It's a GIRL! :)

Joel and I were blessed to get to spend a lot of time with family over the Easter holidays! I went to Waco and watched a Baylor softball game with Jennifer and then got to have dinner with mom, mamaw, Jennifer, Aunt Cynthia, Tara, Therese, and Kaylee! It was so good to see them! I wish I could've spent more time there and gotten to hang out more. I really miss spending time with my family and cousins.

The next day I drove up to Austin to meet Joel. He had been off recruiting all week all over Texas. I picked him up and then we spent the day with dad! :) I love spending time with dad and just getting to relax. We went out that night (Joel, Dad, me, and Joel's friend Morgan) to see an 80's cover-band, LC Rocks! That was a lot of fun! Friday morning dad took us to get our gender sonogram! I was so excited I couldn't stand it! It was awesome to see our little baby growing! I wish I could just go get a sonogram whenever I wanted so I could see her all the time and see how she's growing and changing! The nurse found that she was a girl immediately - no question about it (that's what she said)!

We were given a "sneak peak" of a 3D/4D sonogram! It was awesome how we could see her so well!

In this picture you can see her legs, rib cage, and her arm is on her face. If you look close enough you can even see her little fingers up there too! Joel and I both were just in awe! Dad got to be there too and I think he really enjoyed it as well! I can't wait to get another sonogram and see her again! After the sonogram we drove on over to Kerrville to spend the weekend with Joel's family! Michelle and Jarrod got to be there too! :) I love getting to hang out with all of them! They were all just as excited about us having a girl! I know that little baby will be so spoiled and will have her daddy wrapped around her finger! He has no idea what he's in for with a little girl! ;) We went to the Kerrville baseball and softball games with Jesse and Donna. Saturday morning Michelle, Donna, and I walking in a 5K. I could definitely tell a difference in the air...and the hills!! It was fun though! We then walked around down-town and saw all the market trade-day booths. There was some really cute stuff down there. Joel and Jarrod went hunting while we were on our walk, but they didn't get to shoot anything. Saturday evening everyone came over for Easter dinner. Nana, CG, Grandma, Grandpa, the Lashley clan, and Mart & Pat were all able to come! After dinner we had an Easter egg dying contest! We dyed about 100 eggs! I've never dyed so many eggs in my life! It sure was fun though! Joel's egg won first place. I got 2nd and Ellen got 3rd.

Sunday morning we went to church and to Sunday school with everyone. We ate left-overs at the house and Morgan was able to come by too. I'm glad Joel and Jarrod got to hang out and visit with him. After lunch Joel and I got on the road again, headed home. It was a looooong drive back home so we spent all those hours talking about baby names! :) We've decided (for now) on Sawyer Rylee Hinton. We're both so excited and can't wait to meet her!

Hope everyone had as wonderful of an Easter as we did!!

Been A While!

Hey everyone!! Sorry it has been so long! I've been busy...well, mostly just exhausted! I left off at Spring Break! Joel went to Colorado to visit Jarrod and Michelle. I didn't get to go because of softball and was very sad about that! He caught a bus in Amarillo with a church group from Kerrville and his mom was on the bus too :) He got to go fishing, some by himself, and some with Jarrod and his mom. I just rested at home and had softball practice and games. I would've much rather been hanging out with Michelle and Donna in Colorado with Joel!
For Joel's birthday we invited a few people over but not everyone got to come because it was late notice. We just cooked out and hung out at the house. Last week we got a new car :) We traded in the truck for our "family car," a 2010 Equinox. It is REALLY nice and I am glad Joel let me get it! I definitely miss my truck, but I really like this car too.

It has leather interior, blue tooth, OnStar, DVD player, a sunroof, and a bunch of buttons! I think Joel likes it too. We have had it a little over a week now.
Last weekend we went to Night With the Pros. It is an event where all the former WT football players who are in the NFL or some form of professional football league (Canadian, Arena, etc.) host a dinner and an auction to raise money for WT football. It was pretty fun. We had to dress nice because Billy Best told us people wore suits. We got there to find most everyone in comfy dresses, jeans, and cowboy boots!! I was not happy about that!! I would've worn my boots in a heartbeat!! :) The food was really good and the auction was fun to watch. Some jerseys of 2 of the players went for almost $4,000 for the 2! It was crazy! Next year I'll know what to wear! :)
This past weekend was nice. Saturday we went down to the canyon to practice looking for turkeys. Joel practice calling and we creeped around looking for turkeys. We found some :) It was neat to try to sneak up on them and get as close as possible. We saw two flocks. One had about 9 hens and a tom and the other group had 3 or 4 toms and 5 hens. The 2nd group was talking back to Joel. :)

Yesterday we were able to go out to Dusty's (dad's cousin) between Miami and Canadian to try to kill a turkey. We didn't ever get a shot but we saw a ton of turkeys! When we got there we chose a spot but had to walk through a bunch of cows to get to our spot. I was scared because there were a bunch of calfs too and was worried the mommas would charge us to protect their babies. They didn't. They did follow us though...the whole herd! The followed us to our spot and stood there staring at us forever! We were in full camo so I think they were trying to figure out what we were. We sat together against this tree to wait on some turkeys. I heard this loud breathing/sniffing noise so I looked over my should to find one of the big cows right in my face!! I screamed :) Then the cow kept poking me on the shoulder with its nose like it was trying to figure out what I was. It was funny. Eventually they left us alone. At one point we saw over 30 turkeys out in the field, but on the wrong side of the fence. We were out there for about 5 hours. Overall it was pretty fun, but I wish we had gotten a turkey. Hopefully we get a chance next weekend!

