Grandkids Camp

Yesterday we dropped Henry off at his Grandparent's house. He'll be there at "Grandkids Camp" with all of his cousins who are over the age of six until Friday. He was so excited to go! I recall dropping him off last year and feeling his anxiety and hesitation when I went to leave. This year I got a quick "Bye, Mom!" and a hug before he went running off with his buddies.

The theme this year is Cowboys and Indians. I only noticed two Indians when I dropped Henry off, the overwhelming majority were dressed as Cowboys. Henry is a cowboy, of course. It wasn't even a discussion. When I asked Henry which he preferred to do he said, "Mom, you know I'll be a cowboy."

We dropped Henry off in the morning, and then Jonah and Bridget and I headed to a local park that Bridget fell in love with while we were staying at Dave and Mary Beth's house. We had a picnic lunch with friends, then headed home. Later in the day, when Sam came home, we ran into town for dinner and to run some errands. All day long, whenever we went anywhere near the car, Bridget would say, "Are we going to pick Henry up now?" She is not at all sure about us leaving him out at Grammy and Grandpop's house.

Henry is going to have so much fun! He will be spending time swimming, practicing archery, ping pong, and chinese checkers, marching, learning Bible lessons, cooking and spending precious time with his cousins and Grandparents. We are so thankful for Sam's wonderful parents who are so intentional about their time with the kids. This is truly a blessing, and it's only because we live so close that we can participate and share every day life with our wonderful family! So glad that God brought us to Texas four years ago. :)

Bridget Mary, hair dresser extraodinaire...

Yes, she fixes her own hair. And mine too, whenever I let her get close enough with the hair brush.

I think she was going for the formal/wedding day/fancy dress kind of up-do here. Not too bad for a two year old, eh? It doesn't hurt that her hair naturally curls when it's humid.

I think we'll start a business. Hair styles by Bridget. Who wants to be her first customer? I think she accepts fruit snacks as payment. :)

Henry's magic trick

Wordless Wednesday

We're going Country!

This past weekend our little town held their annual rodeo.

The week before the rodeo I entered a contest with the local tv station to win tickets to the rodeo. Didn't hear anything back, so early the next week we bought tickets for Saturday night's performance. On Wednesday, the tv station called to ask if we wanted free tickets to Thursday's event. How could I say no? So we ended up going twice last week.

It's a fun event, not to be missed. My kids look forward to it all year long.

It was SO FUN! The Cowgirl Chicks were there again, and those girls are just amazing. My favorite is probably the bareback bronc riding. Jonah really loved watching the barrel racing. Henry was most excited about the cash grab. They invite all kids six and under to come line up inside the arena. Then they scatter $200 in dollar bills around the other end and let them run down and gather what they can. Henry is a few weeks away from his seventh birthday, so this was his last chance to join in that particular activity, but this year he was the fastest one out there! He got $16 the first night and $8 the second. Jonah didn't get any either night, but Henry (very graciously, on his own!) decided to share half with his little brother. So sweet!

Henry had worn out his chaps from last year, so I made him a new pair. Jonah got a pair this year too. They came out so cute...cowhide on one side and they're reversible with carhartt fabric on the other side. Fringe at the bottom, of course. :) I made Bridget a skirt out of the remaining fabric so she could sport a special rodeo look too.

We ran into so many people we knew (it's hard not to in a town of 5000 people!) and sat with friends both nights. On Saturday we celebrated our nephew Matthew's 3rd birthday with him before all going to the rodeo together. The place was packed on Saturday and the only seats we could find were right down front...where the dirt clumps fly up whenever horses run by.

We loved every bit of it and can't wait for next year's rodeo!

In other country living news, Sam brought home four more goats today. The place he works uses goats for their outdoor education programs and then they take them to auction at the end of the school year. Sam found out they were going to auction and said, "I'll take 'em!" I think he said two of the does are pregnant, so it looks like we'll have some sweet little babies around here sometime soon. :)

My life is not dull....

This morning I presented the kids with a financial lesson. They each painted three glass jars that will be their 'piggy banks' to store their money. One each for tithe, spend, and save. During the painting portion of the lesson, one of the kids got a little excited and flung his jar right off the table. It was an accident, but when I went to sweep up the shattered pieces of glass from the tile I ended up spreading wet gobs of paint everywhere else. It was quite an adventure, to say the least.

After that I sent the kids outside to play so I could clean up and get the paints put away. A few minutes later Jonah running back inside saying, "Help! Help, Mom. One of the goats is stuck in a TREE! For real, in a tree!"

I went out to investigate, and sure enough...this is what I found.

Sheep (lovingly named by the boys) had wedged herself between two trees and couldn't get out. I sent Henry back for the camera, because of course this had to be documented. He wasn't pleased that I was taking pictures before helping the goat, but she wasn't panicking at all.

No sooner had I helped her cram her head back between the trees (leaving lots of little bits of hair behind) when I heard Bridget crying loudly. One thing you should understand about Bridget is that she is a TOUGH little girl. She very rarely cries, and when she does it is usually because she is in trouble for something and not because she is hurt. So hearing her cry when she was just playing is definitely cause for alarm. The boys and I went running back through the gate to see what was going on with her.

Henry got to her first, and luckily enough I still had my camera handy. Turns out she had climbed up into the baby swing and buckled herself right in. Then she yanked on the cords just right and flipped herself face forward so she was looking at the ground, like this:

Then of course she couldn't flip herself back out. It was hilarious! Henry flipped her back over and then she thought it was funny, so she flipped herself forward a few more times while Henry was standing there to help flip her back.

All of this happened before lunch. Never a dull moment around here! :)