This short video includes some 2nd grade students from one of my schools, Pecan Grove Elementary. They happened to be on a field trip to the science museum (or some museum in Houston) and they were at the park. I believe they were eating lunch. Anyhow…the news crew happened to be out there that same day and got them singing the song. I thought it was pretty neat and worth sharing!!!
'Take Me Out To the Ball Game'Video:Houstonians sing 'Take Me Out To the Ball Game' in celebration of the song's 100th anniversary. Video by Meg Loucks. April 4, 2008.http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid823433113/bctid1485881396
Enjoy!
Monday, April 7, 2008
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
April 2 - The Triple Crown
Well, the vet check went very well so Blaze now has a new home. It is very bitter sweet. I know it is for the best, but I really liked that horse. He is very kind and has a HUGE heart. He really wants to make you happy. The girl that bought him will do very well with him. He will also be staying at Cowboy Country in Huntsville, so he'll be around a lot of other horses. That is good as Blaze is very social!What is cool is yesterday I was feeling a little insecure about the vet check and was worried they would find something we didn't know about or expect. I really wanted Blaze to go to this family.
Anyhow, I called my friend from church, Melanie, and told her I needed prayer. She then told me that she needed prayer as well. She was applying for a loan to buy out her business from her Dad and her sister was going through the paperwork to purchase their first home. All of us were going to find out the news on the same day. So, it was such a blessing to talk to her and realize all three of us had similar needs and we were able to be there for each other. The best part is when I called her to share the good news about Blaze she shared with me her sister got the house loan. That was 2 out of 3, so that gave Melanie the confidence to know God was going to bless all three of us. Sure enough, around 7:30 PM last night I got the text that Melanie had gotten the loan. So, that was our triple blessing or, better known in the horse world, our Triple Crown! God is Good! I thought that was too cool not to share. So, when you feel insecure, don't be afraid to call up a friend and ask for some support or reassurance that everything will be ok. That's what God wants you to do!!! When two or more are gathered...
Now, my next goal, to sell Mito. I will start advertising him and hopefully find him a good home as well. He sure is a nice horse and has so much potential. Ryan still hints around about keeping him. I just remind him of why we shouldn't keep him. It is hard to sell something you love and enjoy so much. We are just not meant to be in the buying/selling business. Maybe we are...LOL...I never thought I'd be in the entrepreneur business and God keeps sending us in that direction. So, never say never I guess!God Bless!Oh, baby appointment on Thursday. I'll be sure to post any updates. Not sure if they'll take a picture of the baby. If they do I'll be sure to post!
Anyhow, I called my friend from church, Melanie, and told her I needed prayer. She then told me that she needed prayer as well. She was applying for a loan to buy out her business from her Dad and her sister was going through the paperwork to purchase their first home. All of us were going to find out the news on the same day. So, it was such a blessing to talk to her and realize all three of us had similar needs and we were able to be there for each other. The best part is when I called her to share the good news about Blaze she shared with me her sister got the house loan. That was 2 out of 3, so that gave Melanie the confidence to know God was going to bless all three of us. Sure enough, around 7:30 PM last night I got the text that Melanie had gotten the loan. So, that was our triple blessing or, better known in the horse world, our Triple Crown! God is Good! I thought that was too cool not to share. So, when you feel insecure, don't be afraid to call up a friend and ask for some support or reassurance that everything will be ok. That's what God wants you to do!!! When two or more are gathered...
Now, my next goal, to sell Mito. I will start advertising him and hopefully find him a good home as well. He sure is a nice horse and has so much potential. Ryan still hints around about keeping him. I just remind him of why we shouldn't keep him. It is hard to sell something you love and enjoy so much. We are just not meant to be in the buying/selling business. Maybe we are...LOL...I never thought I'd be in the entrepreneur business and God keeps sending us in that direction. So, never say never I guess!God Bless!Oh, baby appointment on Thursday. I'll be sure to post any updates. Not sure if they'll take a picture of the baby. If they do I'll be sure to post!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
April 2 - April Fool's Day
To all you pranksters...I hope you are enjoying your April Fool's Day. This is also Connie & Jason's (sister and brother-in-law) wedding anniversary. I don't know how many years, but I think it's been 13. I still remember their wedding day when the pastor asked for anyone to who objects (sp?) to this couple getting married and all the groomsmen raised their hands. That sure got a chuckle from everyone attending the traditional Lutheran wedding!
