Merry Christmas!
I AM NOT old enough to have a child who is a legal adult. No way, no how. Right?? Ay yi yi... Tyler turned 18 today. He renewed his driver's license, registered to vote and registered for the selective service today. What a day! He went out with friends tonight, so no special family dinner. Guess we'll have to do it another night. Right now, Hadley is quite impatiently waiting for him to come home so we can have some cake. :) In so many ways, he's very adult like. He definitely looks the part. In other ways, he is still a little kid. I could probably say that about most guys, though. Right? Ha!
On a different note, we've been out shopping, shopping, shopping... And yet we have SO much left to do. Last night, we were out for hours and came home with some slippers. For me. Tonight, we were out for hours and came home with one gift. One. I think we better start moving along a little more quickly if we expect to be finished any time soon. I have enjoyed the Starbuck's stops, though! Aren't these the cutest little cups? Maybe I'll get everyone one of those for Christmas?
On a different note, we've been out shopping, shopping, shopping... And yet we have SO much left to do. Last night, we were out for hours and came home with some slippers. For me. Tonight, we were out for hours and came home with one gift. One. I think we better start moving along a little more quickly if we expect to be finished any time soon. I have enjoyed the Starbuck's stops, though! Aren't these the cutest little cups? Maybe I'll get everyone one of those for Christmas?
Catch-up
Lance had his first band concert on the 2nd. Just now sharing pics... He was so hard to see that I only got a couple of decent shots. They did a great job--playing about 10 songs. Most of them were Christmas songs, but we also heard the traditional Hot Cross Buns, etc. They played 1/2 of Yankee Doodle--I got a kick out of that! I think if I'd only been able to teach half a song, I'd have skipped it. Ha! It was a fun evening. It's always amazing to me that someone can teach a group of kids how to play in just a few short months. Nearly all of those kids came into band class without any knowledge of their instrument. Lance seems to be enjoying band and his teacher.
Last week was crazy with my time at WT and school projects. Hadley had 3 due and Lance had one. One of Hadley's projects was for English class. She had to write a children's book. When she was working on it, I asked her if she had written a similar story before because it seemed familiar. Nope, she said she hadn't. Once it was completed, she was showing it to the rest of us and Tyler got the funniest look on his face. He thought she had even copied him---he ran to his room and found his 8th grade children's book written on the SAME IDEA! Her title: Santa's New Ride. His title: Think Santa rides a sleigh? Think again! Isn't that hysterical? The stories are different---Hadley's Santa rides a motorcycle but it can't keep up with the demands of Christmas Eve. Hers is in poem form. Tyler's Santa rides a Harley that the reindeer sabotage. Anyway, it was too funny to see such similar stories when they could've chosen anything. Hadley was completely surprised. She didn't remember Tyler's story at all, at least consciously. Unfortunately, they are for the same teacher. Hope she doesn't have a good memory!
This is book buying time at the university.... that means I have NO time for anything but the most basic and urgent. Oh well. The extra money sure comes in handy at Christmas time!
I should have some pics to share after this week. Have a good one!
I should have some pics to share after this week. Have a good one!
Playing around with more digital scrapbooking. Love it! I've completed 8 pages this month--more than I've done in the last year the old fashioned way...
Anita got to come home yesterday. She's feeling fine--just tired from a week of interrupted sleep and being poked and prodded. The test results we got yesterday indicated her tumor is not the type that will respond to medication. She sees another doctor in a week or so to determine the next step.
David and Hadley are in Dallas for a soccer tournament. They're having fun so far, I think. The hotel is a nice one--lots better than the La Quinta she and I stayed at in Midland! It's the kind with valet parking and boutiques and restaurants in it--including Starbucks. David said he's already in trouble with that one! :)
AND--you've got to see this! This is my friend's (Jennifer from Greenville) daughter. Jenna had no idea what was going on. I'm not a big crier, but this one got me. It's so sweet. You'll need to pause my playlist music to hear the audio. Sorry about that... The story made the Dallas news. Cool, eh?
bits n pieces
Last weekend, Hadley's soccer team went to watch a college play-off game. It was a gorgeous fall day with a beautiful blue sky. I'm not 100% sure they paid much attention to the game based on the shadow play going on... What do you think?
