Gig 'em Owls!

GHS Homecoming.  

Always one of our favorite Friday nights during the fall.  This one was one of the best, though.  

The Owls haven't had the best season.  In fact, going into the game, they were 0-5.  Ouch.  Needless to say, we didn't expect much.  We only scored one touchdown during the whole first half.

Between Taylor, Han, Jenny and I, we had 10 kids in the stands with us.  It was busy, to say the least!  Lila loved meeting little Harlyn...

and all the kiddos thought it was super fun to sit next to each other.

Baby JP even got some Lila snuggles for a few minutes, too.

We all cheered together during my junior year of high school.
I've got so many great memories with these girls!

During halftime the action picked up.  First thing, the girls spotted Ollie the Owl and literally ran down the steps to say hello.

We watched the bands and drill teams perform and were getting ready to call it a night, but then things got interesting!

The Owls ran back the kick-off for a touchdown and completely revived the team and the crowd!  They began to make a steady climb towards victory and this kid right next to me was loving it.  

His sisters were, too!  By the 4th quarter, the Owls were only down by a few points.  With only 3 minutes to go, it was 4th and 6.  We had to go for it.  The stands were electric and these cheerleaders were doing their best to lead the crowd.

 

On the next play, the quarterback ran it straight up the middle and scored a touchdown!
The Owls were winning for the first time all night!

We outlasted all these friends and stayed to see my Alma mater beat South Garland.  Coming behind in the 4th quarter to win on Homecoming.  I'll take that any time!
Love me some Friday Night Lights.  Gig 'em Owls!

Baby Girl

Picture day at school.  This little lady was all smiles.

She chose a new dress to wear for the occassion-- a $5 grab from a friend.  So cute!

Our precious girl is growing up too fast.

For the love, where did my baby girl go?!
As sad as it is that we no longer have a baby, I'm ready to embrace this new phase of our life.  Naps are no longer super important, there's less whining and more go-with-the-flow, and we can all start to do more "big kid" activities.  It's going to be GREAT!

Grandparent's Day

Last Thursday was also Grandparent's Day at Hunt.  It's one of Lila and Jackson's favorite days of the year.  They just love getting to show off their school to Gigi and Memaw.

I know I am biased, but I really think that these three ladies are just beautiful!

Cami weaseled her way into the Book Fair with Lila after lunch was over.  When she came out, she had talked her grandmas into buying her two books, a diary and this planner.  Lucky girl!

  A short while later, it was time for the 5th graders to go to lunch.  Cami caught Bubbie in the hallway and immediately ran up to hold his hand.  I know it probably embarasses him, but he humors her anyway.  I love that.

His double bacon cheeseburger was a hit!
The perfect way to spend his very last Grandparent's Day.
 

Patriotic Pride

Last week, we were at Hunt Elementary for the Second Grade's Patriotic Program.  

In light of the recent state of our nation, it was so refreshing!  

Our school is very much a melting pot, full of so many different cultures.

The kids were asked to speak in between songs. 

Hands over their hearts, singing loud and proud.  And not one person was kneeling, either.

Lila was chosen to square dance, 

and had a speaking part as well.  Out of all the kids, she was the only one to look out at the crowd as she spoke, because she had her lines memorized.  Proud mama, right here!

Almost all of these former Bees had a speaking role.  
They are the super stars of second grade and I love that.

These girls are proud to be Hunt Hounds, and proud to be Americans, too!

All About Angus

One of the highlights of preschool--taking home the class mascot for the weekend!  

This past weekend, it was Cami's turn with Angus.  She was thrilled!

We kicked it off with an after-school trip to Braum's for some strawberry ice cream.  I had already decided to take Cami there as a treat for being well-behaved all week.  Angus picked a good day to hang out with us.

I enjoyed visiting with this little lady and then we headed home to get the big kids.

A few hours later, we took Lila to Brooklyn's birthday party.  Angus and Cami were both very intrigued with Bubble Soccer!

Lila said it was harder than she thought it would be...especially when she got flipped upside down!

Memaw and Poppi met us at the park and stayed with Angus and the kids for the evening.  Jared and I met our crew in Dallas to celebrate some September birthdays.  Always such a fun night.

The next day was another birthday party for Lila.  Angus decided to take a nap at home, though.

Good call, Angus.  This party was rockin', but it was super HOT!

The twins had an awesome birthday and Lila loved hanging out with everyone.

