TCU Football Game 2012

 We had our first of many (we hope) annual trips to the TCU v. Texas Tech football game.  Greg and I are TCU grads and my dad, sister and brother-in-law are Tech grads.  The schools used to play every year, but it has only happened a couple of times since I was in school.  But now that both schools are in the same conference, they will play every year again.  This year's game was in Fort Worth, so the four of us left after school on Thursday to drive half way to Fort Worth - we met everyone else on Friday and had a great family weekend.  The 4 kids had a blast playing together, and the adults enjoyed a great game.  Unfortunately, TCU lost in triple overtime - but it was a good game and we have a really young team who played beyond their years.  Next year's game in Lubbock should be a win and we plan on being there to watch it.

 I was so excited for the boys to get their picture with Super Frog - we've been able to do that the last 2 years, so I was thrilled to get their picture for the 3rd year in a row.

 Tech fans, overall, are well-known to be very obnoxious.  I grew up a Tech fan, so I'm not just saying that.  When I was in high school, Tech made it to the Cotton Bowl for the first time in like 50 years (and my dad was so excited that we all went to the game) - they ended up losing by like 50 points to USC.  The highlight of the game was when the Tech fans threw thousands of tortillas onto the football field, and Raider Red (the mascot) got kicked out of the game for getting into a fight with a USC band member.
  I say all that to say that our companions to the game were a lot of fun.  My mom and dad, and Conny, Todd and kids made it a fun experience despite the loss.  Jacob even went up to Ryan after the game and gave him a hug and said he was sorry that our team lost.  In reality, Ryan didn't really care - but it was a sweet gesture.

 One of the biggest appeals of a TCU game is how family-friendly the whole thing is.  This is due to the fact that 10+ years ago, TCU was awful and no one went to the games.  In order to boost attendance, the school started a Bleacher Creature program where kids get to run across the football field with the football team before the game.  I love that even though TCU is now an annual powerhouse, they still have this great tradition.  Greg took the 4 kids down to the field and ran across with them, while the rest of us watched from the stands.  I think they loved it.

The kids are all lined up on the left and the team (with Coach Patterson) are in the center.

They all take off at the same time.  Tech ended up coming out at about the same time, so it was funny to see all of the Tech players dodge the kids as the raced across the field.

We walked across campus after the game and stopped by the Horned Frog for a quick family picture.  Across the street from this, is the Chapel where Greg and I got married.  Luke asked if he has to get married there, too.

Another great thing about our visit to Fort Worth was eating great food.  We went to Joe T. Garcia's after the game for Mexican and the night before we went to a German restaurant where the kids (and my dad and sister) danced the Chicken Dance with the German band.

Overall, it was a great trip and the boys did a wonderful job in the car.  We broke the trip up over 4 days of driving, which really only gave us 1 full day in Fort Worth - but it was all well worth it.

Go Frogs!

Corn Maze, Soccer and Leaves

 The boys and I spend our Sundays getting out of the house while the Broncos are playing.  Last week, Greg took Luke to the Bronco game, so Ryan and I got to hang out and get frozen yogurt and watch a movie.  The week before, the boys and I went to see Finding Nemo in 3D.  As much as I love that movie, I've seen it at least 50 times in the last 4 years - so the 3D thing wasn't all that special.  But it was a fun outing.  Today, we headed to the Corn Maze at the Chatfield Botanical Gardens.  We had a great time.  The four of us went 3 years ago when the boys were 3.  We didn't have such a great time then.  The link to those pictures and a precious video of them running through the maze is here  This time - we printed out a larger picture of the maze before we left and we made it through in about 30 minutes. Afterwards, Ryan and Luke enjoyed some kettle corn, lemonade, and some candy corns.  I'm not sure what will be on our agenda for next Sunday, but we'll figure out something.  I know that Luke really wants to see the IMAX movie Space Junk at the Nature and Science museum - we'll have to get on that soon before it leaves.  A day at the zoo and an IMAX movie sound like a great idea - hopefully our nice weather will continue for at least another week.

 We are also back in soccer this season.  Although our children as still far from being any good - they have improved a great deal over last spring and they are still having a great time playing every week.  We've been impressed with their improved stamina and their determination to at least stay with the pack and attempt to kick the ball more than they did a few months ago.

We all went up the mountains last weekend to see the leaves and get some pictures.  I have an idea to get at least 4 good pictures of mountain scenery over the 4 seasons with my new camera - and then blow them up on a stretch canvas to put in our basement.  I'm not sure how they will turn out yet - but it has been fun to take pictures.  It was a beautiful day and we went through an area that Greg and I have never been to before.  The boys had a pretty good time, but I should have brought some snacks along with us.