Lance is such a worrier. This week has been hard on him. I got a call from the school yesterday saying he had a tummy ache. I'm sure it was nerves... I let him come home and chill. Hopefully he can relax a little soon. Here he is watching a 3-D movie. Too cute not to take a picture!
And, just something I want to remember...I went into Lance's room yesterday morning at 6:00 to start his treatment, like always. Normally, he's totally out of it--barely even realizes I've propped him up to get started.This time he woke up enough to ask,"When does American Idol start again?"
Me: "No clue. Why?" (I'm not really a fan)
Him: "Because I dreamed I was on it. I stunk so I had to pay the judges to stay on."
Me: "So what song did you sing?"
Him: "George of the Jungle."
Me: hehehehehe.... :)
Anita is still in the hospital. We hope she'll get to come home today. The test they were running should have finished in the wee hours this morning. Those results should tell us what type of pituitary tumor she has, and ultimately what kind of treatment she needs. Thank you for your continued prayers.
Ok. That's it for today. Have a great weekend!
Mean. Mean. Mean.
Anybody remember the year we kept telling Tyler he was only getting socks and underwear for Christmas?? We went to ABQ that year. He begged and begged to open a gift early. We finally relented, reminding him that we didn't understand his excitement. After all, he was only getting socks and undies...Well, he chose his gift. I did not remember what was in the package he chose. Of all the toys and gifts under the tree, remember what he opened? You guessed it. Socks and underwear!
Be still my heart
Going through old pictures today. This one almost took my breath away. I adore the look on Lance's face as he is in total admiration of his big sister.Then I saw this one. I started breathing again.
These didn't scan well... had to do some quick photoshopping and I didn't do a good job...
Honoring our Veterans
David and Lance put our flag out this morning to honor our veterans and remember what they've done for us. Thank you, Veterans!
Hello, Corn Maze
It's so nice to see you again. The youth group went to the Corn Maze yesterday, so David and I decided to tag along. (much to Hadley's horror!) We had a family trip to it planned on a lone free Saturday in October. Wouldn't you know it rained that day? Hard? All day? I'm sure the corn was green and lush then... It was pretty dead yesterday, but still a lot of fun. Better late than never, I guess!
Corn Cannon! This thing sounded like a howitzer. If you know what a howitzer sounds like. Which I don't. Ha! It rocketed corn husks deep into the field. There were several different targets to aim for. Fun!
We went through the maze as it was getting dark--you can see the gorgeous sunset we glimpsed from the maze! By the time we finished it was VERY dark. Made it a little tricky. David and I started out alone, but picked up a girl who lost her party along the way. It took us about 30 minutes to find our way through. It was amazing! Guess that's why it's called the "Amazeingly Fun Farm". Lance went through with some other boys. I was a little nervous that he might be afraid after it got dark, especially when his texts said they were lost. Needn't have worried... they made it through just fine.
Hadley went through with Jaci. We ran into them along the path.
After we finished, we went over to the big campfire to get warm and to enjoy a hot dog with the group. They also had hay rides, a cow train, play structures, hay bale maze for the little ones, a big corn kernel pit to play in and a lot of open space to run and be wild. (The kids did a lot of the latter.) On the hay ride, you could get pick your own pumpkin from the patch. I didn't realize that until it was too late to go or I'd have come home with a big 'ole pumpkin! Hadley went on the hay ride, but didn't want a pumpkin?? I mean, who doesn't want a pumpkin?? Anyway, she survived the embarrassment of having us along and we all had a good time.
Corn Cannon! This thing sounded like a howitzer. If you know what a howitzer sounds like. Which I don't. Ha! It rocketed corn husks deep into the field. There were several different targets to aim for. Fun!
