MY BOYS

My sweet boys are growing up right in front of my eyes. The summer days seemed to go by soooo slowly (don't get me wrong, I love spending my days with both of them, but by August we are ALL ready for a small break from each other!!) but the years are flying by. My sweet long-time friend, Hayly, captured them, at this moment, for me. They both melt my heart with their blue eyes, sweet smiles and love for each other. I could not love them more. My cup runeth over <3 p="">

I wanna be a COWBOY

Crockett has always been my little cowboy. He loves wearing boots, a belt, jeans and a cowboy hat just like his daddy. He loves looking at tractor magazines, feeding the cows and riding in the back of daddy's pickup. He is just Chris, about 29 years ago. And I LOVE that. He has been dying to go to a rodeo lately, so when the Post Stampede Rodeo was going on, Chris just knew he had to take him. He got all dressed up and was SO excited to be going. Crockett decided he wanted to do the Calf Scramble, so Chris lifted him over the stands and he ran out there like he knew exactly what he was doing. Neither one of us could believe he just ran out there like he did, but I think he was just in his element. He didn't get it, but he did get pretty close to a calf! He loved the "buckin' bulls" and had to go elbow his way to the front row to get a real good look at those bulls. That little cowboy makes my heart so happy :) Love the bond these two have. What a fun 1st Rodeo!!

T-Ball Party Time!!

To celebrate the end of the t-ball season and all the awesome Yankee players, the coaches had a skating party for the team! It was such a fun way to end the season and let all of the kids know how proud we were of them. We all went to the oldest skating rink in Lubbock. Literally, all the parents were talking about how WE had our parties there when we were kids!! SO funny :) Crockett had never skated before and although he didn't stick with it for very long, he did really good! They had all kinds of scooters and cars for the babies too! It was such a good time. We all had hot dogs and cake. The works.  We were so blessed to be on such a great team our first year. Crockett loved Coach Juan and Coach Javier and they were so sweet to him. They both exhibited such patience, love, kindness and pride for all of the players. What a fun way to end the season!!

Yankees!!!

It is hard to believe our t-ball season went by so quickly! I thought it was going to last forever, but just like everything else, it FLEW by!! We had such a great group of kids and coaches. We were blessed to be on this Yankees team. Crockett loved it and learned so much. He made lots of friends and can't wait to play with them again next year. At the last game, after they played, each player got a trophy. It was definitely a highlight of the summer :) We are so proud of our little Yankee and can't wait to see him play again next year!!

Swimming!

Since Crockett took swimming lessons earlier in the summer, it only seemed fair that Bowen get to take some lessons too! So, he and I signed up for mommy and me classes at Tech, along with our friends, Hayly and Coy. It was fun, although I am not sure how much they "learned". We got to sing songs and blow bubbles and jump in the water. I even dunked him a few times! He was not amused. Bowen had a great time splashing and playing around and finally figured out how to blow bubbles! He was so proud of himself! On the last day of class, we all got to swim. Crockett played with Grace the whole time and went round and around the lazy river. We had a great time playing with the Hext's for two weeks! I hope we can do it again next summer!!

Braidy turns 5!!!!

It is so hard to believe that one of my very favorite little boys is now 5, and not really that little anymore :( Braidy Spencer turned 5 on July 10 and we were SO excited to help celebrate!!! We began the day with our traditional donuts! I think it was breakfast #2 for him, but you can't start a BIRTHDAY without donuts!! We all sang Happy Birthday and let him blow out the candles. It was a great start to a very special day! After a little playtime, we all went home to get ready for Braidy's special lunch. He could pick ANYWHERE he wanted and, it was no surprise to us, but he wanted Bless Your Heart! This kid LOVES fruit. (I think he has eaten entire watermelons at my house before) And Bless Your Heart has fruit... by the cup-full. He is in heaven :) Such a funny kid! After we all enjoyed our lunch, and Braidy had his fill of fruit, Mon took all of the big boys to go see Despicable Me 2.

