The Golden Girls

oops...Lazy...that's my only excuse

2011-11-01T20:15:00.000-05:00

Man I didn't realize that I hadn't blogged since June. I guess in July we got busy with vacation to Great Wolf Lodge and then New Mexico. We got back from there and it was Cheer camp and then August meant full blown preparations for the new school year. School started and it hasn't slow down, between cheer practice, football games and classroom duties. I decided I was going to get back on the blog wagon and try to be better at this. How many times have I said this now over the course of five years? Hmmm probably too many to count!!

So here is a recap of what was missed of my blog absence.

July:

Rhealee with her monkey floaty at the lake.

My Taryn tubing on her own. She loves the water!

Rhealee and I enjoying the sun and fun!

I really can't believe I put this picture on here, ignore the big white legs. Rhealee and I getting ready to tube. And yes, my arms are very sun burned. I should have used sunscreen.

Rhealee looking for the lake, with her binoculars! Gotta love Dora!

The water dump at Great Wolf Lodge

My other water bug. This girl thought she could really swim.

She went down this slide a million times! She loved it!!!

The Golden's at the Rangers Game. We had a blast!! We had spent part of the day doing a lightning fast trip through Six Flags with Uncle Rusty and Cousin Tyler. We were tired and hungry when we got to the game.

And maybe a little silly!

Silly girl!

After our cramp packed trip to Dallas, we came home for a few days and then loaded up and went to Ruidoso, NM. We were there for a week and did almost nothing. We laid around the cabin, ate good food and slept.

The girls in the hot tub with Aunt Kami

Taryn getting to drive on the Turtle Track all by herself.

Rhealee, Aunt Kami and I getting ready for the race!

Rhealee loved riding on the big kid go-carts.

Rhealee getting soaked on the water bumper boats. She didn't love this so much!!

Taryn and Aunt Kami got soaked!!!

These deer visited us almost every morning and in the late evening.

The Golden's in the mountains.

The girls on the monster stairs. The stairs beat me on the first night we were there and left their mark on my behind!!

My parents and my sister!

My family, minus my brother.

August was busy with Taryn's 5th birthday, our 9th Anniversary, Petersurg Day, Mini-Cheer Camp, teacher in service and just the hustle and bustle of getting ready for a new school year.

One of the coaches sons playing on the Slip-n-Slide at Taryn's birthday party.

Emma was the water balloon queen. The little kids thought she was awesome with her skill!

One of Taryn's classmates playing in the backyard. His mom is saving this picture for when he is a senior!! Love it!

Taryn's birthday cake Aunt Tammie and I made her.

Petersburg Day parade. Taryn got to ride on the float with the cheerleaders and football players. She thought she was something else in her little uniform and getting to throw candy with the big girls!

My baby girl on her first day of K! Where has time gone?

Taryn cheering at the first pep-rally of the year with the mini-cheerleaders

Ready to cheer with the mini-cheerleaders at the Buffaloes football game.

Cheering hard!!

Taryn and Brusier

Rhealee wanted to cheer with the big girls! Next year sister, next year!

Okay thanks for sticking around for a long catch up. I will post October tomorrow night, and then I am caught up and promise to keep thing up to date around here!!

I'd Like to Pause and Thank.....

2011-06-29T20:30:00.000-05:00

Yes this is an Allsup's Burrito!!! You have become a saving grace in my family! On nights that I don't feel like cooking or am the only one eating, there is nothing better than you!

I first fell in love with you Mr. Allsup's Burrito when I was in high school. You were that late night snack that was always there waiting for us. If we were lucky we would get them fresh out of the hot grease.

I missed you in college, the closes one was 15 miles away, but we often made the trip, late at night just for good times sake.

When I got engaged, I told Cory that he couldn't move me anywhere that didn't have a area code of 806 or anywhere there wasn't an Allsups within about 15 miles, tops!

I now live in such a small town that often, you are the only choice for supper. My oldest daughter is even starting to gain the same love I have for you. Often she will ask if we can get a snack when we are on our way out of town, and I know instantly that she wants a Burrito!!

Thank you for staying true to who you are through out all these years!! We have shared many meals, sometimes plain, others with a little taco sauce, but you have never change you are always there for me when I need you!!

I heart Allsups Burritos!!

p.s. I don't need any lectures on how bad these are for me, I know they are full of gross and disgusting things, but occasionally you just have to forget all of that and have a little piece of heaven! It's just a West Texas thing....Pat Green even sings about you!

LAKE TIME!!!!!

2011-06-29T20:22:00.000-05:00

I honestly have nothing exciting to blog about. But just wanted to take a minute and document what has been going on in our world the last week.

Cory and I have both been teaching summer school this year. Cory has always taught summer school, so this has been nothing new to him, but this was my first time. I am loving the thought of a little extra cash, but it has been hard getting up and going somewhere every morning. We have also had to send the girls to Ganky's house for a couple weeks, luckily not back to back. So it has been strange not having them here with us. Summer school ends on Friday at noon and we will be officially on vacation. But first I have to get everyone well. I have had a sore throat for the last couple of days and tonight Taryn appears to have a stomach bug. Bless her heart!! I hate when my babies are sick. I feel so helpless as a mother when I can't make them better.

Vacation starts on Friday and we will start it off here:

Out on the water for the first time by herself!!!

We go every 4th of July weekend to Lake Graham for Cory's family reunion. I have loved going since we were dating. There is just something about those Jones' that make you wanna keep coming back for more. We don't own a boat, but we get to spend a little time on the water, and hopefully one day we will own our own and be able to spend more time on the water.

Hopefully we will have a good time like above and not much of this:

Notice the look of sheer terror on my daughters face. She said it was because she had nothing to hold on to!

Taryn is a little daredevil and loves to try new things, but she did not enjoy going on the tube with 2 other people. She had nothing to hold on to and that scared her.

Last year at the lake it had rain record setting amounts all over the state. So not only was it hot, but it was very humid. Humidity does not do good things to my youngest hair.

Look at those curs!! All natural kinkier, humidity!!!

Rhealee hasn't been out on the lake yet. I'm thinking this year will be the year! We will have to see when we get down there, if we don't get her on the boat, she will be getting in and learning how to float with the best of us!!

That is one thing the Jones' do well....FLOAT!! There is nothing better than grabbing a life jacket, putting it on like a diaper and jumping in the water. We will spend hours just floating around the dock talking and laughing. I did this best in the summer of 2006 when I was 8 months pregnant with Taryn!!

After a hard day of floating and tubing, there is nothing better than this......

Sleeping in a motel. I heart sleeping in a hotel....cranking down the a/c as low as it will go (I'm not paying the bill..hehehe!!) and crawling in the nice comfy bed and getting a good nights sleep.

I am so ready to hit the lake, not only for some water fun, but for some good food. There is just something about lake food that is AAAHHHmazing!! The watermelons are sweeter, the tomatoes are juicier, the sandwiches are yummier, and the corn on the cob is the best!!! Ohh I am making myself hungry just thinking about all the goodies that will be this weekend, including homemade Sangria wine!!!

What will be strange this year is not having fireworks to pop! There are restrictions everywhere due to the drought, so that will be something different.

Hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July weekend!! Don't forget to stop and think about all the men and women who are and have served our wonderful U.S.A. so that you can be free!!!

H-O-T and D-R-Y

2011-06-23T14:12:00.000-05:00

Hot and dry do not even begin to describe the weather here in West Texas. Since January we have had just a little bit over an inch of rain. We have been in the 100's, think 104+, the last month. The wind blows and it is hot. The wind blows and brings nothing but dirt with it. That being said, the girls have not been able to spend just a whole bunch of time outside, this heat has also put a damper on our eating outside in the evenings.

So when the girls asked if they could have breakfast outside on Saturday morning, I said absolutely!!

So here are my girlies enjoying breakfast outside, and yes that is PW cinnamon toast! I heart that stuff and could eat it every morning!!

That same Saturday morning, we had our last t-ball game. We were playing in a tournament and would like to have played to the end, but we got beat and the season came to an end. It wasn't all bad, cause the high for that day was forcasted to hit 107 and I really didn't want to sit out in that and I really wasn't wanting to have to watch Taryn sweat it out in that heat.

My big girl learned a lot this summer playing tball. She has learned how to hold a bat, how to throw and at the end even how to hit pretty good and run a little faster. She is already asking when she can play again. We have to do some work and hopefully get her in the infield next year.

Taryn and Rhealee have been in Brownfield this week and Taryn is taking swim lessons from her favorite guy in the whole wold, Cade. He is a lifeguard at the swimming pool in Brownfield and is giving her private lessons and she is loving every minute of it. I hear she is doing well and getting comfortable in the pool, I hate that I am missing it, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity for her to take lessons from one she trust and loves. I can't wait to see her in the water and see everything that she has learned this week.

We will be going to the lake in a couple of weekends and then on to Dallas for almost a week. We will be going to Great Wolf Lodge, an indoor water park, and The Coach and I wanted her to be comfortable in the water. I don't expect her to be a full fledge swimmer by the end of the week, but I am hopeful that she will enjoy the water and feel comfortable without one of us holding onto her the entire time.

Coaches Outreach

2011-06-23T13:48:00.000-05:00

We went almost 2 weeks ago to our yearly Coaches Outreach. If you are a coaching family, this is a must!! There are different retreats scattered around the state and surrounding states. It is a Christian based organization that focuses on coaches and their spouses.

Last year we went to Coaches Outreach just a few days after moving and it was a much needed weekend. We were able to go to Oklahoma last year, which is a just a little bit closer, but they did not offer that location this year, so we packed up and headed to New Braunfels. It took us right at 8 hours to reach our retreat this year, but it was well worth it.

We left "the burg" right at 7a.m. and dropped the girls off in Lockney before hitting the road. We took a wrong turn, or maybe we did it on purpose, and ended up in Fredricksburg just in time for a late lunch! I heart Fredricksburg and wouldn't have mind sticking around and doing some shopping, but we had a deadline to meet and so we ate at an amazing little restaurant. There is nothing better than a little German food to kick-off your weekend, think lots of sauerkraut and sausage!!!

After eating we hit the road again, our next stop T-M resort. It was a very nice place and it was peaceful there. I could have done without the humidity, but overall it was great. Our rooms were nice and nothing beats being in a hotel and cranking the a/c down as low as it will go. That calls for some good napping and sleeping at night. And the best thing you don't have to pay that electric bill. hehe!!

Friday night we had a wonderful time getting to know the people in our small group and having a wonderful dinner. We were old folks and went to bed early! Saturday morning we had a yummy breakfast followed by a great time listening to a great speaker and talking with our small group. After lunch, we decided to hit this:

My husband, the non-shopper is the one who wanted to go. He was looking for some good deals at his favorite stores, Under armor, Nike, Adidas and Izod. This was not my first choice for the afternoon of free time, but after getting The Coach some good deals, I talked him into going and doing a little sight seeing. We headed for Gruene, TX just a few minutes drive from our hotel!

My husband had a very un-Texan moment when he told me he had never heard of Gruene, hello where have you been? And he calls himself a Texan. So we walked the cute little town and took in some of the shops and sights. Along with a scoop of ice cream. It was very hot that afternoon, so we didn't do much. I would like to have had a little longer, but when it came to walking in the heat longer or going to take a nap, you know what I choose and it wasn't the heat!!

Saturday night we enjoyed the speaker again and then a concert from Michael Bridges. He is not only talented but very funny and I enjoy listening to him sing.

Sunday morning we had another session and then one more meeting with our small group. I always hate to see the weekend end, it is an amazing weekend getting to know other coaches and their spouses and listening to them and talking about the things that are going on in our lives and knowing we are not the only ones facing some issues. It amazes me to see that other coaching families are often in the same season of life as we are and to hear how they are handling things, is always comforting.

So that was our weekend get away. We missed our girls, but enjoyed getting away for a weekend alone and the opportunity to focus on our marriage and each other.

Schools out for SUMMER!!!!!

2011-05-31T22:46:00.001-05:00

Ah do you hear that? It's the sound of no alarm clock blaring at 5:30 every morning!! It's the sound of no fourth graders fighting!! That can only mean that it is SUMMER!!! I am so excited that it is summer. We don't have much going on for the month of June except cheerleading stuff and Coaches Outreach. July will be busy with vacation and cheerleading camp.

Taryn graduated from Prek the last week of school. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures, my batteries on my camera were dead. Another teacher took some pictures for me, but I haven't gotten them yet. Taryn was excited for graduation, but if you ask her if she is ready for Kinder, she tells you no. She doesn't like change and would be perfectly happy staying with Mrs. Vaughn forever. She also thinks because she is still only 4 that she can't go to Kinder yet.

First Day of PreK

Last day of PreK

The last week of school was full of activities. One of those was Jr. Olympics. It was a fun day filled with field events, teacher races and running races. The entire elementary was involved and it was a bunch of fun (minus burning the backs of my knees). Taryn was so excited when she got a few ribbons. She was very proud of her accomplishments. I had fun participating in the teacher races. I ruled the picking items up with your toes portion!!!

Yes my tongue is hanging out of my mouth! That is how focused I was!

Ready to put my toe pinching skills to the test!!

Hula Hoop relay!!

Taryn running down the long jump track!

Softball throw (only with a tennis ball)

The last day of school and graduation were Thursday. This was a great day, the official start to summer vacation. The girls went to Floydada and stayed the night with PaPa and Carol, so that Cory and I could go to graduation and then to Project Graduation. I thought it sounded like a good idea, but when I realized that the bus wasn't even leaving for Lubbock until 11p.m., I was beginning to think I was crazy for agreeing to go. Here in Petersburg, the coaches go and spend the night with the kids, so I thought it would be fun. Well bedtime for me is around 10:30/11:00 every night. So when we were leaving town, I should have been going to sleep. It ended up being a blast. They took us to Dave's Need For Speed. We played putt-putt, laser tag, and raced go carts. There were about 50 high school kids there and it was an absolute blast. The best part was racing the go-carts. We stayed there until 4 a.m. before heading back home. There were still kids in line to ride the go-carts when it was time to leave. I loved seeing the kids having fun and not wanting to go home after only a couple of hours. We got back to our house right at 5, we crawled in bed and took a little nap before the alarm went off at 7:15 to get up and go to in service for the day! That was a hard thing to do, I really just wanted to stay in bed a little longer.

Saturday we kicked off summer with an impromptu cookout with our good friends the Rendons. Coach Rendon works with Cory and Jennifer is the lady that takes care of Rhealee. They came over along with their two kids and we sat in the backyard and let the kids play in the pool until 10p.m. It is so nice to have the time with friends. Just hanging out and visiting with no cares in the world. That is what summer is all about.

Look at all those sweet, messy faces!! Not a care in the world with this bunch!

Sunday we went to church and then decided to head out to the golf course. Even though it was 104 degrees and a sustained wind of about 30 mph. We took Rhealee to Lockney and left her with my parents and took Taryn with us. Taryn was a trooper, she was having a blast, I was the one who got tired first. I would have been fine if we hadn't run out of water!! It was good to get out on the golf course and hit a few good hits, even in the wind. Makes me ready for some more golf (just don't know when that will happen).

Cory teaching Taryn how to golf! Hopefully she takes after her mommy and not her daddy. Joking!!

But he did spend more time than me looking for his golf ball. Notice there is no golf club in his hand. Hehe!!

This week is busy with vacation bible school and cheerleaders making signs. I am already ready for the weekend. My house looks like a small bomb went off, mostly from the laundry. That is my goal for tomorrow! We shall see though, it is summer and there is always tomorrow to do laundry!!

Hope everyone is having a great first week of summer vacation!! I know we are!!

Soccer is over....Now time for some TBALL and some extra

2011-05-06T22:15:00.000-05:00

Soccer ended and Tball started. Actually, Tball started before soccer ended so we were very busy for a couple of days. Now soccer has ended and we are in full swing Tball. We have had 3 games already and she is getting better with each game. This is a sport I can help her out in, and I am excited that she is enjoying it so much!!

I have been slacking, so I am going to throw in a bunch of random pictures and get caught up. Now if I could just get all of these printed off.

Taryn got to play goalie for most of the game at the last one. She did so good. She stopped about 6 balls from going in the goal!!! I was so proud of her!

Here she is really going after the ball!!

Go Taryn! Go Taryn!!!

She was so proud of her metal, she even took it to school the next day!!

Here we go with Tball. The first game was not so hot, but the second game was a little better. She is loving batting!

It had been about a year since I made this heavenly breakfast. I decided to make it a couple of weeks ago and now I am hooked on it. We call it Monkey bread and it is so gooey and yummy!!

Cowgirl Rhealee!!!

YeeHaw!! Ride it Rhealee with your book and flower hat!

