Jack the Soccer Dude

Last Fall, Jack played soccer again!  He played on the same team with mostly the same boys as he did in the spring, so it was fun to get to see all those kiddos again!  Here he is at his first practice of the season.  Sidenote -- look at that hair!  I think he got it cut a few days after this...it was long!

And this is such a Jack pose - hands on the hips!  This was at his first game of the season!  We played the team that some of his buddies from preschool are on, and Aubrey got this cute one!  Definitely one of my favorite pictures of him from the season!

During that first game, Jack was on fire!  He scored two goals during the game and was SO excited!  Aubrey got these pictures too (I had left my phone at home - ah!)!  Dribbling the ball... (and now that I have payed closer attention to the picture, the boy on the other team is in his class at school! ha!)

He shoots! He SCORES!!!!

A picture of Carter and Jack - Carter was actually on the maroon team but had just not turned to the other side of the uniform yet!

And here's Jack on picture day!  I snapped a few phone pictures when they were taking them :) And I got a picture of him kicking off!

He also had some folks come watch him play throughout the season!  This was a Saturday when we were all at Jack's game and then went to Katie's cheer!  It was a HOT one!

And Papa came to a game to cheer Jack on too!  Love this picture of them!

We went to watch our friend Sydney play one day and Jack got out there and dribbled the ball around during the halftime of the game and I got a picture (on Jenn's camera which she then sent me as a cropped pic of just Jack)...I love this - barefoot, hat on, polo with khaki shorts...and a pink ball!

And the weekend that Brad and I went to New Orleans was his last game of the season, which also meant it was the end of the season party!  I'm so thankful that a couple of the moms helped out -- one picked Jack up and took him to the game and to the party and another brought him home from the party!  It takes a village!  And Cee Cee was at his game to cheer him on too!

Such a sweet group of boys (and parents)!  And we get to see several of them this winter for their debut playing basketball together!  Should be entertaining - check back for pictures of that fun!

Katie the Cheerleader

For the fall season, Katie opted to try cheerleading.  We supported her decision and at least she can say she gave it a try!  She was not the biggest fan of it, but at least she looked adorable!  Here she was at the pep rally to get the season started!

And I am fairly certain this is us heading to the first game that she cheered for!  I think it poured down rain on us that day for a brief moment, but then it cleared out for her to get out there and cheer!

Action shot!  She is on the left :)

And we got a family shot at one of the games!  The boys didn't make to many of the games because there wasn't much for them to do.  They just wanted to run around, and that doesn't make it very enjoyable!  Glad we had a few moments of supporting her throughout the season!

Love this picture of Katie :)

It was also fun because Katie's friend from school and girl scouts cheered with her!  At least they had fun together :)

I doubt we will be doing that again, but glad Katie had the experience! 

Pancakes + Pumpkins: Our Fall Tradition

I'm baaaaaack!  I have all of these potential blog posts bouncing around in my head.  One day I will get caught up and be able to do a day in the life, or new recipes, or just random little moments that happen in a day.  But in this season of life, I will do well to catch up with it all by the end of the year!

I can't let too much time go by without talking about one of my favorite fall traditions.  We have done this since Katie was a baby - I think this was the eighth year! 

On the Saturday about a week before Halloween, we headed out bright and early (because let's face it - there is no sleeping in around here) for breakfast at Puckett's.  Brad and I indulged in the buffet and the kids loved their Mickey pancakes with bacon!  Here we are before heading to Gentry's for some fun. 

And a picture of the crazy crew on the truck!  I need to make a collage of each year and how it has changed!

The kids wanted to do the little cornmaze - they were running the entire time!

 Then they each took a turn on the big tire swings.  Katie loves it!

 Just look at the joy on her face!

 Jack was excited for a turn too!

 Ryan wanted to be like the big kids, but he clung to that thing for dear life! 

 Then we gave him a little push and he LOVED it!

 They had a little photo bench area with props and stuff, but Ryan was the only one that cooperated...mainly because it was staged as a truck tailgate :)

We got their early enough that there wasn't a line for the hayride - it was great!  I wanted to take a family selfie, and this is how it turned out.  That's about right, I'd say!

