Day 5

Well here we are...Day 5!! We are still looking for a first place finish but I have no doubt it's coming. In the meantime though we will keep taking what we can get! Hunter placed 4th last night and has two 6th place finishes. The first night wasn't how we wanted to start things off but I'm hoping we got all that out of the way and now we are ready to rock and roll!!! It's been a busy first weekend which is why you are just now hearing from me. And also I won't be able to upload any pictures until we get home, for some reason our service is back and forth between terrible and even worse. We'll just have to make do until then. Today Hunter is over at the arena for the EXCEPTIONAL Rodeo for all kinds of different kids. It's an amazing event and I'm so proud that Hunter participates in it. It will truely melt your heart seeing what it means to the kids. If you ever have the chance go watch or help volunteer, please do. You may change a life!! After that, he is signing autographs which he does pretty much everyday. Yesterday we went to Elevation Sunday, it was amazing. Dr James Dobson was the speaker and Clay Walker sang. Pretty awesome. The atmosphere is pretty electric and it's just cool to see how many people turn out to Praise God in town that's so busy!! Hopefully tonight we will be headed to the SouthPoint for the buckle presentation, make sure you tune into GAC to watch Hunter in Round 5!!!! God Bless yall

VIVA LAS VEGAS!!! Finally!

Well we've been counting down the days and it's finally so close we can taste it. Hunter and Deacon left Saturday and got to Las Vegas on Sunday afternoon. Houston and I fly out on Wednesday and were both so excited we can barely stand it. First things first I should mention the excitement we had a few days ago. On Thanksgiving Hunter always enters the ropin at Duncan. Houston and I usually eat lunch at my grandparents and then head over to watch a little later with my parents. Well I had to run back to the house and grab a few things, while I was there Hunter called and told me that he was just in a wreck! I flipped, I immediantly pictured the worst. He told me everyone was okay but that a man ran a stop sign and he hit them. He said all their air bags deployed and they had kids in the car. Plus Hunter was pulling a trailer with our horses in there. One of which was Hustler, who he is riding at Vegas. I ran out of the house and called my dad and we jumped in the car and headed straight to where Hunter was. The whole time my belly is just in knots and I was worried sick. We finally made it after what seemed like forever. It wasn't as bad as I had pictured in my head and everyone was fine, except the horses got rattled around quite a bit. Very scary though. And Hunter being a typical man was like well I can't believe you were so panicked. What woman doesn't immediantly jump to the worst possible scenario. Or maybe that's just me, I dunno. But we definatley had so much to be thankful for on Thanksgiving. Things could have been so much worse for everyone involved. After all that excitement we finally made it to the ropin, which didn't go like we wanted but that was okay. Now we are just waiting on Round 1. Praying it goes great!! I'll be trying to do a daily update with pictures so be sure to check back in for all the behind the scenes stuff!! Hope you guys are as excited as we are!! Tune in to GAC to watch Hunter everynight. God Bless

Let the countdown begin

37 More DAYS until the NFR. Hope you guys are ready because I know we are. Make sure to get your shirt orders in by Sunday if you want to look cool in a Hunter Herrin shirt. We've had alot going on lately. Houston is still liking school and he lost his first tooth!!! I must say he looks even more onery now than he did before. And he's excited to wear his Superman costime to school on Firday for Halloween. School is going good for me as well. I'm really liking alot of the things I thought I wouldn't so I'd say that's a plus haha. Hunter has been to a few rodeos here and there and just left yesterday for the first tour rodeo of 2012 in Kansas City! It never ends! I haven't heard yet how it went but hopefully he'll start the new year off with a bang. This weekend we have our Circuit Finals in Weatherford, OK. He ropes Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon. Hope to see some of you guys there. Another big milestone has came and went. Houston turned FIVE YEARS OLD!! I cannot believe my baby is this old and big. Seems like it was just yesterday we were bringing him home. He had a superhero birthday party and had tons of fun! Before I know it I'll be carpooling him around to high school games and rodeos! So that's what we've been up to lately, alot of school and not enough fun!!!

Hunter Herrin NFR Shirts!

