Weekend in Llano

Last weekend we went to Llano so the kids could see everyone since they will be with their dad for Thanksgiving this year. We had a wonderful time! Colten was able to join us and the kids enjoyed playing...there were a few squabbles here and there though! ;o)

Granden got the kids to help him pick up all the acorns in the yard









New shirts from Oni

Having fun riding bikes

Colten was exhausted from trying to keep up with Kalyn and Sheldon!

Tom and Buck

Yesterday morning Ricky went to check the traps as usual and found a bobcat. He brought it home alive and it is now in a cage...so cool!! His luck didn't stop there...he saw a nice 8-point buck when he was heading back to the house with the tom. He hurried into the house to get his rifle and headed back. Luckily the buck was still out there chasing a doe (it's that time of the year I guess) and he got a good shot at him. Mmmmm...fried venison!!

Sheldon wasn't happy about having his picture taken that morning.

No TV for awhile!

Take a look at what my sweet son did to our TV yesterday while I was making a phone call. Apparently he was pretending there were big ants crawling into the TV so he tried to kill them with Kalyn's baton. Needless to say, I was not very happy about what I saw and the thought of having to buy a new TV....ugh! Hopefully there will be some good deals coming soon with Christmas just around the corner. Ricky and I told him he couldn't watch Star Wars for awhile as his punishment (he LOVES those movies!) and he will have to do a few extra chores to earn some money to "help" buy the new TV.

notice the little storm trooper figure on top by the VCR?? ;o)

Boys sure are different......

Trapping Update

I forgot to post this cute picture that Ricky took of Sheldon on the trap line yesterday morning ! Ricky and Sheldon got their first fox of the season in a trap by one of the tanks on our place. They ended up letting it go since it was so small. They brought home two more coons and Ricky caught two more this morning.....the count goes on!

School Day Mornings

I thought it would be fun to take pictures of a "normal" morning around here before school. Believe me, they aren't always this way...some mornings are s-l-o-w with cranky kids not wanting to get up! ;o) I figured we would enjoy looking back on this blog and remember those days......

Sheldon decided he didn't want to check traps this morning because he missed being with his sister before school. Awwww!

I have let the kids eat their breakfast in front of the TV on weekdays ever since they were babies. This is one of their favorite things to do in the mornings...I turn it off at 7:10 otherwise Kalyn wouldn't be ready on time!

Kalyn makes up her bed right before we head out...sometimes earlier.

You can see here that Sheldon doesn't like making up his bed...he's getting better. He's just stubborn about it! ;o)

Veteran's Day

A couple weeks ago the PE coaches at Kalyn's school asked me to teach them how to sign the chorus to "America the Beautiful." They wanted to teach the 1st graders how to do it for the Veteran's Day program. My mom and I went to the gym on Halloween morning and gave the coaches a quick lesson...they did very well! Yesterday morning was the program and it was very nice...I didn't realize that I would be standing in front of everyone with the coaches instead of with the kids. Pat (Mimi) came along to take pictures and we enjoyed it. Kalyn was disappointed that she couldn't stand with me, but she really enjoyed being in the spotlight all last week as they practiced the song. There seems to be alot of interest from staff and students in learning more sign language. Maybe one of these days I will start up a sign club at the school...we'll see!

Standing in front of everyone with Coach Hodges

You can see Kalyn right in the middle of all the kids

Trapping Season-Week 1

Trapping season has begun! Ricky and Sheldon were busy all last weekend setting traps all over the place. Every morning at 6am the boys have gone to check the traps before Ricky went to work and then they have also reset them in the evenings after supper. Sheldon has really been enjoying being his "trapping buddy" and is learning alot about the sport. In fact, one thing he has asked for Christmas is a new trap!

So far they have caught 22 coons, 1 coyote, and 1 bobcat!

Setting a trap

Sheldon watching closely and playing with his pistol

1st coyote of the season

bobcat on far left...15 coons (the rest haven't been skinned yet)

Happy Birthday Sis!!

God blessed our family 30 years ago today when you were born. He gave me someone to talk to, someone to tease, someone to argue with, and someone to play with as we were kids. We have shared so much and I want you to know that treasure our friendship and I am so blessed to have a sister like you. I am so proud of who you have become...you are a wonderful wife to Caleb and an awesome mommy to Colten and Cambry. In honor of this special milestone in your life, I decided to use 30 pictures of our life together as sisters. Sadly, I discovered that there were lesser pictures of just the two of us together each year after we married and had our own kids...we neeed to change that!! Let's take more pictures together!!

Happy Birthday!!