Rodeo Day!

Pigs, Donkeys, Cows, Sheep, Chickens, Turkeys, Horses, Goats GALORE!! 

Yesterday, Jason, Travis, Lauren (my niece) and I went to the Rodeo and had such a fun time!  The day was full of adventure!  We spent the first half of the day going through barn after barn looking at all different types of livestock and then we went to the carnival.  We were little country bumpkins :)

Lauren and her new piggie friends

Lauren was just enamored with all of the pigs and would giggle with excitement when they would come close enough to smell her.  After visiting the pig barns, we went to "Animal Adventures"... a place for kiddos to learn all about animals!

Here is Lauren, looking inside one of the small learning barns.  She was able see all different types of animal feed.  Then, we went to see some baby chicks, chickens and turkeys!

Next, we made a trip to see goats, sheep and cows getting a "haircut" - it was very cool seeing the animals being sheered. 

...and we made some new friends along the way!

After we finished looking through barn after barn, we sat down to watch a Star Trek show.  Lauren sat in my lap and Travis slept through the entire show.  We learned all sorts of things I can't remember and ended up leaving early because it was SO LOUD and I was afraid of hurting Travis' ears!

Next up, we headed to the Carnival!  Lauren was beyond excited about riding the Ferris wheel... she'd never been on a Ferris wheel! 

It was so much fun!

We had the best seat in the house to see the fairgrounds...

 After we finished our Ferris wheel ride, it was time to explore the fun houses!

Sweet Lauren had a tough moment in the first fun house... we were rushing through the mirrors and glass maze and she WHAPPED right into a pane of Plexiglas... all she said was "owwww... that hurt."   It hardly phased her, she bounced right back and went running and laughing along.   If I'd run into the glass that hard, I guarantee you I would have been crying.  She's a trooper!

 

Jason patiently waited for Lauren and I to run all over the carnival, riding the rides and having a bunch of fun.  He is a regular scrooge when it comes to all thing carney, but he was sweet enough to indulge us by fighting the crowds :) Did you know he's afraid of heights? That's right... there will be no Ferris wheel for him!

Overall, the entire day was a HUGE success.  Lauren was on her best behavior, Travis slept nearly the entire day, we played, saw animals and had a grand ole' time. 

We had such a good time that some of us couldn't help but sneak in a cat nap...

Here is Lauren, resting her head on Travis' car seat... you can see his little blur in the mirror on the right.

2012 San Antonio Livestock Show and Rodeo

xoxo, cb.

Death and Taxes

"'In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."

 - Benjamin Franklin

That pretty much sums up my week.  

DEATH
Yesterday was an incredibly sad day.  I inadvertently killed 3 of our chickens and I feel terrible about how they died.  


Let me explain...


We have an amazingly sweet neighbor dog named Auggie that loves to play with Blue.  He is a master escape artist.  He climbs fences, digs holes and downright Houdini's out of his yard to come over to ours.  

This is Auggie

Yesterday,  he squeezed under the fence and headed over to our house in the hopes that he could find a way into our backyard so he could play.  He likes to sit in our front yard and wait for one of us to open a door and dash in... and yesterday, that is exactly what he did.  


Travis and I were headed to visit Jason at his office.  As I was packing Travis in the car in the garage, I left the door to the house open. Auggie saw his chance to get one door closer to playing with Blue, so he bolted through the garage and went inside the house.  He went straight to the back door and with a sweet puppy dog face, said to me, "Can I please play with Blue?? Pa-pa-pa, please!"   Usually, I would have taken him back outside and we would do a little tango of "who can run to the door fastest" to either sneak back in or get locked out.  But this time I was in a rush and I decided he'd be safer in our backyard.  I thought: both puppies will be happy, well exercised and I would call Auggie's mom and let her know where he was when got back home.


It did not occur to me that the chickens were also playing outside.


I'm sure you can figure the next part out:
Auggie + chickens = chickens in heaven. 


When I got home I went to the back door to check on the dogs and let Blue inside.  And what did I find? My poor Linus dead as a doornail, belly up, waiting for me at the door.  I screamed, put Travis down, instantly got on the phone with Jason.


Me: "THERE'S A DEAD CHICKEN ON THE PORCH!"
Jason: "Oh, really?  It's okay..."
Me: "SHE'S RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE DOOOOR AND HER EYES ARE OPEN!"
J: "It's okay.  Just don't look at her and I take care of it when I get home.  Is that the only one?"
Me: "I DON'T KNOOOOOW, I HAVEN'T GONE OUTSIDE YET."
J: "Cyndy, it's okay. I'll check when I get there.  It's not your fault."
Me: "YES, IT IS!"
J: "No, it's not."
Me: "YES, IT IS!"

J: "No, it's not."

Me: "YES, IT IS!"

(insert quivering sobbing voice here)   "I LET AUGGIE IN THE BACKYARD!"

(long pause)


J: "Oh... well...  it's okay."


So, we lost 3 girls.  Linus, One and Two are now in chicken heaven.  The honest truth is that dogs will be dogs and it wasn't Auggie's fault.  Jason says there is always a silver lining, and in this case, at least it was only chickens, not a kid, or a house burning down.  

TAXES

I've been spending every last minute (and they only come in minutes these days) working on our taxes this week trying to get it done early.  Good news is, having a kiddo is quite beneficial to getting a big refund... and I am proud to say, that they are done!  WHEW.  What a relief.  I actually am so relieved to have them done way before the April deadline!  I hope I keep up this trend for years to come and avoid the last minute April 15th scramble. 

Go do your taxes.  You'll feel so good :) 

Here's something to make you feel a little better in light of all that heavy-ness.  

Travis on Valentine's day.  

He's a heartbreaker in training.  

Believe it, his nighty says so. 

xoxo, cb.

...Smiley Guy

I'm in love with this guy

Life at the Bagley house is changing these days.  Jason went back to work Monday and if you'd talked to me last weekend you literally would have seen me shaking in my boots.  I was so worried about taking care of Travis all by myself.  Yes, I realize many many people have done it before, and that I was absolutely spoiled by having Jason's help for 5 weeks, but I had never done it and I was really worried.

To my surprise I really enjoyed being a single-mom during the day.  I found out that I wasn't as easily distracted when it was just the 2 of us and I was able to get quite a lot done.  The laundry is clean, the dishes are done and I even found time to clean the carpet!  Travis and I went on 2 lunch dates and a few shopping trips... we were able to slow down and enjoy each others company - it was a lot of fun :)

Jason even went into to work early every day so he could get home early (or at least by 5:30, which is early for him!).  When he got home he was back to being so helpful - making dinner and playing with Travis so I could sneek in little cat naps between feedings.

In more fun news, Travis is turning into quite the smiley guy.  I was able to get him on film today with a couple smiles, and they are here for you to enjoy :)

Here are some pictures I took with my cell phone on his 6 week birthday (sorry for the crappy quality!)

I can't help but wonder what he is thinking...  

YAY MILK!   

YAY CLEAN DIAPERS! 

HEHE... I'M TICKLISH!

Anyhow, I hope you all are doing well this week - we are busily taking our time enjoying life. 

love, cb. 

P.S. Travis is growing like a weed, he just bumped up into 3-6 month clothes! and I am so happy to share that I fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans (they're still ridiculously tight though!)... what a great feeling.