Texas Racker Family

Maxwell turns ONE!

2009-08-11T12:54:00.001-07:00

On June 3rd my baby boy turned 1! Where does the time go? He started the day out in his birthday suit and ended it with cake all over his face! We have enjoyed having Max around our house...he is such a fun baby! We love you Max...Happy Birthday!

Mommy and Daddy Trip....

2009-08-10T23:44:00.000-07:00

So Monty took me on a cruise to the Bahamas in April. We were gone for a week and had some definite R&R. After the cruise we stayed in Florida at the Doral Golf Resort which was absolutely amazing. While we were there we ate Cuban food which makes me drool even thinking about it! Best of all we did not get sea sick and would love to do it again...any takers:)

Owens Day out with Thomas the Tank Engine...and daddy!

2009-05-20T21:08:00.000-07:00

Monty and Owen had a boys weekend trip to Dallas for a train ride with Thomas the Tank Engine! Owen was in Thomas heaven! They spent about 5 hours there playing with trains, legos, bounce houses and of course they got an actual train ride with Thomas! I don't think even Owen could forget this day!

Daddy and Max

2009-05-20T21:04:00.001-07:00

I had to post these two pictures because I think they are so adorable! Maxwell with his papa...too cute!

You know your a red neck when you....

2009-05-20T20:58:00.001-07:00

Buy the Sams Club special! Okay so maybe this sounds rude but you have to admit it is a little white trash! Hey we love this pool and are so glad it didn't cost us a 2nd mortgage:) It is for the kids and they absolutely have had a ball playing in it! No complaints from me about this pretty pool in my backyard...thanks Monty for all the blood, sweat and tears you put in to setting it up!

Owen reciting Green Eggs and Ham

2009-03-24T19:06:00.000-07:00

Here is a video of Owen reciting Green Eggs and Ham. Everyday he makes his own plate of green eggs and ham out of paper and will follow you around the house asking "Do you like green eggs and ham?" This will continue until you repeat your part. It is very cute and he has the whole thing memorized. However, we hope that he will move on to another book soon!

Snakes, Snakes and more Snakes...oh my!

2009-03-22T11:37:00.000-07:00

I thought we would share a little of our West Texas experience in regards to snakes! In Sweetwater, Texas about 20 miles away they have an Annual Rattle Snake Roundup. Now before you judge just know that this is done so they can milk the snakes to get venom and save your life in case you are ever bit by a rattlesnake! We took the kids and could not believe how many snakes and people were there! People drive from all over to come to this and it is the largest Rattlesnake roundup in the world. Which makes sense since we found our own little rattlesnake in the garage...the last picture. It was a baby snake compared to many of these giant ones at the roundup. However, the baby ones can be most deadly because when they bite, they don't let go but rather stay latched and thus secreting more venom in you. Soooo....anyone wanna come visit??? LOL! Hope you all enjoy the videos below!

The girls bought rattle necklaces and Owen has a rattlesnake head necklace

Snake we found in our garage

Christmas '08

2009-01-17T15:48:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderfully sunny Christmas...78 degrees to be exact:) Monty, I mean the kids got a Wii and Owen got his train table which he has told everyone this is what he wanted. This is the first year Owen really understood Christmas as far as Santa goes. Everday he would ask when it was going to be Christmas. The kids have all been so good this year and adjusted to their life in Abilene, Texas! We truly have been so blessed this year with a great job, baby Maxwell and great support from family and friends all around the USA! We love you all and hope you have a blessed year!

Sammys Piano Recital

2009-01-17T15:39:00.000-08:00

Samantha started piano lessons in October and had her first piano recital. She beautifully played The Clock Shop by Faber. I finally don't have to beg her to practice but to stop playing the piano...she loves it! Reverse psychology DOES work:)By the way don't mind the orange pics...this room makes your pictures turn out like this.

Brittney's Baptism

2009-01-17T15:16:00.000-08:00

Brittney was baptized on November 22, 2008 and was lucky to have both sets of grandparents here(THANKYOU!!!)and our good friends the Moores! She looked absolutely beautiful and we are so proud of her!I can't believe my baby girl is 8!

Owen lost a tooth!!!

2008-10-20T22:03:00.001-07:00

Wow we have had alot happen the last couple of days! So Owens two bottom teeth have been loose for about a week. The kid eats at least one apple a day so we knew it was just a matter of time before it came out. Well today that little green apple in his lunch must have knocked it loose because when he got home all he did was show me his tooth dangling...literally! Luckily Monty was home so he pulled the pliers out and out it came! Don't mind the teary eyes...Owen keeps asking to have his tooth put back in! LOL! Poor kid. I am not sure how he is going to eat his apples now:)

Britts 8th b-day

2008-10-20T21:58:00.001-07:00

Our cute baby girl "B" has turned 8!!! We love her so much and she is such a great big sister to her little brothers! Happy Birthday Beezy!

