Pinkston Family

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-16T11:51:00.000-08:00

Greetings Everyone,

It is so hard to believe that Christmas it almost upon us once again. I am always reminded as we enter into the season of how truly blessed we are as a family. I am so thankful that we worship a God that sent his son into the world to save us all and I pause to always remember that is why we celebrate the Christmas season. I am so blessed to have the loving, beautiful, and kind wife that I have in Cheryl and I rejoice daily that we have our wonderful son Cody who brings such joy to our lives.

You will find a great assortment of pictures in this blog thanks to Cheryl keeping things up through most of the year. We are even toying with the idea for next year eliminating sending out Christmas cards and just have everyone visit our blog site, especially considering how difficult it is going to be for the mail system in the coming years.

As we enter the New Year we are excited because Cheryl is going back to work. I am thrilled that we will once again have 2 incomes. For the remainder of this year, she has been hired to be the permanent substitute working full time on areas of need that the school has and then next year she will become a full time 5th grade teacher. She will be teaching at the school in our neighborhood which is also the school that Cody goes to.

I am still with PetSmart and thrilled to be working for such an outstanding company. It still may be retail but I don’t work the insane hours that so many of my other friends that are still in retail have to work, particularly during the holidays. I did switch stores back in March and have to drive a little farther but it allowed me to learn my job in a less stressful store and cultivate a tremendous management team that makes my job so much easier.

Cody continues to grow and keep us busy. He broke his arm back in the spring which ended his baseball season, but he has continued to be active in sports the rest of the year. He totally loves football, and has also still been on soccer and basketball teams. The most fun that I had this past year was watching my boy learn how to water ski. You can only imagine how proud that made me as a dad since I love being on the water. If you look at some of Cody's pictures you will notice he has a snaggle tooth smile as he has lost several teeth this past year.

We hope you enjoy looking around at the pictures we have posted and read about some of our adventures this past year. We will try to continue to keep the blog posted throughout the upcoming year or you can also follow us with the things we post on Facebook. I am so happy to have re-connected with a lot of friends from my past things to Facebook and hope that we will always be able to stay in touch.
From our Family to yours we wish you:

A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

Sky, Cheryl and Cody

A Year in Pictures

2011-12-10T09:04:00.001-08:00

Family Photos by Jessica Karlinski
My favorite shot

Growing Up

TCU Football Weekend and there was a Longhorn!

Cowboys are Super Bowl Champs!

Started Cub Scouts and Loves it

Walking to First Grade with Friends - yes they are all girls - I know!

Sea World San Antonio

Learning to Water Ski at the Farm

Summer VBS at First Baptist Allen

A visit to the Gaylord Texan

End of Kindergarten

Baseball Season

2011-04-08T12:22:00.000-07:00

Baseball Season has offically started. Cody is playing on the Rangers this year. This is our first year to play in Allen and he is on a team with only a couple of boys that he already knows. We asked him what his favorite sports were and this was his ordering ... 1 - Football, 2- Soccer, 3 - Baseball. We will see how the season goes. Taking a practice swing.

Getting positioned to bat.

Fun Afternoons

2011-04-07T17:28:00.000-07:00

Recently Cody decided he wanted to go outside and play "Musik for Mone". After thirty minutes of trying to put him off, I finally relented and we went outside. He actually ended up making four quarters from a sweet passer by who happened to contribute. We celebrated Allen ISD 100th Anniversary with one of our friends. The petting zoo was a big hit. The chicks were the first things they each wanted to hold.

This was one of the fluffiest rabbits we ever saw.

Camping at the Farm

2011-04-07T17:21:00.000-07:00

We finished out Spring Break with a trip to the farm. Sky's Cousin Chris and his family joined us. The Boys all decided to camp by the lake, Carole and I decided we would stay up at the house. You know where you will find me if there is a bed that close. This is a picture of the "rolli pollis" the boys found and thought they needed to put in a container of dirt to carry down to the tent. The continued to check on them the rest of the evening. Sky and Chris were thrilled with their fishing results.

Cody enjoyed making a few casts into the lake too.

Our Sunny Boat Ride.

Bowling Over The Break

2011-04-07T17:17:00.000-07:00

During Spring Break, Cody wanted to go bowling. He was very proud of his first 100 score!

Spring Break - Blue Bell Creamery

2011-04-05T18:21:00.000-07:00

As Spring Break began, we took a quick trip down to Brenham to the Blue Bell Creamery. It was something we have always wanted to do seeing how much we love ice cream in our family. After the tour we got to choose our favorite flavor to try.

