Just a small town girl...

Yellowstone National Park- 2011

2011-09-05T17:19:00.006-04:00

The Fruge' family, Carson family & Hoggard family all meet in Yellowstone!

A park Ranger shows Hayden some really big Elk antlers.

Notice the matching shirts!- Thanks Gran!

Our Pet Buffalo and my favorite story to tell.

Bear tracks...

Notice the shadow of the person next to the Elk. We were in our car. Um, they're called wild animals for a reason.

Grand Prismatic

Near Grand Prismatic

Morning Glory Pool

Yes, Hayden has his own valley in Yellowstone and he was really proud of that.

My sweet family!

A whole lot of hiking to do here.

Old Faithful

She was fashionably late.

Can't wait to go back!

Yellowstone is everything you expect and more...

Yellowstone By The Numbers:
6 days of travel, 6 people, 1 car
7 States to mark off the list
3 National parks Mt. Capulin, Yellowstone, Arches
1 60th Birthday party for my dad
2,700 miles round trip
3 nights in Yellowstone in Canyon Village
12 miles at least for hiking on this trip
100's of Bison roaming through the valley
1 'pet' Bison came to visit us the 1st morning
2 many Elk to count relaxing in the shade of old Ft. Yellowstone
4 kids that had just as much fun as I did
3 Moose

1 Wolf
0 Bears

Small Town Parade

2011-07-04T16:15:00.005-04:00

US Forest Service- Smokey the bear!

Lots of goodies to hand out!

My favorite float- The Lone Star Ballet

Howdy!

This is what happens when your wagon wheel breaks during the parade...

Parade crowd

Cute Patriotic shirts

TEXAS

A photographer in the making!

Rachel and her crafty Patriotic shirt

Fair on the Square

I love the 4th of July! Family, friends, BBQ, parade... it doesn't get much better. We enjoyed celebrating this morning with friends. Canyon has a great small town parade. We were pleased to see the US Forest Service in the parade. They have had numerous crews in Canyon for the last few months. They have come down to help fight the wildfires in the area. Remember, only you can prevent forest fires. We appreciate those that are serving in our area and were glad to see them in the parade today.

Fair on the Square was a huge hit. Plenty of vendors selling their wares. We saw everything from face painting to funnel cakes and everything in between. It was great to see our new courthouse as the centerpiece of a historic celebration. I look forward to many more years of celebrating the 4th of July in my very own small town.

Clarendon High School Class of '91 --20 year Reunion

2011-07-04T15:46:00.002-04:00

This weekend, I celebrated my 20 year reunion. Senior Class of 1991- wow, that seems like such a long time ago. We had about half of our graduating class show up. For some schools, that could be up to 200 people. For us, however, it was just 16. For just a moment, time stood still this weekend. Old friendships seemed to pick up right where they left off. It was great to meet the families of my classmates. I loved seeing where they are now and hearing about what they've done for the past 20 years.

The Campers Return

2011-06-19T18:53:00.008-04:00

The Solar Powered Golf Cart.
(Solar Panels are on top)

Hayden and Chris (his counselor)

Another reason Rachel loves camp.

Rachel riding the barrels.

Hayden getting ready to chase the clown.

Notice his feet aren't even touching the ground.

Hayden with Jack and a couple of other campers.

Rachel

Headed home...

Well, things were very different without kids. It gave us a little taste of an empty nest. We LOVED it! Don't get me wrong, we love our kids, but we really love each other and having fun together, watching movies that we want to see, eating out where they don't serve chicken nuggets, getting ice cream for fun...

All the kids are back home and we have enjoyed hearing their songs, stories, and awesome tales of their adventures of camp.

Here are a few of the things they shared:

Kate came back from visiting Gran and Poppy in Lubbock with her new camera! She got to take pictures of the cousins in Lubbock and do her first photo shoot. She then took her camera to Hidden Falls to get pictures of the rodeo. She had a great time going shopping and spending time in Lubbock.

Sarah, who went to WT's engineering camp, got to weld this week. She brought home this really cool WT metal art piece that she welded together. She also got to make her own fireworks! She got to convert a golf cart to a solar powered golf cart. It sounds like she got to do a lot of fun stuff at camp. Now, the funny thing is that she talked about how several kids were falling asleep during the class time. She made it a point to count how many were asleep during each session. Her highest count was 13! They were engineers after all. (I do realize that engineers won't find that funny.) Sarah also won an award at camp this year. She was awarded the "Best Smile". She says that it is thanks to Dr. Sparkman.

Rachel, who went to Hidden Falls, got to spend a week with several of her friends and celebrated her third year at camp. She loves it just as much as the first year she went and has decided that she will in fact be a camp counselor when she is old enough. Her favorite counselor was Sebastian. He is from England and plays soccer for WT on scholarship. She, along with everyone else at camp, loved his accent. Rachel rode the barrels in the rodeo and did a great job. She looked like a natural on her horse.

Hayden, who also went to Hidden Falls, got his first taste of camp. He was a little nervous when he found out that he couldn't call us, but he did great. He introduced us to every counselor at camp. His counselor in the Rockin' B cabin was from California. He learned about Hidden Falls because his mom is from Amarillo. This was his 10th year at camp. Hayden did the clown chase in the rodeo and had a great time. His favorite story was when the camp leader asked for his help. Hayden had to help unlock a bathroom. His leader had him climb through a window and into the bathroom from outside the building to unlock the door. He thought that was pretty cool.

There's A First Time for Everything...

2011-06-12T22:58:00.004-04:00

Three Campers ready to go...

Hayden's Cabin

Rachel and her new roommates.

Hayden's first time to go to camp!

Well, it's taken 15 years for this to happen, but all our kids are off to camp and to visit family this week. A week alone...

Day 1- movie (X-Men) Check!
Day 2- dinner with friends
Day 3- dinner with husband!
Day 4- paint the town red, oh wait, I mean paint the office tan. ( Boring, I know, but it's what I do)
Day 5- a little shindig at my house (thirty-one party)
Day 6- Children return home refreshed, renewed, and ready to spend the rest of the summer together!

Hey, one can dream! I'll let you know how it goes...

Rio Grande Zoo

2011-04-12T20:27:00.003-04:00

The Rio Grande Zoo in Albuquerque is still our favorite zoo. While in Albuquerque, we decided to go back to the zoo. When we lived there, we went to the zoo all the time. The kids loved going to see all the animals. It has been about 6 years since they last went and they still love this zoo. We had a great time on our animal adventure.

The best thing about this zoo is that you can walk through and see everything in just a few hours and still have time to make it to Old Town or the Aquarium in the afternoon. LOVE it!

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives... ABQ

2011-04-10T23:33:00.002-04:00

As we planned our trip to Albuquerque, we decided to sample a little something from the food network. We went to The Standard Diner; a place seen on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. The Standard Diner features a fabulous selection of diner favorites taken to a whole new level. Country Fried Tuna? Yes, that is what John had. Sarah had the Monte Cristo, shown above. Hayden tried the Mac-n-Cheese; while Rachel went with a safe bet and tried the kid's meal hamburger. Me, I went for the 'standard' chicken fried steak. Let me just say, there was nothing standard about it. It started with a bed of garlic mashed potatoes, topped with fresh asparagus and on top of that, was the best chicken fried steak in ABQ. Top that off with a creamy garlic peppercorn gravy, and I had the best dish on the menu! The kids really enjoyed going to a place that Guy Fieri himself had gone. If you're in Albuquerque, check out the Standard Diner.

Show Fest 2011 - Albuquerque

2011-04-10T23:27:00.002-04:00

A weekend in Albuquerque to watch Kate compete in the 2011 Show Fest was very entertaining. We had a great trip and enjoyed watching Canyon High School's very own Glee club compete.

CHS Glee

2011-03-31T22:59:00.003-04:00

Kate has been working hard all year in her show choir. They are ready to take their act to Albuquerque to compete. They did a great job performing tonight. Way to go Kate! I took the video with my phone, but it gives you an idea of what they sound like. I'll take a better video camera to ABQ.

Our new friend Nikki Heat

2011-03-27T23:18:00.005-04:00

The storing of Nikki Heat

I had to peek...

My first batch wasn't very pretty, but they tasted great.

Hayden came back for more.

