Bulldog Pride

Zoe was given the Bulldog Pride award at school this month. She was nominated by her language arts and social studies teacher, and all of the recipients were treated to a luncheon in the multi-purpose room during their lunch period. The principal served up hamburgers and they got some yummy desserts. They were also given a certificate, a school folder, and lots of Bulldog Pride accessories. Congratulations Zoe...we are very proud of you!

FNL!!! Go Patriots!

The day has finally come for Cooper's first Friday night football game. He has been anxiously awaiting the night to finally get here but even though he was excited, he was also nervous and his stomach was a bit unsettled. He warmed up with his team and they were ready to get the game underway. We were playing the Bears, and unfortunately our uniforms were similar in color, but we made the best of it.

Our team mom made this great banner for the team!
Cooper and Jack were co-captains, so they went to the referees for the coin toss.

The sun was setting and the Patriots were ready to go. Cooper played the whole offensive game as quarterback. He knew the pressure would be on, but he has been practicing hard. He had to get used to the feeling of being rushed, using quick eyes, and making solid handoffs and passes.

The lighting, and my excitement over the game, made it hard for me to get good, clear pictures!
At halftime we were up 14-6. The boys were playing well and learning which plays worked and which ones didn't. They were also getting experience with learning the penalties and dealing with the refs!
Time for a water break...
The parents were bundled up on the sidelines...it sure got cold out there!!


The second half got tense, with both teams scoring. Coop continued to play QB, as well as cornerback on defense.

Coop made a couple of beautiful passes, even under pressure.
He was also able to grab a few flags on defense.
At the end of the game we were tied up 20-20.
The coaches decided to go into overtime, allowing each team to get 3 downs. We were able to stop the Bears from scoring, and then Coop tossed the ball to Adam for the game winning touchdown! The boys were so excited and rushed to each other for high fives and pats on the backs.

Congratulations Patriots! Can't wait for next week!

KC Award Recipient!

Tony Tobin has started a new program this year called Rachel's Challenge. This program stemmed from the death of Rachel Scott, the first victim of the Columbine High School shooting that took place in 1999. Rachel wrote a quote in her journal (that her father found after she died) that said, "I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction of the same. People will never know how far a little kindness can go." Based on that quote, her father started an campaign all across the country to encourage kindness, compassion, acceptance, goal setting and journaling.

Instead of doing the regular Trailblazer of the Month Awards, the school is now recognizing kids each month who have started their own chain reactions of kindness and compassion. Cooper was recognized at this morning's Friday assembly for recieving the KC Award.
He was happy to be standing up there with his friend Lorien!

After the assembly, the kids get to go into the MPR to stamp their hand print on the wall and sign their name.

Congratulations Cooper!! We are so proud of you, and you truly are a kind and compassionate boy!

80's...

The middle school put on the first after-school dance of the year, which was an 80's theme. Many of Zoe's friends decided that they didn't want to go, but her and Lauryn both wanted to check it out. Zoe had fun putting her 80's outfit together and was ready to go!

I was pretty nervous for her throughout the day since not many kids decided to dress up, and middle school kids can be pretty cruel. Thankfully, Zoe had a smile on her face and didn't really care. The girls went to the dance and had a ton of fun. Quite a few kids ended up going and they had a great time. Zoe even won 2nd place in the dress-up contest and got a free smoothie!

Doggy love!

The dogs really miss the kids when they are in school. They are spoiled with the summer days when we are around a lot! So now Zippy gets so excited when we get home from school, that as soon as Zoe sits at the table to do homework, he jumps right up to join her...
Gotta love the loyalty and unconditional love of a dog!

Birthday Racing!

To celebrate Jax's birthday, we headed to Pole Position for a grand prix racing party!
They couldn't wait to get going on their first race. Jax got to take the lead (in his mohawk helmet!) as the birthday boy.
These kids were quite competitive...they were brutal in their racing!

In between races, Jax opened up his gifts and everybody filled up on pizza and cake.

We cheered them on during the final race of the day!
It was a great party and the kids had a ton of fun!
Happy 10th Birthday Jax! We love you!!

9.11.11

Today marks the 10 year anniversary of the September 11th attacks on our country. I vividly remember my mom waking me up, telling me I needed to see what was happening. I was staying at her house since we were heading to the hospital early that morning for the birth of my nephew Jax.
I couldn't believe what was happening, and we spent the day at the hospital watching the news footage in awe. The Twin Towers falling, the Pentagon being hit, and the plane crash in Pennsylvania were unbelievable events that have forever changed America.
Today, part of the memorial at the World Trade Center site opened for the families of the 2,977 victims of this attack.
We have been watching some breathtaking documentaries this week, and talking a lot about the events, as well as the heroes of that day. I truly can't believe that it has already been 10 years.

Scrimmage time...

Cooper has had a pretty light schedule the last month or so with football only practicing twice a week. He is wishing they could play every day, so he was excited when he found out they were doing an official scrimmage with refs tonight, before their games get started next week. He has been practicing hard though, and learning a lot!
The scrimmage got changed around a bit since one of the teams in the league didn't show up. So they ended up playing a 3-team game, with each team rotating in/out for 10 minute periods. Coop was excited to start off the game as Quarterback. He has been working hard on his passes and handoffs, and spending lots of time memorizing plays. He's even been working on his whiteboard making up his own plays.

Overall, the team did pretty well. They have a few things to work on, but they looked good. Coop spent time as QB, then moved to defense. He can't wait for their first game!

Fishing...

Cooper has been asking to go fishing again for the last few weeks, and we figured today would be a great day to head to Harveston. We had some cloudy, stormy skies, and got a few drops of rain on us, but we had a lot of fun.
I just love it here...
Joe got the poles set up and the kids were ready to go!
It didn't take long for the first fish to be caught! Zoe couldn't believe she already got one!
Not long after that Cooper caught one too!
They spent the next few hours trying to catch some more. They moved around a bit, and tried different bait.
Zoe ended up catching two more!
Cooper wasn't quite as lucky, but he had fun trying. It was a good test of his patience! We spent 4 relaxing hours at the lake...perfect way to spend our Labor Day holiday!

Wild Rivers Fun!

Mimi was hoping to take the kids to Wild Rivers over the summer, but it never quite happened. So we figured this would be the perfect weekend to go since we had almost 3 free days this holiday weekend, with only one sporting event.

The kids were excited and ready to get on their first ride!
We spent the day running around to most of the rides in the park. The weather actually turned a bit stormy and chilly in the afternoon, so we had to sneak into the jacuzzi a few times to warm up.
We stopped for a quick lunch break too!
I needed to warm up, so I took a break and got a little reading done while the kids went on a couple more rides! I'm reading "The Help" and I don't want to put it down!

Even though it was chilly, we couldn't resist the 'dippin dots' ice cream for dessert.

It was a very fun day! Thank you Mimi for treating us to a great day and being the photographer!