Cub Scouts

The boys had their first Cub Scouts (Tiger Cubs) meeting this week.  They loved it, especially since they were entertained by a magician (Ryan's future career ambition).  Greg and I struggled some this summer about putting the boys in scouts or not this year.  We tend to not over-react to inflamed media/political issues.  But we were disappointed in the national organization's stance on allowing people who are "different" to be excluded from the organization.  But just like many national platforms of large organizations - the official policy doesn't always reflect the values at the local level.  Overall, we believe Scouting is a great organization and our boys will only benefit from it.  We can teach them about acceptance, tolerance and respect at home and hope that their values will help to influence others in all of their future endeavors.  In the meantime, they are now members of Pack 461 Den 4 with 8 other 1st grade friends.  They can't wait to make their boat for the Rain Gutter Regalia next month and they are looking forward to the Pinewood Derby and the end of year campout.  Greg and I aren't super excited about the popcorn fundraiser, but we can get over that.

Opening Day 2012

 Greg's favorite day of the year has come - Opening Day for the NFL.  It is the day that the boys and I become Football Orphans and a Football Widow.  I kid -mostly - Greg is a great father and he is fully engaged in our family, except for 1 day a week for about 20 weeks of the year.  On these days, the boys and find something else to do - today we may go mini golfing.  Someday, they may take an interest in the Denver Broncos and I will have a day off - but that hasn't happened yet, so I become the entertainer.   I do like taking the Annual Opening Day Picture - I love seeing how much the boys (and Greg) have changed over the last 7 seasons.

 2006 - Season 1 - 3 months old

 2007 - Season 2

 2008 - Season 3

 2009 - Season 4

 2010 - Season 5

2011 - Season 6

First Day of First Grade and End of Summer

 Ryan and Luke started 1st grade on Monday.  Ryan was so excited about going to school that he had his backpack on and his bag of school supplies in his hands an hour before it was time to get on the bus.  They had a great day and a great week.  Greg and I are looking forward to Back to School Night next week so we can learn a little more about what they will be doing this year.  We are so glad that they are back in school - Ryan really thrives in the routine of a school year and Luke loves being in a classroom.

 

We only have 2 weekends left at the pool  - which is always sad for me.  I've loved watching the boys grow up each summer and improve in their swimming and their comfort level in the water.  This was the first year that I've felt confident enough in their swimming ability to not be right there with them in the pool all of the time.  Ryan is able to swim the full length of the pool and dive to the bottom of the 5 ft level.  Luke feels confident enough to tread water for a long period of time, swim the width of the pool, and dive to the bottom.  I think they could spend all day every day at the pool.

 

Ryan's New Reading Helper

      Ryan is a good reader - but he struggles with confidence and gets easily frustrated.  Greg and I get equally frustrated when we try and read with him - he shuts down with us and doesn't put forth much effort.  We know he can do it - he worked with Luke's Kindergarten teacher this summer and she said he was doing great.  I even sat in on one of their tutoring sessions just to listen - Ryan wanted me there, too, so I could see how Mrs. Crouch helped him - he did so much better with her than at home.  That doesn't surprise us, Ryan likes to perform for others.  Greg and I have talked about finding a high school kid who we can hire to read with Ryan a couple of days a week - to give all 3 of us peace of mind and remove the power struggle from the equation.  However, Ryan seems to think he has found the perfect solution.  He now only wants to read with Luke.  We never would have thought that this would be a good idea.  The 2 of them fight so much and Ryan tends to get so much more frustrated if he hears Luke read before him.  But we stumbled upon this solution a week ago.  Ryan loves it - Luke sits next to him and if Ryan asks him for help with a word, Luke helps.  Ryan's fluency has increased and his frustration has dramatically decreased, and he has been reading books that are well ahead of where he was even a month ago.  We'll see how long this lasts - much of this depends on Luke's cooperation - which so far he wants to help, but I know that there will be times when he doesn't.  Hopefully Ryan will be able to continue to build his confidence up so he will be more willing to accept help from us in the future. 

Today's  creations at our house:

 Ryan's "car" for aye-aye.  He had made something similar using paper plates and cups a few weeks, but we told him it was time to go in the recycling bin.

I bought some new shoes last weekend and Luke immediately claimed the shoebox for himself.  He asked me if he should build the Statue of Liberty or the Olympic Stadium with it.  In my limited creative vision, I told him it looked more like a stadium.  But Luke turned it into the Statue of Liberty today - I never could have envisioned that.

 The boys met both of their 1st grade teachers yesterday at their school's Open House.  Luke is excited to be back in school - but Ryan is absolutely thrilled about going to 1st grade.

Spiderman

Luke created his very own Spiderman costume.  He found a white t-shirt and fabric markers and went to town decorating his outfit.  He then put on blue pants, red socks, and gloves (and Spiderman has blue arms, so he put on a long sleeve blue shirt underneath).  He was not satisfied with his costume until he could create a mask.  We cut up a pair of white tights and he colored it and then cut out eye holes.  He is a bizarre and creative boy.  His antics crack us up on a daily basis.