We had a wonderful time learning all about how they make and package the ice cream. We hope to go back again some day.

Lost Another Tooth

2011-03-21T11:46:00.000-07:00

Tooth #3 is now gone. Cody lost it Sunday at church. It had been lose for a few weeks, but he spent the night at his friend Jacob's house on Friday and did a "face plant" into the ground after trying to do a trick on the swingset. I think this helped speed the process along. We were sitting in service as he began to wiggle the tooth and out it came. So far we lost tooth #1 at home, tooth #2 at football practice, and tooth #3 at church. Wonder where we will lose the next one.

Allen Eagle Run 201

2011-03-21T11:42:00.000-07:00

Cody participated in his first Fun Run on March 6th. We met up with one of our good friends before hand and got to take a picture with the Allen Eagle Mascot.
It was a very windy and cold morning. I was so proud of Cody. He had practiced for a few days before the run and then ran the mile in 9 minutes and 38 seconds. Way to go! After our mile fun run, Cody stayed with some other friends and Allie and I ran the 5K. It was her first run and it was a lot of fun to experience it with her. Whew !

Basketball

2011-03-21T11:39:00.000-07:00

During the winter Cody decided to try his hand at basketball with some of the boys and coaches from his flag football team. They made a great deal of progress over the season, but I am not sure that basketball is going to be our sport.

The 100th Day of School is Finally Here

2011-02-11T07:50:00.000-08:00

The weather in North Texas has been a little bit Crazy this year. We have missed 5 days of school due to Ice and Snow. The week all the bitter cold temperatures hit was the week we were to celebrate the 100th day of school. Here is what we were doing instead....playing in the snow with our friends.

The children were asked to make a 100th day tshirt which would include 100 items. After much discussion, I finally ended up at Hobby Lobby and just picked something I thought he would like. We went for the bug theme.

During our time inside we worked on painting the shirt and counting all the buggies.

Yesterday they finally celebrated that 100th day of school - never mind it was really the 105 day, but who is counting anyway.

Just thought we would show off our accomplishment. Cody did it all himself. He was very proud. Funny thing was that three other kids in his class used the same green shirt. Guess we were all wanting Spring to be here and went with a bright color.

Also looking at these pictures I realize it is time for a haircut. Guess we better get on that one.

First Snow of 2011

2011-01-09T17:22:00.000-08:00

It started snowing today while we were at church. The flakes were huge. When we got home we couldn't make it up the driveway because it was too slick. We had lunch and then the boys headed out front to play and build our snowman family.
Of course, I was cold the entire time.

Sky had the idea to use food coloring and make the snowmen stand out.

Cody enjoyed spraying them different colors.

Sky's Big Day

2010-12-28T14:13:00.001-08:00

Sky's birthday is the day after Christmas. We enjoyed having our families

and his good friends the Carter's to help us celebrate the big day.
I worked very hard at suprising him with his gift and I think I did pretty well.

Cody was excited too. I hadn't told him what the gift was because I was afraid he couldn't keep the secret.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-28T13:59:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve with Sky's side of the family.

Yes, I made us wear matching shirts.
Cody and his cousin wearing their new wolf slippers.

Christmas Morning Attire - New PJ's and New Robe.

Love the hair standing up!

Happy Birthday Jesus.

New Job!

2010-12-12T19:58:00.001-08:00

I made a job change back in August and it was the best move I could have ever made. My career was not going anywhere with Kohl's and I was working crazy kind of hours with almost a one hour drive just to get to work. A friend of mine suggested I interview with PetSmart which I did and now I am the manager of the store shown in the photo. My store is only 2 years old and is exactly 4 miles from the house. I go home everyday for lunch. I love my job. I only close 1 night a week and since I write the schedules it is my choice plus since we close at 9, I am home before the news comes on. I usually take off Thursdays and Sunday. It is a great company to work for and I don't have near the stress that I had with Kohls. We have truly been able to enjoy the holidays with me being able to be at home more. Plus I get to play with everyones dogs when they come in.

2010 Christmas Photo Shoot

2010-12-06T17:06:00.001-08:00

Halloween 2010

2010-11-21T13:49:00.000-08:00

Our "Famous" Spooky Castle. All the trick or treaters look for it to go up each year. Sky gets very excited too.
This year we all dressed up to attend Nathan's birthday party. His actual birthday is October 31st so he always has a costume party. They even talked me into it this year.

Cody was of course Darth Vader and he wanted to show you the pumpkin he designed.

Some of our friends stopped by and wanted to take a picture in the spooky castle and of course Cody was all smiles.

Finally the Tooth Fairy Comes to Visit!