It is hard to believe Ryan and I will be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversaryn this December. Where does the time go? My plans were to go back to the NFR for our 5 yr and get married by Elvis....hahahaha...not sure if Ryan would've went for that. Anyhow, we will have a newborn and I'm in a wedding on December 6th. So, maybe next year! :)
We were able to buy 2 more stalls from our friend, Eloy. Now we have 7 stalls. I always dreamed of having a barn full of stalls and horses growing up. Look at me now! Now, I'm trying to sell some of them. In fact, today, we take Blaze for a vet check. If all goes well he'll have a new home. If not, we will have wasted another 1/2 day of work and about $50 in diesel. So, I'm trying to be optomistic and know all will go well and Blaze will go to a REALLY good home. I am sad and excited all in one. I get very attached to my animals and I have had Blaze for almost 5 years now. He's been a good horse. We just don't need 5 horses.
I also just found out there is a barrel race in May that's giving away Circly Y saddles to each division winner. Man, I want a new circle Y saddle so bad I can taste it! Oh well...it's a good thing I have Ryan to tell me there is no where in H-E_ double hockey sticks I'm going to be running barrels. He tells me there is always next year...that is true. So, next year I'll just buy myself a saddle! HAAHAHA!!! I still will try to win one. There is nothing that feels better than a year's worth of work put into winning a saddle and being able to throw it on your horse and think "Yup, we won that!"
Well that's it for now. Hopefully I'll have good news and Blaze will have a new home. Then, I can start working on selling Mito. We'll be down to three of our own horses. Much more realistic for us and our pocket book!
God Bless!
It is hard to believe Ryan and I will be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversaryn this December. Where does the time go? My plans were to go back to the NFR for our 5 yr and get married by Elvis....hahahaha...not sure if Ryan would've went for that. Anyhow, we will have a newborn and I'm in a wedding on December 6th. So, maybe next year! :)
We were able to buy 2 more stalls from our friend, Eloy. Now we have 7 stalls. I always dreamed of having a barn full of stalls and horses growing up. Look at me now! Now, I'm trying to sell some of them. In fact, today, we take Blaze for a vet check. If all goes well he'll have a new home. If not, we will have wasted another 1/2 day of work and about $50 in diesel. So, I'm trying to be optomistic and know all will go well and Blaze will go to a REALLY good home. I am sad and excited all in one. I get very attached to my animals and I have had Blaze for almost 5 years now. He's been a good horse. We just don't need 5 horses.
I also just found out there is a barrel race in May that's giving away Circly Y saddles to each division winner. Man, I want a new circle Y saddle so bad I can taste it! Oh well...it's a good thing I have Ryan to tell me there is no where in H-E_ double hockey sticks I'm going to be running barrels. He tells me there is always next year...that is true. So, next year I'll just buy myself a saddle! HAAHAHA!!! I still will try to win one. There is nothing that feels better than a year's worth of work put into winning a saddle and being able to throw it on your horse and think "Yup, we won that!"
Well that's it for now. Hopefully I'll have good news and Blaze will have a new home. Then, I can start working on selling Mito. We'll be down to three of our own horses. Much more realistic for us and our pocket book!
God Bless!
Friday, March 28, 2008
March 28, 2008 - Ryan's Truck
I thought I would send out a quick note sharing Ryan's new purchase. He bought a 2006 3/4 ton Dodge diesel 4x4....aka - his dream truck! With the baby on the way we had to get a truck that would accomodate a baby seat, so we took the plunge. We traded his work truck and got him this truck. He is very excited and LOVES it. I think he would've slept in it if I would have let him. Ha!
