Fun Weekend, Great Run

Friday night Ryan went hog hunting and what a hunt it was. They killed a 216 lb hog as well as another smaller one. Wow, it was HUGE! It's tusks were over 5 inches long. Shelby and I stayed home and rested. I think Ryan enjoyed the time away from the everyday life and had a lot of fun hog hunting.

Saturday we hung out around the house until it was time to go to my barrel race in Wharton. It was nice hanging out around the house with the windows open. We also got more rain, but it didn't down poor. It rained off and on.

I hadn't ridden Badger in a week so I wasn't sure what to expect. We had been treating his ham string and I had no idea how'd he do. Apparently everything we had done was working cause we made a REALLY nice run! He ran hard and turned harder. It was AWESOME to say the least. His turns were so tight and smooth I thought for sure we were going to hit the 2nd and 3rd barrel. In fact, I was ready to push the barrels back up if I had to cause I really needed a fast run, but more so I needed a clean run! The third was PERFECT. NEVER in all the years I've been running barrels could I say that. I mean PERFECT!! I was running to the 3rd and I said "Whoa!" and he did! He slid on his hind end and spun around that barrel in no time! I ran a 15.9....my best time in that arena yet! (This used to be my 'bad' arena...) I was sooooo pumped! It was exhilerating!

We then went home and Shelby was already sleeping, so I stayed home while Ryan went to a friend's house to eat Etouffe' (sp?). I was wooped so I didn't mind.

Sunday I went to church and that was AWESOME too. What a great service! It's amazing what you can be given when you ask for it. God is so good and meets you right where you are at. I am anxious to get more involved with my church and get more centered around God. It helps keep me sane when times get tough like they have been the last few weeks. It's been really hard keeping up with everything going on.

I don't have another barrel race until the finals Nov. 8th so Badger will get a much needed rest. I'm just going to exercise him 1-2 times a week and then leave him alone and wait for Nov. 8th. God willing, I'll be coming home with a saddle that day. :)

It is time to start exercising those colts again, so I hope to pull them up and clean them off. I haven't worked any horse except Badger and Twister for a month or so now. So, it is time. It's also time to start exercising Shiner too. I need to get him ready for next season. I'm looking forward to running him, but will miss Badger's laid back attitude.

Well, time to work...I'll try to add pics of Ryan's hog sometime today.

Lawn Mower Fun

Here are some fun pics of Shelby and Ryan having fun with the lawnmower.

This week has already had it's shares of ups and downs. Ryan took Badger in to be worked on and found out he possibly pulled a hamstring. I was originally told I wouldn't be able to run him this weekend, which pretty much left me with no chance to win a saddle. But, God is good and he knew my faith was strong. As the day progressed we learned it would be ok to run him, but we had to leave him alone, warm him up long trotting only, and then make my run and that was it.

I still want to take him to the vet to confirm it is a pulled hamstring before deciding what we'll do after that. It will probably mean some therapy for his leg and time off...and of course money. I'll keep you up to date.

He has two more runs for me before he can 'retire' from barrels. I'll then move on to Shiner full time and Cowgirl will be in training. Romeo is going to go to roping for now as Ryan needs another roping horse and I have my hands full already.

Tomorrow is Shelby's 1st Birthday. We plan to celebrate with cake and ice cream. Yummy! Dustin, Rebecca, Jesse and Colton are supposed to come over for cake and ice cream. It will be nice to have a few others there to celebrate. Just the three of us sounded kinda boring for a 1st birthday. I sure wish we could've been with family for her 1st birthday, but that is ok. This is our life and so she'll know no different. :) We'll share pictures of the big event of course!

Busy Weekend - Shelby eating

This weekend was another busy weekend! Friday night we got a babysitter for Shelby. It was our first time getting an official babysitter. All went well, except Shelby was not happy about being at home while Mom and Dad were at the rodeo. So, she gave Faith a hard time with not going to bed like she was supposed to. She even woke up at midnight when we got home just to let us know! :)

Saturday we left around noon and had to go to LaPorte to a GCBRA barrel race. Badger did MUCH better, but he still has room for improvement. But, I was happy with his run. He didn't fight me like he had been. It felt so good to have him back to himself!!! Poor guy, he must've been hurting pretty bad. The ground was heavy and he struggled with getting around the barrels. I didn't care though, we can't control that. We have two more runs left and we are (I think) 5 points ahead. I have such faith that we will win! I can't wait to share my praise report on Nov. 11th after the last barrel race. :)

After my run, we drove to Rosenberg for the rodeo. The drill team I ride on, Rodeo Sweethearts, did GREAT and it was fun spending the evening at the rodeo. Shelby was very happy to be with us all day. Seriously, she LOVES to go and be a part of it all. Silly girl! It was really loud in there and she was so tired she still fell asleep in her stroller undearneath the announcer stand.

Sunday was church and then hanging out at the house. Later in the day I went to walmart and spent way too much! Arg....life is just expensive! Just diapers and formula was almost $100! I also bought some things for Shelby's bday. She is going to be 1 years old this Thursday! Wow, where did the time go? I still have to buy her a swing and the cake mix and ice cream so we can celebrate with sweets.

Here's the Rodeo Sweethearts Performance from October 3rd. I am the third horse on the side with the black horse leading.

