Oink, Oink

Lexi now has a new friend, Porkchops. Porkchops is Hayllee's pig that Jeremy (and I) inherited from her mother's house. Since her mom could no longer keep Porkchops, Hayllee was very devesated and asked Jeremy if Porkchops could move to his house. We decieded to give it a try. So far, Porkchops is proving to be a very sweet piggy. She wasn't potty trained, or trained at all for that matter, so we are using animal crackers as her training treat. So far she is doing quite well. Of course Lexi is loving this. The dog that never gets anything except dog food and dog treats, is now munching down on animal crackers. I have learned it is hard to train a pig and give treats without giving one to Lexi. Lexi hears "sit" or "come" and thinks she has earned herself a treat! It has helped though. Porkchops follows Lexi everywhere, even out to the grass to take care of business. The only time Lexi gets upset with her is when she eats her dog food or tries to take her toys. We had to get Porkchops her own doggy toys to roll around on the floor!

Welcome Fall!

Hay's 1st day of 3rd grade
Summer has come to an end, and fall has begun. We were finally able to feel the affects of this as we sat outside at Hayllee's 10U softball game on Thursday night! It was finally time for pants and sweatshirts (yes, it does cool down here in Texas!). The school year has started off on a good foot. Hayllee is now in the 3rd grade. Bronco Tennis is well into district play and we now hold a 13-2 record. We just beat JJ Pearce on Friday with a win of 16-3. They are currently the #2 ranked 4A team in Texas! Our weeks have been filled with work, tennis practices/matches, softball practices/games for Hay (Jeremy and I are playing in a coed league again too), homework/reading, and whatever else we can pack in to make sure we have no spare time!! Our weekends have been spent remodeling Jeremy's house so that he can get ready to put it on the market. I am so tired of painting!!! However, Jeremy is quite handy, so I have learned a lot from being his assistant! We have also managed a weekend of 4 wheeling, golfing in a golf scramble to raise money for the Breast Cancer 3 day, and visiting with friends either palying disc golf or going to the new "driving range" at Top Golf! On the 4-wheel ride, Lexi had a great time chasing Hay on the 4-wheeler and Hayllee has become fearless on the back of Jermey's 4-wheeler. She now acts like she is bull riding and puts one hand up in the air! Needless to say, we are not bored and ever lacking something to do!

Ride em' Cowgirl!
Top Golf Driving/Game range!

Summer 2009

I thought since it was summer I would be much better about updating my blog. I was wrong! Summer is pretty much over since tennis tryouts started yesterday and I haven't blogged much at all! It was a quick and busy summer with lots of projects and things to do. The weeks that Jeremy had Hayllee and that she wasn't visiting her grandparents in Kingsville, I helped Jeremy paint the inside of his house, scrapbooked, and scrapbooked some more! I got a few projects done around my house as well. When Hayllee was at Jeremy's we spent the days together doing fun and exciting things. We went to Hawaiian Falls waterpark several times, the Dallas Zoo, the

Children's Museum, rollerskating, played in the pool, art projects, and much more. When we were at the zoo, the animals put on a great show for us. The kids especially loved the chimpanzee who was not fond of us and showed her agitation by picking her nose, turning to us, and eating it...YUCK!!!! We kept our selves busy and always found something to do! In the evenings we enjoyed playing Frisbee golf, which we have learned is a fun, free, and active way to spend the evening. We also went to several Texas Rangers games and have enjoyed cheering them on as they battle for 1st in their division! In July, Jeremy and I went with friends to New Braunfels to float the river. About 20 of us rented a huge house on the Guadalupe. The river was low, but we still found the horse shoe to float and had a blast. Too bad summer isn't longer!

Just for you, Dad!

This is not an exciting story or event that we have done lately! This is just to show my dad the contraption that Jeremy built to lift the hard top off of my jeep! He went to Home Depot (his favorite store) and got the steel poles, hooks, nuts, bolts, etc and made the actual lift. Then he put the foam stuff around to prevent scraping the top! We found a hoist and he bolted it from the attic. It works great! We undid the screws, attached the lift, and up went the top!