Say hello to our new friend, 'Nikki Heat'. Our friend has a twin that lives in Lubbock. My mother-in-law posted about it on her blog. Nikki Heat is the name she has given to her sourdough starter. This sourdough stater was given to her by a friend. It has been in their family for 25 years! When she suggested that she might share it, I felt a little unsure if I wanted to accept her gift. The tending, feeding, stirring...it sounded worse than having a new puppy to me. Um,... no thanks! I'll just get my stale old bread at my little grocery store.

Don't get me wrong, I love to cook, but cooking is way different than baking. When I was a kid and my dad would work late, I would go to the pantry and throw a can of this, a can of that, a pound of this and a little of that together, and voila, my brother and sister thought I was the best chef ever. I loved being creative in the kitchen and still do. Baking is a whole different ball game and I don't know the rules. If you get too creative with your baking, things could go terribly "a-rye".

After going to Lubbock and spending the weekend learning all about the care and keeping of Nikki Heat, I soon began to like her. I felt like maybe I too could make luscious cinnamon rolls and tasty breads. What once seemed to elude me felt attainable. I could bake and it could be good and my family would eat it. Okay, give me some! I'll do it.

And so, I return home with my little bucket of Nikki Heat. (She travels well if packaged properly.) Eager to see if I too could make some delicious baked goods, I set out to feed her and then mix together a batch of....cinnamon rolls. There, I said it, "I am going to make cinnamon rolls". That is something I had never done before, ever. Sunday afternoon, I carefully followed the recipe. I measured everything just like my MIL taught me. I covered the dough and prayed that it would rise. Just before bed Sunday night, I took a peek under the towel covered bowl. Much to my surprise, it was a fluffy ball of risen dough! Step one, check! Next, I had to roll it out, turn it into a cinnamon roll and say another little prayer for it to rise a second time. This time in cute little stone pans ready for the baking. I got up early Monday morning to check on my precious dough. Yes! It did it again, and I didn't even have to do anything. Like magic, the cinnamon rolls were double their size, slightly touching each other as if not to crowd, ready to go for a little baking. Step two, check! Fifteen minutes seemed like an eternity that Monday morning. I waited, and waited... Oh, I almost forgot step three, the frosting. I hurried to make the frosting while they finished baking and by the time I was done, my first ever batch of homemade cinnamon rolls came out of the oven. While they were still warm, I frosted them. They glistened like a new pair of sparkly Toms! By this time, my children were eagerly awaiting their yummy breakfast treats. With oohs and ahhhs, they delighted themselves by eating fresh hot cinnamon rolls for breakfast that day.

Well, my friend, if baking has eluded you, fear not. You too can make delicious baked goods right in your own home. All you need is a little Nikki Heat and some coaxing and instruction from your mother in law and you too can achieve baking success.

CBA Champions

2011-03-05T16:29:00.003-05:00

Well, since the day Hayden turned two, he has been prepared for this moment. For Hayden's second birthday, we bought him a little basketball goal. We handed him the ball and he took his first shot and made it! He has been ready to play basketball ever since. When we moved to Canyon three years ago, he saw the sign for CBA and was ready to play. The bad thing is that you had to be in second grade. So, this year, CBA sign ups came around and Hayden was ready to play. The time had come for some real basketball. John was asked to coach and he led the spurs to a Championship victory. What a season! The spurs went undefeated in the tournament. Way to go Hayden. We can't wait to watch you play for the Canyon Eagles someday!

Comfort and Joy!

2011-01-01T11:32:00.004-05:00

What a wonderful time we've had spending Christmas with family. It brings me great Comfort and Joy to know and love this family of mine. We spent several hours playing games, lounging in our pajamas, watching movies, building lego stuff, creating art and craft items, cooking, eating, playing Kinect... Okay, I've done a little cleaning and organizing too. I have enjoyed my time off and have really loved spending it with family!

Hoggard Family Christmas

2010-12-12T22:20:00.003-05:00

'

Today, the Hoggard side of our family got together to celebrate Christmas. Our 'traditional' Christmas dinner includes chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy and more trimmings than you could possibly imagine.[ It reminds me of when my brother and I were in high school and on Friday mornings, before the big game, my dad would make steak for breakfast. The coaches got a kick out of asking my brother what he had for breakfast. I think they were hoping to one day be invited.] This was definitely a Texas style Christmas dinner. My dad cooks the steak outside and we prepare the feast inside. I think we could actually feed the entire neighborhood if we wanted. There were 23 of us and we had 48 steaks!

After our stuffing, we exchanged gifts white elephant style. I don't know if any other family does this, but it certainly makes for interesting gift giving. We have come to find many women in our family would prefer knives and tools to all the sparkly foo foo stuff most women want. Also, we are not afraid of stealing other peoples gifts. The best gifts are frequently stolen and end up with a third owner for their final destination. If you don't put your gift away quickly, it might just get hidden in order to go home with one of its previous owners. Some of the gifts this year included a set of knives, a jig saw, an electric griddle, a warm fuzzy blanket, jewelry and a set of bowls.

Hosting our lively bunch is always a treat. We love that they are all willing to come back each year.

Hoggard Family Reunion

2010-10-12T23:07:00.003-04:00

Last weekend, we celebrated the Hoggard Family Reunion. The day started with a trip to the Bar-H Dude Ranch near Clarendon, to watch a cowboy action shoot. John's dad is a part of the group that was there for the day. It was great to see him shoot. We got to meet some cousins that came all the way from Tennessee. What fun to meet these great kids that had never been to Texas before. What a welcome! After watching some serious shooting, we traveled to Hedley for the Hedley Cotton Festival. The big town of just over 200 celebrates the fall cotton season with a parade, BBQ, Bingo and craft and game booths. This year, there were about 10 booths participating. That is about double the booths of last year. The weather was much colder and rainier last year. After celebrating the cotton festival, we went back to the Bar-H Dude Ranch for dinner. Talk about the BEST BURGER in the Texas Panhandle, this is hard to beat! Dessert was my dad's famous peach cobbler and homemade ice cream. It was a great day and beautiful weather!

Buff-a-Rama

2010-09-25T22:37:00.002-04:00

West Texas A&M held its annual Buff-a-Rama today. Free hot dogs, free shirts, free cokes, free ice cream, lots of stuff and all for free. Lots of fun was had by all!

Welcome to Las Vegas!

2010-09-19T23:52:00.005-04:00

Well, what happened in Vegas isn't staying in Vegas. John and I went to Vegas for the weekend. We had a great time! There is so much to do and see; we didn't even come close to seeing everything.
Friday night, we had dinner reservations for Bobby Flay's MESA Grill inside Ceaser's Casino. WOW! The food did not disappoint. The Bourbon Ancho Chile Pork Tenderloin was incredible. We kept saying, "mmm, mmm" the entire meal. It was so good. To end our evening, we watched the fountain show at the Bellagio Casino.
Saturday, we tried the CSI Experience. There are three crimes to choose to solve. We chose the Waitress found by the dumpster crime. We solved the crime and got a diploma to prove it. (not to mention a FREE shirt.) We strolled the strip and went to Le Burger Brasserie inside the Paris Casino for dinner. We split a burger and fries so we could enjoy a little dessert. The burger was delicious. It was perfectly cooked and served on a fresh grilled onion bun. We decided on the dessert sliders for dessert.

Wonderland Park

2010-08-31T22:40:00.005-04:00

Riding the Cyclone behind Hayden

A big giant swing for you and 24 friends

They were smiling because we hadn't hit the water yet.

She quickly passed the phone to me to go in my purse to stay dry.

A bird's eye view

Not near as fun with your parents

What is better than going to Wonderland Park? Going to Wonderland Park for FREE! The kids had a great time! Okay, the kids under 12 had a great time. Kate was more concerned with getting to Target and finding her size in low top black converse tennis shoes on sale. What does it mean when you take your kids to Wonderland without your husband? It means you get to ride the rides with your 8 year old son. Bumper cars, the Pirate ship, Cyclone... only a few bumps and bruises for the day.

Future Eagles!

2010-08-29T23:21:00.004-04:00

Hayden participated in the Eagle Football Camp this summer and as a result, got to run onto the field at the first home game against Lubbock this week. He talked about this event all summer. He was ready! The whole family went to the school night game on Thursday. Hayden was ready. Not only did he have on his camp shirt, he had on his newly acquired Eagle jersey that a friend of mine gave him. They should have had a sign for them to run through that said "Future Eagles". Those boys were so excited to be in Kimbrough stadium for opening night of the 2010-2011 kick off to high school football in the Texas panhandle. To tell the truth, so were we! We love high school football. And we love being back in Texas! Bring it on! (in the third picture, Hayden is on the 42 yard line- dad, I know you'd be looking for him)

Texas

2010-08-19T23:49:00.004-04:00

Last year, our friends Molly and Caroline came to visit and we attempted to go see the musical drama "Texas". Attempted is the key word. A horrible storm came in and we got rained out. We got our tickets back and thought we might be able to see it again another night. This summer they came to visit again and we had a great time. It was a little warm, but not a storm cloud in sight. So glad we got to see it this year. It was fabulous!

