Rodeo 2015

I had all sorts of grand plans to post like 3 or 4 times this week.  But in reality, I slept in and hung out with my kids.  We baked. We played scrabble.  Kate did lots of crafts.  Harry fished. We cleaned out closets and drawers.  Kate and Harry outgrew all of their spring and summer clothes from last year. They both had big growth spurts!  I shopped online to replace the clothes they outgrew!  We went to the beach, the rodeo and the movies.  It was a very good Spring Break.

Let's start with the Rodeo.  We live approximately 2 miles from where the Houston Rodeo and Livestock show takes place. Most nights (depending on the humidity) we can hear the concerts.  That said, Dave and I are not native Texans and the rodeo is more of something to check off on our "to-do" list each year than something we look forward to.  We are not big country music fans and we don't like the crowds.  But our kids LOVE the rodeo. So, every year we take them and I do enjoy seeing their happiness. As young kids, they like the carnival rides, the food and the livestock stuff.  As teens, it is place to hang out with friends on the weekend in March.

Kate's romper (that she lives in).  Notice how Harry is almost as tall as Dave now?!

After two weeks of rainy weather, we finally had a sunny day in Houston.  Typically, we do not go to the rodeo carnival on a Saturday because of the crowds but for some reason we threw caution to the wind and went.

The first thing we always do is get in line for the pony rides.  The line is usually long and it moves slower than the other rides.  We were not sure Kate would still want to ride the ponies because most of the kids in line are much younger but she wanted to ride.  I have a feeling this might be the last year:(

This is what I got after the first photo.  The hand action was accompanied by "Mama!"

Yup, she is growing up.

And just for nostaglia sake, let's look at her first time on the ponies.
This was in 2009! She was 2 and 1/2 and I think she had mono but we did not know it yet.

Next it was onto a few rides....












Kate loves this flying ride.

Next we went on the sky ride.  In all of our years here, we had never done this before.

Kate loved it.  My palms sweated the whole time and my heart raced.  Let's just say Dave and Harry were not fans either.  Apparently, heights make most of our family a bit jittery.  Dave did make me laugh the whole way across though.  Kate and Harry rode behind us.

Another family favorite is the bumper cars.  The was the first year that Kate was tall enough to drive the big ones on her own.  She struggled though....

Harry jumped in and immediately started cruising around.  But poor Kate just went around and around in circles at the far end of the lot for what seemed like eternity. We could not tell her what to do from where we were allowed to stand. We tried not to laugh but it was kind of funny.  She just could not figure out how to drive.

Harry decided to go back where she was and bump her a few times (you can see them in the far back below) ...







And then Kate started to get the hang of it and she got in on the action.....







This is the look I get from Harry when I try to take his photo.  He's 14 y'all.

And while food is usually one of the best parts of the rodeo, it was not this year.  I am eating 100% gluten free right now and there were not really options for me there.  Plus, it was so incredibly crowded that you could barely get in line.  The kids ate a little.  Kate really wanted the fried ice cream that she had last year.  She talked about it for weeks.  But the line was at least 60 people deep and they fry each thing to order. It would have easily taken over an hour.  So she happily settled for regular ice cream.  She is really amenable like that.  

We were glad to check the rodeo off our Spring break to do list so early in the week but I doubt we will ever go again on a sunny Saturday.  It was crazy.  As the day went on you could barely walk from one place to the next because of the crowds.  As always though, I loved watching my kiddos laugh and have fun.

Will was not at the rodeo with us because he was on a mission trip.  He spent his Spring Break serving the poor in south Texas in a town just on the border of Mexico.  He helped build a house for a family there that lost their house in a tornado. He really enjoyed working on the house and helping people who needed help.  He slept on the floor of a local church and never once complained.  He even told me that he'd like to go back and do it again next year.  I am so proud of him and his servant's heart.  Will has always been such a great volunteer.

I also want to share some great news about HARRY!  He applied to two private high schools here for next year and he was accepted to both!  He also received a significant academic scholarship to one of them for scoring so high on the high school placement test. Now he has a tough decision to make.

