Jamin, Ashley, Gracie, and Dylan

Recently, Jamin participated in the relay portion of the Austin Triathlon with his brother Danny and one of Danny’s oldest friends,  Jeff. Jamin ran, Danny swam, and Jeff biked. Gracie and I made it to the race in time to see Jamin running! It was an olympic distance race with a 1500m swim, 27km bike, and 10km run.  They inspired me to hopefully train for the sprint distance next year.

A couple of years ago, my dad decided to buy a horse named Sundance for Gracie. Keep in mind that none of us have ever really been around horses and I am pretty sure that he had never even ridden one. I did not mind because I thought it would be fun and I would not have to take care of it.  None of us anticipated happening what happened. I never realized that this horse would live MANY years and I would be the proud owner. For the past year, I have just been paying the monthly bill while Mary and Megan have kindly taken care of her in Corpus.

I got to the point of either selling the horse or moving her up here. Owning a horse is expensive and we were not really getting much out of her by keeping her down there. The rational side of me told me to sell her because I know nothing about horses! However, my heart told me to move her close to us. I spoke to my dad about it many times before he passed away and I know he would want Gracie to enjoy her.

So, as crazy as it may be, I am officially joining the world of horse ownership next Sunday. We found a place to board her close to home for a reasonable price that offers lessons as well. I also have a few good friends/family that know a lot and have been great resources.

We purchased a trailer for “Gracie” last weekend. We got a great deal on it and we needed it to be able to move the horse around whenever we wanted (i.e. vet appointments) without having to ask someone else to do it for us! I had to decorate it just a bit for the world’s most spoiled 3 year old.

Wish us luck!

I know I have not updated in a while, but things have been a little hectic in our household lately! In between sports, illnesses (food poisoning or stomach bug, possible flu), and horse (more on that coming in another post) I have just not found time to blog!

Jamin is keeping busy with football for sure. He is not as busy this year coaching 7th grade instead of varsity, but he is still busy!  We are really enjoying having him home a little more this football season.

Gracie is quite possibly the world’s busiest three year old and it suits her just fine! She is in gymnastics, ballet, and soccer right now. Thankfully for me, ballet is during the day while she is at daycare. Her first soccer game was rained out last week and she has only had one practice so far. She was more interested in her name tag at practice and really just wants a trophy at the end of the season!

We are getting ready for Dylan’s 1st birthday party already. I cannot believe how much time has really flown this year. He is not walking yet but that does not stop him from getting into everything! He really loves playing with Gracie and they are a little too rough with each other for my liking at times. He now has 5 teeth too!

I have been busy driving Gracie around to her various activities and going to football games! I am still trying to find a little time to craft here and there but it is hard to do.  I just volunteered to be on a committee for Relay for Life too! What was I thinking? Oh yeah, I am starting a new job next week. I am leaving the research world. It is just next door to my current job so the kids can still go daycare with me! I will now be a microbiologist at Brooke Army Medical Center, just in time for flu season!

Gracie ran in her first race the weekend before last.  It was held at the San Antonio Zoo and it was 1/4 of a mile long. She was so excited to get her number pinned onto her shirt and to get a t-shirt for running! I could not believe some of the parents, though. In the 3 year old age group, I heard parents yelling at their kids  to ‘get in the front’ and ‘don’t look down while running.’ We took the opposite approach and decided to have fun! Gracie finished in about 3 1/2 minutes and, since every finisher got a blue ribbon, still thinks she won! Sorry for the quality of the pictures, I forgot my camera so these were taken with my phone.

Amy and I around the age of three. I think I am the one on the right.

Here are the latest pictures that we had taken of the kids last weekend. We have a mini-Ashley and a mini-Jamin!

Our little Pickle is 10 months old! This year really has flown by. Dylan has got to be one of the easiest babies ever (I am not just saying this because he is my son!). He still takes two naps a day on the weekends. He really only cries when sick, hungry, dirty, etc.  He now has four teeth that did not seem to really bother him as they came in. He is so laid back and happy. He really loves to crawl around all over the house and explore and is now pulling himself up (which has already led to a busted lip in the bathtub). Gracie really loves to entertain him and is the best at making him laugh!

He got into Gracie’s markers!

For last week’s show and tell, Gracie was to make a paper plate vehicle. Those were the only instructions! I cut a rectangle out of a paper plate, raided my craft closet, and let Jamin help her! It was almost 9pm and we were trying to hurry as it was way past her bed time. Needless to say, Gracie has a wild imagination!

This word brings up mixed emotions for me. On one hand, it is hands-down my favorite sport to watch. I love watching the Texas A&M Aggies the most (I still have high hopes of a great season every year). On the other hand, it is the time of year that Jamin is away from home for many hours. It means coming home late with films and stats to do. It means missed holidays (Halloween for sure with the possibility of Thanksgiving playoffs) and no weekends away for at least three months. Inevitably, Gracie turns into a little monster for a few weeks when football practice starts up. She is so attached to Jamin and it is hardest on her. I am hoping to keep her busy with gymnastics and soccer this year!

It also means Friday night football games with good friends. Gracie really loves going to games and filling up on junk food and candy from the cheerleaders. It means that we get to watch Jamin coaching, a job he loves  and puts so much effort into. I really admire the amount of time and dedication that coaches have for their jobs, teams, and athletes. It also means that I usually can count on at least a few hours to myself on Sundays so Jamin can spend some time with the kids and I can have a bit of alone time!

So, as we start this football season, good luck to the Aggies, both Poteet and Texas A&M!

I had my wisdom teeth removed on Wednesday and was at home for two days. I probably could have gone to work on Thursday but spent some time at home instead. Nothing is safe from my Cricut!

Gracie’s bed (I added the Princess in vinyl):