Driver's Ed, Here We Come...

2010-08-19T23:44:00.002-04:00

Well, our little girl is growing up. She just turned 15. What does a 15 year old want for their birthday? To be 16, so they can drive. So, parent taught driver's ed is in our near future. Happy Birthday my beautiful daughter!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game...

2010-07-21T17:13:00.002-04:00

Last week it was Pantex night at the Dillas. We got free tickets and took the family to the ballpark. It was the first game we had been to. We learned two things: 1. Take plenty of snacks or plan to buy them there. 2. Teenage girls aren't that into baseball.

Clydesdale Horses at the Library

2010-07-21T17:01:00.003-04:00

The Canyon Area Library has a great Summer Reading Program. This week, they brought in local Clydesdale horses and lots of farm animals for the kids to see and pet and learn about. It was so fun. They had a baby bull that was a week and a half old, donkeys, rabbits, dogs, kittens, baby chicks, Clydesdale horses... Lots of great animals all for the petting! Loved it!

How is it that it is July already?

2010-07-07T14:53:00.003-04:00

It is hard for me to believe it is July already. I feel like the summer has blown right past me. This week, painting is on my list of things to do. 1st up, French doors. Yes, the French doors that we installed in the 4th bedroom. They are done, trimmed, and ready to be sanded and painted! Yes, we put them in over a year ago. Hey, they are ready and I'm ready to paint them. Next up, Hayden's dark and dreary blue room is about to get a much lighter blue facelift. We made the mistake of painting the walls blue, painting the ceiling an even darker blue and then buying the cutest ceiling fan ever, only to discover that it is not a light at all, but instead, a dark. That's what my MIL would say. After that, the dark brown bathroom... Rachel says it's the best place in the house to see if something really glows in the dark. That is "the dark". Well, it's off to paint...

John's new car

2010-06-30T00:28:00.003-04:00

Well, we knew this day would come, but I'd hoped it would be later. I really wanted our kids to drive the '94 Camry. Well, that is not going to happen. The old Toyota, she ain't what she used to be. We have done some recent repairs and things keep breaking. So...a new car it is.

Obituaries:

1994 Toyota Camry
Sunday, June 27, 2010, she quietly passed away in our garage after a last ditch effort to revive her. She is preceded in death by a baby blue Ford Windstar minivan and also a crisp white Chevy Corsica. She was a good car. She saw us through 9 years and many cross country moves with the US Air Force. She died where every good woman should- Texas! She is survived by a Dallas Cowboy blue Nissan Altima and many good memories. She will be missed. The family suggests that donations be made to the "Fruge' family has to send four kids to college" fund.

Family Fun Reward jars June/July 2010 issue

2010-06-29T00:03:00.006-04:00

Family Fun magazine recently published an article on a 'reward' jar system.The idea is to have 'extra' jobs available for your kids to do that involve a point system. Once a certain amount of points are reached, you can trade it in for some pretty cool rewards. With four kids ages 7-14, I thought my kids may be a little too old. But, since I'll be starting a job in August, I decided to give it a try and see how it works. The article was great and gave me a great jumping off point, but I would have liked more detail, so I'm including it here in case you decide to give it a try...

First, I bought 2 different sizes of 'tubs'. 3 1/2 cup and 4 cup. I also let each kid choose their own color of pebbles from the craft section at Walmart. (They thought this was really cool.) Why different colors? To prevent trading or switching colors. Also known as cheating!

Then, I had to decide how many pebbles each kid got in their tub. I counted out how many pebbles would fill the 3.5 cup tub. It was roughly 200. So, then I had to count out 200 pebbles per kid. If they earn 7 points a day, this is do-able.

Next, I had to come up with 'chores' to be done. This was easy. What do I need help with on a daily basis, weekly basis, monthly basis, and as needed basis?

The article didn't have a number of pebbles, jobs available, or points for each job. So, here's what I came up with... I divided it into Daily, Weekly, Monthly, and as needed jobs. When they finish a job, they'll come to me and let me know when they have completed their job and I will reward the points/pebbles.

Daily:
Dishes: load-3
unload-3
Dust: each room-2
Vacuum: each room-3
Microwave: 2
Sweep: wood and tile-5
Put away food after meal:3
Laundry: sort- 3
load washer or dryer & start-2
fold-5
Mirrors: all-5
Sinks: each -3
Trash (with new bags): kitchen-5
all other rooms-5
Feed/water dogs: 2
Clear table and rinse dishes: 3
Kitchen counters: 2

Weekly:
Dog poop: 10
Sweep: front porch-5
back porch-5
garage-5
Brush dogs: 10 each dog

Monthly:
Windows: all inside-50
Clean fridge: 50
Clean Showers/tubs: 50

As needed:
Unload & put away groceries: 10
Cook Dinner: 30

Okay, so that takes care of my list. Next is the reward:

Trade in a full tub for:
$10
gift from basket (I buy things on clearance and put them in the basket to "trade" for.)
Night out with Mom or Dad
Sleepover with special movie and treats: Hastings movie and snacks from United

So, how's it going, well, my dishes were done twice yesterday, yard work (for a personal negotiation) and counter tops are clean, meal was put away, and that is just the start...

Soccer Camp 2010

2010-06-28T23:59:00.004-04:00

Our church decided to do High Power Soccer Camp instead of VBS this year. It was something different and it was great!

Let's play catch up...

2010-06-28T23:49:00.003-04:00

Kate's new gift from Aunt Candi.

The sunset was really cool as it preceded a storm last week.

The "Harry Potter Dragon" cloud, as the kids called it....

John and his dad towing the Suburban to Amarillo from Lubbock.

There she goes...

We have been so busy with car troubles... I haven't had time to blog. Well, let's catch up a bit...

We have had major car trouble with both cars. We lost the transmission on our '06 suburban and then 2 days later, the radiator went out on our '94 Camry. I drove 5 cars in one week.

The moral of the story... Don't let me drive your car?

Baseball Camp

2010-06-05T11:46:00.004-04:00

I LOVE living in a small town! Hayden just went to baseball camp that the high school baseball team hosted. He had a ball. It was Tuesday through Friday for a couple of hours each day. He thought it was great to play with the high school players and coaches. The last day, they had a fun day and pulled tarps out onto the field and had a huge slip 'n slide for the last 30 minutes. Next week, football camp...

I forgot to say that his favorite part of camp was getting a bloody nose. A fourth grader hit the ball and it bounced off the ground right into Hayden's nose. He got a free gatorade out of it. He thought that was so cool.

We officially have 2 teenagers!

2010-06-05T11:39:00.003-04:00

Sarah recently turned 13 and had a Shrek Forever After movie party at our local theater. Varsity Theater let us have a private showing and charged $5 per person to see the movie and have a bag of popcorn and a drink. What a deal! We even got to see it opening weekend. After the movie, we walked across the street to the University and had a pizza and cupcake picnic. It was a beautiful day and the girls had a great time playing hide and seek. Happy Birthday Sarah!

Mrs. Behrens is the coolest teacher ever...

2010-05-21T00:09:00.004-04:00

One of our second grade teachers lives down the street from us. She invited our kids to ride their bikes to school today and tomorrow. Rachel decided not to participate, but Hayden was not about to miss it. Mrs. Behrens sent her daughter and another rider to pick Hayden up at 7:15am. John woke him up at about 6:45 and he got right up. He was ready to go. I didn't have to tell him to do anything twice this morning. {Dear Mrs. Behrens, Could you please ride your bike to school everyday and take my Hayden with you?} What a great experience for a 1st grade boy...to ride his bike to school. After school, Mrs. Behrens allowed the children to cross the street to buy a snow cone before they started their ride back home. Hayden came home grinning from ear to ear. It is probably a day that he will remember for a long long time... Thank you Mrs. Behrens!

Discovery Center

2010-05-20T23:59:00.002-04:00

The Discovery center had an appreciation night for my husbands company. The kids had a great time exploring and building and shhh, learning.

Book Character Day!

