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

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.....

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!!!!!

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

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

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!!!!!

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!!