Christmas

Christmas was a blast for baby Ashlyn and the whole family. She did get overwhelmed very quickly by all the activity, we expected that though.

Family

  My darling bestie took family photos of our little family the other day. It was super last minute and Ashlyn was in a really cranky mood, but she was able to pull off some amazing photos! I'm really excited about these.

We Are So Ready

   Hubby has been bustin' booty to get this house ready; dry wall, popcorn ceilings, kitchen remodel, ect. Yesterday we started on the "fun" part. Painting party!! Who wants to come?

Gettin' Creative

  Today is one of those days where we just don't have too much going on, relatively speaking. So, today made a perfect day to work on some hand made, creative, toddler masterpieces.

Lack Of Motivation

   So, I've been pretty steadily working with Donny every other day since moving back home with my family. It's been great, I've made so much progress with him and things are going so well. Recently though I've had no motivation.

The Cuteness

   It's been awhile since I've posted pictures of little cuteness Ashlyn. So, to remedy that I've got a whole slew of them for you today!

We've Done It!

  So, for those of you that don't know. Hubby and I have purchased our first home! We are super excited about getting to live in our own place again and getting to move back into Austin. As much as I love my family's ranch... we also love a much simpler life and also love being about to call a place our own.

Some Updates

   I know, I've been a bad blogger. That's okay though. My mission in life has been to simplify my day to day. To take a step back and examine what my life really consists of. What's important, what's not. To prioritize.

Seeking Forever Home

   This decision has been a long time coming and has been such a hard decision. Hubby and I have decided that Samantha needs a new forever home. If you or anyone you know might be interested please forward this information on!

Rainy Days

   I love rain. love rain. I probably love rain so much because I live in Texas and rain is such a scarce thing here. We can go months at a time without a drop, with temperatures way above 100 degrees some days. So when we have rain, we enjoy it!

Beautiful Weather

  It's been absolutely beautiful here in Austin, Texas for the last few days. Mostly because of the amazing glorious rain, and secondly because of the much cooler weather. This morning I had to wear a sweater outside!! Of course, 70 degrees is practically winter to us Texans.

Twenty Months

   It's hard to believe my baby girl is twenty months old. Two months older than a year and a half. Just four months away from being a two year old! Oh my gosh. I may hyper ventilate.

God Willing..

   All my life the people around me have always said "God Willing..", you know.. Like "Trust God and He will take care of everything. It may not be the way you think you want it, but it will turn out for the better in the end. You'll see." type stuff.

18 Months

   They're finally here! Ashlyn's 18 month photos. Looking at these photos makes my heart so happy. My baby girl has grown up so much. She's so beautiful and I love her so much more than I could ever express.

What To Do?!

  So what's a poor horse to do when the grass is all shriveled up and dead? Sure, he's got pasture mates... But what's the fun in that? Well... You buy the bored pony a "Busy Ball"!

Little People

   For the last few weeks Ashlyn has had frequent visitors to her home! A playmate for the day while his momma recovers from having a baby number two. She's been learning to share both her momma and her toys, invaluable skills for later on.

Social Media Purge

  It's time for spring cleaning... in the summer. Spring cleaning and purging of my social media outlets. The large scale mass posting of pictures, videos, status updates, and "checking in" to various locations ... it's got to go.

Vegas x Roque Litter Update

  Well! I sent out an email to my puppy buyers and got back a few updates! I'm really excited to get to see these darling little fluff balls that I raised grow up to be such lovely dogs and family members.

A Fever

   Poor baby has been sick for near a week now... it's been up and down. Good days and really bad days. Today is a really bad day. She woke up for the first time with a strong fever and is just not doing so great.

Baby Days

   Life used to be about me, and the horses and the dogs... it used to be about what "I" wanted to do today. Now? It's all about....

Swim Lessons!

   Well today was Ashlyn's first swim lesson. Baby girl is growing up so fast! I'm really excited that for the first time ever baby, hubby, and I have a "thing" we do together... as a little family.

Forever Homes

  Anya has found her forever home. Hopefully. They began their two week trial period together last weekend, and so far things seem to be going well!

Could it be?!

  I know, it's a super big long shot... but I'm just praying and hoping that Donny makes it to at least 15.3 hh .. Before he was born I figured my desire for him to be at least 16hh was an easy peasy goal, seeing as his sire is 17.2hh. Now I'm just crossing my fingers that he reaches 15.3!

God Bless America

    I love our country. I will probably never live anywhere else, at least not long term. And even more particularly than that I LOVE TEXAS! God bless Texas!!!!

Oh Donny

   Well, Donny has made big progress recently. I feel like all the sudden he just grew up! It's as if he woke up one morning and bam! He's a horse. Or maybe I was the one who woke up one day and decided it was time for him to be a horse, and not an over grown pet colt with a malicious attitude? I'm pretty sure that's what happened.

Day Six

   I hate being sick. I'm sure most people do. Being sick takes a whole new level of bad when you have a toddler too. Why? Because when you have a toddler, or really any age kid, you aren't allowed to be sick!

Father's Day

  I was so excited to celebrate Father's Day with my hubby. This would be the first year that Ashlyn could actually make something for her dad. She's not old enough yet to understand why I was having her draw on a blank paper, or to understand what the meaning of Father's Day is, but that's okay.

