2010 NFR Television Schedule

Be sure to cheer on Nick Guy! The first steer wrestler out tonight! Kyle will hazing for him :-)

TIMES ARE EASTERN TIME ZONE
Round 1 (LIVE) 12/2/2010 10:00PM - 12:30AM ESPN Classic
Round 1 Re-Air 12/3/2010 1:30AM - 3:30 AM ESPN2
Round 1 Re-Air 12/3/2010 7:00AM - 9:00AM ESPN Classic
Round 1 Re-Air 12/3/2010 5:00PM - 7:00PM ESPN Classic

Round 2 (LIVE) 12/3/2010 10:00PM - 12:30AM ESPN Classic
Round 2 Re-Air 12/4/2010 1:30AM - 4:00 AM ESPN2
Round 2 Re-Air 12/4/2010 7:00AM - 9:00AM ESPN Classic
Round 2 Re-Air 12/4/2010 5:00PM - 7:00PM ESPN Classic

Round 3 (LIVE) 12/4/2010 9:00 - 11:30 PM ESPN Classic
Round 3 Re-Air 12/5/2010 1:30AM - 3:30AM ESPN2
Round 3 Re-Air 12/5/2010 7:00AM - 9:00AM ESPN Classic
Round 3 Re-Air 12/5/2010 5:00PM - 7:00PM ESPN Classic

Round 4 (LIVE) 12/5/2010 9:00 - 11:30 PM ESPN2
Round 4 Re-Air 12/5/2010 11:30PM - 1:30AM ESPN Classic
Round 4 Re-Air 12/6/2010 7:00AM - 9:00AM ESPN Classic
Round 4 Re-Air 12/6/2010 5:00PM - 7:00PM ESPN Classic

Round 5 (LIVE) 12/6/2010 10:00PM - 12:30AM ESPN2
Round 5 Re-Air 12/7/2010 12:30AM - 2:30AM ESPN Classic
Round 5 Re-Air 12/7/2010 7:00AM - 9:00AM ESPN Classic
Round 5 Re-Air 12/7/2010 5:00PM - 7:00PM ESPN Classic

Round 6 (Live) 12/7/2010 10:00PM - 12:30 AM ESPN2
Round 6 Re-Air 12/8/2010 12:30AM - 3:00 AM ESPN Classic
Round 6 Re-Air 12/8/2010 7:00AM - 9:00AM ESPN Classic
Round 6 Re-Air 12/8/2010 5:00PM - 7:00PM ESPN Classic

Round 7 (LIVE) 12/8/2010 10:00PM - 12:30AM ESPN Classic
Round 7 Re-Air 12/9/2010 1:00 - 3:30 AM ESPN2
Round 7 Re-Air 12/9/2010 7:00AM - 9:00AM ESPN Classic
Round 7 Re-Air 12/9/2010 5:00PM - 7:00PM ESPN Classic

Round 8 (LIVE) 12/9/2010 10:00PM - 12:30AM ESPN Classic
Round 8 Re-Air 12/10/2010 1:00 - 3:30 AM ESPN2
Round 8 Re-Air 12/10/2010 7:00AM - 9:00AM ESPN Classic
Round 8 Re-Air 12/10/2010 5:00PM - 7:00PM ESPN Classic

Round 9 (LIVE) 12/10/2010 10:00PM - 12:30AM ESPN Classic
Round 9 Re-Air 12/11/2010 1:00 - 3:00 AM ESPN2
Round 9 Re-Air 12/11/2010 7:00AM - 9:00AM ESPN Classic
Round 9 Re-Air 12/11/2010 5:00PM - 7:00PM ESPN Classic

Round 10 12/11/2010 10:30PM - 1:00AM ESPN2
Round 10 Re-Air 12/12/2010 1:00 - 3:00 AM ESPN Classic
Round 10 Re-Air 12/12/2010 7:00AM - 9:00AM ESPN Classic
Round 10 Re-Air 12/12/2010 5:00PM - 7:00PM ESPN Classic

NFR

Sunday Kyle & Nick headed out for Vegas. The trip ended up taking right about 24 hours. They hit some bad weather in Colorado and could only travel about 30 mph. It sounds like it was a long trip, but they made it save and sound. They have got all checked in to the hotel and from the sounds of it just hanging out waiting for the Rodeo to start on Thursday.


