Ok. Are you sick of all the sports pictures? Sorry about that! I haven't had time to take pictures of much else. Tyler played last Thursday--2 hours away--and had an awesome game. He played TONS and did so well that even upperclassmen who weren't at the game said they had heard he played a great!! Talk about an ego boost! By the way--they won! They beat a really tough school--the JV and Varsity teams both got stomped-- but Tyler's sophomore team WON! I took this picture while he was standing on the sidelines in between plays. Right after I took it, he saw me and turned away. I think he's getting sick of the sports pictures too! I posted this one because it really struck me how grown up he is. I mean, doesn't he look like a man in this one??? Yikes!! I'm so not ready for him to grow up and move away!

Lance also had a game this weekend. They didn't win, but played well. And for this game--we had CHEERLEADERS! I guess we will only have them for about 2 of our games. Evidently the girls at our school would rather be playing the sports than cheering for them, so we don't have enough squads to go around. This squad will spread the love and cheer for several different teams. They were really cute and made a tunnel for the boys after the game. I snapped this picture just as Lance made it through. Isn't it cute?

Hadley played this weekend, too, but Mom forgot her camera!! I could have gone home for it, but opted to just enjoy the game instead. I love taking pictures at the events, but I know I miss some of the action with my face behind the lens all the time. Her team won easily, so it was a nice, relaxing game to watch. Yesterday, she worked like crazy to finish a project that she put off until the last minute. That's really not like her... So, I did a little rescue work--I know, that doesn't teach her anything!- and helped some. She finished around 10:30 last night. One full hour after her bed time! She was a little tired this morning, but maybe that can be her lesson... :)

Last week, I subbed in 5th grade. That was a new one for me--and guess what?? I LOVED it! The kids were awesome. We got to do some fun math activities and it was just really great. I enjoyed it so much, that it made me think that if I ever went back--5th grade might be the place for me. I've always pictured myself with kindergarten or something, but I really enjoyed 5th grade so much more. The kids are really neat at that age. They are really beginning to mature, but not so much that all adults are stupid yet!

David is still working all the time. I sure wish he could slow down... He really loves watching the kids play sports. He's so proud of them! I know that's one of the highlights of the week for him.

Well, that about does it for today. Off to do some laundry and cleaning!

My how time flies!! I can't believe 10 days slipped by since my last update. It has been a busy 10 days, let me tell ya! Lance's birthday was on Saturday the 9th. Hadley had out-of-town soccer games, so she and I were gone nearly the whole day. David let Lance pick his own agenda for the day-- which included eating at an all-you-can-eat Chinese Buffet (they have crab legs!), riding around in the Jeep, and miniature golf. I think he had a good day. His party-activity to be determined--will either be this coming weekend, or the next. It's so hard to fit it all in!!

Hadley's first soccer games went well. We were really worried about the new coach, but so far the team looks ok.

Tyler returned in one piece from the H.S. retreat. He didn't enjoy it as much as in the past... Not all of his buddies were able to go, so I know that made a difference. He had an "off" week for football, so that was kind of nice.

I worked 3 days last week substituting for kindergarten. Boy! Those kids wore me out. Unless you are around them all the time, you just forget how draining it is to work with kids who need so much attention. It makes me really thankful that my kids can all tie their shoes and blow their own noses! Ha!

During the chaos, a friend of mine and I got together to make homecoming mums for Hadley and her girls. Homecoming was Friday night. I was a little stressed--you know flowers and ribbons aren't really my thing! My friend was so good, though, she really helped out and I think the mums turned out ok. This was Hadley's first year to have one. Last year, she really took notice of all the girls wearing them and decided she had to have one this year. We chose a smaller one--she is only in 6th grade!!--and she wore it with pride.

Lance's first football games were this weekend. They lost the first game, but won the second. Most importantly, though, Lance made it through without injury!! I posted this picture to show you the size of boys he goes up against--Lance is #51. Pretty intimidating in my book! But, Lance just goes out there and does his job--no matter the size of his opponent! We were really proud of him. Well, that about covers the recap. I hope you have a fabulous week!

Walked into the kitchen the other day to see this beautiful sight, so I grabbed my camera and started snappin'!




Tyler played his first sophomore game yesterday. They ended up tied 6-6. Go #75! He didn't get to play much and that really bothered him. He came home really bummed out. I just hate that!! Don't you wish you could make the world be nice to your kids??? I mean, why can't everyone else see how TERRIFIC they are! I took a bunch of pictures, but really didn't get many good ones. I thought maybe I would submit a few to the school website, especially those with Ty in them. (At least he would look like he played more!) He leaves today for the high school weekend retreat with our church. I just love that he can and wants to go to these awesome spiritual activities. He comes back so filled, so happy, so tired! Hadley will get to go on her first middle school retreat at the end of the month. Hopefully she will enjoy it as much as Tyler does!

Happy Friday!

My little man.

Labor Day

Today has been a nice, relaxing day. We slept in and laid around for a while, then David took the kids fishing. They fished for around 3 hours. Almost every time they cast their lines, they brought in a perch. Some of them were really small--only a couple of inches long, but others were longer. But, no matter the size, they had a blast! I took my camera to play around and got to the lake with a dead battery!! I was so mad... So no pics of fishing today!

BJ came over with a problem with his mower. David helped him fix it so I bothered them and took some pics. None of them turned out very well, but here is one.

Happy Labor Day!

Messy. Always.

Teenagers!