Rangers

T-ball Rangers that is!  

Scout was finally old enough to play this year.  We almost didn't play because we had to miss a few games, but boy am I glad that we did!  She had a blast.

Riley and I tend to be sort of hard on her.  It must be our competitive spirit coming out.  It's amazing how fast she runs through the house and how slowly she runs to first base.  She really did great though.  We are super proud!

These pics are from the first game!  

When Aunt Kaitlyn asked Scout what her favorite part of playing t-ball was she replied, "the base house".  What is not to love about the dugout?

 Saylor and Reno didn't care too much for the action.  They were more interested in playing in the dugout and eating goldfish.

Reno loves to play "baseball cractice".  He is always wearing Scout's cap around and playing with her glove.  He also loves to play "basketball game".  

I'm not sure, but I think we may have a couple of little athletes on our hands.

P.S.  God Bless those t-ball coaches!

5 years ago....

today we met Scout!  She has been something else since the moment she came into this world.  She's been raring to go and well......going full speed ahead since the very beginning.  

I'm having a hard time with the fact that she will be starting Kindergarten in the fall.   

She's mature and smart and plenty ready to leave me.  I'm just not ready to have her gone from me for the majority of the day.

I'm not sure this girl has ever met a stranger.  She wants to know everyone.  If there are kids in a restaurant or store near us, she wants to know their names.  

Scout is all spunk, humor, and I must admit....attitude.  Bossy, did I mention bossy?  It is very plain that she is the big sister.

This girl loves animals like no other.  She is plain crazy over anything furry and cuddly.  Frogs, snakes, alligators...not so much.

Horses are her obsession.  She loves race horses, jumping horses, little horses, big horses.  Just in the last couple of weeks she is finding great success in riding her own "big horse".  Talk about proud.

Scout Preston is also tough.  Yes she dolls up and loves it, but I'll promise you she can and will stand up for herself.  No one will push her around...ever!

Scout, you are a fun, sweet, loving girl that has changed our lives forever.  We love you so much!

Here's to the adventures of the next 5 years!!

Thanks to Kaitlyn Smith Photography!  I hear I've been uninvited to her picture sessions from here on out because she does so good without me.

Easter 2013

 What shall I say?  I am so late on sharing our Easter pics.  Late, but not lost!

Here we are!  Someday these pics will be such a prized possession.  I usually feel really stupid for forcing everyone to take a pic and then later I'm glad I did.

It was so nice to have my cousin Jimmy and his family with us this year!  Congrats to their whole family on graduation, new jobs, etc.  Jimmy is now the AD/Head football coach at Morton.  We are looking forward to them being close!

On to the confetti egg saga!  I didn't get all that took place.  Here Tripp is trying to get up the nerve to break the egg over his wifey (of 21 years as of today)!  What you can't see in these pics is Riley standing nearby telling Tripp he wouldn't do it, that he was scared, etc.  Well, he did it!

You also don't see Trail breaking an egg over Riley, or Riley showing Trail all the confetti in his cup then pouring the water on him.  You don't see me catching Tripp and holding him down while Hope breaks an egg in his pants.  (It might not have happened quite that easily but it sure makes the story sound better.)

 We love being all crazy like this!  Yes sometimes we get mad at each other, but.....it's still fun!

My babies had a fun time gathering eggs this year.  They both actually understand what was going on.  Their goat Aena (pronounced A-na), just sat and watched.  She was so sweet, maybe a little too sweet and that's why she doesn't live here anymore.  Riley wanted a goat he could rope.  Goats....that's a whole other story!

I CAN DO THIS!!

I don't know how many of you feel the same, but I struggle greatly with my weight, exercise, etc.  No, I don't have a real problem but to a woman there is a problem if she looks in the mirror and doesn't like what she sees.  

It has been much harder for me to lose weight in my 30's.  I've always lost 5 or 10 pounds super  easy.  Well not now!

Just thought I'd share a few of the tools that seem to be helping me "stay hooked".   

First of all I started using the My Fitness Pal app.  When I had elbow surgery the first of April I started using it.  I was freaked out that I couldn't exercise and would gain tons of weight.  I have myself on 1200 calories a day.  This is what it gave me based on height, weight, age, weight goal, etc.

You are welcome to become my friend mama2scout and I decided to make my diary public.  Accountability!!

Just this last week I purchased the Polar Heart Rate Monitor watch FT7.  You have to wear a strap around your chest (right under band of sports bra), but you hardly even notice.  It's really nice knowing how many calories you are burning, heart rate, etc.

My SIL, Kailtyn has me hooked on Fitness Blender.  It is a free website with tons of workout videos.  People, I'm talking full length, do it with you, no timing yourself, no reading a description trying to decide what to do.  It really is like having a personal trainer.  I prefer using the I Pad, but it works just fine on my phone.  Oh and did I mention it's FREE?  Thank you, thank you Daniel and Kelley.

