Karate & Gymnastics

The kids had their annual karate tournament and gymnastic meet.  They all did great!  The karate tournament has mixed emotions with me. Never did I think I would be cheering my guts out for my kids to beat the snot out of another. LOL!  It goes against everything I stand for!! LOL!  But it has been and is a good thing to boost confidence and to feel like if you were in a sticky situation you could handle yourself!!! Just ask Whit, you start messing with him and the first thing out of his mouth is " I KNOW KARATE"!!

 

Whit started the Taylor boys off with sparring.  Nothing like suiting up in full combat battle to get your mean face on.  They said fight and Whit lit into the kid....one punch and one kick and the poor other kids was crying!  Not necessarily because of Whit, I'm pretty sure he had never done anything like that before, but I felt bad that he got Whit the first time.  Only because Whit has no rhyme or reason, but if someone says fight, he's all in!! 

Tate also rocked the sparring, it came down to the last point!!! It was a tough fight, right to the bitter end, and Tate ended up winning the match!  I was so damn proud of him.  He was shocked, fighting isn't as natural for Tate as it is for Whit, so it really meant something big for him!!! He has listened faithful to his instructors and it paid off!!

 

The grappling though.....EY YI YI!!!! I HATE GRAPPLING!!!!!!!  I hate sitting on the side lines and watching two kids wrestle is out with each other!!! Either way you feel bad, because if your kid is killing the other kid, you feel terrible for them and if your kid is on the bottom you want nothing more than to go rip the other little shit off and give them a big hug and kiss.........and THAT IS NOT what a mom does at a Karate tournament!  The kids that the boys grappled were awesome, very tough and very coached, they had moves!!!!!  Tate and Whit both held their own. Whit was just there for the wrestling, he didn't even realize he was getting his trash kicked,,,,,,, came up smiling!!

Tate had a bad experience last year, but still wanted to do it, and he did awesome, but having him on the bottom and looking over to me with eyes that say " please can't you do something.....HELP!!!!"  No thank you, grappling is out at the Taylor Ranch!!! Along with bull riding, barebacks, saddle broncs, and any other rough stock yearning they get.......uh no.......this mother cannot take it!!

 

All in all it was a good couple of nights and I think they both gained a lot of experience and want to do it again next year!!!  Except grappling........I'm still the mom, and I say NO!

My crystal ball for sees A LOT of gymnastics and tumbling in our future with Miss Reese!!! SHE LOVES IT!!! She lives in a leotard, and has worn out one side of my leather couch form flipping and rolling!!! I love that she loves it...she has grit and determination, and if she wants to keep it up I can see her going far!! Good job SIS!!

 

 

The best part of both these events was that were did them with Brinlee and Rago!!! How cool is it that your best buddies forever are in the same stuff!!!

BOO-YA!!!!

 

 

 

Summer!

 

The older you get the faster summer goes.  The kids get out of school and before you know it, it's the 4th of July!!!  We have not let it go to waste though.....the cobwebs, and fingerprints all over my house are proof!! But who cares about a few cobwebs, I say everyone needs a home! And if that means we can go do something fun.......WE ARE OUTTA HERE!!!! 

 

 I've said it before...It is so bittersweet to be out of the baby stage of life at our house, but, it also is really fun!! The kids are so much fun to do stuff with now!! They each have their own sense of adventure, and quirky personalities that keep me smiling, laughing and shaking my head!!  Here's a little taste of what we've been up to this summer at the Taylor Ranch!!

 

 

 

 



It just would not be summer if we didn't ride in the annual Lehi stock parade with Grandpa!! My kids look forward to this every year!!  And it's getting really fun now that they know so many people from school, and other activities!!!  Roannie the pony was especially good this year!!!!!;)

.

Taylor and I ran Ragnar for the first time!! I was a little hesitant at first , but it ended up being a BLAST!!! Taylor killed it with some damn tough legs!!! Either straight up or straight down, but he did it like a champ, and was hardly even sore the next day!!! ( I hate him)!!!  I really hope we can do it again!!

 

Reese woke up with a mysterious monster of a black eye!!!! Talk about feeling helpless!! She did not go to bed like that.... but it was wicked when she woke up!! I"m chalking it up to a doorknob crash on a potty run in the night???? I really have no idea!!  BUT...........she thought it was the coolest toughest thing that has ever happened to her!!

 

 

One of the reasons this summer was so fun for me, was we were able to hit the rodeo trail fairly hard again!!!  There is nothing in the world I love more than traveling to the rodeos in the summer.  The smells, the rattles of the trailer all pulling in, the sound of the national anthem.... and the luck of the draw!! I love it!! And I love that we can all go together!!!!

 

 

 

We have spent some awesome time with cousins!!! We are so sad that they are moving so far away, but we know that we are only a phone call, or face time away!!!  We have one more sleepover before we have to say goodbye for now!! We love you guys!!!

 

More rodeoing!! Tate and Mocha have become quite the pair!!! Tate has came mountains this summer, with becoming an incredible cowboy!!!!  Keep it up buddy, I see only big things for you with this" I can do anything attitude!!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hinckley is also a summer staple and the twins both rode sheep this year!! Whit was not about to have anyone help him, and he did awesome!!! Took a thump and did not even cry!!! Reese did great too, but she had a little more help from dad!!!  What makes the trip so fun is all of the cousins!! The kids have a blast playing, and swimming, and parading!!! It is what Hinckley is all about!

 

 

 

You have to have a few fireworks in the summer.....it's a rule somewhere???

 

 

I've also got to do some fun races with some incredible ladies!!! This stuff is like a drug!!! You can be totally sold that you will never do another......and all someone has to do is call, and you back in again!!! Thank you ladies for inspiring me for pushing me, and for being such great friends!!!