? June and July Are Gone!

2011-07-29T11:30:00.001-07:00

Wow! Another summer has already come and is almost gone! What a great summer it has been too!

Lexi got to ship cattle with the guys one day in June. If you know her at all, you know that's right up her alley. She woke up at 4:00 a.m. to meet up with the guys at headquarters. She felt warm when she woke up and had a slight fever. She begged to go anyway, so against my better judgement I gave her some Tylenol and a Pop Tart and sent her out the door. I made 30 breakfast burritos for the guys as they brought the cattle to the pens behind our house. She assured me she was doing fine and wanted to finish her morning out. Around 11:30, Mrs. Bass brought her home with a fever of 101. Her Dad said she made a great hand and even went after one that strayed from the herd. It's little stories like these about my independent girl that I never want to forget. She's going to make a pretty handy girl for a lucky man one day!

Another milestone for Lex was that she went to church camp for a week in Glen Rose. When I dropped her off we were both in tears because she's never been away from us for 5 days in a row. It was an amazing experience for her and her relationship with the Lord definitely blossomed.
The kids and I went to Abilene for a few days to relax and visit. Of course, we were spoiled rotten and had so much fun!
Teryn came to swim for the day and the girls seem to be getting closer and closer each year.
In July, we went to Broken Bow, Oklahoma for our family vacation. Jerrod and I took the kids camping for the weekend and then met up with the rest of the family to stay in a cabin for the remainder of the week. We had so much fun camping and Jerrod teaches our kids so much about the outdoors. They even caught their own bait for fishing! And as usual we had a blast with the rest of the family. There is never a dull moment!
We took our boat, which ended up adding alot to the entertainment. What a cute captain, too!
Good morning, Tate!We had a blast on the tube! We even got Ben to ride! The best part was riding the tube with my brothers. I've never laughed so hard!
I heart this picture...
mmm...watermelon for breakfast!

Nana and Papa! Poor Nana didn't feel good on this vacation.

Jerrod and Will had a very successful fishing trip on the last day we were there. We had a yummy fish fry that night!
See what the kids spelled with the rocks?
We returned from Oklahoma on a Friday afternoon, and pulled together a party for Lexi's 10th birthday (yes, double digits!) the very next day! Whew..Mama was tired after that slumber party. We had a blast though! The girls were perfect!As if that wasn't enough, we turned around and left the following Wednesday for Ruidoso for an adult trip. Jerrod didn't get to go (boo). He stayed here and manned the fort. With the drought, he's having to haul water to all of our stock. Nat and I took the kids to mom's house for cousin camp on Wednesday night and left early Thursday morning for Ruidoso. Her family has a house there. The weather was amazing...low 70's and rainy! We had so much fun. These friends of mine are truly irreplaceable! We ate...and ate....and ate...and went to the horse races!
Thanks Zach and Nat for a truly amazing weekend!

Calan loves a picture with the ladies!

Aunt Summer and Uncle Tooter were there at the same time, so we hung out with them too.

The Fabulous Four: Beck, Nat, me, Kasi

On Saturday morning the girls went on a hike. Wow! That might have been the best part of the trip. It was beautiful!

2 more weeks and I'm back to work :(...Hope your summer has been as blessed as ours!

An Update

2011-06-08T14:09:00.000-07:00

Summer is here, woohoo!! Hopefully, I'll do a little better about blogging now that I'll have a little more free time. The end of the year was super busy, so here is a little recap of what everyone has been up to:

Lexi: Commended on TAKS Reading, received several awards at the end of the year, still trick riding, and had an emergency appendectomy on the 2nd to last day of school. That was very sad considering how much we love swimming, and now we are homebound for awhile. Thankfully, she's doing well and you'd never know she was so sick.

Will: Straight A's all year, finished his baseball season with 2 homeruns in the last game, and is SO excited that school's out!

Tate: Finished his last day of childcare (Mom and Dad were super excited to send our final childcare payment)! Tate will start pre-k next year and he is so ready!

Mom and Dad: Between juggling end of the year activities and three kids, we are ready for a vacation! We have a couple that we're looking forward to in July.

Mother's Day
These cousins sure have fun together!

Easter Sunday

Lexi and Teryn at the egg hunt.

The boys...

2011-04-24T19:04:00.000-07:00

We have had some busy boys around here! They both enjoyed catching fish at the lake last weekend!

Also, Will won 3rd place in the Fun Run at school (with a broken collarbone)! He competed against 50ish other boys, and ran about a quarter of a mile. What an all star!

A Star Spangled Night

2011-04-18T19:17:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure where this brave girl comes from, but she just sang "The Star Spangled Banner" in the 4th grade program tonight! She is so confidant and just sounded wonderful. I couldn't be more proud. View her video here, but I apologize because I can't seem to rotate it!

2011-04-04T17:54:00.000-07:00

We just got home from our annual Round Top Weekend Road Trip, and what fun it was! There is absolutely nothing more soul quenching than spending time with the girl's you love in the beautiful hill country, amidst a bunch of junk! I think each year keeps getting better!

Women's Retreat 2011

2011-03-06T14:37:00.000-08:00

In addition to the rodeo, our church had a women's retreat this weekend too. The theme was "Dress Your Best" and we had over 100 women attending. Keri and I decorated a table and enjoyed dinner from the Macaroni Grill. Their was a fashion show Friday night, which was actually very entertaining (& funny) as we looked at how much time we spend on our outward appearance, but little time on clothing our spirit in *gentleness, *patience, *kindness, *humility, and *compassion. Saturday morning was a sweet time of coffee, breakfast, worship, and quiet time as we identified the areas in our life that we need to focus on. Patience is the quality that God really spoke with me about.

2011-03-06T14:23:00.001-08:00

Look at my baby girl!
Lexi & Becky looking beautiful!

The boys are waiting to get on their sheep!

These guys have way too much fun together!

This weekend was such an exciting weekend for Lexi. Her trainer asked if she wanted to carry sponsor flags in the PRCA Glen Rose Rodeo. We thought this would be a great way for her to start riding in front of a crowd before trick riding. It was so much watching her! She is so confident and looked so grown up. Becky also carried flags, so we spent the weekend with them. The boys never get tired of playing together. We were absolutely exhausted from traveling to Glen Rose and back 3 days in a row, but wouldn't trade watching our girl for anything!

A Little Bit of Tate

2011-03-06T14:04:00.000-08:00

All of a sudden, I'm realizing that my baby is growing into a little boy with so much spirit. Unfortunately, being the 3rd child, I have failed to capture the many wonderful moments of his childhood. He's turning into a playful little cowboy with lots and lots of energy.

Finally, Real Snow!

2011-02-04T13:44:00.000-08:00

Our make-shift sled.
The boys love to eat the snow.

Taking the 4 wheeler for a ride.

Yay for Snow!

Looking out our back door this morning...

After being iced in for 3 days, we were glad to have some play-worthy snow. We got outside and played until our fingers were frozen. We love the snow, but are so glad it only comes to Texas a few times a year because we are big weenies!

Trying to Keep Up

2011-02-02T09:39:00.001-08:00

Rain, snow, or ice...these cowboys still have to work!
Sister thinks she's a lap dog!

Snuggling in on our ice day.

So, it looks like January has come and gone! Between school, basketball, and Stock Shows, I have been terrible about posting, or for that matter, taking pictures at all. Here are a sad few pictures of our life over the last few weeks.