I know I don't write about or share as many photos of the boys because they are teens and I try to respect their privacy but I am so proud of Harry.  He is a great student and he works hard. I cannot believe he will be in high school next year.  Will is going to be a senior and Harry will be a freshmen!  I have had three kids at three different schools for three years now.  The logistics of that has added a certain degree of chaos to our lives for sure. It would be so nice to be down to two schools for a change;)

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

rodeo time

So, it was just Rodeo time here in Houston.  Dave and I went a few weeks ago to the BBQ cook-off.  That was interesting and fun. Loads of good people watching! Will has gone a few times a night with his friends.  But we usually go as a family during Spring Break.  I remember last year thinking it might be out last year to all go together.  I knew that at almost 17, Will would be going with friends this year.  And Harry was in Europe on the coast of France and Spain this day so he missed it too!

I invited one of Kate's good friends from school to join us and they were sooo cute.  They walked around the whole rodeo carnival either hand in hand or with an arm around one another.  It was so bright and one of my cameras is broken so I am not thrilled with the shadows/overexposure of some of my photos but I LOVE looking back over the years at our rodeo photos. It brings back good memories.

Kate and her friend, Maria.


They held hands the whole time...so cute!

First, we rode the ponies.  We always do that first because the line gets long.  The sun was so bright that each photo has Kate in the shadows of the tent.  I tried a fill flash and that blew the photos out.  But I got this...

Immediately after the pony rides, we went to the petting zoo. 

I love how I caught the cone mid-air in the photo below..  Dave was feeding a goat and he pulled it right out of his hands.  That little deer came right up to Kate's face:)

Kate's friend Maria was really nervous in the petting zoo so she did not last long. I cannot blame her. Years ago, I was was thrown down by a mean llama in the rodeo petting zoo and I still have flashbacks! Kate and I do love petting on the little goats though.  They were sweet.

After the petting zoo, the girls wanted to go on some carnival rides...

I think we went to eat after that. Rodeo food is awesome (it's all junk food). It is not the way we usually eat but we throw caution to the wind and eat the decadent food that is there. I had cajun shrimp and Dave had sausage. I think the girls had burgers.

I love this shot of Kate and Maria just before the pig races.

After lunch, we went to the pig races. This is a rodeo tradition too.  Both of our boys used to love the pig races.  They pick kids from the audience to lead the crowd cheering on a pig for that section.  Will and Harry had been chosen when they were younger but Kate has always been pretty reserved (shy).  This year, she was picked though!

After the pig races, the girl did a few more rides...the carousel and the swings/spider thingy.

We promised the girls a"sweet treat" of their choice on the way out.  If you've never been to a Southern carnival, you will not appreciate the "fried" food options available at Rodeo.  The girls chose fried ice cream.  I think they liked it!  I opted to try fried Strawberry Shortcake.  It looked tasty but it was not so good.

 

 Bye bye Rodeo 2014~See you next year!


UPDATE: A few of you are praying for the girls injured on Harry's trip.  One of them returned to the US and needs surgery on her ACL.  The other girl was moved out of ICU this week and is still recovering in Spain.  She will be there another month due to the extent of her injuries.  Her name is Leslie and I am sure they would appreciate continued prayer.

Update Grande

It has been so long that I don't even know where to start.  I have come to not really like the word "busy."  We are all busy.  I guess I had no idea how my office business was going to shift around everything else in my life.  I have always worked a bit here and there speaking, coaching, and teaching classes.  But I completely underestimated how expanding my business would change everything. Time slips right through my fingers every single day.

My first priorities have always been God, marriage and children.  I've been able to manage that okay over the last 15 years. I sifted in volunteering, blogging, managing our home and various health issues, Bible studies, socializing etc as I could.  But sifting in a huge increase in public speaking, seeing clients and developing The Nurtured Home has really rocked my world. I feel so blessed that things are going well.  I feel so honored that clients choose me to help them with their families and marriages and relationships.  And although I sometimes wonder if I have taken on too much, I really LOVE everything I am doing. I am just trying to figure out our new normal.

So, I have done this by trying to be ultra intentional with my time.  As two of the peanuts schools asked me to be on the PTO boards next year, I politely declined.  But I did say yes to being a mentor mom at Will's school and working in the school store with Harry once a week.  I am trying to chose the things that will mean most to my family and that I can actually do.  It is hard.  I am learning to say no every day.  I have so much empathy for single moms (Dave has been traveling a lot) and other moms who work full time.  It seems impossible to do it all well.

