"Busier than a cat coverin' poop"

This is what Cheryl always says and I always laugh, so I thought maybe you would, too. "Saddle-Up Saturday" was cancelled this past Saturday due to all of the darn rain we've had lately. We needed it, don't get me wrong and it sure made our pastures green up nicely, but we don't like missing our lessons :( ...

Instead, though, we left Dad at the house to work and we headed for the bluebonnets in Brenham. I've taken her every other year...when she was almost one...

when she was almost three...

and now, when she's almost five... she was much less cooperative this year - I don't know if she just wasn't in the mood for pictures or if she's just getting older and more contrary, but all of her smiles looked forces and quirky...

...until this ONE (and I mean one), but this made it worth it...I love this shot.

Along the way, we also saw some miniature horses and their babies...awww...so sweet! and SO tiny...

This paint mini looks just like it's Mom!

a BIG Brahman bull...wow!

We stopped in Old Brenham for - what else? - some Blue Bell! This was outside a cute little store and Grace loved it!
Grace and her cotton candy ice cream (just cuz it was pink and green!) -

We had some tile workers here yesterday to make some repairs, so we stuck around and did yard work...it was another beautiful day, so it wasn't so bad.

Gracie's preschool just called and said that she threw up all over herself at lunch...awww man...I hope this isn't the begining of some other illness...we are all just beginning to feel better - I'm sure I'll have an update later - wish us luck!

Our (not so) ordinary day

Every Mom that I have ever met in our one plus year of going to swimming lessons has always told me, "Don't get goggles unless you absolutely have to because when (insert their child's name here) got hers/his, they were addicted and couldn't swim without them" - well, guess what? Since last September MaKenzie has had goggles and Grace never said a word, but now we have a new little boy - can't even tell you his name, but today was his second day and he showed up with goggles and Gracie started the class asking Ms. Tobey if she had any goggles. Ms. Tobey did and what do you know - they're one of her favorite colors (pink, purple, red and silver) and she goes underwtaer for the first time and burst up in glory - "So cool , Mom!" Guess where I'll be at tomorrow? Buying goggles...preferably a pair with all four of her favorite colors - oh yeah - not a large request at all...after I find a white pair, you'll find me on the paint aisle...ugggh.

This evening, we made feeding horses a family affair and as we headed out, we saw a rainbow outside our house - it was cool - the sky was a purple haze and you could see every color so clear...

It was also Luca's birthday today - he turned 9 (or 63 in doggie years) - he got a piece of cinnamon sugar toast and got to wear Gracie's birthday hat - you can tell he wasn't so happy about the latter! We were hiding in the laundry room so he could eat in peace - without Bailey and Oreo breathing down his neck...Happy Birthday, Lukie!

Now, for the big finale...yesterday, I told you Gracie's preschool graduation involves a segment about the solar system...here's our personal planet guru...our shining star...enjoy!

Saddle Up Saturday (and Sunday)

Whew! I think I've finally recovered from the weekend...like just now. It was a whirlwind of a ride and, of course, we arrived at Grace's riding lesson on Saturday morning, only for me to realize that I had my camera, but no digital card. @!#$%^&%$#! (and that's about as nice as I can say it) I had my Blackberry and I took just a couple of shots because they're so grainy. She did really fabulous though - at the end of her lesson, Kacey unfastened her security tie to Pal and let Grace maneuver him around the pen by herself - she turned him, made him go, made him stop, etc. all by herself! I'll remember my card this Saturday - it's already in my purse!

That's Kacey and Grace way out by the road doing Grace's balance exercises...

Sunday was the last day of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. It was Extreme Bulls and ZZ Top. Although Jack is a fan of ZZ Top, he says they're not sounding so good these days...like how old are they anyway? We listened to one song and he had enough...the extreme bulls was great - as usual - BJ Schumacher won...I think this is the second time he has won in the past three or four years. I must say, though, if any of you bull riding fans out there are familiar with the local Alvin, Texas rider, Douglas Duncan...he came in third, I believe...not bad for the largest rodeo in the world!

This is our girl enjoying the show - I knew we were going to do the carnival afterward, so again, these are just from my phone...

After our one ZZ Top song, we headed out for the carnival - we didn't figure she would want to ride much once she saw everything up close and big everything was...humph...were we ever wrong! This is what she spotted first - Jack said she never batted an eyelash and was even trying to rock the car with her feet...I don't know if this child is really mine - I'm terrified of heights! Do you see them waving? Honey, if that was me, my knuckles would be glued to that bar!

