4th of July...

I realize this post is a month or so late, but I was looking through pictures and realized I had some pretty neat ones from the 4th of July. This is Gage with his first-ever sparkler. He loved it...until he decided to grab the hot end of it. That pretty much ruined the night.

I love fireworks! I always have. As a kid, my brother and I always did "sparklers" and Bottle Rockets. Those were our favorite! They were cheap and they didn't make a huge mess. Looking back, my Mom was pretty smart for not telling us there were other things available at the firework stand 😉

When it was finally time for fireworks to start, we went to Aunt Tam & Uncle Jay's to join in on their fun. We had SO much fun and I'm so glad they invited us! The fireworks were awesome and we didn't have to fight any crazy crowds or traffic to watch them!

Sorry for being so late on this post. I'll try to do better next time 😉

Recipe help...

Well, we've reached the end of another week. And honestly, it was another pretty low key weekend. We don't have these often and I think I could get used to it. The heat is unbearable and it just isn't worth getting out for much. The kids have enjoyed playing around the house and not having to get ready to go anywhere. It's nice for a change!

Several times over the weekend, I have thought seriously about cooking something new for lunch or dinner. Honestly, I don't cook much. I'm trying to work on it, but it seems that once we are all at home, it is too late to cook. I work late a couple nights a week and Michael usually works late the others. The late nights make it tough to eat as a family, but that is something I feel is important.

Back to cooking. I feel like when I do cook, it is always the same things. Gage LOVES Chicken Spaghetti! He isn't a great eater, so I cook that for him a lot. Emerson will pretty much eat anything you put in front of her. She's not picky at all! I just get sick of eating the same things. So...what are some easy family recipes that your kiddos like to eat?

I hope your weekend was as relaxing as ours and I hope there are more to come!! I thought I'd share this picture of "Miss Priss" before I get off here. She's such a mess!

Talk to you soon!

Monday Funday!!

Today, I spent the day with this little turkey. We spend every Monday and Friday together, but today was a little different. I had to take Em to the doctor this morning, so Gage went to work with his Daddy for an hour or so. When I was finished with the doctor, I picked him up and was very adamant that we eat lunch with Daddy.

After lunch, I learned that Gage earned $5 for working with his Daddy. For me, this meant nothing except a trip to Wal-Mart. UGH! I despise that place. I'm not sure how, but that $5 paycheck trip ended up costing me an extra $35. We HAD to get a movie and a new baby doll for Sissy. Normally I would have said no, but I have to be honest. I was SO proud of him for thinking of his sister! I know, I'm a sucker!

After the Wal-Mart trip, we went to have yogurt at the Lemon Tree. How could I have said no to that? Sucker again, right? I just couldn't say no to this sweet face!

We had such a good day together and I'm so BLESSED to have the extra time to spend with my little man!

On another note, I saw on Jennifer's blog today that she asked her kids how she could be a better Mom. I thought their answers were so funny, so I decided to ask Gage. I was a little afraid of what he would say, but I asked anyway. This is what he said...
#1 Get a new job, because he gets tired of the "bow store". HA!
#2 Get a new house. Not sure how that would help, unless he's trying to imply that this one is a lost cause ;)
#3 Be a little nicer. Apparently I'm nice "sometimes, but not all of the time". He told me, "there are way too many rules around here. I just want to act like a bull". Ha!  Excuse me son, but I couldn't tell my rules were affecting that!

So glad I did this! I needed that laugh today!

Weekend fun...

Between the chaos of every day life, my store and Michael's work, it seems like the weekends are already all planned out before the even get here. I have never been a home body, but I would be lying if I said I didn't want more of it lately. This weekend was the first weekend in a while that we have had NOTHING to do. I had all my shipping done by Friday afternoon. Michael didn't have to work, and we had no ballgames, rodeos or parties to go to! It was nice...REALLY NICE!!

Friday night, my kids stayed the night at MeMe's. They think that is just part of their weekly routine. Stay at home with Mom on Monday, school Tuesday-Thursday, stay home again on Friday and go to MeMe's on Friday night. That's their idea of a good weekend. Who wouldn't?

Typically when they come home from MeMe's, they have something extra in tow. Usually a HUGE toy that we have to find a place for. I know, I know, this is what MeMe's are for, right? This weekend was no different. The came home with an 8' Slip N' Slide and more energy than I knew what to do with. SO...we played outside! Gage loved it!!

I'm not sure how little kids do what they do, to their bodies. If I ran as fast as I could and jumped down on my belly, I would be crippled for life. No possible way I would make it through the fall without breaking something. I just don't understand it. He probably did this 100 times and never complained of anything hurting. Must be nice!

Emerson, on the other hand, was not as impressed. If you know my Em, you know that she is a bit of a Miss Priss. Ok, maybe a LOT of a Miss Priss. She sat at the end of the slide and watched most of the time. She doesn't like her face to get wet and she certainly doesn't want water splashed all over her. She is definitely my child ;)

She's such a sweet girl!

I hope your weekend was as full of fun as ours was! I look forward to many more free weekends in the future. Hopefully sooner than later!