 Then I got my big girl camera out and caught this cute picture!

And a selfie with Ryan!  He loved the hayride!  And actually - I almost lost my phone on the ride.  I didn't figure out I was missing my phone for a little bit.  Thankfully someone had turned it in and I was reunited with it at the concession stand.

 Jack loved crawling through the tunnel!

 Katie wanted to see how tall she is.  And holy cow - inching closer and closer to 5 feet tall.  She will be eye to eye with me in no time!

 Then we headed to the corn and grain play area.  It is always a hit!

 Even at age 7, Katie loves that area!

 And of course Jack loves it!  Wow he was shaggy - he got a haircut the next day :)

Towards the end, Ryan loved playing in this teepee!  He kept going in and jumping out to play peek-a-boo!  Silly dude.

 As the kids started getting tired and hungry, we went ahead and picked out a few pumpkins before heading home.  Each of the kiddos got their own little pumpkin and then we got a big family one.

And we got this picture taken!  It is definitely one of my favorite cell phone pictures in a long time.  If I had thought to take my sunglasses off and if Ryan had smiled, it would be perfection!  But I will take it!

And actually, when we were getting ready, I had these pumpkin shirts for the boys and Katie really wanted to wear something with a pumpkin on it.  Thank goodness I had gotten this shirt at a consignment sale!  It worked perfectly.  Next year I will know to check with her and see where she stands on those type of issues :)

Here are the links to each previous year!

2009 - 2010 - 2011 - 2012 - 2013 - 2014 - 2015

Fall Catch Up (Finally!)

And here we go on some major catch up before the end of the year! Nothing like last minute, right? HA!  These are all pictures from August to now, so brace yourself!

 

My dad and I had a date night!  We went to dinner and a concert - it was so much fun!  The concert was a bunch of oldies group (that I love too) - I love them because they are over early enough to get home and get to bed.  Yes.  That means I am old.

And I happened to find a picture of us together at Opryland when I was 3 - and I did a side by side comparison!  I sure do love it.

We also did our annual fair outing with Jill and Stella!  It was a hot one but we all had a great time!

Brad and I did a Color Run at night with friends...so much fun!

And some of my favorite neighborhood kiddos at the bus stop!  I think this was the first day everyone rode!

And at church they present first graders with Bibles - here is Katie with her Sunday School teachers and her new Bible!

We did a date night with Tanja and Nick - here is a picture of the girls!

We also had a girl night at Arrington Vineyards!  It is so beautiful - we really need to go out there more often!  Maybe that will be a 2016 goal.  HA!

Brad and I went to the UT game at the Titans stadium!

And a collection of pictures from a fun outing to Chuy's - love a collage!

And Katie's first soccer game of the fall season!  She loved goalie and forward this year!

Me with Meme on her birthday - I do believe this was her first selfie!

And my first soccer game of the season!  Such a good workout and made some new friends in the process!  And man was I sore!

Brad with his birthday cake - I could definitely eat it now.  Yum!

And we got together for friends for an Auburn game!  It is so fun to see the crew of kids grow every year!

My crazy crew :) I think Ryan was less than thrilled about a picture!

And sometimes I will drive down to the bus stop and then play taxi to the kids.  Love it when the crazies are all in my car!  Even Sadie made it this time!

A quick transformation from a post-workout selfie to a I-took-a-shower-and-have-makeup-and-real-clothes-on picture!

We took the kids roller skating for the first time!  No broken bones for anyone - I call that a win!

And another comparison - me and my friend Lauren in third grade at our joint birthday party...and then me with Katie that night!

Oktoberfest with friends!  Love this!

And us with Tanja and Nick!

We also went with Katie to a girl scout event to tour the Titans stadium - it was so cool!

The event also included tickets to the game the next day, so we went to the tailgate beforehand!  I love this picture!

We went with Stella and Hank and Jill to find some mums to decorate for fall!  Oh and pumpkins too!

I got to go on Katie's field trip with her - it was a gorgeous day and so fun to spend time with her and some of her classmates!