We went through the maze as it was getting dark--you can see the gorgeous sunset we glimpsed from the maze! By the time we finished it was VERY dark. Made it a little tricky. David and I started out alone, but picked up a girl who lost her party along the way. It took us about 30 minutes to find our way through. It was amazing! Guess that's why it's called the "Amazeingly Fun Farm". Lance went through with some other boys. I was a little nervous that he might be afraid after it got dark, especially when his texts said they were lost. Needn't have worried... they made it through just fine.
Hadley went through with Jaci. We ran into them along the path.
After we finished, we went over to the big campfire to get warm and to enjoy a hot dog with the group. They also had hay rides, a cow train, play structures, hay bale maze for the little ones, a big corn kernel pit to play in and a lot of open space to run and be wild. (The kids did a lot of the latter.) On the hay ride, you could get pick your own pumpkin from the patch. I didn't realize that until it was too late to go or I'd have come home with a big 'ole pumpkin! Hadley went on the hay ride, but didn't want a pumpkin?? I mean, who doesn't want a pumpkin?? Anyway, she survived the embarrassment of having us along and we all had a good time.
The Kill
Trying something new tonight. A guest blogger! So here's the scoop on his first deer.
From Lance:
we waited for about an hour and a half in the stand looking for deer. several deer passed but they were all does.after awhile this buck passed about 150 yards away and it gradually came around within 30 yards from the stand.he followed a doe and came within my range.i couldnt get a clear shot sitting down so i stood up and got ready to shoot him.i took the shot and hit him in the jugular and he dropped right where he stood.we went out to him and field dressed him(gutting him).we went back to the truck and got the atvs and went back to him and loaded him up.we drove him back to the truck and put him in the bed of the truck.we headed to white deer and gave him to the place that would proccess him for us.they skinned him and gave me the head and the skin.i am planning to mount him in my room above my fish tank....... 8 }
So it sounds like it was a success. The meat is waiting to be processed and the head is in Roger's freezer for us to have mounted when we're ready. Lance had a great time. He's totally exhausted, though! The stand you can see in the four-wheeler picture is where Lance shot him from so you can judge the distance pretty well. That stand is called "Green Monster". They have named all the stands--Fort Apache, Ruby Ridge, and more. You can tell Roger's got girls, can't you? Lance tried to use the stand windows to steady the gun, but he wasn't tall enough to do that. He stood on a chair, but that made the angle wrong so he just stood up, hand held the gun and shot. Once. David and Roger were pretty impressed, I think. I guess the deer--who has been named Bucky!--didn't suffer. I'm glad because I don't think Lance's tender heart could have taken any of that. The picture of Lance standing near the truck makes me wonder if he was rethinking the whole deal, but he claims he was just really tired by then...
In a couple of weeks, we'll have a freezer full of venison. Roger also gave us some elk from an earlier hunt. I have no clue what to do with it. I've got some learning to do!
Hadley also had a soccer game today. It was her last regular season game. The girls seemed sluggish---it ended up being a 0-0 tie. We have a tournament in a couple of weeks, then we'll have a bit of time off before we start indoor soccer.
Tonight, we went to my favorite set of twins' 6th birthday party. Ben 10 was the theme and painting ceramics was the game. It was fun to be included again--we love those boys. (and their big brother too.) Lance stayed home with Tyler---just too tired.
Another full day around our house... And I just realized--2 quality posts in ONE day. Look out world! :)
After I published this post, I looked over to see this. No words needed.
