Football Mania

I mentioned in the last post that Grandma gave each of the kids a gift card to Toys 'r Us to pick out something for their birthday gifts this year. Ray got to "help" Will with his pick, but Will knew exactly what he wanted once he saw it. He wanted his very own football helmet and jersey. He didn't care what team the helmet belonged to, and Daddy did intervene and tell him that a Cowboy outfit was the only acceptable one. Will is taking a little football class once a week for 3 - 5 year olds called Pigskin Pals. They play on an indoor soccer field and practice passing the football, running with the football, and learning football terms - like Tony Romo. Will thinks this is great fun, but he was a little jealous last week when one of the boys showed up in his very own helmet. Of course, they didn't let him actually play with it, but all the kids had fun admiring it. It is so much fun to watch Will doing these things, and I love getting to experience "boy" things with him. We think he looks pretty cute as a football player.

Grandma Comes to Town

Last week the kids had a lot of fun because Grandma was in town from Kentucky. She got to eat lunch with each of the girls, watch them at gymnastics, see Allison at soccer practice, and take Will to Museum School and Preschool. She even got to see Will do his little football class. Grandma, of course, came bearing gifts, and the whole family including Dad made a trip to Toys r Us to pick out all three kids birthday presents. They each had a gift card and had fun spending their money. Afterwards, she took us all to dinner. Needless to say we were spoiled with our dinners and gifts. It's so great how close the kids are to Grandma, and we are thankful that she gets to come to Texas as often as she does.

Uncle Forty

Tonight we picked up Grandma from Uncle Forty, Aunt Robin, and Jack, and so we celebrated Uncle Forty's birthday even though we are about three weeks early. We met at Dickey's Barbecue and enjoyed chocolate cake and some of Dickey's soft serve ice cream. Jack is 1 1/2 now and is so interactive and fun. He talked and showed us all of his tricks and enjoyed watching and playing with his cousins. Uncle Forty has always been a great uncle to our kids, and they are very lucky to him in their life. We all are. Happy Birthday Forty!

Reading Between The Wines

I belong to a Book Club that has been meeting for 10 years this month. I have been part of the group for a little over 8 years. We are called Reading Between the Wines because of our love for reading and drinking wine together. In honor of our 10 year anniversary we went on a retreat to Rough Creek Lodge this weekend. Juliet knows the owners of Rough Creek, and so we were able to stay at the Owner's Lodge for a reduced rate. It was absolutely beautiful and so peaceful out there. Twelve of us went, and we missed the few that couldn't come, especially Danielle, because starting a Book Club was originally her idea. We spent the weekend eating, talking, and relaxing. It was a wonderful getaway with a fantastic group of girls. Being in this book club has definitely been a highlight in my adult life. I love to read, and the group has inspired and allowed me to read so many different types of books. Our discussions are informative, meaningful, and relative to my life. Most of these girls are not people that I pick up the phone and call on a day to day basis. Many of them I see only once a month, but when you are with someone once a month for over eight years, you really get to know them. I really feel like discussing books and the many topics that have come out of these discussions has given me the opportunity to get to know these girls in a very meaningful way. In addition to books, we have shared the joys in our lives and even some unspeakable sorrows. So even though many of these girls are not my best friends on a daily basis, we all agree that it is a bond that no one would trade. People that know me well know where I will always be on the evening of the second Wednesday of every month!

Sorry

The game of Sorry, that is. Our 7 year old, Allison, is obsessed with the game of Sorry. She wants to play everyday several times a day. She will play with Dad, Gram, Grandpa, or anyone else she can convince to play, but really she just wants to play with Mom. I grew up playing Sorry, and I really do love to play the game, but there is a limit. Although I love games, and I love spending time with Allison, I might be getting just a little bit tired of Sorry. I really do think it is Allison's love language with me right now. I play Sorry with her, and that let's her know that I love her. It's really funny how competitive we both are and also how we help each other out with suggesting a better move. She shows great strategy with the game and has also shown great sportsmanship for the most part. Maybe we just need to find a new game to throw into the mix. I case you are wondering, I did win the last two games we played today, and I also demonstrated great sportsmanship!

