Thankful Thursday

I haven't posted a thankful Thursday in a very looooong time but I feel the need to count my blessing today, so here goes:

1. I am very thankful for my friend Vicki. When I arrived yesterday to pick Reagan up, she had cooked dinner for me. We had chicken tamales, queso, and a salad. It was absolutely delicious. Of course DW in all his wittiness, wanted to know if it was perro or gato. Vicki stopped by today and told me it was road kill.

2. I am thankful that Reagan loves second grade. Much less stressful than 1st - however it has only been 4 days. In a month or so I might need to edit this statement.

3. I am thankful for Basha and all her insight into creating a completely health person instead of just treating the symptoms. I am not knocking the medical doctors. I use them just as much, but I think Basha is a great compliment to their abilities and knowledge.

4. I am thankful for Iaka. That sounds very silly to be thankful for a dog but she is a great dog. When she comes in the house, she checks each room and then comes back and settles in front of the couch. We haven't seen any bad puppy habits yet - in-other words we haven't lost any clothes, furniture, or shoes. Also, she is very patient and kind to the girls.

5. Finally, I am very thankful for the family that God has blessed me with. A wonderful husband and two beautiful daughters. All of them together complete and compliment me.

1st Day of 2nd Grade

Oh the start of school. I'm not sure who is ever more nervous, Reagan or me. Actually, I don't think she was nervous at all. She was very excited to see her friends and make new ones. Her homeroom teacher, Mrs. LeJune, is new to second grade and to HISD. Her reading teacher is Mrs. Chapman who reminds me so much of my sister. She knows every kids name and tells all of them that she loves them. She makes me want to be in second grade. We are looking forward to a great year.

The day had to start a little earlier for me today than it has for the last 3 months. We had breakfast to cook, lunch to pack, pictures to take, and a sister to load up. For Reagan's first day of second grade she had a chocolate chip waffle for breakfast. She informed me that she would toast her own waffle for tomorrow because I evidently toasted it a little long and it was crunchy, not how she prefers it. For lunch I fixed the ultimate pb&j, string cheese, a can of mandarin oranges, and water. She advised me when I picked her up that the lunch was good, she just needed more of it.

No homework this week - God Bless the second grade teachers. So after work we were able to come home and play with Iaka. She was ready for a little attention and schooling of her own. We are working on sitting, laying, and coming on command. I explained to Reagan that Iaka is a lot like kids are at school. You can't teach for too long because they lose interest. You have to be focus on a particular skill and then move on before she loses interest. She seemed to understand this.

Henlee is still in her pajamas at school. (Lisa, I know you are mortified but I assure you that she put regular clothes on at Bobbie's.)I was very thankful that she slept until we were ready to leave. Otherwise, that throws a few kinks in my plans and timing.


This is the only picture I have with Reagan on any of her first days of school. I am always the picture taker. After school, Reagan and I played around with camera and took pictures of ourselves.

Reagan has always had her picture taken with Gus on her first day of school - even preschool. I thought it pretty cool that we weren't going to miss a year of a picture with our dog. Lucky you Iaka.

And of course, Reagan and her Daddy.

We always have to meet Mom and Joy for the first day of school. Thanks Mom and Joy for being such Reagan fans.
Now on to the 2nd day of 2nd grade.

Iaka

Meet our new family member Iaka (long i, a is silent, ka). Darrell and Reagan left on Friday around six, picked her up in Amarillo on Saturday, and made it back to Hamilton in 23 hours. She is a very gentle and kind dog and is great with the girls. We thought about getting her a companion, another German Shepherd in Abilene. However, Baton was very hyper and Darrell didn't think he would work well with our girls. Of course when they got back to Hamilton, Reagan and I took off to Alco for balls, tug-of-war rope, treats, and a brush. We are all very happy not to have just a plain ol' yard anymore.

13 Thing on My Mind

Okay, this came from a friend who wanted all of her bloggy friends to play along. You know me, I am always up for a good game.

