Cold Front

We had a cold front come in early yesterday morning. i was able to take some pics and a video to share. It was so cool to see it! I am not into weather, but I sure can appreciaete a cold front. We didn't have that up north, so it blows my mind everytime I see it. This is the first time I got a pic of it. I had to take with my iphone, so there not the best quality, but still cool!



This looks like the green grass blends right in with the black and grey clouds.

















The trees help put this pic in perspective.















You can see that it's just starting to pass over me with the light clouds on top and the dark clouds in the background. They are pushing towards me.















Here's a video of it.


As for what is going on, yesterday and today have been long for me at work because our server has been down. So, that leaves me with little to do since most of my job is related to technology. Today, I am more productive. I am currently downloading the music teachers music down to iTunes and then I'll upload to her iPod. This is new to me, so we'll see how it goes. It is going to take a LONG time to download to iTunes she has probably 50 or more CDs that need to be downloaded.

As for the home life, we got rain!! That seems to bring excitement to us now that we have 21 acres and six horses to maintain. The grass sure does help with the feed bill. So, Monday afternoon we mowed the grass and worked outside. Yesterday Ryan's work was cancelled cause of the rain so he and Shelby stayed home and hung out while I worked... :( I then had a meeting after school so I didn't get home til 6 pm. :(

This weekend is the start of our fair. Friday Ryan is roping and I'm riding with the Rodeo Sweethearts. Saturday is my day. I'll run barrels and ride with the Sweethearts. Monday night is the ranch rodeo, but before that the Rodeo Sweethearts meet and greet the special needs citizens of our area. I'm looking forward to that and I plan to take Shelby. I thought they would really enjoy seeing her smiling face. :)

I'm not sure about Tues or Wednesday, but Thursday is the start of the rodeo again. So, I'll ride with the Rodeo Sweethearts for the PRCA rodeo. I'm looking forward to watching all my favorite professional cowboy/girls doing what I love the most....RODEO....

So I am sure we'll have plenty of videos/pics to share with you. Especially since this is Shelby's first rodeo! Maybe Ryan will take her in the grand entry on Badger...we'll see. :) I can't because I'm posting the flags with the Sweethearts.

Shelby Riding Twister

This weekend was busy as always. Saturday I had my barrel race in Rosenberg. I didn't do near as well as I had hoped, but I still got some Novice points, so that was good. Badger just isn't clocking like he used to. We are thinking he may have an ulcer so I'm going to see about getting him something to help with that. I have two weeks before my next GCBRA, so that should give him enough time to help him out.

Shiner did well this weekend. He didn't clock as well either, but I'm not too worried about that. It will come with time. I'm looking for consistancy of the pattern right now. I'll worry about the speed later. He even won some money in the 5D. So, yea for Shiner! His first paycheck!

After I ran Badger, Ryan loaded him up and he and some buddies went to Gonzales for a Ranch Rodeo. It didn't go as planned, but they had a good time. They stayed the night in Gonzales and came back on Sunday.

Shelby and I went to church on Sunday. What an AMAZING service! I really felt in tuned and in touch with God. It was AWESOME to say the least. I have been struggling with barrel racing and Badger not clocking. I just felt God was telling me the burning I feel deep down inside is the desires of my heart and he will make them come true. The mountain I am climbing now is there for a reason. So, when I come out on top then I can praise Him for all His glory!

After Ryan got back from Gonzales we had to head up to Rosenberg to ride with the Sweethearts. The Ch 11 news was there and did a segment on a little girl. They also taped us. we're supposed to be on the news this evening at 10 PM. If I find a way to tape it or get the video I'll either send a link or upload it to here.

Below is a video of Shelby riding. She usually wants to hold the reins, but I guess since we were videoing she decided not to do that. Go figure! Anyhow, I just had to share what my little cowgirl is doing now.

Shelby Crawling

Shelby Crawling

Barrel Runs

I put new pics of Shelby so click on her link. As time allows I hope to upload a couple of cute videos of her crawling and being Shelby. :)

This run on Badger has lots of room for improvement, but I thought I'd share. Four more barrel races left. IF I can stay in first place I'll win a saddle. It's going to be tough, but Badger and I will fight til the end.

I have Sweetheart practice tonight, so I plan to take him so I can work him in that arena again. We are running there on Saturday. This used to be my 'good' arena, but lately our timing has not been good at all. I hope being able to practice tonight with no pressure will help me get my head in the game so I can kick some butt on Saturday.

Shiner - He didn't do too bad. As you can see there is room for improvement, especially on the third. But, I'm still proud of him and feel he's coming along nicely. I won't push him until he's ready to roll. That probably will take the rest of this year.

Selling My Truck

I never thought I'd consider selling my truck until it was worth about $500! But Ryan came to me the other night with this idea and he is right. If we sell my truck that would free up some cash to pay off our tractor and lawnmower with the plan to free up some monthly debt.