We had a Halloween party at Cee Cee's house!  The kids had a blast!

We celebrated Cat and Tyler's birthdays at their house one night - so fun to sit around a bonfire and hang out!

And my three crazies playing in the backyard one day!  Love them!

And we went to a Preds game (that unfortunately did not have any good fights or a win) - but the company was good!

Katie had a sleepover with a grandparent, so I attempted a couple pictures with the boys...Ryan was not a fan!

Some of the soccer girls after our last game of the season!

And Katie's soccer season was over too - here is her team at the team dinner!

And I got a picture of her and Coach Ted together too - such a great coach!

Love these crazy guys - cute picture of them!  I think this was the day I took them to the zoo!

Brad and I had a date to begin my birthday celebrations!  We saw Spectre and ate dinner...so fun!

Sweet brothers. 

And a straight out of the tub, clean guy selfie!

Cute kiddos!  They actually sort of coordinated!

Katie and Hannah Jo at their Thanksgiving lunch at school - which also happened to be on my birthday!

And a family shot!  The boys were at school - yay!

Some of Katie's fashion choices of the week - I'm so glad she likes Matilda Jane as much as I do!

And brother pics of the week - pretty impressive!  They are less than cooperative these days!

And a night out with some friends to celebrate my birthday!  We hadn't been to the Melting Pot in years - so good, but SO rich! 

I even got to blow out a candle!

The next day we went on a walk in the neighborhood!  This late fall/winter has been so mild so far - I hope we get at least one good snow to play in this winter!

Brad took off the week of Thanksgiving and I actually got him to go to a workout class with me!  This was after kickboxing - he actually went to one other class with me the day after Thanksgiving!  Clearly he did No Shave November :)

And Katie perfected the art of riding a bike with no training wheels the day before Thanksgiving!  We were all so proud!

We celebrated Sadie's birthday with a present for her and lots of snuggles and play!

We went to breakfast at IHOP - and these three cooperated for a picture!

And I even got one of me with the wee one!

After breakfast, we hit up Target to shop for our Angel Tree kiddos! We try to get a child that is the same gender and age as our kids so they can help shop for someone they have something in common with.  Love this tradition (even though each year I swear we aren't taking the kids with us the next year, yet clearly we do)!

We sported some Tennessee gear!

And we sported some Auburn gear! 

Katie and I had a Mommy Date - it had been a long time!

We also went to the Titans tailgate again - they had a bunch of the Star Wars crew there!  The kids thought that was hilarious!

Ryan had tubes put in a few weeks ago!  He had his follow up yesterday and they look great!  Though he already had an ear infection despite having tubes...but all the goo is draining out.  Yuck!  But at least it isn't stuck behind his ear drum like before!

Love this outfit on Miss Priss...she actually picked it out!

And the boys had a blast sporting their Christmas gear this season!

They also got some Christmas jammies from Alvin (our elf) - here they are before bedtime one night!

I got to help at Katie's class holiday party!  Love her!

Katie is playing basketball for the first time - love this action shot I got of her doing a jumpball at her most recent game!  She also made her first basket, had another shot, played awesome defense, and had a rebound!  I think she likes basketball a little more than soccer - and she's just starting out!  Can't wait to see what she's like at the end of the season!

I love when all three kids have a toy that entertains them all!  And it never fails - it seems to always be a baby toy! Ha!  They love playing with this toy that Santa brought Ryan!

Ryan goes through the toys - whew!  He did all of these different activities in less than 10 minutes!  Blocks, bopping Bozo, hide and seek, and playing with his basketball toy!

A couple nights ago, we surprised the kids and had a fun afternoon and evening that consisted of playing at Monkey Joe's, dinner at Outback, and ice cream at Sweet Cece's!  And we had coupons for all!  I call that a win!

And I finally organized my 2016 calendar last night - bring it on!  I am aiming to have a little more white space on my calendar so we can enjoy time together at home.  It is so easy for things to get hectic - especially with the three ring circus - but I want to make sure that we also have down time to enjoy each other!