Nick & Kyle with Brain Duba ,one of their sponsors, before heading out to Vegas.



Kyle with Jenae & Aubree



Nick & Erin



Loading up the horses for their 22 hour trip


And away they go!!!!



To get the girls mind off of their Daddy leaving we baked cookies. It is fun to have Jenae at the age that she actually is helpful in the kitchen. She has taken it upon herself to set the table for meals :-)



Jenae & Aubree in the kitchen. I have a lot of good memories of sitting on the counter "helping" my Mom. It is fun to have the same experience with my kiddos!

A big day for Jenae...

Today was a really big day for Jenae. Marilyn picked her up at 5:30 this morning and they headed to Norfolk to attend Sarah Palin's book signing. Jenae has been a HUGE Sarah fan ever since the November 08 election. It was a real dream come true for her to get to meet Sarah. They stopped & picked up Hope on the way to Norfolk. They had to be in line to get a ticket to be able to get a book signed by Sarah.

Leading up to today Jenae has been referring to Sarah in the by her first name only. Last night when I was putting her to bed I told her "you better get to sleep, it is going to be an early morning tomorrow." She gave me a funny look and said "why?" and before I could answer her she said "oh I get to see Sarah tomorrow." As I was getting her ready this morning I was giving her a little talking to about how to be a really good girl for Grammy today and not complain about anything and that if she was a really good girl there would be other times that Grammy would ask her to do thing. Jenae asked " like what?" I said "well maybe if Obama comes to town" Jenae got a really disgusted look on her face and said "I would NEVER go see that guy!!!!" Maybe she has been watching a little to much Fox News with her Daddy!

At the book signing they did not allow any photos with Sarah, but Jenae was very excited to get a picture with Sarah's daughters Willow & Piper.

Yesterday Amy & Danni came up for visit. They brought the Zutavern boys along to play with Jenae & Aubree. It was a much nicer day and the kids spent a lot of the time outside.

Thursday night Jenae, Aubree & I stayed up until midnight decorating for Christmas. They had so much fun looking through all the decorations and deciding where to put them.

It as been a busy past few days, but it is so nice to have some time off work. Monday will roll around soon enough. Today was another really nice day I think it was in the mid 40's. Only a couple of days until the first of December....that is when the real craziness begins :-)




Piper & Willow Palin with Jenae at the book signing.




Jenae & Marilyn at the Sarah Palin book signing.


Jenae in line to get her book signed by Sarah Palin.





The Whitaker Girls & Zutavern Boys playing & riding in the arena.





Reece riding Beauty





Bryan on Beauty





Aubree & Caden riding Hippy



Jenae all smiles while riding Speedster.



Jenae taking Speedster around the barrels in a cool day. Her pattern was a little rusty from how good she was doing this summer when she practiced everyday. Speedster looked liked he enjoyed running the barrels as much as Jenae did. After one of her faster runs of the day she was smiling from ear to ear & she said "Now that is what I call fun"



Jenae & Aubree hanging the ornaments.



Jenae & Aubree having fun decorating the tree. They did a great job with it. I told Jenae that it was theirs to do what they wanted with the tree, but not to be offended if I moved things around after they were done. Jenae was so concerned that I would change what she was doing that she made sure to do a good job putting the ornaments all over the tree, not just the middle bottom of the tree.

Thanksgiving

We spent yesterday at Chip's sister, Amy's house celebrating Thanksgiving. It was a really nice. Lots of good food :-) All of Chip's siblings were there, it was July of 2006 since they had all be together. Yesterday was really cold & windy, the coldest Thanksgiving that I can remember. It was 3 degrees yesterday morning & I think it only got in the mid 20's, not good a day for the annual cousin football game. It was a big day. We left home at 9:00 and didn't get back until 8:30 last night. I was very happy to have today off.

Now time to start thinking of Las Vegas & Christmas :-)



Chip & Jenae



Chip & Marilyn with Chip's siblings


Whitaker Cousins



Deer near Dunning, NE



Aubree & Cady



Aubree & Trey



Sweet little Aubree



Marilyn, Trey & Zach


Aubree, Caden & Jenae


Kyle in charge of the kids. They were having foot races.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from our home to yours.