Oh, why is it so painful when it makes so much sense? We would also get me something a little more economical like a 1/2 ton pickup. I know, I know a car makes more sense. But, I am not a 'car' person and as long as I have to work full time I want something I am happy to drive in 2 hours a day. Since the not working full time is not an option....well you get the idea.

So, I just put the truck on Craig's List to see what happens. I will go through the process and if it sells, great, if not, even greater (well, for me)....Oh the things you do when you have a family.

Anyhow, I guess I write this with the hopes of some sympathy...hahaha...and to try to convince myself this is the right thing to do and IT'S ONLY A TRUCK.....there are people out there that don't even have the money to buy a vehicle let alone a truck like mine.

Anyhow, if I sell my truck then I'll drive the car Ryan's parents gave us until I find a vehicle I like from a private owner (since it will be cheaper). Then, I'll sell the car too. The numbers look great, but the heart feels terrible. Whoooaaaa is me....

Barrels went ok this weekend. That has been another frustrating process. I guess I just want to be first and that isn't going to happen. Badger has the talent, he just doesn't apply himself. I have four more barrel races and if I can just hang on to my first place standing in the Novice I'll be happy. If not, honestly, I'll be very dissappointed in Badger. He has the ability to hold on to it. I'm just not sure if he has the heart. Then, there's me, who tries too hard and probably maeks things work. Ugh!!

Shiner is doing well. We are still at loping the pattern, but he is competitve in the 4D and 5D so i can't complain. Once he gets some more time on him he'll start learning about speed. Right now, I just want a clean, solid run and he's been pretty much giving that to me.

I ran him Saturday in Wharton and he kept slipping on the front end on the turns. So, Ryan put shoes on the front and that seemed to help on Sunday. I made some practice runs at a lope on him and I could feel his confidence building as we made each run. By the time we did the open run he was starting to use his shoes to hold himself up and get around the turns.

Shiner has a nervous side to him. It's probably his running bloodlines so I have to be sure to work through it. We do a lot of walking up and down the alley way and I only push him running him home. I want him to feel confident and relaxed in the arena and going down the alley way. I want him to anticipate it in a positive way. So, I hope to finish this year out with building that confidence so I can come back next year and be ready to run him a little harder. He has the go, the ability to make nice turns, the speed and the heart. He just doesn't have the mind set yet.

Anyhow...that's been my week so far. I guess I need to get back on task. I'll try to add a video or two of Shelby as well as my runs this week sometime.

Shelby is crawling everywhere and I'm having fun taking lots of videos of that silly girl!

Ready For The Weekend

I am so ready for the weekend! This week was VERY long and tiring (is that a word?) week. It rained most of it, so I'm not sure what the deal is.

I also have a bad neck issue. I had my neighbor/chiropractor work on it last week. It felt great for a while, then all my muscles went back to their old ways and now I'm hurting again. Ugh...I'm sure it's stress induced. Hopefully things will slow down soon.

This weekend will be busy. I have a barrel race tomorrow (assuming it won't get cancelled cause of all the rain). It's a big one with buckles, so I am going to attempt to run Badger and Shiner. I really needed to work on both of them, but no luck due to all this rain. I plan to run some exhibitions so hopefully I'll work out some issues and make two nice runs and maybe win some money and buckles. :)

Shelby is getting very mobile and busy. She is wearing both of us out with all of her crawling and eating everything in site including a bug earlier this week. She didn't like the bug and pushed it back out on her tongue for me to retrieve! Good news for the bug - other than a bath, he survived the event just fine.

We also find out today what the results are from Charlene's surgery. We'll know what the plan is for her treatment as well as how far along the cancer is. I'm hoping for the best!!!

Well, time to run...got stuff to do. Hopefully I'll have a couple of nice runs to share with you next week!! I also need to find the time to download some funny videos of Shelby to upload on here as well. Time...boy I thought I was short on it before. I have none now! I really don't know how parents have more than 1 child. That explains why a lot of my horse friends have no more than 2 kids and many of them have 1.

Prayers for Charlene

Today is a big day for my family. My Step Mom is having surgery to remove cancer. Please pray for her and our family as we go through this walk in our lives. I'm also praying that she ends up down here at MD Anderson as it is the #1 hospital in the nation for cancer treatment. I was relieved to hear she would do it if that is what her doctors recommend. I'm praying that do because I want her to have the best chance to not only live through this aggressive cancer, but to be amongst the best of the best! We are blessed to have this hospital in our 'back yard' and I want my family to take full advantage of it!


(This was written last night)

I am starting to believe this is my new life, my busy life. It seems like I don’t have time to breath until the weekend and even then it is limited. Last week was a perfect example.

Monday – I was home for a little while and then I went down the rode to meet our neighbors with Ryan. We didn’t get home til 8:30 or 9 and we still had to put Shelby to bed and then feed.

Tuesday I rushed home and then we went to a friend’s house so I could work Badger on the barrels and Ryan could rope. Again, we got home late. Shelby is such a trooper. She’s used to me putting her in her jammies and then she sleeps in the truck while we load horses and drive home. We then leave her in there with the truck running until we get the horses taken care of. I usually help Ryan feed and then go inside and put her to bed.