Rhealee is such a good helper, she was so excited to get to clean the mirror.

Taryn had gotten into a little trouble, and offered to do the dishes. I think she thought she would get out of trouble if she did them. It didn't work!

Spring music program!! Taryn was so excited to get to sing on stage. She is a little performer.

Sing it sister!! Watch out, you are going to see this girl performing under the big lights someday!!

EASTER.....Just a little late!!!

2011-05-06T21:51:00.001-05:00

I can't believe I have gotten so far behind in blogging. I have wanted to try and be better, but life is just so busy right now. We were so glad to have Good Friday off and get a couple of days of rest.

We spent Saturday night and Sunday with my family in Lockney. The girls love staying with their Doakie and Gramps. We took our eggs and had some fun. Here are my beautiful girls on Easter. Enjoy!!!

My sweet Rhealee. She is such a mess. I think she ate more candy, than she actually put in the eggs.

Taryn with her first egg. She was so excited!

Cory even got in on the fun of dying the eggs. He was so proud of his creation!

Taryn and I while dying eggs.

The girls ready for church and their Easter baskets.

The girls in their pretty dresses. They look so big!

Taryn wanted to pose, so we played around striking different poses.

Here she is, ready to hunt!

Doesn't Taryn just look like a preteen here? This was at school, she was listening to her teacher give instruction on their class egg hunt. This is a glimpse of what she will look like in a few years. Small tear!!

This is a first....Linking up to Top 2 Tuesday.....

2011-04-04T17:56:00.000-05:00

I am not one who typically "links" up to things. I love to read everyone elses, but have only "linked" up a couple of tiems. I thought this would be a fun one, so I am joining in.

My top 2 songs right now are the 2 songs I listen to over and over:

* I saw Jason Aldean in concert back at the end of January and heard this song for the first time and I absolutley love it. Just makes me want to sing and dance. I love country.

My second favorite right now is Sugarland

Taryn loves this song!! She wants to sing it all the time!!!

Thanks for visiting. Hope you enjoy my top 2 favorite songs right now.

Soccer!!!!

2011-03-28T18:54:00.000-05:00

We signed Taryn up for soccer a couple of weeks ago. She is playing in Plainview at the Y. She has been so excited about getting to play.

Her first practice was on Wednesday, during Spring Break. So was super excited. We bought her a couple new pairs of shorts and she was all set. Her Doakie and Gramps had gotten her a soccer ball and she practiced before going to her first practice. Cory and I are neither soccer players, so this is all new to us.

Notice the hands!!

We were pleased at how well she did for her first time. She cracked us up with her hands. She kept them up in the air, so that she wouldn't touch the ball. She was a little shy and let a few of the more "aggressive" kids go in front of her several times. She will learn.

It's a little hard to play soccer when you don't know how to tie your own shoes. Good thing dad was around to take care of that problem.

Last Thursday night, she had her first game. This just after 2 practices. She was so excited to put on her green shirt and go play. There are not very many on her team, but she was one of the only ones who did not get pulled and replaced. She played the whole game. :) Proud momma!!

Go TARYN!! Get that ball!!!

She ran and ran. She was one tired little girl. If you are in need of a good laugh, you should go and watch a 3-4-5 year olds play soccer for the first time. There was no real rhyme or reason, they were just running and chasing the ball. Taryn did get the opportunity to play goalie. The first time, an older boy kind of took over, but they put her back and she did stop the ball, once, and then they kicked it in again. oops!

Playing goalie! I think this is what she likes to do best!

They really didn't keep score, but the other little team did have a few more goals than we did. That's ok it was worth all the laughing the parents did. We play again this week and she is already ready.

After the game, we headed to Taco Bell, her choice for supper with Doakie, Gramps, PaPa and Carol. Then we had to run to Wal-Mart. She was asleep before we got back to Petersburg and slept til morning. I think we should play soccer everyday!!

Where Did Spring Break Go?

2011-03-20T23:51:00.003-05:00

Wow! Spring Break has flown by. We have stayed busy and spent little time at home. I am not ready to go back to the grind of everyday life. I want another week to spend at home playing with my girls.

On the good side, there is only about 10 weeks left of school! Then SUMMER!! I am so ready to be home and play outside.

I started walking last week with one of the other coaches wives, Jennifer. We have been doing pretty good. We started with a little over a mile walk and have quickly increased to a three mile walk. It feels so good to be active. I am going to work really hard at watching what I eat, that means no more cafateria food. We are in a contest at school, and I would really like to win. Don't know if that is possible considering our sup. has already lost 15lbs. I'm going to try.

Well, I put off grading papers and entering grades until tonight. So here it is midnight and I am just now done. Oh tomorrow is going to be along day.

We have a busy week coming up; Buncos, soccer practice, first soccer game, track meet, trip to Austin, and normal day stuff thrown in there.

Hope everyone has a great day back to work in the morning. Just think we are almost there!!!

A Zoo Trip

2011-03-16T22:51:00.006-05:00

Spring Break in the Golden house is usually a week to get stuff done around the house. We usually clean out the garage and get ready for "storm" season. This year though we decided to take a little trip to Abilene to the zoo.

Rhealee had her 2 year check-up on Monday morning, so we packed the car and headed to Lubbock for that. After getting all her measurements (she is 35" long 90%, 24lbs 25%) we made a few stops in Lubbock then hit the road for Abilene.

Everybody traveled very well!!! This was a huge accomplishment for the Golden's.

Rhealee slept most of the way!! This is a good thing, she is not usually the best traveler. Taryn watched a movie and then talked, and talked, and talked. We played a couple of games, and she did the typical "are we there yet?" She was really excited and couldn't wait to get to the hotel. We had been counting down the days on our calendar at home.

Cory of course was our driver. I am so glad I have him, I really don't like driving long distance. I will do it, but I would rather be in the passenger seat with a good book, a diet coke and my pillow.

We made it from Lubbock to Abilene without any stops! This was a record for Taryn not having a break down and needing to stop and go the bathroom when there was absolutely no place to go.

We got into town a little before 4, got checked in and changed into our swimsuits. Yeah! not!!! I was so not ready for it to be swimsuit season! But I put one on for my girls!

We swam and relaxed in the hot tub for about an hour and half before deciding we were hungry and ready to go find some supper. Taryn did not want to get out. She wanted one of us to go get something and bring it back, so that she could keep swimming. She was doing so well in the water. We will have to get her swim lessons this summer. She is such a little water bug, but she had no interest in the hot tub. She doesn't like hot water (even at bath time).

Rhealee is my child with no fear. It only took her a couple of minutes to figure out she could get around without one of us holding onto her. She was jumping off the side of the pool in no time. She also liked the hot tub. It took her a minute to get use to the temperature, but then she was all about going from one to the the other. No wonder the little fart is so skinny. She never stops moving. She would go right up to anybody in the pool and jump towards them. She is very trusting.

After we got them out of the pool we went and had a supper at TaMolly's. It was a pretty good Mexican food restaurant. We made a quick stop at Target for some batteries, then we were back at the hotel, putting our swimsuits back on and getting in the water. We stayed in the pool almost another hour, before it started getting kind of rowdy with older kids. We literally had to drag the girls back up to the room crying. Once we got them bathed though, it didn't take them long to go to sleep.

Everyone slept until almost 9 the Tuesday morning!!! I love hotel sleeping, dark curtains, comfy beds and an air conditioner set to freezing (and I don't have to pay the bill). After breakfast, we headed the the ZOO!!!

It was a cool morning, luckily we all had jackets in the car. Well, Taryn didn't but she was able to put on one of Rhealee's jackets and then Aunt Kami had an extra one.

This is the face we got from Rhealee several times. She loved the zoo. She loved seeing all the animals. She especially loved the giraffes. She got so stinkin' excited while feeding them. She would jump up and down and say "more, more!" Then she would slap her leg and say "mere, mere!" She is still telling us about the giraffe touching her hand with it's tongue when trying to get the cracker. Oh this child cracks us up!! She called all the big cat's "Meows! or Big Meows!" This had us rolling.

The giraffe's were probably my favorite also. They were so much fun to watch!

Taryn was in a sour mood, most of the time we were at the zoo. She had fallen in the hotel room and hit her eye. It looks bad and I guess it made her feel bad also. She really did not want to have her picture taken at all. I wanted to take a picture in front of my favorite animal, the zebra!!!

The sun finally started coming out when we were getting ready to leave. I was able to get one good picture of the girls together. I love the look on Rhealee's face, this is a typical face we see everyday!
Thanks to my wonderful sister, we actually got a family picture. After the zoo we headed to Red Robin for some lunch before hitting the road home!

It was a short trip, but it was a fun trip. We will spend the rest of spring break cleaning and being lazy.

Hope everyone is having a good Spring Break. We are and are already planning our next mini-vacation!!

Happy Birthday Rhealee Grace!!!

2011-03-12T22:06:00.004-06:00

(These pictures are all out of order and in random places. I did the whole post, hit publish post and then realized I was some how logged into my dad's blog. I didn't even know he had a blog!! He had used my computer and guess it remembered his password. Crazy!! He had a different layout and I really liked it, so I may have to change mine!). Enjoy. All the cousins together. Back row: Sydni and Taryn Rhea. Front row: Kagen Rhea, Bragen, Payten and Rhealee Grace.

Rhealee loved opening her gifts. She understood what she needed to do and did it!

She loved all her gifts, but she really loved all her new clothes!!

Today we celebrated Rhealee's 2nd birthday. Time is flying by so fast. It seems just like yesterday that we were welcoming her into our lives. I just can't believe that she is 2 already. We did a small party here in at the house with family and the Rendon's (Jennifer keeps Rhealee). I am learning to make cakes from my famous cake decorating Aunt Tammie. This was my first attempt at anything, and I must say it was fun and it looked pretty good. I am looking forward to lots more practicing.

So what is Rhealee doing at 2?

Rhealee at 2 you can say "no" very well.
You can also say "mine" excellent.
You love to make your sister mad.
You also love to give her hugs.
Sometimes you can be a little mean to Taryn, but then you turn around and give her a kiss.
You call everything you drink "milk".
Your favorite thing to drink is milk. I can't keep enough in your sippy cup.
You love pizza, grapes, cheese and hamburgers.
You love to play outside, especially in the dirt.
You love to be rocked and think that we need to lay beside your bed every night.
You sleep with a very large puppy dog, and often drag it through the house to come sleep in our room.
You area a girl on the move. Very rarely do you sit still very long.
You like to watch cartoons, and have a hard time listening to a book.
You like to talk and play on my phone.
You are tiny. Most of your clothes are still 18 months, we put you in 24 months, but they seem to fall off.
You are tall and have curly hair!
You like to grab mine and daddy's hand and tell us "ance" aka dance. You love to dance and sing.
You like to take baths and could stay in there all night if we let you.
You make us laugh and want to cry all within a split second.
You like for me to hold you when I am eating and really don't like to sit down and eat. You would rather walk around with your food and play.
When I get the food mixer out to bake, you instantly grab a spoon and stand beside me and say "bite, pease!" It is really cute, I have taught you well.
You are a traveling girl, you love to stay the night with your Doakie/Gramps and Ganky.
You cry almost everyday when I pick you up from Jenny's cause you don't want to come home, you love being at their house. It makes me a little sad, but honestly I like the fact that you are happy there.

We woke up this morning with you laying in between us on our bed and we sang Happy Birthday to you! Tonight I rocked you to sleep singing you the same song. It has been a great day, and I am so blessed to be your mommy!! Rhealee enjoying her birthday cake!! It was yumm-o!

My first attempt at cake decorating. Red velvet cake with cream cheese icing. I am learning from fantastic Aunt Tammie.

Fall Is In the Air

2010-10-06T21:44:00.004-05:00

Fall is in the air and that only means one thing....FOOTBALL!!!! I love high school football and I especially love college football. My Friday nights are spent at the football field and Saturday's are spent watching it on television. I start Saturday's with Game Day and then watch as many games as I possible can!! Nothing is better than watching Texas Tech, even though it is not looking to be a good year, I still look forward to home games and watching them when they are away.

This year Friday night football is a change for me, we have moved from an 11 man school to a six man school. I am having to learn the difference and it has made for some fun games. The best part about six man is the 45 rule. If one team has 45 points more points than the other at half time the game is over. Anytime after half a team is ahead by 45 points the game is over. It has made for some early nights this fall. Our Buffaloes have been having a pretty good year with only 1 loss so far.

Here are the girls in their black and gold tutus. They are standing with Coach Rendon's wife Jennifer and her daughter Emma. Jennifer keeps Rhealee for us!! Are they not just the cutest little Lady Buffs you have ever seen!!!This is Rhealee with her "CHEEEESSEEEE!!!" face!! Taryn playing ball in her tutu. Good thing she isn't afraid to get dirty!Doing their victory dance!! Rhealee really doesn't want to do it, but Taryn isn't giving her much choice.

I have been doing some jewelry making and crafting these past couple of weeks. I had a friend host an open house, so I made a bunch of necklaces and took them in hopes of selling a few. It was a fun night and I am looking forward to doing some more open houses.

I also took a couple of old screens and spray painted them black. I am going to hang them in the laundry room to display Taryn's school work. I am so excited to get them finished and hung!! I am proud of myself for my creativity.

To start this is what they looked liked.And this is what a couple of coats of good ole' spray paint will get you. Next step, hanging them in the laundry room

We are in the Full Swing of School

2010-09-12T21:40:00.004-05:00

Well, summer sure did fly by!! It seems like only yesterday we were packing up our classrooms and ending the year. We had a busy summer between foot surgery, packing, moving, vacation, unpacking and starting a new school. Now with school in full swing (we are starting the 4th week) we haven't slowed down very much.

The start of school signaled my "baby" big girl, Taryn starting PreK. I was not ready for her to be this big, but she is was ready to go to school. We knew this was a good choice for us when we decided to move, as it would be an opportunity for her to meet kids and a good transition into Kindergarten. She was so excited for the first day and looked so cute carrying her backpack and supplies into class. I was very surprised that neither one of us cried that morning. I had to try really hard and Cory had to hold my hand as we walked back down the hall to our rooms, but I knew I would have a classroom full of 4th graders waiting on me.

Taryn is loving going to school and learning new stuff. It is amazing what she is learning and remembering already. She loves taking her lunch (ugggh!! it's easier on me when she eats in the cafeteria), she loves Friday's and getting to buy tattoos to wear for school spirit, and she is loving telling Rhealee about her day (not that Rhealee really cares).

Cory is loving high school students and loving not having such a full schedule and being home more. Now that he is a girls coach, he does not have as long of hours as he did when coaching football. He is still busy on Friday nights keeping the stats and putting the info into the computer, but he is home much earlier. He is loving being back in 6-man football.

I am getting in the swing of 4th grade. It has been an adjustment from 2nd grade. 4th graders are much more independent than 2nd graders. I am not spending part of my day reminding them to tie their shoes, wipe their nose, etc.. I still have to remind them to stop talking so much, but they are much more independent and able to do on their own!! This makes me happy. I am loving 6-man football. It is fast and fun to watch. It helps that our team has 45 the other 3 teams we have played so far!! It's been nice the 2 home games we have had, getting to come home early on Friday nights. What was strange for me was putting on black and gold instead of red and black the first day.

Ok, so this is my short little catch up! I promise to get back in the swing of blogging. It seems like I always have more to talk about during the school year when we actually have a social life!!!

Happy Birthday TARYN RHEA!!!!!!

2010-08-03T21:48:00.004-05:00

Wow, I can't believe my first born is turned 4 today!! It seems like only yesterday we were welcoming into the world, scared to death and excited all in one big emotion.

Taryn at 4 you:

count to 20 (when you think nobody is listening)

sing your ABC's all by yourself

dress yourself and have a strong opinion if I pick out your clothes

you make your bed

you love to play in the water especially the big pool in Brownfield

your favorite food is PIZZA (you are your father's daughter)

you love to go to church

you love to sing songs (especially made up songs)

you love to help cook

you love to boss your baby sister around

you love to still be rocked at night

you love books, you love to look at them and you love to be read too

you love to play with your basketball goal (you want daddy to teach you like he does "them boys" with your heavy accent)

you love to watch Olivia, Max and Ruby and The Backyardiagans

you love to go for a pedicure

you love when Miss Debbie cuts your hair

you are the most kind hearted loving child

you give the best hugs and kisses

you give the best compliments (I personally love to hear you say "Your the best mommy ever!")

you love life!!!

you are getting ready to start Pre-K :(

you love to help in anything that is going on and want to be involved

you can type your name on a cell phone and send it in a text message :)

Daddy and I love you so much and are so thankful that we get to be your parents and get to watch you grow up!!! So many people love you and play a role in who you have become today. It makes me sad that you are growing up so quickly but I know that you are growing up to be a very smart, loving, beautiful young lady and that makes me one proud Momma!!!