Here they are at the tippy top - my whole life teetering in the wind - ohhhh...I could not wait for this ride to be over!
They're about to get off...thank heavens!
The darn merry-go-round was going so fast, I didn't have a chance at a good picture, but she rode by herself for the first time and even though the picture is full of motion, I think you can see how full of herself she was - just the cat's meow!
Then, she wanted to "fly" - on this ride, you lay on your stomach and it takes you in wavy motion up in the air in a circle - she loved this! She would have done this all night - this is before it started and she looks like she's ready to get the party started, doesn't it?! Patience is not my child's greatest virtue - that is for sure - and she comes by it honestly, from both sides of the family!
Finally, she wanted to ride this slide - her Daddy and I were very unsure about this one, but this little boy came in right behind her in line and he didn't look too much older, so we let her go - the boy is in the green shirt going up the stairs on the left side - Grace is right ahead of him in the red dress. She sat on a burlap sack and came zooming down - this one scared her a bit - but, still, we have a little daredevil on our hands!
For her preschool graduation, they are doing a segment on the solar system. She has a three-line diddy about Pluto (the now non-planet) that she has to memorize, but there's a song she has been walking around the house singing for a week now - I'll try to get her on video tomorrow - precious...

It's raining puppies and kitties outside now, so I think I'm gonna go catch some zzzz's. See ya on the flip side!

Aqua Fest

Even though it has been months since her preschool class gave up naps, she still struggles with it. I picked her up yesterday around 4 and by 6:30, she was out - no dinner, just a little magnet play with Mom and that was all she could take for the day. I tried waking her about an hour later so that she could eat and *eek* - was that ever a mistake. So, she woke up at 3:47 am ready for the new day...my schedule is also off from being sick, so I went to bed at 1:20 am. Those 2 hrs and 27 mins didn't do much for this old gal, let me tell ya. I dozed between her telling me she needed a new cartoon or that she was hungry or that she was thirsty or that she was giving me notice that she was getting out of bed to go potty...8 am came all too soon, but I had to get up as more insurance people were gonna be tromping through our home again assessing our Ike damages. I had to make beds, make breakfast and get it put away, etc. They were expected at 10 and Gracie had her swim lesson at 11, so I knew it was going to be a busy day - just not that I would be quite exhausted for it! Gracie was upset that her Daddy was home, but that he couldn't go to her swim lesson with us, so you'll see in the next few videos that she kept looking up to see if I was taping so that he could see her when we arrived back home. She's doing well - she was the first to finish all of her exercises and there are no more breaks. She used to be able to do an exercise, sit on the steps for a couple minutes and then do her next exercise...now, Ms. Tobey keeps them going continuously. The entire 30 minutes, she is swimming, so her endurance in the water is really building and being up for 7 hours before her class didn't seem to phase her - ahhhh, childhood.

This is MaKenzie, Grace, Lucas and Canton...

...and this is hour nap afterwards...ahhhh...childhood!

"Dance with Cats"

If Lexie had an Indian name, I bet it would be "Dances with Cats"...

Blog List - Revisited

You all know I change backgrounds frequently and blogger has recently had some problems with their background coding, so I've lost my blog list a couple of times. It's very time consuming to keep adding back in, so I've put it in a place where it will be a bit safer. If you click on Grace's picture in the "About Me" section on the right sidebar, it will bring up our Profile page. My blog list is under "Blogs I follow". For those of you looking for more to read - hope this helps... xox

Luck o' the Irish!

