Little brother Jason, wife Shelly, and little Kaylan!!

Our fun Thanksgiving!

Jody, Jason, Matt- my brothers




Mark loves babies...

We went to my Uncle Ray's again this year. He and Aunt Sherry live in Lucas, Tx. All three of my brother's were there, my PawPaw; he's 87, my dad and step-mom, cousin's and their kiddos- it was a full-house!

Mamu, continued....

That's my Uncle Romie, my mom's big brother. He is a county constable for Grand Prairie, and a pilot! He flies his jet to Bowie to get his hair cut at my mom's shop!!!

My Mommy!!!!

If I look this great in my 50's, I'm not the least bit afraid of aging...
My mom, Mamu, as we call her, is so much fun! The grand-kids love her, so does everyone else. She owns her own business in Bowie, it's doing great! She drives a black Vette- too fast I might add... and is the life of the party wherever she goes! I am lucky and blessed to have her in our lives... Thanks to my cousin, Andrea, for the beautiful pictures....

Happy Turkey Day from Me & Sofie! "Muuuaaahhh!"

Another CRAZY weekend.....

Well, It's Monday.... and we had a very fun, exciting, busy, surprisingly smooth weekend! Mark got the boys Friday afternoon and everyone settled in... we all sat in the living room and just watched some tv- in the new house, there's so much more room- we all fit comfortably! We took about 50 pictures of everyone wrestling, Tyler doing push-ups with V on his back- break dancing, and laughing til we cried!! Saturday, we all went to Boyd to watch the girls run barrels- Sofie and V did great! Sofie actually kind-of trotted around her barrels- all alone- no lead- V was lead by Mad's horse and made a perfect pattern! We got it all on video- they both got 1st place ribbons- all the novice riders do- so cool.... and then Mad- 1st place in the 2D- which is right where she needed to be- AMAZING run!!! The boys were pretty much bored to tears- but it didn't last long- then we took the whole family to dinner at Taco Bell- the only place we could ever go as a group- we all ate for under 30 bucks!! We went to Joe's Crabshack ONCE and it was $250.00!!! Then I took the girls on home and Mark took the boys shopping and Chance picked out his birthday gift. Sunday we made ribs- Chance's favorite food, for his birthday dinner- we cheered on the Cowboys- we are all football lover's- had hot apple-pie with ice cream for dessert- screamed the happy birthday song to Chance- which he hated- then took the boys back to Callisburg at 8 last night. Whew!!!! I'm actually glad it's Monday! ~wink~
P.S. I forgot the best part- I have been wanting a pic of all 9 of us- almost impossible I know- but we talked them all into it- told them it was for our Christmas card- I set the 10 second timer on the camera- ran to my position- counted down- yelled 'smile' - and a miracle happened!!!! One shot was all it took!!! We got our first family portrait!!!! So ecstatic!!! Will post when I get home today!!!

Our busy weekend to come...

Today is Chance's birthday! He is 14, sweet and beautiful! The last weekend he came over, he cleaned out my flowerbeds!!! And he VOLUNTEERED!!! How weird is that for a teenager?! All the boys are coming over this weekend, so we will have all 7 kiddos again! I will bake a cake for Chance and Mark is going to take him shopping. Also hoping he takes the boys to the river on the 4-wheelers! That will give us some girl-time to finish decorating the house- ALMOST done!! The girls have an NBHA in Boyd on Saturday- and the following 2 Saturdays as well; same place; if anyone wants to come watch the barrel race; they start at 2. Salt Creek Arena. All three girls will ride. Everyone is healthy and happy in our home presently- thank GOD!! And so far grades have been great; save a couple- but I think all the bugs are getting worked out. I am so proud of them all!!!

Halloween party at Todd & Dondi's- my brother & sister in law...

Tooth Fairy Days...