For your birthday today, I cooked you strawberry muffins (I wish I could say there were from scratch) for breakfast, then you spent the day with Papa and Carol while we were at a workshop. For supper we let you pick what you wanted and of course you chose pizza, surprise, surprise!! So we met in Lockeny and had pizza along with a cookie cake that I made you. I think you had a pretty good day!!

We will be having your big party on Saturday as you celebrate it with Aunt Kami who will be graduating from Texas Tech that day. You were born the August that she started college so we are celebrating together at Gattiland (pizza again!)

I love you baby, to the moon and back!!

P.S. I would love to show you a picture from her birth day but I don't know exactly where that disk would be. I have a feeling it is one of the few boxes still left in the garage. So for a trip down memory lane, go back and look at August 2006 pics.

And I Said Hey...What's Goin' On....

2010-06-14T18:37:00.010-05:00

So be warned....this is a long post. For the few of you that do read this, I apologize now for this being so long. I have just been flat lazy!!! There is no other excuse for length of time between post except pure laziness So hold on to your seats and I will get you caught up on the crazy world of the Golden's.

To begin with we are moving. Yep, I knew the day would come when being a coach's wife would really stink. That day has come and we are packing our bags and moving to a new school. The move is about an hour and a half northeast of where we are now. We are going to a much, much, much smaller school. We have been at a low/mid size 3A now we will be at a 6-man school. Cory will be teaching High School math and the assistant girls coach for all sports. He is really excited about coaching girls and moving up. I will be teaching the only 4th grade class at the school. I am S-C-A-R-E-D to death. I have only taught 3 years and those have all been in 2nd grade. I am comfortable in 2nd grade, I like 2nd grade, I rock as a 2nd grade teacher!! Now I am going to be teaching a new grade with no other teachers to help me or bounce ideas off of. To top it off, I have been teaching a non-TAKS grade, now I will be responsible for 3 subjects that are TAKS tested!!! Oh I am praying for some good ol' guidance in this department. All I can say is hold on to your hats, we are in for a ride!!

Since we are moving we have decided to put Taryn in Pre-K. This will be a good opportunity for her to meet kids her age and puts her in the same building as we will be in. This will be easier transition for her then putting her in a new daycare for a year then sending her off to school. She will sure miss her Jenny though. Jenny has been the best thing for us these past 3 1/2 years.

Speaking of little Miss Taryn, she took her first dance class this afternoon. Even though we are moving we decided it would be good for her to go ahead and start dance class as planned. She will go 6 weeks this summer every Monday from 4:45-5:15. Here she is dressed for her first class today. She kept asking about every 5 min if it was time to get dressed yet. I finally let her put her new dance gear on about an hour before class. Cory took the picture, so it's not the best, but it shows her enthusiasm for going and her gear.

When we picked her up she couldn't stop talking about class and then had to spend about 30 minutes showing us what she learned once we got home. I am glad she enjoyed it and I can't wait to see what she learns over the summer. June 4th marked the day of a long journey for us. I underwent outpatient foot surgery to repair my big toe that had been broken for some time. I decided when I turned 30 I would go to the Podiatrist and have what I thought was a bunion looked at hopefully become pain free in my foot. Well after an x-ray and exam the Dr. Sean decided that it wasn't a bunion but a broken toe. To repair the toe he would have to break my toe, restretch the muscles that were way out of place and put a screw in my foot. I was warned that it would be 4 weeks of little activity and no driving. After those 4 weeks we are looking at another 4 weeks of the pretty shoe while the foot continues to heal.

Isn't this just a pretty foot!! And it will make a nice battle scar! I had surgery on a Friday and Cory took care of me the rest of the day. The following morning we headed for San Angelo for a Shrimp Boil with my PaPa. I was told by many people that this was probably not the best idea I had ever had, but being the bull headed child that I am, I wouldn't listen and insisted on going. Needless to say it wasn't the best idea I ever had. I slept most of the way in the car and then spent the rest of the day in a little pain. It was so stinkin hot at the lake that didn't help the swelling in my foot by any means. By bedtime I was miserable and done!!! Sunday was a little better, slept all the way home and went straight to bed when we got to the house.

Last week was a busy week, dr. appointment, signed contracts, found a rent house, Buncos at my house, and packing of my classroom. I spent most mornings in bed with my foot propped up but we had somewhere to go almost every afternoon. Wednesday I did stay in bed and rest until suppertime. This week my foot is feeling better and for that I am thankful.

The Sunday after school got out, Cory had to drive the State Choir kids to Austin. So I tagged along and we had a nice little mini-vacation. I slept late and did not much of anything. Monday night we ate at a really cool restaurant in downtown Austin called Eddie V's Grille/Lounge. It was really neat and jazzy. We enjoyed a quiet meal while the kids and sponsor ate at another restaurant just up the block and around the corner. We had a nice little date. Tuesday we hit the outlet malls before heading home. If I could have, I would have spent a small fortune in Carter's. With Taryn starting school, I wanted to stock up on great deals for her fall clothes. Cory, put a stop to that and I only purchased a couple of things for each girl. Maybe I can convince him to make another trip before school starts, hmmm probably not.

Road Trip would not be complete without my fave Dr. Pepper and peanuts!!! The only time I have this treat is on Road Trips!!!

The skyline somewhere around Sweetwater, TX. I just love looking up at these things. They are so massive in size, it's just amazing.

We celebrated Payten's 2nd birthday at the end of May, just a couple of days early. They had her party at a big playground in Plainview. It was hot, but the kids enjoyed playing and running. We had wonderful burgers, hot dogs, ice cream and cake!! I love birthdays!!!

Rhealee really thought she was one of the "Big" kids. She tried so hard keeping up with them at the play area, but just couldn't move as fast as they could. She had fun trying though, and going down the slide no less than 100 times.

Taryn Rhea loved playing in the playvillage. She was running up and down and around so fast it was hard to keep up with her. She loves being outside and playing. She also has no problem striking a pose for the camera.

The week before school was out, I had a Zumbathon to be at and Cory had a Middle School Athletics dance to attend. So there was no question where the girls were going. They went to the dance. Cory said they had a blast and that the kids had a blast with them!! Here are some pics that Cory took at the Athletic Dance.

Taryn dancing with Mitchell. She knows him from church so she had no problem getting out on the dance floor with him. He taught her several dances and she was oh so pleased to show them to me when we got home!

Due to scheduling conflicts and stomach bug, we weren't able to celebrate my birthday with the Lindsey's until a couple of days after my actual birthday. This is ok though because they spoiled me rotten. What I expected to be a simple meal turned out to be steak and potatoes, yummm-o that is my favorite meal!!! For dessert it was none other than my fave Banana Split Cake. This is heaven all mixed together in a 9x13 dish!!! I could and would eat the whole thing if nobody was watching!!

I have been so fortunate to have Paige and her family in my life and my girls lives. We will miss them so much when we move away. But she will still be a fairy-godmother to my girls and we will still be seeing a bunch of them, that you can count on.

Doesn't this just scream HEAVEN!!!!! Oh look at that goodness just sitting there waiting to be devoured!!!
May 13th marked a big day in Miss Taryn's little world. She graduated from Thursday school. This is an amazing program that our church offers to the community and she has really enjoyed going and feeling like a big girl. I am so amazed at what she learned this year and I am a little sad that she will not be going next year, nor will Rhealee get the opportunity.

Here she is getting her little diploma.

On stage singing her little heart out about a BIG MOUTH FROG!!! We sing this song multiple times a day, it is one of her faves.

She just looks so stinking big in these pictures. It makes me sad how fast our children grow up right before our eyes and we don't always realize it. It seems like only yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital.

We had a shower at school for one of the first year teachers from 2nd grade who got married in Hawaii just a week after school got out. No jealousy here, nope not from me!!!

I wasn't able to make it to the shower, due to a workshop conflict but I did get to make the center piece for the table and this is what I came up with. What do you think? Not to shabby for a novice floral arranger.

Ok, breath now....that post is over. Hehehe!! I will try and be better at posting as we go through the moving process and as we get settled into our new home.

Until then.....HAPPY SUMMER!!!

Oh No its the BIG...3-0!!!

2010-05-16T21:25:00.008-05:00

So I have reached a milestone in my life. This past Monday I turned 30!!! I was dreading this birthday, but as it turns out it isn't so bad being 30. I really don't feel any different than I did at 29. Except for the fact that I will be having my foot cut open and surgery at 30. But more about that at a later time.

So to start my birthday celebration I went to dinner on Thursday the 6th with some girl-friends, including my sister!! My dear friend Cathie made this divine Key Lime Mouse Pie. It was soooo goood!! This is Cathie and myself (ignore my sunburn we had been outside all day at school!!). Cathie is the reason on know my hubby!!

We ended the evening celebrating Gabe and Ashlee's engagement!!!

Friday we didn't have school and the girls had gone to stay with my parents so Cory and I slept in!! Then my hubby went and got me my favorite breakfast....Breakfast Burritos!!! Then I spent most of the day laying around feeling awful thanks to my sinus and allergies. We did go get some dinner at a local Mexican food restaurant followed by a Blizzard. Then we crawled and bed to watch a movie and I was asleep shortly after 9.

Saturday we met my family for lunch in Lubbock at a new place I have been dying to try it is called Rain Uptown. It was soooo good. During the day they have a very diverse menu anything from pancakes to pasta dishes. At night though it goes very grown up, table clothes, candle light and menu of nothing but Italian dishes. I can't wait to go back on a date with my hubby....(hint hint).

My brother was in town so he got to join us for lunch along with my sister, mom, dad and Grandma.

Rhealee loved the balloons!!!

Taryn getting some lovin' from her Doakie.

My "princess" ice cream cake. It was peanut butter and chocolate. It was cute and good.

Taryn and her Uncle Rusty...they both love taking their own pictures.

We celebrated Mother's Day in between my birthday celebrations. We spent the weekend with my mom and dad and enjoyed lunch with them. I fixed that divine pie that my friend Cathie had made and my family approved of it also, so I will be adding it to my recipe book.

Monday was my actual birthday and I treated myself to a burrito on the way to school along with a Sonic coke. The day was uneventful for the most part. My hubby did take me to dinner and it was a "surprise" party but one thing was missing...Cory forgot to invite any of our friends!!!

Here are all the empty seats that were supposed to contain my friends.Here's all the family that Cory was able to remember to invite. Hehe this is something he won't be living down anytime soon.

You see we got calls to interview at a different school and they could interview us both on Monday and when this all came about Cory got distracted and didn't follow through with calling and inviting friends to come join us for dinner. Then when I cancelled my interview and he changed his, it was too late for him to get people there for the Surprise Party. Like I said he owes me big time and I wont be letting him live this down anytime soon!!

McTeacher Night....

2010-05-16T20:53:00.005-05:00

So in the past two weeks we have eaten at McDonald's twice! That is more than we there in a six month period. We did it all in good cause. Both the Middle School and Oak Grove teachers worked to raise money for their campus. I went and took the girls while Cory and his co-workers were working it at the McyDee's. I loved getting to sit and visit with people I don't normally get to visit with. It was so neat to see so many people from the community coming out to support the schools.

When it was Oak Grove night Cory and the girls came up and had supper then when I was finished with my shift we sat and hung out with friends. It was a really great time both nights and everyone involved had a blast!!!

Here I am working it behind the counter with Mr. Snyder! The smell of the food coming by me as I put the order on the tray was driving me nuts. I was starving by the time my shift was over!!
Ashlee and I rockin' our hats!!
Taryn Rhea enjoying her ice cream cone. This thing was bigger than she was. Needless to say most of it melted before she could eat it all!!
Coach Rubio, Mr. Hayes and Cory. Don't they look like they are having so much fun!!

Rhealee enjoyed her chocolate chip cookies. By the way I am in love with McDonald's Oatmeal Raisin cookies. They are yumm-o!!

Yes that is Cory mopping the floor. And yes I am the one who spilled the drink!!! Save this picture cause this sure doesn't happen very often!!

Ashlee's Getting Married!!!

2010-05-07T12:08:00.009-05:00

I am so excited for some of my dearest friends, Ashlee and Gabe. Cory and I along with my aunt introduced these two crazy kids on New Years Eve 2009. I knew it would be the perfect match and I am becoming right.

Yesterday was Ashlee's birthday and Gabe had come up with a plan that involved dressing her classroom in t-shirts that said "Just Say Yes" on them. I got with our principal had her come take Ashlee to her office so we could get everything ready. We got her class dressed in their shirts and lined up in the hall. When she came around the corner they were holding letters over their shirt that spelled out "Happy Birthday" and they were singing to her. She still had no idea, until they dropped their sheets of paper and she read their shirts. Then Gabe came out of her classroom and got down on one knee. It was so romantic and sweet!!! Of course she said YES!!

I am so excited for them and can't wait to see them start their lives together. I wish them the best of luck even if it means she will moving away and I won't get to work with her everyday.

Here are some pictures from the exciting moments of the Great Proposal. Enjoy!! I'm off to plan a wedding now :).!!!

Here she comes with her flowers Gabe had delivered for her birthday. We are singing and she is really surprised.Here is Gabe coming out of Ashlee's room surprising her!Getting down on one knee! What will she say?I think she said Yes!!! Getting the ring (it's gorgeous!!)!Ahhh how sweet is this moment!!!The Happy Engaged Couple!! She said Yes!!!

Weekend Wrap-Up

2010-05-02T21:33:00.008-05:00

So I am trying really hard to keep this blog more up to date and not waiting a month in between and then doing a dozen post. So here is our weekend wrap up.

Friday night was a lazy night around here. We had pizza that was left-over from the pizza party my class won!! My class was named "Outstanding Classroom" for the 5th Six Weeks!!

Cory had plans for taking Miss Taryn out on a little date to our local movie theater. I told Taryn that she needed to put on some nice clothes and fix her hair. So she picked out a dress and matching bow. Cory smiled and groaned all at the same time. You see he had planned on going to the movie in his typical "coaching" attire, wind suite pants and a t-shirt. He was very kind to change into jeans and a shirt. They were off to see "How to Tame Your Dragon" complete with popcorn and a sprite.

Rhealee and I stayed and held down the fort. I was really surprised when they came home early than I expected them. Apparently the movies sound was a little off at the beginning and it bothered Taryn. They stayed for about half of the movie before Cory asked if she was ok and she said she was scared, so they came home.

Here they are getting ready to leave for their date. Not the best picture but at least I remembered to get one.

Saturday we had plans of staying home, being lazy, working on laundry and cleaning house. I got up and fixed pancakes on Taryn's request. During the process of getting breakfast ready my mom called and said they were headed to Levelland for 4-H event. So we changed our pace and got dressed to head over for lunch with them. We had a yummy lunch and then headed to Wal-Mart to get our grocery shopping done for the week. I have to admit that my weekly budget does better when I don't have 3 extra sets of hands helping me! Oh well I still managed to stay pretty close to my budget. Including an unplanned pie.

A co-worker of Cory's made this pie for us after Rhealee was born last year and it has been a Golden family fave ever since.

I don't know if this pie has a real name, but we call it "The Divine" pie!! It is one of the easiest things you can make and very quick. We have tried many different varieties of this and they have all been great.

Here is everything you will need to make this pie.1 pie crust

1 pkg cream cheese

1 can of sweetened condensed milk

1/3 cup of lemon juice

1 tsp of vanilla

Carmel and Chocolate to drizzle

Oh and one of these:

Just the best kitchen helper a mom could ask for.

Ok back to the pie: Combine the sweetened condensed milk and cream cheese in your mixer and beat until well combined. Then add the lemon juice and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

Just look at that sweet little hand helping me!!! What get's better than that?

Once combined, then pour half of the mixture into a graham cracker crust and drizzle with carmel and chocolate. Then pour the rest of the mixture into the pie and top with more carmel and chocolate.

Freeze for 1 hour before devouring and enjoying every bite!!!

Sunday wasn't very eventful in this house. We went to church, got some lunch, took naps, worked on laundry and got ready for the week.

I did have Cory complete one little project for me though. You see about a month ago the device I had holding all my necklaces up feel off the wall from all the weight. So today I bought a stronger hanger and had Cory put it in the closet for me!! Now all my necklaces are hanging nice and neat!!!

So that was our weekend. Nothing exciting, but that's ok. The coming week is a short week at school!!! YIPPIE!!! But it is a busy week, but it does include a girls night out!!! Hope you have a great week!!

Easter....Just A Little Late!!!!

