What a toot!

Gibson scared the life out of me just a little bit ago! That kid!!! Shane left to go run some errands and I took Gib, Hayden and Landry out to the trampoline for some fun and bonding time. After jumping for awhile, Gib decided that he needed a drink. He headed inside and of course Jones (the dog) and Hayden followed after him. The next thing I hear is Gib's and Hayden's voices from the front yard hollering at Jones. I grabbed Landry and ran inside from the backyard in time to see Hayden running to the street from the front yard following after Gib. Evidently, some kid had come to the door selling some crap that no one wants, and Gibson opened the door (something that we have been talking about that we DON'T do!). Jones ran outside chasing that kid back across the street to his grandmother and their dog and of course my kids were in hot pursuit! I think that kid may have wet his pants... I can't believe that just this morning I thought, "I don't think that I have anything to blog about..." Teach me to ever think something like that again!

The 'stache

Shane, true to his word, shaved a ridiculous mustache for Terry and Kelly's wedding. The whole family laughed about it the whole night and in his hat, he looked the part. Terry and Kelly got married out on this ranch in Mansfield and our kids had a great time out there. They had 5 or 6 dogs and several horses and Gibson chased the animals around all night. He fed the horses grass and they ate it out of his hand and he and the dogs were all best friends. He told the lady that owned the house that she "had an awesome setup!" Gibson, Grace and Hayden all played in the round corral where they exercise the horses and Gibson kept calling it his "UFC fighting ring." I spent the whole time chasing kids!

They had a large wedding party. I couldn't fit all of them into the picture.

We made it!

Well, Olivia won out and we rode the 40 mile ride for the Cowtown Classic on Sept. 9th. I was shocked, but I made it! I really was skeptical, but I have decided that the body is an amazing thing. 40 miles is a long way! We had a rest stop every 10 miles, and thankfully they had oranges, bananas, oatmeal cookies, water and gatorade at each one. After awhile, we were living for those stops! (I have eaten alot of bananas and oranges this week! They were really tasty!) As with any sport, it takes all kinds and we saw every kind of bike and athlete out there. There were some really serious cyclists that finished 62 miles before we had gone 25, there were fat ones, skinny ones, short ones, too... (Sounds like a song) Seriously, though, we had a great time and I can't wait to ride the next one!

Here we are at the 20 mile mark. Notice how my helmet goes to the side and slides back...

This was the 20 mile rest stop. Alot of these people ride these every weekend and have a little circuit of friends that they meet up with each time.

This lady was CRAZY! She was one of those "It takes all kinds..." that I was talking about! She had these feathers sticking out of her helmet and every time she laughed (which was often) she would finish her laugh by blowing on a duck call. I couldn't even get her to be still for two seconds to take her picture!

I have never been so glad to be at the finish line! My legs were starting to cramp as we were finishing the last couple of miles. When I got home, Shane made me take an ice bath and I wasn't even sore! Here's to the next one!

My Nut

I love Hayden! Poor thing, he doesn't talk non-stop, or beat on you until you look at him, or scream bloody murder when he wants something, so it seems that he gets overlooked sometimes. He, I think, would sometimes rather be an only child so that he wouldn't get beat up by his older siblings, or have to put up with Landry getting in all of his things. He is happiest when he is hanging out by himself, or by himself with Mom and Dad. He is talking more and more and it is exciting to see how sweet and loving he is. He is constantly giving everyone kisses and pats on the back and saying, "alright, alright..." which in his language is, "It's alright..." He has very long hair which some have described as "rock star" hair or "surfer" hair. He loves it and we have to brush it after every bath and before we leave for school in the morning. He found these sunglasses the other day and insisted on wearing them everywhere for a couple of days.

Landry is 1!

Our teeny, tiny baby is growing up! I can't believe that she is 1! We had a family party for her and she got the traditional cookie cake that all Mize family members have... I think that the other kids were more excited than she was! Gibson said, "Yay! We get a cookie cake!" (They are eagerly awaiting Shane's birthday so that we can have another...) As soon as she dug into that cake, she couldn't stop eating! It was very cute. When we sang "Happy Birthday" she got shy and kind of flirted with all of us. We really have fun with her!

Singing "Happy Birthday"

Yummy!

So proud!

Shane was contacted completely out of the blue a while back by a journalist from a national magazine called Athletic Business. (I know that all of you have heard of it right?;) They had heard about his urban outdoor education program and wanted to interview him about it. Well, the article came out and we have just read it today. It's a really great article about him and his program and I couldn't be more proud! The article is called: Recreation: Out Throught the Indoors. If you go to the site, click on the "free digital issue" on the right side and it is on page 94. Check it out!

www.athleticbusiness.com

What a day!

Well, we are currently into the second week of school. So far, everything has been going really well and the kids have been enjoying school, but we had a killer day today... Gibson would not go to sleep last night (he was doing the whole "I have to pee. I have to get a drink. I have to tell you something." trick.) When he woke up this morning, he was in the worst mood and Shane said before he left, "This kid is going to have a bad day!" Well those words couldn't have been more prophetic! By lunchtime, I was informed that Gibson had been walking around with his shirt almost completely off and hanging around his neck and had to be threatened with coming to see me before he would fix it. Then at naptime, he shoved a rock so far up his nose that they were getting ready to drag him down to the nurses' office. They finally blew that out. Then to top off the day, the whole school is doing a coin drive for a Sept. 11 memorial, and Gibson took a bunch of the coins out of the bag and was carrying them off in his pocket. He then told his teacher, when she caught him, that he was on his way to give them to her. When Gib got home, he met the wrath of his father. Many spankings and much crying later, he and Dad sat down at the table and wrote an apology to Mrs. Borg. Here's to a better day tomorrow!

Meanwhile, on a much better note... Hurricane Gustav has just about kicked this poor little family's booty! I know that people have been kicked out of their homes and are living in shelters, blah, blah blah, but let's focus on us for a minute! (JK) Shane has been working some killer hours as the site manager for a shelter at Greenbriar since Friday night. He coordinated all of the schedules, provisions, and general details needed all day Saturday and Sunday and the guests arrived Sunday night. Needless to say, he has been a little stressed and he and his staff are worn out and tired. We found out tonight that the guests are going home tomorrow! I don't know who is more excited, the Louisiana residents or me! Anyway, a less hectic schedule is on it's way!