Hawaiian Falls

Our new way to spend the hot summer days is at Hawaiian Falls, a waterpark in The Colony. We got season passes so that Hayllee and I can go enjoy the cool escape with all of our friends! We have discovered that is a great way to relax during the day. We floated and played marco/polo in the lazy river, went down waterslides, took tubes down waterslides, played in the wave pool, and relaxed in the lawn/pool chairs in the wave pool! We are expecting to spend many hot summer days here over the next couple of months!

Jeep Beep

After 7 years and 114,000 miles I traded in my Jeep Liberty. Since it was such a good little car to me, I stuck with the Jeep brand and now have a 4 Door Jeep Wrangler Unlimited! It's white to match my 4 wheeler! I haven't had the top completely off yet, but I have the option for the hard top that comes off all the way, over the drive/passenger seat, over the back seat, or the soft top! Hayllee loves crusing around with the top off over the driver/passenger seat!

Happy Birthday To Me!

Birthday dinner at Awe Shucks

This year for my birthday, I asked Jeremy to go to Awe Shucks for dinner. It is a cajun seafood diner that serves catfish, crawfish, shrimp, and I have no clue what else! It was so good. Then, the next weekend we went to the Highland Village Red, White, and Blue festival to listen to Kevin Fowler perform. We listened to music, the kids played games and in the jump houses, and then we saw a great firework display. Afterwards, we went to Sneaky Pete's.

Monica, Glennis, and me at Sneaky Petes

Dirt Car Races

Richard won 1st place and Hay got his autograph!


I guess I was born in the wrong state and I am just now figuring out that I am Texas at heart! The mechanic at Jeremy's work races dirt cars every weekend. Jeremy had promised him for 2 years that he would come watch him race and we finally made it! We drove out to Mesquite to the dirt track and I saw my first dirt car races! It was a blast! Apparently I enjoy dirt car racing and 4 wheeling...I am becoming a country girl!! What made the race even more fun was that Richard won for the 3rd week in a row! Go car number 6!!!!

Richard is Car #6 in first place!

Orange Belt!

Hayllee took her test to move up from her gold to her orange belt. She had to do patterns and certain kicks/routines in order to get to the next level! She did a great job and we are very proud of how well she is doing in Karate!

Memorial Day Ride

Over Memorial Day weekend, we took the camper and went to Jacksonville, Texas for a ride at Mud Creek ATV Park. The first day was just not our day! We started off the trip having to go to a funeral for one of Jeremy's uncles. When we finally go back on the road, it was rush hour on a holiday weekend...which meant no movement on the highway! After finally making it through the city and stopping for food and gas, we thought we were home free. Wrong!!! about 45 minutes down the road someone pointed out to us that the back tire of the camper was smoking. We stopped to take a look to find that the previous owners had installed the wrong size tire and it was too big. We thought to stop and put air in the back tire to help even it out, but couldn't find any working air machines! Once we finally did, we realized that not only was the tire the wrong size, but the metal was showing and it was about to blow. We drove slowly to the Walmart in Athens where they were able to put on 2 new tires in about an hour! Once again, we thought we were home free. Wrong again! We got a few miles down the highway and the gas light came on. We were out in the middle of nowhere, and no gas stations to be found. You guessed it. We ran out of gas! Luckily we had gallons in the back of the truck for the 4-wheelers and were able to fill up on the side of the road. Finally, it was on to Mud Creek. We made it, set up camp, and went out for a night ride. Thinking that we were passed all of our bad luck, we were ready to have some fun riding! Not 30 minutes into our first ride, someone got stuck in some thick mud. Jeremy went to help pull them out. He looked back and saw nothing behind him but some think brush, and put is 4 wheeler into reverse. Along with the thick brush was an 8 foot cliff that Jeremy back off of into 4 feet of water! After floating his 4 wheeler a 1/4 mile downstream to tow out, we finally decided to call it a night. Jeremy was safe. The 4 wheeler started (It's a Honda!), and only needed an oil change! The rest of the weekend was much better!

Take Me Out to the Ranger Game!

The 3 of us at the ball game. I am not exactly sure of the face Hayllee is making!!

Jordan and Hayllee with their #1 fingers!

