BMX pics

Hayden's BMX debut! Best Day Ever!

Oh man, our entire family is on such a high tonight! Today was a freakin' blast! Hayden officially began his BMX racing career, and can I just say he was amazing!? A natural! We got to the track early and purchased his helmet and outfit. Then he practiced for 2 hours before the actual "motos" (qualifying rounds) began. He must have gone around the track 30 times! When it was finally time to start I was of course a nervous wreck! He was so little and so cute. I started crying, like I do every time I see the kids do something new or do especially well at something they love and enjoy. I quickly regained my composure and cheered him on! He finished 2nd in his first "moto", crashed in the second "moto", and 1st in his last "moto". The crash was pretty scary, as a little girl ran over his back!! I was freaking out, and he was MAD. That is when him being so little came back into focus. The minute he saw us when he came off the track he burst into tears. Poor baby. It took a back rub, some hugs, and special juice (Powerade) to get him back in good spirits. After a 10 minute break it was time for the championship round. He started out in second and quickly sped into first place!! But, it being his first time he started coasting towards the finish line as the other kid pumped past him. But, oh my gosh he got 2nd place! His very first time! It was awesome! And to hear the announcer praise "MYERS from CROWLEY in the lead" was so cool! He definitely made an impression on the other seasoned riders, they were surprised to hear that it was his first time. He got a nice fat trophy! He'll probably sleep with it. Speaking of, he was so excited about today that he got up at 6:00 this morning. I am soo proud of him and so were the big kids. They are all wanting to race now! Can you say $$$$!?!? They were very supportive and happy for him. I still keep getting choked up thinking about it. I love my kids, they are so awesome and I am so lucky! Enjoy the millions of photos! I actually took over 100 of them.

Fire!

Bonfire that is! Since we live out in the "country", we do things you wouldn't normally see your neighbors do if you if you lived in say an apartment or the suburbs. Well, one of our neighbors does a huge bonfire about once a year in his backyard and we do hot dogs and s'mores. The kids all run around, jump on the trampline, go in the awesome playhouse, or hang out in the cleanest garage in America. Complete with TV and a foosball table! Well, after watching him build the biggest bonfire I had ever seen for the past 18 months, it was finally bonfire time! We missed the lighting (who wants to be the first to show up?), but the fire department didn't. 4 trucks showed up! They gave us the all clear and the "party" started! It was pretty much food and conversation, and the guys drinking too much beer. We had a ton of fun! Of course my teenager was with friends (he's almost 16 what can you do?) and Hunter got nowhere near the camera, he was skateboarding in the driveway. I did get a few photos before my camera started displaying weird orbs? Maybe ashes or something, who knows? Chloe also taught Erin's daughter what I call the MySpace pose: a peace sign while trying not to look at the camera. I did have a little "incident" last night... I am a "big girl" you know not skinny, but I pride myself on being strong. Genetics, weight lifting, having 5 mean brothers, who knows? Well, a friend bet me that I could tackle her drunk husband. And being the stupid ass that I can be sometimes I took her up on it. Major mistake, I had forgotten that he used to play semi-pro football. Plus, even a drunk fool isn't gonna let a woman show him up. So, I was made to look like an idiot. I guess I'm not as strong as I thought. But, that made me all the more determined to hit the gym even harder. It's war! I think I even pulled something in my back! I was very happy to jump in the tub and soak.

Yet another fall carnival...

Well once again we headed to another carnival on Saturday. Well, actually me, Chloe, and Hayden. Jon was at work, Chan was once again with a friend playing guitar, and Hunter was with his friends skateboarding. So, we headed to the school for what appeared to be a pretty awesome carnival. But, we have been to so many carnival type activities this year, that the kids were carnival-ed out. There was a bunch of games, bounce houses, slides, silent auction, and of course lovely carnival food. Hayden and Chloe did the bounce house, the cake walk, and ate. That was it, they were pretty unimpressed. I am super proud of Hayden though, he stood in line and got a cotton candy all by himself, so cute! (Of course I took a photo of him in line!) Afterwards we stopped by the Yamaha store for an outfit for Hayden to ride bikes in and Target for hot dog and s'mores stuff. All in all a pretty uneventful day, until much later when things got interesting...

Ashley and the terrible, horrible, very bad day!