From Lance:
we waited for about an hour and a half in the stand looking for deer. several deer passed but they were all does.after awhile this buck passed about 150 yards away and it gradually came around within 30 yards from the stand.he followed a doe and came within my range.i couldnt get a clear shot sitting down so i stood up and got ready to shoot him.i took the shot and hit him in the jugular and he dropped right where he stood.we went out to him and field dressed him(gutting him).we went back to the truck and got the atvs and went back to him and loaded him up.we drove him back to the truck and put him in the bed of the truck.we headed to white deer and gave him to the place that would proccess him for us.they skinned him and gave me the head and the skin.i am planning to mount him in my room above my fish tank....... 8 }
So it sounds like it was a success. The meat is waiting to be processed and the head is in Roger's freezer for us to have mounted when we're ready. Lance had a great time. He's totally exhausted, though! The stand you can see in the four-wheeler picture is where Lance shot him from so you can judge the distance pretty well. That stand is called "Green Monster". They have named all the stands--Fort Apache, Ruby Ridge, and more. You can tell Roger's got girls, can't you? Lance tried to use the stand windows to steady the gun, but he wasn't tall enough to do that. He stood on a chair, but that made the angle wrong so he just stood up, hand held the gun and shot. Once. David and Roger were pretty impressed, I think. I guess the deer--who has been named Bucky!--didn't suffer. I'm glad because I don't think Lance's tender heart could have taken any of that. The picture of Lance standing near the truck makes me wonder if he was rethinking the whole deal, but he claims he was just really tired by then...In a couple of weeks, we'll have a freezer full of venison. Roger also gave us some elk from an earlier hunt. I have no clue what to do with it. I've got some learning to do!
Hadley also had a soccer game today. It was her last regular season game. The girls seemed sluggish---it ended up being a 0-0 tie. We have a tournament in a couple of weeks, then we'll have a bit of time off before we start indoor soccer.
Tonight, we went to my favorite set of twins' 6th birthday party. Ben 10 was the theme and painting ceramics was the game. It was fun to be included again--we love those boys. (and their big brother too.) Lance stayed home with Tyler---just too tired.
Another full day around our house... And I just realized--2 quality posts in ONE day. Look out world! :)
After I published this post, I looked over to see this. No words needed.
The Last Game
Well it's done. The last game is over. Tyler was in a great mood--really enjoying the atmosphere. We played a team we have now beaten 35 times in a row. Poor other team! Anyway, because of that, all the seniors got a ton of playtime--including Tyler! The spirits were high and everyone was enjoying themselves--just soaking in the glory. I got this awesome picture of Tyler smiling at us--it's slightly out of focus, but I still love it. Throughout the season, he always looked at us/for us in the stands. I know when he was discouraged, he was glad to see a friendly face somewhere! This night, he was just happy! A few weeks ago, one of the other moms noticed how much Tyler was interacting with us and got everyone to watch him. The next time he looked up at us, everyone waved and yelled hello. I think it embarrassed him a little, but I also think he liked it!
Tyler's friend Reece got to play as well--it was the first time he'd seen the field all year. He's punting in this shot. Reece had a benign brain tumor removed last year. Because of it's location and the type of surgery they had to do, getting tackled was risky. So he became the punter. He's not a strong punter, which means he never played. It was great to see him out there last night.
I got lots of action shots, but after one or two, they all start to look the same! So, I'll just share one. :) Tyler did get his name called out because of a tackle he made--way cool! It just happened to be the last play of the game...
Here's a faithful fan... She came to every home game. Because it's hard for her to do much walking, especially stairs, she didn't feel like she could sit with us. (Our season passes were assigned seats among the parents. They were pretty far down into the stands.) So, she sat where she could see and where she could get up and down easily enough. This night, she sat with a lady from church who's grandson was also playing.
Here's the score...
This is the bunch of seniors from the team. A pro was down on the field taking this shot and I couldn't get down there fast enough to do the same. I'm sure I'll order one from him... Tyler is on the right in the back row.All in all, it was a nice night. I'm so glad it ended on a positive note for Tyler. He worked so hard for it! Oh yes--almost forgot. The whole introduction thing at the beginning was ok. Tyler was all smiles for it. If the photog got a decent shot, I'll share later.
And..... I just got a call from Lance. He shot a 5-point buck. David took the camera so I'll try to share pictures and details later!
Friday
Tonight is Tyler's last football game. Ever. That kind of weirds me out a bit. Not that he'll never play football again, but that it's one of many "lasts" that will happen this year. His SENIOR year. It's a home game and they'll introduce the seniors and their parents on the field ahead of time. They'll also show us on the megatron screen. Thank goodness it will only be for a second. It's NOT my dream to be on the big screen! ;) After we're introduced, they will take our picture and the game will begin...Here's to hoping Tyler gets some quality play time tonight!
