Weekend Fun

Last weekend we were able to get Dakota, so we loaded up and headed to the city. James' sister was blessing her baby, so we went out for that and to visit his family. We haven't seen his family much lately, so it was nice to be able to spend some time with them. While we were out there we took the kids to Build-A-Bear. To be honest, I thought you would get a lot more bang for your buck....but what was I thinking. The kids liked it though, so that was what counted. Oakley ended up with a horse named Cactus and Dakota ended up with a dog (I can't remember it's name). Dakota got clothes for her dog and by the time we were out of there we had spent way too much money! But once again....THE KIDS LOVED IT!!!! They liked this cool little grooming station! Fun stuff!!!

What is Wrong with this Friggin' World!!!

Let me start off this post by showing you one of my latest arts and crafts projects. James and I have needed a good roping dummy for awhile. James is allergic to hay....(go figure)....so I decided that I would take on the task of making something that he wouldn't be so allergic to and something that we could rope together. I rope the head and he ropes the heels! It works Great!!!!
















Anyways.....on to the real story! We were out roping the dummy one night and decided it was getting too dark to see what we were doing so we laid our ropes on the horns and went in. I laid mine on first and then James laid his rope on top of mine. When we woke up the next morning I found this.....















If you didn't notice....those two pieces of unraveled rope are supposed to be one....somebody cut it in half sometime during the night. They didn't take anything from us. They just cut the rope so it couldn't be used anymore. Who does this?????? Needless to say, it REALLY pissed me off and then somewhat scared me too! I just keep trying to sort it all out in my head and I still have come up with no answers. So now that I have vented...guess I won't be leaving my ropes out anymore!

My little bull rider?????

My friend Wendy thinks that Oakley needs to ride bulls when he gets bigger! Not only does the thought of this freak me out in every way possible....but it REALLY freaks me out!

Did I mention that this idea really freaks me out???? Just Checking!

Anyways, here's hoping that this is as close as he ever gets to riding bulls!






















(just a side note in my defense....I encoraqed this type of activity with my little brother and now he has no teeth...at least not real ones....not that he is wearing dentures....but I am sure that is the next step!)

Camping in Deep Creek

We went camping at the Deep Creek Campground over Dakota's birthday. We took all of her presents up and has a little party for her. She loves to camp and so we rented a trailer and Ryan and Marie came with us. The kids had an absolute ball. There were little guppy fish in the creek next to our camp so we caught a lot of those. Then we went fishing up to the Moose Ponds and didn't do so hot there. I think we only caught three fish the whole time we were there....(All by me..of course) other than that we just hung out and had a good fun time. Happy 6 birthday Dakota!








Dakota and her guppies










These two boys crack me up. Oakley is always asking for Cecil and Cecil is always asking for Oakley. When they get together though they fight! They fight over everything....and when one of hem leaves the other is always asking where he is and when they get to play again!







Marie and Rylin






This is how we spent a lot of our time! Look at that perfect loop!









Two Heels and a Belt Buckle!!!!








James cooking up Dakota's b-day dinner! Oh, do I love dutch oven!!!!!







Dakota and her cake












This is how the boys stayed entertained. It was so funny to watch and they did this for so long! They wore them selves out!

I am so spoiled!

It's not everyday that I get a visit from my best friend! Two visits in one month though is pretty awesome! Even though she enjoys watching me struggle with parenthood(we are talking evil little laugh and smug look here folks) and she spoils my kids rotten( she learned from the best) I still love her! We go way too long with out seeing each other and I am so grateful that I was able to spend a little bit of time with her this summer! Hopefully I will get to go to Texas and visit her next time....Hopefully we won't have to go 4 years without a visit again! That would be awesome! Thanks Cody for taking the pics!

It Runs in the Blood

I think it is safe to say that Oakley takes after his mom a little bit!!!!












Okay....Okay...so he takes after his dad a little too!

Fun Family Nights!

This is how we spend our family nights. It is simple, it is cheap (if you don't count the horses, feed, trailer, truck, gas, cows, arena....you know everything) but it is fun and our family has a lot of fun here. We build a lot of memories and enjoy the company of some of our best friends!
I am amazed at what our kids learn here. Dakota has become quite the little rider and is very brave. The other night one of the horses got spooked by something and she held onto Oakley and managed to keep them both in the middle of the saddle while the horse was acting up. Her confidence level has blossomed so much in the last year! She did such a great job handling that little situation and I was so proud of her!
Oakley is all boy and I wonder constantly how little boys learn to do the things they do. I swear it is bred into them...it is the only thing I can come up with. We went roping last night and he was playing with his barn and animals. He actually made a mud hole for his pigs. He isn't even two yet! Crazy stuff. So what do you all do for your family nights?