In Memory of Bay Horse...

Sadly Bay Horse died last night...
1996 - This is Bay Horse and Grandpa Bud in West Canyon. Grandpa, Lec & Wace use to ride out there a lot (I think Wace asked Grandpa everyday if they could go ride). You can see Cliff and Wace in the picture too... Wace is getting back on his horse Rusty... one time he fell off as they were coming down the mountain and rolled to the bottom... then he told them "hold up guys I gotta get back on my horse." Bay Horse is really Grandpa Bud's horse, but Grandpa always shared him with the kids. His name really is 'Bay Horse' Grandpa says animals have to earn their names... but no other name ever really fit him. I'm not sure how old he was, I don't remember him not being part of the family! When Lec went out to water yesterday he was fine, eating and running around with the other horses... we're not sure what happened, maybe a twisted gut. I'm sure he is enjoying the green pastures of Heaven with Rusty...
1998 - This is Bay Horse and Wace out at West Mountain... we went out for the afternoon with Grandpa Bud. We roasted hot dogs & the kids played musical horses... we always have a lot of fun with Grandpa Bud... and Bay Horse!
2003 - Bay Horse and Whitney on the desert... we went camping with Grandpa Bud for Easter and the kids rode the horses all over. Bay Horse was always good to let all of the kids ride him... very patient. I'll bet he was laughing with the rest of us when Wace's horse laid down in the dry lake bed mud... "Wace jumped off, yelling "my horse is dead!" He CAN be dramatic when it comes to his horses!
2003 - This is Bay Horse in the Lehi Round-up Stock Parade... Whitney and Bailey are riding him... you can see Wace and 'Fat Gut' Flash behind them. Bay Horse always did what was asked of him... as Whitney was riding him in the parade his chin strap broke... when they came by us Lec went out to try to fix it.... but Bay Horse (like all of our horses - except Power Glide - Lec's horse) didn't really like it when Lec came toward him (Lec moves too fast)! So, he started rearing and spinning around on the blacktop... after grabbing Bailey off and handing him off to someone else, Lec was so mad, he jerked Bay Horse out of the parade (almost stomped us all!) Then he fixed the chin strap and sent Whitney on her way... it is a good thing that Whitney & Bay Horse are good sports.
2004 - This is Whitney and Bay Horse at 4-H. Bay Horse did a great job in 4-H, I don't think there was a better looking horse there.... EVER! Always tolerant of the kids jerking him this way and that... He was the best! He was one of my all time favorite horses... and I will miss him a lot! Thanks Grandpa Bud for sharing your great horse with us!

I don't have pictures to share yet.... but Ashley & Joey had a sweet little baby girl today! Alyson weighed 7 pounds 2 ounces! I have a picture on my phone, but I'm not smart enough to get it from my phone to my computer.... maybe I should take a class!
AND....Whitney is pregnant! She is due towards the end of October... she has been in denial, but after Brandie figured it out she had to go to the doctor to find out for herself! Silly girl!
Anyway life is good here, Shelby and I are doing Weight Watchers together and she is kicking my trash! She has lost 25 pounds! I have lost 14. A little competition is good for us!
Bailey went to Scout Camp - and was on quarantine because someone in the camp got Swine Flu... but luckily the deacons were released in time to pass the Sacrament on Sunday!!! The scout leader told me they had to watch him every minute because every time they turned around he had his knife out again! He acts like his DAD!
Wace took 2nd place at the High School State Rodeo Finals last weekend! He did awesome! Two different newspapers did a story on him Thursday and he was on the front page of the Daily Herald on Sunday morning... people brought us the paper at church! WACE ROCKS!!!!

Of course Bailey played baseball this year. At one game he told the coach "hey, I want to try pitching some time...." so the coach said "OK, go warm up....." WHAT????? He hasn't ever even pitched at a practice! But, he went and warmed up and he did pretty good for a first try! He even struck out two batters! Of course there was a wild ball or two!!! What a kid!!!

