March Madness

Wow! What a month! To be honest, I haven't really been in the mood to blog, but now I have a lot of catching up to do. Let's see.... where do I begin? Before spring break, Jody and I went to a horse sale in Lufkin. This is usually a three day sale that starts on Friday and ends Sunday afternoon, but this time it was a two day sale. This is a big show for us and it starts early and ends late everyday so we have never been able to take the kids with us. We have been going to this show 4 times a year ever since Jody and I were first married, so there are a lot of repeat customers who have seen me go through each pregnancy and always ask when we are going to bring the kiddos. It is such a stressful sale, so maybe when they get a little older they can come along. Below are pictures of our set up there. It feels like we bring everything but the kitchen sink. I can't believe Jody and I used to set up everything by ourselves (that's probably why I have back and hip problems now - I blame Jody -lol). Now we bring help with us.

The sale ring.

Demonstration of a horse cuttin a cow.

Because I had taken off work to help Jody out, I wasn't able to take off some time for spring break. But Savanna stayed a few days with cousins and then Jody helped her ride her pony a few days.

Next, of course, for the month of March was Easter. When all was said and done, I was just about Eastered out. Savanna had her school Easter party on Friday before spring break. Shane had his daycare Easter party the Thursday before good Friday. On Saturday morning, we went to the town Easter parade and activities. Savanna didn't feel well, so she didn't hunt eggs but she did get her face painted and Shane won a cupcake during the cake walk. It was probably better that Savanna didn't hunt because they split the kids up in age groups and they all hunted at the same time and I would have wanted to see both of them hunting eggs. There were so many kids that there really wasn't enough eggs for all of them. Shane got a total of 3 eggs. Then later that evening, some friends down the road invited us over for hot dogs and hamburgers and an egg hunt for the kids. We had fun. They had egg tosses for the kids and the adults. I wish I had gotten more pictures of them busting on everyone. Then, of course, we finally got to Easter Sunday. The kids love there basket from the Easter Bunny - bubble wands, coloring books, games, candy, etc. We went to church, then back home to pick up my prepared dishes and head over to Pam's in-laws for lunch and yet another egg hunt with all the cousins. It was a bit chilly but the kids had a great time!

Egg Hunt #1 - Shane's daycare

Shane wanted to use the bike to hunt eggs.

Shane with his buddy Devin

"Look Moma!"

Shane cheated a little by holding his egg on the spoon.

Story time - surprise, surprise, look who has his shoes off. I may let him go barefooted everywhere this summer - Would that be too redneck of me?

What a smile!

Shane's future girlfriend - Zoe.

Egg Hunt #2 - Mt. Vernon

Cute Cousin BreAnna!

It was like he was looking at me saying "Where are the eggs?"

I tried to talk Savanna into doing the sack races but she was just not feeling good.

Egg Hunt #3 - Sharp's home.

Egg Hunt #4 - Voss' home.

Holding up their favorite egg - Avery had the most eggs.

Shane had an egg roll under the car and he was not going to let it get away.

A good month of madness!

Growing up

Last week seemed to drag on and on for me but this week has gone so much faster - maybe it's the time change and sunshine. Well, last weekend we went to watch Pam's (my sister) girls play basketball and cheer one last time until next year. Avery and Ashlyn played basketball and Anna cheered. They all did so well. You know, I get so wrapped up in my kids and the events and happenings with us that I forget how much my nieces and nephews are growing up. They are becoming such great little people. I really want to take the time and get to know them each individually but it seems as though every time we get together the kids want to play with each other and the adults want to catch up on adult talk. They all call me Tia (spanish for Aunt) because Aunt Amy sounds weird to me and I sometimes wonder what they think of their Tia. I hope they don't look at me as the Tia who doesn't have time to visit or then again maybe I am prematurely worrying about it because we have plenty of time to develop a relationship together. Well, I didn't mean to get so deep. I just wanted to say that they are all growing up so fast and will probably be graduating high school before I know it.

Anna cheering. So cute!

Mom/Gran with Elli Kate, Savanna, & friends watching the game.

Avery running down the court. #11

Avery & Ashlyn getting some refreshment after the game.
(Hayden in the background)

Aunt Penni with Shane. Love your new glasses, Penni!!

Snow in March?

Just wanted to get a post in that it is snowing in March. Texas weather - what do you expect? Stayed home with Savanna yesterday, Jody is with her today. She came home from school with a fever, felt sick to her stomach - I set up trash can and she made it to it in time - yeah! I hate to see her sick. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the rest of the fam will not get it. Hope all has a great weekend - we plan to stay in.

Longer Days - Yeah!

I am so glad to see that the days are getting longer and that we will spring forward Saturday night! I know we loose an hour but I don't mind it because when I get in from work it will still be daylight. My drive to and from work takes between 30 and 40 minutes, so I don't get in until around 6. I do not like the winter months (except for Christmas) because it is dark when I get in. I feel as if I should be getting the kids ready for bed right when we walk in the door.