That about sums it up for the last few weeks! I'll try not to miss so much!!

One-Year Anniversary

Can't believe a year has already gone by!! It seems like our wedding was just the other day! We went to church this morning and then just relaxed at home all day. I took a long nice nap :) Joel doesn't understand how I can always take a nap and don't feel like doing anything...he forgets I'm building a baby in here! ;) He worked on the gate for a while..the one Ranger ate through. I played with the dogs in the backyard while he worked on the fence. We went to dinner at Outback..it was yummy! Then we came home for the wedding cake. We both were a little nervous to eat year-old cake! Donna did a good job wrapping it for us though, because it actually tasted pretty good!! The fondant was not so great..but I don't really like that stuff anyways. The cake was good and moist and soft and the icing was too. It was definitely still as sweet as it was a year ago! Joel thought it was good too. Now we're just hanging out again, watching TV.

Life is good :)

25th Birthday!

Spring Break is finally here!! A week away from the class room is going to be so nice!! Thursday night was the spring game for WT. Joel's team demolished the other guys!! I think he did all the play calling! ;) It was fun to hang out with the wives, and sort of watch the game! Dad also sent me flowers to work for my birthday!! It was a complete surprise!! They were so pretty!! I really have the best dad a girl could ask for.

Our girls lost last night to Canyon High school..it was pretty ugly. 22-0. Because of that, we had to practice today. Not really what I wanted to do on my birthday, but we definitely needed it!! Today, Joel and I slept in. We then got breakfast burritos :-P - - one of my favorite things!! We hung out for a few hours, now that football is over! I then went up to Amarillo to get a new shirt to wear to dinner tomorrow for our 1-year Anniversary! Then I got the truck washed at the gas station...it came out cleaner, but still dirty!! So much for a $5 wash. I'll have to wash it for real this week. Then I headed to practice, where only like 7 of our 12 girls showed up. Shows the commitment we have. I was talking to Joel about it last night and was pretty upset about it. I just remember when I played, if the coach said "we have practice tomorrow" I was there - no excuses! Joel reminded me how different the kids are today and, on top of that, how different the group of kids I am working with are from where I grew up. I guess I just figure an athlete to be an athlete. It seems like the other coaches and I have put so much time into these girls and yet some of them still don't care or aren't as committed as they should be. It is very frustrating. We play a team Monday that Caprock has never lost to and the other coach is pretty worried as to whether or not our team will show up ready to play. He keeps saying this may be the year they beat us. I hope not. I'm so tired of losing. It seems like I've done everything I can do and know how to do as a coach, yet we still come out on bottom. :-\ I just keep my head up and keep encouraging and pushing the girls to get better every game.

After practice I got home and Joel started cooking dinner. I helped a little, but he did most of it! It was probably one of the best whole meals we've made in our 1 year of marriage!! The baby liked it too! :)

Our China from Nana and CG :)

We then took the dogs for a walk. They're out of shape!! As soon as we got home they crashed on the floor! They're wiped out and breathing hard!! I also got my birthday/Christmas presents from mom in the mail today! Included was our first baby gift :) A stuffed animal puppy, tree frame, and a cross with a bible verse on it. I loved it all! I had tons of facebook posts and messages and texts today too. Joel also cleaned house a little and did some laundry while I was gone today! He is such a great husband! It makes me realize how blessed and loved I am to have such wonderful friends and family.

Spring Break is Coming Soon!! :)

Wednesday....Why is it not Friday yet?? I am so ready for a break from teaching!! I can't exactly say a "full break" because we still have softball. Any break will be nice though!! I'm also excited for this weekend because I get to celebrate my birthday and, even better, our 1-year anniversary!! I can't believe it has already been a year. It feels like we just got married.
We had our first district game this week. The JV lost 24-1 on Monday. It was pretty ugly. Varsity played Tuesday and lost 19-1. I know that score sounds terrible, and it is hard to be proud of a team that loses 19-1, but our girls actually played better than they have all season. Even the umpires were complimenting the girls. We played Randal, who is ranked number 4 in the state. We also lasted 5 full innings with them so that was a pretty big accomplishment against such a good team too. We still have a long way to go, but it seems that our girls are starting to figure things out.
My shoulder is feeling better. Lots of prayer seems to be the cure :) I woke up Monday morning to it suddenly feeling 10 times better than it had this past weekend! I'm still not 100% but it is definitely a huge relief! The WT spring game is tomorrow. Hope Joel's team wins!! :) He said they're looking pretty good in practice. It will be a lot of fun...if it warms up! The last couple of nights have gotten pretty chilly. We had frost on the windows this morning. I'll be layering up and taking a blanket!! That's about all for tonight!! I am way ready for bed!! Happy Wednesday!

