May Post 3/12 – A Weekend At Granny & Papa’s House

Heather — Tue, 08 May 2012 16:45:09 +0000

We headed up to my parent’s house for the weekend…..well, most of us. Kalee & Kristen stayed home being Kalee had to work and Kristen wanted to spend time at a friend’s house. It was nice relaxing weekend (for me, haha…..Charley worked outisde all weekend painting mom & dad’s barn and well house). Last weekend my parents came down to TX for the weekend and they got a new springer spaniel puppy (Bella) while they were here, so the kids were eager to get up there and play wtih her! Bella is so sweet and calm. Usually Sam is terrified of dogs, even little puppies, but she LOVES Bella! The painting project was finished on Saturday evening, so Charley worked on my dad’s tractor on Sunday. Bradley & Cody have always wanted to drive the tractor, so they got to do that, and Sam even joined in on the fun. I don’t really want to live that far out in the country again, but it sure is nice to spend the weekend there! It’s so peaceful and lots of space for the kids to run and play. At one point on Saturday afternoon, I sat on their back patio and thought to myself, “Maybe I do miss living in the country.” Then on Sunday morning, I headed to that same back patio and was greeted by a disgusting black snake and I thought to myself, “No, maybe I don’t miss it!”

Our weekend in pictures….

May Post 2/12 – One of a Kind!

Heather — Thu, 03 May 2012 12:58:51 +0000

Little Rylee……she sure is one of a kind! She picked this shirt out herself (no she can’t read yet) and I thought it was fitting, so we bought it! She was SO excited to wear it this morning and insisted I take a picture of her before heading out for school! So, here she is with her classic ‘hands on the hips’ pose!

May Post 1/12 – Starting May Off With A Bang…..Literally….

Heather — Thu, 03 May 2012 12:53:21 +0000

So, today Bradley & Cody took off on a bike ride (a regular occurance for them). They were headed down a “really cool” bike path that was overgrown with tall grass and weeds. Hiding amongst the tall grass and weeds was a pole, about 2 – 3 feet tall. Cody met up with it and flew over the handlebars and the bike hit him in the back of the head. Long story short, a nice gash out of his noggin & a trip to the ER to have it stapled shut…..never a dull moment around here! OH……and a nice new shorty hair cut! The spot around the wound had to be shaved, so he decided it would be better to shave the whole head! I’ll spare you the pics of the injury, but here are the before and after pics of the hair cut!

April Post 12/12 – Rylee’s Class Picture

Heather — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:22:37 +0000

I can’t believe it’s May 2nd and I am just now posting this picture. I scanned it and saved it (on April 30th) and completely forgot to post it! Anyway, here is Rylee with her class (I love how she is posing with her hands on her hips!) She has had a wonderful year in preschool and has learned so much! She loves school, loves her teachers and loves her friends!

April Post 11/12 – Tennis

Heather — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 00:00:05 +0000

Ella made the junior high tennis team this year and just finished her season today. She is a natural and does very well! She played a lot of badminton in China and it turned into a love for tennis! Ella is very dedicated & self motivated. She practices so hard every day and puts forth so much effort! I was so excited to attend her regional tournament today and watch her play, and Sam was happy to come along and cheer her on! So proud of you miss Ella! Keep up the great work!

April Post 10/12 – Senior Prom

Heather — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 16:35:22 +0000

I can’t believe that my beautiful Kalee is at this stage of her life. A few short weeks from graduating highschool, a few short months from going away to college and attending her senior prom. She looked stunning, but to know her heart, that truly is a gift. To any of you who know Kalee, you know what I mean. There truly is a treasure in that girl’s heart. I am so proud of the young woman she has become. I know God has an amazing plan for her life and I am so thankful to have her in mine.

Sam decided to entertain us with some modeling & tumbling while we were waiting for all the girls to get settled in the limo…

April Post 9/12 – This Girl……

Heather — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 16:21:33 +0000

Marches to the beat of her OWN drum……

April Post 8/12 – Two Firsts

Heather — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 21:01:36 +0000

Last night Sam attended her first formal event as well as her first sleepover party. Justin & Sam were adorable together and they both had a wonderful time at the cheer banquet. Then Sam went to a sleepover party when the banquet was over. I really thought I’d be getting a call somewhere around 1:00am with a sad little voice on the other end saying “Mommy, come pick me up.” But no…..at 1:00 in the morning she was still partying big time! They had McDonald’s, went swimming, played in the hot tub, made up cheers and stunts, ate doughnuts and just had a great time being together. I think there were about 8 girls ranging in age from 11-14. And yes, Sam thinks she is every bit as “big” as they are!

Sam & Justin on their way to the banquet.

Sam & Justin at the banquet.

Sam & Sarah (one of the assistant coaches on her cheer team…..Sam really loves her).

April Post 7/12 – Crush Part 2

Heather — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 22:16:51 +0000

Last night, Sam got to stunt with Justin (aka, her crush). She is going to the cheer banquet with him on Friday and can’t wait! Justin is such a great kid and really looks out for her!

April Post 6/12 – Sam’s Last Cheer Competition

Heather — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 03:44:14 +0000

Yesterday was Sam’s last cheer competition of the season! Her team did amazing! She absolutely loves to cheer, perform & show off, so she’s a little disappointed that competition season is over. This Friday is the awards banquet for her gym and Sunday is try outs for the coming season. Practices will start May 1st and competition season will begin in September. Sam is hoping to make a higher level team this season. She has been working really hard and I think she will. The higher level teams practice several hours more a week than the team she was on this season and they also go to quite a few more competitions. I guess we’ll soon know what’s in store for the 2012/2013 season!

Taking the floor for the last time as a team! (And it was their best performance of the season!)

Sam with coach Mike. Seriously, could not ask for a better coach. She loves him and he is SO good with her!

Coach Mike bought them all a “pet” for doing such a great job!

Passing time outisde while waiting for our gym’s next team to compete. Sam always stays to cheer on all her gym-mates! In this next series of pics, Kristen and Sam’s two friends are trying to talk her into doing her round off back handspring on the grass. Her coach has always told her “GYM ONLY” but she caved…….and I know one pic looks scary, but she totally landed it just fine!

Love this pic…….my free spirited, spunky, sweet & sassy girl!

Sadly, her wild side got the best of her and she slid into the sidewalk and busted her knee (

Hanging with one of her buddies…..watching thier competitors!

Sam with two of her team coaches. She loves them so much!

Her day started REALLY early, and it was a long wait for our last team to compete (hours and hours) but Sam insisted on staying to cheer them on. She didn’t quite make! She totally knocked out about 15 minutes before our gym went on. But as soon as our group started cheering when they got on the floor, she woke up and hollered her little heart out for them!

Sam was so proud of her team’s banner! She was the only one left on her team by the time the awards ceremony started, but she gladly accepted the banner for her team!

Little banner, big banner! Sam with her two best friends showing off their banners! Way to go girls!

Post competition fun with friends! This little girl loves to stunt and all the big kids love putting her up there!

And lastly, Sam and her two ”best best” friends!

Congrats on a great season, little Sam! Mommy & Daddy are so proud of you!