2010-11-21T13:38:00.000-08:00

Cody has been waiting for what seems like forever to loose his teeth. Many of his friends from church started loosing theirs around five and a half. We noticed Cody's tooth was extremely loose on September 29th. When I woke him up the next morning, he wiggled it and then said I lost my tooth. I was worried that he swallowed it, but he had it in his hand. He was so excited to put it under his pillow that night. He even got to bring home a "Lost Tooth" Bag from school filled with books and a journal.

He lost his second tooth a month later and it was just as easy. We were at football practice and he walked over to tell me something. I was talking with another child so I asked him to wait a minute, not knowing what he was going to tell me. When we finally got to talk, he said "I lost my tooth somewhere out on the practice field". We wrote the Tooth Fairy a note telling where to look for the tooth and put it under his pillow.

Now the search is on to find a "tooth" ornament for our tree to represent this year. It has not been an easy task up to this point.

TCU Game with Aunt Pylar

2010-11-21T11:20:00.000-08:00

Sky's sister, Pylar, is a TCU alumni. We enjoy getting to go to many of the home games with her to cheer on the horned frogs. TCU has a tradition where they let the children run the field at the start of each game. We are wondering if this will happen next year with the new stadium.

Cody was "King of the Week" for his classroom and got to bring Mr. Smiley home for the weekend. We took him with us to the game and got his picture with Super Frog to put in the class journal.

Our Trip to NASA

2010-11-20T13:07:00.000-08:00

We were so excited to visit our good friends the McNiels for a few days. Mark was the best man in our wedding and Sondra, as Sky would say, is a lot like me. They have two girls both of whom Cody adores. They live just a few miles from NASA so of course while we were in town we had to go.

There was plenty of opportunity for some funny family shots. We were totally amazed by the incredible accomplishments of the Space Progam. Can you imagine being one of the first astronauts, actually agreeing to get inside a small metal contraption a little bigger than a trash can and be orbited around the earth? Yikes.

Cody enjoyed trying to dock the shuttle.

Good Friends!

Flag Football

2010-11-20T12:57:00.000-08:00

We were only going to play one sport this fall since Cody was starting school and look what he picked. I was a little apprehensive, but he did a great job. Once again, just like in soccer, he loved to play defense. We are so thankful that he played with a group of boys from our church and had some wonderful coaches to top it off.
His favorite things to do was pull flags. He got quite a few during the season.

He also scored two extra points during the season and was known for the "reverse" play.
I think Sky enjoyed seeing his name and old number on the back of Cody's jersey.

Photo of several of his team mates.

Look Out Norton- Here We Come!

2010-11-20T09:56:00.000-08:00

First Day of Kindergarten at Norton!

As you will recall, since Cody has a late August Birthday we decided to have him wait to start public kindergarten. It was the best decision we could have made. Cody got Mrs. Esposito for his teacher this year. We couldn't have been more thrilled. She actually lives on our street.

Walking to school with one of our really good friends. Love her!

"Look how cool I am" pose

Cody Turns Six

2010-11-20T09:19:00.000-08:00

For Cody's 6th birthday, we celebrated "Wipeout" Style at our neighborhood clubhouse. Sky made an obstacle course for all the kids to run through. They were so excited. Everyone had a great time!

Fun Times

2010-08-07T10:58:00.000-07:00

Practicing for our Party. Had to make sure we know how to slide properly.

Fire Alarms, Electrical Outages, and Lightening Strikes - Or - Our Texas Road Trip

2010-06-15T17:07:00.000-07:00

We decided to take a mini-tour of Texas (aka: Down 35 to San Antonio) and be tourists in our home state. It was a great trip.
Our first day was spent driving to Austin. We decided to stop at the Zoo in Waco and really enjoyed our time there. We then headed down the road to Austin to swim in the pool and eat at The Salt Lick - one of Sky's favorite BBQ places followed by a hike up Mount Bonnel to see a view of the city. That night was an adventure. The fire alarm went off. We were on the 7th floor. After convincing Sky that it really was a fire alarm and not the alarm clock we ran down 7 flights of stairs to learn it was a false alarm. It went off again at 6:30 in the morning. UGH!
On Tuesday morning, we were on on way to SA. We stopped by the Discount Mall in San Marcos, because a walk through the Pottery Barn Outlet is always a must and then went for our tour of Natural Bridge Caverns. We were very impressed with the cave and would highly recommend it.

