Summer Time=Pool Time...

At least that is what our kids think.

We are fortunate to know Don and Kathy. They live just north of Steve and Nancy. Don works at Kinder Morgan. They have allowed our kids to swim in their pool for the last couple of summers. The kids love it. The pool has a slide and most of the pool is pretty shallow, so it is actually very nice for the kids.

Miles always cracks me up. He has to "check out" the water first. He never jumps right in.

The slide is always a lot of fun. I mean, you can swim in any pool...but they don't all have a slide?! No they don't.

Ready for impact...

So much fun!!

Way to go Miles...you've got to make sure water doesn't go up your nose!

Another happy "slider"

I don't think he quite gets the concept of the little floater chair...oh well, he is still having fun!

"Marco"..."Polo" Don and Kathy's niece and nephew were visiting, so they were teaching Miles and Ten how to play.

My little bug boy swimmer...

You have probably asked yourself where Syd is. Well...

She held up the wall...

She tried out the lounger...

Finally she made her way to the steps...

She doesn't get quite as excited to swim in this pool as the big kids, but her time will come. 

Need a Homemade Hair Spray?!?

Try Dr pepper...works better than any hairspray I have ever used!

Syd decided to play in some Dr pepper right before it was time to get dressed and head to town. When I say play...I mean pour some on her night stand and rub her head through it. Yeah...fun times at our house!! I didn't have time to give her and bath and wash her hair. Honestly I didn't even know she had done it, until it was time to fix her hair. As I was trying to comb through it, I asked her "Syd what did you get in your hair"? Without hesitation she replied, "Dr popper pepper". After I managed to get her hair up I asked her to show me. She took me straight to her room, pointed to the night stand and said, "See".

I actually tucked the ponytail so she had a little knob. 

Any who...just thought I would pass on the hair styling tips from my PRECIOUS 2 yr old!

Hanging with a couple of Mcleods...

Since Ian and Mac came to spend a couple of days with Grandnanna and Grampa, we invited to boys to come out and go swimming in our little pool. Our kids loved having them over.

When Grampa brought the boys out he also brought some chicken:) So we had a little lunch first...

Mackers wouldn't look at me in the first picture so I tried a different approach...there he is!

Ian actually found our bouncy horse first, but by the time I grabbed my camera Mackers was the one riding. Grampa couldn't hardly get him off to go swimming.

Sydbo likes to gradually lower herself into the water, but she does eventually go all in...

Happy big boy...

Mackers loved the water...he wasn't scared at all. He liked when the kids would splash him.

Ian was the keeper of the toys :) Ten was his helper. He would spot them through the water and She would go get them for him. They made a great pair.

See...all in...just chillin...

Happy big boy...he has all the toys.

After the boys got done swimming Grampa took them back to town to see if they would take a nap. We meet up with them later to go to the rodeo. Mackers never did take a nap, so he stayed with Madi at Grampa and Grandnanna's.

I wish I had taken my video camera with me to Grampa's Mac was giving Ten "hugs". he would crawl up in her lap and play with her hair(and she doesn't let too many people play with her hair), but I didn't think to take it...next time!

This is always one of my favorite parts of the rodeo. I just love when the flags enter and the cowgirls run the flags around the arena...I always feel pride! Not only to be an American, but also to be a Texan!! The cowgirl holding the American flag actually works with Goose.

My little cowgirl...

Here's our gang on Friday night. Goose did come later. We were surprised when we got there to find Billie, Cooper, and Emily. We all sat together and had a ton of fun. Cooper even participated in the boot and calf scrambles.

Taking a break from the rodeo and enjoying how much fun the stands can be :)

Miles' girlfriend...He did give her a hug, but was too shy to take a pic with her.

Ian even got his own autographed picture of Callie to take home. He looks like a real cowboy in Miles' bull riding vest.

It didn't take long for Ian to find his Uncle Aaron(after Goose got there). It makes me smile at how much Ian loves him. I think every time we are around Ian he finds time with his Uncle Aaron. So sweet!

Cara and Beau, thanks for sharing the boys. We all had so much fun with them. They were wonderful! Hope y'all were able to get some rest ;)

The Scurry County Rodeo is here...

You know what that means...yup, we all loaded up and headed to town to watch the action.

