Gumbo and the Big Game

Superbowl Sunday was a big day in the Hays household!

Jared worked hard all afternoon making us some delicious gumbo.  The kids and I made a sinful dessert (chocolate chip cookie, oreo, brownie bars!) and then Jackson and I got everything ready for our flag football game.

To keep things interesting, we made Superbowl Squares and gave everyone the chance to win money at the end of every quarter.  Jackson really took his time choosing his 10 squares--just look at that concentration. 

The girls were cheering for the Ravens to win and were all decked out in our purple.

Even though Lila Lou was a bit small to actually play in the flag football game, she still got to be an honorary captain for the 49ers.  The kids took turns choosing who was going to be on their team...

and then we had the coin toss. 

Our cheerleaders stayed safe by cheering from inside the trampoline!

Game on!  The Ravens kicked off first, with Poppi doing the honors.  I so wish that I had some pictures of the actual game because it was SO MUCH FUN.  We had a blast and it was a very close game.  Jackson tied it for the Ravens at 21, though, with his last second rushing touchdown.  It's all he has talked about since then.  The look of pure elation on his face just made everyone's day, I think.  I can totally see why he loves it so much.  I scored a TD, too, and I gotta admit, it is pretty cool!

Thanks, family, for playing such a fun game!  We've gotta do it again next year. 

We didn't just hop around, either.  There were a couple of injuries, like Poppi's elbow and when he steamrolled Jackson.  The little guy even had to ice down his leg while watching the big game last night.  We play for real!

It was such a nice evening that we got to watch the first quarter out on our back porch. 
When's the last time that's happened on February 3rd? 

To keep with his streak of awesomeness, J man won the pot after the first quarter!  Hello $25!

Lila didn't win any money, but she was just as happy eating Aunt Lyndsie's football cookies. 
Aren't they so cute? 

What a great day--we loved having everyone over.  Thanks again for making it such a fun night!

Surprise! Globetrotters time!

Yesterday Jared and Larry surprised their boys with something really cool.  The Harlem Globetrotters were in town and they had tickets to go see them play!

These two boys were so excited.

Since it wasn't full, they were able to move closer to the court and could see really well.  Jared said that Jackson was studying all of the Globetrotters tricks very intensely.  They were so inspired that they even made up a few of their own after they got home.  Ha!

The guys were very interactive with the crowd...

and did all kinds of crazy tricks!

They even broke out into Gangnum Style in the middle of the game!

It was a very big hit for these sports nuts.  As Jackson told me later, "I like a day of surprises!"

Pj Day and the big K

Lila got a big treat this week at school.  On Thursday morning, all we had to worry about was finding a cute bow to match her jammies.  Now that's something I could get used to!

Then we found these cute little Dora house shoes that used to be Madison's and we zipped on out the door.



That afternoon I saw this really cool class picture on Facebook and thought it was such a neat idea.  They do them for every grade level at his school.  So far, we think Kindergarten rocks!



College Week!

Last week was College Week at J's school.  There was a different theme each day: Rock Star, Sweats, Favorite Jersey...

Favorite Hat (Go Horns!)...

and Career Day.  Such a fun week!

  I know it's probably going to come as a surprise to some of you, but Jackson wants to be a baseball player when he grows up!  I say, dream big.  It just might come true.

My little barista

Lila loves to help me in the kitchen.  No matter how mundane the task, this little girl is all over it.

"Can I mix your toffee, mommy?" 
She is such a little ray of sunshine in the morning and thinks it's pretty cool to mix the french vanilla creamer and splenda into my coffee for me.  She tells me, "I'll stir it for you so that it's not hot."  She's got a point.  If you stir for 5 or 10 minutes, the coffee will no longer be hot when you're done!

She looks so old with that long ponytail now.  I can't get over it.

How to be a fabulous flower girl - By Lila Hays

Lila did such a great job preparing for her role as flowergirl that I thought I would share some of her tips.

#1 Get a good work-out in.  You've got to keep those arms nice and toned.

#2 Get your nails done like a big girl:)

#3 Be very still so that the lady doesn't have to repaint them.  It only happened once!

#4 Sweetly ask mommy to share some light pink lip gloss

#5 Celebrate your fabulousness by dancing the night away with your parents!

Maria and Andrew's Wedding!

Hooray!  The wedding day finally arrived!

These three cuties were all about dressing up for the big day.

Both girls were flashing their pearlie whites all over the place.

They really loved getting to see the bride before the wedding.  How special! 

Then we had to wait another hour and by then the littlest flower girl had started to fade.

She was chillaxin' to the max in one of the pews.  Modesty?  What's that?

Shelley got to enjoy a little moment with her three girls...

and then I snapped a pic of Memaw and Poppi...

and Gigi (the birthday girl) and Boom.  I think they all cleaned up very well!  Soonafter, it was time for the wedding to begin.  Lyndsie and I took the kids to line up in the church foyer and then took our seats and hoped for the best!

After much anticipation, I am so happy to report that all three did great!  They walked down the aisle like little angels.  Lila fell asleep about 8 minutes into the ceremony (perfect!) and Maddie did decently well with her leappad. 

Jackson was definitely the MVP, though, and didn't make a peep the whole time. 
Love my guys in their tuxes.

During post-wedding photos, I caught a funny moment of the photographer falling backwards into the flowerbed.  Woops!  Then we were off to the reception.

Gigi got to sit next to these two at our table...

and after dinner Lila had to reapply her lipgloss.

"Does this look good, mom?"  Can you tell she's my child?!

Good thing she got all beautified, because minutes later she and I opened the dance floor.

Then she stole her daddy's heart just a little more by honoring him with a dance.  One day I will show this at her wedding.  I can't really imagine what that day will feel like, but I'm so hopeful that they will remain as close as they are now. 

Very soon after that, all 6 kids hit the dance floor--with lots of enthusiasm, too! 

The littlest one was full-throttle...

while Madison showed us some actual dance moves.  Turns out she's pretty good!

We had such a good time with our friends--so fun that we could all celebrate together:)

While we were hanging out with our amigos, Lila had convinced Gigi to dance with her.

Then it was time for the good stuff--and boy was this chocolate cake delicious!

After they cut the cake, Jared gave the best man toast. 
He did them proud, I think.  Way to go, husband!

Then the dance floor just exploded!  In a very rare moment, Shelley, Carolyn (Jared's Aunt) and my mom all cut a serious rug!  Love it.

When the party was winding down, Lila gave her Aunt Maria a big hug goodbye...

and then it was time to go to bed.  She had danced hard and was worn out, no doubt about it.  We all really enjoyed ourselves that night and loved welcoming Maria into the family.  It was a fun night of celebrating my mom's birthday, too.  An all-around great day.