2010-05-19T00:23:00.002-04:00

Today was book character day. Hayden decided to go as Cat In The Hat. We turned his t-shirt inside out and attached some felt to the front for his belly. Target sold the hat recently in the $1 section and we made a tail out of fabric last minute. He was so excited! Here's out little reader. His reading level is way above Dr. Seuss, but he loves a good book.

Choir Banquet

2010-05-19T00:16:00.004-04:00

Wow, Kate's freshman year has flown by. It seems like just yesterday that I was a freshman. How is it possible that this many years have gone by? She just participated in her Choir banquet last week. She also found out that she made Chorale and Glee! She is super excited and has a lot to look forward to in her sophomore year. The next thing I know, she'll be driving...

Wax Museum at PPHM

2010-05-06T22:42:00.004-04:00

Rachel's class has been preparing for the Wax Museum for a while now. The entire 4th grade at her class has been researching characters in history that were important to Texas history. Rachel's character was Lady Bird Johnson. The students had to come up with a costume and prepare a speech to give to each person that passed their way. It was really neat to see how much the kids learned, not only about their character, but also the characters of each of their friends. Having the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum as a back drop was not too shabby either. What a great experience!

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-06T11:51:00.004-04:00

Before

A new tool ...

Measure twice, cut once.

We have holes.

Having fun?

Kate is bright!

Ahhh, new lights!

When we moved into our house, we loved everything about it except the kitchen lighting. It had one center light and a North-West facing kitchen window. It was pretty dark to say the least. I have been known to take my dish over to the kitchen window to make sure what I'm cooking was done. Well, not anymore. Happy early Mother's Day! I got exactly what I asked for...kitchen lighting. What a difference. My dad came for the day and he and John got it done. The planning and placement took most of the time. Planning is crucial when it comes to kitchen lighting. We had things in the attic to deal with that you just don't think about when you're looking from inside the kitchen. It looks amazing. I am very happy that we didn't have so much going on that we couldn't do it. Thank you John! And, thank you dad! I love it!

So Long Insecurity...

2010-04-24T17:53:00.003-04:00

Today, months of planning came to fruition. We hosted the Beth Moore Simulcast at our church and it was amazing. We had 250 women from our community come together for this special event. It was incredible to see women from our community participating in this together. It felt a little like what heaven will be like. Here on this earth, we identify ourselves with a denomination, but in heaven, we will just be sisters in Christ.

My favorite line today was "Give someone the gift of forgiveness even if they don't ask for it". That's what God did for us on the cross. We hadn't even asked for it, we didn't even know we needed it, but He freely gave His Son to die on the cross for us. So many times as a parent, I just want my kids to learn the lesson of saying they are sorry for something. And, I still do, but this really spoke to me about my heart and gifting them with grace. Forgive them even if they don't ask for it. Isn't that what we want God to do for us. We mess up and don't ask for God to forgive us, but He does. May I learn from His example as He bestows grace on me daily.

The Thrill of Victory

2010-04-24T17:46:00.002-04:00

Well, at first glance, we didn't think we'd be playing a game. During warm up, the rain came pouring down for just a few minutes. Then, at 5:30, it stopped and the game was played. The Cardinals had to fight wind and rain, not to mention the other team, but they pulled it out. It was a great game.

Happy Birthday to me...

2010-04-17T18:06:00.002-04:00

Sarah offered an invitation I couldn't refuse. She wanted to take me to lunch for my birthday. "Well, not really on my birthday. Oh, and she can't drive, so technically I would be taking her..." (She cracks me up with her quirky sense of humor.) So, today, I took her up on her offer. (Of course, I clipped a coupon to save her money and we shared our lunch.) It was delicious! Schlotzsky's Turkey and jalapeno pizza and potato and bacon soup...YUM! We couldn't get enough of the soup. It was the best potato soup I've ever eaten. Hey, in 37 years, that's saying something. If I find out the recipe or find a way to copy it, I'll be sure to share. Anyway, it was a great lunch with one of my favorite people.

Black Bean Corn dip

2010-04-17T17:50:00.002-04:00

Need a last minute dip? Try this yummy concoction... I started with a recipe, but as usual, I strayed. Not because I don't think it will be good, but because I usually don't have those exact ingredients. So this was a yummy creation for a last minute dish.

1 can black beans-drained and rinsed
1 can sweet corn- drained
1 can Rotel- drained
1 clove garlic- minced
1 tsp. cumin
1T olive oil
1/2 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese

Combine 1st 6 ingredients in a skillet on Med. heat. Saute' for about 5 minutes to heat through and to let the flavors marry. Add in the cheese and heat until bubbly. Serve warm with tortilla chips. YUM!

Easter 2010

2010-04-10T16:54:00.004-04:00

Here come the twins

Miss Ava

Hayden almost missed one.

A basket full of eggs.

Sarah takes a turn.

Even Kate hunts some eggs.

Rachel has to reach for her eggs.

I love Easter. It is one of my favorite holidays. We went to church Easter morning and then hosted 16 people for lunch at our house. A traditional Easter egg hunt followed and then an afternoon of relaxing and enjoying the beautiful weather. Ahhhh, love days like that. It sure is good to be home! We now know what we'd been missing all those years. There's no place like home...there's no place like home.

St. Louis Cardinals Win 13-6

2010-04-10T16:41:00.003-04:00

Hayden has started baseball again. I am amazed that he has the ability to knock the snot out of that ball every single time he bats.{I remember when he was two years old and we got him a basketball goal for his birthday. We handed him the ball, he took a shot and made it. Time after time, he would shoot the ball and make it. We thought it was so funny the difference between girls and boys. After having 3 girls, we didn't really understand the love that a boy might have for sports at such an early age. Well, he loves playing ball of any kind.} This is his second season of baseball and he seems to be a natural. Well, I am his mama after all. I'm telling you, he just knows how to move on the field. Some kids you have to tell them every move to make and some kids are just born with it. Hayden is of the second kind. I love watching him play. He has played two games. They lost the first and won the second 13-6. By the way, John is the coach again. He has a great group of dads that pitch in and help during practice and at games. It sure helps when you're not the only one coaching 11 kids.

Garage doore mishap

2010-04-10T16:35:00.002-04:00

I asked for local garage door repair companies on facebook the other day. I had great response and then had to come clean on why I needed the information.

Here's the story... I ran home the other day after school, before I picked the big girls up to throw rice in the rice cooker. I was trying to have dinner ready early... Anyway, I pulled into the middle of the garage, got the rice in and started to leave. As I backed out, the garage door came down on my back window. What in the world? As I tried to figure out why, I looked over my shoulder to see the emergency release cord CAUGHT in the back passenger side door. So, as I started to back up, I released the door and pulled it down on myself. That takes some real talent, let me just tell you. This was not the day of the week for this to happen. John came home and we had just a few minutes to look at it before AWANA. I didn't do major damage. I basically popped a wheel off track on one side. So, to fix it, John was going to pop it in with a hammer and it busted the wheel. Well, it still went in and even worked for a few days. Then, all of the sudden, it stopped working. Nothing... this time, I didn't back into the door. This time, the spring was busted that lifts the door. So, thus the reason I asked for suggestions of garage door repair companies... Thank you! I may never live it down. The moral of the story, buy some instant rice=)

South Plains Regional Science Fair 2010

2010-03-27T23:55:00.002-04:00

Sarah went from 3rd at her local Science Fair to 1st at the South Plains Regional Science Fair. They had 577 participants. Each person was awarded 1st, 2nd, or 3rd. Sarah brought home a 1st place medal and ribbon! We picked her up today and she was so excited and is already starting to think about her project for next year. She said that they sent kids to the International Science Fair from here. Two kids advanced to the International competition. Wow! She also said they gave out scholarships worth about $20,000 total. This was huge and was hosted at Texas Tech in Lubbock. Sarah also enjoyed spending the weekend with Poppy. He took her to dinner Friday night and then back to the Fair on Saturday for the awards ceremony. She had a great weekend and it's not even over. I think we're all going to have to nap tomorrow.

AWANA Grand Prix 2010

2010-03-27T22:45:00.005-04:00

h

96 racers, 4.5 hours, 200 hot dogs and a whole lot of fun... Not only was this the first year for our church to have AWANA, we held a Grand Prix of GRAND proportions. I think it is the biggest race we've ever been a part of. We started at 10am and finished at 3pm. We served lunch and had a movie playing in half of the ministry center for the kids to watch if they weren't racing. We also had a room with board games. As Hayden raced, I had plenty of time to take pictures, but as Rachel got ready to race, I started recording winners from the previous races and getting awards ready, so I didn't get one picture of her. I will have to take on and add it. I guess that's what happens when your husband is the commander. There's talk of building two six lane tracks this summer. It could be even bigger next year.

