Moooooo!

Richie called us one Saturday morning to inform us all that he had decided we were making a visit to the ranch.  So, off we went for some "face time" with his cows!  It is quite a trek out to where he keeps them, so we were in the car for about 30 minutes or so!  The drive was fun...it had lots of ups and downs...the kind of bends in the road that make your stomach turn, so the kids loved that!  And there were wild-flowers of all colors lining the sides of the road...I enjoyed that!

 Me and the cows!  Way too close for comfort!  Papa got his laughs for the day when the ones to my left circled around and snoted all over me from the side while I was taking pictures!  He could have warned me, but noooooooo...he thought that was too much of a laugh to miss out on!  So yes, it got me, and I squealed! Yuck!  And the smell....nasty!  That's why I always stayed in the truck when I was younger!

Garron on the other had...had no fear!

 Hey look mom...there are some giant animals over there!

 I think I should go closer and check it out!

 I got them a treat...what are they waiting on?

 There we go...finally made a friend!

Garron, no problem...me total mess...trying to let him explore without total panic...cows are big!

 All of the other kids needed some help...Here's Afton holding on tight to Daddy!

 Braydon...frozen along side of Richie!

 Kaywen getting brave...along side the safety ranks!

 Richie and his kiddos...all but Garron...there were cows to be fed...he had no time for pictures!

 Garron, Richie and Malia

 Off to picnic...here's Rykin...at the place Richie named "Rykin's Point"...he had to show off his piece of land!

 My little Mountain Men!

 We set up a little camp...right under "Rykin's Point"...had a picnic and just played all afternoon!  It was so hot...and there was no shade! Ug!

 Tiny little shadow at the back of the suburban...everyone tried to fit in it!

 Kaywen and one of her favorite people!

 Papa...what can I say?!? Papa was on  a role that day.  He had lots of fun with his grandkids!  He went off wandering around for a while and brought back all kinds of treasures to show to the kids!

 The kids decided a little treasure hunt of their own sounded like fun...they found an entire dead cow and decided to bring it back to camp!  Afton and his "find!"

 Papa decided they should put it back together...here, he's adding the "tail" on!  That is one giant cow tail!!  He named his creation, Sister Bones, and even went so far as to tell the kids that if they did a little chant, she might come back to life!?!  When he was all done...Tesema said, "Papa, that doesn't look much like a cow to me!"

Rykin and his Nanny trying to find some shade...and food!

 Richie decided he would take a nap!

 He raised up and shouted, "I need a pillow!''  To which Papa responded very promptely!  He's got his solution to the problem hidden behind his back!  I'm tellin' ya...he thought he was funny that day!

Petrified Cow Poo!  There ya go Richie!

Richie got comfortable and then Malia decided that his belly looked like a great place to sit!

 Garron and Malia got stuck in the Barbie Jeep (of course the Barbie Jeep came too)...Papa drug them off of their dirt pile with his cane!

 Garron blowing some bubbles before we left!

Garron...five minutes later!  Totally worn out!

A Little Fun Here and There

We went to the skating rink for the first time!  Christopher's cousin Kevin opened up a dental practice here in town and hosted his patients at a skating party!  Fun, Fun!

 

 Afton trying to show me his skates, but they weighed more than he did!

 Daddy took Garron for a ride...totally made his day!

 See...they do love each other...sometimes!

 Fuzzy picture of Braydon showing me his skates!

 Afton and Garron doing some kind of silly dance after they got a hair cut!

Cutie Garron at a T-ball game...baseball is the story of our lives right now!

Easter Weekend

Easter Weekend was a big weekend at our house!  We had lots and lots of special moments!  Rykin's birthday was that weekend, which meant several things...he turned 8...he was baptized...support and love came from all over the place and made it the best weekend ever!  

We had some of our friends from Lubbock come and stay the weekend so that they could be a part of everything.  We spent a lot of time with them in Lubbock and quickly grew to absolutely love their family!  Kaywen got to be the "odd man out" for the weekend.  Poor girl!  The Sullivans have four boys and so do we and they are all stair-stepped down in age every year from 8-1!  So you can only imagine the great fun we had at my house all weekend!

Our friends got here around 6ish...we ate supper...visited a while...and then off to the gym to play until wee hours in the night with a bunch of little kids!  Totally smart, I know...but we all survived! They played basketball, they played with hula hoops...they had a fantastic game of kick ball...during which Rykin pegged Isaac...not once...but twice...and got him out!  :)  Go Rykin!  Might I add...that my kids are so incredibly blessed with aunts and uncles who love them so much!  I never know what silliness will occur when we're all together because the big people are just as crazy as the little ones!

Anyways, the picture up there with the frog was taken about 11:30 that night when we got home.  Oh the screaming and yelling and excitement that the whole neighborhood experienced in celebration of finding a frog!  And of course they had to bring it inside to show us!  We did get some rest...big day the next day!

Evan and Rykin eating their breakfast out on the porch the next day!

Rykin was baptized later that day!  He was so excited!  He has been studying and anticipating that moment for a long while!  It was a very special time for him in so many ways.  I love being back in Childress for things such as this.  The entire branch came to support him...backed some into standing at the back!  Grandma Tipa gave the talk on baptism.  She makes it so personal and special for each kid!  She always does an excellent job setting the tone.  His daddy baptized him.  Isaac gave the talk on the Holy Ghost...I love to hear Isaac bear his testimony.  He is always very specific and straight to the point.  Perfect for that moment!  Keyan played a special arrangement on the piano for Rykin.  Rykin loves Keyan...so that really meant a lot.  (Keyan is incredibly talented...WOW!).  Besides that, Rykin had all of his family that could attend and his two best buddies to share it all with!  After the baptism, we all moved the party to the gym!  We were supposed to picnic, but a storm blew in!  Thanks Billy!

Rykin with his daddy

Rykin with his two very best friends...Evan and Liza...in the same place...at the same time...what could be better!?!

That afternoon...kid extravaganza in the backyard!

That night we all gathered at Richie and Grandma's house for a feast and a birthday party!!

Rykin and his lego ninja man cake :)

Kaywen crashed again!  Rolled her ankle and skinned her knee.  Bummer!  Here she is...wishing I would go away!

Rykin and his new lavalava.  He has been dying for his very own forever!  We thought it was really pretty!  He also got completely hooked up with everything he needed for baseball and a tackle box to go fishing with and a new bike the next day!

And, leave it to Celesta to have something fun to do!

With Celesta and Vanessa coloring Easter eggs for tomorrow!

All of the kids, minus Owen and Kyron, and 2 more "unidentified" but on the way!

Garron and Malia 

Easter Sunday after church at Nanny and Papa's house.  

Hunting Easter eggs...notice the fancy WM bags my kids got for their eggs!  Nice!

It really gets crazy when we are all together in one place.  This is only about half of who all was crammed into Nanny's house for lunch!  Little people everywhere!

CLASSIC Easter photo at the Keys' house.   Papa, his Diet Dr Pepper, his hard boiled egg and Kaywen!

That evening we went out to the farm for a cookout and some more Easter/Birthday fun!

Everyone lining up for yummy food!

As to avoid the chance of any rattle snakes joining the fun, Grandma Judi just covered the barn floor with eggs!  

I'm exhausted all over again just thinking about all the fun we just crammed into about 48 hours!  What a blessing to have so many loved ones to share it all with!