A little bit of rain will not keep us away from a Texas Rangers baseball game. On Saturday we went with Jermey's siter and niece, Jordan, and his friend David and his family to the ballpark to watch the Rangers take on the LA Angels. The game was delayed an hour and our seats were a little wet with raindrops, but we were still ready to watch some baseball! The kids each got their #1 fingers and of course peanuts, nachos, cotton candy, and all of the other baseball grub and we bunkered down in our seats. We were in the front row out in Left Field, so of course Hayllee had her glove, well, Jeremy's glove, there ready to catch any home runs that might come our way! I was happy because I had a pretty good view of Josh Hamilton, my ball player (if you haven't read his book, I highly recommend it!!)! It proved to be an exciting game in the first innning when the LA pitcher was thrown out of the game for intentially hitting our lead off batter! The weather remained warm and overcast, but no more rain for the entire game! After the Rangers win, we went across the parking lot to the Texas Ranger Concert Series and watched Robert Earl Keen perform live! It had gotten chilly by then, but we had our blankets to bundle up in and after Hayllee took a 20 minute power nap, she was up and ready to country dance!

Karate Kid

Hayllee went to her first Karate tournament on
Saturday with Sidekicks Karate School. The
tournament was held at a local middle school. There were a ton of kids there. After watching the instructors and black belt club do their stunts, it was time for Hay to perform. She went to the floor with the rest of the 7 and 8 year olds. She competed against the other yellow and gold belts. The first thing she did was her pattern. She did such a good job that she was tied for 3rd place and she had to do it again for a "pattern" off with another boy that was competing. She ended up with 4th place. After the patterns it was time to gear up for sparring. After getting all of her protective gear on and waiting patiently it was finally her turn. With her braided ponytail sticking out the hole in the back and her pink t-shirt that she had to wear under her uniform, she was ready to go! She had to go against the same boy that she competed against for 3rd/4th in patterns. I don't think that the boy or his dad were prepared for a little girl with a ponytail coming out of her helmet to have such high and strong kicks! She was not intimidated at all! She did a great job at keeping him at a distance with her kicks. The dual was extrememly close but when time was up the other boy beat her by just a couple points. She got 4th place out of about 8 kids in the sparring as well. In the end she brought home two trophies!

Surprise! Happy Birthday Chris!

Jeremy's cousin Chris had a birthday party in San Antonio. He had been planning it for some time and had mentioned it to Jeremy, but we never said much back. However, we knew that we were going to surprise him! It was a surprise! The look on his face when he saw Jeremy was priceless and made the quick trip to San Antonio worth every minute! The party was a blast. It was a beautiful night, so we stayed out on the patio until it was time for the band to play. It was fun to mingle with the diverse groups of people at the party from Chris's wife's friends at the beauty shop, to his fellow fire fighters, his body building friends, and his family. Somehow we all managed to come together and had a blast the entire night!

Keeping with Traditon and Making History

In April we were flown by the school district to Lubbock, Texas for the regional tennis tournament. Yes, you read it right, we FLEW!!! I was excited about this, seeing that all of my year of high school and college tennis I was trapped inside a 15 passanger van or bus! It was nice hop on a plane and then be at our destination an hour later!!

Prior to leaving for Lubbock, we continued our "Kiss the Bronco" tradition at Boyd for sending players to the playoffs. My 4 players and both of us coaches gathered with other athletic teams and the principal for our farewell sendoff.

After checking into our hotel, The Embassy Suites (our district pulled out all the red carpets this year!!!), I went off to the seeding meeeting. Unfortunately my boys singles player drew the #2 seed and eventual tournamet champion. My mixed doubles team drew the #1 seed and eventual tournament champion. My girls singles player was a bit luckier. She was the #2 seed. She flew through her first match. The 2nd match (quater finals) proved to be a bit tougher than expected. After dropping the first set, down 4-1 in the 2nd, a few tears, and an ugly lob fest, she did what she had to do and won the match which led her to the semis which she won. The finals proved to be a re-match of the district finals and Mackenna was victorious again. This time, she made school history as the first Bronco Regional Champion and we are headed to State in Austin, Texas.

We had time to kill after the finals, so the most exciting tourist attraction in Lubbock is the Buddy Holly muesum. It was interesting to the kids for the first 5 minutes and interesting to me for the first 10 minutes. After 45 minutes we were dragging Coach D out the door!

