Teamwork

Playing up a year means that you're not always going to win.  These boys are good, smart athletes, but they have finally been challenged this season.  They fought hard a few weeks ago and played defense well enough to thwart a last second comeback by the Trojans.  Our boys won 25-24.  Whew!  The next game was much harder and they were dealt their first defeat since Jackson joined the team in June of 2015.  It had to happen sometime, but it still wasn't fun!

The Cowboys made a comeback this week, though, with a 28-12 win.  Earning every point has got to be more meaningful than always winning 40-0.  I love seeing them learn to pull together as a team.  

The Fury has been faced with a different set of problems.  For whatever reason, they just haven't played well the past two weekends.  Four games, four losses.  Ouch.  The best silver lining I could tell our son was that he played well, and he did, but that still didn't make him feel much better.  This past Sunday they decided to turn things around.  They played the #1 team in the league and were down 9-6 going into the last inning.  And guess what they did?  They battled!  What happens when you don't give up?  You might start scoring runs.  And they did!  They tied the game and went into the second one feeling good.  They won the next game 14-4.  Wow!  To top it all off, God painted a beautiful masterpiece in the sky as we were leaving that night.

It was an all-star weekend for the Bumblebees, too.  They were thrilled to see Ms. Garner on the sidelines, cheering for all 7 seven of her soccer girls!  The twins, Jayden and Jaylen, are on Summit, five Bees are in class with them, and two more are in another class.  She was amazed at their intensity during the game and said, "I just couldn't believe it--these girls are all so sweet at school.  They are really aggressive and intense on the soccer field, though!"  

We had to split ways after church on Sunday.  I hated missing Lila's game, and Jared wasn't thrilled about missing the first half of Jackson's game, but that's just how it goes sometimes.  My sweet girl scored the first goal of the game, though!  While she was doing that, her big brother got a double play while playing 3rd base.  He fielded the ball, gunned it to 1st to get that runner out, then the 1st baseman gunned it back to him and he tagged out the other runner as he slid into 3rd.

It's safe to say, I'm one proud Mama Bear!  Keep up the hard work, kiddos.  We love cheering for both of you!

Take Time to Feed the Ducks

Before Summer turns into Winter, everyone should get out and feed the ducks.  I have no idea why this is so refreshing, but it just puts a smile on your face.  Maybe it's being outside, maybe it's enjoying the green grass, or maybe it's looking out over a pretty pond.  Whatever the case, I recommend it...especially if you have kids.  They can run around, holler, be silly...and you don't have to worry about it.  That, in and of itself, is refreshing.  A few weeks ago the kids didn't have school on a Monday.  Instead of planning something elaborate to entertain them, we just kept it simple.  We invited another family to join us for lunch on the patio at Gloria's and then went to the park afterwards.  Perfect!  It didn't cost a ton and my sanity was still in tact.  A win for all.

We hit up the playground first.  Little Miss was thrilled to have "her playground" all to herself.

Jackson may have outgrown this playground, but he didn't complain...he just found new tricks to try on it.

My monkey girl was happy as could be hanging upside down for a while.

Our next adventure--feeding the ducks and geese.  Ben had come with us after lunch, so Jackson had a friend.  "Here ducky!"

See that?  No fighting.  All smiles.  Hooray!

Jackson even got brave enough to feed this goose by hand. 

So serene!  We ended our afternoon with ice cream treats from Sonic, followed by playing in the backyard.  That beats an insane day at Kid Mania or The Fair any day of the week!

4th Grade Field Trip to the Arboretum

Jackson and his buddies were headed to the Arboretum on Wednesday, so we decided to tag along.  Nash and his mama picked us up and we got there just as the buses were arriving.

Young love! They just adore each other.  Cami is 7 months older--I guess Nash likes more sophisticated girls!

They held hands all on their own, and just walked along the scenic path.  Too funny.

Of course we like all the pumpkins, but the flowers are really pretty this time of year, too.

So many pumpkins!

We found Bubba in the pumpkin patch:)

The corn house was a hit...

and the super-sized pumpkin house was, too.

Pumpkin Paradise.

Sweet girl got shy when we went to sit inside Cinderella's carriage.

She liked the carriage, but not nearly as much as she liked the straw horses!
She asked me at least ten times if she could ride them.  My answer of, "no, they aren't real--they are made of straw" just wasn't computing.  She really felt like she needed to GET ON THAT HORSE.