Okay guys here are the new 2011 NFR shirts! They are safety green color and the lettering is a turquoise color! It looks really awesome and we are going to stand out for sure!!! If your going to order we need your money and sizes by October 30!!! They will not be taken after that day so don't miss out! My email address in ashleyherrin13@aol.com and my mom's address is aozmom@aol.com. Send money to Pam Orf

PO Box 491 Apache, OK 73006 

Shirt Sizes

These are Safety Green

Short-sleeve t-shirt

Youth small- youth large 9.00

Adult small- XLarge 9.00    2XL 11.00    3XL 12.00    4XL 13.00    5XL 14.00

Long-sleeve t-shirt

Adult small- XLarge 13.00    2XL 15.00    3XL 16.00

Crewneck Sweatshirt

Adult small- XLarge 18.00    2XL 20.00    3XL 21.00

Hoodies

Adult small- XLarge 25.00    2XL 27.00    28.00

Okay since the only thing for kids is the safety green t-shirts we added a grey hoodie for kids. Same pattern just in grey. They are 25.00 and sizes are youth small- youth large!

Can we say CHANGE...up!!!!

Wow, time has absolutely flown by! I realize...and have heard, that I am being awfuly neglectful on here! I'm very sorry that I've left you guys hanging for so long with no update. Ours lives in the past month have gone from full time gypsies to stay at home school kids. Our baby boy started Pre-K on August 12. The week leading up to the first day we tried and tried to get H to practice going to bed early, but as most of you know he is quite stubborn and he LOVES to stay up extra late! He's also pretty smart. He'd tell us "actually I have this many days left till school starts, so tonight I can still stay up late." Finally the big night came and there were no more practice nights. He went down with a fight but was out by 10:30. And the next morning he almost changed his mind about school. But finally after "6 more minutes" he was up and moving. I was holding it together pretty well as I got him ready but it's hard not to think that it seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital. This day came way to fast. I drove into town extra slow trying to savor my last few school free minutes with him. His mind was far from his mommy though. We pulled into the school parking lot and I started to get out and he said "Oh mom, you don't have to stay. I got this!" After I scraped my broken heart up off the asphault I said "Yes sir I know you got this but Mommy wants to walk you in and you can't stop me." So off we went....him walking ahead of me of course. He was so big and not the least big scared. He tried a few more time on the way in to ditch me but I hung tight. We were the first people in his classroom and he made himself right at home like he'd done it a millon times. He sat down at the red table and got right to work. As more kids started to come in I knew it was almost time for me to go. I kissed him bye and he told me he loved me which made me feel alot better about the situation haha! I headed out and barely made it into my truck before the tears came. I'm not sure if I am the only emotional one out there...but man that was a tough morning. I sent Hunter all the pictures I took since he couldn't be there. I know it hit him hard too. It felt like forever but finally at 11:20 I was headed back into town to pick H up. He came out and sat with his class on the porch and waited his turn to come out to the car. He jumped in and immedietly asked Al for her phone. And that was all we got out of him about his day haha! Oh and that he got to have hotdogs for lunch!! A man of many words. But he was ready to go back the next day! The Saturday after school started Hunter roped at Lawton. It was a packed house and we were all excited to see him rope so close to home! He made a good run and it was enough to split third and fourth!! Sunday I took Hunter back to the airport and it was back to school for H the next day. I had a week left to prepare myself to start school. I applied and got accepted into the LPN program at the vo-tech in Ft. Cobb. I was really excited but also very nervous. Most of yall know how much I hate school! But when the day arrived it went really well and I knew that it was going to be great! We're still getting used to this big change and realize that we can't just up and do something. It has to be planned around our school schedule. That'll make you hyperventilate a little when you're so used to doing whatever, whenever! But anyway were getting used to it. On a bright note, this time last year I was sweating bullets. But I just booked my flight to LAS VEGAS!!!!  Hunter has been doing so great and just consistently winning a little everywhere he goes. He finished 5/6 at San Juan and won Caldwell! He's currently winning Pueblo, CO but it's not over yet. He did well at Ponca City! I hope he continues to do what we all know he can!! He's up at Elk City on Thursday during slack and then Saturday I take him to the airport and he flies to Ellensburg, WA. Then Lewiston, ID on Wednesday, Puyallup, WA on Saturday, Pendleton, OR on the 13th and 14th and El Paso on the 15th, and then hopefully back at Pendleton short round on Saturday. Puyallup is the first Tour Finale and he's setting pretty high in those standings but it wouldn't hurt to win a little there just to secure that spot in Omaha, NE which is the second to last weekend of September! I hope you guys are all well, and I'll post more later this week or next to give you and update on the roping!God Bless