This week, I had a meeting about the football banquet. We've gone every year, but I've somehow escaped volunteering. Until this year. This year, I'll do the senior video. I was uncertain about the time commitment until I realized how simple it will be---only 36 seniors. The video will only included team pics, individual baby and current pics for the seniors and the coaching staff. Not bad at all... I don't even need to add music because the coach will do his senior introductions during it. Definitely doable.
For some fun news, Lance has a big adventure tomorrow. He gets to go hunting! They'll hunt deer, pigs, turkeys--just whatever they see. Alli's dad, Roger, is taking Lance and David. They went to the gun range on Thursday to get Lance trained on the gun he'll use. Roger even provided a pair of snake boots for him--note the pic above. (They're a pair of Alli's--she can't wear them any more) Does that mean there are snakes out there?? Anyway, I just didn't want to post without a picture and this was the best I could muster today. Roger took Alli hunting a couple of weeks ago and she shot an 8 point buck--saw the pics. Roger mounts a lot of his kills--even mounted a rear-end for fun. Alli doesn't want a regular mount for hers because of the eyes, so they're doing something with the skull. Not really sure about all that!
If Lance gets one, I have no idea what we'll do with it. Roger has a processing place, so I guess we'll eat the meat? But as far as having a mounted head in my house---not so much. Roger has over 600 acres somewhere not too far away. He's got it all---four wheelers, hunting blinds, guns, pretty much everything a hunter needs or wants. (in my experienced opinion.) All David and Lance have to do is show up... :) They plan to leave at around 3:00 a.m. tomorrow and hunt until they're done. I think they're both really excited about it---this is a first for both of them!
This week, I had a meeting about the football banquet. We've gone every year, but I've somehow escaped volunteering. Until this year. This year, I'll do the senior video. I was uncertain about the time commitment until I realized how simple it will be---only 36 seniors. The video will only included team pics, individual baby and current pics for the seniors and the coaching staff. Not bad at all... I don't even need to add music because the coach will do his senior introductions during it. Definitely doable.
For some fun news, Lance has a big adventure tomorrow. He gets to go hunting! They'll hunt deer, pigs, turkeys--just whatever they see. Alli's dad, Roger, is taking Lance and David. They went to the gun range on Thursday to get Lance trained on the gun he'll use. Roger even provided a pair of snake boots for him--note the pic above. (They're a pair of Alli's--she can't wear them any more) Does that mean there are snakes out there?? Anyway, I just didn't want to post without a picture and this was the best I could muster today. Roger took Alli hunting a couple of weeks ago and she shot an 8 point buck--saw the pics. Roger mounts a lot of his kills--even mounted a rear-end for fun. Alli doesn't want a regular mount for hers because of the eyes, so they're doing something with the skull. Not really sure about all that!
If Lance gets one, I have no idea what we'll do with it. Roger has a processing place, so I guess we'll eat the meat? But as far as having a mounted head in my house---not so much. Roger has over 600 acres somewhere not too far away. He's got it all---four wheelers, hunting blinds, guns, pretty much everything a hunter needs or wants. (in my experienced opinion.) All David and Lance have to do is show up... :) They plan to leave at around 3:00 a.m. tomorrow and hunt until they're done. I think they're both really excited about it---this is a first for both of them!
this and that
I finally tried digital scrapbooking... and I LOVE it!! It's so much simpler, cheaper, faster... Yay! Why haven't I tried this sooner?? I have sooooo many things I want to scrapbook, but just never found the time--to get everything out and put it all away takes half an hour by itself. I did these pages quickly--no messes either, and I'm sure I'll get even faster as I get more familiar with it. Finally. The kids might have better scrapbooks--or scrapbooks at all now! I've been wanting to scrap the first shave day since it happened. No more guilt! I'll print my digital pages and put them in the albums with my regular pages.Pretty bummed about the election results. Obama scares the *heck* out of me. Lance and Hadley wore all black today to "mourn the loss of our nation"...Someone sent them a text forward encouraging them to do so. They did. I'm wondering how many others actually followed through. On the upside, we can all quit our jobs and make more money! I jest.... I think.