Long Routine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFboB8aEUpA

Short Routine - 1st Half:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeAuCBW76DA

Short Routine - 2nd Half:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhST6ThumM0

Below is a video of her eating ham. I started cutting up small pieces for her. Well, I set down the whole piece of meat while I cut up a slice of it. Next thing I know she took the whole piece of meat and started chewing on it. LOL So, I thought that was video worthy. Enjoy! She ate the whole piece of meat and about 10 strawberries. Her belly was solid full. LOL The girl can eat! Then about an hour after she ate I gave her 4 oz (her choice) of formula. Yickes! She eats more than me!

I love ham!!!

Cool Projects at Work

I'm excited to say this year I have a lot going on at work. It has kept me VERY busy, but I'm loving it!

Here's what I have going on....

I currently have 14 teachers who have agreed to have pen pals this year. Our pen pals are from all over...Costa Rica, Michigan, New Jersey, Canada, and Pennsylvania! I'm so excited and can't wait to see what cool things the teachers at my school do with other classrooms across North America!!! We plan to write on a monthly basis as well as video conference once or twice so the students can meet each other. :)

I have a teacher doing 'book trailers' on Number the Stars. The students are going to create a video much like you see with the Movie Trailers sharing information about the book and trying to get the person watching it interested in reading the book.

I have 2 teachers doing a vodcast on TX Explorers using the Smartboard and NB 10 software.

I have almost all of 1st grade at Oakland doing a Wiki with other teachers in the district on the Life Cycle of various animals.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head....it's a lot to keep up with, but it's worth it! Integration at its best!!!!!!

Tonight we are going to the fair to watch the PRCA slack. I have a friend running barrels and I also like to watch the pros and their amazing horses! It's the best part of the fair for me. :) I might even be able to help set barrels tomorrow. I love doing that. I'm in the arena with the best of the best. It's so cool!

We also have a babysitter for tomorrow night. It will be Shelby's first time with a babysitter for the evening. I have left her with friends for a few hours, but not with an official babysitter. Faith goes to my church and has a wonderful family. I know she'll do a super job! It should be pretty easy for her since Shelby goes to bed so early. I will be riding Twister with the Rodeo Sweethearts and then staying to watch David Allen Coe.

Saturday I have a barrel race in LaPorte and then I have to be back to Rosenberg that evening to ride with the Sweethearts again. A busy day! Hopefully Badger will be feeling better and he will make a good, clean run!

Sunday I plan to go to church but not much else.

Here are a few links to YouTube. You can view us girls (Rodeo Sweethearts) riding at the rodeo last weekend.

Long Routine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udlDKElEKx0

Short 1st Half
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8uFotAU42o

Short 2nd Half
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caKzDDhtLkA

Hodge Podge - pics/videos

I uploaded pics wrong - so sorry if the words are not with the pic/videos.

#1 - Roo Daddy taking over the entertainment center.
















#2 - Leg Pic
My leg 6 days after Badger slammed me into the steel gates along the alley way. Since then we've had some work on him. His back legs (hocks) were hurting him so I guess he wanted me to feel the pain too. :)




















#3 - Shelby in her 'big girl' car seat.




















# 4 - Hangin' with Daddy (it lasted about 38 seconds then she was on the move again...just like daddy was)...

# 5 - Video of Shelby saying Hi to Ryan through the rear view mirror. :)

Fair Weekend

This was a long weekend. We had the rodeo on Friday and Saturday night and Ryan decided to go to a round robin roping on Sunday. We didn't have any luck this weekend. Ryan did ok in the roping. He was placed 5th as of Friday, but it is likely someone pushed him further down the placings on Saturday. I ran Badger on Saturday and it was a MESS. He went VERY wide and overall it was a TERRIBLE run. So, we had him scanned on Sunday to check for hot spots which indicate soreness. Sure enough, he was sore in his neck, back and hocks. So, we are going to take him to the vet tomorrow to have some work on him. Gulp...it's going to be expensive.

We did place 3rd for All States Roofing in the business man's roping. We could've won if I had known what I was doing. Oh well, we'll get em' next year! It was a lot of fun and Ryan and Wade Watley were GREAT partners. (Wade roped the calf and Ryan pulled the rope off as I grabbed the ribbon off the tail.)

The best part was Shelby got to ride in the grand entry. Let me see if I can find some pics out there. I know plenty of people took pics of her and Ryan and I'll share them with you. She thought the whole parade, music, announcer, crowd was all for her! LOL Silly girl....she was smiling and clapping the whole time!

Tonight Ryan is in the Ranch Rodeo. I am also meeting the girls (Rodeo Sweethearts) at 4:30 to meet and great the adults with special needs. We look forward to that every year. It will be Shelby's first time for both. I plan to dress her up in a cute little Cowgirl Outfit Grandma Nancy bought for her the last time she was in town.

I have learned this weekend it is VERY hard being a Mom, Rodeo Sweetheart, Wife and "Cowgirl" all at the same time. It was exhausting!


Here is a pic of Shiner and me running in Wharton a couple of weeks ago. (http://www.tedsphotoreflex.com/)

Did You Know

Wow, my second post of the day! I'm on fire! Anyhow, i'm just here to share a link with you. This link has sound, but you don't need it. There are no words...

This is called "Did You Know" and it talks about how are world is changing as well as the speed it is changing. Wow, I'm so glad I work with technology, but at the same time it is very difficult to keep up with it all!

http://mediaconvergence.economist.com/