2010-05-01T15:13:00.009-05:00

We celebrated Easter this year with Cory's family. We rotate Easter and Mother's Day between his family and mine. It works out great for us!! So this year we were here in town.

We spent Saturday evening dying and stuffing our Easter Eggs. The stuffing of candy is my part and the dying is Cory's part. Taryn loves to help with both!!

Very intent on her job of dying the eggs!!

Cory and his girls hard at work. Yes Rhealee even tried to assist in the madness that was.

Sunday morning we attended services at our church before heading over to Cory's moms for lunch and egg hunting. I had prepared pulled pork, so we had pulled pork sandwiches, coleslaw, and all sorts of sides. We finished off lunch with homemade ice cream and angel food cake. Divine I must say. My mother-in-law makes a pretty mean angel food cake!!

Here is my little family. I must say that we clean up nicely. Even Cory got dressed up for the occasion!!

This is my mother-in-law and all of her grandchildren. My poor nephew is so out-numbered!!!

I had a really hard time getting both of my girls to look a the camera at the same time. They were adorable in their matching dresses. Thanks to their Great-Grandma for buying these for Rhealee's birthday. I know I won't be able to dress them in matching clothes forever, so I am taking advantage of it right now while I still can.

After all the posed pictures it was time to do some egg hunting. Taryn and Megan were way too excited and the adults couldn't get the eggs hid fast enough. Rhealee on the other hand didn't really understand what was going on so she was picking up the eggs as fast as they could hide them.

Nobody was safe from confetti eggs this year!!! We had a blast trying to get each other. I ended up with confetti in places that there shouldn't be confetti.

Rhealee picking up eggs as fast as we were hiding them. Notice the chocolate on her shirt. She figured out how to open an egg and helped herself to some candy!!!

Rhealee still eating chocolate and playing on the slide. She is a little chocolate monster! What can I say they have learned from one of the best chocolate eaters!!

So paybacks hit the Golden house this year. About 5 years ago my hubby decided in his genius mind that it would be cute to get our nieces and nephews baby chicks for Easter. This was against much protest from me. You see I knew that we would someday be repaid for this gift!!!

Well it happened this year!!! We were given 3 small yellow chicks. Yes I was in a "told you so" sort of mood all day!! Uggg what were we going to do with chickens?

Rhealee wasn't really sure what to think at first. She tried to squeeze this poor guy to death. She thought they were toys. Ha!Taryn on the other hand was such a little mother to these chicks. She spent all afternoon in the back yard with her Cousin Megan playing and taking care of the chicks. In fact in this picture she is singing to the little guy.

We brought the chicks home and set up chicken farming in our garage. We named the 3 chicks: Hope, Peep and Chick. Taryn really enjoyed going out and playing with them the first week we had them, but the newness soon wore off and it was up to daddy to take care of the little guys. After about 2 weeks one of the chicks died. This was a little upsetting to Taryn but we got through the trauma of losing our first pet.

The 2 remaining chicks were doing well and growing very quickly. Cory was in the process of finding them a new home when tragedy struck us again. Taryn and I came home from school this past Monday and went to check on the chicks......they were dead!!! Oh this was bad, really bad. You see with the first one dying Taryn didn't actually see the chicken we just told her. Well Monday she was right beside me and saw them :( poor thing was really upset this time. We had to bury the chickens.

Poor chickens they weren't meant for garage living. Oh well we tried!! Thanks for the Easter gift Aunt Robin, sorry we weren't very good chicken farmers!!!

Ooops.....Been Busy and Haven't Updated!!!

2010-04-27T21:21:00.007-05:00

I promise I am trying to get better at blogging. It seems I do well for a few weeks then forget. I am also trying to do better about digital scrapbooking also. Did great for a couple of months, then I haven't done anything there either. Just like poor Rhealee and her lack of framed pics at the house or at school. Man I tell ya, I am a true slacker!!!!

Ok so that being said let me catch you up. We visited Uncle Rusty in the Dallas area the weekend after Spring Break. It was a late start, due to Brownfield Relays, so we didn't leave town til about 5:30 and it was nearly 1 a.m. before we got to our hotel. But the girls traveled well, thanks to Aunt Kami and it was not a bad drive.

Rhealee kept us entertained with her dancing moves. I will soon figure out how to upload video so I can share our little "Dancing Queen!" Even in her sleep she was movin and groovin!!

We turned her seat around before we left so that she could see where we were going and she was very happy with this arrangement. Here she is sleeping so soundly as we fly down the Interstate!

Saturday morning, we slept in and had breakfast at the Hotel then we all got dressed and headed out for some shopping and fine dinning.

First we hit Sam Moon first *ahhhhh* did you hear the angles singing :) I "heart" that store, unfortunately my hubby does not feel the same way. I did score a new purse and some jewelry!!! Taryn made out like a little bandit herself with a new purse, hair clips and jewelry. She is her mommas girl.

After shopping we went to La Madeline (sp?). I had never been there, but it is my sister's favorite place to eat in the DFW area. I must say I was impressed and enjoyed it, I look forward to returning the next time we are in the area.

After lunch we hit IKEA. Unfortunately I didn't walk out with everything I would have liked to walk out with (new kitchen, new bathroom and new bedroom furniture)! Oh well, it gives me something to look forward too someday!! The only think I bought was a gift card for Rusty's birthday gift.

After IKEA we went back to nap at the hotel before heading out to Arlington to see Uncle Rusty's flag line perform late that night. We had plans for dinner at Pancho's, who doesn't just love raising that little flag? Those plans changed and we ended up eating at Boston's Pizza. Cory's fave place in the Metroplex. It was divine!! I had a loaded potatoes skin pizza, complete with sour cream and bacon bits. It was soooooo yumm-o!!!

After that we headed to watch Uncle Rusty's group perform. Rhealee really enjoyed watching the groups before perform. She was very interested in the dancing and flags. Taryn was also, I bet you wouldn't have guessed that though.

We were able to visit with Rusty for a bit before having to head back and get the girls to bed. It had been a long day and everyone was sleepy.

Here is Miss Taryn and her Uncle Rusty. She loves this guy and misses him dearly!!! There is no family resemblance here, is there?

Sunday morning we got dressed and ate a light breakfast. Nothing big cause we had plans for lunch at my favorite place The Cheesecake Factory!!!!! That is heaven on earth right there, people!!!!

I honestly don't remember what I ordered, maybe Navajo bread sandwiches and I don't have a clue what kind of cheesecake I ordered cause we taste tested everyone at the tables!! That's how you do Cheesecake Factory!

These are pics of the girls playing with their Uncle Rusty. He can make them both laugh!

After stuffing ourselves silly we loaded up and headed back to West Texas, where the pace is slower and the sky is bigger. On the way out of town Cory realized that Rhealee had broke his sunglasses so he wore Kami's for a bit until he could buy his own new pair. We had a good time with this!!! Hehe the best part was he kept singing "All the Single Ladies" what a goober!!

Ok this was a brief catch up!!! Look for another post tomorrow night covering Easter!!!!

Oh Spring Break Where Did You Go?

2010-03-20T19:33:00.004-05:00

Man where did Spring Break go? It was a much needed break from school. My kids were getting tired of each other and me. And I have to admit I was getting a little tired of them!! Shhhh please don't tell. I was really looking forward to spending the week with my girls and Cory. We made no plans other than cleaning some things out around the house. That is exactly what we did!!!

The girls were asked to model in the Spring Fashion Show here in Brownfield. Taryn had done this when she was little and so she was excited to get to do it again. Rhealee modeled for the local pharmacy and Taryn was in the Easter Parade showing off her Easter clothes. It was a wam-bam ordeal for myself. I left school at 10:55, picked Taryn up from Thursday school at 11:15, arrived at the church for the style show in time to change both girls and get in line with Rhealee. Rhealee modeled at Noon as we came off the stage I dropped her off with Joyce and picked Taryn up from Joyce. Taryn was in the wrong outfit so we did a quick wardrobe change, lined up, she did her thing, then we changed outfit and she went again. As soon as she finished, I gathered their things and rushed back to school. I had to be back on campus by 12:55, I got there at 12:58. Not too bad, but still a crazy lunch hour.

Here are some pics of the girls in their outfits before modeling. I wasn't smooth enough to get a picture of them while they were modeling.

Taryn in her Easter dress. Grandma had bought this for her a while back and for that I was thankful. We found out Taryn was modeling the night before so I was glade to have this in the closet already!!!

Rhealee in her outfit from the pharmacy. It's not the best picture of the outfit, but it is really cute!

Taryn in her egg hunting outfit. This was a battle picking out what she would wear. I wanted one thing and she wanted this. You can see who won this battle!!!

Friday afternoon after school was out, we packed up and headed to Lockney for the weekend. We met up with Gramps in Lubbock to buy some things for Rhealee's birthday party. The girls went on to Lockney with Gramps while Cory and I stayed in Lubbock to get some other things done. By the time we got there the girls were wiped out and asleep!! That happens a bunch with grandparents.

This is Taryn asleep in "her" bed at Doakie and Gramps house. Notice the BIG green monkey in the bed with her, that is Rusty the Monkey. hehe not to be confused with Uncle Rusty!!

Taryn had a blast at Rhealee's party playing with all the balloons that we had blown up. She played and played with her cousin's!! What is it with balloons that will keep kids entertained for hours?

We came home from Lockney on Sunday and had plans of doing not much on Monday and that is exactly what we did. It rained and snowed most of the day so we did a little laundry and watched t.v. for most of the day. Taryn went over to Ganky's to play with Megan but the rest of us stayed home and did nothing! It was very relaxing!!!

On Tuesday Cory cleaned out one of the back storage sheds. He cleaned out the shed that we hadn't been in for several years and most of the stuff in there was junk, so he did a lot of throwing away. In the process of cleaning out the shed he disturbed the guest that were staying there, free of charge. Well one of those guest became dinner for a Hawk. Yes, I said Hawk. We had a very large Hawk in our backyard!!!!

Cory was kind/brave enough to go out in the backyard and take a picture for me. In the process of taking the picture the Hawk decided that Cory was apparently interested in his meal so he came at Cory and Cory took off running. It was rather amusing, I was waiting for him to squeal like a little girl.

This is a really good picture that Cory took. You can see this birds fine dinning in his claws. Taryn wanted to know what it was he was eating and I told her a big mouse!!! She said, "but I like mice!" Well, sorry kid but mommy doesn't and that bird is welcome to come back for dinner anytime he wants!! Free of charge, my treat!!!

We couldn't let St. Patrick's Day pass without celebrating!!! So in honor of Rusty's birthday, my NaNa (who always treated us to meals of green), and St. Paddy's day I created green pancakes!! At first Taryn didn't want to eat them, but after explaining to her that it was just food coloring she ate every bite!! As did Rhealee!! They are my girls, nothing is better for breakfast than pancakes if you ask me.

Wednesday was so pretty, Cory finished cleaning out the back storage sheds and then the garage. I spent the morning running errands while the girls played at Ganky's. Then I spent the early afternoon cleaning out cabinets in the hallway. Man was I in a purging mood and did a bunch of things get tossed!!! When we picked the girls up from Joyce's the day was too pretty to waste away inside so we spent it playing. Rhealee took her first spin in the wagon with Taryn and then Taryn decided she wanted to pull Rhealee so I spent the rest of the time watching Cory clean and the girls playing. It made me very excited for Summer to get here!!!

Taryn loves her wagon!!! She loved pulling Rhealee around even more!!

I love this picture of Rhealee. Her little arms up in the air express exactly what her face was saying. She loved being in the wagon and loved having Taryn pull her around, and around, and around!!! I can see how we will be spending many morning in the summer!!

We spent Thursday in Lubbock going and paying on our season tickets, eating lunch with Gramps and Aunt Kami, going to Rhealee's 1 year check-up, getting Cory's eyes checked, getting Cory his first pair of glasses, and looking for a new kitchen table. It was a very busy day and the only day we left town!!

Friday started out pretty so Cory and I headed to Sundown to play a few holes of golf. We met up with the golf coach and some of the kids on the team. We played 9 holes before we decided it was getting cold and we really wanted to finish some things around the house. Taryn spent the night with Megan at Ganky's house so Cory and I ordered a pizza and watched a movie.

Saturday we spent the day doing little things around the house and not much of anything else. We have no big plans for Sunday except relaxing and getting ready to start back into the daily routine of school and track.

We have plans to go to Dallas next weekend with my family to see Rusty. WE are excited about getting away for the weekend.

Hope everyone has had a relaxing week and has a great week coming up!!!

Rhealee Grace....

2010-03-19T00:41:00.003-05:00

Rhealee Grace at 1 year:

*Weigh 19lbs. 2oz (25%)
*Measure 30 inches long (90%)
*Head was 18cm, I think (95%)
*You are down to drinking 1-2 bottles a day.
*You love sippy cups.
*You love deli ham
*You love anything with lots of sugar in it (that's my girl)
*You love taking baths
*You love being outside
*You walk every where you go these days
*You can walk very quickly, almost run when you get excited
*You love playing peek-a-boo
*You have learned to play hide and seek
*You squeal with delight when somebody chases you (melts my heart)
*You can wave bye-bye
*You can say no and shake your body
*You babble and talk ALL the time
*You have learned how to climb up the steps to sisters bed!!!!
*You love playing in sister's room
*You love playing with sister
*You like mac-n-cheese
*You like fruit
*You like yogurt
*You like giving kisses
*You like being a stinker and not giving kisses and laughing about it
*You love to see yourself in the mirror (we are in so much trouble)
*You enjoy sticking your tongue out at people
*You love snuggling baby dolls
*You like to give your baby's kisses

You have become very independent in the last couple of weeks. You are loving the freedom you have of walking. You and sister and playing together and you love having her attention and playing with her toys.

You do like to pull hair (we are working on this issue)
You do still like to wake up at least once during the night
You have become very difficult to put to sleep
You just wont give up the bottle
You are not consistent on what food you like

I love how the list of what you don't do/like is so much shorter than the what you do like list.

You are full of personality and it is coming out more and more each day. You make us laugh and you diffently keep us on our toes. We are so thankful that we get to be your family and watch you grow everyday.

Happy Birthday Rhealee Grace!!!

2010-03-18T23:33:00.008-05:00

We had a wonderful weekend celebrating Rhealee's first birthday. We decided some time back that having her party in Lockney at Doakie and Gramps would be the best thing to do. The weather in West Texas is hard to predict and my house is really not big enough to hold all of our family and friends comfortably for very long.

The day didn't start out the way we had really planned. Rhealee woke up with what we thought was a stomach bug and she made it very difficult for anybody to get any work done. She is such a trooper though and when it came time for the party she was in a great mood and loved every minute of the attention she was getting.

So that being said, my mom was very kind in offering her house, dishes and services. And for that we are thankful. We planned a cute little brunch. The spread of food we had on the table was crazy. Chips, hot sauce, guacamole, little smokies (Cory's request), stuffed mushrooms, meatballs, two different kinds of pinwheels, mini corn dogs, mini quiches, sushi, mini cinnamon rolls, and two different kinds of punch. We were in no means short on food, and in no means did we leave much food to be put away. It was all so good!!!!

Instead of a big cake, my wonderful Aunt Tammie made three different kinds of cupcakes. She has an amazing talent and I hope one day to have the knowledge and skill she has of baking cakes/cupcakes. I made myself sick off those things. I think my final count of the day was four cupcakes. I had to try one of each kind and then have a second of my favorite. hehehe!!!

Here are some pics from the party. Hope you enjoy!!!

All the cousins sitting on the sun porch. From Left to Right: Taryn, Sydni, Rhealee, Kagen and Payten. What a fine looking group (and no we did not plan Taryn and Payten's outfits)! Rhealee sitting with her presents. She had a very good birthday. She is really loving her own rocking chair! She knew exactly what that was and what to do with it, now she does not have to share with sister!!!

Aunt Christina putting the finishing touches on the cupcake tower. Look at all that food!!!! We really did put a major dent in all this food as there was not much left to put away!

Rhealee and her PaPa. She loves him, but I think he loves her a little more!!! He is known as the baby hog!!!

Rhealee and I. In the background is my mom, Aunt Christina and Uncle Don. Not the best picture but it is the only on I got of Rhealee and I on her birthday.

Rhealee in her chair again. Thanks to Great-Grandma for making this moment possible.

Rhealee and Ganky (Cory's mom). Rhealee is holding her new favorite baby doll that Aunt Tammie gave her. It smells like vanilla, yumm-0!

I love this pic of all the little girls helping me unwrap presents. In the picture is my niece Megan, Taryn and my cousin Sydni. They were such great helpers!!!