So Many Firsts

I love this time of year. The fall is always so exciting for me. I love the first day of school and everything that goes into it. I love the first soccer games with new uniforms. I love football season at the high school, college, and professional level. I love the first day of Bible Study and meeting new people and reconnecting with old friends and the excitement of learning something new. I love new schedules and the possibilities they bring. I love the anticipation of the weather changing, although, it may never be cool enough to wear those "fall" clothes. I love the idea of the holidays coming up and the birthdays in our family that go right along with them. I love watching my kids in new environments and hearing about new friends. I love the new role I have at the Elementary School and the people I have already met through the PTO. I love picking out Halloween costumes and preparing for Pirate Day at school. I love new workout routines and new haircuts! All of these things bring me a lot of joy, but there is also stress that comes with it, too. I hope I will always remember that it is a privilege to be surrounded by all of these things, and I never want to take for granted the wonderful opportunities we have. The madness of our schedule has started, but I am hoping that the enthusiasm that surrounds us sticks around through the end of the year!

A Family Outing

Some friends of ours graciously offered us tickets to the Ranger Game today. They offered them partly because they know of Ray's love for the Boston Red Sox. We have been wanting to take the kids to a Ranger Game all year, so we jumped at the chance to take them and see the Rangers and Red Sox play. Other than being blazing hot out there, it was a great afternoon to be at the Ballpark in Arlington. Will was sporting his baseball shirt, baseball hat, and glove. He sat perched with his glove in his hand, waiting to catch a ball. The girls thought is was great fun and enjoyed the dot race (Ray's color won while mine was last) and popcorn and peanuts the most. The only problem with the outing was that the Red Sox won 7 - 2. In addition to not liking to be part of cheering for the losing team, the ordeal was made much worse due to the fact that my husband was cheering for the Red Sox. To further annoy me, he had all the kids cheering for the Red Sox. Ray lived in Boston for 2 years and picked up a huge obsession/fascination with the Boston Red Sox. I just made a mental note that maybe the next time we go to a sporting event together, it would be better if he and I were cheering for the same team. I always enjoy a family outing, though, and I'm grateful for the time together!

Will's Turn!!!

I think Will was feeling a little lost and left out since the girls started school. I know he enjoyed his time with me, but he asks several times a day when the girls are coming home. He misses having built-in playmates around. Of course, it doesn't take long after they get home for some kind of fight to break out and make me wonder why we were both so anxious to get everyone home!

On Tuesday, Will had meet the teacher for his new preschool class. He's in the 4's this year, and his teachers are Ms. Linda and Ms. Brenda. We were thrilled with that because Allison had the same teachers when she was in the 4's, and we absolutely loved them. Caroline had a different set of teachers, and we loved them, as well, so we were in a win-win situation with whatever set of teachers Will was lucky enough to get. Mom was happy, too, because two good mom friends are in the class, along with their little girls. At our preschool they have several classes for each age, and within the age, the classes are broken down by young 3s, middle 3s, older 3s, etc. When they get to the 4s, they mix up the classes with all different stages of 4 year olds since that's what Kindergarten is like. Will just turned 4, and there are kids in there that will turn 5 very soon, so it will be interesting to see how Will does. We just want him to have fun and enjoy learning. I also hope this will be the year that he develops some friendships with some of the boys in the class. Today was his first day, and he was very excited to get his turn at going to school. Of course, he walked right in and didn't look back. Since preschool is at our church, he is so comfortable and always seems to enjoy being there. He said he had a super fun day and enjoyed playing outside the most.

After dropping Will off, I made a quick trip to Target and then headed up to school to have lunch for the first time with Caroline. She was excited to see me, and I enjoyed talking to her new friends. With five Kindergarten classes in the lunchroom there was a lot of energy in the room! I really admire all of those Kindergarten teachers. I am co-chairing Publicity for the school PTO this year, so I met my co-chair at the school to begin putting up the HUGE bulletin board in one of the hallways. This bulletin board will showcase all of the events going on at the school throughout the year. I'm not sure exactly how I ended up with this role since bulletin boards have never been a strong point of mine. The position also involves submitting articles to the newspaper about Carroll Elementary, and this is much more up my alley! We were able to get up a base on the wall to start with, and then it was time to go and get Will. The time went fast, but it was fun being on my own for a few hours and working on something at the school.

We started more of our activities this week, and next week I believe the homework will really hit! First we are going to enjoy our weekend and the girl's first soccer games.