Vacation, June 2010

This year we took the camper down to the mountains in Ruidoso, New Mexico. My mom and some friends had a condo down there for a few days so we met them there.

For a quick day trip we went to the White Sands State Park in Alamogordo. The kids had fun rolling, running, and attempting to sled down the huge sand dunes.

Drew running down a sand dune

Shelby

Back in Lincoln County, looking out from a rock tower the Conservation Corp had built in the 1930s. It was a long and winding gravel road up there and an additional hike, but the views were worth it.

Ch'ree, Judy, and Shelby

Another day we drove around the local area. We went to Lincoln and saw all the history there. Of course the most famous history there was Billy the Kid and the Lincoln County War stuff. The kids were already familiar with the basics of the events thanks to movies like Young Guns, and Shelby had studied it in her New Mexico history class last year.

Anyone that's seen Young Guns knows that Billy the Kid worked for a man named Tunstall, and Tunstall's murder was the shot that started the Lincoln County War. This building was Tunstall's store. It's a museum filled with lots of items one could buy during that era. Shoes, household items, lots of odd looking contraptions that were used in the day. Very interesting stuff. Also has some old buggies and carts, even a water pumper for putting out fires.

For dinner one night we went to the Flying J Wranglers show. One can pan for gold and the little kids can ride a horse, then there is a Wild West comedy shootout in the street. Dinner was BBQ beef or chicken, ranch beans, chunky applesauce, biscuits and spice cake for dessert, then the group performs. It's a combination of comedy and good old western music and was alot of fun.

Drew and Ch'ree panning for gold

The Flying J Wranglers performing

Because I just didn't have enough to do these days...

I've decided to go back to school. Yeah, in my spare time. LOL!

Seriously, I had been looking for a job that would work around the kids' school schedules. I love subbing, but it's not dependable. Other jobs in town would leave the kids home alone afterschool and Friday's since we have 4 day weeks. And that's something I'm not ready to do. The only solution would be an aide at their school. But there is no position open for that. Soooo, after alot of talking with Jeff and thinking, we decided the best way to spend my time would be to finish getting my teaching degree.

I'm all registered to take 13 hours (4 classes) at ENMU. I'm taking Math, Chemistry, and two education courses. If it all works the way I have planned, I will graduate in December 2012. My classes are on Monday and Wednesday (with one on Friday afternoon, which between Jeff and my gracious mother-in-law, should have the kiddos covered). I can still sub on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The summer has flown by, the kids start school day after tomorrow. We did swim lessons, VBS, a reunion in Littlefield, TX. A small trip to Ruidoso, and quick one to Lubbock to see the newest member of our family, my nephew Brogan Potter. Tonight is our last softball game, and it's a tournament. I've had so much fun playing ball again, hope we have many years of playing ahead of us. Summer will officially close when we go camping in Mora for Labor Day.

Fall has many events coming up. Shelby is playing volleyball on the junior high team and cheering JV. Ch'ree is cheering elem and Junior High. Chance plans on playing flag football.

We are still waiting on a few loose ends so we can start the new house. We are so looking forward to it, renting really sux. LOL! Our crop looks beautiful this year. We've been blessed with more rain than we are used to having (though according to Jeff this is how it used to be before all the drought years).

And that's the update from here. Of course, if you're my facebook friend you get this all the time. LOL!

We've Moved!!

Just a quick note to let everyone know we have moved. For now we are renting a house, but will start building our new home soon! We are so excited about this!!!
If your trying to get a hold of us, don't try the home phone. We had it disconnected. The rental is in Portales phone and address district, and since we would have to change it all again in a few months when we are back in Floyd's district, we have opted to do without a landline for now. Besides, we really never use a landline anymore, we usually just use a cell. If you need us, try our cells. If you need those numbers, send an email (because I'm not posting that kind of info on here!).
Ditto for address. We actually already have the address for where our new home will be and are using it rather than the rental's. Why change everything twice, kwim?
For now, we are getting settled in with what we thought was going to be the minimum amount of stuff, but feels like we moved too much. While the rental has decent sized bedrooms and closet space, the kitchen and bath leaves MUCH to be desired. Gone are the spacious bathroom counters and drawers we had at the ranch. Gone too are more than half of my kitchen cabinets, drawers and counters, as well as a decent pantry. LOL! But, we will make do. After all, it's just temporary.
I think the hardest thing to get used to is the swamp cooler. We have truly been spoiled by a central air conditioner. Hopefully the summer won't be too hot and humid.
On the plus side, there is a large back yard for Scarlett to roam. There are also some pens for me to put my horse in. The girls are thrilled to have DishNetwork in their room (I'm stressing that this is a temporary thing). We are a bit closer to town, which is nice for the summer activities we have going on in Pville.
We are hauling cows to the sale today, then our lives as ranchers will be over. Our hay crop is in the ground and now that the move is done, seems like we may finally have a little bit of free time on our hands. Maybe I'll even have time to post some pictures here every now and then. haha!

