Pull Up A Chair and Sit Awhile...This is Gonna Be A Long One!

Yes...I know it's been awhile, like always, but I have no excuses. So, to make up for the last few months, be ready for a FEW pictures and a FEW stories so I can get you caught up on what's been going on in our lives since March...the last time I posted.

Let's see...think I'll start with April and our first trip to a Rangers game this season. WOW!! We were given great tickets and had seats 4 rows up from home plate. Not too many seats that are better than those! Here are a few of our pictures:

Cody and Bailey got an autograph from Matt Harrison.






Cody, Jeffrey, and Justin enjoying some time on the swing.








What a crew! Some of the best looking kids I've ever seen!!





For Mother's Day my wonderful guys got us tickets to another Rangers game. Jeff, Cody, and I went to Arlington that Saturday afternoon. I got to go shopping while they waited on me, and nobody told me to hurry or "come on, Mom." It was really wonderful! We had mexican food (my favorite) for supper, stayed in a great hotel, and headed off to the game on Sunday morning. Once again we had terrific seat, we got red sparkley Rangers visors, and it was photo op day, so we got to go onto the field and have our pictures made with the players. Now, let me just tell you that I was SOOOOOO excited about this!! I was feeling like quite the princess!! Here are a few pictures of our fantastic day:



Jeff and Cody outside the Home Plate gate.
















It was REALLY warm that day, and Cody decided this was a good look for him, while at the same time being cool. He'd dunk his towel in our ice chest, the squeeze it out and put it on his head under his hat to keep him cooled off. I just wore mine around my neck, as did Jeff. Didn't want to take the "cool look" away from Cody, you understand.


Jami's boys also got them tickets to the game for her Mother's Day gift, and so we met up with them in center field. They boys played the games and Jami and I decided it was a great photo opportunity. Love my sis!!







Now remember that I said it was photo op day, so I took full advantage of it!! Here are some shots, and yes I know my smile is big enough to light up Broadway, but what can a girl say! I was excited!!!



Cody, Michael, and me. Woohoo!!





Jeff, Josh, and me. He's really very tall!! And quite the charmer.

Like I said earlier, my smile could have lit up Broadway! I must say that the closer Ian got, the shakier I got. And, my wonderful husband took this picture, so I know he still loves me!!! He didn't even mind that I sent it to all my friends on my phone. Had to share the experience you know. Didn't want anyone missing out!

The end of school was just crazy!! Cody passed all 3 of his TAKS test--YEA CODY!!!!! He made it on the honor roll for the year. He got awards for football, basketball, track, band, and One-Act play. I don't have a picture though because I couldn't find anyone to cover my class for the awards ceremony. That's ok though...he had a big smile on his face when he came into my room after school to show off his awards. Way to go Cody!! We are so very proud of you and your accomplishments this year!!

Jeff got to go to Tahoka to see Sydney graduate from Kindergarten.



Does this little one look like a charmer or what?! Or, does that look just mean trouble... 8-)

Here's Miss Sydney in her cap and gown with her teacher. Very cute!! Way to go Syd!!!! We are so proud of you!








We also got to spend Memorial Day with Joey, Leslye, Keaton, Mom, Dad, and Granny in Stephenville. We had a fun day and a wonderful lunch that Joey and Leslye cooked. And of course we weren't at all excited about playing with Keaton. No, poor thing just sat there in the floor all by his lonesome and got no attention from anyone. Yea, right!!!! He's just so cute!!







Two very handsome boys. Looks like they kinda like each other, huh?




All in all, we have had a wonderful last few months, and I hope you enjoyed reading about our adventures and enjoyed our pictures. You know that I can say I'll try to do better in the future, but what's the point of that! I'll be back when I get back (this way there are no high expectations. !!) 8-)

Hope everyone has a fantastic summer!!!! I know we will!!!

(Please excuse the crazy layout. Guess if I did this more I'd be better at it. Oh well, enjoy!!)

Happy Birthday to our TEENAGER!!!!!!

I know you probably will find this hard to believe, seeing how young Jeff and I are, but today we are the parents, of yet again, another TEENAGE boy!! I can't believe that my sweet baby boy is 13 today!

Cody, your dad and I are so proud of the Christian young man you are now, and are looking forward to seeing the wonderful Christian man you will someday become. God so truly blessed us when he gave you to us 13 years ago today. You completed our fantastic family and just made it that much more fun! You have added to the craziness of our lives and bring a smile to our faces daily. We love your enthusiasm for life and your excitement about all the things you do each and every day. We hope that you continue to grow in Christ every day of your life and that you will always let Him be the center of your life. We pray that you will always love your family the same way you do today.

We love you sooooo much and are so proud of you!! Mom and Dad

The Story of Cody and The Three Pigs

Once upon a time there was a young man named Cody. He started out at a very young age learning to show pigs, and this year he wound up showing 3 of them. There names were Chester, Maniac, and Twinkles. Now Cody and his dad spent MANY hours working with these pigs, and Cody loved every minute of it (Mom got in there and helped scoop poop and feed a few times too.) Now, on a cold day in January those 3 pigs, Cody, Dad, and Mom made the trip to Graham to the county show...

Thought I'd better get this posted! Cody did FANTASTIC at the Young County Stockshow this year. He did take his 3 pigs and they all did really well! Twinkles wound up winning 1st in her class of hampshires. Maniac won 2nd in his class of crosses. Chester won 3rd in his class of OPB's. So, all in all I'd have to say Cody had a very good showing this year. He got to put two of them into the sale on Saturday, which was a nice treat for him, and us. Mom and Dad got to come and join us for the show, even though Mom was sick. She said she still wouldn't have missed it for the world! Cody is so lucky to have such very special grandparents who love him so much that they come and sit in a stinky old drafty barn to watch him show 3 pigs!! Jami and the boys were going to join us this year, but Jaden ended up having a basketball game though. Jaxon did make Cody 2 lego pigs though, and that was probably just the good luck we needed! Here are a few pictures of Cody and his pigs:

This is Chester (he won 3rd.) He is a chester breed and quite the sweet little pig.

This is Twinkles, his 1st place pig. She was named by our AD's daughter, Cate, and what pig couldn't have won first place with that name!!

This is Maniac. He was the 2nd place pig, and Cody's favorite. He loves to have his tummy scratched and will let you know when HE is finished having it scratched.

This is the sale on Saturday. Not one of our pigs, but doesn't this kid look great!! Thanks to Miss Jill for ALL her help and the hard work she put in in working with Cody and his pigs. Thanks to Mom and Dad for coming to support Cody. Thanks to my wonderful husband for the many, MANY early mornings he went out to feed before school started and all the time he spent out there with Cody and these animals. We are truely blessed! Now, Twinkles is waiting to become a "mommy," Maniac was bought by 2 guys at work to become "meat in the freezer," and Chester went with us to Fort Worth, but that post will come later.

GREAT JOB, CODY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are very proud of you!!!

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!"