Hit The Ground Running!

I'm trying to post more often to keep you guys updated and to be a better "blogger" :) so make sure you keep checking back!
This past weekend was a blast!! We had planned to just kick back, relax, and take it easy because our summer is going to be so crazy and full of adventures! Friday night started off a little slow, as planned. We were so BORED!! haha Guess we didn't realize how much we just sit around and watch TV when there is nothing else to do. A couple weeks ago we decided to go ahead and turn in the cable box. We're finding ways to cut back on spending and figured cable was not a must and that we would be fine without it! It is definitely going to take some getting use to though! We get 3 channels through atenna so our shows are limited. Friday night was the first time we didn't really have a lot going on. Joel worked on the yard some and then we ended up staying up late and playing Wii MarioCart for about 4 hours! It was actually pretty fun. We hadn't played it in awhile.
Saturday we were sitting around in our pajamas still when we got a call from Jenn. She and Danielle had extra tickets to the Rangers game and a hotel room already booked! After our "awesome" fun-filled Saturday night, we weren't sure about driving all the way to Dallas....yeah right! :) We jumped up so fast and were out of here on our way to Dallas! The game was for Danielle and William's bachelor/bachelorette/engagement type party! There were tons of people going and the tickets were on the party patio with free food and stuff. The game was a lot of fun and it was good to see some old friends I hadn't seen in awhile! Joel also ran into Sean and Katy so we got to see them for a couple innings too!



Saturday we went to the Byron Nelson PGA Tournament! I'm not going to lie...I wasn't really looking forward to this part of the trip because I think golf can be boring to watch. Joel was given tickets to the tournament from a friend back in Kerrville, Allison, for FREE! :) What a great, FREE weekend! Duncan was able to meet us there too! We hadn't seen him since he moved away! I was shocked that the tournament was actually a lot of fun! It was hot..but Allison also gave us passes for the Grand Stands at hole 18 so we got free drinks too! :) A guy from Amarillo, Ryan Palmer, was the very last golfer to finish and made the tying shot to go into a playoff! It was pretty exciting! He didn't end up winning, but it was a lot of fun to watch. We got pretty sunburned and had to drive home after the tournament. We were worn out when we got home, but it was all worth it!!

Yesterday we stayed a little low key. We spent a lot of time cleaning house and doing laundry. Joel's parents and grandma and grandpa are coming to visit this weekend! (Can't wait!) He helped the whole time and did A LOT of cleaning! I'm so blessed to have him around and to have such a helpful husband! We then went to Babies R Us to hit up a sale and use some coupons! :) It was tough to not just go crazy and buy out the whole store! We cooked some venison on the grill with carrots and mashed potatoes for dinner. It was yummy and a good Memorial Day for us.
Today, softball camp started at Caprock. We actually had about 18 kids 3rd-6th grade and 12 7th-9th grade show up! We weren't sure how many to expect, but  I think that was a pretty good turnout. Hopefully they bring some friends tomorrow too! Camp went well and the kids seemed to have fun. Of course, every kid had a story today on what they already knew or what someone else had taught them with every little thing I said! Tomorrow I'll be teaching them how to pitch :) This will be interesting.
That's it for now...love yall!

23 Weeks!

Here she is! She weighed in at 1 pound 5 ounces today. She was wide awake throughout the entire sonogram! She was wiggling and moving all over the place the whole time. The nurse loved it! She said we were the best baby she's seen in a long time. We checked her brain and she had all the parts and looked good there. She has all 4 chambers of her heart and it was beating loud and fast! She also got the hiccups while we were watching her. We could see and hear her hiccup! She has all her organs and a good-looking spine. The nurse said we've done a great job! :) She had a full tummy too so we know she's eating! At one point, she was moving her mouth open and shut and it was fun to watch. We didn't get the camera on fast enough, though, so no video of that. We got to watch her for about 30-45 minutes! We did not want to leave. The nurse said to get a good pair of running shoes before she's up and moving around because we're going to have to keep up with her the way she was moving around in there!
The first picture is her profile. I think she looks beautiful!! Her little face looks perfect! :) The second picture is from the front. You can see her eye sockets, nose, chin, chest, and part of her tummy.
Tomorrow is our last day of school! FINALLY! I'm so ready for a break from the classroom! We start softball camp next week, Joel's parents & grandma and grandpa come visit, volleyball camp the week after that, and then we go see Dad, Jenn, Justin, and Leslie in San Diego! It will be a busy next couple of weeks!! After that I have my first baby shower! I can't wait! I have a feeling our summer is going to fly by! Joel has already started his summer. They have been playing golf ALL week!! I'm glad he's finally getting to play. They've been wanting to play all spring.
That's about all that has been going on here. We'll try to keep y'all updated a little better now that summer is here!! Have a good Friday!

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!