Yesterday morning, Miles asked if we were going to the rodeo. When I said yes.  He said "Yeeeeaaaaaay, I need to go get handsome" and then ran to his room to get dressed. He cracks me up! I think he did a very good job.

I know they don't look excited in this picture, but it's because they didn't want to take the picture, they wanted to get in the car and go.

This is Cassi, Miss West Texas Fair & Rodeo. So was so sweet to the kids. Goose said that when Miles saw her, he said, "She's real pretty". Then when she was walking by, my little shy boy went right up to talk to her.

She was autographing a picture to give him. She asked his name and then when she was done signing and writing a little message, she tried to hand it to him. He looked at her picture, smiled and said, "yeah, that's nice", but he didn't take it from her. I don't think he understood she was giving it to him.

 Calf Scramble...

Ok, here is the plan, got it ?...

And they're off...

Oops, he remember he was shy...it was just too much for him. Poor guy, I love that he tried. He did better than last year. Who knows...maybe he'll do even better tonight. Not only did he have to do the "walk of shame"(what Goose called it), he did it with his hat on backwards...

That's right, we are going again tonight...we are even taking a couple of city boys with us(Ian & Mac).

Fireworks...

It just isn't July 4th without Fireworks!

My camera battery died about half way through the fireworks...I was so disappointed. Here are a few of my favorites from the pics I took before it died. Goose and I both agreed they were great this year!

These were fun...

Can fireworks be pretty?!?!

This one is my favorite...

How about a little green...

This one makes me think of flying saucers...

Next year I'll make sure that my battery is fully charged!

Cousins...

Have you ever had the desire to take a picture of a group of 11 grandkids?!? Well, imagine trying to herd a bunch of chickens and that would be close to the feeling we get. The Moms are usually laughing while snapping away, the Dad's get frustrated, and the kids wonder why they have to do this every time they are together.

I have to give it to Rachel. She was trying to hold Wade-O(who didn't want anything to do with taking a picture). She was smiling in every picture I took and I took A LOT of pictures. 

Here's the 11...plus Ten's doll Mary(she renamed her)...Look close Ian is in between Syd and Wade...Plus David wanted to be part of our group.

We tried again a little later...I'm afraid it was worse...yet, still Rachel smiles! Love it!!!

I love this sweet girl!!! She celebrated 5 months on July 4th...she is getting so big!!!

Parade...

The Parade is always a favorite of mine. Snyder has several parades throughout the year, but none of them are quite as good as the 4th of July parade. Since Goose has always played in the volley ball tournament we are usually on the "wrong" side. By the time they get to us, everyone is pretty much out of candy, tired of riding their bikes, just plain tired. Not this year...This year we had a great view!

I love this old guy's spirit! A few years back he would ride the parade on a 4 wheeler. He would put it up on 2 wheels and have a grand time. All the while, wearing his Uncle Sam outfit. I always looked forward to seeing him. Someone wrote the editor of the Snyder paper and complained about how reckless he was and how he was endangering everyone that was there to watch the parade(I guess it's all in the eye of the beholder). Anyways...I was happy to see him again this year...With a new and improved ride! LOVE IT!!

Miles Loves Fire Trucks, so he was excited to see these...

When we looked closer we realized we know him...Hi Brad!!

Calvary Baptist! They won 1st place...way to go guys!

I'm pretty sure that as soon as Goose saw this...bus, the first thought that went through his head was, "I wonder if I could talk Johnnie into driving that"

The answer of course is "NO"!! I'm very happy with my Excursion, so don't plan on seeing me in anything like this soon..."sorry Babe".

West Texas Teakwondo float...brings back memories...good times...

Granddad Bob's studebaker. This year with an added treat. Rachel and Luke rode with him. It was fun seeing them in the parade.

Old tractors are always fun...I liked this one.

More friendly faces. Joshua and little Luke. What a sweet cousin, Joshua drove that tractor just so Luke could ride in the parade.

Mark and the girls(Evie and Laney). No wagon this year :-( Love these girls, they are so sweet.

Almost too late. Miles yells out...That was Tuff, so I snapped a quick picture. Look at him waving...he is such a good United Way Prince. So proud of him!

Another great parade!!!