This is Wace at the Tabiona Bull Wars. He took 3rd place, which is good, but he was hoping for 1st because he wants to buy himself a 4 wheeler! He is an adrenaline junkie for sure!!!

Guess who turned 12? Yes, you guessed it, Bailey Bud! He went to Boondocks to goof off with his friends for his birthday and they soaked him in the bumper boats! They had too much fun! He was ordained a deacon by his Dad and he has enjoyed passing the Sacrament. He always wants to be early for church so he can get the best spot to pass the Sacrament to!

Wace at the High School National Finals 2008. Lec is in the back ground...
Wace had his 17th birthday in January!!! AHHHH!

Watching the game... Jeremy, Brandie, Bailey & Grandpa Harris - on the edge of his seat!

Super Bowl Sunday.... at our house it is ALL about the food! Wace, Wyatt & J.C.

Jordan picked out his own cake... (his birthday isn't until March - but we LOVE to party)!

We had a birthday party for Joey, Ashley & Jordan while they were here... as you can see, Joey is blowing over his 'cheesecake' to blow out Ashley's chocolate moulten cake! Still the clown in the family!!! Ashley & Whitney... we had too much fun while the Stone's were here!

Joey misses his little brothers... don't worry, Bailey is use to getting thrown around! (No baby brothers were harmed as a result of this picture... shhh don't tell Bailey I called him the baby, he hates it when I do that)!

Sydney is helping Grandpa put a cabinet together... wait, with a hammer???

Chelsie turned 7 in January! Where does the time go??? Wasn't she just born???

Uncle Ty reading to Lecsie! Finally someone else in the family who loves books as much as I do!

How do you spell spoiled? B-A-I-L-E-Y & W-A-C-E!!! They had a good Christmas!

Lec didn't get to go to the NFR in Vegas with us this year because he had to work... then we didn't even bring him home a South Point vest... but don't worry, Santa saved the day! He was EXCITED!!!

Wace snuggling with Junior... recovering from his knee surgery in his new recliner! Thanks Dad.

?,? Chelsie & ? singing at the Mall with the school chior for Christmas! 'All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth'....

Bailey showing us his "guns" in Vegas by the Jack Daniel chopper in the lobby of our hotel. Whitney said he has silent attitude! LOL

Aunt Shelby Nicole & Jasie Nicole have the same birthday (in December)!

Jasie turned 1... I love this picture... she got her cake and ate it too!

This is 'Billy', Tim, Ben & Wace (the Utah bull riders) getting their National Team buckles. The Utah team SMOKED Texas, again... 3rd year in a row!!! They were all (the Utah Team) invited to the State Capital last week to go before the Legislature, where they got a standing ovation for kicking Texas' but! Utah cowboys ROCK!

This is one of the great pictures of 2008! Whitney & Wyatt in the mud at a bull riding on Thanksgiving in St George at Bill Bundy's.... it was freezing, I can't believe they went bare foot, but you know, Whitney didn't want to ruin her new white shoes! Wyatt is just CRAZY!

One morning we woke up and this is what Grandma Holmes' orchard looked like... so we took a picture! This (besides me & Lec) is the view out my front door! I LOVE it! Grandma's orchard looks great all year long! Thanks Joey for taking the picture!

As you can see... my computer is up & running (my old one died). Thanks Joey for hooking me up! And Brandie for reminding me to update my blog! And Grandpa Bud for taking time to read it! I was having a picture moment! I LOVE pictures! XOXOXOXOXO

Don't faint... I am FINALLY updating my blog! This update is dedicated to Grandpa Bud... since he does NOT like generic letters. Anyone else who wants to read it is more than welcome to!

Dear Grandpa Bud,

So Christmas was great! We are very blessed and WAY spoiled around here. And as you can see, we finally got Joey, Ashley & Jordan here for a visit and a family picture! YAY! They are on a cruise this week and will only be back for a couple of days before they have to go back to Texas, but we'll take what we can get! We've had a lot of fun... it's a little crazy around here with all of the family in one spot, we are getting big... it's great, just like going to Aunt Shirley's to visit when I was a kid... my favorite!