...And a Happy New Year!

2011-01-07T18:23:00.000-08:00

Jerrod and I brought in the New Year by celebrating at a wedding. It was absolutely gorgeous and so much fun! Gammy was sweet enough to drive in and keep the kids, so we actually had a real date. We love to dance together, and danced most of the night. I'm so lucky to have such a talented dancing partner, and after 10 years of dancing together, we get a few compliments!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy Birthday, Jerrod!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

and a very happy 2011 to you and yours!

A Holly, Jolly Christmas!

2011-01-03T20:06:00.000-08:00

Waiting for Santa...these 3 are at the best ages for the magic of Christmas!
We love our newest cousin, baby Brycen.

Gammy came up to see us and babysit the kids (all of them) so that we could go out for New Year's! She also came to celebrate my hubbies 30th birthday...more on that later!

At Nana & Papa's, the (15) stockings were hung!

And Bobo came by with a pet tarantula, and guess who wanted to hold it...

Davy Crockett supplies....

and some very cool night spy goggles.

I love these two pics of the kids with my grandmothers.

Aren't they so pretty?

We spent Christmas morning at home with our own little family, and it was such a sweet time.

On Christmas Eve, Lexi created this holiday Bingo game. It was such a hit that she recreated it at Nana's for all of the cousins to play. Playing Bingo..

My sweet friend Lisa and her kids came to make Christmas cookies, and Luke spent the night with Will. They were pretty clever, leaving Lisa and I this "UPS" package on the front porch and ringing the doorbell before running off.

And this is where Tate and Sister slept every night over the holidays.

We are so sad to say that our holidays have come to an end! Here are some of my favorite memories from this year! May your New Year be full of blessings!

A Pizza Party

2011-01-03T19:45:00.000-08:00

When the boys came down with the flu, we thought we were going to have to cancel Tate's birthday party. Fortunately, they were fever free and had been treated long enough to go ahead with the fun. Although, a few kids played it safe and stayed away from the flu, we still had a good turn out. Boy, does this guy love the attention!

Happy Birthday, Tater Bug!

2010-12-21T18:36:00.000-08:00

Melt my heart! My baby is 4! That just doesn't seem right! This little guy has changed our family in big ways. The future is bright for this boy, so full of personality. He is so different from my other two, a challenge I must say. Right now, I am really having to learn how to shape his little heart without squashing his spirit. Challenging, I will say again. He is so quirky, full of life, and funny! Of all 3 of my babies, his humor and mischevious nature surpasses them all. He's a skinny little thing, but can fill up a room with his energy, could live on sugar alone if I let him, has no interest in real food, doesn't care what anyone thinks of him (which I'm determined this will work in our favor one day), is very brave, loves orange juice and babies, is very intelligent, finds great joy in pulling pranks(yes, already), and loves attention (of any kind). He can be pretty sweet too, especially when he wants his mommy. Happy birthday, my littlest one, may God bless you this year and years to come!

A Night at the Nutcracker

2010-12-14T08:09:00.000-08:00

We were blessed to get 4 box seat tickets at the Bass Hall to the Nutcracker from Jerrod's boss. Of course, Jerrod and the boys had no desire to go, so they skipped out and did their own thing. Lexi and I had a date with Nat and Tatum for the evening. It was so fun being with the girls downtown during such a magical time of year. We ate at the new Chuy's and the girls loved the Nutcracker!

Christmas Fun

2010-12-05T20:07:00.001-08:00

I love this picture of the cousins eating smores!

When I went to take Tate's picture, I noticed he had found his friend Chance from church!

What a fun night we had with our cousins on Saturday! We met Zach and the kids in Aledo for their Christmas celebration, while Nat and her friend set up a booth for their (awesome) picture frames. The night began a little rough, our train ride with 7 children was cut short after the train broke down! You can only laugh in situations like these. The evening quickly turned around when we found the petting zoo, smores, kettle corn, and sausage on a stick. All in all, it was a very fun night!

So Blessed

2010-12-05T20:01:00.000-08:00

Dixie snapped this picture of the 3 of us at Thanksgiving, and it just reminds me of how thankful I am to have these two as my sister-in-laws. Growing up without sisters has drawn me even closer to these sweet girls.

The Reason for the Season

2010-12-04T08:49:00.001-08:00

How proud this Mama is! Lexi wrote her letter to Santa, and it starts like this:

Dear Santa,

I love that you come every year and give us toys but I hope that you know Christmas is all about how Jesus came to earth and saved us from our sins....

Wow! Sometimes it takes a child to remind us what Christmas is truly about. I hope that we can keep this in mind throughout this magical time of year!

Boys Will Be Boys!

2010-12-04T08:41:00.001-08:00

The cousins had SO much fun together at Nana's over Thanksgiving. We caught these silly boys just being boys...and this was our sad attempt to get a cute picture of all of them!

Will's First Buck

2010-11-07T17:36:00.000-08:00

Jerrod and Will went hunting this weekend and were very successful. Jerrod brought home a buck last night, and Will shot his first buck this morning. It was pretty exciting for this 6 year old and his Dad. He shot him in the neck, but got a nice gash above his eye from the scope. Pretty cool scar, I guess! Way to go big boy!

