Time once again...

As you may or may not know, I am the proud mother of the ABC Rodeo's 2009 Mutton Bustin GRAND CHAMPION!  Last year, Paycos beat out 183 other kids to win the title!  He tried out on a Tuesday, made it to the second round which was Friday night in the actual rodeo, then the final 10 competed in the Saturday night rodeo.  It was AWESOME!  It was such a confidence booster for him and I was choking back tears of overwhelming pride!  Justin and I still get giddy when we talk about it.  He held on for dear life and genuinely loved every second of it!  Who would have thought that Paycos, of all kids, would ride?!  We thought he would chicken out at the last minute, but heck no!  That boy jumped right in there as fearless as could be!  I'm re-living this moment and getting excited all over again because it's time for round 2.  Tryouts for the 2010 rodeo are this Tuesday the 30th.  He can't wait!!!!  This will be his last year to ride because the age range is 4-7.  If he makes it into the top 30, they will let us know what night he will compete again.  Then, if he makes the top 10, he'll ride one more time on the final Saturday night rodeo.  Sooooo keep your fingers crossed people!!!!  Here's some pictures from last year.

TRYOUTS:

FRIDAY NIGHT:

SATURDAY NIGHT:

(WEARING THE SAME SHIRT FOR GOOD LUCK!!)

GET ON THAT SHEEP!!!

AND HE WINS A VEST AND BELT BUCKLE!!!

A LITTLE VIDEO FROM THE FRIDAY NIGHT RIDE:

I decided that this year I wasn't going to do the filming because on the other videos, all you can hear is me screaming and it almost makes you nauseas to watch because I was jumping up and down so much!  It was just too exciting!!! 

Wish us luck!!!!!!!!!

WARNING...picture overload

We had our family pictures done a couple of weekends ago and the photographer (Kristin Bednarz) did a wonderful job! The kids were acting goofy, Justin was grumpy, and Harper was NOT cooperating so when we were done, I thought, there is NO WAY she got any decent shots! But she did! I was surprised. Anyway, here are some of my favorites:

5 months!

Harper is 5 months! I can't believe how fast time is flying by. I think I say that with every post but it's so true! Everyday is something new. She has her own little personality and her likes and dislikes. She growls, laughs a lot, spits, says ba ba ba ba, and is sitting up! I always said when I was pregnant that she's our little over acheiver because she always measured big, and she seems to still be ahead, developmentally speaking. The other 2 did not sit up this early! Here's some videos I took of her a few days before she turned 5 months:




We have a new niece! Miss Piper Paige made her QUICK arrival into the world on February 23rd! She's precious with TONS of hair!! She is the first baby for Justin's brother Lee and his wife Katie.

Justin was being goofy!

Paycos and Kyler are both playing baseball this year and practice has begun! It looks like we'll stay pretty busy this season. Paycos' team has practice 3 times a week! I think that's ridiculous for 7 year olds so we'll probably only do 1 maaaayyybe 2 a week. Kyler is sooo excited and I think she'll be the little athlete of the family. She's pretty darn good!

Ready for practice

We also had some family pictures made this weekend so hopefully I'll be able to post some on here!!!

Big questions for a little girl

Conversation with my 4 year old while driving in the car:

K: How do we get to heaven?
me: Umm...well...hmmm.....actually....um....we go to Heaven when God is ready for us!
K: But HOW do we get to Heaven?
me: Well...umm...the angels take us
K: How?
me: They fly down and pick us up
K: How?
me: I guess they carry us in their arms or maybe we ride on their backs?!
K: I'm scared
me: Why?
K: What if they drop me?
me: They won't
LONG PAUSE.............
K: (Teary voice) Will you miss me?
me: What?
K: Will you miss me when I'm in Heaven?
me: I'll be in Heaven with you!!
K: Oh!
LONG PAUSE.............
K: What about our house?
me: What about it?
K: Will someone live there when we go to Heaven?
me: Yes-we won't need it anymore. We'll have our own house in Heaven.
LONG PAUSE..............
K: I'm gonna be a Cheerleader when I grow up!!!!
me: That sounds GREAT!!!!!!

Phew!!! I was glad to be done with that conversation!! That girl can ask some hard questions!!! She always catches me off guard and I'm never really sure what to say!!!! She has had A LOT of questions lately about dying and Heaven although I'm not sure why. Just curious I guess! I wish I could have better answers for her!