A cold winter day

I think today marks the 3rd time this winter that it has snowed in
Aubrey. It's pretty unusual for it to be this cold and snow much, but
I'm not complaining. I love having an excuse to sit by the fire, drink
hot chocolate, and cuddle on the couch with hubs.

Life is good!

Alamo City Christmas

Travis and I are headed down to San Antonio to spend Christmas with his family. We will be there throughout the weekend. So, if any of my SA friends are in town, we’d love to come and say hello.

 

Merry Christmas and safe travels to everybody driving to spend time with family and friends!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Love,

The Riley's

I survived the Rock

Warning: lots of pictures below.

This weekend we ran the race. We all finished and are all here to talk about it now, but for a while I wasn't sure if I was going to make it. I was doing great until about mile 6 when I started cramping in both calves and could barely run. I could walk fine, but was not able to run at all. This means, I had to walk the last half of the race. not fun. at. all. I was ready to call it quits, but knew I couldn't if my 60 year old dad could run the entire 26.2 miles!

Here are some pictures from the weekend. They are in no particular order, as blogger would not let me move any pictures.

Post race lunch at Campisis

Congratulating Daddy on a job WELL done

Daddy crossing that finish line. The clock says 5:34, but it was really 5:20 due to the long time it took us to cross the starting line

Dad coming down the home stretch...almost there!

Team Jackie: this is a 23 year old former A&M student who was hit by a drunk driver and now suffering from permanent brain damage. A team formed in her honor and pushed her through the race!

INSPIRING: disabled athletes who won't let anything stop them!!!

Trent getting close to the finish line

Resting up the night before the race!

Run The Rock

It’s here. It’s here!!!

 

The annual Huey family extravaganza is here! And by that I mean our annual run at the Dallas White Rock Marathon. This year is a little different because Daddy will be running the FULL 26.2 honkin’ miles, Dr. Raley will NOT be running due to a hurt knee,  Trent and I will do the half, and the rest of the clan (mom, Travis, Kourt and Trish Raley) will be supporting us from the sidelines.  The best part of the race is the post race lunch at Campisis. That place is fabulous. It is yummy in your tummy Italian food.

 

Wish us luck as we run another race and add another page to our annual Huey tradition!

 

 

'I've been everywhere man'

“I've been everywhere, man

I've been everywhere, man

I've crossed the deserts bare, man, breathed the mountain air, man

Travel I've had my share, man

I've been everywhere

 

I've been to:

Waco, Hico, Hondo, Navasota, Winnsboro, Jacksboro, Hillsboro, Santa Rosa,

Austin, Houston, Galveston, Texarkana, Frisco, Buffalo, Conroe, Corsicana,

Goliad, Groesbeck, Glen Rose, Red Oak, Post Oak, Live Oak, Lone Oak, no joke”

 

Remember that song? It was a Johnny Cash original, but somebody made all about Texas. Hubs can sing every line of that song without skipping a beat. I don’t know if I should be proud or worried…ha!

 

 

I feel like Travis and I have toured Texas and that’s because we have been! We have been on the road every weekend since October. We went to Waco for Baylor Homecoming, went to Llano 4 different weekends to hunt with friends and family, Fort Worth for Thanksgiving with the Hueys, and then we’ll hit the road again to Rusk/Maydelle (East Texas) for a weekend with friends, and then off to San Antonio for Christmas with the Rileys! Sorry for the lack of posting, but  we’ve been out of town so much, that when we are home I just want to crash and try and get caught up!

 

We will be in town this weekend and then next weekend is the big RACE! Dad will compete in his first FULL marathon and the lazy children(Trent and I) will run a measly 13.1 miles and do the half marathon. I’m hoping I can complete the race without too much pain. Hubs and I were feeding the horses yesterday and Miss. Sloan accidentally placed her 1,000 pound self on top of my right foot for a good 15 seconds. I know have some purple toes, but I’m going to push through and finish that race…mainly because I’ll be too embarrassed if my dad runs 26.2 miles and I can’t run 13.1…ha!

 

I hope everybody is now in the Christmas spirit with the little bit of snow we all seemed to get within the past few days! 3 weeks from today and it’s CHRISTMAS!!!

 

 

A Llano Weekend

Two weekends ago we headed to the ranch with some new/old friends. See, I've had the pleasure of re-connecting with an old middle school and high school friend, Rachel Lanier Schafer and her hubs Matt. Rachel is the 'old' friend and Matt is the new friend.

I'm pretty sure Travis has found a new best friend as he and Matt chatted the entire weekend about their hunting adventures. It was a wonderful weekend and each of the guys got lucky and got hogs (with their bows!).

Rach and Matt trying to play with the cows

Rach and Matt on top of the rocks while walking the property

A picture of our fire on Saturday night

This was after our Catch Phrase victory over the boys (Pole Safe, anyone?)

