The Crisp's

Well, I guess summer is officially over and we've had our last hoo-ra until after gin season. The end of the summer included a trip to Lake Brownwood for the Gray family reunion, another visit to Concan and the Frio, a few days in Leakey at the deer lease, and several short trips up to Kent Co. to work on our place. We now have running water and electricity up there which is very exciting! Now we're super busy trying to finish all our taxidermy work and get the gin ready for the season, and all is well.

I love being a mom. Every day is a new adventure. Each morning I wake up and wonder what he'll find and try to eat that day. Taegan is now 8 months old, has 2 teeth, and seems to keep a constant knot on his head. I know all babies are busy, but he does seem to be bent more like his daddy. Watching him play is so funny because its almost like he's in a hurry-- like he's got to finish looking at that book and move on to the next toy before he gets behind. We have 2 major wrestling matches a day: one in the morning getting him dressed and one at night putting his pj's on. It kind of reminds me of when I was little trying to get Barbie into a new swimsuit. Only with him you can't hold him upside down or take a leg off, and he's constantly moving in the direction I don't want him to. If ever you see him naked just know that I lost the wrestling match for that day.

I'm also amazed at the amount of talent babies have that they aren't given credit for. It's like baby magic or something. For example, those chidproof medicine bottles that I can hardly get open, he blinks and has them open with pills all over the floor. (Don't worry, he hasn't swallowed any) Or how I could've just swept and mopped and 3 minutes later he's got a new dead bug. And like the empty lotion bottle I had put in the trash (because it was empty) he manages to get out, get it open, and cover his shirt in lotion. And then there was the other day when i leaned over the sink with him on my hip to wash his paci off, and in .0032 seconds he was able to grab my toothbrush, cram it in his mouth, and spit up at that precise moment. You can't plan that, it's just raw talent.

at the family reunion

Loyd, Laveda, Nathan, Randon, and Paxton. We had such a great time with them! Our prayer is to raise Taegan to be the kind of person these boys are. From the looks of his disposition here, it doesn't seem too promising. :(

Al and his mini-me.

We celebrated Dan and Patsy's 50th wedding anniversary at Concan. What a great heritage they've created. It was so fun having a big group at the Frio this time!

Don't know if you can tell in this pic, but Tac came back from the Frio with a little tan!

at the deer lease

We like squash.

Al was building some steps for our camper. Even when we're on vacation he never stops working.

We loooove that baby in the mirror.


Well, this doesn't seem to be the summer for pets around the Crisp home. We got home from our travels and found the pond drained, all the fish dead, and my ducks Cecil and Wilma completely mutilated. I'm talking a head here and a foot over there mutilated. Maybe it was a fox or a bobcat. If we can catch whatever it was, you'll probably see a new mount at our house. Ducks really are cool pets to have and it's pretty lonely without them now. My cat is the only thing we have left, and I'm thinking we may need to get out the holy water and sprinkle it on her to ensure she makes it to next year. Isn't it ironic that the one animal that Al wanted dead the most is the only one we have left?

These are more pics that Crista did for us and they really turned out great. Tac is 6 months and Brittany is 12.

Go Raiders.

What a stud.

The toilet is our new favorite place

Zeb stayed with us over the weekend while Kanyon and Erika were gone. Tac loved having a puppy to play with. They played with all of Tac's toys, traded pacifiers, and even shared a can of Alpo. Mmmmm.

Al and his cook team out in the gin cooking for the Livestock Association Pickup Raffle. Al built this 10 foot long grill especially for this occasion 5 years ago when we started doing this cook. The guys seasoned and cooked a whopping 600 steaks that day and they were all yummy!

Out at Duck Creek working hard!

Watermelon is yummy..... and messy.