Garrett had a game in Washinton, and we invited Grandpa and Uncle Jordan and his family to come watch.  It was a great game for them to come watch.  Garrett played a lot and really well.  They lost but it was still a great game for Garrett.  He had several really good tackles.  It was sad that JJ missed the game.  They moved it up and combined teams with the freshman which made it too early for JJ to be able to make.  I took video for JJ and he watched it with Garrett when we got home.  Garrett was sweet and on the car ride home he said he knew that Dad was supporting him in another way by working for our family.  

My Dad's brother Al passed away.  My Dad has been driving to Arkansas to visiting him a lot and I know this has been really hard on him.  The siblings got together to have a celebration for Al.  It is fun to see almost all of them together. 

Friday evening was the last varsity home game.  It was also junior eagles night and Nolan was excited to be on the field when the players ran out. We have enjoyed Friday night football and being there as a family.  Its fun to sit with friends and socialize while watching the game.  Next year Garrett will be out there playing.   

Homecoming Dance

 

Kicker

After the parade we went home and had lunch and then headed to Nolan football game.  It was a warm day.  I was thankful I could rest my big umbrella in a position to shade me completely.  A little while ago Nolan expressed interest in being the kicker for the point after touchdown.  He told his coach, and his coach asked to see him kick.  He gave it two tries and Nolan missed both.  That was kind of the end of that until today's game.  The kicker wasn't doing well and after missing two he decided to give Nolan a try.  JJ texted me and told me that Nolan was going in as kicker.  I was thankful for the heads up and excited to see Nolan run out after the next touchdown.  Nolan did great and made it!  He went in the rest of the game and made all three kicks.  He was really happy with himself.     

 

Homecoming Parade

Garrett got to participate in the district homecoming parade.  It was nice that Nolan had his football game in the afternoon so we could attend the parade.  We had a nice spot in the shade and went next door to McDonalds to get a breakfast sandwich while we waited for the parade to start.  Just before the parade started, we decided to go across the street so we could see Garrett when he went by.  We liked our spot in the shade, but we came to the parade to see Garrett.  I am glad we switched sides because we wouldn't have seen him at all from the other side of the street.  It was fun to see kids we knew in the parade also.  Nolan got two full bags of candy!  It was nice to have so much candy since it was General Conference weekend.  He enjoyed having some snacks to enjoy while we listened.  After the parade was over, we went to Ross to look for a new belt and tie for Garrett to wear to the homecoming dance.   

Powder Puff

Lucy is enjoying everything about her senior year of high school.  This week being homecoming week she is having fun with harmless pranks and dress up days. She played in the powder puff game with her friends and had a lot of fun.  It is flag football, but she ended up getting tackled by a junior player who said she tripped.  Lucy ended up with some turf burn on her elbow but was ok. The seniors won and it was a fun evening watching her.  I am sad JJ seems to miss so many things the kids are involved in.  He is busy working hard to support our family and we appreciate that.  I felt bad for him that night missing watching Lucy play.  He missed last year too.  I know he wishes he could be at more and I wish he could have been there to sit with me and watch her play. 

5th Grade Camp

Nolan was able to spend two days at fifth grade camp.  They spent one day at Quail Ridge Park and the other day at Brommelsiek.  He had fun hiking, fishing, making a tie dye shirt and enjoying being outside.  He said they did a lot of walking, and he came home exhausted every day.  I reminded him that he was probably having more fun at camp then he would int he classroom.  It is good to get outside and learn in other ways.  

 

Happy Birthday JJ

I felt so bad about JJ's birthday this year.  I woke up and didn't feel very well.  I hadn't been feeling that great all weekend but felt the worst on Sunday.  I would have stayed home from church if I could, but I had to help with teaching primary.  We had a very lazy relaxing afternoon and were supposed to have people over that evening.  I wasn't feeling up to it and we decided to cancel. I know JJ would have enjoyed having people over, but I was so out of energy. I also had hoped we would have done some shopping on Friday and had him pick something out, but we didn't.  So, I didn't have a gift for him.  Just a coupon in his card for some new work shoes.  We had yummy ice cream cake and played some dominoes together as a family that evening which was fun.  I hope he knows how much we love him, even if his birthday didn't have extravagant celebrations and gifts.   

 

Francis Howell Homecoming

Lucy went to Francis Howells homecoming with some friends from church.  They took pictures just as Nolans football game was ending.  We were late to pictures but hurried over as quickly as we could.  Thankfully we could get some shared pictures from other parents.  We snapped a few of Lucy before they headed to dinner.  JJ and I were still dressed in our football gear and so we took a picture together.  It was just us and Nolan that night.  Practically a date night with our fun little third wheel.  We decided to go eat at Red Robins and use JJ's birthday burger.  We had a nice dinner together and then headed to the concert and fireworks at Dardenne Prairie days.   They had a fun band playing and Nolan found some friends from school he knew.  They played on the playground together.  They did fireworks at the end of the evening.  It was a fun evening together.  It was fun to keep the birthday celebrations with JJ going all weekend long.   

Top Golf

The kids had off school Friday which meant I was also off work.  JJ's birthday was that weekend, and we thought it would be fun to go do something together.  Kind of an early birthday outing for JJ.  The weather was chilly and rainy all day.  We thought of a few fun things and JJ picked going to Top Golf.  We don't go very often and thought it would be something fun to do.  We played for an hour and picked two different games to play.  It was fun to play the games instead of just hitting the ball.  We all played just for fun, but I ended up winning both games.  We decided to go to McDonalds in the Chesterfield Valley for some lunch.  It was challenging with the kids and JJ and I both felt frustrated during our time together as a family.  They are in a stage where they like to push each other's buttons.  I wish they would be better friends and enjoy each other's company.  JJ realized that he still needed to renew his driver's license so after lunch instead of doing some shopping at the outlet malls like planned we headed home so he could take care of that.  That night the older kids went out with friends and JJ, and I enjoyed a movie night with Nolan.  I was feeling really run down and felt like I was getting a cold.  I was thankful to be able to rest and have the day off work.        

 

Nolan has been enjoying riding his bike down to the shady creek pond and doing some fishing.  He used some of his money and bought a new fishing pole.  I tried my best to help him get it put together and teach him how to use it.  My neighbor helped too.  JJ was working late at UMSL and I wished that he could be here to help and spend time with us.  Nolan was so excited to go down there and try it out.  Jack and I walked down with him and walked around the pond while he fished for a little bit.  He didn't catch anything but is really excited about his new pole.   

 

Nolan had his first home game of the season.  It has been really fun to watch the boys play football this season.  They are both learning and doing really well.  There are some games they don't get a lot of play time and that can be hard.  One of the moms took some pictures during the game and there were some fun ones of Nolan.