Chicken Enchilada Pizza

2010-03-21T00:00:00.002-04:00

My dad called yesterday and told me about this new pizza he had at a local pizza place in Clarendon. Chicken Enchilada Pizza. He told me all about it and I decided to try it tonight. We had some friends over and enjoyed our weekly pizza night with a twist. This was a great experiment and it will be on our menu from now on. We all enjoyed it! The recipe? Well, if you like hot stuff, then you have to try this.

Chicken Enchilada Pizza:

Pizza Dough (I get mine at Sam's in the cafe)
Green Enchilada Sauce
Grilled chicken breast sliced into bite size pieces
Colby jack cheese
Diced tomatoes
Diced onion
Diced Green chilies (Fresh roasted if you have them)

Roll out the dough, spread with enchilada sauce and pile on the toppings. Bake at 400 for 23 minutes. YUM!

San Antonio

2010-03-20T14:13:00.004-04:00

Sisters

River Boat Tour

Rachel and the River Walk

The Alamo

Since the wedding was so close to San Antonio, we decided to take the kids. They have never been and have never seen the Alamo. Sarah is studying Texas History in 7th grade and Rachel is studying about the Alamo, so it was the perfect time to go.

Putt Putt Golf

2010-03-20T13:57:00.005-04:00

Aunt Rose has a sneak attack on Kate...

Here it comes...

Yep, she got it!

Rachel

Family Putt Putt

Hayden and Dax went 'rock' climbing.

Hayden and Rachel

Kate

Audra

Carol and Linda

Look, what is that?

A real Flamingo!

Sarah

Kate

On Saturday morning, we played putt putt golf with the wedding party. It was so much fun. The course was beautiful and the weather was perfect. We had a great time.

The Wedding

2010-03-20T00:53:00.003-04:00

We traveled down to Horseshoe Bay for Jordan and Stephanie's wedding. It felt like a destination wedding for sure. The weather was perfect, the location was perfect, the food was perfect... We had a great time. I've never packed so many shoes for a trip before. We had wedding shoes, dinner shoes, dancing shoes, putt putt shoes and house shoes. Just to name a few. We enjoyed the warm weather and took advantage of the heated pool on Sunday when it was 70 degrees! The wedding was beautiful and the reception a ton of fun. I've never seen so many people dance. Our kids thought we were crazy. And then they joined in on all the fun and dancing. Hayden was so funny. We've always thought he could cut a rug with the best of them,and boy were we right. He danced and danced and danced. By the end of the night, he was exhausted!

Blue Bonnet Cafe

2010-03-20T00:23:00.000-04:00

And the food's pretty good too...

Dublin Dr. Pepper

2010-03-20T00:08:00.003-04:00

If you are Dr. Pepper fans like we are, then a trip to Dublin is on your bucket list. As we traveled down to Horseshoe Bay to see Jordan get married, we took a detour to Dublin, TX to visit the Dr. Pepper Bottling Company and museum. As you tour the oldest Dr. Pepper Bottling company in the world, you get to sip a Dublin Dr. Pepper. Even our teenager didn't complain about that. We had a great time and loved getting to see how they bottle Dr. Pepper. After the tour, we enjoyed a Dr. Pepper shake at Old Doc's Soda Shop. We left ready to face the rest of our trip and walked away with some great Dr. Pepper Trivia and a t-shirt!

The Gillette Brothers at the Gem Theater

2010-03-19T23:26:00.002-04:00

We recently went to see the Gillette brothers at the Gem Theater in Claude. It was a great show! We didn't know what to expect, but enjoyed every minute of it. My dad called and told us about it, so we loaded up and headed to the big city of Claude, TX. This is the second time we've gone to a show at the Gem Theater and have enjoyed the variety of entertainment we've seen. The Gillette Brothers were great. They go through the history of cowboy music in Texas and play some very interesting instruments. Hayden and Rachel's favorite was the bones. Yes, the rib bones of a cow. Who knew you could make music with that? So cool. They bought a set of bones (made of wood) and are working on their own style of music. I did a couple of videos because describing it doesn't do it justice.

10 years old...my how time flies

2010-03-01T22:19:00.002-05:00

Well, Rachel will turn 10 this week. We celebrated her birthday a little early with a party this weekend. She celebrated with a Winter Olympic Party. We recorded the figure skating for them to watch since it was not on Friday night. They also played Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter games. The funny thing was that I thought I was going to have a hard time getting them to go to sleep, but at 11pm, we put a movie in and didn't hear a peep out of them. It was a super fun party. I can't believe she is 10.

Someone is going to Regionals!

2010-03-01T22:14:00.003-05:00

Sarah just found out Friday that she is going to the Regional Science Fair. She is SUPER excited! It is going to be in late March. I'll keep you posted. She can't wait and is already thinking about what to do for next year's Science Fair.

A sick boy and his dog

2010-02-22T20:30:00.002-05:00

Henry has spent most of the day on the couch with Hayden. It's almost like he knows that Hayden is sick and that he's not going anywhere, so he can climb up on the couch and not get in trouble.

UIL choir competition

2010-02-22T17:22:00.002-05:00

Sarah had a UIL ensemble competition last week. She brought home the gold today. Okay, so it's not the Winter Olympics, but it is a medal and it is just like gold. They got a 1 which is the best you can get. Great job!

Jump Rope for Heart 2010

2010-02-22T17:16:00.006-05:00

Last week, Hayden and Rachel participated in Jump Rope for Heart. They each raised $50! There were so excited to jump. Here are a few pictures I wanted to share.

Canyon 2- Pampa 0

2010-02-22T14:36:00.003-05:00

You would never know by watching Kate that she'd never played soccer before. I remember when she was little and all she wanted to do was play outside. When she started school in Florida, her favorite subject...recess! When we lived in Abilene, she rode her bike all the time. When we lived in Albuquerque, she played outside almost every day; that's where she started roller blading. In Ohio, she was on roller blades everytime she got a chance. Now that we've moved to Texas and she's in High School, she's outgrown the bicycles and roller blades and traded them in for a soccer ball and cleats. She is one of the fastest kids on the field. It's like she has two speeds. Normal running and then turbo speed! She flies down that field after the ball. I love to watch her play.

The Tooth Fairy

2010-02-16T19:15:00.002-05:00

This is the letter written to the "Tooth Fairy" from our 9 year old...

"Dear Tooth Fairy,

Hey, I was wondering if I could keep my tooth. Oh and pleas write back.

From:

Rachel

P.S. Can I still get mony."

Then below that, a cute little picture of "me" over a little girl, "you" over a lovely tooth fairy looking person, and "my tooth" over a picture of a tooth.

Science Fair Project

2010-02-11T22:09:00.003-05:00

Sarah has been working really hard on her Science Fair Project for the past few months. She has met every deadline and made a 100 on her final report! She has been super excited about tonight. She got to go to the Science Fair. Her category was chemistry. Her project was, "To Enzyme or not to Enzyme". She did great. She had to compete against all the 7th and 8th graders. She placed 3rd in her category. We don't know how many for sure, but around 25-30 entrants in Chemistry. Next week, they will announce who goes to regional. She would really like to go. She thinks it would be really cool to go to regional. We are very proud of her. She worked really hard and did a great job.

Winter Wonderland

2010-02-10T13:55:00.002-05:00

Well it's not 30 + inches of snow like my sister has, but it is still on the ground. This is what our neighborhood looked like after about 10 inches of snow a couple of weeks ago. Beautiful! It has been fun to watch the snowmen slowly melt and shrink down with their little bitty heads. Normally it melts in one day around here, but not this year.

Snowboarding, well, sort of...

2010-01-30T15:30:00.002-05:00

Something Hayden really enjoys is pretending his sled is a snowboard. I have a picture of him in Ohio doing the same thing. Today, I decided to get it on video.

We found a hill...

2010-01-30T15:00:00.004-05:00

Okay, the word on the street is that the high school has the best hill. We ventured out to see if it was all it was cracked up to be. Let me just say, it's a good thing to have 4 wheel drive around here. Also a good thing to have shoveled the driveway yesterday or we may not have got out at all. They don't plow the streets like they did in Ohio. So, off we went, me and 5 kids (we usually have an extra) and we made it to the high school parking lot. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was actually a pretty good hill. We spent a couple of hours sledding, snowboarding on sleds and having a great time. If you're wondering if I go sledding too...the answer is yes.

