Wonder where we've been?! When we left off, nearly a month ago, we had announced our gut-wrenching decision for Brailey to quit volleyball and to go with dance and her horse instead. Well, shortly after this, my camera broke! And so that is why I've been missing in action on the blog posts (as if you all just live for them!). So I had to get a new camera, which I did, but I am still trying to learn how to use it properly. In any case, I did my best this past weekend. Anyway, if there was any doubt about whether or not we went in the right direction, this weekend proved to us that we 100% made the right choice! We started things off Saturday morning with Brailey's first Dance Showcase, put on by her dance coach. It was an absolute blast! There is no doubt where Brailey's passion is... She is a dancer through-and-through! And a cowgirl, too, which you will see below. I think you will be able to tell from the pictures that she put her entire heart and soul into her dance routines. She was absolutely magical to watch! Yes, I'm her mom. No, I'm not barn blind. She may have a lot to learn, but she was born to be a dancer. Apparently, my mother's dancing genes are strong ones! They skipped over me entirely, but Brailey has them in spades. Below, she and one of her dearest friends, Elleot, who is also on the dance team.
See if you can spy her below... Hint: She is second from the end. The one with the gynormous smile on her face and the longest pony tail!
In the middle, here, ready to do her "thing."
Kind of in the middle, behind the tall girl.
The farthest on on the left. Do you think she likes to dance?!
This was her second dance - I didn't get as many pictures of this one, because she was farther away. She is in the middle behind the S.
Much to our joy, Brady's sister and her best friend JoAnn came up for the weekend from Sacramento! JoAnn has a darling picture of Brailey and Elleot with Aunt Suezy she is going to send me. They made it just in time for Brailey's second dance. And when it was all over, in perfect Aunt Suezy form, Suezy said, "She was the best on out there!" Of course I'm sure every other mother, aunt, grandma, dad, uncle and sibling thought the same thing about their girl... But it was so cute! From the Dance Showcase, we rushed home, changed her clothes and loaded up her horse so we could hit the afternoon session of the local barrel race. 
We are so lucky to have Patsy Hayes helping her and also she is riding our colt Mater for us, and doing a fantastic job! I love this picture below of Mater looking at me. He was so happy to see Tex! And Aunt Suezy and Aunt JoJo (as we call her) had an amazing time, as well! 
Braiely, for her part, had the two best runs of her life! They were both clean! She shaved an entire second off her second run from her first. She rode her horse so well, and they worked as a team. Patsy, bless her heart, stayed to help and watch her, even though she was done. Seriously, we are so lucky to have her helping us! And Aunt Suezy was in her element helping Brailey, as well, and was incredibly impressed with how great Tex looks and how well Bray rides him. Brailey tied him to the trailer for a bit, and when she went to get him, Aunt Suezy was there rubbing his hocks to get his natural endorphins going. Brailey was so thrilled by this! I think Aunt Suezy is her good luck charm! It was a fantastic day. After a brief rest at home, Brady and the kiddos met Aunt Suezy and JoJo at Uncle Boone's farm, Lone Pine Farm, for a trip through the famous haunted corn maze. They had a spectacular time! Britt was thrilled to have his favorite aunt going through the maze with him, and apparently he had to push her through a tunnel, because she was claustrophobic. I am still hearing stories about this great trip through the haunted corn maze! It was a special day, no doubt about it! Stay tuned for the next edition, where you will learn all about Sunday's activities with our beloved Aunt Suezy!
I took this from the bleachers, looking down at them. Notice Brailey is wearing her fabulous shirt from Aunt Cindy and Candice in Texas. Look them up if you want to find one just like it - Lucky Ranch Style! 
