Happy Birthday Riley

It's hard to believe my baby is 3 today. Where has the time gone?

It seems like we were just bringing him home from the hospital

and now we are trading his crib for a bed and trying to get him to hold still

long enough for a hug and a kiss.

This little boy is the light of my life, and I am so honored to be

his mother. He is sweet and kind hearted. He loves animals, his favorites being elephants

rhinos, horses, dragons and dinosaurs.

When I am sad he makes

me happy, he makes me laugh and he makes me grateful for all that

I have and all that I am. Being his mother makes me

a better person.

I love watching him learn and grow. You can almost see his mind working.

he is so smart and witty even for three. I am amazed by him every day.

I hope he always knows how loved he is by so many people.

I love you up to the moon and back my sweet boy.

Love,

Mom

Stetsons & Wranglers part II

We spent the next two days of our trip, shopping at Cowboy Christmas,

Bass Pro, Zappo's and managed to get in a little of my favorite site-seeing

We drug everyone to Margaritaville for Nachos and as you can see Riley

Slept through most of it. Power naps are awesome!!

After Margaritaville, Mat, Chelsey, Riley and I headed over to the Bellagio

to see the dancing waters.



Riley loved it just as much as he did last year.

Riley pointing out a duck in the water

When the show first started it scared Riley to death, I was glad I had a good hold of him

He can't take his eyes of of it!!

Inside the Bellagio, they have a garden you can walk through.

You can't really tell from the picture but the snowmen are made of fresh flowers.

Rudolph and the other reindeer, pulling Santa's Sleigh

This tree was beautiful! The picture's don't do it justice.

They had these beautiful arrangements at the front counter.
The entire hotel was decorated so beautiful

We then took Riley on his first ever bowling adventure.

And it was an adventure.

I did it, I did it!!!

The smallest ball they had was 8 lbs which was still pretty heavy for

a two year old. Me and Chelsey and Riley had the lane with bumpers.

Riley beat me and Chelsey....SAD!!!

Apparently if you lay on the floor it makes the ball get there faster

And Uncle Boby (Colby) looking for a strike.

After bowling, we headed to the ice cream shop for a very large

ice cream cone, compliments of Papa Bill. Riley loved every minute of it.

We had a great time and it is a trip that Mat and I look forward to every year.

Thanks again to all the family, for making it so much fun!!

Stetsons & Wranglers part I

For the last 4 years we have gone to Las Vegas for the NFR Rodeo.

I have been to Vegas many time in my life (it is one of my favorite places)

but the atmosphere is a little different this time of year. And not in a bad way

People are more polite and men will tip their cowboy hats to you if you smile their way.

We go down with my step mom's family, and we love them dearly

and are so glad to be a part of their family.

Me, Mat , Riley and Chelsey headed down a day early and went to the aquarium at

Mandalay Bay. Anyone who knows my son knows he loves sharks


He was not to sure about this large Lizard however

A great big shark.....
If you have never been to the aquarium they have a section with a glass tunnel
and glass floor, so the fish swim freely around you. It's pretty cool




Here we are at the touch pond. Riley and I opted not to touch
anything

However Chelsey and Mat touched a stingray and some sort of weird crab

They took this picture as we walked into the aquarium. Mat just

had to buy it. The pose is perfect.

Ahhh the big event. We were there on opening night and this is the 50

year anniversary of the rodeo so they showed some cool

clips from the very first NFR, and years working up to now.

Riley being a good boy and sitting in his seat. This year Mat and I actually

got to watch the entire rodeo from our seats

It was awesome

My two cowboys

Riley waving his hat to the crowd in the parking lot,

just like the cowboys inside had done after their ride

I wish I would have gotten a picture of Miss Rodeo America

practically grabbing him out of Mats arms. He's a little flirt

New Family Pictures

Here is a sampling of our new family pictures.....enjoy!