Little brother helping out.
Can you see the excitement on his face Ouch!

~~~~~~~~~~

AND Lex had an exciting night with Tatum and Queenie at the Worthington in dowtown Fort Worth. Queenie took the girl's for Tatum's b/day present. They went to a fancy restaurant, took a carriage ride, swam, and ordered room service this morning. What a life! Thank you Tatum and Queenie!

A Cheerleader, Rodeo Clown, & Superman

2010-11-01T19:50:00.000-07:00

The Ninja, Superman, Rodeo Clown, Pirate, and Cheerleader at the church carnival.

These boys stopped to enjoy their treats along the way.

Baby Sis was a precious Ladybug and so was Tayli, but we couldn't get her picture.

Trunk-or -Treating at church!

My babies!

Tate's costume was Will's from last year. He fell in love with it when he tried it on...easy enough!

Lex was a Godley Wildcat cheerleader and looked so big!

Will and Jerrod came up with this costume. That's what you get when you send your 6 year old and husband to town for a Halloween costume the Friday before Halloween. Turned out pretty cute, huh?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We started our night off at the church carnival where the kids enjoyed games, bounce houses, and trunk-or-treating. After that, we stopped in at Mustang Estates across from the ranch and hit the jackpot! This little subdivision goes all out for Halloween. Each porch was decorated and there were hayrides too! This was every kid's Halloween dream!

Happy Birthday, Zach!

2010-11-01T19:39:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday!
Beck and I enjoying the night!

What fun we had celebrating the life of my sweet brother, Zach, on Saturday. Nat threw him a surprise party with a band and all! We had a much needed night out and it was such a blessing to see how many people love this guy! He's super special and I'm again reminded how lucky I am to have such a close family.

Tate & Tayli Jo

2010-10-28T14:59:00.000-07:00

Tate & Tayli Jo have been staying together since last year and there is no denying how much they love each other...kind of frightens Tayli's daddy! They are so cute too! We love our Tayli!

10 Years!

2010-10-13T20:16:00.000-07:00

So...tomorrow is our 10 year anniversary! And these days, I feel like that's a pretty big accomplishment. I'm so proud of the life we've made together, and without getting into too much history, most of you know how we started. What an amazing journey it has been and I look forward to the rest of the story. So, without further ado, here are 10 things - one for each year and in no particular order- I absolutely ADORE about my husband!
1. He's a stickler. He made a huge decision 10 years ago to grow up and stand by me, and he still stands.

2. He's a man. A man of all men. This man does crazy man things that drive me crazy too. Like...does your man like catching rattlesnakes (yes, catching, not killing!), or chasing hogs and coyotes in the dark night, or saddling up a horse that isn't broke?

3. He works SO hard! After a long day of putting in his regular working hours, he shoes horses and checks our own stock. And when I gripe about him being gone, he replies, "I do it for ya'll".

4. He can fix anything. Just like my Daddy, he can fix ANYTHING! For example, we don't take our cars to have the oil changed.
5. He's a dreamer. I am not. Without his dreams I figure we would sit in the same spot forever.

6. He practices tough love. I don't know how many compliments we get on our kiddos and their good manners. BUT I am willing to admit (& only today) that he deserves alot of the credit. They know their boundaries with their Daddy and they respect him for it.

7. Our kids adore him. Their eyes light up when that pick-up comes pulling in. They even dress like him. They love to spend time with their Daddy. I see a piece of him in each of them.

8. He's very intellectual. So smart. He was the kid in class that drives us teachers crazy.

9. He perseveres. Through life in general. There have been some times that it might have been easier to give this up. Not us. We don't give up. He doesn't give up.

10. Whoa! He's pretty darn handsome!

I love this guy!

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Mark 10:8-9

New Projects

2010-10-07T15:21:00.001-07:00

I hosted bunko at my house this month, which forced me to do some deep cleaning and finish some projects. I love my new table that I found in Mom's garage and the new cabinet I want to hang in the kid's bathroom!

Welcome Brycen Gage Roda!

2010-10-07T15:07:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we welcomed Summer & Tooter's new baby, Brycen Gage Roda. Of course, he is precious and we can't wait to spend more time with him. We already love him so much!

Sweet Moments

2010-09-18T19:40:00.000-07:00

A few sweet moments...

I caught these bros watching the Texas vs.Tech game together.

These 3 BFF's have spent the last two weekends at hot rodeos (lovin' every minute of it) catching frogs, stomping through stands, cheering on their dad's, and being boys.

My girl is so cool. She can hop on a horse bare back and take off. The guys had her warming horses up, washing horses, and she even gave rides to and from the trailers the past 2 weeks. Around the coolers, I've heard several men say, "That girl makes quite a hand. I'd take her with me any day of the week." It's true too. She can saddle, bridle, halter, hobble, wash, and ride almost any horse you put in front of her. She has a gift for horses. Several asked when she could help their ranch rodeo team out. JT hitched a ride with her in this pic. When I pulled up to the rodeo, she was laying down on this (Scottie & Christye's) mare visiting with some adults.

The BFF's again. A photographer caught some pics of these guys hanging on the fence, so I can't wait to see them!

If you haven't met Sister, I hope you can soon. She has become our new Myrtle and has won my heart completely! She's precious...cuddly, calm, well-mannered, blind in one eye, and walks with a limp. My big teddy bear!

Labor Day Weekend

2010-09-13T20:03:00.000-07:00

Will was so excited to go hunting with the guys, he wanted his picture taken with everyone.
Tatum and Will loved reading No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed to Meemaw. The Grandkids think Papa is so much fun in the water! They won't leave him alone..he's like a big tree to climb in there!

Cousin Cuties!

Ben thought Will was too cool.

We traveled to Abilene for Labor Day weekend with the fam. The guys hunted, the kids played, and we enjoyed each other as always!

Off to a Great Start!

2010-08-29T13:27:00.000-07:00

School is in session! We had a great first week of school. Last Sunday at church the congregation prayed for our students and teachers, that we might go forward and change public schools in the name of Christ. It was a very powerful and motivating way to start the school year. Needless to say, it led into a great week. We are so happy with all of our teachers and know our children will grow so much throughout the course of the year. I am LOVING 4th grade. I have a great class and had alot of my students in 2nd grade. I love working with my friend (& Lexi's teacher) Stacy and am always amazed at the positive energy that flows from her. I have never met someone like her before and try my best to keep up with her. We have lots of exciting things planned for this year. I feel blessed to work in Godley. I couldn't be happier with the school system. We have brand new buildings and our district does an amazing job of keeping up with the larger districts in curriculum, technology, and teaching philosophies. I am excited to see what this year has in store for our family and my students.

A Sweet 6 Year Old

2010-08-17T05:24:00.000-07:00

We've had another birthday in our family. Will turned 6 last week! Wow, how time flies! If you've spent much time around this boy, you'd know why I chose this title for this post. He's as sweet as they come, and I do mean that. He is all boy, rambunctious, wild, and dirty, but his heart is pure and tender. I see great things for this little boy. My hope is that his heart will remain tender, yet strong and that he will follow God's plan for his life.

Last week we celebrated his birthday by letting him pick out a pair of boots and eating pizza. This weekend we went to visit grandparents and Gammy bought him a cake. This Saturday we will celebrate with friends.

My Baby is 9!

2010-07-24T21:08:00.000-07:00

When I think about the last 9 years of my life, it seems to have flown by and stood still all at once. My life changed 9 years ago when we welcomed Lexi Ray into our lives. She is a blessing to so many and I'm so thankful that she is mine. It's so much fun watching the young lady she's turning into. She's so full of life and I can't wait to see what the future holds for her. I pray that she will grow to be a noble, courageous, kind, trustworthy, confident, humble, hardworking, patient, generous woman of God. That she will be bold enough to stand for what she believes in and loving enough to accept differences. Someone who is satisfied by the little things that life holds, but dreams for big things too. I hope that I can share in her joys, help her through her heartaches, and know when to stand by and let her make important decisions.

~~~~~~~~~

This year after much pleading on my part, we opted not to have another slumber party. We settled on every other year...yeah me! We celebrated her birthday by taking 5 special girls to eat at the Cheesecake Factory and go ice skating. We couldn't have ended up with a better bunch either. They were wonderful little ladies and brought joy to my heart as I watched them help each other across the ice. It took about 45 minutes of warming up before they decided they were ready to become professionals. Tatum loved to grab my hand and lift her foot up off the ice without telling me...it was pretty cute! She also tried to sweet talk me into an ice skating outfit (and if I was rich, I would've given in!). Sweet Addie is a little fighter! She doesn't quit. Fall after fall, she never gave up or complained, just kept trying. Riley played it safe and stayed close to the wall or helped the little girls out by checking on them. Mia was a natural and took to the ice in 15 minutes. Lexi too! She was all over the place and even did a few spin moves. Best of all though, was watching them interact with a new friend. There was a sweet little fellow that we met almost immediately, who helped us with our skates, escorted us around the ice, and reminded us to use our manners. He was precious in his black helmet and gloves and the girls were so incredibly kind to him that we became his new best friends. My heart was so full of love for these little girls and their loving hearts!

Port Bolivar, TX

2010-07-23T15:22:00.000-07:00

We love the beach!
Cousins... Big Boy!

Papa & Nana ...and their legacy.

Lexi, Nat, & I convinced Mom to scare Dad in the middle of the night by dressing as a shark! I think it worked and was pretty funny!

Lex & Nat found the dress up box and put on a show!

At the fish market...

We took Lexi to town for a birthday lunch!

On the ferry.

Enjoying Lexi's breakfast birthday cake.

