Discovering the Zoo

On Columbus Day the kids were out of school and the weather was nice. We took advantage of it and headed out to the zoo. I love days like this. When we can slow down from all the practices, appointments, homework, etc. and just enjoy some time together.

While we were at the giraffe exhibit, this one came up as close as it could get to us. It was neat to see him that well, we love the giraffes!

Sydnee loved the petting zoo, but Paige wasn't sure about those "doggies" as she calls anything with four legs. It took some time to her to warm up.

As always, my sweet Shaye was a big help and took care of little Paigey when she got tired at the end. We rely on Shaye so much. She is a wonderful big sister and a great helper!

The Original Mud Run

The Original Mud Run comes to Houston twice a year, Spring and Fall. The race benefits MS research. We ran it on October 8th, and hopefully we'll get to do it again! It was so much fun!! It's a 10k race filled with obstacles, 21 I believe, that vary from climbing cargo ropes, to jumping off walls into mud pits, to balancing on tightropes over water. There was even one called "over and under" where we had to go completely under the mud. It was crazy fun, but I couldn't see a thing when I came out. It took several minutes to clear my eyes since we had nothing to wipe off with. My least favorite was probably the big cargo net we had to climb up. It wasn't as bad as it looked, but with some many people climbing it the rope would swing and sway. When I got to the top, which was probably 20 feet up, I had to throw my leg over to come down the other side, and thought for sure I was going down head first!

Husbands couldn't come since the kids had activities to get to, and I wish we had pictures of the obstacles. I ran it with two great friends - Nora and Brooke. It's not often us adults get to jump in the mud and play! I loved it.

Fall Sports

Sports have been going about 8 weeks. Seems like school started and the business began. Jaxson has football practice every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and Shaye has soccer on Tuesday and dance on Friday. Then we have two games every Saturday. Whew! Somehow it all works with Sam working most days till 7pm. Shaye is a great soccer player, and we love to watch her. She plays forward most of the time, and has really learned to run.

Jaxson is playing with the Texans again. He got to play flag last year in kindergarten, but in first grade it becomes tackle. He was really worried about that at first. It took some getting use to, but he can get his own pads on now, and get his helmet on and off. It was brutal in the triple digits of August though. I was dying on the sidelines, I felt bad for those little boys in full pads. But it has cooled, a little, and he loves playing with the boys and coaches he knows.

Bleazard Reunion

Every third year we head out west for the Bleazard Reunion. It was the first part of August. I know.... it took me forever to get these pictures posted. But we had such a great time, I wanted to document a lot of it. The weather is always amazing, hot enough during the day to swim, and cool enough at night for jackets. We love the Tri-Cities! Its so beautiful. Every time we go we want to move out west!! We loved visiting with family, spending time with Grandma, and doing all the fun and crazy activities that we have come to expect from a trip with the Bleazards!

We were there on August 4th, when Sam turned 34! Aunt Debbie made a yummy cake to celebrate a few people who had birthdays that week.

Of course there were plenty of motorcycles and four wheelers to ride. It always takes me a few minutes to get use to being on one again, and then it's a blast to hit the trails and ride.

The reunion activities were done at Uncle Karl's house. He lives on a hill, so at the edge of his backyard is a cliff that drops down. Perfect spot for a homemade water slide I suppose.

And there was a homemade zipline so you could soar over the valley! This was a hit. The kids did it over and over. Sydnee even wanted to do it, but I directed her attention elsewhere for my own peace of mind.

You can't go to the farm without doing a little work, like getting the corn for dinner.

Between the water games at Karl and Debbie's, the farm house indoor pool, and grandma's hot tub, the kids did plenty of swimming.

When you have over 700 cows, I guess they can be entertainment too. This was the calf dressing contest! Thanks Kevin for helping our poor city kids. Jaxson and Bryden were not too sure about grabbing that calf and forcing it into pants!

Shaye and Devin did a little better job than the little boys.

And there were lots of other activities. We went through obstacle courses, played carnival games, did crafts, and had the traditional talent show. Never a dull moment! And when planned activities weren't going on, there was plenty to play with all that room to roam! Oh, I love the country....