I have so much to be Thankful for and Thanksgiving is a chance to really think about all the blessings in my life.

3 of many things that I am thankful for are.....


My 2 adorable little girls... I am so thankful for my healthily & energetic children. They bring so much joy to my life everyday. You can bet there is never a dull moment.

My husband..... He is so kind and thoughtful. He is such a good Daddy to his little girls.

My Parents & Kyle's Parents.... I can't imagine raising my children without their help and influence. They are always there with a helping hand or good advice when need.

We are looking forward spending the day with family tomorrow. I hope you all have a wonderful day & have save travels.

In loving memory of Alton H. Noble

These past 2 weeks seem like a blur to me. From our trip to Louisville to losing my Grandpa. Since Tuesday I have not gotten on the internet at all. No blogging, no facebook. In some ways it was nice to be out of touch with the rest of the world during this time.
I am still really sad about the loss of my Grandpa. I thought I would handle it better than I am. He has had major health issued for the past 9 years and there were many times in those years that we came close to losing him. I think there is a small part of me that thought we he got bad this time that somehow he would pull out of it and it is just now sinking in that he is really gone. I know he is in a much better place, but that still doesn’t make me miss him less.
Grandpa was such a neat person. 8 years ago he was in the Madonna Rehab center recovering from Gillian Barrett syndrome. He made such an impression on his therapist that 2 of them made the trip from Lincoln to Albion to pay their respects. I was very moved by them coming. I obviously thought a lot of my Grandpa, but I to think that others that were just involved in his life for such a short time span would take time from their busy lives to attend his funeral or visitation speaks volumes as to what people thought of him.
The funeral was a very nice service. The soloist had a beautiful voice and sang songs that my Grandpa loved, Old Rugged Cross, One Day at a Time & Wings of a Dove. My sister & I both spoke about Grandpa.

This is what I said:

Grandpa Bubbles ....that is my earliest memory of my Grandpa. My sister, Danielle & I had a hard time saying Noble, so he was Grandpa Bubbles to us. He would come for a visit with pockets full of smarites candies & butterscotch disks which we called Grandpa Bubble’s candy. I was very surprised when I got a little older and discovered the candy was not actually called that.

Thanking back Grandpa Bubbles is actually very appropriate when referring to my Grandpa. He was a very happy person who always had a smile on his face. In my 32 years I was fortunate to share with Grandpa, I never heard him say a bad thing about another person. I never heard a negative comment about anything come from Grandpa, even when his Huskers were down & out with a bad game or bad season.

I have so many wonderful memories of my Grandpa.
• Going to Charlie’s for ice cream
• Spending a couple of days/nights in the summer at Grandpa & Grandma’s house for our “vacation”
• Taking walks around town in the evenings
• Going for rides in the red Ford LTD
• And looking forward to times when he and Grandma would come over for a visit. If it was in the summer you cold bet that Grandpa would come in the house carrying a carton of Charlie’s ice cream. Something that we all enjoyed.

These are just a few of many memories of my Grandpa that I have. He was a very supportive Grandpa. I do not think he missed one Christmas Program or school event. He came to Grandparents day at school every year & he loved to come over and watch us ride our horses. Every time I saw him he had a smile on his face.
Grandpa adored his children, grandchildren & great grandchildren & we all thought the world of him.

Grandpa & Grandma were married 63 years. Anyone who knew them could see they were true sweethearts. They had a very special marriage, a marriage that was full of love & admiration for each other. It was obvious to anyone around them that they were still very much in love after 63 years together.

In addition to his family, my Grandpa had a love for farming & the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Grandpa farmed from the time he was a little boy until he was forced to retire at the age of 49 due to a heart attack. Every year he enjoyed hearing how much the calves sold or and how big the corn crop was. He loved to reminiscence about the good ol’ days & talk about how farming has changed over the years.

In the fall Grandpa looked forward to Husker Football games. I regret to say I never watched a game with Grandpa but Grandma told me that he watched very quietly but he watched very intensely. He loved to talk about the games and no matter what struggles the huskers may be having he had a way to put a positive spin on the season.