Rhealee you look like such a big girl in this picture. I love your outfit and the balloon tied to your arm to complete the look. A BIG thanks goes out to Kylee for making the tu-tu in such short notice. It looks great with the onesie!

This last minute frog purchase by Cory just may be Rhealee's favorite toy. When you push the hand it plays a song about shaking it. Rhealee is loving shaking her body like a mad woman when it comes on. The girl can be in another room but will still start shaking her whole body if she hears the song. It is cracking us up. Thanks Cory for your randomness and feeling the need to purchase this toy!! What great laughter it has brought our house!!

Another cool toy that Rhealee is loving!! It lights up and plays music all while looking like a jewelry box!

Another shot of Rhealee in her rocking chair. Can you tell what she really liked and was pleased too sit in all day!!

The cute little banner I picked up at Target!! I thought I would be real ambitious and make this, but never got around to doing so and then came across this for next to nothing in cost. Glade I decided to wait. Loved it and saved it for parties to come!

Rhealee playing with a balloon. No party is complete without tons of balloons and that is just what we had. Rhealee enjoyed them and so did all the other little guys.

Since Rhealee wasn't feeling good on Saturday at the party we decided we would wait and let her have her special cake later. She felt fine on Sunday so after lunch we let her go to town. We sang her happy birthday and she was really not sure what to think about that. You can tell from the look on her face, either my singing is really bad or she has no idea what is going on.

Taryn loved the fact that we were going to let Rhealee eat the cake with her hands. Rhealee on the other hand wasn't really sure what we wanted her too do. So after a minute or so we let Taryn show her how it was done. They both thought this was funny. After Taryn showed her Rhealee went to town.

Just being funny, I thought I would take the cake to her face. This is how she preferred to eat the cake. But then again who wouldn't. She was eating cake, being fed and not getting dirty. Now that is the life.

Look at that face. And yes her mouth is full of cake. She really enjoyed the icing!!!

Going face first in for some more icing. That is my daughter, she knows good icing when she taste it. And let me tell you that is some of the best icing you will ever taste. Aunt Tammie makes some sinfully good icing to go along with some sinfully good cupcakes and cakes.

After all that sugar, it was time for Rhealee to take a nap. And what better place to do so then on her daddy's chest!!! This is my favorite picture from the weekend.

We had a great weekend and are truly blessed to have such a wonderful family.

Thanks to everyone who came and helped us celebrate. To those who couldn't make it we missed you!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RHEALEE GRACE!!!!

Oh How You've Changed in a Year

2010-03-18T23:12:00.005-05:00

I had really planned on getting this post up last week on Rhealee's actual birthday, but I got busy with Bunco's, packing and getting ready for a birthday party. So here we go just a week late, which is better than never I suppose.

Rhealee turned 1 last Friday, March 12th. Man, this year has flown by so fast. It seemed like just yesterday that we were packing up and heading towards Lubbock to welcome her into the world. I have to admit I was a little weepy last Friday morning thinking back on what a great and exciting day it was March 12, 2009.

The whole family was ready to have Rhealee here, but I don't think anybody was as excited as Taryn was. Even though she had no idea how her world would change, she was just ready to be a big sister. What a great big sister she has been and it is all natural. She is such a little mother and still loves to help me with Rhealee (even when that means telling her no!).

Rhealee you were born on a cold and rainy day (the week before it had been in the 90's). You took way too long to decide you were ready to join us on the outside world, but when you did decide after a long day you let the whole world know you were here with those lungs. You are still letting everybody know you are here with those lungs!!!

The day you were born you weighed 8lbs 120z and were 22in long. You were a very long and healthy baby! Even though you were on the big size in weight, you were so long you looked super little.

Here I am getting ready to leave for the hospital on March 12, 2009. All I have to say about this is that is one BIG Belly!!!

Here's Rhealee on her 1st birthday!!! What a difference a year has made baby!! You are getting to be such a big girl!!!!

February Review in Pictures.....

2010-03-08T21:43:00.012-06:00

Well I didn't do so well in taking pictures during the month of February. It just amazes me how fast a day goes by!! I usually realize after the girls are asleep that I didn't get a picture taken, and you can only have so many of them sleeping. So in March I am trying really hard to remember to take a picture!!!!

Speaking of March, Little Miss Rhealee will be 1 in just a couple of days!!!! Can you believe that a year has gone by already? Where did that time go? So with out any delay here is the month of February in pictures through the eyes of Momma Golden!!!

Feb. 1st (the date was wrong on my camera): Rhealee and her funny faces!!!

Feb. 2nd: Rhealee had an awful cough and felt really bad, so Cory took her to Dr. Landry and we had a round of antibiotics and steroids. He took both girls to Lubbock by himself and it was really an adventure. Complete with myself getting flowers because a 3yr old insisted on buying them for me!!! I have taught her well :)

Feb. 4th: Ladies Night Out!!! Every girl needs dinner and conversation with some other mommies!!! We had supper at Carino's and spent hours talking!!

Feb. 5th: Taryn and Doakie at Cheddar's.

Feb. 7th: Rhealee and Taryn had gone to Ganky's to play for a bit and this is how Rhealee came home. One pooped puppy!!!

Feb. 8th: Taryn helped me make some Petei Fours for Valentines Day! She loved rolling out the fondant and of course she loved eating them also!

Feb. 9th: These were my airplane ride to Austin buddies. Alyson Coats and Kristi Downs. We were on our way to Austin for the TCEA conference. What a great time we had!!!

Feb. 10th: This is what was left of my cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory, while in Austin!! Ohh it is probably a good thing that I don't live near one of these restaurants!!!!

Feb. 12th: I flew in from Austin on Friday morning and had a full afternoon at school before heading to Lubbock on a last minute idea to take Taryn to see the Rockin' Disney Road Show! She loved every minute of the show and is asking to go back!

Feb. 13th: We were sadden by the death of our dear family friend Eloise McFarland. We went to Lubbock to be with Aunt Christina and her family. Rhealee was enjoying a cookie in this picture!

Feb. 14th: Valentines Day was pretty uneventful in our house this year. We did enjoy pizza for supper and ice cream for desserts. Notice Rhealee eyeballing her sister's ice cream. Taryn had been really good about sharing, but sharing was quickly turning into all Rhealee's! There is a huge gap here with no pictures for several days. Don't ask me why because I have no idea. I just forgot to take pictures for several days. OOOPs!

Feb. 18th: Cory and Taryn snuggled up watching cartoons. This is Taryn's favorite pre-bedtime activity. And of course there is nowhere better to watch cartoons then in our bed.

Feb. 20th: Cory and I getting ready to leave on our date day. The girls were in Lockney for the weekend so we went to Lubbock for dinner and a movie.

Feb. 21st: Taryn doing the "Freeze Dance" in the car on the way home from Doakie and Gramps. Silly girl came up with this song and dance all on her own. She has one of the best imaginations! Feb. 22nd: When basketball season ended for the JV team Cory and I decided that we wanted to host this team. They didn't win a great number of games this year, but they did grow so much as a team and as individuals. So for a small fee I fed them some of the best chow that might have ever laid their hands on. hehe!! They filled their tummies full of chicken spaghetti, garlic bread, brownies and cookie bars!! After dinner they enjoyed a movie before the snow blew in!!! I have to add that Taryn was loving all the attention from these boys. She was not afraid to tell them how it was!

Feb. 23rd: We woke up to about 3-4 inches of snow. When we went to bed at 11:30 there was nothing on the ground, but a few flakes. So we were surprised to see this the following morning. We enjoyed a 2hr. delay for school. All this snow was gone by shortly after noon. Man you gotta love West Texas.

Feb. 26th: Taryn dressed and ready to go!! She has such a wonderful sense of style!

Feb. 27th: We watched the Gunnel's kids for a couple of hours while their mom went to workout. Taryn loved having them over to play and I have to admit that I enjoyed it also. I got so much done while she was busy playing with her friends! The girls were hungry and needed a snack, so they shared the step ladder and ate their fruit cups!! What cuties!

So there you go, that is our month in pictures!!!! Hope you enjoyed sharing a little piece of our lives with us!!!

February Is Ending....

2010-02-28T19:01:00.004-06:00

Where has time gone? It has been a busy month in the Golden House. Rhealee was sick in the beginning of the month.

I went to Austin for a couple of days for a Technology Conference. That was an experience in its self. The crazy weather of Texas ended up leaving us stranded in Austin for the night. Luckily we weren't very stranded, by stranded I mean we had to stay another night at they Hyatt in Downtown Austin and eating at a fantastic restaurant, Trulocks. Some of the best seafood I have ever eaten. We were able to get home the next morning, we flew in and headed right to school for TAKS training!!! Yippie skippie!

That night Taryn and I went to the Rockin' Disney Show, just the two of us. Cory was at a basketball game and Rhealee went with Doakie and Grandma for the evening. We had a wonderful time and Taryn enjoyed every minute of the show. We will be going back!

We didn't do anything big for Valentine's Day. Cory and I went to Sundown and played a few holes of golf and then that evening we went to Lubbock to spend time with my Aunt Christina and her family. Her Grandmother passed away that day. Eloise was dear sweet women that we all loved like our own grandmother.

The girls have gone and stayed the weekend with Doakie and Gramps and of course they came back rotten. But that's what grandparents are for. Cory and I took the time to go and see the Blind Side. That was an amazing movie. Cory being a coach sees things like that everyday. In fact we are trying to help a couple of boys right now that don't have much in life. It is hard to see this everyday. Don't tell Cory I told you this, but he cried in the movie!!! After the movie we went to dinner with Ashlee and Gabe at Johnny Carino's. I LOVE Italian food!!! I alone at about 2 loaves of bread and could have eaten 2 more!!!

Last Sunday, Cory and I went to church with one of his co-workers. We knew we would be experiencing something different but it was very enjoyable. They attend a very charismatic church, lots of clapping and hand waving and moving in the aisles, we were the only light colored people in the small church. The preacher was wonderful and we were very welcomed. After church we went to eat at the Hudson's home and this was a wonderful time for laughing and great food! We look forward to visiting them again. They will be join us for church next weekend and eating lunch with us. I love great fellowship with good friends.

This week we hosted the freshman basketball team for dinner at our house. We charged the team a buck to eat and they ate well!!! I made chicken spaghetti, garlic bread, brownies and cream cheese cookie bars. They destroyed the chicken spaghetti, brownies and cookie bars!! They watched a movie after dinner and then a winter storm rolled in and most of them had to leave before it was over due to the icy roads. It was a good time.

Tuesday morning we woke up to about 4 inches of snow on the ground. We had a 2 hour delay and by noon most of the snow was gone :(.

This weekend has been busy. Saturday 2 of the 3 Gunnel's kids came to play for the morning. They had a blast and Taryn enjoyed having them around. Last night we had dinner guest. The Reid's who are a coaching family came and had pulled pork sandwiches with us. They have a daughter that Taryn just loves. So they played and laughed and had a good time.

Rhealee has been battling something this weekend. We slept in the chair Friday night and she slept most of the day on Saturday. She just coughs and coughs bless her little heart. We have debated taking her to the doctor and then she gets better. So we don't know what to do. She gets better then gets worse, so we are just back and forth on what to do for her.

I have a month full of pictures to upload, so be looking for those to come in a few days.

Rhealee will be 1 in just a little less then 2 weeks!! Where has this year gone?

She is off baby food, down to a couple bottles a day, walks everywhere and is working on words like: momma, daddy, mmmmm, and her favorite uh-oh!!! She has grown so much in the last couple of weeks and her hair is changing to a head full of curls.

Have a great week!

Just for fun!!!

2010-02-19T01:23:00.002-06:00

I was in Austin last week at a technology conference for teachers and in one of the sessions I sat in on it was all over how to use this website. I am so excited that tonight I was able to get my account set up and I couldn't wait to get started so I did a practice one for me. I plan on letting my students start taking pictures of thing we are studying and then me putting it together for them. Maybe after a while I will start teaching them how to make one, but for the time being just letting them take the pics will be great!

A Month in Pics.....

2010-02-03T19:14:00.011-06:00

I am doing a 365 day scrapbook project with my friend Cathie. I have decided to do mine digital while she does hers the more traditional route. I have never done a digital scrapbook, but I am loving it because I don't have to drag out all the stuff work on it a couple of hours and then put it all away.

These are the pics I have used for the first month of the year. You will notice that I have missed some days for various reasons like basketball games and whatnot. So for the few of you that read my blog, enjoy the first month of 2010 in the life of the Golden's.

New Years Eve we spent in Levelland at the McMahan's house. This was an annual tradition before all of the little darlings started arriving. The McMahan's decided to bring the party back into action this year. It was a little smaller then years pass, but we had a blast. This pic is of me and 2 of the Coat's girls. These girls are a blast and I am blessed to have them in my life! Thanks for the laughs girls!!! I love y'all!

Jan. 2nd: Taryn had received a Build-A-Bear from her Aunt Robin at Christmas. I had put her off putting the thing together cause it required actual sewing. She finally convinced her Daddy that he could do it for her. He did of course and it took him about an hour to get the bear sewn together! Got love a man who can sew!

Jan. 3rd: A little DIVA in the making! The eye mask are something that was in my pillow case at Christmas and Taryn decided that she needed them to help her take a nap. They worked like a charm!!

Jan. 4th: We have figured out that the best way to get Rhealee to take a bath is to let her take one with Taryn. So separate bath nights have now been combined into one bath! Make life a little easier, so you won't hear us complain!

Jan. 5th: I started making jewelry back in the summer and have made a few sales on the side here in the last couple of months (not as many as I would like). These necklaces I made in one night. The red and black one was for the stock show auction. It went for $80. Now if I could sale a few more at that price I would be happy. Then 1 of the turquoise and brown ones I sold to a lady at school. I love making jewelry.
Jan. 6th: Taryn L-O-V-E-S to dress herself. She has a thing for these boots! Notice the band-aid? Well that would be the reason why she didn't have pants on cause it hurt to touch her leg. DRAMA!!!

Jan. 7th: The final night of College football....National Championship Night. I fixed a big pot of Cheesy Potato Soup and a big pan of Smores!!! No better way to spend a cold winter night then nibbling on this pile of heavenly goodness!!!
Jan. 8th: Coach Golden in action!! You won't see many of these shots for the simple reason it is hard to take good pics while wrestling 2 active girls!

*Jan. 9th: There is no pic here because I keep forgetting to take a picture of Cory's new boots. He saved all his Christmas money and that is what he bought himself. He is very proud of them and when I remember to take a picture I will post it here!!
Jan. 10th: She stands alone!!! This smile will just melt your heart. She is so active and wants to do what Big sister does so bad, it cracks us up!!!Jan. 11th: The picture date says 12th, but it was really late on the 11th. This is my Mountain of Laundry. I try really hard to do a load a night, but that really doesn't work out very often. So this is what my hallway looks like on a typical weekend. Here lately though I have just been sorting as we take them off thinking this will be the week I really get the hang of doing a load a night!!! Haha that hasn't happened yet!

Jan. 12th: Rhealee hit the 10 month mark!! Where has time gone? This is a bad picture but it's all I could get of her that day! Look at how big she is!!!

Jan. 13th: She is really not big enough for coffee yet, but she thinks she is!!! I decided the plastic lid must have felt good on her little gums!

Jan. 14th: Taryn decided that she needed her Daddy to rock her to sleep. So she came and climbed up in his lap with her blanket and went right to sleep. She looks so big these days!

Jan. 15th: We had a girls night at home. For supper we had a bowl of cereal and for dessert we had a big glass of milk and Oreo cookies. I gave Rhealee her first Oreo and the girl was in heaven!!! That's my girl!!!

Jan. 17th: Rhealee was very determined to get whatever toy she wanted from the bottom of the toy box. She didn't stop until she got it!!!Jan. 18th: What is this? Cory cleaning? Yes I have convinced him that if we will clean one or two rooms a night it will make our weekends a lot less stressful. So far he has agreed and has done great at helping me clean in the evenings.

Jan. 19th: I was finishing getting ready for school and noticed that the girls had gotten very quite. I went looking for them and this is where I found them. Sitting in the kitchen floor sharing a Pop-Tart. They were very pleased with themselves. Especially Rhealee!
Jan. 20th: Ok here is a picture of Cory's boots. Taryn was helping us clean up the living room and I had asked her to take these and put them up. She came back down the hall wearing the boots and really proud of herself! What a stinker!

Jan. 21st: I don't remember the reason why, but Cory was taking Taryn to get some ice cream. It was a little cool outside, but not so cold that you would need a hood. Or as Taryn calls them "oods" (no h). And notice that the "ood" is not even attached to the jacket! Goober!