Wednesday was the day we had been waiting for.... Cody's first trip to Sea World. We had been waiting until we felt he was old enough to really appreciate it and we were not disappointed. He had the biggest grin on his face the entire time (except for when we were going down the Journey to Atlantis ride ... didn't realize it was that big of a drop). He loved all of the shows and couldn't wait to get splashed. He had a great day. That evening we met up with some friends for dinner and then headed to the hotel during the strangest looking storm. It went totally dark and dirt was swirling as we were driving. Sky kept wondering if we were in the edge of a tornado. As we drove down the road, we watch transformers blow and power go out to stores on the interstate. We made it safely to our hotel, with the wind blowing at our backs as we ran in. Five minutes later the power went out. We watched the lightening show out the window as we went to bed early that night.

Thursday was our drive up to Fredericksburg to hike Enchanted Rock. (You can see our picture in the middle of the Sea World Photos. For some reason it just keeps getting stuck there and I can't move it down.. )I have only done it once, so I had forgotten how steep the climb is, but Cody made it no problem. Even talked non stop the whole half-mile hike down. We were to stay with our friends, The Zgabay's, but learned their house was struck by lightening in the previous nights storm and they had lost hot water, power to their electric gate and eventually all water from the pump well was gone. We ended up having a good visit and then drove back to the Farm that night. Cody was awake until about an hour before making it home - meaning he was awake in the car until 10:30pm.....

Even with all the funny weather challenges, it was a wonderful trip and I am so glad we took the time to be see all the places we usually just drive past on our way to SA.

The Ending of an Era

2010-05-28T18:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a big day around our house. Cody graduated from Kindergarten. He has been attending Discovery Days at First Baptist Allen since he was two. We even park in the same spot every day and all of our friends know that is our "Special Spot". Now after three years, that spot is being passed on to someone else.

Next year Cody will be going to Kindergarten at the school in our neighborhood. Due to his late August birthday we decided to have him wait to start public school, but since our church school had a private kinder we wanted him to attend. It was a wonderful year. His teacher retired from public school five years ago after thirty years of service. She is a Mastered Degreed teacher who simply loves teaching five year old children. She was instrumental in Cody learning to Read, Write and enjoy Math. We can't imagine not being there .... but come August we won't be anymore.

Everyone has asked if I got sad or cried. Surprisingly I didn't. I am sure I am holding out for the first day of public school when I leave him at 7:55 in the morning, but that is a few months away. Right now we are enjoying our first day of summer - splashing at the pool and eating ice cream before bed.

Bluebonnet Pictures

2010-04-29T15:28:00.001-07:00

It is springtime in Texas and you know what that means...BLUEBONNETS!

Catching Up

2010-04-26T09:35:00.000-07:00

Easter Sunday outside First Baptist Allen

Hunting Eggs at the Farm

Spring Break at Red River, NM

Red River, NM

Striking a Soccer Pose

Ok - I will be the first to admit, my blogging has fallen to the wayside. I have been reading some friends blogs and realized I am so far behind that I don't think I can really catch up. I am going to try and post some pictures of the things we have been doing the past several months and then hope to do better in the future.

I guess the main things going on in our lives right now revolve around Cody. He is currently playing Soccer for the Strikers, but will also be playing Tball for the Raptors starting this weekend. This means there will be a couple of weeks of overlap where there might be two games to make it to, but it will only be for a few games. Not sure how you parents of two and three kids make it to all the practices and actual game days.

Sky actually moved stores last week. He is no longer at the Valley Ranch Kohls. He is now working at the Kohls in Lewisville. We were hoping for him to be on this side of town, but traveling 121 seems to be an easier drive than going down George Bush and 75.

Here are the pictures...

Christmas Photo Shoot

2009-12-03T17:40:00.001-08:00

We have had a wonderful 2009!
Cody turned 5 and started private Kindergarten (he will repeat next year at our neighborhood school due to his late August birthday). He also began playing soccer and is really good at defense.
I have taken a personal assistant job for a friend that keeps me busy a few hours a week while Cody is in school.
Sky is busy with the crazy hours that Kohl's is keeping right now and is looking forward to 2010 when the rush is over.
Have a very Merry Christmas!

Halloween Time

2009-11-30T13:59:00.000-08:00

This year Cody went as Captian Hook. He wanted to be something to scare our neighbor John. He figured Captian Hook was scary since he had lost his hand to "Tick-Tock". I wasn't going to argue with that logic. Who needs scary anyway.

We also enjoyed visiting the Big Orange Pumkin Patch.