Stay tuned, my bellly is getting bigger. New pics will be posted soon.
Monday, March 24, 2008
March 24, 2008 - Back to Work
Yawn - man it is hard going back to work after being off for a week. I got used to resting a lot and the baby seemed to like that! So, here I am, sick most of the day just waiting til 3:45 PM. I thought I was on the home stretch of the 1 trimester sick blues. I was wrong. They have increased over the last week. I'm hoping it's because I'm off schedule. I really do try to see the glass as half full.
I've also noticed that in just a week I went from wearing my dress pants to not really fitting in them. My waist has definitely thickened! Today I have the button undone and I plan to go Kohl's after work if I have the energy. I sure hope I do! I will also have to start doing some shopping on ebay as well.
Ryan got another horse in over the weekend and has another one coming this week! So, that will bring us up to 3 outside horses, 5 of our own, and a friend's horse. His hands are full! That is good. The income will help a lot. It's been slow going with all this rain!
That's about it. Just wanted to give you a 'baby' update. Our next doctor appointment is April 3. How exciting!
I've also noticed that in just a week I went from wearing my dress pants to not really fitting in them. My waist has definitely thickened! Today I have the button undone and I plan to go Kohl's after work if I have the energy. I sure hope I do! I will also have to start doing some shopping on ebay as well.
Ryan got another horse in over the weekend and has another one coming this week! So, that will bring us up to 3 outside horses, 5 of our own, and a friend's horse. His hands are full! That is good. The income will help a lot. It's been slow going with all this rain!
That's about it. Just wanted to give you a 'baby' update. Our next doctor appointment is April 3. How exciting!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
March 20, 2008 - Rodeo Houston/Paint Show
Well, it's official, I remember why I don't like showing! It is like watching paint dry only more painful! LOL Nah, it wasn't that bad, but close. As you already know, Ryan and I went up to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo to run poles, barrels, and heel of Twister (aka Bean), our "colored" paint horse. That is funny even as I say that now. But, let me explain, We have 3 'finished' horses and they are all registered (APHA) paint horses. However, Twister is the only one that carries that actual color of the a paint horse. The other two are sorrels (red hair). They are registered as paints because one or both of their parents are registered paint horses. They now call this a 'solid paint.' Anyhow...since solid paints have an official name I have decided to give Twister an official name of 'colored' paint. I digress...right? Anyhow, for my MANY non-horse friends...there is your lesson in Horse 101 for today!
Back to my opening. This was an experience to start with...we left our house at 8:22 AM to head up to Houston. We took the back way, which helped keep Ryan out of the hospital from the stress of me driving in Houston traffic with his 'babies' in the back. We only had to drive about 15 miles in traffic compared to most of the time in the Houston traffic. So, we get to Reliant Arena (actually we didn't go to the main arena...we went to the astro arena...it's on the same grounds though)....had to check our horses in by showing them our coggins papers and our health papers. Then, we had to fill out the form to get stalls and check our truck and trailer in. This required all the official stuff....truck plates, trailer plate, my drivers license, etc. Then, we unloaded the horses and went and checked them again. More paperwork....and had all our stuff delivered to our stalls. Then, we took the truck and trailer about 10-15 min. drive to another location so we could drop the trailer off. We had to check that in too. Then, we went back to the arena and parked. Finally, we had to check in at the show office to officially register our horses for the paint show. Now, picture doing this with Ryan and having it all done by 10:30 AM. My NON morning husband was already irritated. I told him to chill and just enjoy the moment and this is as much of a waste of time as sitting on the couch til 10 AM. Not sure how that was received. We both were quite after that comment. :)
Now, this is the fun part, we got to sit and wait, and wait, and wait, and wait...well, you get the idea. That, other than the moving the trailer to another spot, was the major down fall. I had no idea someone could run something so slowly!
