swimming and such

During my weekend away Soren had a meet and she accomplished her goal of becoming an 11-12 'A' swimmer! I was so proud for her. When she made this goal with her coach a few months ago I was a little concerned. She is so involved with other things right now that she only goes to swim team 3, sometimes 4 days a week as opposed to the 5-6 times she was consistently making before. She has worked very hard to stick with the goals that she and her coach set for this season and I am very proud of her dedication and sacrifice and so happy that she was able to check this huge milestone off of her list.

And now for Reese. Kindergarten had their musical last week! It was absolutely adorable. It was a garden hoedown and Reese was a gardener. Our music teacher does and amazing job and the kids love her class, which always makes for great performances.








We are counting down the days to summer break with the calendar full of fun trips that start just as soon as that final bell rings. The girls have had such a successful year and we have enjoyed watching them learn and grow in so many ways.

New Mexico Girls' Weekend - Day 3

Our last day. It's so sad to think that we are leaving in the morning. I am definitely leaving refreshed, renewed, excited, fulfilled and immensely grateful for my friends. We have had such a wonderful getaway and I appreciate this time more than I could ever express. God is so faithful to me and all glory to Him for all the blessings I have received this wonderful weekend.

So today we went horseback riding. This was a huge stretch for me. I am afraid of horses. There, I said it. But it went really well and I had a good time. I can't go so far as to say that I now enjoy horseback riding or that I will go looking for the opportunity, but it went so much better than I was anticipating.

We rode for a couple of hours with a long break to hunt for pecos diamonds! That was SO COOL! They are the neatest looking rocks I have ever seen, even cooler than the hexagons. I am coming home with a huge bag of them and I can't wait to show the girls.

After our ride we came home to a wonderful lunch prepared by our new friend Deanna and rested a little before we headed back out, this time to a whole new section of pasture, to search for more treasures.

We ended our day with a steak cookout that lead into an hours long laugh/cry/brag/nag/bond session that we will treasure all of our lives. This time together is etched in my heart as a life changing experience; I am so grateful.

Enjoy the pics. See ya back in Texas!

Mother's Day breakfast

hunting those pecos diamonds!

New Mexico Girls' Weekend - Day 2

Ahh, day 2 on the ranch. We started the day off slow. Slept in, cooked breakfast and then played some cards and dominoes.

Around noon we headed across the ranch to a leased section owned by a close family friend, Deanna, for a fabulous lunch. Food, fun and conversation were followed by a trip around the ranch to check water. Water is scarce around here and is pumped into many tanks that feed the water holes for the cows. Ranching is so interesting; there is always something that has to be done.

After our work was done we returned to the house and loaded up everything we needed for our hiking trip / weenie roast and headed up to the Cooley. We hiked up and over the hill where our truck with dinner supplies was waiting. The hike was amazing. I thought I had seen the land from every angle, but this was yet another awe inspiring experience. It was a challenging climb with a beautiful view that I will never forget.

We enjoyed our campfire cuisine and more fellowship and now we are home, completely pooped.

One more day! What will it bring?

ok, so I was telling the girls that I wanted a picture of me with some cows, because, well, I don't have a picture of me with a cow! There was a group near one of the gates we were going through and I hopped out for the picture and this is how the cows decided to pose for the picture. Classsic.

the lucky bull

while we were out checking water we were literally out in the middle of no-where and they actually had a street sign at an intersection of two dirt roads! They say it is required for 911. Ummm, there is no cell phone coverage out here.

water check!

the ruins of an old house

this is a view from about half way up the Cooley

Sara, Jenn and Shelby hiking up the Cooley

this rock is named 'the dino egg'

The Cookout!

Yes, I actually ate this. And it was SO GOOD!

Deanna, with her weenie in her pocket.

New Mexico Girls' Weekend - Day 1

We have arrived! I am about 40 miles outside of Fort Sumner, New Mexico with 4 of my best girlfriends. We are on a working cattle ranch experiencing the life of a cowboy. We have had one full day here and it was indeed a FULL day! We are having so much fun together, laughing, crying (we ARE girls, after all), eating, and having amazing new experiences. Considering we are all city girls, I have to say, we are holding our own out here!

Thanks to Leah's mom, Lynn (this is her ranch!), we are going to get a taste of all this life has to offer and I for one can't wait to see what today will bring.

Here is what we did yesterday...

our morning started with a 3 mile walk. it was 1.5 miles uphill to the turn around, hello burning buns! Me, Jenn, Shelby and little Heidi dog at the summit.

Kim massages a huge knot out of Leah's aching calf

40,000 acres of this to hike!

local plant life

a view of the ranch

I got to ride around in the back of a pickup truck! Do you know how long it has been since I have done that?!

picnic lunch in the dry creek bed in the Entrainia pasture.

some of these are as tall as me!

evidence of the local life :)

our new friend, Heidi! She keeps right up with us in spite of her tiny little legs

looking out over the valley before we hiked down through it

there are 640 different pastures, this is the Entrainia pasture

heading out for our 4 wheeler scavenger hunt!

this was SO cool. These are hexagon rocks. They are found in Hex beds. We got to go Hex hunting!

Wow. That was a full day. Now we are off for day two...stay tuned!