Rachel and Matt- Thank you for joining us for a fun-filled weekend in Llano. We can't wait for y'all to join us for another trip: more Coopers BBQ, Catch Phrase, and "real-life" hog hunting.

For Sale

The puppies are now 7 weeks old and we have sent a couple off to their new homes. We still have a couple of puppies left (male and female), so if you know of anybody wanting/needing a precious Redbone Coonhound puppy…send them our way! $175…all have had their puppy shots, loved on daily, and have UKC papers on them.

 

Travis says we can’t keep them and I don’t know why. Ha!

Exciting NEWS

Travis and I are proud to announce that we are going to be an Aunt/Uncle!!! Trent and Kourtny are expecting a little nugget. We couldn't be any happier for them and can't wait to welcome a new member to the family. If only Kourt could go a day without feeling nauses or throwing up. Let's hope this morning sickness ends soon--she is miserable, but such a trooper.

Trent and Kourt after the wedding

Trent and I skiing Winter Park the day before his wedding!

Trent and Kourt at Christmas circa 2006 (I think)

Mom and Dad have already picked their Grandparent names and are thrilled beyond belief:

Mom: Su Su

Dad: Jim Daddy

They feel tht anything else sounds 'old'. Ha. I would like to be called Aunt Natty and Travis Uncle T-Rye.

Congrats to Trent and Kourtny on being blessed with sunch a wondeful gift from God. Love you guys so much!

Sharing a Blog

The following blog I am about to link you to will bring you through a whirlwind of emotions. It covers the good times and bad times we all encounter in life, but one thing that sticks out so freshly in my mind is this couples complete faith, trust, hope, and LOVE for our amazing God.

 

If you have a few minutes and a kleenex box (or two) I encourage you to read this blog and take some time to think about the wonderful words this couple was able to write while facing challenges and hurdles that I hope none of us have to face. I can say that this blog has definitely made my relationship with God stronger and even more thankful for the life I have.

 

Here it is:

 

http://bandssullivan.blogspot.com

4 weeks old

The litle pups will be 4 weeks old tomorrow, Monday 10-19-09. I can't believe how big they are getting. They had their first taste of formula and puppy food today and seem to be loving this transition. They made a mess eating, but they LOVED it. I can't believe we will see some of these guys go to their new homes in just 2 weeks. It makes me sad, but I love to see other people fall in love with Redbones the way I have.

Here are some new pictures of the pups:

An evening with old friends

Saturday night I got to spend time with 2 of my favorite friends from Baylor, Ryan and Debra. Deb was in town for work, so we met up at Ryan's house to have dinner and play with her 2 precious kids.

It was so great to catch up and talk about our fun times in college and love on Madelyn and Mason. I had a fabulous time and can't wait to do it again.

Next time I'm going to 'kidnap' Ryan and take her to Deb's place in Austin for the weekend...without the kids :)...

My first car ride with a baby...I ordered fajitas and drove them down to Ryan's house...only to find out they neglected to pack the meat.

Ryan trying to get a fussy Mason to take the bottle. He just wanted to be held :)

"Aunt" Deb and Miss. Madelyn in her Elmo PJs

Madelyn 'hamming' it up for the camera. She put beans on her nose :)

Deb holding a super sweet 7 week old, Mason

Run the Rock

In 58 days I'll be completing my 4th HALF marathon and my brother's 6th HALF.

 

Meanwhile, my  60 year old dad will be completing his 6th HALF marathon and 1st FULL marathon!!!!

 

White Rock...here we come

 

If you're wondering where Travis will be during the race....standing on the sidelines with mom, Kourtny (sister-in-law), and Trish Raley

 

I need to be reminded why I started this family tradition?!?!? I think I'm crazy....oh well....at least we celebrate with Campisi's after the race!

Family Pictures

Travis and I met with a fantastic photographer a couple of weeks ago
to take some pictures in the Fort Worth stockyards with our horses.
Some of the pictures are now online and some won't be shown until
Christmas....Riley Christmas card 09 coming soon!

We are very pleased with the way they turned out. You never know when
you're dealing with animals! The horses behaved perfectly and we had a
great time prancing around Cowtown.

We closed out the session with dinner at Joe T Garcias.

To see more of the pictures, go here: www.lindseyjoy.com/blog

If you live in the DFW area, I highly recommend Lindsey. She is does
an excellent job and is very easy to work with AND affordable!

Deer Season

You know it’s deer season when your husband has a new deer feeder IN your living room. That’s right friends, hubs purchased another feeder and he assembled it inside the house and now it’s waiting to be taken to its new home…outside….hopefully sooner rather than later.

Cakes, Cakes, and more Cakes

I just want to take a minute to showcase one of my friend's talents. One of my co-workers introduced me to this amazingly talented gal...seriously. Just look at these cakes AND they taste d-lish!