I finally got to run at some point. Not sure what time...but I ended up hitting the 1st barrel. ARG...I had to really push Twister the entire time so I'm assuming the solid white walls was throwing him off and making it hard for him to hunt the barrels. So, I'll blame it on that...but I also know I probably didn't give him enough room going into it and so we rolled around and I nudged the barrel over with my knee. The normal Stacie would've tried to pick it up, but I'm trying to change that bad habit (bad habit cause valuable time is lost) so I let it fall. That's ok...I later learned I wouldn't have placed in the top 6...so that made tipping the barrel a little easier to swollow.
The good news is I later ran poles. Now, Twister, is BAD A** at the poles. I'm sorry for the language, but there is no other way to really describe how good he is. I NEVER practice and he still runs a 22 (for my non-horse friends...a 20 or 21 is pretty darn good!)....well, I safety'd (sp?) up a little coming to the end by the alley way cause Twister tends to make a wide turn with the anticipation of running out the alley way...so that slowed us down, but it was worth it. My planned worked and I got 5th in the poles!!! I was really proud of us. Unfortantely I was 1 out of the money though...but I got a pretty ribbon...LOL...oh joy...and some points on Twister.
(Poles - 101 --> You have 6 poles lined up perfectly....the rider and horse run down passed all the poles and turns at the last pole....then weaves in and out of 6 poles and turns at the 1st pole and weaves in and out of the poles until they reach the end of the poles again then makes that turn and runs out.)
The team roping FINALLY came around and Ryan and Caleb roped around 9:30 PM last night. We decided to have Caleb ride Twister. Ryan and Caleb had all the intentions of Caleb riding Twister ahead of time, but rain, time and some other issues got in the way...so he never did. They did pretty well though...they got 6th. SO.....nah nah boo boo...I beat them! HAHAA! No, I'm not competitive.
(Side note - another reason I don't like show horses...they put sliders on these heel horses so they really slide up underneath themselves. It looks pretty, but sure is hard on those horses to stop that steer and it's really hard on their legs....all so the horse looks 'pretty'....we just don't agree with that...anyhow...I say that because that's why many of the horses placed up high in heeling...)
We finally got home around 11 PM. This was after we went and got the truck, drove to the trailer, checked the trailer out, went back to the arena, checked our horses out....loaded and headed out on our way....OH, I almost forgot....we had just gotten on 288 South from 610....when a car in front of me was stepping on his breaks. He swings over into the other lane and "Voila!" there was a small white car spun out from a blow out right in front of me. I brought our rig to a stop. It wasn't a real close call, but was still scary. It was dark and we saw the wrecker. He didn't have lights on though...so I didn't think much of it. I sure hope no other rig came up not seeing it and not able to stop fast enough.....they would've plowed through that little car. The stupedst (sp?) part (other than them leaving it in the middle of the slow lane) was the people were still in it. HELLO...you are on a highway....you might want to get out of the car that is in traffic! HOUSTON DRIVERS!!!!!!!....those of you that live there can have them! Also, this is for those of you who have never pulled a rig or anything else.......those of us driving rigs aren't out to cut you off or screw you out of your 'driving position'....we just want to get our animals and us from point A to point B as safely as we can....it's not easy maneuvering them through all the traffic....remember...be kind...give them room...let them get over...our intentions are to TRULY get out of your way!
And that...my friends...was our Houston experience. All I can say is it feels good to be home today listening to our birds and feel the warm sun and the clean air. You can have the city! HA!
Now, it is time to enjoy the rest of my vacation. I'm sure you will all be pleased that baby and me are doing very well and all you worry warts can know the baby is fine and can't wait to run poles and barrels on his/her own! I am done competing until then!
As for painting...that ain't happen'....I washed our horse trailer on Monday and had to take a nap. It was enough for me to realize Rome wasn't built in one day and my house is not going to be painted in one week. So, I'll begin to tape off what we will paint and when it gets done is when it gets done. hahaha...
Well, now that I have written a book I guess I will go. Stay tuned....