My First 5K

2009-11-30T13:55:00.000-08:00

I set myself a challenge to run a 5K - something I had never done before. I had never thought of myself as a runner, since I could barely run to the end of the block and back. I found a site called "from a couch potato to a 5K" and followed the plan. Along with the help from my friend Tiffany, who will run her first marathon December 13th, I kept going. I offically ran my first 5K in October and am so glad I made it.

Rah-Rah-TCU

2009-11-27T16:21:00.000-08:00

We had a great time at the TCU Hornfrogs first game of the season. We went with Sky's sister. We even got to go down on the field to watch the players come out and then run the field with them. It was really loud as you can tell from Cody's covered ears. It is always a lot of fun!

Fall Firsts

2009-10-22T16:55:00.000-07:00

Cody's First Day of Private Kindergarten. Due to his late August Birthday, he will start Kindergarten in 2010 at our neighborhood school. He is really enjoying his year. There are 14 kids in his class and he is learning to read and do math. It is so fun to watch him learn.
We were all smiles at Meet the Teacher.

Now that he is five, he gets to go to "Big Church" and sit with us.

Daddy was at work this first Sunday, but he wanted a picture with Mommy and his new church bag.

5th Birthday

2009-10-22T16:45:00.000-07:00

Cody celebrated his Fifth Birthday on August 14th. It is hard to believe he is five. During this year he gained 3 1/2 pounds going from 31.4 to 35 pounds (still in the 10%) and he is now 40 3/4 inches tall.

He had a Lego Party here at the house and invited eleven of his friends over to build "lego racers" and eat cake. He also enjoyed getting to go bowling for the first time during his birthday week.

A Day in Downtown Dallas

2009-10-22T15:40:00.000-07:00

One afternoon when Sky was working late we decided to have an adventure.
We met up with one of Cody's friends and her mom and decided to ride the DART train to downtown Dallas, where we got on the McKinney Avenue Trolley.
The kids had a wonderful time riding down the track and seeing the sights.

As we got to the end of the line, we realized the Nasher Sculpture Center was still open and decided to walk the few blocks and visit. This is a room where you can look out at the sky through a square opening cut in the ceiling.

They were actually preparing for a Movie on the Lawn night and were in the process of bringing out seating for thier guests. How often do you see a white leather sofa under a piece of modern sculpture?

It was a fun afternoon - as you can see from the kids as we waited for the trolley to arrive.

Summer Fun

2009-10-22T15:21:00.000-07:00

While out at the Farm, Cody finally got to shoot the BB Gun.

This summer Cody learned how to tube behind Papa's boat at the lake.

At first we weren't sure about letting him be behind the boat by himself but he loved it.

Can you tell how much fun he had!

Our Trip to Galveston

2009-06-21T12:10:00.001-07:00

We got to see our first movie together as a family. We watched "Whales and Dolphins" in 3D. Many times Cody tried to reach out and touch their fins.
Moody Gardens was a great place to spend some time.

We went to Palm Beach both days. They has this wonderful pool with beach front access an sand to play in. We only went to the Galveston beach once to walk on and spent the rest of our time playing here. Much cleaner and you can shower off the sand before getting in the car.

Our good friends,the McNiel's, meet us for dinner and a round of golf one evening. Can you say "Ladies Man". Cody had a wonderful time with his girls - Aubrey and Alyssa. We sure wish we lived closer so they could see each other more often.

This was Cody's reaction after getting shot with water unexpectedly after getting to close to the giant ant above the hole - We didn't get the ant in the shot (well, you can see a little of his red legs in the background),but his reaction was priceless.

2009-06-21T12:04:00.000-07:00

Hello Harry Putter - Cody had the opportunity to participate in Sports Class during the Spring. He had a wonderful time and enjoyed all the activities. He was so excited to receive his very own medal and I didn't have to have a birthday party at Chukie Cheese to get it.

Hmmm.... So What Have We Been Doing This Last Month (Besides Using Facebook) You Might Ask

2009-06-03T17:40:00.000-07:00

I went to San Antonio to host a Luncheon for some former students who are graduating this week. Here is the list of where they are going to school:University of Texas, Carnegie Melon, Northwestern, Harvard, Ohio State, Rhodes, and USC Film School. Can you say an outstanding group of kids? It was such a treat to see them all.
Cody got to celebrate his school birthday on May 14th.
You know it is hard being a summer birthday.

He was so excited to finally get to wear the birthday vest.

He graduated from 4 year old preschool and will attend Kindergarten at our church next year followed by Kindergarten in the public school. Again, the joy of a late summer birthday.

Tball is in full swing in the Texas Summer Heat. Love the colors of our uniforms.