Blogging fell by the wayside.  I LOVE blogging. I love having my family memories here.  I love connecting with other people here.  I love the creative outlet.  I won't stop blogging.  I just think that it might be  kind of sporadic until I figure out how to manage my time better.

So, to catch y'all up on Miss Kate...

She has lost her 2 front teeth!!!  I am going to take some photos of her "toothless" look tomorrow or this weekend and I will post them soon.  I have not really used my good camera much.  I lost Photoshop when my computer crashed last December and I am so frustrated that I cannot make simple edits on my photos (like brightening or contrast).  Also I got a new phone and I instagram a lot.

Also, Kate did join the competition team at our gym. I am so proud of her.  We are taking a break from violin so that she can manage the commitment.  She works really hard and she is so focused.  She was moved up from Level 1 to Level 2 within a few weeks.  She amazes me because she only started recreational gymnastics last fall and I almost did not let her do it because of ballet.  I did not want her over-scheduled.  Now at level 2 she practices 3 hours a day MWF and she never complains.   She loves every second of it. In fact this was our conversation the other day...

KATE: You did gymnastics when you were little, right?
ME: Well, yes Kate but it was so different back then and I was not really on a team.

KATE: Mama, I think you should get a job as a coach at my gym.
ME: Well Kate, I already have a job and I love what I do.  Why do you think I should be a coach?

KATE: Well, you get a really nice black t-shirt with the name of the gym on it.  And if you were a coach, I could go everyday!  But there is already a coach Kim, so you would have to change your name!

Here I thought she wanted more time with me but really she wants more time at the gym!!!

Switching gears here....

I also want to do a little update about Kate's academic progress.  Last year, I really agonized about whether Kate should do an encore presentation of kindergarten.  I just want share with you (in case anyone is contemplating it).  It was the BEST decision!!!!  Everything clicked this year both socially and academically.  And while she was not terribly behind in any one thing, her confidence is just so much better this year.  She is a leader.  And even though she was diagnosed with dyslexia in the Fall, she is reading at a GREAT level now (near the top of the class). We have worked really hard with her and it all just clicked this year.  I really cannot emphasize how happy I am that we gave her an extra year.  It is like things came into focus for her this year.

Also, last week (or 2?) was our annual trip to the rodeo...  We had a very nice time.  I think this might be the last time our whole family goes together.  Will is almost 16 and next year...he will be almost 17 and I think he will opt for going with his friends.  The only reason he went with us this year is that he was working when his friends went.

The boys wanted to wander around a little bit together so we split up.  I had the camera so there are lots more pics of Kate:)

In the petting zoo....

Lots of the animals chew on your clothes.
They did eat some holes in her tank top that was under this pink shirt:(

Kate was brushing this little guy while holding her nose from the stench:)

Kate really wanted a caramel apple.  Last year, she did not get to have one because she did not eat her dinner the night before.  She came up with a very creative solution last year and brought a regular apple and a stick to the rodeo.  This year though...she got that caramel apple right away.  And she was a big goof with it!

We met back up with the boys and Harry rode the big slide with Kate.
 I  just love that they held hands:)

Harry and Will are phenomenal big brothers!









The first time we took Will to the Livestock Show and Rodeo, he was a toddler and he LOVED the tractors. He basically spent the whole time sitting and pretending to drive them.



And now, in a few months, he will have his license.  This time, Will sat in all the real cars and trucks.
 I tell ya.
It really does go by in the blink of an eye!!!



Speaking of cars, the bumper cars are always a favorite with the peanuts.
Harry was kind enough to go on the little kid ones with Kate...






I just noticed that Kate matched her car perfectly!!
I wonder if she did that on purpose?

After that it was onto the big bumper cars.
 For years and years, Harry had to ride with Will because he could not reach the pedals and that always bothered him.
I was very glad that he could go solo this year:)









I love their facial expressions.  Will is serious.  Harry is having a blast!





Here they are about to slam into each other!









We also went to the carnival at Will's school where Harry won 2 goldfish (much to my dismay).
He gave them to Kate.  One died within a week (Goldie).
But the other one (Silvery) is still going strong.
 Like I needed one more thing to take care of!!




One more little update on Will.
He is playing water polo for his high school and it is going really well.
He loves it and he scored his first goal last week!  It is a tough sport y'all!



I really do promise to get back to a regular blog routine.  Thanks for being patient with me as I figure it all out.  And thank you to those who reached out to check and see if we were all okay:)