Hayllee on Neiman's Website

About a month ago, Hayllee went in for a photo shoot for Neiman Marcus's website. She took several different poses and they used one! She get's paid a little, which Jeremy puts into her savings account, but unfortunately she doesn't get to keep the clothes. I am not sure who actually buys their kid $99 jeans!!! She has another photo shoot on Monday. We are all so proud of her!
http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/catalog/prod.jhtml?itemId=prod87180041&parentId=cat19160757&masterId=cat10050732&index=1&cmCat=cat000000cat5160748cat10000733cat10050732cat19160757

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

Jeremy did not have Hayllee this year for Easter, but that did not stop the Easter Bunny from coming to her daddy's house. I made it to the house before Hayllee did on Monday, because Jeremy picked her up and took her to Karate. Of course when I got there, I called and told her what a mess the Eater Bunny had made...he had left candy EVERYWHERE and decorated a new basket for her! When I told her what a mess he had made she litteraly squealed with excitement and told Jeremy to drive fast because the Easter Bunny had come. Since she had been at her mom's house, and it had been so rainy and wet, the Easter Bunny didn't make it for long and didn't leave a lot. By the time he got to her dad's house, he had a lot more time and was able to take his time since she wasn't there; not to mention it was sunny, so he could make a good hunt outside too! When she got home from Karate, she grabbed her basket and began to gather the candy from the trails throughout the house and from the hiding places in the backyard. She was very excited to know that the Easter Bunny had not forgotten her!

Come Early, Stay Late: Bronco Tennis

This spring has a been a successful one for the Bronco tennis team, but we never seem to do it the fast way...we take our time! As we were sitting watching the playback match that would decide if our mixed doubles team or Plano Sr. High's mixed team would advance onto regionals, we realized that we were once again the LAST team at the tournament; other than our oppenent of course! Every tournament that we have played in this spring, we have been the last on court! At Marcus it was us and Coppell. At McKinney it was us and North. At Allen it was us and Allen. And at the district tournament, it was us and Plano! Whoever comes to watch Boyd tennis get's their money worth out of it! Apparently since we were able to spend so much time on the courts, it also gave us the opportunity to play in all weather conditions. This spring we played in sunny conditions, waited through rain and snow showers, and played in 30-40 mph winds! In the end it has all paid off. Mackenna, my #1 girls singles player is our first female district champ, Travis, my #1 boys singles player is our first male district champ, and Molly and Evan are the first team in our entire district to make it to regionals as an unseeded team and having to play every seeded team to get there! To top it all off, the entire team took 2nd place in district for the girls team and boys team! Go BRONCOS!!!!

Roughrider Egg-Stravaganza

The local tripple A baseball team, the Frisco Roughriders, held an Easter egg hunt for the kids. Luckily for us, not many people showed up! It was a beautiful day at Dr. Pepper stadium and they had lots of fun activites. Hayllee practiced batting, they had Duec, their mascot, and the Easter Bunny there. We ate ice cream, hot dogs (we were a little backwards in the order of food!) and of course candy from the eggs Hay found!

Spring Break 2009

Breckenridge, Colorado

Keystone, ColoradoIt was off to Colorado this year for Spring break and Jeremy's 32 birthday. On Monday, Jeremy, and our friend Jace, and I flew to Denver where we met up with Jeremy's cousin Johnney. That night we ate a very good dinner at Jace's friend Jeremy's house who he knew from high school. This is the same friend that was giving us theif family condo, in Frisco Colorado, to stay in for the week. Tuesday, which was St. Patricks Day and Jeremy's birthday, we spent skiing down the slopes at Keystone. On Wednesday, we were a little sore from the first day of skiing, so the boys humored us and we went to the town of Breckenridge for some shopping. Mountain towns are very similar to beach towns! We had a relaxing and fun time wandering through the tourist shops. On Thursday it was time to hit the slopes again at Keystone for some day and night skiing. We managed to make it through the day without too many wipeouts and tumbles down the hills! Friday was our last day, and we decided to give another set of slopes a try so we went to Breckenridge. It was a new experience to take the gondola up to the slopes from the parking lot The entire trip was a blast and we have memories that will last a lifetime.