Our Memorial Day Weekend

We started off the weekend with a Graduation Party Friday night for our cousin, Grady Douglass.  It was alot of fun!  And the food was delicious!  We got our boots out for the requested "Western Attire."  Fun!  Grady's going to Texas A&M this fall!  Gig 'Em!  Good Luck, Grady!!!

Then we got up early Saturday morning for Kenedy's first rodeo!  I cannot describe how excited she was!  She actually woke John and me up very early telling us to get up and get her ready. She has been practicing at the ranch almost everyday after school with PawPaw. I'm pretty sure this will last for at least for another 15 years. She absolutely loves horses and especially getting to spend so much time with PawPaw. He's the best coach in the world! Thanks, Dad!

Kenedy's first event was the Goat Pulling.  They ride their horse down to a goat tied to a stake in the ground.  They jump off, grab the ribbon off it's tail and run past the flagger.  Here she is intently studying the goat before they started.

Here's her run:

This is a timed event.  Meaning the fastest time wins.  I'm not sure Kenedy understands this just yet.  (Or maybe hanging her bat on her saddle horn just perfectly is more important to her!)

Just after that it started raining, and then pouring!  They put the rodeo on hold for about a half hour.  We were in the covered stands, but it seemed to be coming in sideways, so we were having trouble keeping dry.  Luckily, Tana had brought a towel and it kept Hudson warm and cozy!

Here are John, Kenedy and Dad waiting at the gate.  Kenedy was praying they wouldn't call if off!  She couldn't wait to run around the barrels!

But they did.  She was pretty disappointed, but they get to do all the events twice at the next one, and that was good enough for her!

Other than the party and rodeo, we pretty much took it easy, enjoying the three-day weekend.  The girls washed the dogs,

And then we went swimming.  This was Hudson's first "real" swimming experience.  He loves the water!  All three of the kiddos will be starting swimming lessons in June.

They call John, "Shamu" at the pool, which means he gets to pull them through the water and throw them up in the air.  But he's trying to think of a better term for it, for some reason.

I'm hoping the water warms up enough for me soon, because this just doesn't look safe!

Hudson warmed up with me and a snack on the sidelines while John, Kenedy and Hadyn burned off some more energy.

Happy Anniversary to US!

Yesterday John and I celebrated our NINTH wedding anniversary.  WOW!  (We're old.)  I still remember our wedding day like it was yesterday.  One of the best days of my life.  And I can't believe it was NINE years ago.  He made me the luckiest girl in the world that day and now he's made me the luckiest mommy!  Seeing our beautiful kiddos ensures me that we were definitely meant to be together!  Love you, babe!

We try to take an Anniversary Vacation every year... Belize, Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, etc.  However, San Antonio has become a favorite destination of ours in the last few years.  Our first vacation to S.A. was when I was eight months pregnant with Kenedy, then last year when I was five months pregnant with Hudson, and yesterday, when we just couldn't leave our babies behind for longer than one night.  (Okay, that's only partly true.)  Lyndsi kept the kids here and we slipped out to the Riverwalk (where this all began anyway).  We spent the night at the Watermark, loved it!  We ate Mexican food, went to the spa, ate Mexican food again, went to the Comedy Club, then crashed in our nice little hotel room.  I always look forward to a peaceful night away, but the darn mommy in me won't let me sleep through even the faintest little noise.  Someone flushing a toilet, a car alarm, a door closing, a non-muted TV next door, etc.  And in a hotel room, there are at least one or more of these every few minutes.  Regardless, we had a wonderful time and are looking forward to that diving vacation John promised me this summer!  (Wink-Wink)

I told John "No Work Allowed" at the Riverwalk, so he worked the whole way there.

Our Deceivingly Peaceful-Looking Room

Our Riverboat Taxi (This was John's bright idea.  We were in a hurry to get back to our room to drop a few things off before dinner, so to avoid a 10 minute walk, we took the boat... which took over an hour!  Just an FYI to those of you who might consider the same.)  We were looking pleasant here before we took off.

And, me, trying to smile after 30 minutes.  John got the biggest kick out of seeing me so frustrated!  I swore I was going to give that driver a piece of my mind for not warning us... and he's lucky I didn't.

That Mexican Food I was talking about.  Super Yum!

I hear alot that there aren't ever any pictures of me (which I actually prefer), and I'm trying, but this is usually how they turn out.  He's working on it, though.

Phew!

We're finally getting back to normal. And, I have a lot to write about, but not much time left of Hudson's nap.  So, here is a re-cap of our last few weeks, in a nutshell.

Weakly Family Reunion at the Ranch

The boys planted a tree on the island in honor of Granny.

Mother's Day was extra special this year because we spent it with the entire family for lunch in Boerne and then gathered at the nursing home to celebrate my grandmother's 97th birthday.

And here are some random cute pictures of my kiddos!