Poor Jody

Jody does not read my blog. He doesn't know how to operate a computer or at least he says he doesn't. He has me or Sherry (his secretary) do all the looking up for him. Sometimes I think he secretly knows how but just doesn't want to put forth the effort. He does that with housework too. I offer to teach or show him how, but he puts me off. I think some, not all, men play dumb on purpose so that women will do the work. (If he knew I was writing about him, he would just die, so I may be deleting this post if I hear he has been looking on my blog.)

Anyway, he left for a show in Witchita, KS last Wednesday, the 27th. This was a show where he had to set up inside with his saddles and tack so he did a lot of unpacking and packing. The show was over on Sunday at 6:00 pm and he said while they were packing up, the big storm hit and they had to load everything in the rain. After that, they drove all night and he was getting in as I was getting ready for work on Monday morning. It was so good to see him before we left for work and school. The kids went crazy. He brought back stuffed horse toys for Savanna & Shane and he bought me a cross made out of horseshoes to hang up. He never went to sleep and worked all day Monday shipping out orders, etc. Next, he came in, we ate supper, and he bathed the kids while I cleaned up the dishes. Needless to say, he was soooo tired and crashed after we got the kids to bed. Then, this morning his allergies have started acting up again. He did fine while he was away so we are joking that he is allergic to me, lol! Poor Jody! Even though he may play dumb, he is a great father and husband so I guess I will keep him around. Ha Ha!

Late Weekend Update

Our past weekend was pretty busy. We had an estate auction on Saturday to do for a man who was moving. It was over at 2:30, but after checking everyone out and closing the books, we didn't get inside the house until around 5:00. We rushed around to get ready and make it to the Junior Market Show Sale or Auction at 6:30. The company that I work for sponsors the t-shirts that is passed out to each student as they leave the ring with their animal. Savanna and Shane had a good time seeing all the animals. We didn't stay as long as I wanted to help with the t-shirts because the kids began to get restless and Jody was not feeling well due to his allergies acting up. He usually doesn't have a problem with them until the spring months, so I feel that it is really going to bad for him when those months come around. Anyway, we left and went to eat Mexican Food and Jody had to take Shane outside once because he was being a little terror. I think he was just wound up from and the auction and he didn't have a nap that day which makes all the difference in the world. Sunday, we went to church and then the afternoon turned out really nice, so I worked on cleaning out an upright freezer that we bought at the estate auction for $100. We have a chest freezer, but I think I will like the upright better because I will actually see what I have (there is no tellin what I might find in the bottom of the old one when I switch over). Jody got the ponies up for the kids to ride and they had a good time. Savanna is so ready to start using her reins instead of being lead around and Jody is looking forward to teaching her this summer. Well, that was our weekend and Shane now has a sinus infection that I am treating. The doctor said it was brought on by his allergies. I am afraid that he is going to have them bad like Jody.

Savanna was so tired and crashed on our bed when we came in Saturday night.

Shane (below) on the other hand was NOT and was still wound up when we got in.

Worries and Thoughts

I received a 24 hour bug on Sunday night which caused me to miss work Monday and ever since I have been trying to catch up at work and at house work (which I never catch up on). I don't have much to say so I may just ramble a bit with things that have been on my mind.

Thank goodness the kids or Jody have not caught what I had. The kids are doing great. I missed open house at Savanna's school on Monday night but Jody went and said the teacher told him that Savanna is doing very well academically and socially. We (more so me) have struggled with wheather to hold Savanna back. She won't be 6 until August 22 and is the youngest in her kindergarten class. I have asked family and friends their opinions as to if I should hold her back and repeat kindergarten, but everyone has such different views which confuses me even more. I keep praying for God to show me the right decision, but I still struggle with making the right choice for Savanna. Of course, I just want the best for her. This worry comes in cycles. I will dwell on it awhile and then some other worry will occupy my mind until it rolls around again which will definately be this summer before school starts when I will probably be put in the hospital from the stress of trying to decide my little girl's future (just kidding, but seriously, it is a decision that stresses me out).

Anyway, on to Shane. He finally quit taking his shoes off in the car everytime we went somewhere after I beat him within an inch of his life (again, just kidding). He is definately all boy. I catch him on top of the table, standing in the chair that he has pulled over to the candy bowl, in the refrigerator, jumping on the bed. He is also going to eat us out of house and home. He is just getting so big. But he is so much fun and his smile and laugh is so contagious. He loves wearing his boots. And he has now started wanting to use the potty, which consists of sitting there for about 3 seconds, tearing off a piece of toilet paper, throwing it in, and then flushing, followed by a laugh and clapping. He truly believes he has used the potty. I have just been letting him do this because I really hate to discourage him when he does have the concept down.

Well, that's my thoughts for today.