Life goes fast!

It's been a long time since I've sat down to write on our blog. My apologies! I find so much time is spent living and socializing that I forget to write it down for memories sake. So with that in mind Wyatt and I started a journal! I want to take down everything he thinks is important to remember. We are starting out slowly, simply by writing our "favorite part of the day" into the ledger at the end of each night. So far we have 3 little innocent moments my little boy thinks were the best moments of his long days! I know I'll enjoy looking back at the journal just as I enjoy looking back at our blog!

What else is new in our lives? Wyatt had his first horse show last month riding June Bug. That has been fun for us all. Although he doesn't seem to enjoy it as much as my good friend Rachel's daughter does so I'm not sure he will be a life long cowboy. For now he is willing to go along with Mommy's plan and that's good!

I, myself, have been riding much more than in the past 4 years. It feels like I've finally recaptured my soul. I have been very happy of course since we've had Wyatt but riding once every 3 months or so just wasn't what I was used to. It is my link to my old self and I find my new pace to be much more thrilling than it was even 5 years ago. Sterling is going to be in fantastic shape if we keep this up. We have big plans for the year! I'd love to compete in a competitive trail ride and of course we are doing the same play day series Wyatt is riding in!

(I'd like to thank Papa for the video of Wyatt at his first horse show!! Grami for the photos of the show, Rachel Jones for the use of her horse, and Wyatt for actually smiling at me a million times as I pestered him during practice!)

And now back to your regularly scheduled blog update! (or rather irregularly scheduled)

Wyatt is learning fast! He knows all of his letters and numbers and told me a few months ago that he wanted to learn to read "this afternoon." I told him that was pretty ambitious but he was serious! He said there was a little girl at school who could read so he wanted to learn to do it as well. We didn't quite takle that just yet but I can't believe how much he has learned because of his pre-school. Hard to believe in just 8 short months kindergarten starts! I feel like I'm going to lose my running buddy and that makes me sad. I know that the time he is in school will be nice for my business but I'll still miss our days when it's just us. Just this week we spent an entire day together, just the two of us! We spent the morning at the zoo, the afternoon in the stockyards running through the cattle pen maze and watching the cattle drive and the evening at our friend's birthday party. Even though he was tired he was such a delight to hang out with. I'm amazed at how mature he is for his age. That night, when I asked him what his favorite thing was about his life, he answered "You Mommy! You're my favorite thing." Probably something I'll remember without writing it down.

Camping Fun!?

So I'm not a huge camping fan. I'll go as long as it's only for one night. . . Wyatt and my hubby seem to really like it so I have a feeling I'll be camping a lot in my future. . luckily my hobbies both go well with camping!!! No horses this time but LOTS of photography!!

We left on Sunday afternoon (had to wait until later in the day so we could feed the horses before we left. . ) It was supposed to storm on us so we tried to hurry and set up the tent. Got a little wet doing it but not too bad!!! We were a bit rusty setting up the tent. . last time we camped was October 08!

Camp site

Storms a brewing!!

The boys played baseball until the thunder started

We decided to wait the storm out in our Tahoe, so I made my husband drive us to the cliff's 'edge' so I could sit in the back with the door up and get some photos! It's a pretty view!!

When the rain was almost done I told Greg we should go exploring on the roads for a little bit, so I could take some photos. I did some long exposure shots from the back end and it was WAY fun! lol. Although my camera got a bit muddy. .. (and just a disclaimer, the door was closed, but the window was open. . so I couldn't fall out Mom)

One more I liked. . .

The flowers were all covered in rain so we stopped and I took some shots. . .

One of my favorite spots on the trail! I'm a fan of the wind mills!

The clouds cleared very rapidly!!

Did some self portrait shots of me and my son. Didn't realize it was zoomed in.

Back to the flowers and grass!!!

and the barbed wire. . . (everything looks pretty with water on it! I think that's why Baywatch is so popular! What? Not the reason?!)

We went back to the camp and cooked some yummy pizza pies with our pie cooker. Camping in the summer is much nicer because the sun doesn't go down until it's a decent hour! Of course it comes up much earlier than in winter. . but while camping that is a good thing!! I'm not a fan of the night. It's boring and requires uncomfortable sleeping.

Sunset!! Night sun!! See you tomorrow! Bright and early!!!

Lol, a little too early for Wyatt.

I decided to go take some photos while the day was still young. . .



But I missed the best part of the day so I settled for this shot. (the hour after sunrise is the best)

When I got back to camp my boys decided to go on a hike and 'explore'! So Dad sun screened the boy and they took off on the red trail!! Wyatt took a stick that he called a 'map'. . .