God Bless....Stacie & Ryan
Back to my opening. This was an experience to start with...we left our house at 8:22 AM to head up to Houston. We took the back way, which helped keep Ryan out of the hospital from the stress of me driving in Houston traffic with his 'babies' in the back. We only had to drive about 15 miles in traffic compared to most of the time in the Houston traffic. So, we get to Reliant Arena (actually we didn't go to the main arena...we went to the astro arena...it's on the same grounds though)....had to check our horses in by showing them our coggins papers and our health papers. Then, we had to fill out the form to get stalls and check our truck and trailer in. This required all the official stuff....truck plates, trailer plate, my drivers license, etc. Then, we unloaded the horses and went and checked them again. More paperwork....and had all our stuff delivered to our stalls. Then, we took the truck and trailer about 10-15 min. drive to another location so we could drop the trailer off. We had to check that in too. Then, we went back to the arena and parked. Finally, we had to check in at the show office to officially register our horses for the paint show. Now, picture doing this with Ryan and having it all done by 10:30 AM. My NON morning husband was already irritated. I told him to chill and just enjoy the moment and this is as much of a waste of time as sitting on the couch til 10 AM. Not sure how that was received. We both were quite after that comment. :)
Now, this is the fun part, we got to sit and wait, and wait, and wait, and wait...well, you get the idea. That, other than the moving the trailer to another spot, was the major down fall. I had no idea someone could run something so slowly!
I finally got to run at some point. Not sure what time...but I ended up hitting the 1st barrel. ARG...I had to really push Twister the entire time so I'm assuming the solid white walls was throwing him off and making it hard for him to hunt the barrels. So, I'll blame it on that...but I also know I probably didn't give him enough room going into it and so we rolled around and I nudged the barrel over with my knee. The normal Stacie would've tried to pick it up, but I'm trying to change that bad habit (bad habit cause valuable time is lost) so I let it fall. That's ok...I later learned I wouldn't have placed in the top 6...so that made tipping the barrel a little easier to swollow.
The good news is I later ran poles. Now, Twister, is BAD A** at the poles. I'm sorry for the language, but there is no other way to really describe how good he is. I NEVER practice and he still runs a 22 (for my non-horse friends...a 20 or 21 is pretty darn good!)....well, I safety'd (sp?) up a little coming to the end by the alley way cause Twister tends to make a wide turn with the anticipation of running out the alley way...so that slowed us down, but it was worth it. My planned worked and I got 5th in the poles!!! I was really proud of us. Unfortantely I was 1 out of the money though...but I got a pretty ribbon...LOL...oh joy...and some points on Twister.
(Poles - 101 --> You have 6 poles lined up perfectly....the rider and horse run down passed all the poles and turns at the last pole....then weaves in and out of 6 poles and turns at the 1st pole and weaves in and out of the poles until they reach the end of the poles again then makes that turn and runs out.)
The team roping FINALLY came around and Ryan and Caleb roped around 9:30 PM last night. We decided to have Caleb ride Twister. Ryan and Caleb had all the intentions of Caleb riding Twister ahead of time, but rain, time and some other issues got in the way...so he never did. They did pretty well though...they got 6th. SO.....nah nah boo boo...I beat them! HAHAA! No, I'm not competitive.
(Side note - another reason I don't like show horses...they put sliders on these heel horses so they really slide up underneath themselves. It looks pretty, but sure is hard on those horses to stop that steer and it's really hard on their legs....all so the horse looks 'pretty'....we just don't agree with that...anyhow...I say that because that's why many of the horses placed up high in heeling...)
We finally got home around 11 PM. This was after we went and got the truck, drove to the trailer, checked the trailer out, went back to the arena, checked our horses out....loaded and headed out on our way....OH, I almost forgot....we had just gotten on 288 South from 610....when a car in front of me was stepping on his breaks. He swings over into the other lane and "Voila!" there was a small white car spun out from a blow out right in front of me. I brought our rig to a stop. It wasn't a real close call, but was still scary. It was dark and we saw the wrecker. He didn't have lights on though...so I didn't think much of it. I sure hope no other rig came up not seeing it and not able to stop fast enough.....they would've plowed through that little car. The stupedst (sp?) part (other than them leaving it in the middle of the slow lane) was the people were still in it. HELLO...you are on a highway....you might want to get out of the car that is in traffic! HOUSTON DRIVERS!!!!!!!....those of you that live there can have them! Also, this is for those of you who have never pulled a rig or anything else.......those of us driving rigs aren't out to cut you off or screw you out of your 'driving position'....we just want to get our animals and us from point A to point B as safely as we can....it's not easy maneuvering them through all the traffic....remember...be kind...give them room...let them get over...our intentions are to TRULY get out of your way!