I had this post all planned for yesterday since, after all, just like I told a friend a few days ago - we Keegans bleed green! But, as is not uncommon for me these days, life got in the way and I didn't have time. I got up before 8 and went on "poop patrol" - since we don't have a fence separating our yard from our pasture yet, Lexi and Lady come up even on our porches and have "accidents". With the addition of all of the rain we had all weekend, guess where they spent most of their time? Under our covered back porch. So, that was the first two hours of my day. Then, Gracie was up. I fed her breakfast and we we stopped at Target for a few things and then it was off to feed horses and go to her swim lesson. After her swim lesson, she was hungry again, so I made her lunch. Then, she wanted to make bead necklaces and practice her letters and read books, and, and, and...At about 4, she gave me a breather, so I logged on to balance my checkbook and...that's when I realized I didn't have my checkbook...or my entire wallet. This is the SECOND time I have done this in about three months (the first time, I realized it pretty quick, called and someone had turned it in). My wallet is just like this, so it's big. You wouldn't think I could miss it, but my Mom is always telling me "we're living too fast" and I guess this is one circumstance that proves her point. So, I called Target and, of course, nobody had turned it in. I went about the business of cancelling credit cards, trying to figure out my last checks that I had written, etc. It gave me an instant headache. But, alas, I had to bring Jack to pick up one his cars at the paint shop. Grace and I came straight home, but he was going to feed and then coming home. He came home with my wallet in hand. The crazy person on the phone had no idea what she was talking about, I guess. So, today, I have been un-cancelling all of my credit cards and making sure that nothing was missing. Nothing was...the luck o' the Irish!!!

You're just gonna have to imagine Gracie in her kelly green shirt that says, "Everyone loves an Irish girl" with her shamrock vest that Mom's friend, Ms. Phyllis, made her over it. All of our indoor puppies had black bandanas with green shamrocks and horseshoes on them. It would have been so precious!

I guess by now that you have figured out that our Saddle Up Saturday this past weekend was rained out - hopefully, we won't be disappointed this Saturday. Then, Sunday is the last day of the rodeo and it's Extreme Bulls night - we've been to this at least the past four years and we always love it.

It was beautiful today and although I worked from home, I enjoyed the day from our library window. This was the first day that I didn't cough continuously - the crud I have just doesn't want to go away, but it feels like it's finally on its way out - things are looking up...

Saddle-Up...It's gonna be a long ride!

OK - this is what I feel like this morning - a mean pit bull (with the biggest neck I've ever seen on a dog!) - I went to Best Buy last week and he was parked beside me. He was actually quite oblivious, although I suspect that might have changed had I tried to approach him...yikes!

This is more than a week of catching up...I'm sick again with a head cold or allergies - not sure which. I'm taking meds for both.

The Magna-Tiles are STILL a hit with our little one...she built a super-condo for her babies (which you can catch a peek of in the next pic) and wanted me to take her picture with it. Maybe she'll grow up to be a famous architect and I can sell this for a mint someday...

Last weekend, we headed to central Texas to pick up the merchandise for a bankruptcy auction Jack will be holding within the next several weeks through his auction company. The bluebonnets were already pretty in spots -

... the merchandise - not so much.

The shelves were packed with all of this stuff - and everything was covered with about an inch of dust! Oh, it was fun!

Believe it or not, we packed everything in boxes and were out of there by 5. We had a couple of helpers, but it was still hard work...makes me tired just looking at the pictures! :)

Wea lso went to the rodeo twice - this was our first visit. I didn't bring my camera the second time. It's too hard to keep up with it and a wild and crazy redhead!

This little girl was sitting in front of us and she was such a cutie...despite these cheesy fingers...

...she still wanted Gracie's ice cream!

And, despite the ice cream...my two still wanted cotton candy - I had nothing to do with it - nothing - nope - can't make me say I did!
This is Jack's post-parking lot face - now that they've closed most of the satellite lots (at least the ones by us!), we drive in and the traffic is murder...

As always, I want you to feel like you were there with me...here's the tie-down roping - it's the only one I didn't catch video of - we were a little late getting to our seats.

bareback riding -

team roping -

saddle bronc riding-

steer wrestling - probably one of my favorites because I have had encounters with our own cattle that make me a steer wrestler in my own right!

barrel racing - Gracie's favorite - especailly when she realized that girls were at the helm this time!

Leon Coffee - our favorite famous clown!
bull riding -

the calf scramble -

mutton bustin' with the little ones - this is so much fun!

The star of tonight's show - Clay Walker - I've never missed him at the rodeo - I've seen him probably twelve times by now and I never tire of his performance. I used to go see him at The Neon Armadillo in Beaumont when I was in college and that's where he was discovered. Good times...I also worked at the National MS Society when he was diagnosed with MS and I know his doctor well.

This is Gracie's lesson this past Saturday...she actually fell off Pal, so not many pictures were taken. She hopped right back on - Mom, on the other hand, was busy having a nervous breakdown!

Now that it has taken me half a day to post this, I'm going to lay down. Hopefully, I'll get back to this sooner next time, but if not, I hope you'll understand -