Jan. 22nd: Well these are not my pics, but the day was worth remembering. To start with we had over slept this Friday morning. Then when I got out of the shower with my hair dripping wet, my blow drier decided that it was the morning to die. So no big deal, I just twisted my hair up in some bobby pins and went on about my way. So still running a little late me and the girls head out. As I am going across the rail road tracks I hear a noise. Taryn asks what it is and I told her something must have just bounced up and hit the back of the van. I was stopped at a stop sign so I checked and everything looked ok. I drove out onto the highway and immediately realized that not everything was ok. I had a flat tire. So I pulled over; texted Cory, called Jennifer and called the school. I waited for Cory to respond and got nothing so I called him back. He just laughed and headed my way. On the way to school we were explaining to Taryn that when things like this happen there is no reason to get upset you just have to stop and be thankful that we have a car to drive and hair that needs a blow drier and that you just have to laugh and be thankful. So proceeded to tell us that Bubba Hanz had eaten her Pop-Tart. What a day!Jan. 23rd: We had a relaxing lazy Saturday. We had gotten up early and ran to Lubbock to buy me a new blow dryer. We were home shortly after 10, so we popped in a movie and all curled up in the chair or on the couch. We enjoyed the movie and a little popcorn. Taryn asked if we could do it again someday! It really was enjoyable!

Jan. 24th: Rallying Rhealee!!!! This girl is a hoot always watching and figuring out what we do and then mimicking us to make us laugh!

Jan. 25th: Taryn insisted that she and I play dress up. But first she had to do my hair!! That was a little painful but I endured the pain and let her brush and twist my hair all she wanted. I love having girls!!

Jan. 28th: A big winter storm blew in and to welcome the snow and ice I fixed a big pot of tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches!! We were all in heaven and full by the time we finished eating!!! I love that my family is happy with the simple meals sometimes.

Jan. 29th: Taryn had received Candy Land for Christmas and since we already had the game, I told her we would exchange it for another game. Saturday I ran to Levelland and did some grocery shopping at Wal-Mart and exchanged her game for Memory. She was so excited when we explained to her what we would be doing. So we sat down and played 3 rounds the first night and the little smarty pants beat me and Cory 2 out of those times!!! She now asks if we can play every night.

So this was January in pictures with the Golden's. Stayed tuned for February!!

10 Months.....

2010-01-12T20:32:00.003-06:00

Rhealee 10 months ago today I held you in my arms for the first time. You were so long and skinny but not really as you weighed 8lbs 10oz. Today you are a handful, a mess, and a character. You learn something new everyday and you keep us on our toes.

At 10 months you.....

*are off baby food

*you love table food

*your favorite food is bananas

*you like yogurt

*you like cheese

*you like tortillas

*you like food in general

*you are learning to use a sippy cup

*you walk on your knees

*you stand alone

*you push your walking toy around

*you love playing with dolls

*you love taking baths with Taryn

*you love going to Jenny's

*you like to watch basketball (good thing!)

*you still like to put things in your mouth

-the latest thing has been the missing "Hungry Hungry Hippo Ball" I thought you had swallowed it for about 24hrs. We were on the look out, then Taryn found it in her closet!! Thank goodness

*You are a Gramps girl

*You like to snuggle with Doakie

*you are slowly starting to sleep through the night

*you dont mind bows on your head

*you like to go to Sunday School

*you like to play with Taryn and whatever she is playing

*you like to take all the tupperware out of the cabinet

*you love to crawl onto the dishwasher door and pull everything out

*you like to go shopping!!!

*you look and act like your daddy!!

In 2 short months we will be celebrating your 1st birthday!!! I just cant believe how fast it is going by!!! I cant wait to see what the next 10 months hold!!!

Thanks for making us laugh and for bringing joy into the lives you touch!

Where Did December Go?

2010-01-04T21:45:00.008-06:00

Like said in the last post December really flew by!! Between activities at school and the start of basketball season and lots of get together I hardly had time to breathe. So I am trying to get caught up on the end of year activities before starting my new project. That will be in days to come!! So stayed tuned.

So that being said here is some pics from Christmas. I realized about half way through uploading that I had done them in the reverse order of what I had wanted, but being that it is after 10 p.m. and we go back to school tomorrow I am not going to go back and reload them all. So bare with me as I go through them and give you a little narrative on each picture.

As normal we spent Christmas Eve at Papa's house. Taryn was very excited about "hanta clause" coming to see her. She had asked that Santa bring her Dora. For a few weeks she would just say "Dora" when you asked her what she wanted, but finally we got her to tell us that she wanted Santa to bring her a Dora backpack. Well that took some doing and luckily one was found!

Here is Taryn on Christmas morning. She was excited for Christmas but was not exactly excited about being woken up. She is really a bear when you wake her up! So this is her Christmas morning face.
I realized later in the day that this was the only picture of Taryn I got on Christmas morning. I failed to get one of her seeing her Santa gift or opening any gifts. Oh well....not much to do about that now!

Rhealee really enjoyed the Christmas experience. She was very interested in tissue paper and bows. Here she is with Aunt Christina looking at one of Taryn's presents. Rhealee thought everything that Taryn got was hers also. We are going to have to have some lessons on sharing really soon!

Christmas Eve Taryn and Sydni played and baked cookies together. These two girls can play like nobodies business and both have amazing imaginations and always have something up their sleeves. Just look at those mischievous eyes!

During the day of Christmas Eve we really just kept it lazy. It was a small blizzard outside so we stayed in and were lazy. Uncle Rusty taught the girls the joys of using a laundry basket for many exciting games. Their favorite was the flying laundry basket. Uncle Rusty would pick the basket up with both girls in there and spin as fast as he could. Taryn really liked this one and wanted him to do it again and again.

Rhealee on the other hand enjoyed it a couple of times, but by the look on her face in this picture she really was a little dizzy.

Here the girls are playing in the laundry basket. Take back all the toys they got for Christmas!! I have plenty of laundry baskets for them to play in at home!

We woke up Christmas Eve to probably close to a foot of snow if not a little bit more. We went to bed late the night before and there was a couple of inches on the ground, but when we woke up we were really surprised at the amount that had fallen!

After we had opened presents and had breakfast Taryn appeared out of the bedroom with her clothes on. She had dressed herself. I asked her where she was going and she informed us she was going to play in the snow!!! She was so ready and had a hard time waiting on everyone else to get dressed and find enough cold weather gear to bear the snow! We knew it would be cold but we had no idea that we would need ski gear!! So we had to do some digging at mom and dad's for enough gloves and toboggan's.

Here is Taryn bundled up enjoying the snow! Notice the gloves, they are mine bless her heart she couldn't do anything because they were so big, but its the best we could do!

Cory and Taryn playing in the snow! The wind was blowing so cold it made it very miserable to be outside for very long. This did not stop a 3 year old. She would have stayed outside all day if we would have let her.

The snow is up to her knees in this picture as it was in so many spots. In fact she lost one of her shoes after only being outside for a few minutes. Remember she had dressed herself, so she had no socks on!!! Her toesies were a little cold!! But that didn't stop her from playing!

We have always spent Christmas Eve morning with my Grandmother exchanging gifts with her. Rhealee was introduced to bows! We couldn't keep the child away from them. She would yank them off faster than we could blink and straight to the mouth they went. She really cared less about the actual gifts, but she wanted the bows!!!

Here she goes, after a bow!!!!!! You better stop her Gramps!

The girls were so excited to see their Uncle Rusty asleep on the couch when they woke up. He had driven in from Dallas and didn't get there until after they had gone to bed. Taryn thought it would be fun to "bounce Uncle Rus" so she climbed up there and insisted that sister go with her!! That's one way to wake somebody up and who wouldn't want to be woken up to those two cute faces bouncing on you?

On December 20th we visited SantaLand with most of my family. This is something I remember always doing as a little girl and it is something I am hoping to keep doing with my girls. This was Rhealee's first experience with Santa and she did very well. Taryn on the other hand still will not have anything to do with Santa but this year she did want to talk to Mrs. Clause.

Taryn and Rhealee with Mr. and Mrs. Clause at SantaLand.

This is the only picture I got of our family during the holiday season. Here we are at SantaLand December 2009!

Here is Payten waiting in line like a big girl. We waited in line a long time and just as we got to the door Santa went on break. Taryn and Payten had a hard time understanding why they couldn't go in and see Santa!

I don't know what this face is....but don't you just love it!!!! A little Popeye I would say!

Taryn and Cory standing in line to see Santa. It was really cold, so Doakie and Gramps stayed in the car with Rhealee until we got closer to Santa's House.

December 19th we celebrated Christmas with Cory's family. This is a weekend long of event of lots of laughter and games!!! Everyone gets there early Saturday afternoon, stays the night and spends most of Sunday hanging out and playing games. We open presents and pillow cases on Saturday night.

Here is Taryn scratching her first lottery ticket!!! I am a proud mommy! To bad she didn't win!

Here is Rhealee just hanging out as we dig through her pillow case!!

Taryn was so excited to see what was in her pillow case she couldn't slow down to really see what was in there.

That Saturday while we were getting everything ready to go to Ganky's house Rhealee decided that she was ready to start climbing. In this picture notice the red and white package that she is standing on!!! She was very proud of herself. Here's the thing though, I wasn't quick enough with my camera and she feel off before I could snap the picture, so being the great mother that I am and wanting to get a picture of this I encouraged her and helped her climb back up there so that I could snap the picture!!!!The girls are very lucky to a fabulous babysitter that loves them like her own. She spoiled them rotten his Christmas including these most adorable matching pajamas!! Taryn was very excited because they have "Mermaid" on them!

I hope everyone had a very exciting and relaxing Christmas!!! We enjoyed spending time with our families and friends!!! I have started a new "scrapping" project with my friend Cathie. I am trying to take a picture a day and then journal what is going on in our everyday lives. I have pictures ready to go and hopefully in the next couple of days I will be able to start posting them on here. I will see how it actually goes with me sitting down to scrapbook something!!! Wish me luck, I tend to loose interest when it comes to scrapping!!!!

Polar Express

2010-01-04T21:21:00.004-06:00

I am only about a month behind on updates of things going on in the Golden household. oops!!!

Back at the end of November we took the girls on the Polar Express in Lubbock. Doakie, Gramps, Aunt Tammie, Grandma Connie and Cousin Payten went with us also.

The evening was perfect as it was very, very, very cold!! I was so excited that I had bought the girls matching footie pajamas last February at the Carter Store when I was in Austin. They were perfect for the Polar Express!!!

Taryn was so excited. We had hinted about going on the train and she had figured it out, but when we got in the van to head to Lubbock I put the Polar Express movie in and she was so excited. When we actually got to Lubbock and she saw the train she got even more excited.

Once we were on the train she was pretty much free to move about and enjoy the ride. She sang and danced, drank hot chocolate and ate cookies. She was so funny, she wanted to save her hot chocolate for later!

Here is my big girl in her cute jammies! She looks so big here!

Rhealee and Gramps enjoying the ride. Rhealee had a great time also. She would smile and laugh and really had no idea why, but just went along with the atmosphere.

Taryn and Doakie drinking their hot chocolate.

Big Blue Eyes!!!

Taryn and Cory enjoying the ride together.

Here is our little family on the Polar Express!!!

Doakie, Gramps and Rhealee. Rhealee made her rounds about the train!

Taryn all bundled up as we were getting on the train! It was very cold!

We had a blast and so glad that we took the girls on the train. I am looking forward to going again next year and making great memories for the girls.

It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas....

2009-12-04T17:48:00.006-06:00

So Taryn is in L-O-V-E with Christmas trees! On Thanksgiving Day my siblings put up my mom and dad's tree and then we put up the tree at PaPa's house. She was so excited for Christmas!! She slept in the living room with my mom and dad's tree the rest of the time we were there. I knew I had to get her a tree for her room, luckily Grandma had a 4ft tree she wasnt using so we brought it home. On the way home we stopped at Wal-Mart and let her pick some ornaments herself. She picked just plain silver balls! When we got home she was so excited to put it up and that is just what we did. She then proceeded to sleep beside the tree on the floor in her sleeping bag for the following 2 nights.

The tree isn't decorated the way I would have done it, but I had to relinquish some control and let Taryn decorate her own tree. Here is how it turned out.

This is her favorite ball. She picked it out last year and it dosent match my tree so I was more than happy to let her put it in her room. Ragedy Andy and the minuature Golden Books Ornaments I bought many years ago when I worked at Hallmark.

Here's her little tree in her room. Next year I plan on adding some more color to the tree. Notice all the ornaments are at the bottom of the tree :)

Here are some pics of our big tree in the living room. We just L-O-V-E our tree with all the silver, red and black.

This is the top of the tree. Its hard to tell in the picture but star is metal and a little rustic. I love the big balls nestled into the tree.

One of my favorite ornaments. I got this at a Bunco Christmas party several years ago. I look forward to our ornament exchange every year!!

Every tree needs a little bling bling. I would love to have some more like this one (hint hint)!

This is a picture of one of the big balls that I love. It is also a picture one of the only non-red and black ornamets, but it is one of Cory's milatary ornaments so it ahs to go on the tree!

The inspiration for my tree!!! Got love a Red Raider Tree in desguise.

Here is a complete picture of my big tree. Notice there are very few ornaments near the bottom. That would be because of a very busy 8 month old that loves balls!

Cory and Taryn putting the finishing touches on the tree. They are such gobbers!!!

Eight Months!!!

2009-11-14T23:31:00.004-06:00

Rhealee turned 8 months this past Thursday. Time sure does fly when you are having fun!! She is very entertaining and keeps us on our toes at all times. At 8 months:
*you have 3 teeth. Two on the bottom and one on top (with a 4th working its way through).
*you have been crawling for about 3 months
*you are pulling up on everything and walk around the edges
*you love to drink juice from a sippy cup!
*you love to feed yourself food.
*you love veggie dip crackers, puffs, Mum-Mums and pancakes
*you can say "mama" and no matter anybody tries to tell me I know that is what you are saying
*you love to play with baby dolls, esp. Taryn's
*you love to squeal and chase Taryn around the house
*you have several favorite toys including the "dancing" music bug, your linking cubes, and the dump truck you can push around.
*you sleep through the night
*you wear size 6-9 month clothing
*you love to be free to roam around the house

At 8 months:
*we call you the "goat" because you put everything and I do mean everything in your mouth. Here are just a few things you have tried to eat so far: a quarter, a goat head, an earphone cover, paper lots and lots of paper, Polly Pockets, if you find it on the floor you put it in your mouth!

*you have gotten your first goose egg on your head and very large bruise. You tried to sneak out the back door at Jennifer's and fell face first onto the back porch. You cried like crazy but bounced back very quickly.

*you got your hand and p.j's stuck on a sticky trap and instead of being scared or upset you found it funny and proceeded to wave it around in the air and squeal.

*you babble and talk all of the time and you are just a funny girl.

I could write pages of the things you do that amazes us everyday. Who knows what you will do next? You want to keep up with sister so bad and try very hard, I think this is why you are growing up so fast. You have a wonderful big sister that you have to keep up with.

You love your juice and get very excited in the evenings when you get to have a little!! You are a very messy eater and love to try and feed yourself! You love your food especially anything orange and fruit!

Sister put this hat on your head and you found it very funny! You didn't want me to take it off of you and so we just left it on the rest of the evening!

Sister let you try a Cheetos and of course you loved it!! I have to watch sister because she thinks you need to try everything so she is always trying to put food on your tray!

We love you so much and enjoy watching you grow and change everyday!!! You are such an amazing little thing that keeps us on our toes and constantly laughing. You are so smart and so advanced at such a young age and it is truly amazing to see what you learn everyday!! We are truly blessed to have you in our lives and are thankful that you are healthy and growing! Thanks for being a part of our lives and teaching us how to love a little more everyday!

Trunk or Treat

2009-11-14T23:11:00.003-06:00

We had Trunk or Treat at church on the Sunday before Halloween. Taryn was an orphan and Rhealee was a little pumpkin. They were pretty cute! It was a goregous day until we got to Trunk or Treat and a cold front moved in almost on the dot of the start of the event. It got very cold very quick so we didnt do much of the activities.

The best thing of the night was the fact that several people thought Taryn was dressed up like a mininite. We got a really good laugh out of this. Taryn still didnt understand Trick or Treating so we were fortunate not to have to go but one time. I know next year she will understand so I wont get out of Halloween so easy.

Halloween actually feel on a Saturday night and Tech played at home so we didnt actually go out on Halloween.

My little orphan and pumpkin. Rhealee really dosent like Taryn holding her right now, so I had to try this picture several times before getting one that was half way decent. Taryn walking around at Trunk or Treat. There were about a dozen families from church set up with differnt activities for the kids to do and win candy and prizes. Taryn played golf, went fishing, did a cake walk, threw bean bags, threw a ball into a net, swung a ball at coke bottles to knock them down, went duck hunting, and threw rings around the bottles. She wanted to do everything and wanted to do it more than once, but it was very cold!