 

This girl, Ashleigh Foster, has been blessed with the ability to make fabulous cakes from scratch (with her own recipes) and decorate a beautiful cake. I have used her twice now and have just been in awe of what she can do and the low prices she charges. If you live in the Dallas area and are in need of a cake or cupcakes, please get in touch with the supremely talented Ashleigh Foster at: afost2@yahoo.com

 

 

Bet ya' wouldn't guess that she is only 23 and makes these cakes out of her kitchen in her home...just a regular ole' kitchen like we all have! Can you say talented?

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Yesterday was my dad's 60th birthday and my Nana's (Dad's mom) 92nd birthday!!! WOW! Happy Birthday to two extremely wonderful people who have helped make me the woman I am today.

 

Daddy, I know we will officially celebrate your birthday this weekend, but I wanted to show you just how much I look up to you and admire you for the amazing husband, father, son, and friend that you are to so many people.

 

The following list contains 60 traits/characteristics/features my sweet daddy has:

 

1. Dependable      2. Loving     3. Caring     4. Trustworthy     5. Resourceful     6. Friendly to everybody he meets

7. Athletic     8. Determined     9. Kind     10. Godly     11. Happy     12. Always on Time (or really early when driving us to school)

13. Faithful     14. Talented     15. Spiritual     16. Family Man/Family First     17. Self-less     18. Intelligent

19. Hard Worker     20. You're the Best     21. Motivated     22. Marathoner     23. Golfer     24. Head over heels in love with your wife/mom     25. Baylor Fan     26. Provider     27. Father     28. Generous     29. Care-Taker     30. YTB     31. Friend

32. Humble     33. Considerate     34. Tall     35. Red Hair-well...was     36. Honest     37. Creative     38. Joyful

39. Reliable     40. You're the Best     41. Sociable     42. Successful     43. Radiant      44. Inspiring

45. Warm     46. Enthusiastic     47. Strong     48. Forgiving    49. Fantastic      50. You're the Best     51.  Protective

52. Likeable     53. Fundraiser    54. Inspring     55. OLD     56. Happily Married for over 35 years

57. Encouraging     58. Listener     59. Leaf Blower     60. You're the Best

 

Happy Birthday, Daddy! Thank you for being such an awesome dad. We can't wait to celebrate with you this weekend and hopefully see the Bears win a game!

 

YTB

The Miracle of Puppy Birth

Tonight I got to witness the tail end (no pun intended) of our dog,
Parker, giving birth to 5 healthy and beautiful Redbone Coonhounds.

It is really incredible that God has equipped an animal like a dog to
be able to give birth on their own and take care of the pups. Truly
incredible. This is Parker's second go-round, but this time I was the
one at home with her.

Parker and her pups are safe and sound in their pen nursing away! I'll
post more pictures once they start moving around.

Fall TV

It’s about that time for all of the TV series to pick-up where they left off last fall. Tonight happens to be the season premiere of one of my favorite shows: The Biggest Loser.

 

This show sucks me in every season. I can’t help it! I will even admit that I’ve shed a tear or two during the show. I get attached to these contestants and to me it is truly amazing to see them lose all of that weight.

 

This season promises to bring even more excitement as one of last season’s contestants is returning! Daniel is a high school student who started last season weighing almost 400 pounds (perhaps over that mark). He lost a lot of weight last year, but being that big he still has a lot to lose, so he will be appearing this fall to continue on his quest to be the BL.  BL also has a contestant who is the biggest female to ever be on the show.

 

Here’s to another wonderful season of BL. Until then, I’ll be counting the hours until 7:00 when it comes on!

My Best Friend's Wedding

Saturday, September 12, 2009 my best friend, Erin Freeman married a wonderful man, Stephen Szalkowski (pronounced: shal-cow-ski). I was honored to be asked to be the Matron of Honor so we spent the weekend enjoying all of the festivities in San Antonio. The rehearsal dinner was held at the Buckhorn museum downtown and the wedding ceremony took place at the Incarnate Word chapel (absolutely beautiful) and the reception was at the Sheraton Gunter hotel. The entire weekend was a wonderful and beautiful event.

The beautiful bride showing off her red Jimmy Choo's

It was a beautiful wedding and Erin was a gorgeous, calm, relaxed, and happy bride. The wedding day was wonderful and went off without a hitch!

Abbie and I at the rehearsal dinner

The up do

Abbie and I ready to head to the church

The maid of honor(Stacey) and the matron of honor

Me and the stunning bride!

Abbie, Stacey, and I enjoying the cocktail hour before the reception began

Ernie and I at the reception

Cutting of the groom's cake- red velvet, yummy!

The groom and I

Cutting the bride's cake- also super yummy

And capping off the evening by giving the hubs a smooch

Erin and Stephen- thank you for including us in your fabulous wedding weekend. We could not be happier for such a wonderful couple to make this commitment to each other. We wish you a wonderful and happy life together. We hope you enjoy the next 2 weeks touring Greece!