Monumental Occasion

The next time you see Sierra, you will notice something a little different about her. She can now spit corn through her front teeth and talks a little different then she did yesterday. SHE LOST HER FIRST TOOTH! She is so excited and can't wait to show everyone. She is smiling from ear to ear to make sure everyone sees! And of course, you can't miss it, it's her front bottom tooth.

She and dad were sitting on the couch last night playing a game when she started wiggling her tooth (which she's been doing for 3 days) and it just popped right out! She put it under her pillow last night and of course the "Tooth Fairy" came, took her tooth, and left her $3. Let's just say it wasn't difficult to get her out of bed this morning. She sat straight up, started throwing pillows everywhere to make sure the Tooth Fairy really did come. She mentioned to me later that she thinks the tooth fairy is a girl. Funny, when Brandon was about her age, he told me he saw the tooth fairy fly into his room and he promised me it was a boy! :) Must be a gender thing. You will see SB smiling a lot now. Not that she didn't already.

Oh, can't forget this...when JB found out that SB got money for losing her tooth, this morning he started wiggling his own! LOL Knowing him, he will pull them all before they're ready!

Take care and have a great week.
KB

You never know

Well today is Memorial Day and we've all been up for awhile. We've washed both cars, cleaned the cars and Sierra and I have even taken a walk this morning. We're getting ready to load everyone up and head to the cemetary to put out flowers. After that, I think we'll head down to my mom's to go swimming. Brandon, Megan, Irven (my mom's brother) and I think even Scott and Sharon are coming to her house to eat and swim. Sierra and Pierce are really excited. Sierra learned to swim on her back yesterday (she never ceases to amaze me).

Funny thing happened the other day and I thought it was worth posting. I took Sierra and Pierce to visit my grandmother Mary who is 89 years old. She acts like she is 70 and still picks JB up and had even made SB a pair of capri's and cute little shirt. She is such an amazing woman and so good with the kids. Of course when we go over there, she loads them up with candy, ice cream and anything else they want...I guess like any good grandmother would do (Grams and her m&ms:) So of course JB is in heaven! As we were leaving, she walked us to the car and gave both kids a kiss goodbye. As she was kissing JB and telling him that she loved him, he looked at her and said, "I thought you died" after I picked my jaw up off the ground, I said, "oh no honey, that was Nanaw Darlin" JB looked at me and said, "no it wasn't, it was her" As we tried to explain that it was Nanaw Darlin and NOT Nanaw Mary, JB started asking the normal 3-year questions, "how did she die", "how did she get to heaven", and then he started crying saying he wanted Nanaw Darlin (which he has never done before) so I realized he was probably a little tired and at that point, anything was going to make him cry.

When it comes to JB...you just never know what he's going to say. But that's what makes him special! Speaking of JB, next time you see him, ask him to sing How Great is our God or Sweep me Away. He knows those songs word for word and we sing them constantly in the car.

Take care and have a wonderful holiday!
KB

Happy Anniversary and Happy Birthday!

Well, I guess it is the day! Today is my parents' 47th anniversary and my youngest big sister's birthday. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad, and Happy Birthday Melody!

Sunday morning and Kelly went to the Senior PGA Championship after we got back home from church. The little ones and I are hanging out. We've called three different sets of their friends to see if they could come over, but it seems that everyone else is out of town for Memorial Day. They have talked me into taking them swimming down at Nannaw's so we will head out here in a minute.

One other momentous occasion I can share: Not only did we take SB's training wheels off of her bike last night, SHE actually took one of them off with pliers and a wrench. She never ceases to amaze me because she was doing it at the same time I was taking the other one off (I was thinking that she would watch me and then know how to take her side off, but when I got done, she was already done). Kind of funny, she told me that she could ride without them, but it was really hard for me to let go of the handlebars. When I finally did, she rode all the way down the street and back. Unbelievable.

Last night we had John and Darcy (from my office) over with their two boys and grilled hot dogs and hamburgers while the kids played out back. Brandon hung out all day and then came back over with a couple of his friends. Scott and Megan came over for a little while after looking for a couch for Megan. (Sierra and I had looked at some garage sales earlier in the day for Megan, to no avail).

It was a fun day getting to see everyone and just spend some good time together.

Off to swim - again, Happy Anniversary and Happy Birthday!

B

Update

Not much new in our lives. We had the kids last night and they were really good. The doorbell rang and there were 4 little girls asking if Sierra could come out and play. They are all around her age and just moved in down the street. They played together and JR came over and played with JB. When we went to get Sierra at her friends house, she informed us they've formed a new "girls club" called the BRATZ. She seemed really excited to have new friends. BL is good, Megan is good and Rylie (the new puppy) is a puppy. She wants to be right under your feet all the time, but she's so cute it's hard to get on to her.