This video is of Hayden racing some other boy down the hill. The other boys would ask if he wanted to race and before they could get their sleds ready, he'd be half way down the hill. It was really funny to watch. Especially since he is in 1st grade and they are in 6th grade.

Sledding in the Panhandle...

2010-01-29T18:45:00.002-05:00

Moving here from Ohio we knew that it was flat. Most of the time, that doesn't really make a difference. When you get 10 inches of snow, it makes a big difference. We used to go sledding in Ohio on this hill in our neighborhood that was humongous! It was probably 100-150 down and the height was about 30-40 feet. It was great for sledding. I'm doing a poll on facebook to find out where the best hill in Canyon is. We may venture out tomorrow with our gear and sleds. Most of the sledding here is done behind a pickup truck attached by a rope. Not the brightest idea... we'll go for something a little safer. Okay, a lot safer.

IMPACT music challenge

2010-01-25T15:30:00.002-05:00

We hosted the 7th grade girls for IMPACT weekend. We learned Thursday evening the theme and rules for our musical challenge. We got to practice for about an hour on Friday and an hour on Saturday and then we had to perform it live Saturday night. We were the 1st to go! Our musical was Oklahoma and it had to be at least 2 min., but less than 4min. If you look closely, you can see Hayden and Rachel both participating too. You got bonus points if your host home participated. We got to work with the other host home for 7th grade girls, so there were 15 girls plus their leaders and host families, so that made 23 of us all together. John was our director since he comes from a musical kind of family. All the girls participated and none of them refused to dance in ugly dresses. It was a lot of fun!

Soccer Mom

2010-01-05T22:56:00.002-05:00

I am now officially a "soccer mom". Let me just say that being a soccer mom is not what you might think. When I was in college, I had a friend that told me when she grew up she wanted to be a "soccer mom" because she wanted to wear her hair in a ponytail through her ball cap and drive a suburban and have cute clothes and take her kids to soccer. I thought that was so funny. I don't think they give out a degree for "soccer mom" at WT.

So, what kind of soccer mom am I you ask? I am the 4 layers of clothing, coat wearing, thermal underwear, wool socks, please go buy a heater, and whatever else can get me warm soccer mom.

Kate tried out for soccer and made the team. The soccer season here in the Texas Panhandle, it's January through March. Kate had her very first game on Saturday. Well, it was a scrimmage against the alumni of CHS Lady Eagle Soccer. How cool is that? They all come back to play the new team. Let's just say it was cold. 27 degrees and a slight wind. I did not feel like that "soccer mom" my friend wanted to be when she grew up.

While the parents are in the stands freezing, the girls are on the field wearing shorts. I think I may pull out my ski gear. So, if you are able to go to a Lady Eagle game, I'll be the one wearing the parka next to the propane heater. Oh, wait, that's what we'll all be doing...

Merry Christmas 2009

2009-12-25T00:26:00.002-05:00

What a wonderful Christmas Eve. We enjoyed a candlelight service at our church and the pastor had all the kids come down front as he told the story of the birth of Jesus. Afterward, we had Penne ala Vodka for dinner with homemade garlic bread. The most fun of all, at least for the kids, was opening presents! The kids had a great time. Kate was so excited to get clothes. Hayden got his first pocket knife. Sarah got a Turquoise fuzzy robe and Rachel got the exact Webkinz she wanted.

Penne ala Vodka

2009-12-25T00:23:00.002-05:00

Penne Ala Vodka Sauce

1 package sausage (Italian Turkey)
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
1 large can crushed tomatoes (28oz.)
¼ cup vodka
½ teaspoon salt
½-1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
¾ cup fat free half and half
1 cup skim milk

Cook garlic in olive oil for about 2 minutes, add sausage; cook until sausage is browned. Add tomatoes and vodka and simmer for about 3 minutes (this cooks off the alcohol). Season with salt and hot red pepper flakes. Add the half and half and milk and simmer 2-3 minutes. Serve over Penne Pasta.

Freezing instructions: Cook as directed above. Allow to cool and store in freezer bags. Thaw in the refrigerator 24 hours before serving. Heat the sauce in the microwave, on the stovetop or in the crockpot (High 2 hours or Low 4 hours). Serve over Penne Pasta.

The original recipe called for1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream, but I altered the recipe to be lowfat. I also used turkey Italian sausage and the original called for Italian or Breakfast sausage.

Weight Watchers Points: (sauce only)
Made with Turkey sausage
1cup= 4 points 188 calories
½ cup=2 points 94 calories

Made with regular Italian sausage
1 cup= 6 points 251 calories
½ cup=3 points 126 calories

Or, if you'd like to try this link, I uploaded the recipe to Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen Website.

Hoggard Family Christmas

2009-12-21T00:14:00.002-05:00

Today we celebrated Christmas with my side of the family. We had 23 people for a fabulous lunch. My dad decided to cook Chicken Fried Steak for our dinner. It was so good! We had a great time getting things ready and eating lunch and then a fun time watching the kids open presents. When they were done, we played 'dirty Santa' for the adults gifts. It was so fun! I really feel God's provision in this move back to Texas. It is an incredible feeling to be with family during Christmas. If you're struggling with that, just move away for about 14 years and you'll have a different perspective. We didn't know what we were missing. Last night, we drove around an looked at Christmas lights with Pa Bob and Meme while we ate popcorn. My kids love making these memories. Rachel even wrote about it in a project she did for Christmas. We are blessed beyond measure!

Lottie Moon Christmas Tea

2009-12-21T00:04:00.002-05:00

We had a Lottie Moon Christmas Tea at our church this month. The idea is to have a grea time as we raise money for the Lottie Moon Christmas offering. We raised about $3800!

1st Grade Musical

2009-12-20T23:35:00.003-05:00

Hayden had 2 lines in his musical this week. He was so excited and did a great job with his lines. He spoke clearly and loud enough that you could hear him. We have had a busy last couple of weeks with plenty of extra things going on, just not a lot of extra time to post them.

Christmas Concerts

2009-12-20T23:22:00.003-05:00

It's begining to sound a lot like Christmas! Kate and Sarah just had their Christmas concerts. They did a great job. We have an amazing choir program here in Canyon.

1st Grade Christmas

2009-12-20T23:02:00.003-05:00

Hayden's class had their Christmas party this week. They had pizza, cookies, made a craft and did a gift exchange. They each brought a wrapped book and sat and listened to a story and passed the book each time they heard the word "snow". It was fun to be able to go celebrate with Hayden's 1st grade class.

Broadway Kids Perform @PPHM

2009-12-04T23:38:00.003-05:00

What a fun night! Rachel's choir performed at the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum Christmas Open House. Rachel was very excited to see that PaBob got to come. Schools from all over the area participated. It was a huge night.

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-12-03T23:07:00.004-05:00

A little shooter!

The kids table.

They licked the platter clean!

Yum, Pie!

John gets a little help with the lights.

The Beatles Rock Band

Sarah plays a little football with the cousins.

We had such a great time celebrating Thanksgiving! We hosted my family the Sunday before Thanksgiving and had 23 people for lunch! Then, the kids were out of school and we headed to Lubbock to celebrate Thanksgiving with John's side of the family. Of course, when we go to Lubbock for Thanksgiving, somebody goes to shoot guns. Being back home sure is nice. We love being close enough to celebrate holidays with family. Don't get me wrong. We LOVE our military friends. They were our family for 14 years. We really enjoyed inviting friends over and having Thanksgiving dinner together, but there is nothing better than being close enough to celebrate each holiday with everyone. Our kids just asked me 'how many Christmas's ' we are going to have. I think that is funny. Until now, it's mostly been one. Now, we have my family, then Christmas with us and then with John's family. It keeps growing... We love it.

Cadillac Ranch

2009-11-23T12:51:00.002-05:00

Some friends came to visit on a very windy day and we took them to see this odd tourist site.
The Cadillac Ranch was built in 1974 by Helium millionare Stanley Marsh. It is a collection of 10 Cadillacs buried nose down facing West. It is in the middle of a field just off I-40 (Route 66) West of Amarillo. So, if you're looking for quirky, this is it.

Henry

2009-11-19T23:28:00.003-05:00

Henry is growing so fast. He and Lily are becoming great friends. Lily plays with him all the time. At first, she wasn't sure about having a new dog in the house. She has quickly grown to like him. They play together everyday and can often be found in the kitchen chasing each other around.

