It’s the end of the drought!

It’s been a busy month! December was filled with extra work for me---my book buy at WT and Christmas! January rolled around and high school soccer got underway with 3 trips to Dallas for tournaments. I’ll try to add posts from those events, but today’s post is all about football.
Danny was kind enough to let us stay with him during our last soccer tournament. We played less than 10 miles from his house. In DFW terms, that’s nothing! In between games, he escorted us to Sundance Square in Fort Worth where ESPN is setting up shop for the big game! It was really neat to see all the preparations being made. The excitement was palpable!



Danny and David are in front of the broadcast booth area. We think this is where some of the commentators will sit.




David was *really* tempted to hop the fence and let me get a shot of him on this turf! This is where the guys will run the mock plays. Cool!




A new structure highlighting football players from Texas who have made it to the NFL. Their names are listed on the back.




Another broadcast area.




The courthouse in Fort Worth is so pretty!




The Omni Hotel will be the home of the Steelers while they are in town for the game. (I’m pretty sure I got that right. Could be the Packers. Ha!) Danny said they reserved the entire hotel for the players, coaches and their families and entourage. That’s a LOT of people!




Then we got to drive to the place where it will all go down. That stadium is one BIG place and a flurry of activity.




This is along the highway---820, I think. Shane, Danny’s grandson, is certain they used a photo of Danny while he worked at GM when they designed this!! I think he might be right!

Two Big Days!

So far, December has been huge around our house! December 2, Lance got braces. He was actually pretty excited about it—seems to be almost a rite of passage these days. Nearly all of his friends have braces, recently got theirs off or are about to get them on. It’s just part of growing up! It took about an hour and a half to get them on. Sounds torturous but he had his choice of video games, movies or TV. He chose to watch Goonies. Love that movie! And, Lance will get to enjoy Dr. Sparkman’s brand new offices—the ones we helped pay for with the other two! Thankfully, he gives a family discount….

Also on December 2, Hadley found out she made the Varsity soccer team. Whoop! Go #12!! We knew she *should*, but there’s always a little doubt. She was really excited and is looking forward to the season. Which starts in January. Outdoors. Hmmmm…..

And to finish off the excitement, Hadley took and passed her driver’s test Friday morning and is now a licensed driver! Watch out world! Here she comes!

She got to drive herself to school in her super cool Jeep and to a special hour lunch. After school, she hit the coffee shop with friends, came home to grab clothes and headed off to have more fun with friends and spend the night with one of them. Since Friday, we’ve just barely seen her. I’m thinking her gas bill might be more than we initially thought. :)

November Catch-Up!

All-District Band! We were so proud of his accomplishment! They spent a day and a half practicing, then performed a fantastic concert on a Saturday night. Here’s a recording from that evening of my favorite piece:


Or not… Can’t seem to get it to work right! I’ll keep trying, though! :)


A freakishly early snowstorm with freakishly large snowflakes!


The wonders of modern technology. When I was a kid, I was super excited to get a telephone in my room with a number our whole family shared! Today, Hadley has her own number and phone she can take anywhere. AND she can video chat with a friend from the comfort of her own bed. Amazing!
 
Winter Concert!
Now for some Thanksgiving!Boys and their toys… I’m noticing a trend here? Anthony (Jamie’s boyfriend), Kyle (Jamie and Nathan’s brother) and Lance with their various gadgets. Dad and Bj doing some of the same the next day.
Mema enjoying time at her house.
 
The whole group from the Brooks side! THIS is the shot Bj made. It was the best one overall. Go figure.

Happy Halloween!

Our kiddos stayed home tonight to hand out candy. Some years, they wouldn’t be very busy doing that but this year has been great! We’ve had so many trick-or-treaters. Fun times!

Costume Party!