And that...my friends...was our Houston experience. All I can say is it feels good to be home today listening to our birds and feel the warm sun and the clean air. You can have the city! HA!
Now, it is time to enjoy the rest of my vacation. I'm sure you will all be pleased that baby and me are doing very well and all you worry warts can know the baby is fine and can't wait to run poles and barrels on his/her own! I am done competing until then!
As for painting...that ain't happen'....I washed our horse trailer on Monday and had to take a nap. It was enough for me to realize Rome wasn't built in one day and my house is not going to be painted in one week. So, I'll begin to tape off what we will paint and when it gets done is when it gets done. hahaha...
Well, now that I have written a book I guess I will go. Stay tuned....
God Bless....Stacie & Ryan
Friday, March 14, 2008
March 14, 2008 - A 2 Legged Child
For those of you that know us know our animals have been our 4 legged children. We have made a life with our animals and have enjoyed every bit of it and will continue to love them as our 'children.' However, we are excited and proud to announce that we will be having our first 2 legged child in the fall (due date is October 10, 2008). LOL It has been VERY hard keeping it underwraps, but we have done fairly well not telling everyone. It has been a hard 5 or so weeks, but we made it! It has been hard because I have had to lie to people I love. Yes, white lies, but I'm not a liar so that has really worn on my heart. It is good to be in the open and to feel the love and joy that everyone is feeling when a new life is waiting to be seen.We had been trying for about 6 months when January rolled around. I began running barrels on Badger and I was doing VERY well. I was winning the Novice class and running in the 2D on Ryan's "Ranch Horse." I told Ryan I didn't want a November, December or January baby so I was ready to stop trying for a few months...and was hoping to put it off til August so I could finish out the barrel season. My goal: to win a saddle...God's goal: to bless us with a child...At first it was a bit overwhelming, but there is always next year. That is what is so awesome about this sport! I am not competing this year and riding very little. It's been an adjustment, but the end result will be worth all of this lack of movement. Luckily, the baby has sucked a lot of my energy and so I haven't had the energy to ride like I normally do. I wasn't really sick. I just felt a little 'blah' for several weeks. I'm coming out of it and I'm starting to have more energy. That is good! I have lots to do over the next few months to prepare for our new arrival.
Yesterday, we went to our 10 week doctor appointment. It was too cool. Our little "jelly bean" (as Kathy at the doctor's office says) is growing so quickly. At our 7 week appointment the baby was barely a dot with a beating heart. This time we got to his the baby's legs kicking and arms moving around. If that is any indication of the baby's energy level we're in trouble! HA! Needless to say it was AWESOME. Everyone talks about when you see the heart beat and how cool it was. Yes, that was neat, but seeing those little legs moving was priceless! We go back in another 3 weeks. Hopefully we'll get to see the baby again.
On a side note, please pray for my doctor, Dr. Giammarco. He has cancer and will be going through a lot over the next 6 months. He has to bring his immune system down to nothing so he can have stem cell transplant. He is an amazing doctor and man. He comes in singing or humming and will do anything that makes you feel comfortable. As many of you know, cancer has touched my life more than I would like but you can't change that without prayers. So, please pray for him. Pray for his family. He truly is my favorite doctors of all time. I will miss going through this exciting part of our lives with him, but I wish to have him back fully recovered and humming again! God hears all of us!
Well, I guess I should go. There is just so much to share. Stay tuned to my BLOG. I plan to write more as new and exciting things happen with our lives and with the baby. I will also add pictures, videos, etc. as they come about. God Bless!
Stacie & Ryan
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