Grandpa was a very special person. He was one of those people that if you knew him you loved him. I am really going to miss Grandpa. I am going to miss his smile & his outlook on life. I am thankful that God shared this wonderful man with us for 83 years before taking him home.

He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

This is what Danielle said about Grandpa:



Grandpa was a gentle, kind, loving man. He was always so happy to see us when we would stop by for a visit. Grandpa’s love for his family was felt by everyone, and we loved him very much.


Grandpa has been such an inspiration to me. It was 8 years ago in March when Grandpa was diagnosed with Guillain Barre Syndrome. He survived, but he was paralyzed. Grandpa spent almost a year at Madonna in Lincoln learning to walk again. I lived in Lincoln part of the time he was there and I feel like I got to know him a lot better during that time. There wasn’t a day that I went to see him that he didn’t have a smile on his face and a positive attitude. He has been through so much but always rose to the challenge to fight on. Grandpa had so much strength inside and out, which I believe is due to his strong faith and his love for his family.


Another way Grandpa has inspired me is by his loving marriage to Grandma. The love they shared was so real and it showed. During one of my many talks with Grandpa while he was at Madonna he told me that he and Grandma never had a fight, and I find that incredible. It exemplified the deep love they shared for one another. If we could all have half the love they shared for each other in our relationships - this world would be a better place.


As Grandpa would have it, I think we should celebrate an exceptional man’s great life. Everything he stood for teaches there is life after death.


Grandpa, I’m glad we were able to share your life with you. I can’t image it without you - I miss you already, but you are healed now and I’m thankful you are free of pain. I’m sure you are having a happy reunion with your family that has gone before you.


Grandpa, you’ve inspired me in so many ways - Thank you Grandpa - I love you.


Jenae & Aubree had a connection to Grandpa as well. Jenae seems to have a good understanding of death and eternity. Aubree on the other hand was a little more confused, which is to be expected for a 3 year old. She was very intrigued by the casket and the fact that Grandpa’s body was in it. I had told her Grandpa was in Heaven now. When we were at the funeral home she said to me “is this Heaven Mommy?” I tried to do my best to explain it to her. Death is confusing to kiddos, but it is a good chance to talk about Heaven, God & Jesus.
I stayed at my parents house until yesterday afternoon. Being together as a family at the time of a death is such an important part of the healing process, something I needed. Life goes on and Grandpa would want us to continue on with life as it was before. A friend of mine gave me a stone that says “When someone you love become a memory, the memory becomes a treasure.”
Grandpa lived life to the fullest and he has inspired me to do the same.

a sad day

My Grandpa passed away this morning. As prepared as I was and knowing it is what was best for him it is still hard. It is so final. I have so many good memories of him and love him so much.

Louisville Ky

Kyle and I left Wednesday for Louisville Ky. We left Jenae with Chip & Marilyn and took Aubree down to my parents. The last time Kyle & I took a trip with out the girls was when we went to Pocatello, ID in April. Long story short that was the trip from Hell! Look back at my April postings on my blog if you want details. With my Pocatello trip still pretty fresh in my memory I have to admit there was a little part of me that didn't want to go to Kentucky, but I knew if all went well it would be fun & PLT everything turned out just fine. :-) The weather in Louisville was absolutely gorgeous. It was in the mid to upper 70s and I did not wear a coat all weekend long!

My brother, Dusty, also qualified for the rodeo. He left on Tuesday so he could go down for a roping. His wife, Erin, is a school teacher and could not take that much work off. When we dropped Aubree off at my parents we picked Erin up and away we went. The trip went good and we made good time. Kyle only was in the bronc riding so we were able to drive the car.

We got to Louisville mid morning on Thursday and got checked into our hotel. The afternoon went fast it was time to head to the rodeo. I was really missing the girls. I am not used to leaving them home. Chip's cousin, Lorrie and her husband, Tom, lives near Louisville. They came over to the rodeo to watch that night. They are so nice and we always enjoy a chance to catch up with them. Kyle made a nice ride on his bronc and split 2nd/3rd in the first round with a score of 77.

Friday we went to Churchhill Downs with Nick and his Mom & Grandma.(Nick was who traveled with Kyle all year.) It was a lot of fun. I am not a gambler so I didn't bet on any horses. Kyle bet on a few but had no luck. I really enjoyed looking at all of the Secretariat memorabilia. They had a whole room in the museum with things from the movie Secretariat. I could have spent hours in the museum.

