The McCulloch Klan

Happy Birthday Rooster Cogburn

2008-10-30T07:55:00.001-05:00

My baby is 9 today!! It is sooo hard to believe. Let me give u a few statistic about Riley...he was born early at 34 4/7 weeks, his birth weight was 6# 9.4oz and was 21 inches long. He looked just like a little old man his elbows and knees had so many wrinkles. His hair was very light on top and super dark all on the sides and around the back. He has such a gentle soul which has been evident since his birth. Even with all the procedures done on him while he was in the NICU he was always laid back. Looking at him now you would never know he was a premie. He is the tallest child in the 3rd grade. He is 4 foot 7 inches tall (yes that is only 7 inches shorter than me) and weighs 101 pounds. He is currently wearing size 12 and 14 pants and adult small shirts. His shoe size is only one half size smaller than mine. In boys shoes he wears a size 4.5, I wear a size 5 in boys. He will most definitely tower over me by the time he is 11. Riley excells in school and tests above average with his IQ but, his intellegnce does not interfer with his social life. He is everyones friend and is definitely our social butterfly. He is the most loving and affectionate child and he is, with out a doubt a "Daddy's boy". Riley keeps us amazed every day...you never know what each day will bring for him. He is easily excited and always amazed. We love to watch him learn because the astonishment one can see in his eyes everytime he learns something new is absolutely breath taking. You think once they get a little older they do not learn on a daily basis like when they are infants and toddler but, that is absolutely false. Riley wants to be so much like his daddy. The past nine years with Riley has absolutely been an amazing adventure!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY BOY!!! We love you more than words can say and we are very fortunate that you are ours!!!

Updated Picutre

2008-06-10T14:15:00.004-05:00

OK so you all know I have been doing Weight Watchers since January and I am proud to announce that I am down 42 pounds! Anyway the last picture I have of myself on here is from November before I discovered WW. So, Shawn and I have not mastered the taking our own picture thing and this picture is from my Blackberry so it is not the highest quality but, it will do.

Me and only 1/2 of Shawn!

OMG!!! I ALMOST FORGOT!!

2008-06-10T13:07:00.005-05:00

Before I tell you guys what I am about to tell you, I want you all to sit down. The news I am going to divulge is sooooo exciting that you must all be sitting down because it is so shocking! You know lots of good things happen to our family in October. Riley's birthday is October 30th, Shawn passed his Master Plumbing Exam last October, Halloween, and now I am about to add the next best thing to happen in October. Is your curiosity killing you yet? Go ahead and take a few guesses what is going to be happening in October.........................................

OK if you are all sitting down I will share my exciting news!

On October 17th, I will be seeing New Kids on the Block in concert!!! Is that not the most hilarious thing you have ever heard? About ten girls from work and I are going to San Antonio to see them. We are all about the same age, loved New Kids on the Block, and all had our own crush on one member of the band or the other.

I know you are all jealous but, I will be sure and take lots of pictures!!

FYI: I will be making me a t-shirt for the concert that says "I LOVE JONATHAN"!!

Corny I know but it will be so much fun to be that young again.

You guys probably thought I was pregnant, didn't you?

Oh, Oh, Oh, Hangin' Tough!

Then......

More then....

And, NOW! ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS!!!!

MIA: Living @ the Ballpark

2008-06-10T11:46:00.006-05:00

Since my last post (yes, it was April 14th) we have been EXTREMELY busy. Six out of seven days a week we have either baseball or t-ball practices or baseball or t-ball games. Which translates into...little time left for anything not baseball related.

Riley is playing baseball and doing well. Last night ,the seventh game, he got his first and second hits. His second hit resulted in a HOME RUN!! It was so exciting and he was totally pumped about it. His home run helped out for a win for the Cubs (his team) and he received the game ball!! After the game Riley informed me we need to buy "one of those boxes" to put his ball in so he can put it with all his trophies! He has also been pitching and I am not partial or anything but, I think he just might be the next Nolan Ryan!!

Spencer is playing t-ball and not really caring whether he is there or not. My brother Cody and his wife Christy volunteered to coach the t-ball team and we did our part by having McCulloch Plumbing be the sponsor of the team. Anyway Spencer has been playing catcher, which is absolutely hilarious. He squats down behind the batter with his hand behind his back and does not move from this position until the kids start running home from third at which time he begins to tag them out with no ball, just his glove! Then as the game goes on that catchers helmet gets heavy and every time a ball passes him he puts his face mask in the dirt. The first time he did this I thought he was hurt, BAD. Like serious injuries happen in t-ball. He, as usual, does whatever it takes to be the center of attention. I guess this is the second child syndrome.

Sunday we went to my brothers house for a cookout. Christy set up the slip and slide for the kiddos, I repeat, the kiddos. Cody, after a couple of hours could not take it any longer and had to participate in the slip and slide action. He began to throw the kids down the slip and slide which had us all crying from laughing soooo hard. He could throw Spencer, Cade (their oldest), and Cole (their youngest) with no problem but he had to have help throwing Riley after his first attempt at throwing him landed them both on the ground. It was the funniest when he would throw Cole because he is so light he would skip down the slip and slide and plop right over the end into the grass. After throwing them became boring Cody started going down with the kids on his back. Have you ever heard of piggyback slip and slide. The kids eat him up because he gets in there and has just as much fun as they do.

I promise I will try to keep up with the blog better. Baseball is almost over (June 23rd) and t-ball will be over this Saturday (June 14th) so i should have a little more time on my hands. Take care and I will be updating soon.

Spencer in all of his catchers gear!

Spencer behind the plate!

Look @ him watching the ball!

...and he is SAFE!!

Spencer's T-ball uniform!

Best Buds!

(Spencer and Cade)

Riley in his uniform!

