Whew! What a Holiday Season!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE HARVEY'S!!!

Whew! Like I said earlier...What a holiday season!! I am so thankful for my terrific family and all of our wonderful friends! They are what makes this time of year so very special to us.

I don't know about the rest of you, but for our family this time of the year just flew by!! The past 2 months have been extremely busy, and probably like most of you, we were ready for a break!!

I know it's been a while, so just be ready because there are lots of pictures!!

The month of November was pretty much taken up between basketball, One-Act play, and Thanksgiving. Cody also got his 2 pigs that he'll be showing at the county stockshow in January. I don't have pictures of them, but their names are Twinkles and Maniac. There will be pictures, but probably not until the stockshow because I can never remember to take my camera out to the pens. Anyway, they seem to be pretty good pigs, so we're keeping our fingers crossed!!!

Cody had the lead role in the junior high one-act play this year. They performed "Once Upon A Clothesline". He played the part of Pinno, a clothespin who falls off the line to rescue the lady clothespin who has been kidnapped by the terrible spider! CUTE PLAY!! Here are some of the pictures from their play:

Cody, aka Pinno the clothespin.

Pinno and his mighty army out to rescue Pinnette.

Pinno and Pinnette, safely rescued from the wicked spider.

Not only did they all do a FABULOUS job, but they won FIRST PLACE!!!! Cody was named as honorable mention to the All-Star cast. We found out just before the Christmas break that they will get to perform their play again for the the annual Chamber of Commerce banquet in January. Can't wait to see it again!

Then December came and is now almost gone!! We celebrated the end of our first semester in 7th grade!!!! And when I say "we", I mean WE!! It took all 3 of us to get thru this semester, but we did it! Cody did great on his finals, and we were just so excited to have a couple of weeks off from studying! Justin and the kids came to our house for Christmas this year. Angela didn't get to join them because she needed to stay in Lubbock and help take care of her mom, but we missed her. Of course we opened presents and then the best part was getting to play with everything.

Sydney and her babydoll. She also got a stroller and LOTS of beads so we can spend HOURS making necklaces and bracelets.

Jeffrey opening his very big red truck, with a little help from Pops.

All that excitement just wore these guys out!

Then on Friday we left for Abilene to celebrate Christmas with the Roberts family. We all got to spend our first Christmas with Keaton, who is just an absolute doll! I feel sure that by the time they left Granny's for Snyder he was worn out from all the camera flashes, but we just couldn't resist!

Christmas with the cousins! What a very handsome group of boys!

I must say that Jami, Leslye, and I looked very much in the holiday spirit with our matching shirts...wouldn't you?

This is one of Cody's most special gifts he received. He got this from Nana and Pawpaw. It's a baseball t-shirt pendant with the #2 on it. That was Steven's # in baseball, and this has been something Cody has wanted for a while now. He wears it with much love and pride.

He also got a bike from Santa, plus many other gifts. Guess he was a pretty good kid this year. Jeff and I also must have been good because we got everything we asked for! I even got 2 pair of boots: a zebra striped pair of rubber boots and a pair of Justin ropers with pink tops!! Now I'm ready for just about anything!!

I'm not really that great at doing this, so that's why my blog looks a little crazy. Sorry for the craziness of the word placement, but I don't know how to fix that. Just be excited that it's updated!!! Hope eveyone had as wonderful of a holiday as we did!

From the Field to the Hoops

Wow! Where has the time gone! Seems like just yesterday Cody started playing his first year of football as an Olney Cub, and now we're into basketball! Yea, yea, I know I haven't blogged since then either.

Anyway, he found out Thursday morning that he made the "A" team, which is great! He hasn't played basketball in a couple of years, so Jeff and I were really anxious to see how he would do. He's got the height, but not quite the speed yet, or so we thought... VERY IMPRESSIVE! (and I'm not just saying that because I'm his mom. 8-) He played a majority of the 4 periods, and handled the ball really well. AND, he didn't foul out. Used 4 of his 5 fouls... :-)

(Please ignore the dates on the pictures. Forgot to take it off my camera. This really was last week and not 6 years ago...)

Relaxing before the game and watching the "B" team play. Wouldn't want to get too stressed out now would we?

Cody is #32. Here he is going for a lay-up. (This was in warm-up, but does that really matter?)





Action shot!! Cody in motion! Still, very impressed with his quickness.




Cody and Kolton taking a little breather. Whew! He said, "Mom, when coach took me out I was sweating so much! My arms even had sweat coming out of them! I think I overhydrated myself." 8-) God love him!!