Thirteen things that are on my mind today:

1. Which German Shepherd will we get - Baton in Abilene, Ima or Ipod in Princeton, or Iaka in Amarillo?

2. I can't believe that you can fall in love with a dog just by pictures from the internet.

3. I can't believe that we are actually considering paying this much for a dog.

4. What will Reagan's classroom look like?

5. Who will we see at meet the teacher tonight?

6. What is wrong with Henlee's mouth? I think it is thrush but Dr. Robbye doesn't think so. I hope the Nystatin and yogurt I am giving her will do the trick.

7. I have got to clean my house. It is very overwhelming right now. We haven't been home on the weekend in 3 weeks.

8. What do I need to buy at the grocery store for Reagan's lunch?

9. What is my sister doing right now? I don't like it when I can't call her and get a response right away.

10. I pray my sister has a great year in 4th grade. I hope her co-teachers take their jobs as seriously as she does and don't use her.

11. Do Henlee and I go with Darrell and Reagan to look at the dogs this weekend or should we just stay home?

12. Should I make an appointment to have my knee looked at?

13. Why do I keep blogging? Do I like to just see my thoughts typed out or what because, I don't think anyone reads this thing except my Mom when I tell her I have updated it.

Okay, I did it Amy, and IF ANYONE ELSE READS THIS THING, get busy and let us know what is on your mind.

Birthdays, Shopping, and Hot Tubs

Friday, August 15th, was Rylee's 15th birthday. It is absolutely unbelievable that she could be 15. I still remember the day she was born. Darrell and I hadn't even been married a month when she joined our family. I was in the delivery room when she was born and I have loved her ever since. She is a remarkable young lady who is not influenced by peer pressure, who is a great witness of God's unconditional love, and has her priorities in order. Of course, I don't believe children are born with these capabilities, so kudos to her parents, especially her Mom.

Rylee and her Momo waiting to be seated at Red Lobster. Rylee waited all day to go to Red Lobster to have the lobster bisque. Guess what? They no longer serve it. So she settled for clam chowder and shrimp trio. Yum - Yum!
Here is Rylee and Quinton blowing out their candles. Quinton is Bryce's good friend and he shares a birthday with Rylee. Quinton turned 12.
Happy Birthday Rylee!! I can't wait to see where we get to go for your 16th! Disney World? Cancun? Hawaii? OR Aleman, Texas?

On Saturday we all took off to Fort Worth for a little school shopping and new car seat shopping. As you can tell, Henlee was tuckered out. When we finally got back to Weatherford, we ate cheese, drank wine, and enjoyed Lisa's new hot tub - fabulous. Thanks guys for another wonderful weekend.

Lake Proctor

I love this picture of my Mom, sister, and brother. We were so excited that he was able to come and enjoy Saturday evening with us. The kids especially enjoyed Dadu.
Uncle Lee loves babies. I overpacked for Henlee this past weekend. She was a true redneck baby. She didn't wear any of her clothes except her pajamas.
Here is Blake enjoying his "Cold Dog" lunch on Sunday before we left. Darrell didn't know Lisa had hot dogs to grill for lunch that day and had already packed up the grill so as a result we had cold dogs for lunch. Not one kid complained (except mine) and most of them had two.
Two beautiful girls.
Saying their last goodbyes.

Henlee has her Uncle Lee's "Jerry's" cap on. I told him this would make a great advertisement for him.
Aunt Lisa gave Henlee a piece of beef jerkey to chew on. I about stroked out. Lisa kept a close eye on her and it really made a great chew toy.
Having a superb time.
These three girls had a blast.
Chillin' out after a day on the lake.

Once again, Aunt Lisa is undoing all the good stuff I try to do. Henlee is eating powered sugar donuts AND drinking coffee.


Madison and Reagan built this frog hut.
Aunt Lisa having a little visit with the children. Always the teacher.

The kids tubing. They tubed all day Friday, all day Saturday, and most of Sunday. Super Dave was the ultimate captain. All the kids tried their hand at skiing. Madison made it up, Reagan made it up but went down pretty quick, Rylee and Bryce both rocked the house. The kids were so good about taking turns and being patient but the minute Dave would stop the boat and kill the engine, they were like fleas jumping off the boat. They called this the "five minute free-swim break." Funniest think you have ever seen.
Bryce and Quinton were able to fish right by our trailer and actually caught a few.