First Tball Practice of the Season

2009-04-26T18:47:00.000-07:00

On Friday, we had our first Tball practice for the season. We are playing on the River Dogs team which is being coached by our friend Maxum's father. The first practice was spent learning the other teammates names and running the bases. All the kids just look so cute in their uniforms. We will be looking for the pants this week before our first game this weekend.

A Trip to One of Our Favorite Places

2009-04-26T18:42:00.000-07:00

Our Friend Jacob invited us to go to the

Allen Central Fire Station on Friday.

Cody got to try on the Chief's Hat

They then asked for volunteers to have their heart rate read. Cody wasn't sure at first, but decided to try. They hooked him up with all the monitors and began taking measurements.

His hear rate was 111 beats per minute.

Easter Festivities

2009-04-12T13:59:00.001-07:00

My Precious Family

A photo with the Easter Bunny

The many uses of Easter Grass

Trying to Smile for the camera.

Worm Races

2009-04-07T14:08:00.001-07:00

Sky and Cody were in the backyard working on the sprinkler heads

when they found some worms.

Cody decided to have a worm race just like in "Curious George". I don't think the worms really understood what was supposed to be happening.

Here is a close up our our two contestants.

Playing In The Mud

2009-03-17T13:32:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful day to be outside so we decided to play in the backyard. We discovered the sand boxes were full of water that had leaked in from the several days of rain last week. Before you knew it the boys are taking cup fulls of water to the back of the yard and pouring them out on the wet dirt....thus creating mud. They had a great deal of fun creating "chocolate milk". It brought back a lot of memories from my days in the back creating "mudpies". I am sure they are soon to follow. FYI - I threw all the clothes into the washer and hope they are clean before Jacobs Mom arrives to pick him up.

At the Roller Rink

2009-03-04T17:50:00.000-08:00

This weekend a good friend of ours called and told us they were going to go roller skating. How could I say no, since this is how I spent most every Saturday morning during Junior High and it was also our friend with whom we shared our first ice skating adventure at the ripe old age of 3. I must tell you this was a much better experience.

Cody and I had a great deal of fun. I spent most of the time holding his hand and then pulling him up by one arm hoping not to dislocate something in the process. His one question was "Why is the music so loud?" - I have a feeling I will be asking him the same question someday.

By the way, this picture was taken after we took off our skates ... I could seem to get a picture while both he and I were on skates.

Afternoon at Grammy and Papa's Farm

2009-02-22T12:04:00.001-08:00

Thought you might like to see some

of the latest additions to the farm.

Cody always loves going to visit.

Our Trip to Angel Fire

2009-02-21T16:45:00.001-08:00

We had a great trip to Angel Fire, New Mexico this past week. We left on Sunday after church and drove to Amarillo (a little over 5 hours away). Cody was so excited to stay at the hotel. We joked that who needed a big ski vacation we could have just gone to the La Quinta in Plano and he would have been thrilled. We asked him why he was so happy and he told us because there were two beds in the room. Lucky him.

We drove the remainder of the trip on Monday morning. Sky questioned my map skills when we ended up on a tiny road that had a sign that said if your car is wider than 10 ft don't continue. For 5 miles the road was more like a trail, but it went through some beautiful territory. We were surrounded by mountains full of trees and snowy creeks. We did arrive safely in Angel Fire and got to go on the Polar Coaster before checking into our room. You must be 42 inches to ride and Cody is currently 41 inches (in shoes), but with Dad's Husky hat he got to ride. He went down the first time with Sky and then said he wanted to do it alone. I was amazed and a little nervous - but he did it. It was fun and fast - let me tell you. I am pretty positive I would not have been doing it at the age of 4.

Tuesday was Cody's first day of Ski School. It was our coldest day there. Low thirties and blowing cold snow. Sky and I waited outside for nearly 2 hours before he came out for his lesson. Yes, we were the only parents waiting to see our child - everyone else was out on the slopes. He did well, but was ready to go at lunch he was cold and tired.

Wednesday he did another half day and Sky actually go to go up on the mountain that day to. It was a much nicer day with plenty of sunshine. Cody did great in class and got to go up the magic carpet and ski down, but again at lunch he was ready to go, so we ate as a family and then Sky and Cody did some practicing. Cody wanted to ride the chairlift, so Sky took him up to a green slope and came down with him... Cody going downhill and Sky skiing backwards holding his hands. They both thought they were HOT STUFF.

We left on Thursday to drive the entire way home....remind me next year to stop half way.

It was a great trip and Angel Fire is a wonderful place to go. It is very small and felt really comfortable and the fact that is was after Presidents Day Weekend and not crowded was great.

Enjoy the photos.