Well I work at the Sr. PGA all day tomorrow...I know, someone's got to do it. BL has been in Tulsa visiting a friend and will be back tomorrow. This weekend should be fun because everyone will be home.

Hope everyone has a great weekend and enjoys the holiday.

KB

Tough Weekend

We got home around 7:00pm tonight. This weekend was tough. Brandon had a good series playing, but Saturday was the last college game he will ever play and that was emotionally tough for all of us. Before the game they had senior day ceremonies and players escorted their parents onto the field. I made it through without really breaking down until I saw BL break down and that was all it took. Sunday morning we packed up his stuff and headed for OKC around 7am. It was a long drive and not a lot was said. I think he realizes a lot will happen in the next 15 days. The draft starts June 6th and goes to the 7th. He is still hoping to go in the draft and will try to stay busy to keep his mind off of it until it happens. We'll keep you posted.

Hope everyone had a great weekend despite the hot weather. I had a great time with Brett in Las Cruces.

KB

Mother's Day

I've had a wonderful Mother's Day! I was able to spend time with three of my children and BL called first thing this morning to tell me Happy Mother's Day. We went to church and then spent a couple of hours with my mom. After that, we came home, listened to NMSU play LA Tech, and worked in the yard. It was a beautiful day and I really enjoyed just spending time with my family.

BL is feeling better. Said he still feels weak, but he was the DH today and went 2-5 at the plate. Not bad for someone who collapsed yesterday from heat exhaustion. Unfortunately, they lost today so they only took one out of two this series. They have their final conference series next weekend in Las Cruces against Nevada. If they were to sweep Nevada they would still have a shot to go to the WAC conference tourney, May 25. It's also Senior Day next weekend so should be a pretty emotional weekend. Could be BL's final game of his college career.

Our puppy, Rylie, is awesome. She is a little spoiled, but that's okay (so are our children) :) She appears to be potty trained and has a great temperment. Sierra just loves her and holds her 24/7.

Hope everyone has a great week!
KB

Life in perspective

Brandon has had two of the best games "hitting" so far this season. He went 5 for 7 in the past two games against Lousiana Tech, but none of that matters. For those of you who we didn't talk to tonight, BL collapsed during the second game and was taken to the hospital. The game was delayed 30 minutes waiting for the ambulance. As a parent, that has to be one of the worst feelings in the world. Not to mention the fact that we are so far away. Luckily, his dad and step-mom were at the game and were able to give us udpates. BL caught both games and the temperature was hot and humid. And apparently, during the sixth-inning of the second game, after BL hit a single to first, Luke hit a double scoring BL. When he reached the dugout, he said he started throwing up and couldn't stop. The NMSU trainer took his pulse and it was 120. They had already decided to pull him from the game and told him to sit in the dugout and cool off...but the last thing BL recalls is thinking he couldn't stop throwing up and he couldn't sit still so he tried to walk to his dad's Tahoe in the parking lot and apparently collapsed somewhere along the way. Listening to the LA Tech announcer on the computer he kept "speculating" what was wrong during the delay. He said Brandon was hit in the chest with a file tip a couple of innings prior to that, so he wondered if that could have caused him to collapse. So you can imagine what we were going through here at home. He was relased from the hospital around 10pm tonight and they think it was heat exhaustion. When we talked to him, he was excited that the guy that replaced him when he came out of the game, hit a two-run homerun to win the game. BL told Brett he was feeling better and wants to play tomorrow! Hopefully his coaches will talk him out of that. We'll keep you posted on his progress. Please keep him in your prayers.

On a lighter note...I got a puppy today for an early Mother's Day present from all the kids. She's so cute! Her name is Riley and she is a 7 week old Shiz Tzu. Actually, her registered name will be "Miss Bratz Riley Burleson." Sierra has held her all day long so I'm sure she is going to be spoiled rotten! She seems to be very good natured and "so far" has not had any accidents in the house. Hopefully she's a quick learner :)

Hope everyone has a Happy Mother's Day tomorrow and we'll keep you posted on BL.

KB

Full House

Brett is on a business trip in Salt Lake City until late Wednesday. Tonight SB and JB have Monica and J.R. over to play. I overheard JB tell JR, "hey don't call me little, now tell me you're sorry, tell me you're sorry!" JR who will be 4 years old in June, and is actually taller than JB said, "sorry." JB thought for a minute and said, "that's okay." Whew, never have to worry about him taking up for himself! The girls are watching tv and playing dress up. And Megan is laying on the couch watching tv. She is pooped from her second day on the job. She insisted on picking the kids up from daycare because she is closer than I am. What 19 year old do you know who is that responsible? We're really lucky.