Luckily there is also a fitness group here in Earth.  Who would have thought?  I graduated from high school with Iris and she is doing a great job. If I can't make it to her workout then I do a Fitness Blender.  I will say that going to a Foundation 6:19 class is for sure the best thing for me.  I push myself so much harder at a class.  

I've also been trying to eat better.  I've cut back on tortillas, bread, chips, cheese, and sour cream.  Honestly it hasn't been hard at all, except for the tortillas.  So what it means is that I really don't have these at home.  If we eat out somewhere I may have these in moderation. 

Moderation!  It's all about moderation.  I'm not saying I'll never eat this or that, because I probably will.  If it is high calorie, then I just won't be able to eat very much of it.  

So you learn that you get to eat more of something healthy.  I wouldn't say I've been eating clean, but kind of for me.  Now I sure can tell when I eat something my tummy isn't used to.  It makes me feel yucky.  The other day I had some ice cream and thought I was going to be sick.  

I may or may not have frowned on others that I thought were "obsessed" with diet and exercise.  Well, now I don't.  You really kind of need to be obsessed to stick with it and get anywhere.

I've only lost about 5 pounds since the first of April.  I didn't start working out until the first of May.  I haven't counted calories every single day.  I know that I am gaining muscle and am shedding inches (or maybe an inch).  lol

Hopefully this inspires you guys to get going!  My Mama inspires me.  She's like the My Fitness Pal calorie Nazi.  Love that!  

Hopeylicious!

Happy 40th to Hope (aka....Hopey, Hopeylicious)!

First I must say that some of this was my idea and some of it was not.  I am embarrassed to say that this post is months over due.  How about we just celebrate "40 years of Hopeilious" all year long!!

It didn't take too many lies to get her to Rudy's for a little celebrating.  I teased her that it's pretty bad when your birthday is planned around our guys team roping.  

Here she is with the beautiful family that she takes such good care of.  

 I just know that when I pop in at her house unannounced, there are always fresh vacuum marks.  Seriously!!! I know that when I pop in at her house unannounced, there is usually a fresh loaf of bread on the cabinet.  Seriously???  

Yes, now I am putting question marks behind the seriously because she is so good that it makes me kind of sick.  

She does laundry, cares for chickens, builds things, sews, bakes complicated things, cleans the church, even does 1st grade homework (shh don't tell).  These are the things that I know she does.  There's no telling what out-of-this-world things she does for her family that we never hear a word about.  

 I've known her since I was Scout's size.  She's been my sister-in-law since I was Trail's size.

Bless her!!

Oh and never play her at Scrabble.  She'll kick your hiney!  lol

Happy Birthday Hope!

Smiley Faces

So you know my girl Scout......now she is something else!  She has been a ball of fire pretty much since the moment she came into this world.  

Here in the past year and a half or so this girl has developed this habit of using page after page of a tablet.  She can go through a Big Chief tablet in about 4 minutes.  That's doable right?  I can deal with that kind of thing.    

However, it has now turned into cutting paper into tiny little pieces.  Now this behavior is not so easy to deal with.  She cuts paper and leaves it all over the office.  I'm talking covering the floor.  One time I didn't pick up after here and I'm  not joking you couldn't see the floor.  

Her bible case, whew you should see it.  By the time meeting is over it looks like she threw up paper everywhere. The poor child is literally sitting in a pile of mess.  

You add this paper thing to her pack-a-bag syndrome and I'm about to lose my mind.  FYI.....pack-a-bag syndrome is grabbing any bag or something that isn't a bag and using it as a bag and then filling it with random household object.  Objects that might be found in her bag are clean clothes, dirty clothes, doll clothes, head scarf, grapes, diapers (clean thank goodness), dice, toy horses, cell phones, walkie talkie....This list could go on forever.  

Here is the good news.  The other night I opened my bible and out popped two smiley faces.  It made me smile too and sort of made me chill about her messiness.  She means well.....I think.

I'm just trying to enjoy and embrace it all!  I love these kiddos and want to be a better Mama to them every day.  

These faces..... and another How-To

These little faces are beautiful to me.

 

It doesn't matter if they are dirty or sticky.

It doesn't matter to me if they are snotty or crusty (sorry folks it's just a fact of life).  

What matters to me is that these little faces are smiling.  

Usually ice cream, playing in the dirt, and baby goats will cause these little faces to smile.

 and now for our latest "How-To".... 

Reno's "How-To" is not explained so well, but I'm pretty sure he can give roping lessons if anyone is in need of assistance.

He asks for "big rope", which means he wants a big loop.  It needs to be big enough that it sort of knocks him off balance once he gets it off the ground.  lol