If you didn't read my "generic" New Years letter, then I should tell you that Wace had knee surgery and scared us with his "bull in a china closet" wake up... but he is doing great now. He went for a check up today and Dr Pepper told him that his knee couldn't be better... good news, but no mighty bucky for another 2 months... bad news. Wace went to Nephi to stay with his friend "Billy" on New Years Eve (to watch him ride a bull of course)... and called to tell me that he was going to ride a bull. Him & Bill had it all figured out, they would just tie a stick to each side of his knee so that it would be safe! What a joker!!!

Bailey has taken up gymnastics while he waits for baseball to start... Jeremy & Whitney are his coaches, and now that he is almost 12 (that's how old you have to be to go in the weight room at the Legacy Center), he has decided he is going to start pumping iron! He wants a bench press for his birthday! I never know what will be next with him!!! He got a gift card for Christmas and decided to go buy CD's with it... he bought KISS, AC/DC & Queen!!??!! He's killing me!

We had sad news in the last week or so, Lec's Grandpa Harris has stomach cancer. And since only 30% of his heart is working, they can't really do anything for him... he says it's ok, he misses Grandma anyway. Lec has been spending a lot of time visiting him... and we are grateful to know that this is not the end, and he will see Grandma again!

If I haven't told you before, Ashley & Joey are expecting a baby girl in June! They are hoping that Joey's deployment will be delayed so he can be there when she is born!

I better go... I hope you liked your letter Grandpa Bud! And by the way, thanks for everything, we love and appreciate you more than you will ever know!

Love,

Kim

Jordie Bug... the dinosaur!

Jordan LOVES dinosaurs & Buzz Lightyear & football! Ashley sent me this cute picture of him in his costume! They are coming to visit in January.... YAY!!! And, in case you didn't already know, Joey & Ashley are expecting a new baby in June... YAY again!!! Joey is at a month long training (getting ready for another deployment) and Ashley is doing awesome in Scentsy & working as a Pharmacy Tech.
Not much new around here... the Dixie 6 started last weekend... I now have proof positive that Hurricane Utah was appropriately named, the wind last weekend almost blew our camper over (and we weren't even driving down the road!) Crazy!
Wace didn't hurt his injured knee while riding this weekend, he did however hurt his good knee!!! No big deal... the bull just kicked him on the way down and SLAMMED him to the ground, yet he LOVES it! Go figure! He did make the 8 on both bulls, but didn't get good bulls, he split 4/5th one day and took 8th on one that should of been a re-ride... like Grandpa Bud says, if you're going to do a judged event, you better be able to take it! Wace also got a new puppy Rugar, which he loves & snuggles & talks baby talk to.... 'macho macho man....' hahahaha!
Bailey is waiting around for baseball season, he told me that he wants to be a go-cart racer now! What the??? He wanted to go get a "wind suit" today, you know the slickery pants & jacket... he put it on when we got home & told me now he needs a pinky ring like the Mafia. Apparently "wind suits" are the apparel of choice for the Mafia, he told me to call him Don Bud (instead of Bailey Bud) "because you know Mom, a Don is important in the Mafia" (shoot me now!)
Lec is working his guts out... he keeps getting in trouble with the safety guys (he is their worst nightmare!) I guess you aren't suppose to climb on the edge of the man basket when it is over extended & lean over until it is only on 2 wheels, "someone could get hurt"! I'm surrounded by crazy people... Prozac anyone?
Better go... guts!

I finally got pictures of Bailey at his last football game of the season!!! It was getting dark so they are fuzzy. He had fun playing again this year! He is already talking about baseball!!! What a kid! So he finally got his costume all put together for Halloween... he is being a clown! He already IS a clown though, so I don't know why we had to buy him the costume! He scared Sydnie & Lecsie, they are fine as long as he takes off the giant red nose, but every time he puts it back on they scream! And he thinks it is great when he squirts me in the face with his stupid clown flower!!! Too funny... watch for the pics of that one!

