Stick Horse Rodeo

Layton participated in a stick horse barrel race at the Texas Ranch Roundup in Wichita Falls on Friday, August 14. I was shopping in the exhibits, so sadly missed the entire thing. I honestly didn't think Clint would take him to do it, but he did. Layton received a t-shirt and a stick horse all for $8! Clint said that Layton's age group only had to run around one barrel and then back to the finish line. He said that Layton's boot came off during his run, however, and completely threw him for a loop. He stopped, turned around, looked at Clint and gave him a questioning look like, "What do I do now?". Clint told him to go on and finish, so he did. He didn't make it to the finals, though. However, as you can tell he is so proud of his "rodeo" t-shirt and his stick horse, which he has already broke (El Destructo).

Layton's 3rd Birthday

Layton turned 3 on August 15, the day after Clint and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. We can not believe how quickly time has passed and the healthy little boy he is. We still remember the doctors telling us on June 13, 2006 that something was not right with the little boy we were expecting. We made weekly trips to Ft. Worth to see specialists for both myself and then for Layton once he was born. In the end, however, everything turned out just fine. He did have to undergo surgery when he was two days old at Cook Children's Hospital to remove a mass in his abdomen, but everything has been smooth sailing since.

Layton wanted a Diego birthday party, so that is what he got, of course. His birthday was on a Saturday this year, but we had his actual family party on the Thursday before. On the day of his birthday, Clint and I went away for our anniversary, so my mom and sister took Kade and Layton to Castaway Cove in Wichita Falls. They had a blast! Kade even won two tickets for admission that have to be used before Sept. 7, so it looks like we may be going again next weekend.

Layton is the funniest little toot and we look forward to watching him grow up. He has a funny new saying or gesture everyday that keeps us in stitches. Right now we are calling him "El Destructo" because he breaks everything he touches. Clint swears that he could destroy an anvil, if we gave him the chance! He also insists on wearing pants and a belt with a rodeo buckle each day--just like his daddy. Layton we love you!

2006-Layton was a few days old in this picture.

2009- Layton's expression is too funny! He was so excited about his party and his cake. He kept telling me to "Fire" his cake up (put candles on it). The weeks leading up to his party I would ask him what he wanted for a gift and he would say just a cake.

Some of our family at the party.

Castaway Cove

10th Wedding Anniversary

Clint and I celebrated 10 years of marriage this past Friday, August 14. Neither one of us can believe it has been 10 years--it truly did fly by. We had originally planned to go to Europe and see a friend for our anniversary, but talked ourselves out of it towards the last minute in the planning process. So, instead we stayed a night at The Gaylord Texan in Grapevine. We had a wonderful time just walking and exploring and sitting at the bar visiting about the past 10 years and the family we have become. We look forward to the next 10, but are scared about how fast they will pass, plus Kade will be 17 and Layton 13--just a blink of the eye it seems like!

1999

2009

The view from our room's patio.

The Golden Cowboy

The Tree/Vine Lady

Six Flags

On Sunday, August 9th the boys went to Six Flags with my sister, Skye, and her boyfriend, Tyler. Kade had earned a free admission ticket through a reading program, Layton got in free because he was two, and I had two free adult admission tickets from the same reading program, so it didn't cost them anything to get in. They stayed for about four hours while I went back-to-school shopping at a nearby mall. The boys had a blast. Kade even rode The Titan with Tyler! The big laugh was that Layton got in trouble for not wanting to get off the rides and for biting Kade (the attendant got onto him, not my sister!). Kade tells the story really well! The attendant, a lady, told Layton in a sweet voice the first time, but when he didn't obey, Kade said her voice dropped and he could have swore it was a man!


I didn't send my camera with Skye, so she just had pictures from her phone.

Kade, Layton and Tyler on a Mini-Superman type Ride

Girls Night Out!

Last Saturday, August 8, some girlfriends and I went out to celebrate Monica's birthday. She wouldn't let us call it that--we had to call it a back to school last blast--we all work at a school. We had a great time getting pedicures and then eating at Texas Roadhouse. It has been years since I had a pedicure, so I was excited. I don't know why I don't do that more often--it makes me feel so good and it lasts for a long time. We had a wonderful time and plan to try to do it once a month or every other month.

Swimming with Cousins

On Wednesday, August 5, the boys and I were invited to my aunt and uncle's lake cabin on Lake Graham. We only spent a few hours and just swam in the pool, but it was a lot of fun to see the boys with their cousins, Cooper and Luke (and Marlee, but she slept the entire time).

Kade and Cooper

Layton & Luke

Dentist and Ducks

On Tuesday, August 4, Layton had his first dentist appointment. He did great and got a good report. The enamel on his front, bottom teeth is extremely thin, so we have one spot that may be a cavity one day.


The dentist's office is located next to a lake/pond that is home to several ducks and geese. We took some old bread and fed them after Layton's appointment.

Quick Trip to Ruidoso

This past weekend (July 30-Aug. 2) we made a quick trip to Ruidoso. It was the boys and my very first trip to Ruidoso. Clint has been several times, but it has been awhile. Another couple, who have kids our age, also went. We had a fabulous time! I could not get over how nice the weather was. I'm already looking forward to another visit, hopefully soon.

We drove up late Thursday evening and crashed when we got there at 12:30 in the morning. On Friday we got up and went hiking. We drove, I bet 20 minutes, up a mountain and then hiked in the National Forest on one of their designated trails. The scenery was breathtaking! Friday afternoon we took the kids to an entertainment spot that offered bumper boats, go-kart racing, rock wall climbing, etc. They, of course, loved it. We also played in a little creek that afternoon--the water was absolutely freezing, but the kiddos had fun.

On Saturday we went to the live horse races at Ruidoso Downs. What an experience--everyone had a great time. I waited until the 6th race to place my very first bet. I'm the nerdy type, so I studied the program and then placed a quinella bet on two horses. Clint didn't think that was too bright, but boy I showed him. The two horses I picked came in 1st and 2nd and I made a $21 profit off of a $2 bet. Yeah! We stayed at the races most of the day, so once we left there we went to eat and then back to the cabin to lounge in the hot tub.

We drove home on Sunday afternoon. In Roswell we stopped and toured the UFO Research Center Museum. It was very interesting! They even let our dog, Ace, take the tour, and they gave him a free alien dog toy.

We all had a great time. I can't believe school starts in two weeks. We have two more mini-vacations planned, so the weeks will fly by!

Hiking:

I love this pic I took of Kade. He didn't know I was taking it.

Entertainment Spot:

Kade had to climb the rock wall barefoot, because he had flip flops on and it was easier with no shoes. He said it really hurt his feet.

Layton loved the go-karts and would have ridden the entire time had he not fallen asleep the second time he and Clint rode them. I can still hear/see him laughing and smiling the entire ride. He loved it!

Ruidoso Downs:

We promised the kids we would take them bowling on Saturday evening, but when the time came around we were worn smooth out. So, my friend came up with potato bowling using water bottles. The kids loved it! It is a lot harder than it looks!
Deer would come within feet of the door to the cabin.
UFO Research Museum in Roswell:

We laughed about this picture! I said people will think we made Layton look as if he was blind, so that Ace could get in as a seeing-eye dog. I promise we didn't!
Ace was going to town on his free toy!