Rhealee just along for the ride. She didnt have a clue what was going on, but loved all the attention from everyone at church.

Taryn throwing balls to win a prize. She loves playing games so this was right up her alley.

Taryn, Rhealee and their "Fairy" Godmother Paige. Paige was dressed up like Snow White and Greg was her prince charming. I didnt get a picture of them together but they were adorable.

Happy Fall Y'all!!!

Harvest Festival Little Miss....

2009-11-14T17:18:00.005-06:00

We let Taryn run for Little Miss Harvest Festival this year. This was a new experience for us and it was a lot of work, but fun at the same time. We had to sale candles, make a float and do a little modeling. Building the float was the hardest thing. We waited to last minute to start and it was several late nights and some frustration. We sold a bunch of candles and of course she looked exceptionally cute in her "princess" dress.

Taryn didnt win this year, but that is ok. She thinks she won because Mrs. Debbie gave her a princess wand and princess necklace. That is ok with me that she thinks she won, I'm not quite ready to deal with the disappointment of lossing just yet.

In conjunction with the Harvest Festival there is always a Talent show. Mrs. Debbie asked Taryn to perform as an Orphan in an Annie number this year. She loved going to the practices and learning "Hard Knock Life". We had to listen to that song probably 2oo hundered times and practice the motions. She would do so good at home and in the car, but the minute she would get on stage to practice, she would get distracted by everything else going and forget to sing and dance! Oh well I think she was still the cutest thing up there!

I dont know if we will do the pagent again, we will just have to see when that time comes next year. Here are some pics from the Harvest Festival.

Taryn and her Daddy at the pagent on Saturday afternoon. The parking was a nightmare and I missed them walking across the stage. It was so cold that Saturday, but that didnt seem to bother Taryn. She sat up there and smiled the entire time! What a trooper.

Taryn on her float at the parade! It was so cold, we had to bundle her up and you couldnt see her cute little tu-tu!

Here's Cory pulling Taryn down Broadway in the parade!
At the Talent Show they introduced all the Little Miss contestants. She was so cute and looked so big!!

This is Taryn on stage during the Talent Show waiting to sing "Hard Knock Life"! I must say she is one cute orphan.

Taryn striking a pose before going on stage as an orphan. Anybody want to adopt this little cute orphan! She comes full of spunk and attitude!

The "princess" eating her Cheetos! She loves to wear this dress and has no problem wearing it out in public!

Pink out the Jones....

2009-10-05T20:19:00.009-05:00

Well I am finally over the "flu" that I had a couple of weeks ago and that is a good thing. I am still trying to catch up on everything from laundry to school work. Luckily nobody else in my house caught the same bug that I had. I am so thankful for this, but know that our battle is not over for the flu season yet. Actually it has only just begun.

Brownfield had the week off this past Friday, so we enjoyed having daddy home at an early hour and then for the entire weekend. Friday night we cooked pizza, did a little housework and just hung out as a family.

Saturday morning we got up and Taryn and I fixed "bubble bread" and enjoyed every minute of our time together. She really loves to help me in the kitchen and I hope she keeps this love. It is a great way for us to spend time together and she always has the cutest stories to tell while we are cooking.

After breakfast we all got dressed for the Tech football game. I really didn't know what to do with myself since Cory was here and actually riding to the game with us. I am getting used to doing these things on my own and it was a nice welcomed changed to have him with us.

We picked up our friend Alyson on the way to the game so that she could go eat lunch with us and my mom and dad before the game. We had some great Fudruckers at the bubble before the game started.

It was a perfect day for some football. It was cloudy, cool and a little drizzle in the air (there were times that it was a pretty heavy sprinkle). This makes you excited for some football. Tech had declared October 3rd as Pink out the Jones Day in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. This was really cool and strange at the same time. It was strange because game days, regardless of if it is a home game or an away game are red shirt day. So dressing my family and myself in pink was different. It was really neat to see the student body turn out in so much pink in support of a great cause.

While waiting for the game to get started, we say Brandon Carter, Tech offensive line player, sitting in the stands. He had been suspended indefinitely and was there ready to cheer on his team.

The game was pretty hard to watch, Taylor Potts struggled for most of the first half. There never seemed to be a good rhythm between the team. Potts was injured late in the 2nd quarter and the back-up quarterback was brought in. He was up beat and changed the tempo of the game. After half-time the game got a little more interesting and we enjoyed cheering our RED RAIDERS on to a victory!!

Taryn, Rhealee and their Aunt Kami at the game.

Rhealee and Papa at the game.

Tech running onto the field at the beginning of the game. I just love the atmosphere at a Tech football game!

Masked Rider and Goin' Band from Raiderland during pre-game.

The student body turned out in pink this group reads, "Tech Cares". Pretty cool if you ask me.

Just another shot of all the student body in all their pink. Several of the Tech players were wearing pink shirts, head bands, etc also. Each player also had a pink ribbon on their helmet.

The guy caring the Baylor flag is my sister's boyfriend Michael. Go BAYRO!!

Rhealee and her Gramps getting ready for the game!

Taryn with her "Guns up" ready to watch "Go Tech Go!" She does so good at football games for a 3yr old. She really likes to see everything that is going on and stays pretty interested in the game.

Rhealee and Alyson Coats before the game.

This is just a cool picture of Rhealee that I took. She is very interested in what is going on around her.

I learning how to work a photo editing program so this is just a picture that I played with and really liked how it turned out.

Brandon Carter in the stands before the game. Again just playing with the photo and thought this was cool.

This is going to be a busy week in the Golden house. It is the week of Harvest Festival. We have to get Taryn's float built and finished before Friday. She has the talent show on Thursday night. She is singing in an Annie number as an orphan and loves it!! She loves being on stage and doesn't want to leave. The big girls have to guide her off stage, that's my girl! Friday night we have a practice for the pageant. Saturday we have a parade that we have to be ready for by 9 a.m. followed by the pageant itself. The pageant is at 1, if Taryn were to win we would be missing the Tech ball game that starts at 6 because she would have to be at the crowing of the Harvest Festival Queen. Somewhere in all of this busy crazy week I need to run to Lubbock, clean house and fold all the laundry.

I hope Taryn does well in the pageant, she has enjoyed selling candles and practicing and I am so proud of her for working hard. I am still struggling with the fact that she is big enough to be going to Thursday school (which she loves) and participating in the Little Miss Harvest Festival. Before long it will be Rhealee getting ready for all of this. Man time does fly!

P.S. if you read the blog, please leave me a comment occassionally. I never know if anybody reads this or not and often think I am the only one. I would love to hear from you!

Feeling Better...just in time for some football!

2009-09-25T10:17:00.004-05:00

I have had the flu since Sunday and today I am just starting to feel like normal. The girls have been staying with their Ganky since Monday night and then they went to stay with their Doakie and Gramps for the rest of the weekend. This has been the hardest week on me not being able to see my girls (or anybody for that fact).

Cory has been great going over and seeing the girls and having dinner with them before coming home trying to take care of the daily household chores and taking care of me.

Cory took his Middls School football team to Lubbock-Cooper last night and of course I was unable to attend. He said they all tried really hard but neither team could pull out a win. It has been a hard year in the football world. Tonight will be a tough challange for the varsity team. I hate that we wont be there to watch the Cubs, but I'm supposed to stay in lock-down through tomorrow. So I guess I'll be listening to this game on the radio or getting updates from coaches wives at the game.

Tomorrow we will be watching our Red Raiders take on the UofH at Houston. I am just thankful that it is an away game this week and I am not missing a game. I can watch it from the comfort of my own living room while I am still trying to get better.

Whose Reading?

2009-09-23T15:08:00.000-05:00

Football Season is Here!!!!

2009-09-22T16:21:00.003-05:00

Football season is here and that means game night Thursday night, Friday night and most Saturday nights. This time of year finds us very busy and seeing a little less of Cory. Taryn enjoys going to the ball games and Rhealee has done very good so far. We have only made it to one of the Middle school games and will probably only make it to the home games. The girls didnt make it to the first High School game and Rhealee didnt make it to the second game but has now made it to 2 games and has done great.

Taryn loves going to the High School games. She has several friends that are also Coaches kids so they play well together during the game and she loves to watch the band at halftime. Then she is excited to get to go to the Field House after the games and eat with her daddy and play in the weight room. The kids have so much fun playing on the pads and making obstalce courses and pigging out on cookies. Taryn also loves cheering for her daddy and banging her Thunder sticks!

Both of the girls made it to the first Tech game but not the second, due to the chance of rain. I dont know how many of the Tech games the girls will make, but hopefully they will make it to a couple more. Here are a few pics from the beginning of football season.

Taryn, Rhealee and Keeli (Rhealee's friend). Look at Rhealee trying trying to conqure that big bag of football stuff.
Taryn and Keeli crawling around on the field house floor. They are so funny together playing with the helmet and whatever else they could find.

Taryn enjoying her "dotdog" at a home football game.

Rhealee loves to jump up and down so she gets passed from person to person during the game. She is such a good sport and stays happy as long as she can jump.

6 Months Old

2009-09-22T15:42:00.004-05:00

The 12th of September meant that Rhealee turned 6 months old. Where have these months gone? At her 6 month check up she weighed 15 lbs 3 oz. She was 27.4 inches long. Her head was 16.8 inches. So her weight was in the 50%, her length she was in the 100+% and her head was in 75% What a growing girl.

At 6 month Rhealee is crawling, sitting up by herself, pulling herself up, eating big girl food, she has two bottom teeth, and has found her tounge, hands and her voice.

She has become a much happier baby since she figured out how to crawl. Now she can follow sister around the house and keep up with her pretty good. She figured out how to crawl and sit up within a week of each other she also got her two front teeth within that week also. It was an amazing week of development for her.

Taryn and Rhealee at 6 months. Look at her sitting up by herself! What a big girl. Enjoying some veggies and laughing all at the same time. Look real close and you can see the two pearly whites she has on the bottom.

For some reason she loves to lay in the dirty clothes when I have them sorted down the hall. One morning while I was getting ready for school she had been crawling around the bedroom, then she got real quite so I went to look for her and this is where I found her. It's not the first nor the last time she has done this. Silly girl!

Trying to figure out how to crawl. She would get very frustrated trying to make everything move at the same time. Just hanging out in my diaper, playing with sister. That is the look of determination on her face!

Big Blue Eyes! I think she looks a little like her daddy. What do you think?

My Big Girl...

2009-09-22T15:23:00.003-05:00

Taryn started Thursday school this year. Thursday School is a wonderful program that our church does for 3 and 4 yr olds in Brownfield. I hadn't thought about Taryn being big enough to start this year until somebody asked me if I wanted to pre-register her a couple of weeks after Rhealee was born. I cried that day when I realized she WAS big enough to go to Thursday school.

So the day before I started talking to her about going to school once a week like mommy and daddy do everyday. She didn't really understand but was excited to get to go to her church.

Here she is dressed and ready to go to "Meet the Teacher Night" at Thursday school. She picked her outfit, complete with the non-matching headband. She still didn't understand what she would be doing, but was so excited to see so many people she knew from church and she made a few new friends that night. Taryn picked her outfit again, complete with the non-matching headband. This was the first day of Thursday school. She was a little nervous about me leaving her, but was excited at the same time. I took the day off so I could take and pick her up the first day. Rhealee had shots that afternoon so it all worked out.

This is Taryn on the second week of Thursday school. She asked me almost everyday if it was time for her to go to school yet? I guess I'm going to have to make a chart so she can mark off the days and she will know when it is Thursday. She is such a visual learner.

It is so great knowing her teacher, all most all of them go to church with us. They are so amazing and are doing such a wonderful work. Several of them have told me how great Taryn has been and how helpful she is with the other kids in her group. I hope she continues to enjoy going to Thursday school and learning new things every week. It wont be long before she is going to kindergarten. What am I going to do? They grow up way, way to fast.

Papa and Carol

2009-09-22T14:38:00.005-05:00

On Saturday September 5th we went to Lockney for the wedding of Papa and Carol. We wish them them the best of luck in this new journey of their life. Here are some pics from the wedding.

Rhealee crawling around waiting for the wedding.

Payten playing in the bubbles getting ready for Papa and Carol to leave.

Mr. and Mrs. Don Chesshir Payten loved standing over the vent and letting her dress blow up. She was adorable. As always.

The exchange of the rings.

The wedding ceremony. Steve McLean-preacher, Carol's sister stood up for her, Zach Logan stood up for Papa.

Payten and Cammy Logan

The wedding cake.

Sisters, Sisters!!!

2009-09-22T13:30:00.006-05:00

My girls are growing so fast. As they are growing they are growing closer together. I can see a friendship starting to build. Rhealee gets the biggest grin and her eyes light up whenever Taryn walks into a room.

They are starting to play together and interact with each other. Taryn loves to entertain Rhealee by making different faces, different noises or just talking to her. It amazes me the connection they have already and it grows a little stronger every day.

Taryn feeding Rhealee a teething biscuit. What I couldn't capture on the camera is the fact that every time Taryn shoved (and I mean shoved) the biscuit in her mouth and then pulled it out Rhealee would get so tickled. Which in turn got Taryn tickled so she did it again and this made Rhealee laugh even harder, which made Taryn laugh even harder. This continued several times until they were both laughing so hard that Taryn couldn't put the biscuit in Rhealee's mouth because Rhealee was laughing so hard. Which also made mommy laugh really hard.

Caught them being mischievous together. The look on both of their faces tells me that they were up to something, just not sure what they were doing. They had been really quite for a while so I went to find them and I knew they would be up to something so I took the camera and this is what I captured.
The girls playing together in the living room. They are so cute together when they play. They have recently found that they like to wrestle. I haven't captured this on film or on the camera yet, but they will roll around on the floor until one of them ends up on top and they are both squealing with laughter. Love those sounds filling my house everyday.

Taryn wanted to give sister a ride in her new car. So with mommy standing very close we gave it a go. It was interesting cause Rhealee wasn't sitting up on her own yet, there are no seat belts and Taryn is not a very good driver and needed to hold on to sister. We will need to try this again, now that Rhealee is sitting on her own.

Rhealee wanted to hold on to something. Can't say that I don't blame her, Taryn is not the best little driver yet.

The girls in their matching yellow sundresses. They are absolutely the cutest things I have ever seen, I know I'm a little bias but they are just so cute.

These girls play so well together it amazes me. We worried that Taryn would be jealous of Rhealee and that she would lose interest in her, but that has not been the case. Taryn is the best big sister ever. She is so patient with Rhealee and always wants to help. If Rhealee grabs her hair Taryn tells her so easily "no sister, not pull my hair please." Or if Rhealee is trying to get something that Taryn doesn't think she needs she will say "No Rhealee you not big yet." If we try to give Rhealee a bite of something we are eating Taryn will tell us, "Rhealee not a big girl yet, she not eat that only baby food." It is always so cute. Taryn is also very protective of Rhealee and keeps a close eye on her if we are out and about and somebody wants to hold her.

I see ahead of me many wonderful years of listening to these two laughing and being silly together. I also know that there will be many disagreements as they have such different little personalities already. I know there will come a day when they are disagreeing over clothes and boys and those will be challenging days, but hopefully they will have a strong enough relationship they will laugh about it the next day.

I am so blessed to have such two wonderful little girls in my life. They bring us all so much joy with their laughter and smiles. I look forward to watching them grow up together and hopefully grow up to be great friends.

Taryn Turns 3

2009-09-22T13:03:00.004-05:00

I am really behind on getting all these pics posted. So bare with me there will be several post full of pics.

Taryn turned 3 on August 3rd. I let her choose what we would have for dinner and she choose Hot Dogs, Chips and Ice Cream. That's my girl keeping it simple. She also wanted to eat outside so Taryn, Rhealee and myself enjoyed our dinner outside. (Cory was at football practice, imagine that.)

Here is Rhealee, she enjoyed watching us eat our hot dogs. Not really cause she wanted one of her own. "Your not big, sister!" is what Taryn kept telling her. Next year Rhealee you can eat one with us. Here is the Birthday Girl enjoying her ice cream after our fabulous dinner.

Taryn eating her hot dog and chips. She had fun eating outside.

Here are some of the things about you at 3:

*You can dress yourself.

*You love to pick out your own outfits.

*You can potty in the big girl potty all by yourself.

*You can get your own snack out of the refrigerator.

*You know all your colors.

*You know all your shapes.

*You can count to 10.

*You are beginning to recognize letters.

*You love to watch cartoons.

