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