Mutton Bustin'

On March 10, our little mutton buster, KatieLynn, competed at the Houston Livestock Show & ROdeo. She loved riding in the Grand Entry parade (best), as well as meeting the other kids, and of course riding the sheep! riding the parade wagon full gear!

Daddy's girl

I didn't get the pic, but after she fell off, she stood up and waved with both hands....and Momma's girl too!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Well, this is a month late, as Darren's birthday is January 19. Dean wanted me to put a skid steer on his cake, and KatieLynn wanted our family; Dean's compromise was for Daddy to be driving the skid steer, with the three of us being loaded in the bucket. I wasn't sure of my ability to draw the skid steer, and I knew I couldn't draw us! though when I look at my deer, I don't know if it's any better! This year Darren shot a 10 point, no brow tine cull buck, so that's what I attempted... at any rate it tasted delicious!

Horses

For Christmas, Darren got us horses! Really, he got Sweetie (the whitish one) for us, but we had to take Mariah (the reddish one) as well. Sweetie is a true sweetheart, but Mariah is too silly (wild) for us to ride.Dean is not shy about petting, loving on, and feeding the horses, but he doesn't want to ride yet. He has ridden before at county fairs... so I'm not sure what the deal is, but we're trying not to pressure him. KatieLynn however, is ready! She wants to run with her (trotting isn't enough), and she doesn't want us to lead her; she wants free reigns (which will not happen for a while!). We are all enjoying Sweetie!

Christmas

better late, than never, right? hope so!!

Dean is loading his round bales!

KatieLynn with her bedroom Christmas tree.

Dean and his bedroom tree.Our family Christmas tree in the living room cousins Aiden & Emma with KatieLynn & Dean

Claire, Dean, Aiden, Emma, KatieLynn are ready to open presents at PawPaw Hegar's

Yearly Family Pictures

My sister Natalie, took our pictures, just like she does every year! She did an amazing job as usual, though this year she did it at 8 months pregnant!! Check out her blog to see her son, and my adorable nephew, Tice!

The kids love swinging!!

Nellie dog

Haybarn Fun!

Every chance they get, the kiddos head to Daddy's new haybarn. There is a big pile of gravel and a stack of round bales that they like to climb, plus since it's not actually in the yard, I think they feel more independent over there. Here are a few shots of them playing.

Trick or Treat?

KatieLynn chose to be Jesse Cowgirl from Toy Story early this summer, so it only made sense that Dean be Woody Cowboy (also from the movie Toy Story). I made the chaps and vest, and we painted KatieLynn's hair red. We went trick-or-treating with cousin Emma (the leopardess) and her neighbors, and got TONS of candy. My plan was to let them eat as much as they wanted Halloween night, and hoped they'd be sick of candy after that, but Darren nixed my idea, and made them stop.

Birthday Boy turns 4!

Dean turned 4 this month! He has been anticipating this for at least a couple of months, and I don't think he was disappointed. For the last year or so, he has been into logging. Darren started watching a show called Swamp Loggers on Discovery Channel, and Dean loved it! What he asked me to put on his cake is a 'tracked feller buncher'. For you that don't know about logging, this is a trackhoe (gets stuck less in the swamp) with a feller buncher on the end of its arm. A feller buncher has a large blade, and makes the tree fall (or fell in a bunch!). Anyway, he has very excited when he saw it! and also excited to eat it!!

On Dean's actual birthday, he opened a couple of presents, and then we were on our way to the doctor's office after taking KatieLynn to school. He bravely got 5 shots! Then we met Fisher and Tate for playtime at a great park (where I got no pictures) but did get one at Double Dave's where we got some yummy pepperoni rolls!

Then after naptime, we picked up Darren from the barn and KatieLynn from school, and then went to Chuck E Cheese for an hour of fun! Afterward we went home for dinner and chocolate chip cookies with ice cream.

Yummy!

On Thursday, I took brownies and ice cream for Dean's preschool class. He enjoyed us singing to him!

Waller Co. Fair

The kids participated in the pedal tractor pull at the Waller County Fair. There was about 30 kids, ages 3-9. KatieLynn got 1st place of all the girls, and Dean got 2nd place of all the boys. Dean was disappointed because he didn't get 1st. I tried to explain that the boy that got 1st was 9 years old, and finally told Dean that he did get 1st for the 3 year old group. He was then satisfied. :)

Eating snocones while the tractor pull was setting up.

Elegant Luncheon

KatieLynn's kindergarten class had a special meal called Elegant E Luncheon. It had several purposes, including the meaning of the word 'elegant' and learning/practicing their best table manners, plus they had lots of fun dressing up, and leaving school early!!