Anyway, if you find yourself on a Monday night with nothing to do, give me a shout and I'll be glad to tell you where we're playing ball that week. No games back to the west where we played football though. SORRY! But well worth the drive to where ever you'd have to go to watch this very sweet boy play basketball!! GO CUBS!! GO #32!!

Our Olney Cub!!!

Fall is here, and so is football season! I love this time of the year!! Cooler weather, for the most part, lots of yelling, popcorn, road trips, and watching my youngest son play football for the first time. WOW! I know that the season started 3 weeks ago, and I'm a little slow getting this blog up to date, but I plan on making up for my tardiness tonight. HOLD ON!!!


I do have to admit that I was nervous about the first game. I kept telling everyone that I would be the mom trying to video with my eyes shut -- but I'm not that mom after all! I do video all the games though, and even though it sounds strange, it's hard to watch the game while you're videoing. I know...weird. I miss a lot of the action, but OF COURSE we watch it again when we get home so I can catch up on the game at that time. :-) I do find on the videos that I yell and talk a lot though!! Imagine that...


Below are just a FEW of the pictures I've taken during Cody's first 3 games, not in any sort of order.


This shot is of the 7th grade's game tonight, Sept. 23, against Holliday. "A GAME THAT WILL LIVE ON IN HISTORY!" Our guys actually won their first game!!!!!!! They beat Holliday 22-6 and it was so great to see their little faces light up! To beat anyone is a feat, but to beat Holliday is just magical!! And Cody and I were so blessed tonight to have Dad drive up from Abilene to go with me to the game. Jeff had to go to Austin this week, so he missed the big win, but I have it on VIDEO!

Cody is #52. He played left tackle on offense tonight. (He's on the far left of this picture on the end. You can see the 2 on his jersey.) Last week he got to follow in Justin's footsteps and played center for most of the game. A few snaps were a little high for our much shorter quarterback, but Cody did a great job!

Had to have an after game picture with Mom. See the joy on his face after beating Holliday?!?! Not to mention the joy on mine.

Here I am in my CUBS jersey with my "Cody's Mom" necklace that Jami made me. Get lots of compliments on that necklace!! She's just great.

Here's a little better close-up view of my Mom necklace. Cute, huh?!

Here is another one of the Holliday game that Dad took. Cody's out there somewhere!

Water break!

This one is from their first game in Windthorst. (#52 - white shirt hanging out. He's so much like Steven in that manner.)

Homecoming parade. Jeff drove the lead fire truck and I got to play with the lights and the sirens. That was more fun than being a homecoming queen nominee! They only get to ride and wave. I got to ride, wave, and make LOTS of noise!

Cody got to ride in the parade on the varsity team's float. He is a manager for them, and was really excited about getting to ride with the "big guys." He looks up to quite a few of them, and I'm glad he has some positive role models to learn from.

Here's a close up look at my Olney Cubs necklace (Jami made this one too. She is sooooo talented!) Now I have a necklace that tells me where I live, and one that tells me who's mom I am in case I ever forget or get lost.

Looks like it's going to be a fun season, win or lose. Cody is having a blast playing football, and Jeff and I are having a blast watching him. If you find yourself with nothing to do on a Thursday night for the next 6 or so weeks, let us know and we'll be happy to tell you at what field you can come and find us. Cody would be tickled to have you there too!! I AM OLNEY!! Go Cubs!

It's Almost Piggin' Time!

Now, for those of you who know me...I have never been much of a pet lover, but I have to say that my heart has been softened to these pink, squeally, long snout-nosed animals. Usually people have this mental image of what they "think" they know about pigs, and I have to admit that I was one of them...long ago.

When I married Jeff, Justin and Steven were already showing pigs, and I was there to watch, but can't say that I really got in there and got "down and dirty" with the pigs. That can no longer be said though! Since Cody started showing, and Jeff tends to be out of town more often during this time, someone has to go out and help with the pigs. Since there are only 3 of us at home now, that just leaves Cody and me! Yes, I've fed pigs, brushed pigs, weighed pigs, and cleaned the nasty wood shavings from their pens. Won't say it was enjoyable, but it had to be done! And I will say, that I have learned a lot about these cute little pets. They aren't near as stinky when they are as well taken care of as ours are. They also tend to get spoiled, just like children. :-)

Cody and one of his pigs (can't remember the name of this one, but isn't he cute!! and clean!!)

Tonight I spent over an hour listening to a guy from a feed supplier talk to the parents and kids about his feed product. (Jeff was at a fireman's meeting, so that left me again...) It was actually quite informational, and I must say that my husband was incredibly impressed with all of my "feed knowledge" when he returned home and I showed him all the notes I'd taken.

So...I feel like I have opened up a whole new world for myself. One which includes my boys walking around in rubber boots ( gotta get me some of those!) carrying pig bats, walking around in pig poop, and watching that little Wilbur grow into an "Incredible Pig!"