Check out our new moves

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I Have Two Words

GO UTES!!!!!!

Thank You!

I just wanted to extend my thanks to Lacy, Sharon, Heather, Lindsey, Kara, Shanna, & Erin for planning a night out on the town especially for me. You guys are the best friends ever and I had such a fun time. I am so grateful to all of you for you friendship and words of encouragement. From Sharon stopping by with a Pepsi and Chocolate, to Lacy letting me come over and crash her house for lunch. It has been a rough couple weeks, but all of you have been here for me when I needed you, and it was a really nice surprise to have an evening planned with me in mind. It meant a lot to me. I love you all more than I can say.

Kelly, thank you so much for the card and for always knowing exactly what I need. Sometimes I think we were twins separated at birth. I always know I can count on you for whatever, whenever. There is no one else I'd rather be with on a bus ride in Vegas. I love your guts!!

Shannie- Thanks for stopping by just to give me a hug. You were the first one to show up and offer me your support. It was so good to talk with you. It feels like its been a long time since we have been able to talk like that. I am so lucky to count you among my best friends! Love you.

Justin- Thank you for calling me with a special word of the day, which is usually Job...J O B. You're the best even if you are a smart ass.

To all 6 of my awesome parents, thank you also for your words of encouragement, hiring me for odd jobs,bringing me surprises, and just being here for me. I feel like I have my own little cheer leading section.

To my wonderful husband and son. Thank you for being patient with me while I try and figure my life out. Mat this has probably been as hard on you as it has on me, but you have been my rock as always. I love you so much.

And to anyone I haven't mentioned thanks for your kind words of support. I am so blessed with great family and friends who love and look out for me. I am not sure what the future has in store, but I am excited to see where my life heads to next, and I am so glad I have all of you to share it with. God has something in store for me, and I'll know what it is when the timing is right. But for now I'm just going to enjoy the ride.

XOXOXO
Amy

Kelly....these are for you

I am pretty sure no words are necessary!!! LOVE YOU!!!!!

Happy Anniversary

In just a few hours Mat and I will have officially been married for nine years. In some ways it feels like forever ago, and in others it seems like I was walking down the isle

towards him just yesterday.

Mat is everything I ever wanted in a husband. He is kind and caring.

He always wants the best for me and he does his best everyday

to let me know how much he loves and cares about me.

He is an awesome dad. I love watching him and Riley together. They play and laugh

and you can see how much Riley adores his daddy and how much Mat is in

awe of Riley.

We have had our share of ups and downs, joys and sorrows, triumphs

and failures, but through it all we have had each other, and I know that our

love for each other has only grown stronger as the years have passed.

Mat is the man I want to grow old with.

It is such a blessing to have such a constant in my life. We don't always see eye to eye, or share

a lot of the same interests, but I know with all of my heart that Mat is the one whom God

chose for me, and I feel so blessed for all he brings to my life.

He is my past, my present, and my future.

Mat, I hope you know how much I love and cherish you.

Thank you for loving me and being the amazing husband and father you are.

I am looking forward to our adventures in the next nine years to come.

You are my everything!

Love,

Amy

As Promised Jimmy Buffet Pictures

Well here they are pictures from our trip to Vegas to see Jimmy Buffett.

We had a lot of fun and I have no idea who most of the people in the

pictures are, we just liked their costumes

These people were interesting????

These people had palm trees attached to their backs

Not sure about these guys, but we needed a picture with them for sure

This lady stole Mats beer right out of his hand and took off. It was pretty funny.

The shark on this guys hat actually rotated around in a circle.

it was pretty awesome

The dude standing next to me kept popping up. We have like 10

random pictures with this guy in them.

Kelly and I got some sweet Tattoos

Taken hostage

Yes this lady is wearing a boat

We had such a great time with Kelly and Brian. The 4 of

us travel well together and good times are never far away,

especially when Jimmy Buffet is involved.

Until next time....Cheers!!!