Real life cowboy...

Just like every other sport, there is an end of the year Award Ceremony for the Junior Rodeos. All of the little cowboys got together for a ceremony where they all received awards for the past season. We have never been a part of this, so we weren't sure what to expect. All we knew was that Gage would get SOMETHING. They called each kid, by name, up to the stage. I'll never forget how excited he was to hear his own name. I'm not sure he expected that! His first award was a saddle blanket. He was able to pick his color and couldn't have been more proud of his first Rodeo Award!

Each child also earned a water bucket and a t-shirt with their name on it. Here he is getting his bucket!

I am sure you remember these three monkeys from a couple posts ago. These are Gage's best buds! They LOVE each other so much and play so well together. Gage and Joe (middle kid) go to preschool together as well. They fight like brothers, but they love each other so much! This is all the boys in their trophy jackets. They have their name on them and they acted as if they were given a million dollars!

I am so proud of Gage for competing and completing his first year of Junior Rodeos. I look forward to many more years to come. This is something I always hoped my kids would share my love for!

Doesn't he look so handsome? I'm so proud to be his Mom!

Gage's 4th Birthday

On February 27th, Gage turned 4 years old. It's hard to believe it has been that long since he came into our lives. If you know Gage at all, you know that he is COWBOY TO THE CORE! That being said, it should come as no surprise that we celebrated his birthday at his Junior Rodeo. During the Winter, we had them a couple weekends a month and one of them happened to fall on his birthday.

We celebrated the special occasion with Sam's Club cupcakes...YUMMO!!! If you haven't had them, they're a MUST!!

Gage blew out his candle and opened some gifts just in time to ride his sheep!

I'm sure some of you are thinking this is CRAZY! I grew up in the Rodeo scene. It has always been a part of my life. I have always hoped that one of my children would love it, but honestly, I never dreamed sheep riding would be in my future. But...this life is known to throw a curveball or two.  I want you all to know that I don't love it that much. It makes me a nervous wreck EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. But, Gage loves it, so I guess I'll just keep pretending I do. He's bound to grow out this crazy sport, right?

Gage's best buds ride sheep as well. These three are as thick as thieves during rodeo season. They're each others biggest fans!

When they are finished with their ride, they always compare "sheep fur". They compare the amount of wool they pull from the sheep during their ride. I'm not sure why they decided to do this, but...they do! I think this was Gage's favorite birthday "gift". He got a ton of wool stuck in his new spur that day!

Happy Birthday, Gager Man!! We love you more than you'll ever know!!

Emerson is ONE!!

Since I took such a long break from blogging, I want to take a few days to play "catch up". From the beginning, my reason for blogging was to have somewhat of a scrapbook of our lives. When life gets crazy, it is easy to forget things. Important things.

I want to start with Emerson's First Birthday. Instead of the typical over-the-top cake, we decided on cupcakes. I wanted something different this time around. I was thrilled with the way the cake turned out and I have Heather McCray York to thank for that! Heather, if you're ready this...we LOVED it!!

Both of my kids LOVE sweets, so watching them tear into their cakes was fun for everyone! Emerson enjoyed hers, but certainly not as much as her brother. She's such a typical little girl ;)

My kids are so BLESSED with family that adores them. As the only babies on my Dad's side and 2 of 3 on my Mom's, they are spoiled rotten! 

The party was TONS of fun and we can't thank everyone enough for sharing the day with us!

Happy 1st Birthday, sweet girl! We love you to the moon and back!!

 

I'm back...for good, this time!

Oh my, has it been a while since I've written!? I have been so CRAZY with Chasing Emmy, that I've abandoned my blog. Honestly, I can't believe I haven't been here in over a year. I have missed so much in other bloggers lives, and if anyone even reads this, they've missed a lot in mine. In the past 16 months, life has changed a little. My kids are growing like weeds, I've opened a new business, and I'm crazier than ever! So, as a little "welcome back", I'll try to catch you up on SOME of what life has been about since I was here last.

In my last post, Emerson was a little over 2 months old. She is now 18 MONTHS and boy, have things changed. She is all over the place. She's bossy. She talks NON-STOP. She ADORES her brother. And, she is a major DIVA. My dreams of playing dress-up have definitely come true! Although she is a Momma's girl, she has stolen her Daddy's heart and made him even more a softy than he already was! I think we will keep her ;)

As for Gage, he is now 4 1/2. He is HILARIOUS and has the best sense of humor. He still loves anything cowboy, but his new obsession is Baseball! He played on his first team this Summer, but he seems to like the game a little more, in our backyard. I think the "game" was too much for him, honestly. He hasn't figured out the whole "share the ball" theory just yet. You know, when you're at home playing with Daddy, you don't have to share much :-/  He is a Daddy's boy to the core, and I just pretend I'm ok with it ;)

Now, onto the Boutique...in June of 2012, I opened a small Children's Boutique in a section of a local store. I sell Boutique clothing and accessories for little girls of all ages! I love the business, but the store wasn't enough. I have recently launched my website and I'm thrilled with how things are going so far! If you stopped by, please do! www.chasingemmy.com