If you can't beat 'em...

As noted in previous posts, this is the preferred activity of the males in my household...

I have to admit, the view is lovely.

Winters are long around here, prompting them to even get out into the snow, those crazy guys.

Whatever. If it makes them happy and they enjoy it, I surely don't mind...though I can think of nothing that sounds less appealing to me than riding a dirtbike in the snow and getting cold and wet. I cheerfully leave that to the boys. Of course, there are many weeks where riding at all is just not possible. So how do they feed their obsession?  AMA Supercross--the dirt riding enthusiast's equivalent of Nascar. Pretty much consists of groups of guys riding and jumping, grasshopper like, around a dirt track. Jay and the Scoob watch the race series every year, following the successes and failures of their favorite riders.

Reigning champ, Ryan Villapoto. (pic via supercross.com)

So in the interest of familial solidarity, the girls and I joined in on the race fun this year. Yes, we did. Every Saturday night in the Pierson house is race night. We even joined the guys in a little contest to see who can make the best picks and get the most points by the end of the season. Every week we text Jay our picks for the top 3 finishers and he emails all of us his spreadsheet with the results on Sunday.  Jay is currently in first place, but Kyra is hot on his tail.  Me?  Well, I'm in last place.  Shocking, I know.  :)  I have to admit, it has been a really fun activity for us all to participate in together.

Not surprisingly, my main role in race night is food provider. I usually make something fun and appropriate, like homemade pizzas, before we commence the 3 hours of sitting on our butts on the couch.  This week, I decided to put together more of a snacky dinner with crackers, salami, cheese, apples, etc. Being me, I got the bright idea to make homemade crackers. Good grief....have you ever made them?  Seriously time consuming endeavor, at least it was for me. Perhaps next time I will make a half recipe so I won't be standing in the kitchen for hours rolling and cutting out little crackers. Thankfully, they were quite tasty and, I think, worth the effort.  I got the recipe from this blog post on Carpe Diem Acreage, in case you are feeling the need to stand in your kitchen for a few hours.

All in all, it is worth the work and the time spent on the couch just to hear my family laughing and yelling at the screen when something interesting happens during a race.  It is worth it to hear the trash talking that goes on when picks are made and points are totaled up.  Being a family is all about give and take. The guys go to Shakespeare in the Park with us. We watch Supercross with them. It's all good.

Thawing Out

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a fan of winter.  I would be happy if winter only hung around for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  There is something about Christmas and snow, we all know that.  Once the holidays are over, however, bring on the sun and spring!  One problem, though...I live in Montana. My solution?  Head on down to South Texas to visit the family.

Last year we went down for my brother's wedding and ended up staying for 5 weeks. It was a wonderful break from the cold and gloom of a Montana winter. I decided that it was a must-do for this winter as well and called up my Aunt Sherrie to see if the little white house on their property was empty.  It was, so the girls and I stayed down there from February to April. We were blessed...lots of sunshine, big Texas thunderstorms and absolutely amazing weather.  It was lovely!

Not only was the weather lovely, but we had a wonderful time with my family.  Beebo and Pappa, aunts, uncles, and cousins...we spent time with them all. I am so thankful to have been able to make the trip.  Here are pics from our time there. (Thanks to Kyra for taking so many beautiful photos of our trip.  I love you, my talented girl! Any not so great pics were taken by me, probably on my phone.)

   My daddy...in his 60's and still  handsome.

My mamma...so pretty inside and out.  We spent almost every single day with her.

My brother, Mike.  Shelby is working with him, learning welding/fabrication.

Maddy and I.  Love my girl. :-)

Jay and Shelby at a riding area called Mud Buddies.

We were lucky to be able to enjoy the amazing Texas wildflowers during our stay.  So, so beautiful!
Rubber boots are a must around there.  Lotsa snakes and other creepy crawlies.

Riding the property with Wayne and Sherrie

Uncle Wayne's milk cow. (Ok, maybe not...)

One of our day trips was to Blessing and Port Lavaca. The pic with that sweet little lady is from the Blessing Hotel where she has cooked and served good ole Southern home cookin' for several decades. We enjoyed seeing the hotel and having lunch. Fun little piece of history.  After leaving Blessing, we went to Port Lavaca to go to a quilt shop and to the beach for a while. 

Another day trip, this one to Galveston where we met Uncle Bill, Aunt Jo and Naomi.  We had a yummy lunch downtown, shopped a while and spent some time at the beach.

Kyra's favorite movie is "Hope Floats" so we took a day to visit Smithville, where the movie was filmed.

Misc pics of the family

A few pictures from our little home-away-from-home.
My mamaw and papaw are buried in this little cemetery on the property.

Jay turned 40 while we were away so we had a party for him when he got down to Texas in April. We had amazing BBQ courtesy of Wayne, complete with all the usual trimmings--potato salad, beans, cornbread and pie. Kyra made Jay a chocolate beet cake, which is our new favorite. We were glad we had a chance to celebrate with him.

We are so blessed to have been able to spend this time with family. Thanks to everyone who went out of their way to make our stay so fantastic, always making us feel so loved and welcome.

My Boy

I was just contemplating the fact that my oldest, Shelby, will soon be turning 18.  I recall my mom telling me to cherish every minute with my babies, that they grow up too quickly. Well, she was absolutely right.  Yesterday I was cleaning out a bin in my closet and came across this poem that my Shelby boy wrote in 5th grade.  It made me laugh.  It's just so Shelby.
                                                               

                                                                             My Ode 
                                                    by Shelby Pierson

Oh, Pants, I owe it all to you.

If I didn't have you in the winter, my butt would be blue.

My pants are in style and make me look cool,

 no matter if I'm at the store or at school.

My wonderful pants, the legs come as a pair, 

  and it's great that they cover my underwear.

Yep, that's my boy...always so serious and studious.  He makes me laugh often.  I just love that kid!  Here he is today...

Time Flies

My goodness, the last few weeks have been a busy blur around here.  Unfortunately, the weeks to come will likely be even busier. We are all well, however, and are getting geared up for the big move to Austin, Texas.  While I am looking forward to our new adventure, I'm not at all looking forward to the actual moving of the junk.

Anyhoo...we've just come to the end of a 2 week long Pierson family gathering time.  Jay's niece, Dani, got married in Bozeman last week, so the whole clan (well, nearly the whole clan--sadly, we were missing a few) came together for what really turned out to be quite the family reunion.

Dinner on the deck with Jay's parents, his sister Raye, and niece Erin.  Raye and Erin stayed with us, along with Erin's sweet kids Charlie and Gracie.  So fun!

Kyra and little Gracie.  I think Gracie smiles more than any baby I have ever seen.  Just stinkin' cute!!!

This is Charlie.  His favorite activity was throwing the ball for our Lab, Tucker.  Such a sweet little boy!

All in all, it was a great couple of weeks.  Thanks to Raye, Erin, and the kids for being such fun, thoughtful house guests.  We love you!