Hmm. . I think Wyatt was the navigator

While the boys were gone I decided to take some photos of our field.

Pretty flowers!!


Road/ horse trail


This is where we watched the storm from the night before!! Much prettier in sunny weather!!



The boys were gone for a long while and I was starting to worry that had gotten lost. (Not sure why I would worry about that seeing how they had that nice and detailed wooden map. . .) Luckily Dad called me on my cell and told me they had hiked to the windmill and didn't want to walk back. . . Mom to the rescue!! I hopped in the Tahoe and picked them up. lol

When we got back to camp we made lunch and decided to pack it up and call it a day! The boys wanted to go to Grami and Papaws and swim and I wanted some Mommy quiet time!

But one last shot from our trip! Our friendly neighbor. .

This little guy, who I believe is a Texas Spiny Lizard, lived in the tree next to our tent. He hung out in plain site most of the time we were there. Dad named him Hagrid. Cute little guy!

All in all it was a great weekend adventure!!! If only my tent was magic like Harry Potters! I think I would enjoy camping a lot more if it came with a bed and a bathroom!

Wyatt and his "pony"!

It's been a while since I've posted any sort of blog!! We all are doing fantastic!! Busy with being a soccer Mom and work/stay at home Mom! Anyways, here is a brief update on what is quickly becoming a new Wyatt obsession!

We told Wyatt he would get to ride today and like any child looking forward to something he woke up and the CRACK of dawn and came running to our room asking "Can I go ride Mack now!!" I kicked my hubby out of bed to stall for a while but Wyatt would not be deterred. . .

So before Mack even had his breakfast he had to be a 'pony'. lol All 17 hands of him!

(quick reminder of who Mack is for those of you out of the loop! Mack is our 'rescue' we got about 2 years ago as a walking bag of bones. He was around 20 - 21 years old and is an Americna Trakehner gelding, who supposidly was competitive in dressage around the area. . other than that we don't know his history. He has made a fanastic recovery and is worth his weight in gold. He will be Wyatt's first horse.)












I often wonder if Mack ever had any pep in his step. . he was a dressage champ after all. . He is a slow and steady type of boy. Perfect for Wyatt.













Edited a few photos for the scrapbook. . .lol. I think it's funny how he looks like he is in prison in these shots. . .





Leg pats. . .





Telling Mack he was a good boy.





Payment. .





And Dad says, "Thanks for being a good boy."





Last kisses.



Thanks for looking!! It was a good first day for them. Wyatt has said he wants to ride again EVERY day. lol. (oh and please ignore the halter! It's WAY stretched out form years of use and won't stay on any horse correctly but it's the one I grabbed. . .end disclaimer. .)

Tyrant Wyatt

That's right. My boy, who has been an angel since the day he was born, has turned into a full blown 3 year old tyrant. He demands what he wants, when he wants it and if he doesn't get it, throws a pretty convincing temper tantrum. I knew that I wasn't going to be so lucky as to avoid all of the 'terrible (insert whatever age your child is right now)' behavior that Mother's with older children love to reminisce over, but it has been a bit like Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde at my house and I'm ready for this phase to end!!!

Other than the demanding me me me behavior my baby is also using the "I don't like you" war tactic developed in secret rooms during foreign wars. Those words will shoot daggers into any Mother's heart but when you hear them daily you learn to shrug them off. I've also noticed there is a pretty good pattern to my popularity around here. IE: Whenever things are going Wyatt's way I'm the most loved Mother ever! and when nap time roles around he no longer wants to live here, and is in fact packing a bag to move to Grami's because he is NEVER mistreated at Grami's! (Of course whenever he's at Grami's and nap time roles around he demands a phone to call his Mommy to come and get him because Grami is so mean!) It's pretty comical and hopefully VERY brief!!

I must admit, only one thing saves him when I'm up to my eyeballs in annoyance. He's so darn cute it's hard to stay angry at him. Especially when he says, "Mommy! You can't be mad! You have to be happy, like this!", and then proceeds to make the biggest smile ever at me. He's right. Can't stay mad with logic like that!

Here's some recent pics of my little Tyrant. .

Wyatt's new Thomas boots and umbrella. He loves those things!

Using Chopsticks for the first time. He thought they were cool!!! And he was pretty good with them!

Hanging out at home in his new work outfit. He got some real tools and has been fixing various object around the house ever since!

That's it for us! Hope everyone else is having a Tyrant free week!!

The quest for the perfect Christmas Card photo!