Today started off decent enough. No one was sick, no one overslept, no one missed the bus, and no one forgot anything. The only issue was that we discovered that we have some sort of wild animal living in the wall in our master bedroom. What it is or how it got there I don't know, and I am not sure I want to know. It just frantically wiggles and scratches around and sounds like it might be quite large and awfully stuck! After getting over the yuck factor, I was off in a mad dash to the hair salon. Where I got a groovy new cut (bangs!) and color. Next stop: Bath and Body Works for some good smelling bubble bath, lotion, and room sprays. I then went to hang out with Kelli and the boys for a bit. Afterwards on the way to pick Hayden up from school I think to myself what a good day I'm having especially after being a little down recently. Big mistake as I got stuck in my second traffic jam of the day. This one was worse, I was stuck on the I-35 bridge (which is like a million feet tall and scary) for 20 minutes which made me late to pick up Hayden. So Erin got him for me. (thanks Erin!) I get Hayden from Erin's and we head to the gym to meet up with Jon and my personal trainer, both of whom never showed up! Thanks guys! After finally arriving home, the bus carrying Hunter and Chloe shows up, and here comes Hunter bawling because they took his cell phone away. To say he is furious with me for not marching up there immediately and retrieving it would be a massive understatement. Gosh Mom,it only costs $15. He threw the largest fit, like he just found out someone killed Santa Claus. And wouldn't you know about 37 seconds later my cell phone rings and Chandler is calling to say he missed the bus, big surprise. I get to the school and he is waiting with a friend who also missed the bus and needs a ride. Aaarrgghhh! We get his friend dropped off and finally head home. Which should be pretty simple since my car can make the trip with it's headlights closed (haha). But no, not one but two little punks walk right in front of my car! On purpose, didn't even look, like they owned the road. I will spare you the details on what was said, but rest assured I did roll down my window and say a few choice words. Punk was one of them. And idiot. Now, I am FINALLY HOME, with a coke and a double stuf Oreo cookie. All I need now is a good animal rescue person to come cut this animal out of my wall. If he/she can also patch and paint walls that would be a serious bonus. Any takers?
*update* Just to let everyone know, I had finally settled down to watch TV before I had to make dinner when Jon called. He needed me to meet him at the bike shop to fit Hayden for his new bike. We had 15 minutes until they closed. I only got lost once. We then proceeded to drop the amount of money on a bike some people spend on a month's worth of groceries. Once at the bike shop I was informed by Jon that he needed to play the second half of a soccer game in 45 minutes, because his old team was short handed. So at this point I am only mildly annoyed and decide to get pizza for dinner. Hunter and Chloe sit outside the pizza place while I order and get scolded by another customer for misbehaving, meanwhile Jon and Hayden head home to unload the bike and get soccer gear ready. The second we drive up with pizza, Chandler meets me at the door saying he needs a ride to a friend's house. So I set down the pizza and throw a mini tantrum in the front yard. Now it is only a little chaotic here. Hayden is riding his bike in the living room, Chloe is doing backflips in the game room, and I am taking pics of me and my new haircut. Seriously, all of this really happened today. Here are some pics of my new haircut, two are silly ones like the kind the kids put on MySpace. Enjoy? And sorry sooooooo long......

BMX-cellent!

Well, once again we're taking on a new challenge. Actually Hayden is. BMX racing! He is now an official member of the ABA/BMX (American Bicycling Association). Basically it cost us $4 for him to go out this evening and practice on a real track, and he didn't want to leave. He is a natural! Which doesn't surprise me as he has already gone through 4 bicycles and is now on his 5th. He taught himself to ride a bike without training wheels when he was 3, so it really is like second nature for him. It costs a small sum to join the team and you get to pick when you race. So, his first race is this weekend and Jon and I may be taking out a loan to purchase his new BMX bike and riding gear. If all goes well he can support us someday! Kidding! But we are very excited for him. Of course I have no photos of him practicing. Jon took him and Hunter and in his excitement forgot to snap any pics. I stayed home with Chloe while Chan was at his game in Weatherford. I promise to get some of him in his gear and hopefully on the track or maybe even with a big, fat trophy!! Hunter is probably going to join as well but is a perfectionist and wants to "hone his craft" before he gets out there for real. Wish Hayden luck!

Things I've learned today and it's only 8:26 a.m....

English muffins don't like to be flushed and will clog your toilet...
And toilet will overflow...