Happy Birthday Wishes!!

Just wanted to celebrate today! It's Jeff's birthday, and although I was in Stephenville for the majority of the day, he did get to spend the day with Cody.


Happy Birthday to a very wonderful man that I am so lucky to get to spend my life with! Thank you for sharing your life with me, and for so many fantastic and unforgettable memories. So glad we could celebrate your special day with you. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I love you very much!!

School Days, School Days...

Well, another year has begun! Fresh clean rooms, new supplies, and the smell of brand new crayons filled the room. Sixteen happy smiles and excited little faces walked through my door ready to begin a new school year. I guess I should say 17 faces, because I had a smile on mine too!

Here are just a few pictures to commemorate the first day of school:


The bulletin board outside my 1st grade classroom.

The door to my classroom. (My mom will be so proud of my ladybugs!!)

Of course we had to have some first day of school picures. It was hard to keep Cody in the door long enough to get one. He thought he needed to be at the field house at 7:30! But I did manage to get a few...

As Jeff says, "Cody is sooooooo 12!"

Cody and Mom. And no, he's not on a step-stool. He actually passed me up this summer.

I don't think I've ever seen Cody so excited to start school! Of course, I think being able to play football this year MIGHT have a LITTLE something to do with the excitement. He's trying out for quarterback, left tackle, and some of those other positions that I know are out there, just not sure of what they are. You'd think after watching Justin and Steven play for so many years I'd have gotten that down by now, but no...still don't know what they are. Don't figure that will change a whole lot with Cody playing either. :-)

Hope everyone had as great a day as we did, and has a great year to follow! GOOD LUCK!!

It Was Just Like Fall...in July

Hello to all! We've been home from Colorado for a week today, I'm just a little slow at getting things blogged. Why change now?!

We had a wonderful vacation in South Fork, Colorado at Fun Valley. This was our 14th visit to "Happy Valley" and was just as fun as the past 13 times! Justin, Angela, Sydney, and Jeffrey got to go with us this year. They loved it! Of course Justin has been many times, but Angela and Syd thought it was lots of fun. Jeffrey just loved being where everyone else was. Such a good baby! Mom and Dad got to go too, after a 2 year absence. We just had a great time! Have a "few"pictures share with you, just so you can see what a great time was had by all...

Cody and Sydney both caught 2 fish at the guaranteed fish pond, and we hadn't even been in the park 2 hours! (Those fish are still in my freezer. Anybody like trout?...)

Jeffrey needed a swingset for his bouncy seat, so Jeff and Justin made him one out of Aspen trees that they cut down and skinned. That baby had a great time bouncing on his custom-made swingset. What mountain men we have!

Now, if you've never been in the southfork of the Rio Grande river, you don't know what you're missing. That has got to be the coldest water I have ever put my body in!!! So we only thought it fitting for Jeffrey to experience it on his first trip. I mean, Cody was only 4 months old the first time his Aunt Rhonda introduced him to this frigid water. Jeffrey wasn't too sure about it at first, but then he didn't want to get out. Cody and Sydney had to be bribed to get them out. Justin automatically got the job of dragging Sydney and her little friend in it because the rest of us had already done that job for him when he was little. ;-)

Sydney really wasn't too excited about getting this close to the geese, but Mom insisted on having a picture made with them. She's forcing a smile. :-)

Here's just a few pictures of us sitting around enjoying the cool air and each other.

Pops and Jeffrey reading "Rockabye Farm." SO CUTE!!

Jeff and Cody have, for years, had this contest going of who could catch the most fish while we're on vacation. Since Jeff bought me a pink fishing pole this year, Cody decided I needed to be involved in this contest too. Turns out, I'm not such a bad fisherman after all. Cody caught 3, which 2 of them don't count because they were caught in the guaranteed pon, I caught one... and poor Jeff didn't catch any. :-( Here I am with my prize winning fish.

This was taken in Creed. LOVE this shot!

Jeffrey turned 1 year old while we were at Fun Valley, so of course we had a cake! He wasn't much though on his hands being dirty so he decided to share his icing with his mommy.

Everyone has to have their first trip, or 100th to the rec hall. Cody spent MUCH of his week here with his friends. He thought he might use Jeffrey as his "Chick Magnet", but then decided he didn't really need him. ;-) Once Sydney discovered the rec hall she had her daddy down there quite often. Payback....



Anyway...hope that didn't just drag on forever! I know, I know, it did, but if you don't get to go you have to experience it somehow, and what better way then through us?! We had a wonderful time enjoying the scenery, the cool temps, and especially just being together as a family. Can't wait until next summer!!