Ah Summer Time

Well with Cowboy Christmas and Calgary behind us you'd think things would start slowing down but it seems like they're just as crazy. Houston and I drove out to our good friends house last night after Hunter roped at Spanish Fork, UT. Clint and Robyn live outside of town and we love to hang out here whenever possible. Hunter and Jerome were supposed to fly out to Salinas, CA this morning but they changed their plans and drove out with Houston Hutto last night. It was a 14 hour drive and they got there about an hour before slack started. Hunter made an awesome run and was 9.4 on his first calf, he's winning the first round right now and ropes his second later tonight. Hopefully it goes as good as the first and he makes the short round on Sunday. Then Monday we're back at Ogden, UT, Deadwood, SD on Wednesday and Thursday and then off to the "Daddy" in Cheyenne, WY on Friday and Saturday and hopefully short round there on Sunday. HOME right after that!! Can't wait, except we are loving this weather we've been in. While in Canada we wore our jackets almost everyday! It was amazing! I know as soon as we get close we're going to be dying though!
So the last time I wrote we were headed to Calgary! Hunter did really good in his set, even though it was a really tough set. He ended up the second highest money winner right behind Shane Hanchey. Hunter won 15,000.00 and Shane won 15,500. Hunter decided not to go back down to the states to a few rodeos in between the second set and Sunday. Since Hunter did so good he went straight to Sunday instead of having to go to the wild card round. Made me breath a little easier. Houston had plenty of friends to play with while we  were there. We had huge baseball and dodge ball games every night in between the trailers. It got pretty wild a few times. When the kids weren't playing ball they had all their ropes out roping the dummy. It was the best entertainment! A few days it rained like crazy, the drains actually got clogged up so the water was deep right in the middle of our playing field. But other than that it was a good 10 days. Sunday was the finals for Calgary, and it didn't go as planned but we still got out of there with good money. Just wasn't our year! When we left the arena we were planning on going half ways then finishing off the rest the next day headed to Salt Lake, well....we made in about 5 miles and the truck was kinda running funny and the gauge said to check the fuel filter. Well there just happened to be a station open on Sunday. So we pulled off and got in line. About 45 minutes later they got to us and started pulling stuff out. The color was awful and said the injectors were pretty clogged. So they got us fixed up and we hooked back onto the trailer. Hunter walked back to check Hustler before we pulled off and he noticed a wheel on the trailer was messed up. So we back it up on the block and sure enough we were close to running it off and had ruined the bearings. We were lucky to find a place to change our filter, so we knew it was going to be close to impossible to find someone to fix that. Hunter got a hold of some people and they gave us a man's name that was about 45 miles away and he said he'd fix us up. So we took off on three wheels...crazy I know! We finally made it and they got us in and out and we were on our way. It officially took us 6 hours to drive 60 miles!!! Ugh! After what seemed like forever we finally made it to Salt :Lake the next day an hour before the rodeo started. It didn't go any better than our day before. It was off to Ogden, UT next. We were pretty excited, my best friend Robyn and her new baby Calder were going to be there. This would be the first time I got to meet him and I couldn't hardly wait. And Houston had a much anticipated birthday party for Addie Mass! They had a pink castle bounce house and a unicorn cake. It was really awesome and we were really happy to celebrate with good friends!! After Ogden we headed straight to Nampa, ID. It was hot and it was crappy too. Spanish Fork was bad also, and now Houston and I are hanging out and Hunter is in Salinas, CA. I just got the news that he was 10.4 on his second calf. So as of right now he is winning the average and making the short round on Sunday! Great news, keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer, Hunter has always wanted to win that rodeo. We are back at Ogden Monday, Deadwood, SD Wednesday and Thursday and then down to Cheyenne Friday and Saturday on Hunter's Birthday!!!! The short round on Sunday would be a nice present! Anways until next time God Bless!!