Wednesday was Rodeo Sweethearts practice. So, once again, rush home just to get ready to turn around and go back to Rosenberg. We were there til about 9 PM so Shelby fell asleep in her Jammies in the truck while we drove home and took care of horses.

Thursday I told Ryan I was doing nothing and that’s just what I did. I needed that break. I didn’t do too much after work on Friday either.

Saturday we drove to Hallettsville for a two day barrel race. We did ok, but Badger ran past the first barrel and lost some time and, probably, a nice, fat check. Oh well…at least it was clean and he’s running harder. Sunday morning I pulled him out to walk him since the stalls were real small and not a whole lot of room to move around. The stalls are not solid, so the horses can get to each other. At some point, I guess Badger got after one of the horses he could get to cause his back left leg was swollen a little bit. I put some of this clay stuff on it and then hydro’d to help draw the heat out. That helped, but by the time I had to run it was still swollen. I had a feeling he wouldn’t clock real well, but was up and ready to go. He ran REALLY hard, but did not set at all. Part of it was the same problem as Saturday and I’m sure the other part was he was hurting.

Saturday's Run - it's not very good, but thought I'd share anyhow...


I had a chance to win but needed someone to run 1/10 faster than anyone did the day before. The chances were slim, but I was hopeful. Unfortunately I didn’t have that kind of luck and I didn’t draw any checks this weekend.

Speaking of luck…I believe I might have used it all up on Sunday. As I was walking Badger and Shelby in her stroller, I had taken some pics of them with my iphone. I then put the iphone back in the cup holder on the stroller and walked the short distance to where our trailer was parked. I tied Badger to the trailer and then went inside the trailer to take a break from the heat and get Ryan up. I went out to get my iphone and it wasn’t there. Panic, frustrating, every emotion you can imagine was running through my body. I looked over and over the place where I had walked with no luck. I though surely noone walked through here and saw the iphone in my stroller. So, I asked our ‘neighbors’ who were parked next to us and sitting in chairs pretty much the whole time I was in our trailer. They hadn’t seen anything. So, with a last ditch effort and swearing if I don’t find it I’m done with cell phones…I walked up to the office to report it missing. I was quietly waiting in line and making my self sick over the loss of this phone when I heard a lady say something about turning in a phone and that she didn’t have one, but figured someone else would really miss theirs. I started almost shouting “That’s Mine! That’s Mine!!!”…I got my phone back and then hugged the lady two times I was so excited she had found it. All I can say is “Horse people, and, especially, barrel racers are AWESOME people!!!”

Around 3 pm on Sunday we left the barrel race and headed to Eagle Lake to spend some time with friends of ours. It was fun. We even went down to the river and didn’t get back til late. We left around 9 pm, and, once again, Shelby got to start her night in the car seat until we got home. She is such a trooper!

Speaking of our sweet traveling partner, she gets all the attention wherever we go. As we barrel race we see a lot of the same people on a regular basis. Everyone always compliments her and how she doesn’t fuss or cry. She is always content and happy. I feel so blessed that she is a joy to be around, not just for us, but for others. Shelby also enjoys all the attention they give her and let me tell you, she gets a lot of attention!

She also loves riding horses. Now, when she sees me on a horse, she gets all excited and squeals with the plans of getting to ride. Every chance she gets she takes it! This girl was born to ride! I can’t wait til she is big enough to have a pony to ride around on. I guess we’ll have to start looking next summer. Uh oh, that means one less horse for mom in the trailer! HA!

Today (Monday), I struggled with allergies and was pretty lazy til about noon. I then sucked it up and took some allergy medicine and got motivated. I cleaned out the living quarters of the trailer, mopped kitchen floor, cleaned living room floor and pulled up horses to ride. I decided to focus on the young ones so I pulled up cowgirl and Romeo. I had intentions to ride Smoke too, but that didn’t happen. Not enough time in the day or energy is this aging body! After I rode, I told Ryan Romeo is ready for him to start riding and doing the detailed stuff I don’t like to do or don’t have time to do…(side passes, sliding stops, etc) Cowgirl did well. She was a little more stubborn today than normal so I ended up working with her a lot longer than I had planned.

Well, off to another week. I will try to find some time to post pics of our growing Shelby. We have plenty to share, just no time to post and I can’t post from my iphone to here. So, if you have facebook you can see pictures there.

Oh, I almost forgot, Badger and I are still winning the Novice. We only have 4 more shows to go. We have some work to do this week once his leg feels better. He is running really hard, but not setting at all. I’m going to work on that this week. I think it’s time for a bit change. I need a little bit more ‘whoa’ to prepare for our turns. It is so hard to constantly be pushing the envelope, but I guess that is what makes the professional horses and barrel racers great! They can always find a solution and stay on top even if they are fighting it tooth and nail to the end. So, we may not be professionals, but we are determined to win that saddle. So, we too, will continue to fight to hold our own!