First day of school

well my baby started kindergarten this year. She has the ssame teacher that ran had last year...sweet Miss Shell. Ransom is in Grammar One and they are excited to be at the same school again! Thay sure are growing up quickly!

MIA

yes we have been seriously delinquent in keeping up with our blog duties but we are still here....just crazy busy with school starting and life by at 100 mph! So without further adieu...here are some pics of the kids playing in the rio grande in taos...it was so great!!!!

Picnic in July

We had abig party at our house on the weekend of the fourth...it was a lot of fun and there is nothing like a party to make you clean your house!!!

Taos....

We are in Taos this week...we got here last Wednesday. This place is so relaxing and magical. Even my sweet sweet (but very workaholic) husband chills out here. pics to come later......we have been hiking and shopping and eating at all these great restaurants...so great!!!! I don't know if if I will come home!

Helping Dad on the dozer

Jerry's Daylilies

This is just one of the gorgeous daylilies that are blooming right now in the yard. Steve's sweet daddy, Jerry, had a daylily farm in Mississippi. Every visit he would arrive with a new plant or two for our very bare yard. We lost Jerry about 51/2 years ago and he is so very missed. Each time I look at these plants, I am reminded of him. He was eccentric and stubborn and so very special.

Fun at the water park

looks like his daddy~
these guys look kinda tough!!!

my little supermodel....

we got a season pass to the water park...fun times!!!! the lifeguards are GREAT!!

Ran's last day of school

yes, I know...school has been out for over a month and I have not posted..hey, i've been busy!!! without further adieu....here is Ran and Miss Shell, his very sweet and cute-as-can-be kindergarten teacher! Don't we all always and forever remember our kindergarten teacher.....well, according to sweet hubby, he had 4 kindergarten teachers ( no, he didn't get held back 4 years in a row for kindy...his family moved ...ALOT!)and he can't remember any of them!

Summertime

what is it about summer that just begs for an afternoon nap? Maybe it is the (almost) daily trips to the pool or the hot Texas sun...whatever it is...it makes me sleepy!
We have been kinda busy trying to stay busy....Morning trips to the "extra size place"...that is what Copeland calls the gym...ha! I am trying to avoid an "extra size", honey!!! That is why we are here!!!! Both she and Ran have made friends with the brutal cardio teacher's kids....they also go to the water park with Vanessa and I.....Can I just say that my idea of a relaxing afternoon is NOT sitting next to my very tall and thin BFF and Cardio Queen Christi in their bikinis....c'mon girls ...cut a sista a little slack! LOVE YA!!!!!!!!!!!

Chicken Little

Kindergarten has gone to the birds......

could this "chick" be any cuter?

A Day At The River

Ranch Rule #19 If you don't pose for Mom's camera, you are gonna get kissed!!!!!

we like to call it the "Redneck Riviera" ...my Europe bound friends taking in a little sun stateside....

my sweet Steve...chillin on Memorial Day

Turkey Lurkey

Ransom's class play is tomorrow. They are doing Chicken Little...guess who plays Turkey Lurkey????

New Donkeys

Mom got two cuties and put them in our front pasture....Their names are Pete and Repeat

Wednesday 5 year old Field Trip

Vanessa and Grant

Lorie and Copeland in shades Copeland and Grant

Well, Vanessa and I decided that really the children NEEDED a field trip... some time away...a road trip. Being the Moms of the Year that we are, we took them to the Round Rock Outlet Mall. It had nothing to do with the AnnTaylor Outlet......I mean come on, they were in dire need of new sunglasses for goodness sake!!!!

Field Day

It was a GORGEOUS afternoon and a perfect day for the Live Oak Field Day. It was held at the Baylor track and we had fun!!! The second picture of Ran is him doing the long jump backwards...his idea...maybe his strengths lie elsewhere.....

Weekend Company

We had company on Saturday afternoon. James, who works with Steve, and his wife Angie came down with their 2 girls, Shiloh and Caroline. The kids had a blast playing in the sandbox and eating watermelon.

Copeland's Pre K Graduation

Yes it's true...Copeland had Pre Kindergarten Graduation last week. My baby......It was very sweet...they each got a bible and they sang songs and did tricks...Copeland is on the top row 2nd from the left...in between bff Brooklyn and bf Conner (who IS going to the same school in the fall!)

This is Copeland and her best friend, Brooklyn. They will be going to kindergarten in the fall AT DIFFERENT SCHOOLS. Oh no!!! Aren't they cute??!!!

Our Day At The Race

Well we did it. Vanessa and I did the Race for the Cure last Saturday. It was COLD!!!! We came , we saw, we walked...then we left! It was way crowded and we did not have a clue what was going on...but it was fun! Maybe next year we will do the 5K!

I Am FROM...

I found this template on another blog and decided it would be fun...I love it! Hope you do, too!

I am from hot, humid summers and the smell of freshly cut grass and honeysuckle.
I am from mornings made of Carnation Instant Breakfast and Cream of Wheat.
I am from the big house on Dogwood Drive with the huge magnolia tree out front. My grandfather and I built a bird's nest there once...it was never occupied.
I am from the backyard filled with fireflies caught and put in a mason jar with holes poked in the lid.
I am from nights upstairs with the sliding glass door open and the sounds of tree frogs and Johnny Carson lulling me to sleep.
I am from Christmas mornings and red hair, from Ron and Sherie and Mama Ag and Daddy Jim and the Paynes and Greenfields. I am from the stubborn and the faithful and from racing home after church with my grandmother to hide in the same spot every Sunday...and my grandfather pretending to not know where we might be!
I am from Church of Christ and believe the bible is God's word and nothing shall be added to or taken away.
I am from animal lovers who believe all God's creatures deserve to be treated with decency and respect.
I am from America and points prior, though I I don't know where.
I am from roast with carrots and potatoes and tacos.
From the bull who chased my grandmother and the mad dog under her house, the shortcut my grandfather took across the railroad bridge to school and sandcastles on the beach. I am from my father who used to call me Scooter.
I am from boxes in closets filled with family memories and stories told time and again.

Spring Flowers

It is such a gorgeous day today that I had to snap a few pics. Ransom is out of school for a teacher workday so we are taking advantage of the beautiful sunshine.

Go Fly A Kite!

Yesterday afternoon we tried out the kites Ransom got for his birthday from Grandaddy. We first tried at home, but the trees were blocking the wind. So, we headed down to the hay field and found great success!