H and Treston Brazile Team Roping at Calgary

Calgary Stampede

Baseball Game

I'm sure telling someone how to play

Love these 2 guys

H hangin like a monkey

Sweet Calder

Riley and H

H, Riley (his girlfriend), and her little sis Payton

Birthday party!

Happy 4th of July

Well Cowboy Christmas has officially ended and there were alot of cowboys who did really great. This wasn't our best 4th ever but altogether Hunter won Springdale, AR and made 5,492.00. And then he placed at Prescott, AZ and moved his total 4th of July winnings to 7,700.00. We'll take what we can get and are so thankful to have kept the winning up. Last time I wrote Houston and I were about to pull out to Greeley, CO with the horses. We didn't get started out very good, the day before we were supposed to leave Hunter took our blue truck back to the shop for about the 25th time. We just had the transmission rebuilt and they assured us that our problems were solved. That definitely wasn't the case as Hunter tested it out just to be sure, before H and I got halfway from home and broke down. The dealership said they could find the problem and have it fixed that same day. Well, they called back and said its the same part we've repaired several times and they just didn't know what was going on. As most of you know, we have to have a truck that will pull our big trailer and haul horse across the country. So it seemed that we were in a jam. But after a few phone calls the manager decided he would loan us a truck that would pull everything. It was a much needed break, but they failed to check to make sure it had a gooseneck hitch in it. That's where Brent Bain came to the rescue! He worked until after midnight putting a hitch and plate in the bed!! So it was a very late night for all of us. The next morning we pulled out of Apache at 9am with all our family seeing us off! The drive was pretty uneventful and H and I made it to Greeley about 930 that night. A few times we stopped and H made a beeline straight to the bathroom, at this point I really didn't think much about it. The next day Hunter and Jerome got in just in time for slack and H and I made our way up to the arena. He started dancing around and needed to go to the bathroom again right then. So we ran and made it just in time. Now I'm thinking okay...I think we have a problem. Houston is highly allergic to peanuts and they either give him a bad case of diareah or break him out in hives depending on the nut and how much he's had. So I'm thinking back trying to remember if there was anywhere he could have picked up something with nuts. I couldn't think of anything and he's usually so careful to ask before he eats anything suspicious. Then it dawned on me, we stopped at Burger King and H wanted a cheeseburger. He tore into it and we didn't think twice that it was covered with sesame seeds. Now we know, Sesame Seeds ARE definitely a form of nuts. So all day during slack and the long drive to Oakley, UT poor H was stuck on the pot!! Now we know though. We've steered clear of burger king since then. When we screeched in to Oakley, UT slack had already started so we were definitely in hurry to get up to the arena. Thankfully H grabbed our umbrella since it looked like it might rain. Sure enough about 5 minutes before Hunter roped it started pouring. So he roped in the rain and his calf ended up getting up. We got soaked and the temp dropped to about 55!! It was a little chilly! The next day the guys took the truck to Salt Lake to fly out to St. Paul, OR. That meant that H and I were afoot. The first day we decided there was a diner up the road that we wanted to try. Hunter assured us it wasn't too far but it ended up being like 4 miles one way. It took H and I one hour there and one hour back. Thankfully H was on his bike or it would have taken longer. On the way back we passed about mile 3 and H threw his sucker in the dirt. He was tired and couldn't go any farther. After a small rest I put him on the handlebars of his bike and I got behind the wheel. I pumped him on his little bike for about a mile back to our trailer. I'm sure we looked pretty funny and H and I laughed the whole way. But we made it back quite a bit quicker. Good thing his little bike had good shocks. After that eventful day we decided we would just hang at the trailer until the guys got back. We went to Red Lodge, MT next and then on to Cody which is where we are hanging out now. Neither place went good for us, but Houston has had a ton of fun here in Cody with the Tate girls! He stayed the night with them one night and I thought I'd never get him to come back home. Then last night we went over to their place and popped firecrackers and watched the big firework show. Right in the middle of the big ones it started raining so I think the grand finale went a little quicker than planned. But it was still fun and great to watch. We were sure thinking of all out friends and family back in Oklahoma who can't pop anything because of the burn ban. So glad it's in effect though because my dad and the rest of the firefighters need a break!!! So today we are planning to maybe go white water rafting down the river. It's running pretty fast since all the snow is melting off the mountains still!! Cross your fingers we don't fall in haha!!! And Wednesday it's off to Calgary, Canada for the big one! Keep Hunter in your prayers that he can do good!!!  It will be awhile before I post anything again unless I find wifi since it cost so much for Internet up there. Hopefully the next time I post we have good news though!! Until next time, God Bless!!!

