Easter 2009

I was fortunate to be able to travel with Travis' Senior class to Washington D.C. over Easter weekend of 2009. Having never been, I was very much looking forward to visiting our nation's capital. Thank goodness we were lead by Mr. and Mrs. Rawls who had been for the past 16 years with other classes...they carved the path that took us to some breath-taking locations and allowed our adventure to be rather flawless.

Easter Sunrise Service would have to be my favorite...the cold air in my lungs, sounds of birds, jets, praise and worship songs, finally the warm kiss of the sun on my face...all part of God's great creation!

Mt. Vernon (George Washington's home) was a place I could have spent much more time...overlooking the Potomac River, checking out every plant and tree in gardens and orchard...just the thought of walking on the grounds and in the home where HE was. WOW!

The museums were fantastic...need a day for each!

Monuments and buildings are soooo much bigger than I expected.

This is just a small taste of what we experience...hope you enjoy.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

A Big Night for Travis

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

SugarBear

Kate is such a joy! She is sure ready to turn 4 in April. She attends Mothers Day Out twice a week and really enjoys the play-time as well as structured time to work on letters, sounds, numbers, and spanish. Kate is already talking of "when I am a mommy..." and "my husband..." Actually...Kate is always talking! She is an animal lover but not a thrill seeker. Kate adores her big brothers, loves Jesus and can not wait to go to heaven, is constantly hungry, likes to help mommy clean the house and could chew gum all day long.

Kate and Bruno.

Kate loves her second semester of gymnastics...everything except for having to flip over the bar.
Kate could ride her bike for hours up and down our driveway.

The park is another favorite of Kate's.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

This is the weekend that Tracy and I took Travis and 6 of his friends to the cabin in Ruidoso, NM. They shared great times ice tubing, playing Madden, and playing a 3 hour long football game at White Sands, NM.

Jack's First 4H Hogs

Make a Smilebox photobook

Family Pictures

November 2008

Jack - 10 years old, Travis - 18 years old, Kate - 3 1/2 years old

Autumn Days

Fall has set in here in Amarillo; I am soooo loving it. We have been busy with sports, 4-H, school, etc. Let's start with Jack...

Jack celbrated his 10th birthday at the first of September. We were thrilled that Aunt Amy(thanks for the great picture), Uncle Jamie, and Cousins Jesse and Kylee were able to make a visit that weekend. And to add to the excitement, one of our mama sheep had twins the morning before they left to head home.

A few weeks ago, Tracy and Jack started to get ready for Jack's first 4-H project. Tracy and our dear friend, Kyle Gray, made panels to accomidate the barn stall. Then Tracy and Jack installed them together...

The next week, we went to Kyle Stephens farm to pick up a couple of nice pigs. You might be interested to know that this man/opperation sends out 3,000 to 4,000 show hogs a year. That number does not include the hogs that are culled or sold to butcher. This is the same place where Travis got his hogs, one of which placed 7th in Ft.Worth Stockshow. Anyway, Mr. Stephens had a really nice Spotted Polland China and a Duroc chosen. We ended up with 2 Durocs and the Spot which weigh about 45 pounds each. I will keep you posted on their speedy gowth.

While we are on livestock, Tracy has been raising some Mouflon hybrid sheep over the last several years. He and our friend Kyle, will be guiding several hunts a year here in the Texas panhandle. Just thought I would throw in a couple of pictures of his big-horned sheep for fun.

I am so excited that I will be back in the Aussie (Australian Shepherd) business. We bought a new red-tri female puppy to breed with our male, Cooter. Cricket has been a joy...yes, even as a puppy. For those of you who knew Rockee, she is incredibly like him in many ways, with a little more spunk. Big, big thanks to Nancy of Ashley Kennels, for helping us pick her out!

Travis is staying busy this Senior year. He enjoys football more than any year prior. Besides school, his other time is consumed with friends, church and a little work. Unfortunately, when he is home it is spent eating or sleeping...so I don't have too many pictures of Travis other than football ones!

Travis plays pitchback...for those of you not familiar with 6-man football, he recieves the ball on the 'hike' then pitches it back to the player who playes 'quarterback'. The plays require Travis to usually make a block. Some plays put Travis in a receiver position. He was blessed to have scored his FIRST touchdown a week ago. Thus far, the Eagles record is 5 and 2. This weekend will start the first of three disctrict games. The goal is to go farther in the district playoffs than last year...they were bi-district champs!

As for little Miss. Kate, she really enjoys cheering at Travis' games. Having grown up with all the cheerleaders, they are more than willing to have a miniature cheerleader on their team. Kate also enjoys her weekly gymnastics class, our barn kitties, swinging high, and painting and coloring.