Glad for Sundays

This weekend was long! We had another softball tournament, but it was here in Canyon. That was nice, because we didn't have to deal with traveling, hotels, and money to feed the girls. We ended up winning 1 of 6 games this weekend, and got run-ruled the rest. :-\ I'm hoping things can begin to go up. The girls are playing better, but there just always seems to be a bad inning or 2 that just crushes us and then suddenly the game is over. The other coach and I just try to keep our heads up and see the positive things on the field. We start district this week with what is probably the 2 top teams, Randal and Canyon. Two of our girls who are injured find out tomorrow if they get to come back in time for the first district game. I've been praying hard for them to be released because I know how much these 2 can make a difference. They both play with so much passion and love for the game that I think it will push everyone else to keep fighting.
Today was an okay day. This morning wasn't so great. I think I might have gotten the shower water too hot this morning because at one point I got a little dizzy and light-headed. It did not feel good at all! I had to lay down for a little bit when I got out and then felt funny all morning through Sunday school. I was able to take a nap after church though and felt much better after that. I went to a friend's baby shower this afternoon. She is having twins. She got a ton of neat stuff! Watching her open things and listening to the other coaches' wives by me say "Oh you definitely need one of those! Make sure you get that on your registry!" made me realize how little I know about babies and the things we'll need when the baby gets here!! haha I have no clue where to begin on registering for things! I do know that I have tons of new moms around me, though, and of course our own parents, to give us advice so I'm not TOO worried! I did start doing some reading, though, to make myself feel a little better. I've been going through the sack of stuff the nurse gave us on our first visit and learned a few things. :) I already feel better. I also talked to my friend, Amanda, and she reminded me that there is a reason God gives us 9 months to learn about babies so to take it slow! I'm glad God gave Joel and me the family and friends we have to help us through all of this! We do have a lot of great people to turn to during all of this and I'm so thankful for them! 
Grandpa moved into the nursing home last week with Grandmother. I think it is a good thing and has been good for both of them. They've been in different places now for almost 2 years and they both have been so worried about each other. They get to share a room and be together all the time again now. I talked to Grandpa the night he moved in and he sounded better than I've heard him sound in a while...a lot happier. I talked to dad and he said he seems to be doing really well. Hopefully I get a chance to go visit them this summer and soon after the baby gets here! I know they're so excited to meet their first great-grandbaby!
Joel has still been busy with spring ball but that ends this week! :) They draft tomorrow night for their teams for the spring game, which is Thursday. Hopefully Joel brings home the win!! He said they've been practicing pretty good lately so I'm excited to see the game and how they look. He's been so good taking care of me and helping me lately. He cooks dinner and does the laundry and vacuums...he just helps so much! I'm so blessed to have such a great husband! I let him watch all the hunting shows he wants for that!! ;) haha It makes me have dreams about shooting bears and going on big hunts, but that's ok. We've been planning out our summer a little and so far it looks like this - - San Diego with dad early June, a visit from the Hinton in-laws and grandparents after that, Roaring River at the end of June, Colorado to see Jarrod and Michelle over 4th of July week, a trip to Waco and one of my best-friend's weddings mid-July, and hopefully at trip to Houston to see Grandmother and Grandpa. Dad is planning some trips up here and hopefully I'll be able to visit him in Austin that week I'm in Waco for the wedding. :) I hate being so far from family because we have to plan times together...hopefully one day we'll be back closer to all our family - - that means Jarrod and Michelle will have to move to Texas too! :)
Well..that's all for tonight! Have a great week!!

Hump Day :)

Wednesday is my Friday this week!! :) I'm out the next 2 days for softball again. Our girls are playing here at WT for a Panhandle tournament. I've seen some improvement in practice this week so I'm hoping it shows in the games this weekend! The girls could really use a win...and so could us coaches!
I'm feeling pretty good and definitely in better moods!! I'm still pretty tired by the end of the day though! I just keep counting down to Spring Break...1 more week! Joel got to play gold today. He was pretty excited about it. The weather really was perfect today! He didn't play his best game, but he's glad that time of year is here! He said he had a really nice, easy day. He didn't have much to do at all today, but now he is having to put in grades for his class and get things ready for class tomorrow. I always tell him he should do it during the day when he has free time so he can relax at night :) He'd rather play golf though! ;) I got to see Nina and baby Jaxon (my co-teacher) yesterday. That little boy is so cute!! Nina is doing well too. Today I got to go see Amanda (softball coach) and her baby Abigail who was born Saturday! She was precious too!! I couldn't hold her yet because the doctor wants people to wait, but she was awake the whole time I was there! I can't wait to find out if we're having a boy or girl and then to get to meet them! Those 2 babies were just so precious! I know there will be a lot of work and a lot of things no one can be prepared for but I can't wait! :) Joel is pretty excited too...and nervous I'm sure at the same time!! I guess no one really knows what to expect and never be fully prepared for a baby!


That's all for today! We're both so ready for bed!! Good night world!