Marilyn had the idea that we should set up a Skype account and we could visit with Jenae over the computer. It is pretty cool technology!!! We could sit and visit with Jenae and see her. It was so nice to see her smiling face.

Friday night it was back to the rodeo. Kyle was 68 on his 2nd bronc which put him
2nd in the average.

Saturday we got up and checked out of the hotel and spent most of the day at the rodeo grounds. I did a lot of shopping at the trade show. I found some things to use as Christmas gifts. It is a good feeling to have a start on Christmas Shopping. Things didn't go so well for Kyle on Saturday night. He had a really good horse, but things just didn't come together for him. He lost a stirrup and had to double grab, no score. To top it off I watched his ride through my video camera but forgot to put the red button to record it, oops!!!!!

We left as soon as the bronc riding was over. Kyle and I were both really tired driving home which made it a long trip. We got to my parents about 9:30 to pick up Aubree.


Kyle & Aubree headed home & I went over to Albion to see my Grandpa. It was really hard to see him as bad as he is. I can't believe he is hanging on. I am glad I stopped I at least got to sit with him for a while a hold his hand. My Aunt Jean is giving him 24 hour care. She is an amazing person to do what she does for him. I know it is really hard for her to see him suffer and know she is doing all she can do the keep him comfortable but it still is not enough. Please keep him in your prayers. I think sometimes God lets us see the suffering to make it easier to let loved ones go.

It sounds like Jenae & Aubree did just fine while Kyle & I were gone. Marilyn took Jenae to Grand Island to watch the state volleyball tournament. I think she really enjoyed that. Aubree had fun with all of her cousins. My sister Daneille kept her on Friday night and took Aubree & her 3 boys shopping in Norfolk on Saturday. I think she must have been a little off her rocker!!! She said they were all good for her. I think both girls were glad to see us, but it doesn't sound like it would have bothered them to have us gone longer!! I guess it will make it easier for me to go to Vegas a few days in December knowing they have lost of fun while I am gone :-)

I am having a hard time getting pictures posted from this past weekend. I will try again tomorrow.

Ups & Downs

We had such an awesome weekend. The weather is so nice! Saturday & Sunday were both in the 70's and today they are predicting it to be 78 degrees! They are calling for a cool down mid week, but we are enjoying it while we have it now.

Friday night Kyle was at a rodeo in Brookings, SD. The girls and I had a fun night of pizza and a movie. We watched A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. I love the Charlie Brown movies. They always get me in the spirit of the Holidays.




Saturday morning we went over to Chip & Marilyn's to visit. Hope, Ben & Trey were there and we got some good fall pictures of the kids while the guys were vaccinating the heifers. Marilyn made an awesome dinner that we all enjoyed. We got home about the time the Husker Football game started. Nebraska ended up winning in overtime but it was a pretty stressful game. Kyle couldn't watch much of it he was getting so mad. He went outside and listened to it on the radio. He got a lot done outside while the game was on. He even cleaned out the chicken house :-)


Jenae Grace
(Jenae lost her other front tooth this past week!)



Aubree Joy



Trey William



Jenae jumping in the leaves.



Bree jumping in a pile of leaves.



Trey walking


Trey was not a fan of the leaves.






The girls riding on Cinnamon. He is off to live at Trey's house now. Aubree thought she should go to Trey's house too if Cinnamon was going to be there.


As soon as the game was over we headed up to O'Neill. Jenae wanted to use her pizza book it certificate and then we took the girls to see Secretariat. It was such a good movie! They sat really really good and watched the whole thing. Jenae had lots of questions during the movie but she really enjoyed it. I couldn't believe how good Aubree sat and watched it. We ran into some friends at the movie and had them stop over to our house for a visit.

Jenae & Aubree & the movie theater.




Sunday we got up and went to church. Jenae took communion for the first time. At our church anyone is welcome to take Communion as long as you know and understand that Jesus Christ is our savior. I knew that Jenae has a really good understanding of Jesus and sometimes I think she has a better understanding than I do. She has been wanting to take communion for sometime now and Kyle has told her she has to wait. Sunday when she asked him he asked if she knew what communion was she said "the cheese or what ever that stuff is that you eat is the bones of Jesus and the juice is his blood." We talked more about it after church and clarified a few things but I think she understood pretty good.