Happy Birthday!

Daddy's hanging out!

Mmm...ice cream!

Mom, LuLu, Lex, & Tatum.

Me and my sweet brothers.

Hard at work. This year, my brother invited us to spend a few days on the beach at his boss's beach house. It exceeded our expectations by far! We found a huge house that comfortably accommodated our family of 15 + LuLu and Robert. Between ping-pong, pool, karaoke, and a beautiful deck, we probably could have enjoyed the house by itself, but not our family...I think we all agreed that we could leave out lives and become beach bums pretty easily.

Girlfriends

2010-07-14T07:01:00.001-07:00

Here are the beauties I spent last weekend with! Aubrey and I went to elementary school together, but got super close in 6th grade. Jill and I met in gymnastics in elementary school (we weren't very good). Kimberly and I helped each other survive middle school. High School brought all of us together and our friendship has stood the test of time!

Girl's Weekend

2010-07-12T13:29:00.000-07:00

Jill made this amazing breakfast with peach mimosas.
Getting ready for pedicures.

Jill & Kimberly were sporting stripes & Kimberly got a little crispy again!

Preparing our food. Yay for Girl's Weekend 2010! I have such a special group of High School friends and we try to get together one weekend a year to catch up. Between babies, jobs, husbands, and distance, it's hard to find a time that meets everyone's schedules. This year half of our group is traveling to North Carolina to visit Bekah, and the other half of us who couldn't leave Texas traveled to a beautiful farm house in Buffalo Gap. We had such fun and enjoyed each other as always. We started with lunch at the Health Food store, layed out at the Country Club, gathered our food and headed to the house. We ate....and ate....and ate....and did pedicures, looked at old pics, laughed, slept, and even got spooked in that big ol' house! Kimberly took all of the group shots, so I'll post them when she sends them. We are already looking forward to next year.

Silly Kids

2010-07-12T06:37:00.001-07:00

Who are these kids??

A Thousand Splendid Suns

2010-06-27T16:08:00.001-07:00

If you're a reader, you MUST read this book. I've had the luxery of reading a few good books lately. All have been wonderful, and each has touched me in a different way. This book, I fell deeply in love with. Gaining a glimpse of life through the eyes of women during the volatile years of Afghanistan's recent history, completely put life into perspective for me. Not to mention falling in love with the two women in this story. It's amazing how authors can push us to be better people through books like these.

"In a few years, this little girl will be a woman who will make small demands on life, who will never burden others, who will never let on that she too has had sorrows, disapppointments, dreams that have been ridiculed. A woman who will be like a rock in a riverbed, enduring without complaint, her grace not sullied but shaped by the turbulence that washes over her."

That is what I want to become, and for mine to become.

Enjoy your summer reading! I'm ready for the next book.

Weekend at the Lake

2010-06-25T19:54:00.001-07:00

Lexi & Tatum enjoying a snack!
Ben always enjoys his snacks!

Happy Birthday Nana & Miss E!

Jerrod, Queenie, & Tate chillin' at the lake.

Emmy's cake....

and decorations. Papa & Tate catching a fish.

We had another memorable weekend with my family. June is a busy month for us, so we decided to spend the weekend at Nat's family's lake house for Nana & Emmy's b/days and Father's Day. It was a wonderfully, relaxing get-a-way. We fished, ate, and swam all day everyday. No pics of Will this weekend...he never took a break for a picture. I hope Nana, Emmy, & the Fathers felt special. They sure are special to us!

Let's Catch Up!

2010-06-13T18:32:00.000-07:00

Stand Up Foundation Fun Run honoring Lexi's friend Merritt who was injured in a car accident a few years ago.
Coming across the finish line!

Lexi starred as Fern in Charlotte's Web.

The cast...

Nana and her girls...precious!

We looked up and these two were dancing in the window! Yikes!

Lexi made me breakfast one morning..it was delicious!

Will just received his Wildcat Kid award for good behavior.

And finally.....Summer!

Funny boy!

They really DO love each other!

Helping Papa in the garage. Spending time with Teryn.

An over the top bubble bath.

Nana, Ava, & Tate judging the jumping contest.

Aubrey and I are doing the "double dive"...we had way too much fun!

Lexi and Teryn doing a trick.

But, this took the cake! Justin and Will doing a face to face cannonball.

Enjoying our friends...Ava & Caroline.

Snaggle tooth!

Well...it's finally summertime!! Yippee! We had a very busy end of the school year and are glad to be relaxing. We spent our first week of summer in Abilene at Mom & Dad's and really enjoyed the luxury of having a pool in the backyard. We spent hours in the pool each day and enjoyed our friends dropping by for a dip in the evenings. Our last night ended with a terrible tooth accident when Tate tripped over his towel and landed face down on the pavement! He'll be snaggle toothed until he loses it in a few years.

2010-05-19T20:43:00.000-07:00

Family Pic 2010

Mom's Day

2010-05-14T14:21:00.001-07:00

We had a wonderful Mom's Day this year. The kids and I (minus Jerrod who had to look after the ranch) drove to Abilene on Friday. We had a wonderfully relaxing night cooking out and letting the kids show off for Nana and Papa. My kids are all at such fun ages and it's so strange to watch them sometimes, because I can distinctly remember being 8 years old with two younger brothers. Saturday Lex and I took Gammy, Teryn, and Aunt Summer to lunch and had a great visit. That afternoon The Pittman family arrived and brought Queenie for the weekend too. We dropped by Western Heritage to watch the Matched Horse Races and had a blast while we were there and then headed back home for a relaxing night. The best part of the weekend was the message at church on Sunday. Beltway is such a spiritual place and I never leave there without feeling the Holy Spirit. The guest preacher was wonderful and had a great Mom's Day message, but the part that affected me the most was realizing that I am responsible for molding these 3 precious lives and even when I think no one is watching all that I am putting into my children and my home, God is always watching and appreciating. It was such a sweet message. After church Dad treated all of us girl's to a scruptious lunch at the Bee Hive. I'm so lucky that I still have both of my grandmothers!

Aub & Rob

2010-04-25T14:32:00.000-07:00

Aubrey,Justin, and Ava Kate came to visit us this weekend and I miss them already! We had a truly wonderful time just eating, laughing, taking pictures, going to the zoo, and the park! Aubrey and I have been BFF's since 6th grade, never once getting into an argument, but getting into plenty of mischief! We were laughing this weekend while we were getting ready to take pictures and go eat that life is a little different than when we would get ready for a night out 10 years ago. This time we were entertaining kids while we were getting ready. They graciously took our family pictures for Mother's Day. You can see a preview on my blog, but I'm not posting anymore b/c they will be given out as Mother's Day gifts. They are wonderful! Afterward, we decided to relive our old photo shoots, and take some BFF pics. It was quite funny. I'm waiting on Justin to scan some of our past shots so you can see how far we've come!!

Spring!

2010-04-15T06:53:00.000-07:00

Well, spring has officially sprung! This has been a super busy season for us so I'm a little behind on my blogging. Here are some of my favorite pics from this month! Hope you all are enjoying the weather as much as we are!

Our backyard view...

P.W.'s most delicious Strawberry Shortcake Cake...a new favorite.

Enjoying the weather. Every kid should live in the country!

Miss E & Tater Bug

Yummy Chicken Parmesan Sandwich

Round Top Treasure

Watchin' Daddy

Boys in the sandbox

The Magnificent 7 Easter Pic

Pretty Girl!
Handsome boys!