I don't think I need to say anthing here - looks pretty self explanatory.

We had a very good time as you can tell from the pictures. The kids are always soooo good and have such a great time. They swim, they ride their bikes, they play in the mud, and have good clean fun.

Gus

It has been very sad at our house the last 24 hours. Our dog Gus, aka Gustafson Fritz Wagner, had to be put to sleep yesterday. He was with us for 10-1/2 years and we miss him a lot. As Reagan so aptly put it this morning, "Our yard is just a regular yard now without Gus."
He always watched for us to come home.

He loved for all of us to be outside with him.

Just a few memories I have of Gus:

1. When I brought him home, Darrell and I made this pen beside our house for him with cattle panels because our yard wasn't quite puppy proof yet. That little ball of fur crawled through the holes of the cattle panel to get to us. We then tied 2x4s at the height where he was crawling out. He climbed higher.

2. He was probably 10 weeks old when we had a terrible thunderstorm. At that time I had an old chair on the porch with a plant sitting on it. He was so scared that the next morning we couldn't hardly coax him out from under the chair and he was wet sloppy mess. From then on, if it was thundering, you had to be careful going out the door or into the garage because if he got in, you weren't getting him out.

3. Before Darrell and I put cows on our place, we would take him down to our tank. One day when we did, he bulldozed himself into the tank. He had so much mud on his face that all you could see were his eyes.

4. His first dove season, he got so worked up that he escaped from the yard and went to the hunters camp on the place next to us. When Darrell went to pick him up, the hunters had given him ice chunks to lick and chew on. From then on, he loved for me to bring my Sonic cups home with the ice.

5. When we first brought Reagan home, he was very protective of us. He wouldn't let people in the gate. It was amazing to me that he understood that he had a new member of the family and she needed his protection.

6. He loved to play ball with Reagan and Darrell. They had this game where Darrell would throw one ball on the roof and Reagan would go get another. Gus really didn't like to give up the toy/ball he had, he just wanted you to chase him.

7. He chased the cows relentlessly. That is why we had to keep him in the yard when they were at the house. I remember him chasing our bull through the tank one year when the tank was very low. Scared me to death. He never like Darrell to be out of the yard with the cows. He would run up and down the fence and bark incessantly. Then when everyone was in the house you could look out the window and sometimes catch him playing kissy-face with the baby calves. I really think he liked their milk breath because he also loved milk. Calmest dog you have ever seen when you walked out the door with a jug of milk.

8. He saved us from many snakes - most of them rattlesnakes. I never was afraid to walk into our yard at night because I knew if there was anything there he would have already found it.

9. He killed racoons, armadillos, fox, cats, etc., that dared to venture into HIS yard.

We loved this dog for all of his loyalty and companionship and he will be missed.

If any of you know of reputable German Shepherd breeders, please let me know. Also, Reagan is looking for a tiger-striped grey kitten (short hair) so that we can raise the dog and cat together. She could never have a cat before because Gus would have eaten it for lunch.

THE Pool

This is the pool that we have all been waiting on for a very long time. I say we but I guess I should actually say my sister. She has done a very good in planning this pool but I guess when you have dreamed about one for as long as she has then I guess it is a matter of making it happen. I know many of you probably don't think this is a very big deal (since everyone under the sun has a pool these days) but let me tell you - IT IS. These pictures do not do it justice. (Especially since they are so small. I don't know what is wrong with the uploads, because I am not doing anything different than I did before)
These are Lisa's two punks on the waterfall.
This past weekend was the grand opening of the pool and our entire immediate family minus DW (he had to work) was there, even my brother. We had a very large time.



We played many mean games of volleyball.
Momo even got in the pool. In all my 30 something years I have never seen my Mother in a pool.

Now if I cold just talk DW into a pool at our house. I think I'll be talking a lot.