Just another quick post.
We closed on our ranch and are in the process of moving to a rental between Floyd and Portales. Waiting on some final bank stuff to begin construction on our NEW house! We are so excited about building EXACTLY what we want! It's going to be great, just gotta get it started! We have a floorplan, we have a builder, and we have a good well!
We have had a busy summer so far: cheer practices, packing and moving and loading stuff, a visit from my mother, stepfather and a friend of theirs, camping in Ruidoso, a family reunion in Littlefield, Texas, farming, cutting hay. And still much more to come: volleyball camp/practices, cheer camp/practices, swim lessons, VBS, Eclipse (the Twilight movie), Jeff's sister having a baby, more hay to cut. Not sure how we are going to get everything done before school starts! LOL!
Oh, and anyone commenting here, I've decided to change how to post a comment. I've been getting too many prescription drug links in the comments. So, that's why.

Another drive-by post

Yes, it's been two months. Life isn't slowing down, or even moving at the same pace. It's RACING by!!!
March started with the passing of my last living grandparent. Gram was a great lady, not only that but a great Southern lady. The woman could COOK!
So the month started out with a trip to Georgia and Tennessee for her services. We had been planning to go Spring Break anyway, so we ended up having our vacation just a little bit earlier than planned. Her services were beautiful, and saw so many family members and friends that I hadn't seen in a long time, some since I was a little girl. We also went to Newnan to visit my dad and stepmother, too. So it was a bittersweet trip.
The rest of the last two months has been a blur. Shelby ran track, Ch'ree and Chance played basketball. I've subbed alot, had the Floyd Country Jamboree, Shelby was confirmed at church, we had Easter, my washing machine died (and I got a new front loader that's so SWEET!!! It even plays a song when it's done with a load!). Kids have had field trips, practices, tryouts (Shelby made Junior Varsity Cheer!!!!). The girls and I took a day and went to Albuquerque to watch our varsity cheerleaders at State competition (we won 2nd place!!!). Saw an old friend while we were there. Jeff and I had our first weekend away with no children last weekend when we attended EMS conference in Ruidoso. I went to a casino for the very first time (and lost $3 on penny slots).
The upcoming months should be just as busy. After nearly two years, we may have our ranch sold. We are planning on building a home a little bit closer to town (we are about 25 miles now, soon to be about 15). But so many details to work out (exactly where to put the new home, floorplans, etc). We have branded cattle so we can sell them off. And now faced with the daunting task of packing and moving. Since building a house requires several months, we need a place to go temporarily. Did ya know that Roosevelt County doesn't have many options when it comes to rentals? I looked in the newspaper and there is literally ONE advertised (and it's 2
bedroom, 1 bathroom, no pets. Probably not for a family of 6 with a dog, 3 cats and a horse). So my project for this week are to find ones that are NOT advertised.
Other upcoming events this month are:

• Shelby's 13th birthday tomorrow
• Drew's Preschool Tea (also tomorrow)
• School's Spring music program Tuesday
• Middle/High school awards assembly (also Tuesday)
• playdays
• elem. awards assembly
• a sleepover for Shelby
• girls have final exams
• a wedding next weekend
• softball practices (for me and Jeff. The fire department has a team in the city's adult league and I get to be on it!!)
• athletic awards assembly (Shelby did 4 sports this year! Volleyball, Basketball, Cheer and track)
• graduation (seems like every year I know more and more kids that are graduating!)

At least I'll be too busy and tired to get into much trouble! LOL!

Ok, in case anyone was wondering what those pictures were all about:
Tuesday my grandmother passed away. She was 86 and on her 4th battle with cancer. This time it won, but not without a gallant effort on her part to fight it.
Anyway, my sister-in-law is at my mom's house preparing a slide show for the services and needed some more pictures. But, her mail told her, "nope, I'm not going to work today". So, the only way we could share was to post on my website. And so, there ya go.
Now I'll say a few things about my Gram.

• she was an AWESOME cook!! Paula Deen would have taken lessons from my Gram. In fact, I own all of Paula's books and some of her recipes are the very ones my Gram always used! My favorites were her buttermilk biscuits, homemade strawberry jam, country fried steak, apple pie, and chocolate merangue pie.
• She sewed some of the cutest dresses for me when I was little. They were always beautiful!
• She was a HUGE UT fan (Tennessee, not Texas). She went to UT football games til she couldn't anymore. She made sure we all had a UT shirt, and even got a UT snuggie for Christmas.
• We always had summer vacations together. To Disney/Epcot, once to the horse races in Kentucky. Many times to Myrtle Beach, SC and we always stayed at the Swamp Fox Inn.

There is so much to say about my Gram. We will all love and miss her very much!!

Gram Pictures

Holly, these are for you.