…left behind at the ranch…
***an old pickup truck***
***license plate laying on the ground***
***mattress springs***
***random railing***
***old barns***
***no idea what this thing was**
…better late than never!
This year we headed to the ranch for Labor Day weekend with the Sorenson Family. Originally, we were supposed to head out on Friday, but Jarrad came down with a stomach bug. I really thought we were going to have to cancel the whole trip, but by Saturday morning, Jarrad felt better and we headed out. Seth, Suzanne and the kids met us out there. I didn’t tell Meg that they were coming, so as we were pulling onto the ranch road, she saw their car and got super excited. It was great.
Both of us brought our yellow labs. Dixie is 10 years old and Emma is 10 months old. I was surprised that Dixie did so well with Emma, but they both just kept to themselves. We took them both out for the afternoon hunt on Saturday. Dixie was a fetching machine and got every bird that Jarrad shot. Emma on the other hand, was a little gun shy and hid under the mule until Seth drug her out and took her with him.
Dixie hunted so hard that she could barely get around, so she had to spend the rest of the weekend locked up in Joey. She just can’t do it like she used to…poor girl!
***Dixie***
***Emma***
***Colton, Tanner and Meg***
***Meg and Tanner***
***The kiddos perch while we were hunting***
***My sweet girl***
On the second afternoon hunt, we had to have the kids fetch the birds since Dixie was out of commission. This was such a cute scene…Tanner, Colton and Meg were around this bird. I can only imagine the conversation that was going on was one for the memory books.
It seemed that finally a decision had been made. Meg picked up the bird and ran it to Jarrad as fast as she could. The look on her face is priceless.
***Meg, Tanner and Colton***
Meg and Tanner were pulling feathers off of birds in Jarrad’s bag. I’m not even sure he was aware what was taking place behind his back.
***Seth and Emma***
***Two peas in a pod***
We had a great weekend with the Sorensons and hope we can make it out there again during deer season.
This year for Meg’s birthday, she decided that she wanted to have a slumber party. Apparently, I wasn’t thinking straight when I agreed to let her invite 13 girls over to the house for an entire night. Lucky for me, only 9 girls accepted, making the total of screaming girls 10, including Megan.
Meg’s guests started arriving around 5:30 on Saturday night. For dinner, Meg decided she wanted to serve burgers and chips. My plans were to let the girls play outside until dinner was ready. I set the formal dining room table up for the dinner. Meg’s “theme” for her party was zebra with a teal color accent.
After dinner, we did a project that I had picked up at Michael’s. I bought enough for each girl to make one necklace and one bracelet. The creations turned out very cute.
After craft time, we opened presents and had cupcakes. Meg got lots of great gifts from her friends and loved each gift. I decided to make cupcakes this year instead of buying them. Meg isn’t a sweet eater and doesn’t like icing, so this allowed me to make a few without icing. Turns out, she didn’t even eat a cupcake at all. She’s so goofy.
All-in-all, it was a fantastic night; a little loud at some points, but I just sent them outside and that seemed to make the house quieter. Thankfully, my neighbors that live behind me appeared to be out of town and we don’t have any other neighbors. I was finally able to get them to all lay down at 12:00 and soon after, they were asleep.
Happy birthday sweet Megan. I hope you had an AMAZING birthday celebration.
Yes, it’s already come and gone. Meg has turned 7. Six was a great year. Meg has really grown into something special. She has the biggest heart I’ve ever seen. Her love and compassion is absolutely amazing. Meg would do anything for anyone.
Don’t get me wrong, there are days that being her mother isn’t so easy. We fight and argue about the little things. The mornings are the worse! Every morning, we do the same thing; our routine doesn’t change up very often. Every morning, we have the same conversations about getting up, brushing hair and teeth and getting shoes on. However, if this is my biggest complaint, I think we’re doing ok.