June Baby Shower!

    Baby showers are a lot of fun, especially when you're the one hosting. Presents, decorations, friends, family, yummy food, and forever memories to celebrate the arrival of a new little person into the world!

Nails, Hair, & Lashes

   I know, I know, I don't usually do makeup reviews on this blog. But I REALLY want to! So I'm going to. I mean heck! This is my blog is it not?! haha.

Baroque Lady Anya Le Marie

  Lady Anya was the second born pup on September 22nd 2011. A little red tri female with so much spark, independence, and personality! After being away from home for six months, she's back with me and looking for the perfect forever home.

Mini Vaca

   It all started with a marriage seminar. Our last minute trip out of the city. It was very much needed, time away from schedules, life, and work. We needed the break. Besides that, we were celebrating our 3rd anniversary!

Canine Pneumonia ...... ? Part III

    I KNOW you all have been just DYING for an update on Roque. Well, here it is... For all his adoring fans and those that have been there for me through this rough patch.

Life With Ashlyn

  Every day is an adventure with baby Ashlyn. New things to explore, faces to make, opinions to be heard... you know, toddler stuff! She is a very happy kid, with big opinions on life... you know, cause at sixteen months old you know more than mom does. Duh!

The Gun Show

   It's been awhile since I've been to a local gun show with my husband. After multiple attempts to make it happen, it finally did a few weekends ago. My husband was really excited that it finally worked out for me to go to Belton with him. We had a mission for our trip this time too. 

A Far Away Land .. Cambodia

   On Tuesday the 29th my family and I said goodbye to my brother before he boarded his 7:30 am flight. He wouldn't arrive at his destination until the following day at 10:30pm. We wont see him again for six months or more. He's gone to a far away land called Cambodia.

My New Pet

 It's been awhile since I've owned a betta fish. I find them to be gorgeous creatures, and most people don't realize how many different variations there are of a betta fish. Crowntail, Half moon, Veil Tail, Double Tail, Delta Tail, and those are just some of the fin variations. There's a whole slew of color variations as well.

Birthday Bash

   April 14th 2012 - the day my best friend turned big bad 21! Also the same day that I chose to celebrate my birthday on.. even though my birthday was four months earlier. It didn't seem like much fun to have a birthday celebration that involved downtown and wine tours without my bff being able to enjoy it with me. So together, we celebrated!

Easter & Family Portriats

   I know, Easter was like forever ago it seems. So much has been going on that I just haven't been able to get a hold of the photos and get this post up. Here they are now though! Better late than never right?

Canine Pneumonia ......? Part II

  That weekend was one of the longest of my life while I anxiously awaited the arrival of the test results, and watched my pup suffer the effects of whatever was attacking his immune system. Monday took forever to arrive. And even then the results weren't available until nearly 5pm!

Canine Pneumonia ..... ? Part I

   It was Friday morning the 18th around 10am when I noticed something was terribly wrong with my 2 year old Australian Shepherd, Roque. I didn't even need to take his temperature, or check his gums, or listen to his lungs to know something was very very wrong. It was all in his eyes.

Cuts & Bruises

  So my poor kiddo keeps hurting herself. She's just a clutz. Like her momma. She trips, she falls, she bangs herself up left and right. First it was her tooth. She chipped it in half, if you remember my previous blog. My little hillbilly child. And now she's sliced her head pretty good.

Letting Go

   Sometimes you just have to let go. Let go of the past, let go of wanting to control the future, let go of people, let go of animals... just let go.

I'm Back

   I've been absent, I know. My computer has been sad, sitting all lonely in the corner. No one to type on it's keyboard. Stress has consumed me as of late. I don't deal with stress very well I've learned. But I'm back, I think.. for now. And I have so much to tell!

Temporary Heaven & Blog Milestones

   After a couple weeks of packing we have finally moved to our new temporary home.. Though temporary, it is a welcome change from the three plus years of apartment life. We've only been here for less than a week, and I'm so excited about the future time here!

Picturesque

   We will be saying goodbye to Phoebe soon. She's ready to move on to her next rider. To forever capture the time that she spent with our family, Avery (my sister) and Phoebe modeled for a photo shoot.

Horsey Days

   We traveled out to Bastrop for a lesson on Saturday. A very much needed lesson! I'm definitely not too proud to admit I need a lot of help with Donny. I've ridden for about 15 years now, in many various disciplines, with many various types of horses. Donny however is my first horse to train from scratch, and I need lots of help!

Silly Face Saturday # Five

    A random selection of some funny faces. :)

New Changes

  Packing, moving, expectant mother friends, babies... life is always changing. Always. It never stays the same for long. As soon as you think you've got everything figured out something changes. Life throws you a curve ball.

Dog Trainer's Child

   Being raised in an apartment with three dogs I think has affected Ashlyn in some dramatic ways... like the fact that she spends a good deal of time inside of a dog crate...

Walk On The Wild Side

 
   Now that kiddo wears her shoes we can go on walks together. I'm pretty sure the other day we walked about a mile.. but it's hard to tell when we walk in zig zags all over the place. But it was fun, and Sam tagged along.