*You love to snuggle with mommy and daddy.

*You love your "big" girl room and helping clean it up.

*You love going to visit your Doakie and Gramps and going to Ganky's house.

*You are the best big sister ever.

*You love to help take care of Rhealee.

*You love going to "your" church.

*You are learning to be a polite little lady with manners.

*You love going to football games and talking to "Coach".

*You have a wonderful imagination and play so well by yourself.

*You have an amazing memory.

*You have a marvelous smile and brighten every room you walk into.

There are so many things that you can do and love my list could go on forever. You are such a big girl that loves to help mommy do so many things like take care of sister and cooking. I am so thankful that you are in our lives and that I get to be your mommy and see you grow up everyday. I wish you could stay this age forever but I know you wont and I look forward to seeing you grow up into a marvelous person. Thanks for all they joy you bring into my life and so many other peoples lives also.

7 Wonderful Years!!!

2009-08-10T22:52:00.003-05:00

Cory and I celebrated 7 wonderful years of marriage today. We did nothing special today, but this past Saturday I surprised him with tickets to see Willie Nelson, John Melloncamp and Bob Dylan. The girls spent the night with Doakie and Gramps and we had a date.

I wish I had a scanner at home and could post a pic from our wedding day, but I don't so you will just have to imagine what we looked like 7 years ago today.

We have had some rough and tough times but in the end we have always come out stronger and loving stronger. I have nothing poetic to say except that I LOVE YOU and Thanks for making my world a better place. I cant imagine growing old with anybody else. I cant imagine raising my beautiful girls with anybody else. I cant imagine disagreeing over the little things with anybody else. I cant imagine laughing at the little things with anybody else.

Thanks for all you do to make my life and the girls life wonderful! I love you more now than I did 7 years ago. I look forward to many many many years with you. There is nobody else I would want to grow old with but you, Cory!

Thanks for 7 marvelous years!

Taryn is 3 and Doakie is 50!!!!

2009-08-06T21:44:00.006-05:00

Taryn turned 3 this past Monday (the 3rd). We had her princess birthday party on Saturday afternoon. What a fun day we had! Taryn requested doughnuts for her breakfast so her daddy went and got her doughnuts. Then I got Taryn and I both dress and we headed to get her a mini pedicure and manicure. She had to go in her princess dress so she but on quite a show while getting pampered. She picked pink polish that matched her skirt then the guy put black polka dots. They were really cute and she was very proud of them. She was also super excited to tell everyone that it was her birthday.

Here is my little princess in her way cute tutu dress. Doakie found this skirt in Ruidoso and Taryn is in love with it. She slept in it! After Taryn's birthday we headed to Lubbock for a surprise birthday supper for my mom. She turned 50 on August 5th. We all went to Logans for dinner, cake and gifts. It was a great time with family. Happy Birthday Doakie!

Here is Doakie with Taryn and Sydni blowing out the candles on her birthday cake.

Rhealee licking the butter off of Aunt Kami's finger. She kind of liked it!

Here is mom's birthday cake. It is supposed to read "Donna here lies your youth" but the icing melted while it was hidden in my Aunt Tammie's truck during Taryn's birthday party. ooops! it still tasted great! Thanks Aunt Tammie for making such wonderful cakes. You have an amazing talent!

Doakie and Gramps got Taryn a sandbox for her birthday. It was actually delivered on Friday but there was no sand. So she was very excited to get to put sand in there on Saturday and play. I think we have played in the sandbox every night since then.

This is Taryn playing with Gabe (Ashlee's boyfriend). Gabe is so good with kids I think he may have enjoyed playing in the sand as much as Taryn did. This week she has told me several times that I'm not doing something right while playing with her. I ask how I should do it and she lets me know I need to do it like "abe!" Gee don't you know mom!

Ashlee is such a great friend to our family. I think we have adopted her and she is part of our family. Taryn loves her Ash and wanted to make sure I told Ashlee about her party. So of course Ashlee came to Taryn's party.

Taryn was so excited to get to eat cake. She kept asking over and over if it was time. Then she was ready for us to light the candles. She picked out "rainbow" ice cream (aka rainbow sherbet) for her ice cream. Aunt Tammie made her 2 cakes. This is her white cake with white icing and then she made a lemon cake. They were both so yumm-o!

Taryn enjoying the attention of us singing "Happy Birthday" to her! She may play shy but she secretly enjoys all the attention.

For her big gift from Cory and I we got her an electric pink Mini Cooper. Man was that thing a pain to put together. There were a hundred different little stickers that had to go in just the right place. We waited til she was in bed on Friday night to put it together and it took us about an hour to get everything just right!

She was very excited to get this! She is not a very good driver and tends to spend more time getting unstuck than actually driving. It will take practice but until then we will just enjoy the laughter it brings us watching her! Thanks for the laughs you bring to our world everyday. You make each day a joy!

Taryn has such a sweet little soul. She loves to tell people thanks and give hugs. She is probably one of the most polite 3yr old you will ever meet. It is something we are teaching her, but she has always been like this. Always wanting to make people happy!

Here she is giving Aunt Tammie a hug for her gift. She had to do this for almost every gift she opened. It took a bit to get them all open cause she wanted to give everyone a hug and tell them "thanks".

Cousin Kagen came to the party. His mom and dad were busy moving out of their house they got sold last week. So we sad that they couldn't be with us, but excited that Kagen got come and enjoy the fun. Poor guy is surrounded by nothing but girls.

I don't know what she is opening, but she is really excited about whatever it is! She is a blessed little girl that is loved by many. She got many gifts and was truly excited about each one! I love to watch her get excited about something new. She thinks each gift is the best thing ever! I just have a hard time looking and seeing how big she is getting.

The beautiful "princess" cake that Aunt Tammie made for Taryn's party. It was a yumm-o cake, lemon with Tammie icing. Oh I made myself sick eating so much!
Cousin Sydni and her princess crown. Taryn wanted to make sure all her friends had a crown. Sydni was very excited to wear he crown. These two girls are going to grow up little princesses! Taryn and her princess crown! She was so excited about her party. She couldn't wait to open her presents and eat cake.
My little girl is growing up. She is turning into a toddler/little lady. I know that Cory and I are blessed to have her in our lives. She makes us laugh and smile everyday. There is not many dull moments when she is around. She is truly a special child. Her gift for understanding emotions blows my mind. I know one day soon she will be grown up and I will be looking back on these days wondering where they went. I try to stop and take in as much of this as I can each day cause it is truly a blessing in my life. Thank you Taryn for all the joy you bring to our lives and to the lives of all those around you. We love you and look forward to watching you grow into an amazing child!

Just Having Fun...

2009-08-06T21:09:00.006-05:00

After our relaxing trip to Austin, Cory and I went to Austin for Coaching School for 4 days. The morning we left I got a stomach bug. On the way down there Cory got the stomach bug. We thought we had food poisoning. It was pretty bad. I was better by the following afternoon but it took Cory about 8 days. He was so sick in Austin he finally asked me to take him to the ER. That was really an interesting experience to sit in the ER of a very large hospital. I wish I would have taken my camera and captured some of the characters that were there. I would have also had a really neat picture of the state capital.

After getting home from Austin, Cory started coaching work. So we are in the full swing of coaching now!

Summer is quickly coming to an end and the girls and I have been having fun and enjoying the last few days together. Here are some pics of the girls.

We cooked cupcakes one day complete with colored frosting. Taryn didn't want to share so we made some special deliveries to share what we had made.

Here she is with her box of goodies to go and deliver to Paige and Ganky. (notice the frosting on her face!)

Taryn showing off her cupcakes. She did a really good job helping me make them and then put the frosting on them. She didn't understand that we had to wait for them to cool before icing them though.

Rhealee is starting to eat "big" girl food. She has not figured out how to use her tongue yet and get everything to go down, so we wear most of the food. It is a learning experience.
I love to watch the girls sleep. They are truly innocent and at peace when they are sleeping. They look my own little angels. I could just stand and watch them all night.

My sleeping beauties!!!

One Sunday evening on the way home from the grocery store I asked Taryn what she wanted to do for supper and she informed me that she wanted to have a picnic. Well we had just bought her a lunchable, so I said "why not?" So we drug a blanket to the backyard and enjoyed a picnic just the 2 of us. Rhealee was already asleep and Cory was not feeling very good. It was so nice and we had fun playing just the 2 of us. I truly cherish these moments!

Taryn showing me how old she is fixing to be in just a couple of days!I truly fall in love with this child all over again everyday. She makes us laugh and is always making us smile. We are so lucky to have her as our own.

Relaxation in the Mountains...Ahh!

2009-07-21T15:23:00.015-05:00

We enjoyed a couple of days in the mountains last week. The girls and I left for Ruidoso on Tuesday morning with my mom and dad and Grandma and Cory joined us Wednesday morning. We had a great trip down there. Rhealee traveled like a champ, which is not normal.

We enjoyed several days of the cool pines and afternoon showers (including the afternoon we had a tee time). We didn't do much but relax and do a little sight seeing. We went to Flying J's one night, did a little shopping and then rode go-carts on our way out of town. We had a great time and were so grateful for the time we got to spend with family.

Rhealee on the way home. She screamed from Ruidoso to Roswell. At Roswell we stripped her down and that made her happy, she slept the rest of the way home! Taryn enjoying a movie! She loves "her" new car.

Taryn got to ride the little go-carts by herself. She was about an inch short of being able to get the peddle pushed down enough to give it any juice. The girl working the track, helped her get around a couple of times. She is just growing up way to fast!

Taryn getting ready to ride the go-carts with daddy. She loved riding the big go-carts with Cory and I more than the little ones, cause they went fast!

Rhealee and her adorable little gummy grin that melts my heart!

My little family!

Taryn and Rhealee with Doakie, Gramps and Great-Grandma.

Taryn enjoying some watermelon! This child loves watermelon but it was to cold outside to really enjoy it!

Look at that excited face. She couldn't wait to get her hands on piece of watermelon!

Taryn and Gramps watching the Gun Fight at the Flying J dinner show.

Taryn riding the pony at the Flying J Ranch. She loved getting to do this!

Rhealee was one tired little lady. She didn't want to miss anything. She took this little nap and then enjoyed the show! She did really good.

Cory and his girls!

Doakie and Rhealee just hanging out.

Taryn and Gramps!

The woodpecker that made a lot of noise during our hot dog supper one night!

Pretty Lilly in the pond beside the cabin we stayed in. It didn't even look real until we got closer.

Taryn and Gramps watching Rhealee play pool.Taryn loved playing pool. We taught her the concept of hitting the white ball on Tuesday and when Cory got to the cabin on Wednesday morning that was the first thing she wanted to show him.

Rhealee watched us play pool and would get so excited when the balls would hit. So when we finished we let her get up on the table and play with the balls. She loved it!Rhealee on the way down. She enjoyed having her Doakie ride beside her and was a great little traveler.

Taryn enjoying the ride to Ruidoso. She has always been a great traveler!

4 Months Old

2009-07-18T19:03:00.003-05:00

Rhealee turned 4 months last Sunday (7-12). My time does fly. We took her for her 4 month check up on the 10th . She weighed in at 13lbs 5oz (55% percentile) and 25 inches long (95% percentile). Everyone tells us how little she looks and she does some days then other days I think she is so big already. She is one long and skinny kiddo.

Dr. Landry was impressed by her head and body control. Her laughing and grabbing objects. We got the ok to start her on cereal, fruits and veggies. This has been a learning process for all of us. Rhealee doesn't quite know what to do with her tongue yet. Taryn was a natural at eating so we did not have this problem so I am having to learn to scoop what comes out of her mouth.

Rhealee is pushing herself up and scooting on her tummy already. It wont be long before she is crawling after her big sister. Watch out Taryn! Rhealee is a great roller. If there is something she wants to look at when she is on the floor she rolls right to it. It is so fun to watch babies learn and develop. They are truly amazing.

Rhealee is going to be a talker. She is constantly babbling and talking to us. She lights up like a Christmas tree when you talk to her, especially when Taryn talks to her. Rhealee loves to be sang to and Taryn loves to sing, so there is a lot of that going on in our house right now. Every morning Taryn and I have to sing Rhealee her morning songs: Good Morning (a made up mommy song), This is the Day and Jesus Loves Me. Our days just go better when we sing every morning.

Rhealee smiling for the camera. I love gummy baby grins, they just melt my heart.

Rhealee playing in her sit and spin. Taryn wasn't long enough for this until she was 6 months old. Rhealee has plenty of length on her to make it work.

4th of July...What fun we did have!!!

2009-07-05T19:56:00.008-05:00

Ugg I always put the picture in the wrong order!!!

We just got back from Lake Graham and the Jones family reunion (Cory's family). It occurs every year around the 4th of July. We always have so much fun seeing family we only get to see once a year. We spend time on the lake, visiting, eating, eating, and eating some more. You leave the lake exhausted and sun burned. But you never want to leave and look forward to coming back again next year.

A first occurred at the lake this year. Tori got engaged. We missed the actually engagement cause we had sleepy girls, but on Saturday night we had fun embarrassing the newly engaged couple.

We dressed them in lake wedding attire, played Going to the Chapel, made them dance, and then toss the bouquet of lake flowers. It was a blast.

Joyce caught the bouquet of flowers. Hmmm....is there something you forgot to tell us Ganky? The Happy Couple! Yes Cousin Kelcie and I made their wedding attire all by ourselves. We are for hire if you are interested. Don't they just look lovely.

Part of the fun at the lake is the popping of fireworks. Last year Taryn didn't care for them because they were loud. This year she was brave and wanted to pop her own.

Taryn watching from the shore. She wanted to do her own. Cory let her and it was interesting to watch. The first one went right into the lake where it was suppose to go. The second one went into a group of trees where family was sitting under. Surprisingly there were no more fireworks, they all disappeared.

Taryn and I watching the fireworks from the shore. We had fun. Rhealee slept through all the loud bangs and pops going on. She was in the cabin and never budged.

Sparklers were interesting with an almost 3 year old. Especially when she wanted Cousin Tyler to take them and she tried to hand them to him over a very large box of fireworks. Good think Tyler was quick.

Rhealee was the star of the weekend. Everyone wanted to hold and play with her, so she was passed around and played with all weekend. Here she is with Cousin Kelcie. It was so hot at the

lake. Both the days it was 103-110 degrees. We just let her run around in her diaper. She was a great baby even in the heat!

Kelcie you sure look good holding a baby!!!

Rhealee and Cousin Kelcie talking to each other. Rhealee talked and laughed for everyone.

Rhealee and Cousin Sharla. Rhealee loved people to hold her especially when they had just come up from the lake and they would hold her and cool her off. Thanks to everyone who helped take care of Rhealee this weekend. You are wonderful! We took Taryn and Cory's sister Robin and her kids out on the boat for some water sports aka intertubing. Taryn watched some of the bigger boys tube first and get thrown off and do flips. When it was time for her and me to go we were able to stay on for a bit. While we were out on the tube she told me she wanted to "fly off like those boys did". So I held on to her and we slid off the back of the tube. She thought that was great and laughed until Cory came back for us.

Later she decided that she wanted to go out on the tube with just her and her "Meme" known to the rest of the world as Megan her cousin. So out they went on the tube by themselves. I told her she would probably fall off and if she did just to stay calm and we would come get her. They didn't make it very long before they sank the front. Sure enough they were in the water and we had to circle around to get them. She didn't get scared just sat there bopping in the water. I was a little nervous having my little girl just sitting in the big lake by herself.

After everyone was done in the tube she wanted to go again so we let them go out and we pulled them into shore and they didn't fall off.

Here they go. Aren't they such big girls!!! I was proud of her and sad at the same time cause she is growing up so fast!

The Rekeita Family having some fun on the lake!

Taryn and I going after some big jumps. Hehe we didn't get over 5mph. It was fun anyways! We have the same look on our face!

Weee are having so much fun!!!

Taryn "driving" the boat! She did a great job.

Robin and Tyler out on the lake! Hold on Robin your about to go flying!

Taryn style fishing. She would catch the minnow and move it from one bucket to another and thought she was catching fish. Too cute!

Cory getting some fishing time in! Did you catch anything big daddy?
Taryn still fishin'!!

Taryn enjoyed jumping off the floating dock into the water! She did this on her own with no fear. She is growing up so fast!

Megan getting ready to jump in!
Taryn wore her daddy out! She wanted to do nothing but play in the water. Daddy was a little sore from constantly having to chase her around the water. He is such a good daddy and enjoyed every minute of their time in the water.

Look at the big girl getting ready to jump in the water!!

More floating going on. Taryn didn't get to much of a sunburn except on her little bottom and that came from floating on the tube. Cory on the other hand looks like a raccoon.