Our friends, Chris and Jayme, had a costume party tonight. It sounded like so much fun until I tried to figure out what we would wear! I’m a total cheapskate when it comes to spending money on stuff like that, so I went shopping at home. I wasn’t sure I could wear Hadley’s soccer uniform, but it turns out I can! :)

Lance went as a hunter using his camo stuff that he actually hunts in.  David, however, went a little crazier than we did. Notice the naked upper lip??? He came up with the idea to wear his Cowboy’s polo, shave off the ‘stache and paint his hair gray. In case anyone missed the fact that he was Wade Phillips, he wore a little sign that said “Save the Cowboys. Fire me!”

Nothing fancy, but it worked! Jayme fixed all sorts of fun Halloween-y snacks and they played fun music. It was a great time with friends! Of course, we missed having Hadley and Tyler with us, but they had other plans…

Visit with Grandma and Jean

Justice is such a cutie!!

 

Grandma and Jean

  The handy-dandy ramp that Jean, Dad, Robert and Danny built!

I made a super quick trip to visit Grandma and Jean on the first weekend of October. It was so nice to see them--Grandma had me worried after her most recent fall. Even though it had to be quick, I really wanted to see for myself she was ok! 

The weather was gorgeous—cool and crisp in the morning and warming up just the right amount for the afternoon.  It was a nice visit!

Homecoming Parade

The homecoming parade finally took place two weeks after homecoming, but it was fun anyway!

Hadley and some of the soccer girls getting ready for the parade.


This year’s parade marshal—Emery Williams. She was just a month or two old when they found out she had cancer. She’s been fighting it since early in 2010. Both of her parents are teachers at the high school. Mr. Williams was Tyler’s economics teacher and one of his favorites. It was nice to see them out and about—they’ve been on our prayer lists for so long!


The coolest car there that night… don’t know what it is, but I liked it!

And next year, Lance will get to march with them!


Some of our cross-country bffs. 


The girls soccer float. This year, Hadley got to ride on it instead of walking behind! No longer a lowly freshman…
The veterans float always gets to me. I’m so grateful for the sacrifices these men and their families made!

And that’s it for this year!

Mema’s 90th Birthday

Happy birthday to you, Mema!

The birthday girl and her oldest son, aka Dad. (She got a kick out of the number candles we used and wasn’t all that thrilled that they said 90!)

Ginny, Jean, Freda, David, Mom and part of Lena Love.

Jimmy, Jennifer and Lance doing a bang-up job with the video camera

Lena and Betty  

BJ and Jim

Some of the residents and staff Jean, Mom, Kathy and Freda

Mom and Dad came to town with a party planned to celebrate Mema’s 90th birthday. We celebrated on her actual birthday right after supper was finished at Bluebonnet. She was born September 24, 1920. So many friends and family came out to celebrate with her. It was a lively evening—lots of food and laughter and even some broken furniture… It was a real party!

Awwww! Big sister helping with the homework! *love*

Band Concert

Lance had his first band concert of the school year on the day before Mema’s birthday. Mom and Dad were able to leave home a little earlier than planned and made it here in time to see him perform. Bj came as well, so he had a lot of fans to cheer him on. Yay! The band really rocked the gym that night. They played alongside another middle school band and the high school band that they will all be a part of next year. The bands each got to show off a few songs and they played a few songs together as well. It was the first time to play together this year, but it didn’t show.  My favorite song? The theme to Hawaii Five-O played by Lance’s band! Grandioso was a close second. It takes me back to those fun days in the student section at the football games. ;)

Homecoming Festivities

 

The homecoming parade that usually takes place the night before the big game was rescheduled because of rain.  I’ll post pics of it later!

This is the homecoming garter I made. I thought it turned out ok. Ryan didn’t complain, at least! ;)

 

Phillip and Madelyn

 

Alli and Eastland

 

Hadley and Ryan—her mum was so cute! It had leopard print ribbon! Loved it!

 

Derek and Kennedi

 

Gena and Emilio

 

The whole group! They came over before the game and we fed them sliders, hamburgers and hotdogs. Alli brought brownies for dessert. They were a little quiet at first, but seemed to have a good time. Alli’s parents helped us drive them to the game, where the kids ditched us as fast as they could. Ha! After the game, we took them to Alli’s house to hang out and have fun. Lots of good memories made that night!