Soccer Season Comes To An End

2009-11-19T23:23:00.002-05:00

Hayden just finished his first soccer season ever. He loved it. It was a lot of fun to watch him play. I'm sure he'll play again, but he is really looking forward to basketball.

Meet the Buffs...

2009-11-19T23:13:00.004-05:00

West Texas A&M University recently had a basketball camp for FREE! All the Buffs and Lady Buffs came out on a Saturday to play with the kids and teach them some ball handling skills. I thought I might drop the kids off and come back later to get them. NO! Once I was there, I couldn't make myself leave. There is something still in me that LOVES basketball. I'm quickly approaching 40. I thought I would have outgrown it by now, but I haven't. So, we all had a great time! Hayden and Rachel thought it was really cool to meet the players, the coaches and to play where the Buffs and Lady Buffs actually play.

Did I say I love living in a small town? This is just one reason why. No other town we've ever lived in has done anything like this. I LOVE it!

High School Football

2009-11-07T00:44:00.004-05:00

We have so enjoyed being back in the Texas Panhandle. Friday nights during football season have been spent with every other person in our small town...in the bleachers! We bought season passes for all the home games and had a great time watching the Eagles play ball. Tonight was the last regular season game and the Eagles finished undefeated in district play. It was a close game and very exciting to watch.

Can you smell it? Deer season is in the air...

2009-11-01T00:23:00.004-04:00

Well, this is not our usual Halloween routine. To be honest, even our usual Halloween routine is not "usual". Today, we went to Hedley to site in John's gun for deer season. Much to Hayden's surprise, there was a Red Ryder BB gun waiting for Pa Bob's grand kids to shoot. He thought it was great going to shoot guns on Halloween. Who needs candy when you've got a Red Ryder BB gun? I even took a turn shooting it. I didn't shoot the 30-06.

On our way back, we saw 7 deer just off the road. We turned around to go get a better look at the 2 bucks we saw.

Henry

2009-10-24T23:32:00.004-04:00

Well, we added a new member to our family today. John and I had just talked about getting the kids a puppy for Christmas last week. We were talking about what kind and not sure, but we really love Lily. She is a GREAT breed. We hadn't really decided what kind to get, but would love to breed Lily and have puppies.

Today, we were on our way to Home Depot and there they were, a little pen full of puppies. The sign said, "Cavalier King Charles ." We quickly headed to the parking lot they were in to take a look. A cute young couple had 4 Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. There were 3 females and 1 male. We quickly scooped up the male and asked how much. Let's just say he was affordable. He was so cute and we knew that he would be a perfect addition to our family. Who knows, maybe we'll have some little Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppies of our own next year.

We named him Henry. Hayden thinks it's great that we got a boy. He said Henry is just like him. One boy and three sisters. Henry is just about 7 weeks and seems to be right at home here with us and with Lily. We did find out that his mom looks just like Lily. He has even been coming in the doggie door when we let him out. Too cute! You are sure to see many more pictures in the weeks to come.

The things kids say...

2009-10-16T23:06:00.002-04:00

Some funny things I've heard this week while substituting:
1. As a little boy skipped across the room during fun centers and said, "I'm a fairy cowboy, I'm a fairy cowboy". (He was wearing a cowboy hat and fairy wings because he was in the 'dress up' center.) I haven't even seen "Broke Back Mountain and that's still all I could think of.
2. A first grade boy ran up to me on the playground and said, "We're getting chased by girls and it is FUN". (my son was one of those getting chased.)
3. I also got called "Mrs. Puge'"
4. Another teacher asked me as I went to the music room instead of PE to get my class, "Am I in the wrong place?" Uh, no, that would be me...At least she's the same person everyday. I am a different teacher and a different grade on any given day.

Hoop Chicks

2009-10-05T22:51:00.002-04:00

John is coaching Rachel's basketball team and they are the Hoop Chicks. I love Basketball. Even after all these years, I still love it and have been known to play in our driveway. Rachel had a game on Saturday, so I took my camera and got a few pictures. She played against the daughter of a girl that I played with in High School. This is a great age group to work with. They are really learning some basics of the game, but it can be really intense. Rachel actually had two games on Saturday, but I only went to the second one. John said it was a good thing I stayed at home for the first game. It was a nail biter. I'm the mom on the bench yelling. After the first game of the season, Hayden said, "maybe we should have left you at home". Funny!

Soccer Season

2009-10-05T22:43:00.003-04:00

Hayden and his friend Catch

Last year, we didn't play soccer or basketball. We had just moved here and didn't really have our house unpacked when that all started. This year, however, our kids were ready to play. Hayden is playing soccer for the first time and he loves it! These are a few pictures from his last game. He is #4 on the yellow team.

In my Spare Time...

2009-10-05T22:31:00.002-04:00

You may have been wondering what a woman like me does in her spare time. Well, today is your lucky day. I don't have a lot of spare time, but when I do, this is one thing I do. I love my sewing machine and don't use it near enough. My sister called a few weeks ago to see if I could make some special gifts for a couple of her friends that were having babies. Of course! She went shopping, sent me the stuff and a color scheme and I started creating some cute little baby things to put on the bag, onesies and burp cloths. I love that everything matches. It was fun to find little animals and only use pink and brown. I love that little pink and brown giraffe. I also adore that little pink duck. She reminds me of a print on a 1970's sundress I think I wore as a kid. So, in my spare time, this is what I do to relax. Well, it's one thing I do.

Saying Hello to One Grandma & Goodbye to Another.

2009-09-15T00:04:00.003-04:00

Great Grandpa and the kids

Four Generations

Hayden goes to visit Grandpa's horse -Jill

A little Jenga...

This past week, by grandmother passed away. She and my grandpa had been married for 9 years. This was the Nana that my kids knew and loved. Their last living great grandma. In saying goodbye to Nana, they were able to say hello to my mom. She lives in California and hasn't ever met Rachel or Hayden. She has been to Texas a couple of times in the past 10 years, but since we moved around with the Air Force, we were not here when she came to visit. The kids really enjoyed meeting her. We hope it's not another 10 years before we see her again.

I am thankful yet again that God has brought us back to Texas. My grandpa had a shadow all day today. Hayden rode with him to the church and followed him around everywhere. I think it was comforting to my grandpa to have him close. It was very sweet to see Hayden love on him during this difficult time.

Homecoming

2009-09-14T23:51:00.002-04:00

Kate sang at the game!

Homecoming parade...

"Flashdance"

Texas High School Football... This past Friday was homecoming and the high school celebrates for the entire week. Kate dressed up on movie day. Can you guess her movie? "Flashdance" No, she hasn't seen it, but it was easy to come up with a costume. Thursday night was the parade, powder puff game and bonfire and then Friday night was Homecoming! We bought Kate her first mum. The choir sang the National Anthem at the game. It was a night of family fun and even better since we won. Oh, the purple hair was for homecoming; although, it has not come all the way out with washing like it says.

FREE stuff and coupons

2009-08-31T10:04:00.003-04:00

I love FREE stuff and coupons. I have just discovered Downy Wrinkle Release. We took a trip to Austin and I found a cute little travel size bottle of DWR at Target. I threw it in my bag to give it a try. I could not believe how well it worked. Seriously! Spray it on, give the fabric a tug and let it dry. You know on trips how you wear jeans or shorts more than once, but they have that wrinkle thing going on at your hips? This takes care of that problem and makes them look fresh and new. I LOVE it! If you haven't tried it, this coupon makes it worthwhile. My iron is going on vacation.

Family Reunion

2009-08-14T23:11:00.005-04:00

Rachel's shadow puppet

fishing

Hayden caught one!

Friendship bracelets

on the farm

She helped make the cookies.

A 'little' sample of cookie dough.

Can't see the one in the front or the dog. We were loaded!

The first weekend in August, we had our annual family reunion. What an adventure... me and 6 kids (John was out of town) spent the weekend on the farm. Well, some of it anyway. We drove up to Childress to the family reunion and had a great time visiting with family. We had about 70 people at our reunion. It was great to see cousins, aunts, uncles, great aunts... We all take food and boy was there a ton of it. My dad is known for several things in the family: Chocolate chip cookies, Homemade ice cream and home made peach cobbler. When he's feeling really energetic, he makes the peach cobbler in a dutch oven. YUM! Dad put me to work both Saturday and Sunday helping make the Peach cobbler. It was so fun to be in the kitchen with 20 other people telling stories, laughing, cooking... Pure joy! I do have to confess that on Sunday, I had dessert first. While everyone else was in line for lunch, I knew the ice cream was done and I scooped a pile on top of my warm Peach cobbler and sat down for a little bowl of yumminess. Kate caught me. She couldn't believe I was eating dessert first. Just talking about this makes me hungry for Peach cobbler.

