1st place

Miller and I have good news to report - we got 1st at the rodeo this weekend!!! This picture is actually an old one from this summer, but it's all I had so I thought it would work. Mom went with me and we had a great night hanging out.

I had to make an entry about the historic day we had today since I hope to make this blog into a scrapbook. Today the government failed to pass a $700 Billion Bailout Plan and the dow fell a record $778 points in one day...the biggest drop in US History. If you listen to the news, we are headed into a very dangerous economic situation and it's pretty scary. I choose to believe that this is out of my hands and it will work itself out somehow.

As I was getting Bo dressed after his bath tonight, he was playing in his bed and I went over and started tickling him. He laughed sooo hard and it was the sweetest sound in the world. I needed to hear it...with all the doom & gloom in the news, when you see your kids laugh and know they are happy & healthy, everything else seems pretty trivial.

Blue!

Darla had a great day at school yesterday. When Brent picked her up, she told him "don't look in my folder Dad". Well of course that means "look in my folder Dad." She got on Blue for the 3rd time this year. Green is good behavior - most of the time the kids stay on green which is great. Blue means they did something out of the ordinary. Apparently Ms. Muto left the room and all the kids were running and hiding from the teacher when they were supposed to be laying down for "DEAR time" (rest or reading time). Darla & 2 other kids were doing what they were supposed to, so they got moved to blue. She was so excited! The day got even better because when she got home, she & Bo loaded up and went to Nanaw & Papaw's for the weekend. Brent & I spent our free night last night in Princeton at "Catfish Heaven". It was a great little place and they had the best hushpuppies EVER.
I got Bo's invitations order this morning - save the date for Sunday, Oct 26th at 4pm.
Tonight I've entered a rodeo in Wills Point - Miller and I haven't been anywhere since Memorial Day, so we'll see how it goes.

11 months old tomorrow

It's such a cliche, but it's so true. Where does the time go? We went to Mia & Anna's birthday parties this weekend and it seems like yesterday Amy & I were both pregnant. I realized that Bo's birthday is almost here, so I decided I better start working on his party invitations. His favorite word right now is "uh-oh" and he's finally starting to walk a little if you hold his hands. He is getting better at giving kisses, but I think Brent & I probably ask for them a little too much! They are so sweet.

Darla & I went to the barn to ride Sunday while Bo played with Presley at the house. I see Darla on Barbie and I'm so proud of her. She's really doing a great job learning to ride. I have always loved my horses, but it hit me Sunday that I have never loved Barbie more than when I see her with Darla. I never understood why my Mom & Dad loved Buck & Keykeeper so much when they were MY horses. Now I get it - they loved them for taking care of ME... funny how things become clearer when we are parents.

Labor Day Weekend

It was a busy weekend for us. The kids went to Nanaw & Papaw's for a couple of days, so Brent & I left Friday night and went to Winstar Casino. I wanted to go to a furniture store in Henrietta, TX, so we thought we'd drive up to Oklahoma and gamble a little. They don't serve alcohol while you gamble there, so it's very easy to stop gambling when you start losing! I played a little Blackjack while Brent played the slots, but we came out pretty much even. I am looking for new bedroom furniture, but the store in Henrietta was very disappointing. They did have a cute little boutique there so I bought a $15 necklace just to say I got something for the drive out there.
Sunday we went to Durant to pick up the kids. Nanaw made brisket with all the good sides, and we ate until we were stuffed. While we were standing in the kitchen, I asked if she wanted kids someday. She said "maybe just one. I don't think I can handle two. And I'll have a husband (she held up her fingers and made quote signs as she said husband) and he can do all the work!" Ha!
Monday we went to Granddad & Nana's to swim and eat hot dogs. It was a fun weekend...