Wace went to see "Dr Pepper". No easy fix there, he tore his ACL in half & mutilated his meniscus (bull riders!!!). So he gets to have surgery, but of course he can't do that until after the Dixie 6 (6 rodeos in St George in November) heaven forbid he might miss a rodeo!!! And of course he has to wait until after the NFR Finals the first week of December, so for Kristy's birthday he is going to have surgery. Then he has to work his butt off to have his knee back in shape to rodeo in the spring... for sure his father's kid!!!

We took Lecsie camping with us last weekend. (Her Mom & Dad went to Vegas for his sister's wedding). Everyone went on what was suppose to be a 30 minute ride (4 wheelers & motorcycles & such) Lecsie went on the 4 wheeler with me & Grandpa YeeHaw (named by Jordan) yeah, it turned out to be like a 6 hour ride!!! What the??? She did so good, she took 2 naps sitting in between us & when she was awake she would sit in front of Grandpa and make motor noises or yell to the kids on the motorcycles... she was cracking us up! Thanks to Aunt Marlo & Grandma Lana she got crackers & cheese, fruit snacks, a banana & a bottle of water! You'd think after 23 years that when Lec says 15 minutes, it really means 6 hours!!! My bad! Anyway, Lecsie loved it, but her & I skipped the ride the next day!!!

Bailey had fun riding Jaden's old motorcycle all day, well except for the 2 times he wrecked. The first one wasn't so bad, but the second time he turned around to look at Grandpa Bud & Grandma Lana in their Razor and missed the bend in the road, so he took a flying leap over the handle bars... oh Bailey or maybe we should call him Road Rash!

The funniest thing in the last week though (well at least to me, Brandie says it's not funny) was when Mike & Shelby got home from Vegas. They came to pick up Lecsie & Brandie was here with her girls... they brought Lecsie a little purse & a new cup with a straw... well Sydnie, being 2 didn't quite understand why she didn't get one, so everytime we turned around they were playing tug-o-war with them. After a while the bickering stopped, or so we thought, next thing we know Lecsie & Sydnie are screaming by the front door, so we look over & they are on the floor, Sydnie has the purse, holding it away from Lecsie & drinking out of Lecsie's cup (and screaming at the same time, she is very talented like that!) & Lecsie has Sydnie by the hair (maybe trying to jerk her head off) with one leg wrapped around Sydnie... the wrestling world would of been proud! Oh my HECK, I was laughing my head off... my Mom was looking for a camera, but their Mom's put an end to the Kodak moment before we could take a picture!

As I reflected on that scene for the next few days, (laughing each time I thought about it) I decided I had to dedicate this story to my cousin Deb. I think this story will remind her of me, since she said I was a mean kid... I don't know what she is talking about... I just know she was a tattle tale! j/k no, I take that back, I am NOT kidding. But I still love you Deb!

Love your guts! (Deb, you're nuts!)

Ya, so it was Whitney's birthday Friday... Happy 22 Whit! (I thought one of the cake pics from the wedding was good here...) We all went to Olive Garden for lunch on Saturday (mmm Olive Garden). Except for Joey, Ashley & Jordie bug... (we miss them a lot)!!!

I got to talk to Joey on the phone today... we're still hoping they get to come visit soon! We haven't seen them since March!!! At least me & Grandpa got to see them in March, everyone else hasn't seen them since last December!!!! We've been teasing Bailey that Jordan will be able to tackle him! That would be funny!

Bailey's team lost their football game last week, but Bailey made a SA-WEET tackle! He is home from school barfing today... hopefully he will be better by his game on Wednesday!!!

Wace blew out his knee again the other day, we finally got him an appointment with "Dr. Pepper", he is some great ortho doctor that works on all the bull riders... hopefully it will be an easy fix!!! But in the mean time, you can just call him Igore, that's what Billy's Mom calls him!

Grandpa Giff is home from the hospital... he hates that place! We're glad he's home, but we have to keep an eye on him when he watches football... he likes the cheerleaders! LOL!

We got the family room all painted over the weekend, carpet comes tomorrow! Yay!

Better go... laundry to do!!! Guts!