That evening Braidy had a PIRATE party! He had been telling me about his PIRATE party since Crockett's birthday, and he never wavered on what he wanted :) It was so much fun!! The kids got to go on a treasure hunt and found treasure, tattoos and a piñata! Everyone had a great time. Braidy got lots of great "treasures" for his birthday. We got him a cowboy hat and some spurs and a "Braidy" chair, Lulu got him some new boots, he got TONS of toys and a NEW BIKE! I would say that was a wonderful way to celebrate turning 5!!

Happy 5th Birthday to my smart, ornery, sweet, silly, playful, funny nephew Braidy!! We love you so much and had so much fun celebrating YOU!!

T-Pa

On July 9, 2013, we were so sad to lose our sweet T-pa. He lived a wonderful, long, blessed life and got to see his grandchildren, and even a few great-grandchildren, grow up. My T-pa lived in Temple, so I have not gotten to see him much the past few years, but he has a very special place in my heart. I have such fond memories of him and D-ma from back when they lived in Amarillo, and in Dallas, and his 90th birthday party in Temple. He was present for so many special events in my life and I am so thankful for that. He was at my Tech graduation, despite the fact that he was terribly sick. He was at my wedding, where I even have a beautiful picture of us dancing. He came to Holliday shortly after Crockett Christopher was born. He even came to Holliday for Crockett's 1st birthday party. My T-pa never forgot to tell me how special he thought I was and I hope he knew that the feeling was very mutual. I have never met someone with a more positive attitude than him. The past few years, my dad and I would talk about T-pa and get a good laugh because any time you asked T-pa how he was, no matter how he really was or what was going on, he would say "oh, I'm fantastic" or "just dandy". He LOVED to eat! We all would get a kick out of the endless hole that was his stomach. He would eat shrimp by the bowl-full and did not like to have to compete for them! He would eat and eat until he couldn't eat anything else. If he was full, he was happy! And for all of his birthday parties, I knew I could always expect the chocolate-ist of chocolate cakes :) This does not even begin to tell of the memories I have of him, but just of the fondness that I carry for him. I love my T-pa and am sad knowing that he is not here anymore. I am so lucky that I got to have him in my life for 33 years. He was such a special man.

Chris, Crockett, Bowen and I drove to Temple for the funeral. Although it was a CRAZY, long trip, I am so glad I went. It was a beautiful service and he received military honors, which was very cool. They did a 21-gun salute, played TAPS (gave me goosebumps) and folded the flag. What an awesome tribute. I got to see D-Ma and my dad, Aunt Susan, Uncle Mike and Aunt Anne. I even got to meet a couple of family memebers I had never met before. We were so glad we were there to pay our respects for a man who was such a special part of my life.

Robert Mires Tilley

Services with military honors for Robert Mires Tilley, 91, of Temple will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 20, at Christ Episcopal Church in Temple.
Inurnment will be at a later date at Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Killeen.
Mr. Tilley died Tuesday, July 9, in a local nursing home.
He was born October 11, 1921, in Houston, MO, to Robert Bruce and Virginia Young Tilley.
Mr. Tilley retired from the Army as a lieutenant colonel after 30 years of service, including combat duty in World War II. He was an instructor at Amarillo College for 27 years and was chairman of the psychology department. He was a member of the Fort Worth Rotary Club, and served on the board of directors of the Amarillo Child Welfare board. He was a member of Christ Episcopal Church in Temple.
He married Betty Tilley in 1946. He married Dorotha Truelove of Temple on February 4, 1978.
Survivors include his wife; six children, Anne Tilley Clark of Dallas, Susan Tilley McCormick of Baytown, Bruce Tilley of San Antonio, Michael Tilley of Dallas, Margaret Tilley Fischer of Shreveport, and Mary Tilley Latimer of Lima, OH; two stepsons, Bryan Edds of McGregor and Brett Edds of Little River-Academy; 11 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.