2009-02-13T09:18:00.001-08:00

Wishing you each a wonderful Valentines Day!

Cody is going to the farm and Sky and I will enjoy dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. We will pick him up tomorrow and then be heading to Angelfire, NM for Cody's first Ski Trip. Let's see what Sky's ankle feels like being the first time on skis since his surgery. I am sure we will have lots of fun pictures to share.

Superbowl Sunday

2009-02-01T19:12:00.000-08:00

Thought you might enjoy seeing my two favorite guys making Sausage Balls for the Superbowl Party!

I Grew Up With Poodles

2009-01-26T19:50:00.000-08:00

Ok - so we have all heard "The Dog Ate My Homework" excuse, but tonight I got to call Sky and tell him "The Dog Ate Our Dinner" -

Here's how it all happened. I had been preparing things for dinner. We were to eat a chicken and rice casserole. I was mid way through the process when Cody needed help in the restroom, so away I went. When I returned to the kitchen I found a dog head down and an empty casserole dish . Seriously??? I had forgotten Aspen can reach the island when she really wants to.
By the way if you are wondering, we ended up eating Baked Potatoes for dinner. They were safe behind a closed oven door.

Step One

2009-01-21T17:22:00.000-08:00

Our neighbor Gage is now riding his bike with out training wheels. We weren't sure how Cody would react. Gage turned 5 in October and Cody is only 4. When I told him, he said that was great and when he turned 5 he would like to try too. After riding up and down the sidewalk with our friend, his Dad, Mr. Ron, decided to raise Cody's training wheels so that he could only lean on one at a time and could spend some time just on the wheel itself. He is doing remarkably well. On Monday, he had a hard time turning because the balance felt off, but he did much better today. I told him it was Step One towards taking off the training wheels. My little boy is growing up.

Theraputic Ramblings

2009-01-14T18:30:00.000-08:00

OK - I knew this would happen. Start a blog and then wonder if there is anything that anyone really wants to know. Thinking "Oh I should have brought the camera so I could write about this" or What is it that we have done all week..... so here it is our week in words - no pictures since the camera was sitting on desk.

Both Cody and I are very glad that preschool has resumed. He loves going to school to visit his friends and he has a new teacher, Mrs. Millie, who is so loving. It is a great place for him to be. I have spent a great deal of the last few weeks wondering what to do for Cody next year. He is the late August birthday and a boy (or should I say All Boy) so we have always known we would hold him back a year, it is just that we have now reached that mysterious in between year and I am wanting to do what is best for him. Our church, where he has gone for three years has a Kindergarten and we thought a neighboring church would have a transitional kinder we would put him in. I have been worried about where he will fit best, but then the neighboring church did not have enough kids to fill the transitional class and we are now looking at kinder at our Church. I went to speak to the teacher and she helped ease some nerves. There are usually about ten kids in the class with an aide to help with reading and math. She said she works with them where they are and knowing he will then go to kinder again at public school will help her know how to work within what he needs most. This being said it looks like we will be staying at the church school for Kinder and then on to Norton for public kinder. Why does this word kindergarten frighten me???? He is just growing up so fast.

We spent the weekend out at the farm and also stopped by to visit Sky's sisters new place (out in the country also). It was fun, but Sky's allergies are driving him crazy. He is allergic to cats and cedar and we were around both. He did have a restful night last night thanks to benadryl.

2009-01-03T17:12:00.000-08:00

Aspen is such a patient dog. Cody decided today to place as many dishtowels (and an apron)on her to get her ready for a show. They actually both had a lot of fun, but I think it is time we return to our regular schedule of activities.... so does Aspen.

Put Down the Scissors

2008-12-30T07:53:00.000-08:00

Note to self.....don't cut Cody's hair

Sunday morning I decided Cody's crazy hair need a trim and I could do it myself. Needless to say, it didn't work and we ended up at the Kid Salon and Cody is now sporting the Buzz look. I should have remembered what I made my Barbie's hair look like when I tried to cut it and kept away from the scissors. Lesson Learned.

Our Christmas Holiday

2008-12-25T19:38:00.000-08:00

(just remember I am still learning how to do this...sorry for the oddly arranged photos)

It all began yesterday, when Sky was actually off for Christmas Eve. We spent the day finishing last minute things and enjoyed a visit from our friend Allie and our daughter Rebecca and they came bearing an apple pie....can I tell you we didn't make it fifteen minutes after she left before we had to dig in. She makes the best I have ever eaten.

