OH YEA! SHE DID IT! SHE RACED!

What a day!!!  We arrived at Raelynn's horse show at 8:40am this morning and got home around 7pm and it was worth every hot, dirty second!  Raelynn has been showing horses since she was 5 years old. This, however, is the first year she has wanted to race.  Aunt Bonnie bought a "pony" for her to race with.  He is much smaller than her show horse but he is stubborn.  Raelynn was suppose to race last weekend but her pony, Moon, was very jittery and Raelynn was even worse so we ended up scratching.  Every since Raelynn had a couple scares with her big horse, Charm, she has been so apprehensive and timid.  We decided a couple weeks ago it was time for me to get much more involved and for Raelynn to learn basic riding skills.  So thanks to her amazing Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Brian, we worked very hard this week.  We practiced 3 times this week for a couple hours each night.  Raelynn and Moon made huge gains, but today was the real test.  This was only Moon's 2nd show and his first to race.  He had a few stubborn patches and was a little excited but overall did great!  Raelynn did fantastic!  She was so nervous and scared but she rode Moon and even didn't freak when he rared on her.  I cannot even begin to tell you how proud of her I was.  I was also so happy to be in the circuit we are.  Everyone encouraged her and helped her along.  One of the other Dad's was in the arena with us and he helped her get started which I welcomed because I wasn't sure how much to make her do on her own and how much to help.  Anyway, it is so amazing how far she has came in such a short time.  I also cannot believe how I stand there and encourage her to be strong and command her horse when inside I just want to rip her off the horse and keep her beside me where she is safe.  This parenting thing is nuts!  We instinctively protect them at all costs but yet we turn around and put them in harms way to build their confidence and let them grow.  I think sometimes my emotions are all over the place all at once.  Regardless, I don't think I have every been so happy or proud of an accomplishment I have made  as I was at Raelynn's today.  The only negative of the whole day was that I had dirt in places dirt shouldn't even be able to find!!!

Raelynn and Moon

Raelynn, Charm and Aunt Bonnie

Raelynn during her show class

Raelynn Racing!

Happy Mommy!

Whoops!  Looks like Coop got the camera from Daddy!

What can I say, I needed somewhere to sit!

Raelynn and I getting our game plan together, hahaha!

Raelynn Racing down for Lead Back

Raelynn during Lead Back

Also, I think I forgot to post that Coop had a cardiologist appointment on Wednesday.  All test came back fantastic!  He does have a little more leakage in his valve but they expected that.  He also has a very low heart rate which they don't seem to fully understand as this has been mentioned before.  They are just thinking it is Coop's normal.  They did have him where a heart monitor again for 24 hours just to make sure that his heart rate is increasing appropriately when he is active.  We should hear the results of that on Monday.  He wore the monitor on Thursday and when we removed the electrodes, they left bruises on his skin!  It is just crazy how think and sensitive his skin is!

Bruises that are still left today from the electrodes on Thursday!

The exciting part though is that he finally broke 35lbs!  He is a whopping 35.5lbs and 37 inches tall!!

BUSY BUSY WEEK DONE, BIRTHDAY PLANNING IN FULL FORCE........

 Last week Coop had soccer camp and he loved every second of it.  He was so exhausted and I wondered if he was going to hang in there all week but he did and just wanted to know if he could keep going all summer.  They were asked one day to make a T-Shirt for his team's country.  I had so much to do and was headed back to work so I left the T0shirt making up to Terry.  Let's just say he did a better job than I would have even if I had a week to work on it!  When I got home that night the laptop was out and Terry had multiple sketches for ideas for the shirt.  So not only did he draw wonderfully, he also researched!!!  Like I said, I was impressed!

End of Camp Awards Ceremony

Today Coop had a T-ball game and again he did great!  He wanted to stay and watch his buddies from another team play after he was done.  I am convinced he would spend the whole day at the ball fields!  

Raelynn has been practicing a lot on her horse this week!  After a few weeks of being terrified due to some little spooks, she now looks like she actually knows what to do up there on the horse.  I am so proud of the work she has done and just for sticking with it.  Tomorrow we have a horse show again.  Since Raelynn is now racing, we have to be at the show by 9am and we don't get done until after 4pm. It is a long day but seeing her smile is worth it all!!!

Raelynn's birthday party is next weekend so we have went non stop today getting everything ready for the party and the Birthday Girl.  I do not know how anyone could dislike giving a gift.  I get so excited it's ridiculous.  Today I asked Raelynn which birthday party was her favorite.  Her response, "I don't know, they have all been so perfect!"  It was an awesome answer and made me even more excited to celebrate with her.  Let's hope this year keeps the "perfect" tradition going!

THANK GOODNESS FOR MY KIDS.........

I am sitting here with my kids squeezing in a blog post while they eat their bedtime snacks and I'm just thinking how I wish I could tell my co-worker who is expecting her first child how incredible it is!  I was so busy today, so irritated at times, so overwhelmed at times and as soon as I tuck the kids in and Terry gets in from mowing I am headed back to the office but it is ALL so worth it.  It is worth running crazy during the day to shuffle them from camps to daycare, to rushing after work to get them picked up in time, then rushing home to get dinner in the oven so I can take a few minutes to pitch a few balls to my T-Ball player, and then watch him practice his moves from soccer camp.  Then go inside to check dinner and then get convinced to be my cowgirl's pony so she can practice for her next show which of course just ended in laughter.  Then we eat and clean up and showers and then laundry and here we are with a little snack and then off to bed just so I can start the things I have to do.  It doesn't really sound that fun but it is all so great.  I  never sit down with nothing to do and I never stop thinking about what isn't getting done and I never quit judging the job I am doing and sometimes I feel so much anxiety that I really feel like I am going to cry, but, ALWAYS, I take one look at them and tahdah, it's all good!  So how do you explain to someone all that!  You don't, you just wait until it happens to them too.