Our family...so blessed!

An All Star is Born

2010-03-28T17:12:00.001-07:00

I don't want to be one of those mom's that constantly brags on her children, however, I do have some athletes!! I'm very competetive, so this exciting to me! Will had his first T-ball game this weekend, and I was expecting to get a few laughs out of it. Boy was I surprised! He played pitcher and since they don't actually pitch in T-ball, his position was to field all of the balls. He made 15-20 outs! He's got quite an arm and takes it very seriously! He also hit some slammers too! It's so much fun!

O.M.G. Round Top Rocks!

2010-03-28T16:59:00.001-07:00

Okay...so I cannot express in words what fun a girl's trip to Round Top is! And what fun it is to share the experience with 3 awesome women...my mom and sis-in-laws! I'm pretty sure that Nat, Lauren, and I didn't know what we were in for. The weather was AMAZING as Nat would say, the food was AMAZING, the company was AMAZING, and the junk was AMAZING! All in all, it was an AMAZING trip! We came home with cars full of the fun stuff and maybe an extra couple of pounds to boot! Our families survived without us, and we've decided this is an absolute annual trip...or if we're lucky, semi-annual! Thanks, Dad for the trip! Thanks to mom for teaching us how to junk!

The big red barn....are we there yet??
Aunt Nat, Nana, and Aunt Lauren as we're getting started!

The sister's!

Miss E...the world's youngest (and best) junker!

Admiring the pies at Round Top! If you know my family, you know we love pie! I was so anxious to eat at the famous Royer's Round Top Cafe! An AMAZING food experience, but the crust still goes to Nana!

The PIE

Our orders..and yes, we were sick!

Las Vegas Trip

2010-03-21T13:10:00.000-07:00

This Spring Break we took an 18 hour road trip to Las Vegas with Summer and Tooter to see Pop, Nanny Lisa, and Katie. We drove through the night so the kids could sleep and now we are all trying to recooperate from a long, but fun trip! Here are some things we did:

Lexi and Aunt Summer on the road...
Me and my hubby out for my b/day dinner...AMAZING restaraunt.

Summer and Tooter at dinner.

Nanny Lisa, me, & Aunt Summer at dinner.

Jerrod and Pop

The kids are enjoying Pop and Nanny Lisa's hot tub.

Uncle Tooter in his snuggie!

At the shark reef...see the crocodile?

Looking down at the sharks at Mandalay Bay

M&M World!

Lexi and Katie waiting for the 3-D M&M film. The Coca-Cola Bear.

Happy boys!

Pop and Aunt Summer

Being silly at the Rainforest Cafe!

What a trip!

From Basketball to Braces

2010-02-21T18:37:00.000-08:00

Go Wildcats!
Lex (after braces), Riley, Blaze, Mia

With braces and forcing a painful smile!

Lexi was super proud of her basketball trophy and ended the week with braces! She has top and bottom expanders, too, so she's trying to figure out how to talk and eat again. Just another reminder that my little girl is very big!

Austin

2010-02-16T15:27:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we went to Austin for Ben's 1st birthday and for my 1/2 marathon. We had a great trip and got alot of visiting in. We watched Ben enjoy his birthday cake on Saturday, then Jen and Zach and I took Lexi to see the capitol. We went to bed early and Jill, Jen, Z, and I ran in the half marathon. It was a hilly run, but I ended with my best time yet, 1:55:16. Everyone did awesome! After the race, we had a table for 20 at Olivia! Yum! It was so much fun to visit with everyone. Mom and Dad treated us at brunch where we got to visit with the Deegan clan, Frizzells, Maggie and Mason, and Tyler and Lauren.

Hooray! Hooray! A Snow Day!

2010-02-11T14:40:00.000-08:00

We are covered in soft, wonderful snow here! The best kind for playing in. We were released early from school today and will have a late start tomorrow. So we played!

And we made snow ice cream...
And a snowman...And snow angels....

Stinky Business!

2010-02-11T14:37:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, we came home to this! He was a nuisance all night. Our dogs finally took care of him. Thank goodness!

On Sharing...

2010-01-27T15:16:00.000-08:00

A very interesting dream...

2010-01-25T18:51:00.000-08:00

If you are at all a believer in dreams, I'd love to hear your perspective on the dream I had on Saturday night. I cannot express in words how real this dream was for me. My mom recommended that I keep record of it so that I wouldn't forget the very important details over time. Here goes...I was extremely restless on Saturday night and for no reason at all. Just one of those nights where you drift in and out of sleep wondering if you've slept more than an hour or so at a time. At some point I was lost in this dream. I was standing in the middle of my living room with my sweet friend Becky Buckler and another lady I work with. Becky and I were in the middle of a conversation when I noticed that a large piece of earth out of our back windows moved. I said, "Was that an earthquake?" We looked again and saw it a second time. We immediately looked out the front of the house and it was very clear that it was the end of the world. It was a horrific scene of fire, earthquakes, darkness, and shrieks of terror. Becky grabbed my hand and began praying. She prayed for all of those that weren't saved and thanked Him that we were. She prayed that we wouldn't be afraid. In an instant, we were sucked down into the earth and separated. I could feel the falling sensation, the feeling you get when you go down a roller coaster, and my body temperature rising as I was being throne into flames. HOWEVER, I had no pain. I just kept praying that I would die quickly because I knew I was going to be with Jesus. I tried to hold my breath and kept thinking I would suffocate but when I finally opened my eyes I was in a completely different place. It was not what I would expect heaven to look like, but more like the conscious existence Paul describes Paradise to be in the New Testament. It was peaceful and calm. I looked up and saw Becky waiting for me with our suitcases. Neither one of us spoke, but knew that we needed to board a train (more like a cart) to take us to our destination. As soon as we boarded, I felt an overwhelming sense of panic b/c I didn't know where my children or husband were. As quickly as the panic set in, a box appeared in my lap. I opened the box and found 3 items. There was a Breyer horse of Lexi's, Will's spurs, and Tate's blankie. I knew that God had given these gifts to me b/c I was going to find my children. Next, I saw Jerrod's horse, Pete, gallop ahead in the distance. I knew I would soon find Jerrod. Another overwhelming sense of peace came over me and Becky and I continued our journey on the cart. We arrived at a hotel type place and checked in. People were busily going about their business, very quiet, calm, and happy. The woman that checked us in gave us our room number and assured us that we would see our kids very soon. We were satisfied with her response and waited for the elevator. I woke up.

This dream was so real to me that I felt like I was lost when I woke up and tried and tried to jump back into that dream again, placing myself outside of the elevator that Becky and I were waiting for. Of course, I couldn't.

It was frightening, mysterious, exciting, and peaceful all at once. I'm not sure what it means, but some of the circumstances in this dream align with what I've learned in 2 different Bible studies from two different churches on the theology of Revelations and the last days. Interesting to say the least. I know where my people are going, I feel an urgency to make sure everyone I know is assured the same fate. It also made me wonder how important things are in this life. I'd like to think that our Father finds some importance in things that are sentimental to us...like the three things in my box. I know as a mother, I find pleasure in the things that have remained important in my kid's lives.

What we've been up to...

2010-01-23T17:34:00.001-08:00

Brothers...
After a long day of work with Dad and the rest of the guys.

Comin' in after unsaddling.

Feeding and finishing up a long day.

How am I doing?

Our Lexi is #10. The other 2 short girls are 2nd graders.