Victoria pulled another tooth the other night- she has done this three times!! Her tooth will be just barely loose, and she will just pull it OUT! She has never been afraid of pain- she's the one at the doctor's office, that will sit there and watch the nurse give her her shot- no tears- no nothing- and then she jumps up and asks , "Where's my sticker?". So it's always fun trying to sneak in her room, at just the right time, trying not to make a sound, and first- finding the tooth under the pillow, and then putting the stack of quarters under there without waking her up! One time I went to sleep and forgot to do the whole tooth-fairy thing, and my poor Sofie woke up and said "the tooth fairy didn't come", I was mortified! She said, "She took the tooth, but didn't leave me any money". So I quick ran and got a couple dollars out of my purse, and while she was in the restroom, I found her tooth on the floor and put the money in her pillow case! I asked her if she looked in her pillow case- so she did- and all was good... It's a big job being the Tooth Fairy, Santa, Nurse, Psychiatrist, friend, playmate, the Easter Bunny.... but I love it!

"My side of the Brady Bunch" (From Mark)

I'll start off with my oldest son, Tyler. He is 15 and a sophomore at Callisburg High School. He is the starting Center for the JV. Football is his passion. It surely shows. Tyler is a great kid with a good head on his shoulders. He makes very good grades in school and has no disciplinary problems...that I know of! Tyler has a very big heart and is always there to help someone when they need it. He's not the mean kid who makes fun of someone else. Rather, he's the one that will stand up for them. I admire him.






Next, is my son, Chance...the super smart one! This kid is a thinker, an analyst, if you will. He teaches me stuff on a regular basis! Very good looking, bright and witty. He can really make you laugh. Chance has the ability to carry on an intelligent conversation with anyone, from any background or education level. He is truly a gift from God. This is Chance's 2nd year to play football. He also plays for Callisburg. He is 13 and in the 8th grade. Chance, like Tyler, also gets very good grades along with no problems at school. Chance loves the outdoors and would live outside if we could hook up his video games out there!! He's an addict. He is one of the ones that is still upset that Texas joined the Union. He wants to see THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS rise up and stand alone! I guess everyone has to believe in something. Like I said, he's very smart and can make a very compelling arguement. He'll definitely get you to thinking...how cool is that?







Now, let's move on to my youngest. Wyatt Cole Rigsby. He's 11, blonde hair, blue eyes and a TOTALLY FREE SPIRIT!!! This kid is onrey, spoiled, sometimes bratty, stubborn, spoiled(again), but ALWAYS loveable. In my opinion, Wyatt will either be an actor, politician or conman. He's THAT good at 11! He does very well at his schoolwork as well. He does have a pretty good wild side though so there have been some instances at school where his behavior was... well, let's just say "undesireable". Wyatt has severe asthma. He has had the pleasure and joy of going for two helicopter rides(Careflight!) as well as numerous rides in the ambulance. He has been and stayed at Cook's Children Hospital so many times that the nurses there remember him and kiss him on the cheek. He knows what one can and can't do there and get away with it. He is very handsome as well. He's already figured out how to apply a certain amount of charm and flashing his baby blues to females to get on their good side. BEWARE!! Wyatt loves to fish. He likes catfish more than bass or crappie. The past 3years for Christmas, that is just about all he has asked for is fishin' stuff. And every year I get him MORE fishin stuff. His grandpa takes him on special fishing trips and every time the the fish in his stories get bigger and bigger. A true fisherman! I believe he has more fishing gear than Jimmy Houston. Overall, a great kid. I love him!

My day at Bowie Elementary...

I had the day off Friday, and I had lunch with my two little ones. I brought them Happy Meals and sat at the table with all of their friends. They couldn't quit smiling- I snapped some pics with my phone! Victoria held my hand and walked me outside to the playground after her lunch-break. All of the little kindergartners swarmed me! Then Sofie's lunch-time; she gave me so many kisses- and she is usually too shy for that- I really need to do that more often- it meant so much to them. It's hard working full-time with kids- don't like it at all. Maybe someday I can be the stay-at-home Goddess I always wanted to be!