So I started this blog post at 8pm....it is now 9:15pm and I am waiting for Terry to get out of the shower so I can head back to work.  Since starting this post I have found out that Coop has to have a T-Shirt decorated to represent Portugal for Soccer Camp tomorrow!  It took about 30 texts between my good friend who also has a son at camp and the coach  and myself for me to figure that all out!  Again, the awesome thing is that half the time we were texting I was laughing.  I really believe you have to put all this in perspective.  I mean really, do you know how much I love having Coop around to have to deal with this craziness and while I was trying to get this whole T-Shirt thing figured out Raelynn was constantly calling "Mom!" because she needed help with her research paper!  And yes, why in the world is there any need to complete a research paper in the middle of the summer!  Every parent experiences this craziness but until you are on the receiving end of that word...."Mom".....you just can't imagine how empowering it is!

Well I actually have so much to post about the past week but Terry is out of the shower now so I am off.  The recap of last week will just have to wait one more night!!!  By the way, I have left the T-shirt decorating up to Terry so I will definitely get a picture of that tomorrow!!!

VACATION IS OVER, BOOOOO

We are currently headed back to Kansas from our vacation in Colorado.  It is a little sad that it is over but I must say it will be nice to get everyone back on a normal routine.  We are so structured and spending this many days with no schedule starts to eat away at me.  However, 4am tomorrow is going to come way too soon after sleeping until 8am all week!!!

Before we headed out on vacation, Coop had his first T-Ball game.  He did great and LOVED every second of it.  He is a pretty good little player and couldn't quit smiling the entire time he was out there.  I love seeing him have so much fun.  I can't tell you who won or lost because they only let them take a base at a time but Coop's first hit was a home run and he ran the bases.  When they sent him back to first base he was so confused!  We were all laughing.  Poor kid just wanted his home run!
 

After we headed straight for soccer for Coop's last soccer game for the spring session and then over to Topeka to pick up Raelynn from her horse show.  She got a little spooked again this week on her horse so next week we are going to have to spend some time working hard with her and get her going again.  

 We left on vacation Monday night and went as far as Mom and Dad's before we stopped to catch some sleep.  Then Tuesday it was up and off to Denver.  We arrived at our hotel and the kids were wound up.  They stayed like this pretty much the entire vacation :)  They had a blast at the hotel!  Coop found the hot tub to be his own personal swimming pool that he never got cold in!  We did have to make him get out every once in awhile just so he did not melt but he had a blast.

While in Denver we went to the Children's Museum and the Aquarium. both of which were a huge hit. We also went to Ice Age 4D Movie which was so realistic that it had Terry and Raelynn swatting at bugs that appeared to be flying into us.  The chairs moved with the movie and it really was quite realistic.  We watched 2 movies and the first was pretty laid back.  The second was a little more intense and Coop was not a big fan.  I ended up pulling his 4D glasses off which helped a little but he was still scared to death.  For a boy that has been through so much, he fears the weirdest things.  We also got to spend some time with our cousin Michelle and her husband, Mike along with my Aunt Sue and Uncle Randy.  I had not spent any real time with them in my entire adult life and it was so much fun just to visit and get to know them.  We spent two wonderful evenings together over dinner.  The Denver portion of our vacation was truly a huge hit.

 From there we headed to the Royal Gorge.  We spent the entire day there and it was awesome.  This was my favorite excursion.  We took a tram across the Royal Gorge and a incline tram down into the Royal Gorge.  There was so much to do and see and the kids loved it as well!  I remember it from when I was a kid and I enjoyed it all over again with Raelynn and Cooper.

After the Royal Gorge we drove to Pueblo to spend time with Grandma Branine.  She looks amazing for 96!  She is very head strong as well and insisted on trying to make sure we were taken care of even though we were completely capable of caring for ourselves :)  Her house was just as I remembered and it was wonderful to be there again.  We did a few things around Pueblo but mostly spent the day recovering from the previous 3.  The last night we were in Colorado much of the family got together for a little pizza party so we could see everyone.  It was fun to watch the kids with their cousins they rarely see.  We all had a great time and are so thankful that we made Colorado our vacation destination this year.  Our last day in Colorado before we headed back to Scott City, we went to the zoo!  It was the perfect end to a great vacation!

Thank you to all our Colorado Family for making us feel so welcome and giving us such great pointers on where to go and what to do.  We are so thankful to have seen all those who we did and wish we could have visited even more of the family!  We love you all!

We are now headed back home which as I said is bittersweet.  I love vacation but I also love my redundant boring life.  It suits me quite well and I am anxious to get back to it!  Next week will be a fun one.  Coop has camp everyday from 9am to noon, Tball practice and then game on Saturday.   has riding lessons 2x this week and then a show on Saturday.  I have to hit the gym every second I am not doing something else just to make up for this past week of eating and lounging!  Terry I am sure just plans to drive as little as possible this next week after a week of driving hours upon hours.

Oh and yes, Terry and I celebrated our 10th Wedding Anniversary while on vacation.  Our celebration consisted of he and I wishing each other a Happy Anniversary after receiving a text reminder from a friend (Hahaha, thanks Tom).  So although our celebration of the day was nonexistent, I feel like we celebrate every day just by still laughing and finding comfort in one another.  I love you Terry and always will!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK EVERYONE!