There are times when she gets sassy with me, but she’s quick to apologize. Of course, this is usually after she’s stomped her feet or rolled her eyes. I write these things, not because I want her to sound like a brat, but because I want to remember the good and the bad times.
Six was full of great times. Meg became a cousin again in September and November. We welcomed Jackson (September) and Parker (November) into the family. Meg was so excited to have two more cousins.
We got to go to game five of the World Series. It was an amazing opportunity and we had an amazing time.
Nawnaw and I took Megan to her first Rodeo She didn’t much care for calf roping, but I think she had fun otherwise.
We had a few snow days.
We survived first grade.
I’m looking forward to seven. Everyday Meg teaches me something. Can’t wait to see what she will teach me this year! Meg, you are my everything. I see you.
How can meg already be in second grade? It seems with every new grade, every birthday, I find myself asking how can time be going by so fast? How can Meg be growing into such a beautiful young lady so quickly? I guess I just need to accept that there is nothing I can do to stop the clock from moving forward. Whether I like it or not, she’s growing up.
Meg was so excited about the first day of second grade. She was so easy to wake up on her first day. There was no fighting about what she was going to wear, no fighting about brushing her hair or teeth and no fighting about what was for lunch. It was a beautiful morning.
I had to beg her to let me walk her in this year. I have a feeling this may be the last year I’m going to be allowed to walk her in. That morning, while Meg and I were eating breakfast, she actually asked me if I would be walking her into school when she was a freshman in college? She’s such a smarty pants sometimes.
As we walked into the school for the third year, I couldn’t help but think about the first day we walked into that school in 2009 for Kindergarten. As I look back at the pictures from Kindergarten, I can’t believe how much she has changed. Meg is no longer a little girl, she’s turning into a beautiful young lady.
This year has gotten off to a much better start than Kindergarten and First Grade. I hope that we will keep this momentum going forward.
Meg, I love you more than you will ever know. You are my everything! I see you.
In June, I was able to get some tickets to the the New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys concert (in my company’s suite at the AAC). I was so happy that Suz was able to join me. We had so much fun acting like complete idiots. We even managed to make it onto the jumbo-tron.
***Before the concert***
***amazing***
***enjoying our front row seats in the suite***
Aaron’s birthday was at Life Time Fitness this year. The kids had such a wonderful time climbing the indoor rock wall and swimming. We were so glad we were able to make it.
***Lauren, Megan, Aaron & Ben***
I can’t believe that first grade is already over. It seems like yesterday that I was just dropping her off for her first day. She has grown so much this year.
***Meg on her first day of first grade***
Meg was excited to get up and moving on her last day of school. I was able to convince her to let me snap a few pictures of her before I took her to school. I know that in a few years, getting her to pose for pictures is going to be the hardest thing. Right now, I can ask her nicely and she’s a willing participant.
Meg did a lot during first grade. She pulled a few more teeth, which meant a few more visits from the tooth fairy. She started in an after school program because I went back to work in an office. She loved roller blading so much that she joined an inline speed skating team. She out grew another bike.
Meg welcomed two new little boy cousins into the family, Jackson Bradley and Parker Ramsey. She got to see a handful of plays at Casa Manana’s Children’s Theater, including Snow White, Rudolph, Brer Rabbit, Pinocchio, and The Wizard of Oz.
***Meg and Daddy, last day of 1st grade***
***Meg and Mommy, last day of 1st grade***
This year was incredible, I’m looking forward to what next year has in store for her. I know it will be absolutely amazing! I see you!
Meg’s first grade class did Seussical the Musical for their musical production this year. All the children wore red or white shirts and had on Cat in the Hat hats. She was super excited about the production this year. I love her enthusiasm for anything musical or stage related.
I video recorded parts of the production, I will download them and post a few.
***Luke and Ruthie***
***The Boys: Taylor, Jarrad, Paduka, Poppy***
***Sweet Meg***
***Wow, they look just like each other***
***Maddie and Meg***
***Layton***
***Lath & Jamie – what a beautiful couple***