Well it's that time of year again, and as happens every year my Mom informed me that we need to get a photo of Wyatt for our Christmas cards. This year I convinced her not to run across the street to the 'fast food' photography studio and let me take one instead. Ahem. I should have just let someone else do it because my kid HATES my camera. Something about having a Mom with a lens attached to her nose makes a kid a bit camera shy. But I was optimistic beyond words so. . .on we went!

We piled up and headed to the Gaylord Texan Resort, in Grapevine, Texas. They have a ton of Christmas decorations, trains and a wonderful Buffet that we like to visit once a year! So it's kind of a tradition for us to go walk around and look at the pretty stuff!



Started out trying to get a shot in the sleigh near the front of the resort. Nope. Not a good spot!


Tried on a bench. Nope. Didn't like any of those either. . .


Tried in front of some poinsettias. Nope. Wyatt wouldn't look at me to save my life!!


Cute though!


Tried in front of the ginger bread house!! Yikes! Horrid lighting.


Taking a break and watching the trains!



We decided to go eat lunch and give Wyatt some time to play. . .
I decided to take some photos of the general holiday cheer all around! lol. Couldn't just walk. . .













The spot we ate lunch is a wonderful little buffet with gourmet type food and a nice atmosphere along a 'river walk'. (all indoors.) When we were finished I took some shots around the table. . .


Orchids at the host's station


Christmas Cactus alongside the 'river'.


Water Glasses


Koi in the 'river'.


After dinner we let Wyatt run laps around a fountain. Lol. Kids have fun doing nothing!





Technically a terrible photo but look!! He's completely off the ground!!! And very fast!!


Finally!! I got eyeballs!!! But it was a bit too closeup for the Christmas Card. . .


His idea of posing. . .


Too bear skin rugged for my taste! lol


Finally my Mom bribed him with pennies to throw in the water. . . .

And!!!! Drum role. . . .




WE GOT THE SHOT! lol Presenting our Christmas Card!

Picture update!

This week we were beyond busy!!! And we actually took a few pics!!!

We carved pumpkins on Wednesday. Wyatt thought it was gross so he really didn't do very much of it. . .but he agreed to pose with it for me!




Then we played with Lele. She's getting big!! Or bigger. Wyatt just LOVES her.


Lele flying. . .

Hanging with her Mom


Cindy, Wyatt's cat got her picture taken. She's such a great cat!! She lets Wyatt drag her all over the place.


Dad fixed up Wyatt's bathroom so he can use it. It had been used as storage but we removed the door between it and his room and he can get in there now and he loves it!!!! I don't have to use the toddler potty anymore!!! He goes in there and takes care of business all by himself!! Anyways, bath pics!




Then on Halloween we went to Grami and Papaw's house because they have a wonderful neighborhood. Everyone hangs out outside during trick or treating and everyone is super friendly.

Before we went Wyatt was pretending to be Bob the Builder or Handy Manny.


Then we got ready, put on the boy's costume, put on Lady's costume, waited for Papaw to put on his costume.. .and took off!!

Papaw and Grami


Wyatt and Lady (the ladybug)


At Mr. John's spooky house


My favorite of the week


Lady sneaking some 'sugar'.


And finally Wyatt eating some real sugar!


Hope everyone is doing well!! Wyatt is growing up wonderfully.

Say Hello to Lele!

We are so excited!! Our pygmy goat girl Meg had her first successful delivery today!!! About 10 months after her scary c-section. Yay!!!!!!!!! Our goats are pets only so this was a big deal for us!! Our first baby born on the property!!!! Wyatt is so excited!!

I noticed last night that Meg was acting strange so we separated the boys out from her and I checked on her during the night. No baby this morning but I kept her in because she was still acting strange. Then this afternoon when I went to feed horses I noticed she was down and then I noticed blood and of course after the c-section last spring I panicked!! Ran over to her and saw a little white thing next to her and in my panic I thought it was our cat Cindy but it wasn't!!!! It was our new baby!!!!!! She's a little girl Pygmy, and I think she will have blue eyes but I'm not sure!! We are going to call her Lele! Which is kinda funny because often it comes out as Wewe when Wyatt says it.

I took pics and checked to see that she was okay then we headed to town to buy shavings so we could set up the horse trailer with a heat lamp and comfy bedding. It's not safe out in the world for her since she was in the pen that the fox got Mary. I'm not losing another one. . so if I can't travel anywhere that's okay!! Who needs to ride!

Anyways, I know ya'll just want to see pics so here they are!!!


Awwww!


Where's the buffet?


Momma and baby love.


Momma Love


Welcome to earth!


So proud of her!!! She is such a trooper!



Man! Rough day!


Wyatt was VERY impressed!! He had a ton of questions about the afterbirth that Meg still had coming out! He thought it was 'cool'.