Adios Oklahoma!!

Well today is officialy my last day of work!! Houston and I will be hitting the road Tuesday! Were all pretty excited. Hunter has been gone a week and made some tracks along the way. He won Northeplatte, NE and split a round in Pleasant Grove, UT and then won second in a round at Reno. Not bad for the first week on the road. Let's hope it just gets better and better as the summer goes on. He'll get a short break here at home and then will head to Springdale, AR on Tuesday. H and I will also be leaving bright and early Tuesday morning, only were headed in a different direction. We're taking the rig and horses to Greeley, CO. Hunter will fly in and meet us there on Wednesday. After him and Jerome rope there then we have to jet out and get to Oakley, UT. It's going to be a very busy week to say the least and will last until after the 4th of July. They don't call it Cowboy Christmas for nothing!! Keep yalls fingers crossed for lots of winning!!!
Last weekend we went on a small vacation with my family to SeaWorld in San Antonio, TX. We were all pumped because the way people talk, it'll just blow your mind. I'll tell ya what it did....just blew my money. I will probably never go back to SeaWorld again. We got there at 930 am, which the gates didn't open until 10. Then once we got into the park they informed us that nothing opens until 11 or later. Kind of not sure why you would open a park if it really didn't open until later. But I soon figured out why...the lines to everything are rediculously long for every single thing there. You've got to get in line early if you want to see the shows. Not a very fun thing to do when you're 4 years old. Or heck I'm 24 and I was ready to blow the joint. Anyway Houston found something right away that he loved. They had a pretty big splash park and he was content to stay there all day long. After all day in the sun and walking in circles we decided SeaWorld wasn't all it was cracked up to be. We got some much need grub in our systems then hit the Riverwalk. The next day we decided floating the Comal River in New Braunfels sounded like a great plan. So we packed up pretty early and headed off. We had such a blast!! Anyway that was our big adventure for the week. I'm sure I'll have plenty more coming up. Keep us in your prayers, especially me and H man as we are headed with truck, trailer and 2 horses on a 14 hour drive Tuesday!!!

Let Summer Begin!

Hunter and H after his homerun game!!

Nice swing H

Thumbs up after his Homerun

diving for his pool tools

These goggles were pretty tricky. The first time we put them on him he paniced because he couldn't breath. I guess he forgot that you can breath through your mouth and nose.

 Houston and I officialy sent Hunter off today! This is the first time in 5 years we haven't left with him. A little sad but I'm keeping my hopes up that he kicks some major butt out there. And Houston and I may eventually fly out but as of right now we are hangin out here at home. Well T-ball finally ended...we didn't win the tournament, not even a game in the tournament but we were pretty successful. Houston hit 2 homeruns in his last 2 games!! They were Huge hits and you would have thought we just won the world series. Heck in my book it was just as sweet as winning it but I'm kind of partial. We were all so proud of him and he loved all the attention he got. I think he made close to 60.00 from all his family. Hahah we have quite a few family members and he kind of robbed his Dad. But you only hit your first homerun once!!! Now that T-ball is over Houston pretty much lives in someone's pool. My parents, Hunter's parents and our good friends John and Diane have a pool so he thinks everyday he has to be to the closest body of water. And it doesn't matter who takes him as long as someone is willing. Here's a list of rodeos Hunter will be. I will add more as he enters them and I will try to keep you guys updated on how he does at each one of them. Anyway hope to see some of you down the road and hopefully I can keep you as entertained as possible with stories from the road!! God Bless

June
15-16- Northplatte, NE
17- Pleasant Grove, UT
21- Reno, NV
22-23- Santa Fe, NM
24- Pecos, TX
29- Greeley, CO
July
1- St. Paul, OR
2- Cody, WY
3- Prescott, AZ
8-11- Calgary Stampede, Calgary, Alberta Short Round is the 16 and 17

Right where we want to be

Read about Hunter at Ft. Smith, AR. Hope he keeps this pace all summer!!!

http://www.prorodeo.com/Story.aspx?xu=2783

Where has the time gone?!