The kids played and had a great time. They went to the park, went fishing, fed the ducks at the pond. It brings back memories from my own childhood and going to the reunion. One year, my brother caught a duck and brought it over to the reunion building. We have a picture of everyone around him as he held his prize. Ahh, fun times!

The Hike in Cloudcroft

2009-08-11T19:11:00.002-04:00

We went for a hike in Cloudcroft. We tried to do this hike 5 years ago and didn't make it. We did have four kids under 6 years old and two of them were in strollers. This time, no strollers. We did make the 1.3 mile hike down to the trestle, but we almost didn't make the 1.3 mile hike back up. You think 2.6 miles is not that bad, well not normally, but do it on the side of a mountain. A little bit harder. We had a map to follow and handed it to Sarah to read. It was funny to see her read it. She was so confused. It was a map that had no directions on it and was not even close to accurate. None of us could have followed it, but it was sure fun to see her try.

White Sands

2009-07-31T16:57:00.002-04:00

It was a beautiful day at White Sands. During the summer, it gets so hot there, but this day, it was about 80 degrees. We took advantage of the cooler weather and went down to play in the sand. We had so much fun and got some great pictures. John found the sledding dishes in the cabin. We were so excited to use them as you can see...

Cloudcroft...

2009-07-31T16:41:00.001-04:00

We had a great time in Cloudcroft. It was beautiful! I just wanted to share a few pictures. We are heading to our family reunion, but have some great pictures to post from White Sands...

St. Joseph's Mission

2009-07-19T12:24:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, we headed down to Las Cruces to visit friends. As we drove through Ruidoso, John reminded me of this old church that we had seen on our last visit to Cloudcroft. As you come around the mountain, there is this amazing church hidden back in the mountain. Last time, we didn't have time to think about stopping, but this time, we decided to stop. Much to our surprise, the church was being restored. We got to go in and see the inside of this church that was built in 1920. There was a sign on the door to let visitors know that there were bats. As we walked in, Sarah was greeted by something flying swiftly past her. As it rushed by, we realized that it was not a bat, but a hummingbird. Still a little scary when there's a sign on the door saying 'beware of bats'. We enjoyed walking around and seeing this historic old building.

Light Sabers in Walmart

2009-07-16T11:46:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, I was walking down the toy isle and behind me I hear these odd sounds of crashing and grunting. I turned to see what it was and it was my two boys, John and Hayden, fighting in the middle of the toy isle with their light sabers. I love that my man is still a kid at heart. He loves to play with our kids and have fun! They worked their way up and down the isle wielding their newly found swords. At one point, a Walmart employee walked around the corner and saw the commotion; he just turned and walked away when he saw it was a boy and his dad. Funny! And what would any mom do? Grab her camera and take a picture. See, this is why you should carry a camera in your purse. Moments like this should be shared... See, it's okay to pick up a sword in the middle of the store and fight your six year old boy. It will make his day!

Penne Ala Vodka

2009-07-12T21:42:00.004-04:00

I went to a Living Proof Live event this weekend and we talked about food on our way home. It made me think of this recipe. It is one of our favorites and I didn't know if I had shared it or not.

Penne Ala Vodka

1 package sausage (Italian Turkey Sausage)
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
1 large can crushed tomatoes (28oz.)
¼ cup vodka
½ teaspoon salt
½-1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes (We like it spicy, so I use 1 teaspoon)
¾ cup fat free half and half
1 cup skim milk

Cook garlic in olive oil for about 2 minutes, add sausage; cook until sausage is browned. Add tomatoes and vodka and simmer for about 3 minutes (this cooks off the alcohol). Season with salt and hot red pepper flakes. Add the half and half and milk and simmer 2-3 minutes. Serve over Penne Pasta. (At this point, you can put the sauce in a crock pot to stay warm. Sometimes I cook it in the morning and keep it in the crock pot all day to let the flavors marry and then we eat if for dinner.)

Freezing instructions: Cook as directed above. Allow to cool and store in freezer bags. Thaw in the refrigerator 24 hours before serving. Heat the sauce in the microwave, on the stove top or in the crock pot (High 2 hours or Low 4 hours). Serve over Penne Pasta.

The original recipe called for1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream, but we altered the recipe to be low fat. We also are using turkey Italian sausage and the original called for Italian or Breakfast sausage.

Weight Watchers Points: (sauce only)
1cup= 4points
½ cup=2 points

A trip to Panhandle Plains Historical Museum

2009-07-08T17:21:00.002-04:00

A few days ago, all the sisters gone, so I asked Hayden where he wanted to go. "The museum", he exclaimed. So off we went on our historical adventure. he took the map in his tan dirty hands and off we went to the basement. For those of you that have not been to the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum, the basement holds the animals and Indian artifacts. It's Hayden's favorite exhibit. When you don't have any sisters begging to go to "Belles of the Ball" exhibit, you can go wherever you want. He led the way with map in hand from one exhibit to the other. He had a grand time being the leader of our twosome. We only spent about an hour, but we had a great time and got to see a new exhibit of "Texas Panhandle Athletes". We saw some greats and can't wait to go back. At the end of the trip, Hayden posed in front of the Buffalo across the street.

The mom in the lounge chair...

2009-07-08T17:02:00.004-04:00

We have been to the pool several times and I am enjoying my new stage of motherhood. I am no longer pulling on and off soaking chlorine scented swim diapers! I am the mom at the side of the pool, lounging in the pool chair reading a book. Not a worry in the world... I remember seeing them, the moms in the lounge chairs. Oh, how I longed for that day. Now, I am that mom. Even though I leave one stage of motherhood behind, I am jumping feet first into the new one. Our oldest is almost 14 and going into High School. Yikes! As I read her copy of "Twilight", I scan the pool over the top of my book trying to locate that cute little blonde girl. Ah, I spot her across the pool hanging out with all the kids from her youth group. Her cheerful smile welcomes those around her. Now, where are the others? Ah, there's the roommates swimming in the pool, playing games just as cheerfully as they share a room. Really! They make up their own games, their own rules and enjoy the warm sun and cool water. Now for the boy, in the shallow end, diving endlessly for a dive stick that is black with red flames. His blonde hair is getting lighter by the minute. What a day! I love summer and love spending time at the pool.

New Blog Title

2009-07-03T16:53:00.003-04:00

Well, about a year and a half ago, I had to change my blog title. Remember..."Texas Roots with Air Force Branches". We were no longer in the Air Force and that no longer fit who we were. So, not knowing what to change it to, I had a contest... Ah, it's all coming back now. So, I've decided that though we may still be "Driftwood" in this world, it was a temporary name. I am not having a contest this time. I have been thinking about this for a while and had several ideas, but finally settled on "Just a small town girl...". I've always been a small town girl at heart. The Air Force may have taken us all around, but I was still a small town girl. Now, I am back in a small town in Texas and I love it!

Also, I've made this blog public so I don't have to update my blog and facebook separately. I can just add a link when I update my blog. Also, this way, my dad doesn't have to remember his password.

I hope you enjoy the new look and maybe some new content every once in a while...

Branson

2009-06-30T23:12:00.004-04:00

Good food

Sarah, Rachel and John

Brooke and Hayden

John and a yummy dessert

James thinks Sarah's cool

Audra, Hayden and Kate

We picked Sarah up this past weekend and we drove into Branson for dinner. We decided on the Hard Luck Diner with singing waitresses. It was really fun. Hayden even sang along with Brooke as she sang "All I want to do" by SugarLand. It happens to be written by a friend of mine from High School- Bobby Pinson. We had a great time and drove for a little over 9 hours for 2 days in a row. Not too bad.

Summer Fun

2009-06-30T19:03:00.003-04:00

2 pooped pups

Sarah and Meredith

Hayden and his friend have a sleepover.

A scooter at Tractor Supply

Nachos at the pool

We have been busy, but have had some time to relax and enjoy our summer too. We just got Sarah and Rachel back after both being gone for a week. Kate has already gone to camp with the youth group. We also did some dog sitting for a friend that went to India. It has been fun and we look forward to our "small town" Forth of July celebration this weekend.