Little Betty Crocker

2008-10-20T09:52:00.000-07:00

Sam wanted her own post on the blog so she made a cake all by herself! Now I need to teach her to make dinner:)

Trip to the BYU TCU Game

2008-10-19T07:31:00.000-07:00

So we decided to take the whole family to the BYU/TCU game this year! What a great family activity right?! Needless to say, I think Monty and I will go by ourselves next time:) Here is our ultimate family picture with Montys favorite player ever....TY DETMER!! We went to the BYU Alumni dinner before the game...yes we are aware that Monty graduated from the U! The kids had a blast! Here are some happy pictures before the game...no pictures after, can't talk about it:) The next day me and the kids drowned our sorrows at Krispie Kremes and Monty hit the greens! Since we are true blue fans I will say very humbly...GO COUGS!

Playtime!!!

2008-09-22T08:53:00.000-07:00

Max is just starting to get fun! We love the bumbo chair and the exersaucer! I am finally starting to get some things done while he is entertained! The kid loves to stick his tongue out! Sadly he is growing way too fast:(

Back to School

2008-09-02T09:45:00.000-07:00

I'M BORED, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO TODAY!!?? Sound familiar to anyone??? Ahhh...school has finally started and the kids would even agree with me it was time:)I think I will be hearing I'm tired more now but I can live with that! Max celebrated their day with a couple of licks on his lollypop!

Brothers

2008-08-13T00:06:00.001-07:00

I am so glad that Owen has Max and Max has Owen! As my girls would say Owen is no longer girl trapped! Owen calls Max...Mexi which has in turn created all kinds of nicknames for poor Max. Owen is very protective and loving towards his little bro and very concerned if Max is upset. Hopefully this will continue on through out the years!

Trip to Utah

2008-08-12T22:46:00.001-07:00

SO we packed up the Suburban and took a trip to Utah! There are so many pictures that I did a slideshow. I am still waiting on some other pictures from Max's blessing so I will get those on here as soon as I can. We had a wonderful time seeing both sides of the family and going to some of our Utah favorites. The kids enjoyed time with their cousins and everyone was introduced to Maxwell. For those of you we didn't see a public apology is only appropriate...we are sorry. You would think 2 weeks was plenty of time! For those we did see we thank you all for your hospitality and we had a blast! Feel free any of you all to come on down here to Texas...we would love to have ya! Hope you all enjoy our pictures!

I am 3 weeks old!!!

2008-07-01T21:02:00.000-07:00

Maxwell WAS 3 weeks old in these pictures. However, mom was plagued with the flu for four days and did not get these loaded on the computer. Go ahead I will let you feel sorry for me since Monty was out of town and I had four kids to take care of in between trips to the bathroom...lovely I know:) Our little "coffee bean" as his uncle calls him is growing too fast! We have all enjoyed having a new baby in the house and hope to keep you posted on his growth! I will take this opportunity to thank all of you for your kind words and excitement about our new addition! We hope you are all enjoying your "summer break":)

Green Thumb Hubby

2008-06-10T22:20:00.000-07:00

Monty has been working so hard in the yard with weather in the 90's that I had to post some pictures of his job so far, no we are not done yet. He dug all this grass up and planted every tree and shrub. Plus I need to give a shout out to his dad who is an amazing landscape architect and drew this plan up in no time! Unfortunatley I was large with baby and was unable to help...although I did make root starter and keep my hubby hydrated:)

Maxwell Lamont Racker

2008-06-03T20:04:00.000-07:00

Well, the baby has finally arrived, weighing in at 7 lbs 8 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long. He was born at 2:20 PM on June 3rd and despite having a cone head from spending a little too much time in the birth canal, he is healthy and happy and so is the mama. Here are a few of the pictures taken today.

Texas Weather

2008-05-01T08:57:00.001-07:00

With all this talk about snow and wearing jackets still....I had to post what we have been doing for the last couple of months! Maybe this will get some people to come visit, or even better move by us:) Don't mind the yard...as usual we are in the process of fixing it!

Texas Camping

2008-04-23T07:52:00.000-07:00

For Spring Break we decided to try out Texas camping before the heat comes! We headed out 4 hours east of Abilene to Bob Sandlin Lake with our friends the Moores! We had a blast and Owen was definitely in his element....loved getting dirty! We camped for 3 nights, fished, made lots of dutch oven food (thanks to Monty and Brooks) and enjoyed having some trees around us! With 6 kids a dog and a pregnant woman.....a lot of work but so much fun!

Walk for Autism '08

2008-04-23T07:14:00.000-07:00

Please do not pinch yourself...yes I am actually starting a blog and finally getting pics up! This is my first post and a very important one at that! On April 5th our family participated in The Walk for Autism for our son Owen who is autistic. It was held at the Abilene Zoo filled with bounce houses, clowns, music, food and lots of support of families and businesses! The t-shirts were made at midnight the night before by yours truly:) It was a great experience and our family was very blessed to have such an out pour of love and support from our friends and family. With the help of everyone our family was able to reach our goal of $1000 to go towards research to find a cure for autism! Here are some pictures from our day out! We thank all those who donated and those who have kept us in your prayers.

Owen singing the National Anthem. It brought a couple of us to tears!