First Day of Kindergarten

What a day. Bo got us all up at 6am this morning. He usually sleeps until 7, so I guess he knew today was special. I put cinnamon rolls in the oven at 6:30 and then went in to wake up my Kindergartener. She was pretty easy to get out of bed. She got up, ate breakfast, got dressed, and even let me put a bow in her hair! She was so cute all dressed up with her backpack on and carrying her lunch. We loaded up the car and drove the 2 minute drive to school. It was so busy, we had to park a street over and walk in. Daddy & Bo stayed outside while I walked Darla to her class...or I should say, she walked me to her class since she knew right where it was.
We found her room and started putting her stuff away in her locker. Yes, they have lockers in kindergarten at Hunt Elem! When I told her I didn't have a locker in K, she looked at me like that was the saddest thing she'd ever heard!
Darla's name was on a table, so she sat down and started coloring a sheet that said "Welcome to Kindergarten." I know that's what it said because she read it to me and then said "my teacher is going to be so impressed." I'm sure she will be. I took a couple of pictures, gave her a hug, said goodbye and left her sitting there like she was 15 years old. No tears, no sad eyes, nothing...just an independent little girl who has no idea that she is taking a huge step towards growing up. I was so proud of her; she is such a great kid and I don't know how I got so lucky to have her.
I went outside to find Brent & Bo, and luckily, there's a window in Darla's classroom and it happens to be right by the front of the school, so we all peeked in to see her sitting at her table.
The day went pretty fast and it was time to go back. Darla is a "walker" which means she comes out of the east side of the building as though she's walking home (which she'll never do at 5 yrs old), but it's easier than fighting the carpool lane. She came out and had the biggest smile on her face! But, she forgot her lunchbox so we went back in to get it. Inside, she showed me the bathroom pass and told me all about asking to go potty. I'm sure they talk about that a lot the first day of Kindergarten! She told me her teacher "looked prettier & younger in person"! Ha! I'm sure Ms. Muto would love that. And she said she saw Brecklyn, Evan Brady and JoJo - friends from Whistle Stop. Since she claims Evan Brady is her boyfriend, I asked if they talked today and she said "I said hi but he didn't hear me." Hmmm, not sure if Evan Brady feels the same way about Darla as she does about him!
Lunch was her favorite part, and snack...but they "only have one snack time in Kindergarten, not 2 like Whistle Stop". Recess must have been cut short today because she said they only got to play outside today for "one second" but her teacher said tomorrow they could stay outside longer. They went to PE but she didn't need her tennis shoes, her flip flops were fine for today; and during quiet time she DIDN'T SUCK HER THUMB! All in all, it sounds like a successful first day of school.
It's 8:37pm, so I've got to go tuck her in so we can do this all over again tomorrow.

More cute pics

A few more pictures from this weekend...

Bo is 10 months old

Today Bo turned 10 months old. It seems like the time has flown by. He has 2 teeth on the bottom, one on the top, and the other top tooth is about to break through.
He sleeps about 10-12 hours a night and is taking 2 naps a day (sometimes). I sat him on our bathroom scale and he weighed 25 pounds - he's a big boy! He is such a sweet little boy. He is always in a happy mood and has the biggest, sweetest smile ever! He can crawl so fast now that he is across the room in a flash. He still loves Mugsy's dog door, and now he likes her food and water bowl too. Bo also likes when Darla reads to him - actually, he just likes to crawl all over her and take the books away, but it sure is fun to watch.
We went swimming over at Granddad's today, hoping to tire Darla out so she would go to bed early. Brent taught Darla how to jump off the diving board and swim all the way to the shallow end by herself! She told us she was doing the breast stroke to swim that far.

Saturday was Jesse's 6th birthday party at Libby Lu. The girls had so much fun. They had their hair done, make-up, nails painted, played dress up and had the best time. Darla chose the Hannah Montana wig - check out the pics!

Tomorrow is the first day of school. She read two stories to me before she went to bed, and then I laid in bed with here until she fell asleep. She asked me if "we could snuggle?" How can you say no to that?
We went to "Sneak a Peek" on Friday and Darla got to meet Ms. Muto. I didn't recognize any of the kids' names in her class, but I'm sure she'll make lots of new friends. I know I'll have a full report in the morning after I drop her off to KINDERGARTEN!!!

We just watched the closing ceremonies to the Olympics. Brent & I have decided that we are going to London in 2012.