Tyler is sick--he has an ear infection and a throat infection. The rapid strep test came back negative, but they gave him antibiotics and ear drops anyway. He's missed 2 days of school and 3 days of football practice. He seems to be feeling better today--hopefully he'll be back in school tomorrow.
Hadley had a soccer game last night. We played the only other club team her age from our town. It's always an exciting game. Each team really wants to win. I think we've only lost once, but we've tied several times, including the time we played them a few weeks ago. Last night? We WON! Hadley scored the one and only goal. It was sweeeeeeet! She did this turn and shoot thing--beautiful. Last year, we also beat them 1-0, with her goal as the winning goal. Last night, she said," Well, that makes 2 years in a row now, doesn't it?" Ha! Go Hadley! She starts basketball tryouts today... Oh yeah--her vball team's picture is in the paper today, too. Cool!
Well, that's it for the mid-week report. Enjoy the rest of it!
City Champs and Halloween
Updated to add the cool uncle pic...
Halloween was pretty uneventful around here. There used to be this frenzy of excitement getting ready, with the kids RELENTLESSLY bugging us about when we could get started... I'm so sad that those days are pretty much gone. Nobody went all out on a costume this year. Hadley wore an old football jersey and was a football player. She went over to a friend's house and they hit the streets on their own. They stopped by and graced us with a picture and got some food and drinks while they were here.Lance just wore dark clothes--he had hopes of "scaring" they younger kids. Like jumping out of bushes, etc?? He is so much like BJ! He rode his bike over to a friend's house where his posse was meeting. They rode around, played at the friend's house and got a little bit of candy. They did not come by here---so not even a single shot of Lance and his buds.
David and I stayed home and handed out candy. We actually had a ton of people---ended up shutting the door around 9:00 'cuz we were down to only chocolate. I didn't want to give all that away. We put out our fog machine, as usual. You can see it in Hadley's picture. Some kids are so funny about it. Some little bitties won't even come to the door because of it...Our neighbor came over to check to see if we were on fire. ha!
Tyler's team went to Midland to play. We fretted over the decision on what to do. Go to the game and miss the trick-or-treating? Miss the game and stay for the Halloween stuff? Divide and conquer? It's such a hard drive home late at night that we ended up missing the game. We talked to Tyler a lot about it and decided he really was ok with us missing. We felt bad! David listened to the game on the radio, but of course that isn't the same. They ended up losing badly. Tyler got home around 3:00, went to bed around 4:00 and was up at 6:30 to get ready to take his SAT test... He's completely exhausted. It's been a long weekend for him.
During his ride home on the bus--like at 2:00 a.m., he kept texting me saying he was having trouble going to sleep, etc. I wanted to respond, "Me too." But I refrained and tried to commiserate with him. He probably didn't do well on the test and will have to retake it. Oh well. Most people take it twice, don't they? :)
Saturday was filled with volleyball. It was city tournament time. I didn't want to jinx it, but Hadley's team went into the tournament undefeated. They only went to 3 games once----we won every other game in two games. So, we had high hopes for this tournament! They didn't disappoint---we won all day long!! Congratulations CITY CHAMPS! Our school won city in 7th grade silver, 8th grade silver and 8th grade gold. The 7th gold lost in the championship game.
It was bittersweet because that's probably Hadley's last volleyball game. She played so well the last few games that it just kills me!! I would love to see her continue. I wish it was like the olden days when you could play every sport... :( This bunch of girls she's playing with is the future state winners, I tell ya.
We celebrated by going out to eat, getting ice cream at Coldstone and toilet papering and forking a couple of boys. Alli spent the night with us, too.
Well, that wraps up the weekend excitement... Have a good week!
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