After the pool party, Madison came over and Angus got to watch the girls play some backyard soccer.  He was pretty darn impressed with their skills.

The next day was Meme's birthday!  The kids made her lots of sweet cards and we went to her house for lunch.

I'm pretty sure that the cake was Angus' favorite part!

Later that afternoon, Angus got to watch Lila in action at her Sting game.  He was a huge hit with all the girls Well, maybe it was really Cami that was a big hit, but they liked him, too!

We let Cami choose the restaurant after the game.  Her pick--Frankie's.  She's a pro at ordering some mexican food.  "I'd like a quesadilla, french fries, and a side of ranch, please."

Angus slept well that night and so did Cami.  We enjoyed having him all weekend, but he's got more people to meet and homes to see!

Baseball Buddy

Cami and Lila are both sure good sports about spending lots of time at the baseball field.  Last weekend was no exception.  They were there for 9 straight hours on Sunday and were so good.  I took them to the playground in between games 1 and 2, they played soccer next to Bubba's game, ate popsicles from the concession stand, made pretty art work, and made new friends.

My favorite quote of the day came from this little lady, though.  Grant's older brother was sitting in the stands next to us during the last game.  Like them, he had been watching his brother play all day long.  He was a really nice kid and began talking to both Lila and Cami.  They were shy at first, but then Cami started chatting with him.  The next thing I know, she says, "So, let's talk about sports."  He says, "Ok, what kind of sports?"  She replies, "well, my sister wears a sports bra!"  And Lila just about died of embarrassment.  It was so funny, and Cami knew it!  I'm sure it won't be the last time that little sister embarrasses her--she's such a goose always looking for the laugh.  She got it this time, for sure.

NTX Eagles

Wowsers!  We knew that Jackson's new baseball team was good.  Really good.  We just didn't know how good, though, until this past weekend.

Jackson was one of 5 new boys to join the NTX Eagles this summer.  I'm so thankful that he did, and so is he.  They are a fantastic group of kids and all super-talented.

Two Sundays ago, they started league play.  

Jackson pitched the second game and helped his team win both of them.
He got hit in the back while he was up to bat...   

but shook it off and went on to score.  A few innings later while he was pitching, that same kid, who was huge, nailed him in the leg.  His teammate ran up, grabbed the ball and threw out the batter at 1st, ending the game.  Eagles win! 

This past weekend, the Eagles played in their first tournament of the fall.  There was stout competition, with 22 teams in the 11U AAA division.

The first game was tough at first, but J did well as the lead-off batter.
He held back on high fastballs...

and ran the bases well.  The most controversial play came when he got caught in a run-down between 3rd base and home plate.  He made an awesome play and slid in under the tag, but the umpire called him out.  He was so clearly safe!  After the game, the other umpire apologized to our head coach and admitted J was safe.  Oh well!

J was upset, but we told him to shake it off and get back to being focused on pitching.

He did well and struck out a lot of batters.

During the last inning, he was playing second base.  The bases were loaded and the batter hit a line drive to him. He made the catch, then threw it to 1st base, making the double play to end the game!

The Eagles won both of their Saturday games and were sitting in 2nd place in the division going into Sunday.  

We got to the ballfields at 1:00 on Sunday.  These boys were so ready to play. And win!
They won the first game.  Then they played at 3:00.  And won that one, too.  The semi-finals were next at 5:00 and they were up against a really big Jaramillo team.  No prob.  They beat them, too.  In fact, they run-ruled them by scoring 8 runs in 4 innings.  Eagles won 8-0!

Just like that this kid was about to play for the championship!

A little while later, they had run-ruled the Bulls, too!
Braeden hit a walk-off double to seal the deal and everyone was so excited!

The boys all got their first and second place rings, some just had a little bit bigger smiles on their faces.

Coach Michael was just as pumped as the boys were, despite his "too cool for school" face!

Boom!  11U AAA Champs of the Matt Dozier NIT Tournament.

These girls were SO happy for their Bubba!  They had been at the fields from 1:00 - 9:00 pm and were still smiling.  Now that's some true fans right there!

The next morning, the new rankings were out.  The NTX Eagles were #1 in the state of Texas and even better, the #1 11U AAA team in the nation!  A few hours later, they got the news that they had been bumped up to the highest level--the majors.  I'm nervous, but excited for Jackson and all the other boys.  They will now be playing against the very best talent.  I have no doubt that they will handle it like pros.  Go Eagles!