Where has the time gone? Seems like we're in full swing of things. Rodeo has picked up and we're right in the middle of t-ball season. I need a minute to catch my breath haha!! Houston is loving playing ball. He plays first base and bats second! His team isn't bad for them all being first-timers. We've won a few games but mainly lost but it's still fun to see the goofy things they do. This week one of the kids whose dad coaches a high school baseball team started singing "Hey Batter Batter" so that got the rest of the team chattering right along with him! Pretty cute! H is still working hard for a home-run. I think everyone in the family has told him they'd give him 5 dollars if he hit one, with the exception of a few people who he's negotiated all the way up to 10 dollars. He's going to rake it in when he finally hits one. Hunter has moved up in the standings all the way to Number 2!! He's been pretty hot all winter so we're hoping it carries right on over through the summer! After the ciruit finals in OKC he flew to Logandale, NV where he won 2nd. Then he had a week off and flew out Clovis, CA where he won that and then was at Corpus Christi, TX the same weekend and won that one too!! It was much needed and sure has us feeling much better about where he is this year as compared to last. He also went to Guymon the first week of May. He went into the progessive round winning 10th in the average and was 7.0. He ended up 2nd overall. Our good friend Jerome Schneeburger won it. It won't be long before we hit the road for the summer. I'm sure if it's like all of our other summers I'll have an abundant amount of stories to tell!! Until then...God Bless!!

My baby is growing up, carrying his bad to his first t-ball game!

Hunter and H

First at bat of his career!

He just couldn't resist sticking his hand in that nice pile of white chalk

So fast he was kickin up dust!!

Cruisin on by while they fight over the ball

Pics

Snake measuring on Sunday. My dad is holding the head.

Dad holding him up

Pretty one

H feeding the birds at the Zoo. He was scared at first because they're pretty greedy.

Silly kid!

Pretty decent weekend at the DNCFR

Well we didn't win the DNCFR but Hunter came really close and it turned out to be a great weekend anyway! Thursday Hunter was one of the first ropers and his calf kicked and he was 11.7. There were performances Friday night to end the first round and then 2 more performances on Saturday to start and finish the second round. By Saturday night enough guys had went that we knew Hunter needed to be 8.6 or faster to qualify for the semi-finals on Sunday where they took the top 8 back. 8.6 doesn't sound that fast but 8's were winning the round. He was last roper and was 8.1. Good enough to win the round and to make it back in last hole to the semi-finals on Sunday. We were so thankful and way excited to be roping on Sunday afternoon. Sunday morning we attended Cowboy Church with Susie McIntire and then had lunch at Braum's. It was finally rodeo time. During the Prayer and National Anthem we almost had a severe emergency!! Houston somehow managed to slip his arm in the crease of the seat and couldn't get it out. It wasn't that bad at first but then I couldn't get it out either and he started to panick. It was pitch black in there and I yelled at Jamie to help me. Everytime we lifted the seat a little it just pinched his arm even harder. This whole time Houston was screaming like someone was trying to cut his arm off and I'm sure it felt that way to him. We were starting to draw in a pretty big crowd of people trying to help. The man above Houston was trying to work his arm out and we were trying to slide his body where he could move it better. Then a lady came from nowhere and insisted if we would just lift the seat his arm would come right out. I guess in the 5 minutes he was stuck she didn't think we had tried that. FINALLY his arm came out just as I was ready to go find someone who could save my poor baby! It was swollen and already bruised. He has recovered fully though. During the semi-finals the top 8 guys rope in a sudden death and then the top 4 advance to the finals. Hunter was first roper and came out and set the arena record with a 7.2!!!! He won that round and moved on to the final 4. The final 4 ropers competing for the round money and the Dodge Truck voucher were Tyson Durfey, J.D. Kibbe, Ryan Jarrett and Hunter. Tyson came out first and tied Hunter's record with a 7.2. Kibbe was next and was 9.5. RJ came out and missed. And then came Hunter...He had his calf roped fast, bobbled his tie a little and threw his hands up in 7.3 seconds, BUT he missed his huey and went back to the tie which you can't do after your hands have already left the calf and they flagged him out. That's how it all ended! But as bad as it stunk not winning the whole thing we were so fortuante to have won what we did. 10,000 is not a bad weekend any way you look at it. So, we live to see another day!!! Thank you to everyone who came out and supported Hunter all weekend. It was good to see family and friends that we haven't got to see in awhile. This week Hunter will be flying out on Thursday to rope at Logandale,NV and Pocatello,ID. and then will be back late Sunday. Houston has his first T-ball game Saturday at Cyril at 9:00 and 10:30. He is so excited to play and pretty funny to watch. You can tell he's been at the ball park a few times because he'll yell..Mom, "watch me drop bombs". Which translates to hit a home run! I have Alex Orf and Sam Swanda to thank for that one. That's what they always say. A few weekends ago we went to Stephenville to watch Al and Sam play and H got to shag balls for the team. He decided he did enough shagging and wanted me to pitch balls to him. He made Grandma and Grandpa and Dayne and Nina Swanda be his shaggers this time. We noticed everytime he got ready to hit he would draw something in the dirt. We didn't really know what he was doing but went with it. We finally found out what he had been drawing. One of Al's friends named Katie, who always plays with Houston, draws a cross everytime she gets in the on deck circle and when she's up to bat. Sure enough that was what he was drawing too. Just shows you how much they listen and watch all the time!!
Anyway God Bless, see you guys down the road!!!

Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo

Hunter ropes this Thursday and Saturday night in Oklahoma City at 7:30 for the DNCFR. Hopefully he'll rope again Sunday for the short round. Hope to see you guys there!! If you aren't able to make it here's the link where you can listen to the whole rodeo online        http://www.prorodeolive.com/

Pics from lately

Houston's first solo ride on the 3 wheeler. Pretty sure his Grandpa created a monster.

Trick Riding.

Houston's new baby calf. He named her Julie Bell.

Julie Bell and her Mama

H and Grandpa snake hunting out in the slick hills.

He said he's ready for anything

H and Grandpa with our catch. I think this is the one I caught but H says it's his and the only reason I caught one is because Grandpa showed me where it was.

Pretty good one!

So far, so good

The new year has gotten off to a pretty good start. Hunter started things off at Odessa and Denver. He didn't do any good at Odessa but won 4th in a round at Denver, won the short round and won 5th in the Average. Not a bad way to crack things off. After Denver he headed to Ft. Worth and things there weren't so great! He missed both calves and continued his losing streak at that rodeo. After roping his second one there I dropped him off at the airport and he flew to Rapid City South Dakota. He split 4th and 5th in a round and won the Average there. After Rapid we were home for a bit. We got to enjoy this amazing Oklahoma weather and the Blizzard of 2011. The morning it hit my dad was stuck at work and wasn't going to drive home but one of his friends at the firestation had to go home and un-freeze some pipes for his family so he said he would give dad a ride home. They made it about a mile from my parents and got stuck in the big drifts. My dad got his buddy pushed out and decided he'd just walk on home. Why on earth he thought that was the best idea I don't know. The wind was blowing so hard and it was so cold that by the time he made it home his eyes were almost frozen shut. CRAZY!! The whole day it was impossible to go outside un-covered or you were liable to wind up a popcicle. The next day we got the bright idea to go sledding. The wind was still blowing 185 but we were going to do it anyway. We made it about a 1/2 mile from my parents and got stuck in a huge drift. We had no choice but to pack up and treck to my parents. It was like straight off the discovery channel. Leave your vehicle to find shelter or stay and freeze....except we weren't quite stranded in the middle of nowhere. And we could see exactly where we were going. But still. Hunter called Bob up because he has a truck we knew could pull us out and they headed over. In the meantime we played in the snow until the road plows finally came by. It was a pretty exciting week since we don't hardly ever see that much snow. It wasn't long and we were off again to San Angelo, Texas. Hunter was really long on his first calf but ended up splitting 5/6/7/8th on his second one. Good enough to make the progressive round and get another one. While we were there we stayed with our good friends Haley and Jerome Schneeburger and their 3 boys. Needless to say it was pretty much a madhouse. But they had lots of fun. After Hunter's second calf we decided to go pick up our horse just in case we needed him in San Antonio. Bob and Jamie met us in Mineral Wells and that gave us a good enough excuse to stay at my sister and her best friends house in Stephenville for a couple of days. I think Houston would rather move in with them full time. He kind of likes college life... ALOT. Their fridge was stocked with sunny d's and all the lunchables he could eat. And there is an abundant amount of attention all for him. However, we had to pry him away so we could get to the perf in San Antonio. Hunter roped four times in three days and won a 2nd and 3rd. It gave him enough money to advance to the semi-finals later on in the week. While we were there we got to take H to the carnival, which of course he loved. His favorite thing was the