We hung out in the same area as J and his school group for a while.  He's so big to me these days!

Finally, we made our way over to the Children's Garden.  This whole area was a huge hit with Cami and Nash.  They loved all the water features...and Cami got a kick out of sitting inside the big egg.

She stayed dry for a while, but when they discovered this sprinkler, all bets were off.

She was SO happy when the water began spraying her from head to toe.

By the time her friend Genevieve got there, she was soaked!  Thank goodness I had packed a change of clothes in my purse--unusually prepared for the occasion.  Score for mom!

We found Jackson while we were walking back to the entrance.  Love this kid.  Every time I see him at a school function, he makes me proud.  He's calm, mature and I just enjoy being around him.  I feel like telling everyone, "that's my boy!"  

Lion King--The Finale

Sunday finally arrive and we only had one more show to go.  Thank goodness!  The girls were tired, and so was their hair and make-up lady.  It didn't help that we had to be in Frisco for Bubba's two baseball games at 8am that morning.  But we love him, so we made it!  We watched him pitch a fantastic first game and then had to leave to get ready for the show.

The kids had a packed house!  It was just as full as Friday night, which was awesome.

So proud of you, Madison Reese!

Bravo, sweet Lila!

Mrs. Galvan sat next to me--she was Jackson's teacher last year and we hope that she's Lila's teacher in a few more years.  She thought the kids were SO amazing!

Boom and Gigi brought the girls more gorgeous flowers for a job well done.

I simply ran out of adjectives for how awesome I think they did!  They impressed me so much, all week long.  It was a tough week, physically, and I know they were tired, but they hung in there and performed their best.

They are already looking ahead to the next audition--Aladdin, here we come!

Lions, Bears and Pigs, Oh My!

The big day was finally here.  We started hair and make-up at 8am and tried to Hakuna Matata ourselves into believing that we were going to have a successful day!

These kids had three shows to do--in one day!  They were ready for the challenge.

11am - Showtime!

Their fans filled up almost an entire section!

They did such a great job!
I think the jitters were wearing off and they were really settling into the performances.

The Hyenas sang their spooky song with Scar so well, too.

Meanwhile, this little girl was happy as could be holding a baby pig.  Her daddy took her to his firm's annual Halloween party, which included a petting zoo this year.  She loved it!

She got to decorate a pumpkin and even got to ride a pony, too.  It was a win for all.  I could just focus on being the stage assistant for the day, while she could enjoy spending time with her daddy.

Jackson wasn't having a bad day either.  Instead of spending it with lions or pigs, though, he was cheering for the Baylor Bears.  He went with his buddy Ben and his family.  His first college football game and he thought it was really cool. Great seats, too!

Back at the theater, the three Vincent girls told Lila how much they liked the show.  Charlotte, her sweet friend, couldn't even recognize Lila until halfway through it--she was so confused by Lila's make-up and black hair!

My sweet friend Emily brought Sami to see the show, too.  She loved watching it, but was a little bit spooked by all that crazy black make-up.  Like the hyena photobomb behind them?!

Another one of my best friends, Jenny, came with her son and mom.  All three were so impressed with the production.  Both Gayle and Jenny have asked when the next musical will be and declared that they will be at that one, too.  

I'm pretty sure that Dylan will want to come see it as well!
He was smitten with Lila and planted a big smooch on her cheek.  Sweet boy!

And finally, Lila thanked Addison and her mom for coming, too.  Whew!  So many adoring fans!  Addison has decided that she wants to be in the next one.  They can play soccer and do musicals together.

 

Since this was basically the scale of a Broadway show, they had to take professional photos after this show.  The whole cast, plus their director Mrs. Laurel Peabody, and Miss Elizabeth, the owner of Edge Dance and Performing Arts.

Some of my favorites:

The best Rafiki in town.

Both Rafikis sharing the spotlight.

The Hyena dancing with her pride.

After a very quick lunch, Lila had another show to do.  She was thrilled to see Hayley and Sawyer in the audience.  Sawyer was so shy when they were talking afterwards--he could only be near Lila if he had his jacket on his head!

Vivi and Bella came to see it, too.  Little Bella is one of Cami's friends and she just loved everything about the show.  Look at that smile:)

One of Madison's best friends, Alia, came to the show with her mom and little sister.  They brought Lila and Madison pretty flowers too--very thoughtful!

I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again. We have the BEST friends!
These girls felt the love for sure.

Only one more show to go!