We've been juggling our time between basketball, work, school, the stock shows, and everyday life. January has proven to be another busy month. This has been the first weekend I've been able to relax and catch up on things around the house. Jerrod, on the other hand, has been busy receiving cattle, and supplying for the Stock Shows. He has yet to have a free weekend.

Lexi is loving basketball and has quite an aggressive attitude and is very quick on the court. Makes mama proud! I can see a bright future in this sport for our little one. We have been surprised that she is one of the shorter ones out there! We just signed Will up for baseball and he's really looking forward to that. He's been helping the guys receive cattle at work, too. 6 o'clock-5 o'clock makes for a long day for our little man. He's loving it though, and stays on horseback the whole time. I'm so thankful my children have these life experiences. Tate is busy bossing us around and finding little things to make everyone laugh. We are happy to have no illnesses to report and are thankful to move busily into our day to day lives. Hope your year has started off well!

Resolutions...

2010-01-02T18:22:00.001-08:00

Here are a few of my resolutions.

1. To finish my bedroom. I've been married for over 9 years and have yet to decorate my bedroom. I got a beautiful new duvet cover from my mom for Christmas and I have the itch to decorate my room.

2. To make lots of new deserts and breads. I was surprised with a new and beautiful Kitchen Aid mixer from my sweet mother-in-law for Christmas. I LOVE to cook and bake and am anxious to put it to good use.

3. To see more movies. I love movies and have only seen a couple in the theatre since having children.

4. To continue my running endeavors. I love to run and find it unusually relaxing and challenging. I am now focusing on speed for some upcoming half marathons and am tossing the idea of another full marathon around.

5. To be more patient. Period.

That's all! Here's to 2010!

a very merry christmas!

2009-12-29T13:15:00.001-08:00

we had such an awesome christmas this year! we started a new tradition and stayed home for christmas morning instead of going to abilene. this was a great year to start, because all of my kids are old enough to be really excited about christmas! we had a very lazy christmas eve since it was icy and snowy outside. it must be god's way of reminding us to slow down and enjoy the moment. christmas eve night we went to headquarters for "christmas on the ranch". it was wonderful. i stopped at one point and took in the scenery. we were sitting around a very long ranch table, visiting, laughing, and looking at the ranch blanketed with snow. we ate peppered buffalo, tamales, rolls, fresh green beans, a green salad, potatoes, custard pie, mexican wedding cookies, a pumpkin roll, gingerbread, and mr. bass's choice of wine..mmm! after dinner we got in my new suburban (yes...my hubby surprised me with a brand new suburban for christmas!! it's absolutely beautiful) and drove home. the kids were searching for santa's sleigh and spotted him to the north. we snuggled in our jammies and read the christmas story and tried to appreciate the sacrifice our lord made for us. the kids went right to sleep. santa did indeed visit the scott's house. after opening presents, will and jerrod put the sandbox together (santa left the materials since it was a near blizzard) and we packed the suburban to head to abilene. christmas night we spent at nana and papa's, and saturday we spent at gammy and papa terry's. we were blessed with too many wonderful surprises, and enjoyed our families most of all. we are home now, watching the snow fall again, and enjoying not having a schedule to follow for one more week! i hope your christmas was as wonderful as ours, and pray that the lord blesses you in the new year!

before "christmas on the ranch"
playing with daddy

a fun mess

working on the sandbox

uncle tyler, ben, and aunt lauren

my boys!

yikes..who's this?

will's favorite present...he hasn't taken it off in a few days

cheerleader, tatum, and football star, will

tripp, tate, and will

lexi and teryn waiting to open presents

finally getting to play with our toys. this was the boy's masterpiece.

holiday memories

2009-12-24T14:43:00.001-08:00

we've had such fun this holiday season! here are some of our special memories...

decorating christmas cookies with cousins
mmm...sprinkles!

hope santa has a sweet tooth!

lisa, luke, and olivia came to play and bake christmas treats. we had instant best friends! olivia and tate were especially sweet. they had a concert and we found her fixing tate's hair!

the scott christmas tree 2009! there is no rhyme or reason to this tree...just wonderful memories and trinkets that friends and family have given us.

lexi bought and wrapped gifts for the boys!

we woke up to snow christmas eve! the kids were determined to play in it, even though the wind was blowing 50 mph! they returned approximately 3 minutes later!

another magical night

2009-12-18T15:22:00.000-08:00

lexi and daddy
pretty girl!

jerrod took lexi and i on a date to hear wynona at the bass performance hall on tuesday night. it was such a special evening for the 3 of us. i'm sure you can tell by the photos that lexi was pretty excited. she had never been to a place as fancy as the bass hall and she was in awe of it! wynona was amazing. she sang christmas carols, along with some classics. she focused on the birth of our savior and it was simply overwhelming to hear her voice. we are so lucky to work for such generous people. we take for granted all of the opportunities and experiences we've had these last 5 years.

a most exciting weekend

2009-12-15T14:43:00.001-08:00

we've had such an awesome last few days! we celebrated tate's 3rd birthday at peter piper pizza after the weather changed our park plans. he was thrilled with all of his new gifts and his very own cake. this was his first real party, so we enjoyed watching his excitement.

tate with gammy

tate with nana
tate, gatlin, & tripp

tate's own cake

happy birthday, tater bug!

after that, we settled in early for the marathon the next day. natalie and i hopped in with elizabeth and erin for our drive to dallas. we were so anxious about the day ahead and ended up doing well, overall. what an accomplishment! 4 mamas running marathons and half marathons!

elizabeth, erin, me, & nat

after the marathon, we ate a yummy meal with friends and family at uncle julios. i couldn't help but think about the huge sacrafice and many friends and memories i've made on this marathon journey. we ended the day with a Christmas program at church. it was alot more intimate and organized than i had expected, and was a true Christmas blessing. unfortunately, my camera didn't get very good pictures. we enjoyed watching the different personalites of our kids on stage. tate hammed it up, loving the attention of the audience. will couldn't wait to get down. and lexi was very passionate about her songs. it was so sweet (and funny)!

monday morning i woke up super sore and wished i could stay in bed, but will and i had a date on the polar express with his class. i was so glad to share the experience with him and afterward we had a nice lunch at central market and came home and built a train track out of lincoln logs together. here are some pics from the train ride.

santa on the train

will and the train conductor

will and best pal, landry

finally, monday night, erin, elizabeth and i went to a dinner and wine tasting with our luke's group. what a special night of memories and new friendships.

"green group"...these are the folks i spent my saturday mornings for the last six months with.

december (off to a great start)

2009-12-06T11:29:00.001-08:00

december is off to a great start! i love this month and we are all definately in the holiday spirit! i even have wrapped presents under the tree!

happy 30th birthday, nat!

lexi and will all dressed up for their train ride with nana and tatum!first snow of the year...

daddy putting the lights on our house (that was interesting!)

november...a little late

2009-12-06T11:14:00.000-08:00

november came and went too quickly! our thanksgiving break began with a sweet visit with my high school girlfriends and their kids. i miss being able to hang out with them and enjoy the easiness of one another. our kids love each other as well, instantly creating a "boys club". they were so fun!

we had a blessed thanksgiving in abilene with our families and friends! here are a few pics from that week, starting with stories by bobo...

tatum and will crashed after a hard day of playing...

nat, emmy, ben, and lauren

trick or treat

2009-11-03T16:26:00.000-08:00

our trick-or-treat bunch included woody, superman, a chef, elvis, a skunk, an autumn fairy, a garden gnome, belle, and a ninja. they must have been the cutest trick or treaters in town! after the festivities and the greatest candied apples ever (thanks, kasi), my nieces and nephews, sis-n-laws, and mom headed to our house for a slumber party while the guys enjoyed a weekend away at the cowboys game. to top off our great weekend, my oldest and dearest friend, jennifer, came in for the evening from austin. we had a much needed visit and i only wish they were much more frequent.

