A Derby and a Dust Bowl

This morning, Pete, Royce and Brian were dragging but Uncle Carlos was anxious to head to the country club for the golf tournament. Uncle Carlos is over twice their age, and honestly, twice the golfer.

Bailey waved good bye to the golfers this morning...

Ali Grace was so cute in her golf get up.  She loves playing golf with her daddy!

 They had a good day on the course, but didn't win anything! Boo!

Cohen and Addie played their hearts out all day long without a single cross word!

We grilled ribs for supper and Addie chowed down!

Cohen and Addie looked forward to the bonfire all day!

Everyone enjoyed the roasted marshmallows!

My Derby pick didn't win, and the race itself was less than exciting. However, a house full of company made this day just about perfect! The dirt magnets had a BLAST!

FRIDAY!

I love this hairbow! It says "Dirt makes me cuter". So true.. Addie was filthy this afternoon after spending the day at home with Poppy but she cleaned up fairly well for our dinner company tonight.

We were glad to see Daddy come home from work EARLY today!

Ali Grace helped make onion rings using the secret Cooper family recipe!

 Uncle Carlos arrived tonight! He is playing the Edmund Burke Academy Golf Tournament tomorrow.

The Tomlinsons arrived and Cohen loved the puppies! 

I wanna be a COWGIRL baby!

No pics of the kids today.. Sorry. I'm worn out. There's a story behind that actually. I was just thinking to myself how much I am rockin' this new hair cut and how cool I will be once I get my eyebrows waxed tomorrow and my nails done.. Next thing I know I'm running down a dirt road in an old pair of tennis shoes wielding a tree branch, chasing a cow.... several cows actually.  My mom and I were walking since the weather was so nice and all of a sudden a thundering herd comes flying out of her driveway. JAILBREAK! STAMPEDE!  No seriously, it didn't quite qualify as a thundering herd, but it WAS a semi-emergency! I called back to the house and told Ali that I would be chasing cows because I'm a COWGIRL baby! :)  (I'm saying that while making a roping motion with my invisible lasso! )

After we got the cows at least enclosed within my parents' property, I called again to make sure the kids were alright since Pete was working late. No one answers. A thousand things went through my head as I ran back to the house. I was thinking of all the things I was going to yell at them when I got over here and when I rounded the curve of the driveway I saw two red pony tails hopping up and down in the backyard. They were on the trampoline outside! When they saw me, Addie said "Mama!!! We remembered our bug spray!" Aren't they the sweetest things in the world??

I went back to chasing cows and we finally got them all in the right pastures. You know, I have a couple friends and a cousin who run these crazy half marathon things all the time. I've always thought I could never do that. Now that I've successfully run, by my estimate, about 52 miles this afternoon, I think I've got that marathon thing down! Yes, God has a funny way of reminding us when may be getting to big for our boots! We may think we're cool with our italian leather sandals, but we're really not one bit better than an old ratty pair of tennis shoes caked with Georgia red clay.  Wearing old ratty shoes chasing cows down a dirt road is okay too. It's good to be reminded of that sometimes.

Run for the Roses!

I LOVE the Kentucky Derby and I'm really looking forward to watching it this weekend! Churchill Downs is a fascinating place so if you're ever in Louisville, (Loo-ey ville of course) don't pass through without visiting. Even if you don't know one end of a horse from another, you'll still get chills walking through the museum and out onto the track. Promise.

Last year, I listened to the Derby with friends at a Derby Party. We had a wonderful time and a had a little friendly competition to see who could pick the Derby winner. After my friend Tammy's pick died the year before, she abstained from voting last year! This was quite a game of chance though. Truly, picking a derby winner can be quite intriguing if you know any Derby Lore.

Here's a few hints for you guys placing your own wagers this weekend! Most people pick Derby winners based on the Dosage index. The dosage index is really a prediction of the horse's ability to run the distance based on his sire's lineage. Look for a horse with a dosage index higher than 4. Only 3 horses with a dosage index less than 4 have ever won the Derby. However, one of my favorite Derby horses ever, Mine That Bird, won the Derby in 2009 with a dosage well below 4. Who knows!

Also, many race enthusiasts say that if a horse has stallion "Raise A Native" in his or her bloodlines, then  they are more likely to win the race. Twelve Derby winners have been direct descendants of this one stallion.

Geldings and fillies have not historically fared well at the Kentucky Derby, but Mine That Bird was a gelding and I ALWAYS cheer for the girl in the race no matter what, so if there's a filly in the field I usually pick her! Three fillies have won the Derby before but I don't even think there's a filly in this year's lineup. Could be wrong about that though.

There are many other factors such as post position, disposition, and the large heart factor, as was the case with the famous Secretariat, whose heart weighed 22 pounds.  This year my pick will probably be Twice the Appeal because Calvin Borel is the jockey. Who will EVER forget him winning the Derby on Mine That Bird? He cried like a baby and I will never forget that! He's a longshot, but hey that's what makes the derby so fascinating. Enjoy a mint julep and hum "My Old Kentucky Home". That'll get you in the Derby spirit!

Time flies..

Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen.
- Mark Twain

This is Ali Grace drying her own hair and primping. I'm not ready for it. I totally admit I am terrified. Ali Grace has always been very well behaved and she still is, but I'm starting to see these looks that say "you are sooooo not cool" and I really don't know how to respond except to say "don't ever look at me like that again". Then I get the shrugging shoulders and "WHAT??"   We've seriously gone from playing with dolls one night to begging for permission to wear lip gloss the next. Where did the in between time go???  This was my sweet baby just a few years ago...

Sigh.... yes. A little Mama depression has set in! I will soon be the mother of a 5th grader. Not cool. Not cool at all.

Two More Mondays!

Thank goodness we are winding the school year down! I'm about to lose my mind! Things get so busy towards the end of the year. We have Addie's K5 graduation  coming up, field days, end of the year parties, etc. We have a big weekend coming up with the Buzzard Blast in Louisville, a Derby Party, and friends coming into town to visit! My uncle Carlos is coming up from Florida to play in the Edmund Burke Academy Golf Tournament with Pete as well!  It's about to run mama wild!
Gotta take a few deep breaths...

There. That's better.

Addie only wore 3 different outfits today which is good for her. She took a shower tonight and when she got out, wanted to put on the dress she was going to wear tomorrow. Guess we'll iron it in the morning! Ali didn't make the blog tonight. It's a good think we have a tankless hot water heater since she's been in the shower for some time! She is REALLY growing up. She's starting to fret over what to wear and how to do her hair and what so and so thinks about this and that... I'm bracing myself because I know I'm not ready for it!

Super Sweet Sibling Sunday

For all the fighting from yesterday, today was a great day! The girls laughed and played most of the day outside. I had a thousand errands to run. Thankfully, Addie's friend Mary Will came to play for a little while today while her mom went shopping. The kids had a blast and romped all over the farm.

Poor Ali Grace is about to send me over the edge with her bangs! She wants to let them grow out but I might seriously lose my mind in the process. I love short hair on her but she wants to let it grow long and since I've bigger fish to fry, I let her. Speaking of which, I am way overdue for some maintenance! Have you ever looked in the mirror one day and said Whoaaaa......you are OUT of control! Well that was me a couple days ago. I need my hair colored, my eyebrows waxed, my nails done and my feet need a pedicure in the worst possible way! Fear not! I'm getting it done this week. If you meet me on the sidewalk just look the other way until about Thursday. I should be back in business by then!