Well, I hear both boys playing batman so I know they're okay. Every now and then I hear a crash and I go check on them. JB is usually throwing everything in the toybox, out. I'm sure his room will look like a tornado hit it when they are finished. That's okay, if that's the worst they do.

We're headed for Las Cruces next weekend (May 19) for Senior Day. That's going to be tough.

I'm anxious for tomorrow because Brett comes home. Funny, I spent so many years alone and now I can't stand it when he's gone one night.

Have a great Wednesday!
KB

OUCH

NMSU didn't have a good weekend. They were swept by San Jose State. BL didn't have his best weekend, but he did have another MLB scout come up and talk to him Saturday and give him another questionaire to fill out, which helped his spirits.

We had a good day. My sister and her husband stopped by to see the house and we even walked across the street and looked at the model homes. They are currently building a 9500 sq ft home in Norman. I can't even imagine making decisions on a house that size.

We're cooking out on the grill tonight and me, Brett & Megan are just hanging out together (which I love).

Have a great week!
KB

Two Down

Well, NMSU has lost two out of three so far this weekend. Their last game is tomorrow and hopefully they will pull that one off and keep from being swept by San Jose State.

Friday night NMSU was down 3-4 and BL hit a 3 run homerun over left field to put them ahead 6-4. The announcer went crazy saying he's never seen a ball go that far. He hit it completely out of the ballpark past the bullpen. I was SO glad for BL because he struck out his first two at bats. Unfortunately they ended up losing the game in the bottom of the tenth with a walk-off homerun 7-6.

We hung out with Megan most of the day and even went to look at puppies at the pet store. The problem with that is, ALL puppies are cute and you get caught up in the moment. If it were up to Brett, we would have a tiny black poodle right now! Luckily, we got out of there before we bought anything and decided to wait and think more about it. I think eventually we will buy another bulldog.

Hope everyone's having a nice weekend, despite the weather. We'll let you know how the final game turns out.

KB

All work and NO play

I'm not sure about everyone else, but my life has been as busy lately as it's ever been. Promotions are crazy right now, BL's senior year, SB's first year of school and everything in between. Brett's work has also been busy, so that makes for a bad combination. THANK GOODNESS we have Megan! She called today and asked if she could pick up the little ones from daycare. Not only did she pick them up, she took them to get movies and of course, bought them something while they were there.

Tonight while we were all praying before dinner, we went around the table and everyone said something they were thankful for. When we came to JB, he said, "thank you for Megan picking us up, and for her stopping by." haha He is so funny! Megan was laughing so hard she was crying. We finally asked JB if he realized she lives with us. He looked a little puzzled at first, and finally said yes. Maybe it's because she didn't live with us at the apartment, or that she's hardly ever here, but it's funny to hear a child's perspective.

Well all the kids are in bed, Brett is playing PS2, and I'm getting ready to go to bed.

Here's to another day at the office...but it's FRIDAY!! And BL plays San Jose State on the computer tomorrow evening. Funny, we live for those games.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. I know we're looking forward to a nice, relaxing one.
KB

A race to remember...

If you've been reading our blog, you realize that SB & JB were signed up to run their first "official" race. They were both geared up and had to get new running shoes. JB was so excited he tried his out in the store and he ran so fast, he ran into a shelf full of shoes and hit his head. I thought I was going to have to pick Brett & SB up off the floor they were laughing so hard. He didn't think it was too funny.

The morning of the race, April 30, they had to get up at 6am in order to be at the race site so I could help coordinate the event. They were tired, but excited. We finally made it to the start line and since I was helping with the race, we were able to put them in the front. Now, after thinking about it for a minute, I realized with 1,529 kids registered to run, it may not have been the smartest or most strategic thing to put them in front (to be run over). I instructed SB to either run fast, or move to the side and let the other kids pass when the race started. JB was starting to realize this may be a lot of work. I went up on the podium, said a few words to the crowd, came down and gave them both a kiss and then ran across the street to get ready for the mass confusion that followed the race. When the gun started the race, I looked up and saw SB running so fast her ponytail was sticking straight out in back. I think she was scared, and competitive enough that she wasn't about to move to the side. As anticipated, JB walked a few yards and looked up at dad and said, "I wanna hold you," which is his way of saying, "hold me" so Brett decided he didn't sign up for this race, so he wasn't about to carry him for 1.2 miles. They walked a ways, went to the porta potty and then cut across the memorial to finish the race. SB finished the entire race by herself and received her medal at the finish line. To top things off, Grams was at the finish line!

The kids had a great day and both wore their t-shirts to school the next day. Although SB said no one believed her. I told her, that's okay, you know you did it, and you have the medal to prove it!

Now...on to the next race!
KB