bungee jump and the games. He is just like his dad and has to try and win at everything. Most kids his age like to pick the rubber duckies and stuff...but not him. We had to find the most challenging games they had and win them. After all that excitement we finally headed back home and stayed for a few days. But in cowboy fashion we were gone again. Hunter roped Thursday in San Antonio for the semi-finals. They take the top 5 money winners out of both semi sets back and advance to the finals. Unfortunately Hunter missed and failed to make the finals. He didn't have a whole lot of time to dwell because he was up the next day in San Angelo for his 3rd calf. Houston and I stayed in San Antonio because my sister was playing ball on Friday and Saturday. Hunter was a quick 7.8 Friday night which is splitting the round right now. It won't be over for awhile so hopefully it holds up. After roping there he caught a ride with Clay Cerny to Tucson, Arizona. Houston and I pulled the trailer home last night and Hunter roped earlier today. He was 9 something and winning the round but it's not over until tomorrow and then he'll rope his second calf tuesday. Hopefully he does good again and makes the progressive and then the short round. While he's there Houston and I are going to hold the fort down here at home and probably meet him in Houston in a week or two. Today was also a success for me, as I joined a basketball league and we won our first two games today. I haven't played since high school which was almost 6 years ago so it was fun to get back out there. I kind of have a feeling I may not be able to walk tomorrow though. Anyway that's what we've been up to the last month or so. Hope it keeps going good!! God Bless

Snow Day in Apache! This is the big hill in front of Woodwards.

This is my parents road. It was completely shut down for a few days until the plow made it thru. This was right after they cleared a path. And thats the neighbors truck stuck.

Hunter and H trecking thru the snow to my parents house. We were getting cabin fever and wanted to do some sledding but got stuck about a half mile from there house so we ended up having to walk. Bob came and pulled us out and then about 30 minutes later the plows finally came thru.

Snow drift right outside my grandparents door. It was almost as tall as Hunter and H had a blast sledding down it. They had drifts taller then the pipe fences here. You could walk right over the top to the other side.

H sledding backwards because the snow and wind were blowing in his face. He could have sledded all day.

Carnival in San Antonio Texas. We usually take him over because the weather is always amazing. He decided to bungee jump and was pretty great at back flippin. He keep trying to do a front flip but he'd get stuck mid turn and just hang there.

He said he won first place....Of course!

H and Aunt Cari

Alright 2011...Let's get it on!!!

Well I'm sorry if anyone has felt like I abondoned them on here. We have been way busy but super lazy all at the same time. The new year has officially started and Hunter is off at Odessa Texas right now. We kicked things off at Mike Johnson's Roping in Tulsa right after Christmas. Hunter won a little money but it wasn't real great. We rung in the new year with our friends and family and are way excited to start over. Hunter's got his eyes on the prize haha. After Odessa Hunter will go to Ft. Worth and Denver. I'll try to post a tentative schedule when Hunter finds more out. I know for sure he's at San Angelo Texas Febuary 9-10 and San Antonio Febuary 11,12,13. 
Here's a few pics from before Christmas when the weather was nice a few days. We took Houston to Mt. Scott for the first time and I think he has decided to add professional rock climber to long list of things to be when he grows up. He made us way nervous jumping from boulder to boulder but he had no fear.

Houston on top of Mt. Scott looking over

Big Cheese!

H and Grammy

My Favorite

Me and H man

Checking things out again

Muscle man on top of the boulder