A Series of Unfortunate Events (& some fun)

2009-10-28T15:49:00.001-07:00

We had a fast and furious weekend at the Red Steagall Ranch Rodeo. Our team represented the ranch well and made it back in 5 our 7 events (only 2 other teams did that). Gammy, Teryn, Summer, and Tooter joined in on all of the fun. We had a few unusual mishaps that must be documented. First, Tate fell and tore his chin up. Next, an old door fell on my head at dinner (more about that later). Last, my accident prone husband got caught up in his stirrups during the wild cow milking and landed on his head, ending up with a severe concussion! When I said he keeps us on our toes, I meant it! Luckily, we are all okay.

A little of this, a little of that...

2009-10-06T08:28:00.000-07:00

We've been super busy lately with all of the exciting events that fall brings. We surprised Sally for her 50th birthday, got a new puppy, and Will got glasses (which he broke the 2nd day he had them!).

Tour de Fleur

2009-09-22T16:35:00.000-07:00

Well..we are halfway through our training for White Rock! We are working so hard and are exhausted, but we know it will pay off! Here is a pic of our little running club...Elizabeth, me, Erin, and Angie.

Labor Day in Abilene

2009-09-08T15:05:00.001-07:00

We headed to Abilene Saturday night for a quick trip to see the family and for the guys to go hunting. It's so much fun to watch the cousins play, eat Nana's good food, and visit with my sis-in-laws. We are so blessed to have a family that truly loves to be together. There were 15 people in the house this weekend! Here are some great pictures and you can see how fast the family is growing.

Working for Cake

2009-08-30T19:28:00.000-07:00

The other day while folding laundry in the laundry room, Tate spotted a white box on the top of the cabinets. "There's Bubba's cake!" he squealed. He was terribly disappointed when he found out it was just a box of Christmas things, but it did give me the bright idea to bribe him with his very own "birthday" cake if he would start going to the potty. He was extremely motivated by this thought and has only had two small accidents since then (5 days ago). We let him pick his cake out last night and he chose a superhero cupcake combo. Yeah Tate! He and his Bubba enjoyed his treasure last night.

First Day of School

2009-08-24T16:23:00.001-07:00

I can't believe we've started another school year, and a pretty big one too! This year, Lexi started 3rd grade at the Intermediate School, while Will started kindergarten at the Elementary. So, we are on seperate campuses! They both had great days and Will fell asleep in the truck on the way home. He'll have to get used to this new schedule! Meanwhile, Tate started his new home care program with Miss Shauna. It is going to be such a blessing. Today, his note said that they visited the garden, baked cookies, painted, counted, and read. He came home with an art project that said, "Tate is created in the image of God" and on his note there was a reminder that Tate is a blessing! What a great start to this year.

Happy Birthday, Will!

2009-08-15T08:31:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late on this post, but Will turned 5 on Wednesday. It's hard to believe that 5 years has passed by. He is a precious young man, so kind and obediant. I know the Lord has great plans for this little life. We celebrated his birthday with a small pizza party and a tractor cake!

My life...

2009-08-15T08:24:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures of the most important little people in my life! Can you tell they are siblings?

That Dimple!

2009-08-15T08:22:00.001-07:00

Look at the dimple on my boy!

Family Vacation 2009

2009-08-07T14:19:00.000-07:00

This year our family went to Possum Kingdom for our vacation. We had so much fun and truly enjoyed our time together without the normal stresses of everyday life. Our days were spent drinking coffee by the lake, going to check Jerrod's trot lines, swimming at Sandy Beach, cooking out, making s'mores, and fishing in the dark. What fun! We were sad to leave, but happy to take a shower in the comfort of our clean home! Here are some of our favorite pictures.

NRH2O

2009-07-29T08:45:00.000-07:00

We had a fun day at the water park with Tatum, Addie, Aaron, and Avery! We left the little ones at home so we could spend some quality time with the big kids and it was well worth it! Without the babies to chase around, we didn't know quite what to do with ourselves.

All Dressed Up

2009-07-20T08:30:00.001-07:00

This weekend we were all in Aunt Summer and Uncle Tooter's wedding. It was so much fun and everyone looked amazing. More pictures to follow! We are so happy for the newlyweds!

My 8 Year Old!

2009-07-20T08:14:00.000-07:00

My baby girl turned 8 on Friday. It's amazing how time flies. We celebrated her birthday with a slumber party the week before and with our family while we were in Abilene. I think about the joy she has brought us these past 8 years and how much she will bring in the years to come. She is the light of our lives.

Slumber Party for Lexi

2009-07-12T11:49:00.000-07:00

Lexi wanted to have another slumber party for her 8th birthday. So we are all tired today! She had 7 of her closest pals over for swimming, food, and a very late night!

Buttermilk Pie

2009-07-08T08:48:00.000-07:00

I love to cook! I love finding new recipes, trying them, changing them, and making them my own. Most of all, I love people eating my food, it just makes me feel good. Last night, Lexi and I made a buttermilk pie, a new recipe, and it was delicious! The best part of any pie is my Mom's famous crust. I hope Lexi enjoys cooking as much as I do, she seems to love it so far.

Sleepy boys!

2009-07-07T18:17:00.000-07:00

Priceless...7:00 and my boys are all asleep! Another lovely thing about summer is that I have dinner ready by 6:00, so everyone can relax earlier. Tonight they were waiting on me to clean up so we could go watch Jerrod ride a couple of horses. Ten minutes later, everyone had passed out! The little ones stayed asleep, but Jerrod got up to finish riding. I love the one of Will slumped over the foot of our bed.

Trip to the Dentist and New Haircuts

2009-07-07T12:29:00.001-07:00

We spent the better part of the day at the dentist and getting haircuts for Summer and Tooter's wedding. All went well, no cavities!!! Lexi will be receiving her referral to the orthodontist at her next check up in 6 months unless her mouth miraculously makes room for all of her teeth. Just another reminder that my little girl is growing up and my wallet is shrinking. The boys looked great, but looks like Tate has a small mouth, like me, and we can expect lots of dental work for him.

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-05T11:18:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful 4th this year! We went to Eagle Mountain again with the Pittman's, Greenfield's, and Will's. Nat's whole family was there, too, with some of their friends, so between all of the families I think there were more kids than adults. It was a blast! Good food, good friends, and water! We spent all day in the water or on the boat and stayed for the fireworks last night. My kids were exhausted by the end of the day and fell asleep before we left the driveway. Poor Lexi's face got sunburned, but it's much better today. I love traditions like this!

Tater Bug

2009-07-03T20:31:00.000-07:00

This picture captures Tater Bug in his true colors...hiding behind the chair with a popsicle before supper (which he is absolutely not supposed to do)! I guess he thought the sunglasses would disguise him! What a mess pot!