A close up of Riley's uniform!

Riley @ bat!

(Both of the boys are #22! That was always Steve's # in all his sports. Cool, huh?)

Look at that form!

I just LOVE this picture!

I told you he was the next Nolan Ryan!

Cody throwing Spencer down the slip and slide!

Cole on take off!

This is SOOOOO much fun!

(Cade)

It takes two to chunk Riley!

Riley on his way down!

Sorry!!!

2008-04-09T17:30:00.019-05:00

Hey guys! Sorry it has been so long since I have updated the blog but, my computer was infected with a virus. FYI: beware of a company called SpyMaxx!!!!! Our Norton did not even detect this virus.

We have been so busy! This is generally a REALLY busy time of the year for us with the end of school approaching, Riley in basketball and baseball, and Spencer in T-ball. Riley has practices for baseball on Tuesday and Thursday nights (games begin May1) and basketball practice on Friday nights with games on Saturday. Spencer will practice Tuesday nights as well. His first practice is April 22 with his games beginning May 3.

OK, so I have a couple of good stories for everyone to enjoy!!!

Spencer Gets "Hunged Up"

A couple of Sundays ago we were all at Pa's (Shawn's dad) house fishing in the tank. Spencer is just mainly interested in casting and reeling in his line. So, to save himself some time (because he is such a kid himself and wants to be the one who catches the first, BIGGEST, and the most fish) Shawn rigged Spencer's pole with a spinner bait as he felt this was the best way for Spencer to do what he calls fishing (casting and reeling) and still have some what of a chance to catch a fish. So, the fishing begins! After about an hour and a half of fishing and only 999,999 times of removing Spencer's lure from trees, fences, chair, his shorts, his shoes....(you get the idea) he proclaims he thinks he is "hunged up, again". At this point Shawn has just cast his line so I proceed to help Spencer free his line, once more. When I get to him I can hear is line being pulled from his reel. So, I scream to Shawn "He is not hung up, he has caught a fish and it is taking his line!" Keep in mind Shawn is in fishing mode, which means he thinks he is in a professional tournament and any loud noises will "scare the fish away". Anyways, back on track. I get behind Spencer and am going to help him reel his fish in because he is really working hard to get his fish to the bank. When I get behind him and bend over to help him, he completely lets go of his pole. Translation: I am now completely in charge, scary I know. Spencer runs to the edge of the water and starts reaching for his line, thinking that if he grabs it he will be able to pull the fish in before it get away. Just as soon as he gets to the water the fish jumps up out of the water. My manly little boy proceeds to scream like a girl. This (the fish jumping not the screaming) gets Shawn's attention. Now he thinks Spencer is the professional at the tournament and he wants Spencer to earn first place not be handed first place by his mother. So, he tells Spencer "You get up there and reel that fish in your mother is NOT going to do it for you!" Spencer comes and takes back command of his pole and finally after what felt like forever he manages to get the fish reeled in. He is now in complete shock because "this is the BIGGEST fish I ever saw". We weigh his trophy and his bass weighed 7, yes SEVEN pounds. Now, that may not sound very big but, for a fish it IS big. Spencer was soooo proud of himself and proclaimed "I am glad my dad made me bring my fish in all by myself!" It was so cute and now he wants to fish every day...I THINK HE IS HOOKED!!!

HE IS NOT "HUNGED UP" ANYMORE!!

Spencer's 5th Birthday Party

We had Spencer's 5th birthday party since my last post. He is all in to cooking so we had a chef party. We had the party at this amazing place called "The Divine Dinner Divas". All the kids cooked their own meal. Spencer decided that they all would make pizza. The kids rolled their own dough, put their own sauce on, and decided what toppings they wanted. They all wore chef hats. We had so much fun! I would highly recommend "The Divine Dinner Divas" to anyone. They took care of everything. FYI: They have the most amazing chocolate sheet I have ever eaten in my whole life. Here is a picture of my little chef.

Chef Spencer McCulloch

Riley Our Basketball STAR

Riley has been playing little dribblers! His division is kindergarten thru second grade. So each team has 2 kindergarteners, 2 first graders, and 2 second graders, it is quite and amusing mix. I have seen so much improvement in him since basketball started. Summer and Charlie Heath have been his coaches and they are absolutely amazing with the kids. They have taught them so much. We were very fortunate to be placed on their team. Keep in mind Riley towers over everyone, including the second graders that are the same age as him. Watching him rebound is absolutely hilarious because he never even jumps, he just reaches up and grabs the ball and holds it above his head with his arms stretched out and the other players swarm him jumping up and down trying to get the ball away from him. Last weekend he played two games on Saturday. During both of the games he scored twice! The first game he was the only one that scored:)! It is so funny to watch the kids because they take it soooo serious as if they were playing in the NBA! They are so cute!!

D-E-F-E-N-S-E!!

Get On Your Man

Rebound, Riley!

Take It Down

Let the Blogging Begin!!!

2008-03-26T00:53:00.028-05:00

Hello Everyone!!
Several of my friends have blogs and I have always thought this was an interesting way to update friends and family. When we finally decided to join the rest of the general population and buy a home computer and get Internet access I knew I wanted a blog. So I will try to keep things as interesting a possible. As you all may or may not know there is always excitement at my house with my two busy boys (Riley, 8 and Spencer, 5) and not to mention Shawn. Here are some pictures to get started with.

Blog to you all soon!

Kayln

My Family

P. S. I have lost 30 pounds since this picture! Thank God for Weight Watchers!!

Steven "Riley"

He is 8 going on 25!!

This is Spencer Ross

Yes, he looks just like Shawn!

You all know Shawn

This is Shawn in the Midland airport waiting on his first flight. He was a nervous wreck! We were headed to Las Vegas!! What a trip!