After church I got into a big project of putting away Aubree's 2T and getting out 3T clothes for her to wear. It is a big moment for me. She has always been so small for her age and the fact that she just turned 3 two months ago and is now wearing the 3T clothes is awesome for me. I looked back at my blog from a year ago and saw that last October I finally put away her 12 month clothes and got out 18 month clothes. She went from 18 month to 2T and now to 3T in just 1 year!

Last night we went into a Turkey Dinner that a church in town puts on. It was so nice I didn't cook 1 meal all weekend long!

I titled my blog post ups and downs because as great of a weekend as we had my heart is hurting. My Grandpa who is an amazing man is getting close to his final days here on earth. While I know he is headed to a much better place it saddens me to think of him not being with us. It is all part of the circle of life and I think I am finally starting to understand how fast my life is flying by and while tomorrow may come I never get today back!

Trey Turns 1/ Selling Cattle/ Halloween

You may guess by my title that we had a very busy weekend! Mr. Trey turned one this weekend! I can't believe Hope's little baby is now 1! Hope & Marilyn had a very nice party for him on Friday night. They both went to a lot of work to make is a special night for Trey's first Birthday! The cake was super cute and the food was awesome as always. The girls had a lot of fun playing and visiting with everyone.

Aubree helping Trey blow out his candle.




Chip & Marilyn with the Grand kids.





Cowboy Trey




Ben & Hope with their little cowboy!


Saturday morning we got up bright and early to round up the calves for the sale. Trey & Aubree stayed back with Marilyn and the rest of us went out to gather and sort. All went well. We even discovered some little pumpkins growing where Kyle had thrown out last years pumpkins. We had quite the little pumpkin patch that we didn't even know about. After the cattle were loaded up and headed out we went to the sale to watch. The girls sat really good the first hour of sale but started wander a bit after that. Right when Chip's cattle were in the ring selling Aubree took a tumble down the bleachers/steps. It was one of those times if felt I was watching her fall in slow motion but there was nothing I could do to stop her. She ended up landing on her bottom instead of her head and really I think it more scared her than hurt her. We were thankful for that. Jenae liked to go walk on the catwalk to see all the cattle. I got to admit catwalks are not something I am super comfortable on. I never have been a big fan of heights.

Jenae on Beauty at sunrise.




Rounding up the cattle at sunrise




Chip, Kyle & Jenae heading out after some cattle.




Jenae and I didn't have to help sort so once the cattle were rounded up we really didn't have much to do. Jenae was entertaining me with some of her trick riding. She said this was her sunbathing!




Chip & Marilyn with the girls at the sale barn cafe before the sale starts.





Jenae on the catwalk.




Aubree over visiting with Kyle while he was visiting with Gary. I mostly posted this picture to show the stairs Aubree fell down!





Chip, Marilyn & the girls hanging out at the sale.


We got home from the sale just in time to watch the Huskers stomp all over the Tigers. It was a fun game to watch. We spent most of the evening hanging around the house. We did venture out to our pumpkin patch at the creek and pick some of our pumpkins.




Jenae & Aubree picking pumpkins from our wild pumpkin patch




My Pre Halloween supper. I realize by posting this you will all see the nerdy side me! (If you haven't already!) What I am not sure of what makes me the bigger nerd, making this food or taking a picture of it and posting it on my blog!


Sunday we got up and went to church. We spent the afternoon at home before we headed out to do some trick or treating. Jenae was a witch and Aubree was Pocahontas. Aubree was really into checking things out in peoples houses. Pretty much everyone invited us in and once she got in the house she kept busy looking at anything eye level to her. She ended up falling asleep on the way to our last stop and was out for the rest of the night. She woke up at 2:30 this morning asking for a drink of water and then she went right back to sleep. First thing she said this morning as she was rubbing her eyes trying to wake up was "where are my treats?"


The girls before we headed out trick or treating.



Little Pocahontas just could not stay awake any longer. I figured with as much candy as she ate that she would be bouncing off the walls!

It was a fun weekend!