A Much Needed Get Away

2009-07-03T20:25:00.000-07:00

I am a huge fan of summertime! I love the relaxed schedule, swimming, and late nights. We tend to have lots of extra kiddos running around our house during the week too, so Nat and I decided we both needed a few hours of adult time. We took Emmy and headed to Ft. Worth with no expectations, but had an amazing, relaxing time. We told the babysitter to expect us home in 2 hours, but didn't make it back until 4 hours later! I love my Nat and wish we were closer! Here is a picture of Emmy's first outing.

Silly Girls!

2009-06-24T04:47:00.001-07:00

Lexi, Riley, & Chloe enjoying a bubble bath!

Yikes! I think I have the same picture of myself at this age with Mitsi Pair!

Emily Pearl Pittman... "Emmy"

2009-06-22T06:12:00.001-07:00

Sweet Baby Girl!

New Baby Girl

2009-06-18T20:10:00.000-07:00

Baby Pittman #3 turned out to be a sweet baby girl! My brother and sister-in-law welcomed Emily Pearl Pittman today. I'll have to post pictures later since they borrowed my camera. She's a healthy 8 pounds and is just as beautiful as Tatum and Tripp!

Summertime!

2009-06-16T07:33:00.001-07:00

We enjoyed our first week of summer at Nana and Papa's house. We stayed in the pool almost everyday and enjoyed swimming with cousins and friends. We love summertime!

Another Year Gone!

2009-06-05T20:06:00.000-07:00

What a year! It's hard not to reflect on this year's milestones. Will began his first year of school in Pre-K with Mrs. Cochran and Ms. Lacey. They were nothing short of amazing! He grew so much socially and academically and I am thrilled with his progress and love of school. By the end of the year, he was one of the highest readers and highest in Math! And when I say Math, please know that in HIS Pre-K class, they were doing perimeter, fractions, Math facts, and graphing daily! Yes, amazing! He can also read and spell very well! He knows the anatomy of the human body, why it looks like the sun moves, and that if x+3=5, then x must be 2! I will brag forever about the two ladies that took on this class of 4 year olds!

Lexi had another great year in school and had my dear friend, Stacy for a teacher! The two are kindred spirits and Stacy truly loved Lexi and let her be her creative, cowgirl self. Mrs. Brown is famous for her lasting relationships with students and a positive and challenging learning environment. She has more energy, ideas, and enthusiasm than any person should have! She's AWESOME and Lexi loves her. This year Lexi won an Academic Achievement award, the Wildcat Kid award, and an award for the most words per minute read aloud in all of 2nd grade (156 words per minute! and there are around 120 kids in 2nd grade!). I'm very proud.

As for me, another year has passed and an opportunity has opened. I will be leaving my team mates (and more importanly, friends) for a new position at the Intermediate campus. Together, we have fought and won many battles for countless students and educational beliefs and it was a truly hard decision to make. We are a perfectly matched team....Jason, the fearless leader, Becky, the matriarch, Trisha, the dependable, Ben, the comic relief and gifted, and Stacy, the energetic and idealistic. However, it was time to move on to another challenge. I will be taking on the new Reading position at the Intermediate campus. A new chapter. After a "wine down" at the local vineyard on Thursday with my buddies, still unsure about this decision.

*I hope there aren't too many mistakes in this as it's almost my bedtime and I've had a couple of glasses of really delicious wine..thanks guys!

Night, Night

2009-06-02T16:50:00.001-07:00

Oh, how ready we are for summer! Bedtime is getting later and later and morning is coming earlier and earlier! 2 more days..woohoo! Will was pooped last night and put himself to bed. I couldn't help take a pic of him sleeping with all of his animals. If you'll look closely you'll see Snoopy, Woody, blankie, horsey, and Aslan...he won't go to bed without them and usually spends several minutes getting them just perfect before he finally relaxes...last night he didn't care! Meanwhile, my night owls were partying in Lexi's bed...little rascals!

A Day at the Roping

2009-05-28T16:54:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun at the Windy Ryon Memorial Day Roping watching Jerrod and Scotty in the double mugging. They did so good and made it to the short go, but got stomped (literally)! They placed 5th out of 22 teams, so I was still proud. More than anything, I was glad they weren't hurt too badly. Jerrod ended up with sore ribs and a broken nose! After the roping, I caught Jerrod resting on the trailor and when he saw the picture he said, "I think I have a little more hair than that, don't I?" The kids always enjoy watching and I couldn't resist the pictures of all of their little cowboy friends. We were thankful for beautiful weather and to spend the day with family and friends.

A New Haircut

2009-05-28T16:51:00.000-07:00

My big girl got a new haircut!

My boys...

2009-05-28T16:47:00.001-07:00

I love catching my boys learning something from Daddy. Here they are shooting the BB gun and having so much fun!

Summer's Comin'

2009-05-19T18:06:00.000-07:00

Pretty days, popsicles, cousins, and....a buzz??? Jerrod shaved the boys again for their summer buzz...mom wasn't too excited! It just doesn't do much for my pasty little munchkin.

Fun at Field Day

2009-05-19T18:01:00.000-07:00

Having fun at Field Day 2009!

Congratulations Summer!

2009-05-19T17:56:00.000-07:00

Jerrod's sister, Summer, graduated from college! She's the first on either side of her family, so it was quite an accomplishment! Check out Jerrod's beautiful family!

Patient Myrtle

2009-05-19T17:51:00.000-07:00

Tate's saddling up Myrtle! She's so patient and has endured many dress up sessions and indoor rodeos with the kiddos!

Girl's Night In

2009-05-02T18:24:00.000-07:00

Lexi and I got to spend an evening together while Will and Daddy went to Calan's house for awhile and Tate went to bed early. How much fun we had laughing over boys, making brownies, and watching the Jonas Brothers..yes, I watched the Jonas Brothers! We're looking forward to many more "girl's nights" when Tate is old enough to join Bubba and Daddy and we can hit the movies and mall!

Hooray for Tate!

2009-05-02T18:20:00.000-07:00

How excited I was when Tate wanted to get out of the bath because he needed to go tee-tee! 7 years of diapers...is this finally a breakthrough! Tate was so excited to see he would get M&M's after this accomplishment! We all celebrated. Maybe it will continue to be this be easy!

Who Do I Look Like?

2009-05-02T18:15:00.001-07:00

Caught Will looking like Daddy!

Crazy Bees

2009-04-30T15:49:00.000-07:00

The kids and I were outside playing this afternoon, when a swarm of bees attacked our yard! We rushed inside with Myrtle too and were thankful that we made it without a hospital visit! It was seriously a close call. Check out the tree that they are "nesting" in! We'll be taking care of this situation ASAP as we are on house arrest right now!

Proud Mama

2009-04-26T19:51:00.000-07:00

So as most of you know, I have held off for many years on getting my children involved in sports. We stay super busy between work, church, and a fairly busy weekend life already. I really enjoy the simple life and my kiddos love to be home and play, so the pressure to start the life of running 3 kids around to practices after a full day of work hasn't hit me until the other day. Our P.E. teacher at school hosts a Fun Run every year and has the kids run almost a mile. Of course, enjoying running myself, I was excited to see how my kids would do. Lexi placed 6th out of around 60 girls and Will placed 3rd out of about 35 boys. It was so exciting to see them race! A few moments during the race, I was surprised to find myself screaming for my kids like a lunatic! Lexi had a lot of competetion and really had to push herself. Will was running against 4 year olds, and just glided through without hesitation. I think we might be ready for sports..did I just say that?