My parents arrived around 4:00 and then we all rode over to Sky's Mom's house. They moved this spring to Lewisville from Tyler. We enjoyed opening gifts with them and then sharing a Christmas Eve Dinner with our family, his Mom and Kenneth and his brother Todd's family along with his in-laws.

Cody was very excited to see his Cousin Reed. They are 5 months about and enjoy each other. Dinner table conversation is always funny and loud - We headed home to see if the reindeer had stopped by to eat some carrots and leave their annual gift of pajamas on the porch. Cody was screaming as I came to the door "They came Mommy - They came!". The wonder of a child never ceases to amaze me.

Cody awoke this morning around 6:00 am and came into our room to snuggle. About 5 minutes later he stated that the reindeer ornament on the tree no longer had a light on it because Santa must have turned it off when he was here. So we could wait no longer and it was time to get started. I went and woke up my parents and we all made it to the living room. Again, Cody was so amazed that Santa had actually come. He didn't even make it to the presents. He wanted to show us all the cookie crumbs and the empty mug of milk, and the snow prints on the floor from Santa's shoes. He finally make his way to the gifts when he saw the Storm Trooper Helmet under the tree. "He brought it, he brought it" was all we heard. My mothers favorite line was when he opened his stocking and found he had new underwear with cowboy boots and sheriff's badges and said "Just what I have always wanted Cowboy Underwear".

We opened the remainder of the presents and enjoyed watching Cody go from gift to gift and watching Sky trying to keep up as he opened the hard plastic wrapping and twisted small metal wires to get to the actual toys. He wore this astronaut costume we bought for his dress up drawer just about all day and we all had fun giving Lucky commands to follow.

For dinner we went different this year. Sky has worked so many hours and I wanted the day to be about family rather than food and clean up - so I ordered an Olive Garden Lasagna and we had salad and bread. We also enjoyed a birthday cake for Jesus which when I asked Cody what kind he would like he immediately prayed "Jesus what kind of cake would you like for your birthday?" and two seconds later Cody told me he said "Lemon". If only we would take everything to God in prayer we might too be amazed at the answers we receive.

So today we had a wonderful time celebrating the birth of Jesus... On to tomorrow when we celebrate the birth of Daddy.

Lunch with Santa

2008-12-19T11:44:00.000-08:00

Today was lunch with Santa at development by our house. We got to meet up with several of our friends. There was music (as you might guess as you see Sky dancing with the children). Cody got to eat his lunch sitting next to the big pig. It was a perfect day to be outside. The high will be 70 degrees, but just wait, they say tomorrow a cold front blows in and it will be in the teens. That is Texas weather for you.

Cody visits Santa

2008-12-16T15:57:00.000-08:00

Sky was off today and we decided it was time to go see Santa. It was the perfect day and time to go visit. It was 27 degrees and there was ice on the ground. Santa and Cody got to visit for a good fifteen minutes all by themselves. Cody had brought a letter for him to read telling him about the M&M cookies and Chocolate Chewies that he was going to leave for him and of course his list.... which includes a Storm Trooper Helmet, Cool School Computer, and Lucky the Incredible Wonder Pup. We are going back on Friday to have lunch with Santa near the fireplace. As we left, Santa called out "See you on Friday Cody." We can't wait.

Good Bye to our Beloved Blayze

2008-05-02T20:23:00.000-07:00

Today was a sad day for us all. We had to put our golden retriever Blayze to sleep. She was acting very out of character over the weekend. We took her in on Monday to have tests run and found out she had cancer. Our vet was able to give her a dose of steroids and we took her home for the rest of the week. The medicine help her be her old self for a while.

We did not want her to suffer any and loose her quality of life slowly so we made the hard decision. It was a beautiful day today and she spent her final hours where she had spent so much of her life, underneath my feet.

Cody took it all very well as we explained death to him for the first time and he prayed a prayer that was so touching as only a child can pray.

Blayze was about 10 1/2 years old and she will be dearly missed.

Blayze-We will miss you!

April 2008

2008-04-29T19:23:00.000-07:00

Hello All,
April is the first month that we have begun with our blog. It has been a crazy month for us. I broke my ankle playing softball during the first game of the season with my church team. I was stealing third base. It was a text book slide but my drag toe hung on something as went into the slide and I broke my ankle in 3 places. Trip to the emergency room that night. Surgery on that Friday. I have been in a cast for weeks with 2 more weeks to go before I get a walking boot. I will have 2 large scars. On my outside ankle I have a nice stainless steel plate being held in by 6 screws and the break held together by a large screw. On the inside ankle 2 large screws hold the break in place. The break in the back they decided to let heal on its own without hardware.

Check back for more updates.