It’s my turn to update the blog and let you all know what is going on. Heidi’s one year Dr.’s appointment went really well. She was 17 lbs 4 oz and was 27 inches tall. That keeps her right in the 3-5% range. Which the Dr. thinks will be normal for her . She has been very busy  trying to walk by herself. She will practice with Mommy and Daddy, but then decides she would rather crawl since it is faster. She is certainly starting to get into the toddler phase since she likes to have things her way and cries when she doesn’t get it. She really seems to be liking going out to the barn and riding. Which of course we are excited about and got a few pictures.

We also got a new saddle, a kids size so that I can start teaching riding lessons again. Heidi took a ride on the back of the couch the other night when if first got here. We also got a little video of her riding with her Daddy. She seems to just love it!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Derek and I have been doing well. Derek has been busy with the young men and I have been busy with the young women at church. We love our callings and are keeping busy. Swifty is doing well and adjusting to life at the Tucker house. He and Summit are starting to play a little together and they like to run around the pastures. The barn cats are starting to enjoy the new house and Grande has decided that Derek’s grill is the perfect spot to hang out, when it is not on of course.

Heidi also had some wicked bed head the other morning so I got a picture of it. I’m not sure it does her justice but she does look pretty cute and you can see her teeth. She now has 3 top and 3 bottom and loves to bite things.

Other than that we are doing well and are just trying to stay cool with all the hot and humid weather!

Love,

Derek, Nichole and Heidi

Seems it has been a little bit of time since I have written a post so I figured I better get one out while Heidi was taking a nap. She is doing really well and we are gearing up for her 1st birthday at the end of the month. I cannot believe that it has been a year already. She is truly a blessing, even though she gets in lots of trouble! Her new favorite thing to do is open the dvd player. She figured out which button it was and crawls as fast as she can to get there, when she thinks we are not looking. She spent a little time in her playpen this weekend so that Dad could finish up with the truck and Mom could work the horses. She really liked it for about a half hour and then she was over it.

Derek has been keeping busy with work and school. He just returned from a quick trip out to CSU to see his advisor and work on some papers. He was also able to see some friends which was good. He then got home for a very busy Memorial Day weekend. I had lined up for us to go and see a horse, since we had been thinking about getting one I could teach lessons on again. So we did that Saturday morning and ended up buying him.  Derek then spent the rest of Saturday and Monday cleaning the cars and mowing the lawn and one of the pastures.

His name is Buck and he is a 12 yr old grade Quarter Horse, which means he is not registered but he is a really honest fellow, just out of shape.

I spent the weekend helping Derek, watching Heidi and riding the horses and working on our garden, which has gotten huge. Derek says it is like a controlled jungle. I guess that there is one thing all the horse poop around here is good for! Other than that things around here are going pretty well. We are looking forward to some vistors at the end of the month as my Uncle Frank and Parents will be coming for a vist for Heidi’s birthday. It will be lots of fun and good to see everyone again. Hope you all are doing well and we will talk to you later!

Derek, Nichole and Heidi

Derek, Nichole, and Heidi

We also just purchased a new video camera in preparation for the baby so Nichole can capture some videos and share them on the blog with everyone. We were trying it out this afternoon while I was riding our two horses. So I posted a portion of the video below. It requires Quicktime, which most people should have. If it does not work let me know.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Love

Derek and Nichole

The first day we left it was Saturday morning the 16th. We got up and got everything ready, thanks to Wendy and Charlie we got the hay secured in the front stall of the trailer and then caught the horses and got ready to go. Istu was great, but Emma decided she really did not want the shipping boots on and did not really want to get into the trailer. After we did get the boots on and her in the trailer she kicked at Derek as he was closing the door. He got a bruise on his hip but is fine. We eventually came to figure out that she was coming into heat and that is why she was such a butt on the whole trip. We were able to stay at a boarding barn about a mile from Derek’s Aunt and Uncle’s house. The second night they stayed at another boarding place in TN which was really nice, we were able to put them out for a little while on pasture which seemed to help a little. Emma did fine the first and second days in the trailer but did end up kicking Istu on the third day so he is a little swollen on his right hind leg. He is not lame but it is tender as she gave him a pretty good kick. They did really well overall and are adjusting pretty well to the new place, though Emma is still not sure what is going on with the goats at the next door neighbor’s place.She keeps Nubian milking goats and sells the milk so it gets a little loud around milking time.

Summit did really pretty well, she stayed in the truck with Derek and did sleep some. She got on pretty well with Derek’s Uncle and Aunt’s dog Shelby when we stopped at there house in Kansas City KS the first Night. Thanks so much Uncle Gene and Aunt Marjean for letting us stay! The second night in the hotel she was so tired she just crashed with Sam on her bed. The final day she was really glad to get here and be able to be in a house. She has really liked going out to the barn to be with the horses and inspect the property every few hours, though she still has not gotten a sleep schedule down so she is pretty tired. She made a new fried, Souki, the great Pyrenees puppy from next door. They like to wander around the property together and she is really cute.

The cat did not fair quite so well on the trip. She spent the first few hours of the trip car sick and threw up in her carrier. She then proceeded to poop in the carrier as well so she was just not feeling very well. After Sam got her cleaned up, since I can’t touch the cat poop she seemed to do ok for the rest of the day. We fed her a little the next morning and she threw that up so on the third day she did not get breakfast and did really well all the way to the new house. She is liking the new windows and all of the lizards that move around the windows.

Derek, Sam and I all weathered the trip really well. The first night was great thanks to Uncle Gene and Aunt Marjean for letting us stay with them in KS. It was a little long for a first day but it was nice to see the family and spend a little time with them.  The second night was not too bad. We stayed in a hotel in Fairview TN, just out of Nashville by about 20 miles. It was close to the place where we were keeping the horses. We all got some sleep, though not a much as we would have liked. The third day seemed to be the longest, even though it was the shortest drive time. We got stuck in traffic after an accident outside of Nashville, so we were moving along at a crawl. That was when Emma got Istu in the trailer,  After the Accident things moved pretty well until we hit just this side of the AL, FL line when the speed limit started dropping. It went down to 45 in some places with stop lights through the small towns so it was kind of frustrating, but we made it through. We stopped at the official Florida welcome center, mostly because I needed to go to the bathroom for the hundredth time it seemed. We were all glad to get to Florida and be able to be at the house. Thanks so much to my sister Sam who helped me drive, and even though it was a little scary sometimes, we made it and I could not have done it without here.

I have taken some pictures of the new house and put them in the gallery. It is just the outside, since we don’t have any furniture yet so I figured I would post pictures of the inside of the house once we get unpacked.

Hope all of you are doing well!

Derek and Nichole

Our seats were pretty good and the weather cooperated so we did not get totally fried. The misters they installed did help alot and kept us comfortable, though a little wet. The rodeo was really good. We got to see Trevor Brazille rope on his horse Texaco, however the rope broke and he got a no time for the tie down roping, though he did qualify for the team roping and steer roping. We took some pictures and Derek was able to get a panoramic view of the stadium for the most part. So take a look, some of the pictures are a little foggy, but that is from the misters keeping us cool. We hope you are all doing well!

Love

Derek and Nichole

Love,

Derek, Nichole, Summit, Coyote, Istu and Emma.