A Few of my Favorite Fall Things

I LOVE the Fall.  It is not as beautiful here in south Alabama but it is still my favorite season.  Here are a few reasons why...
1) FOOTBALL!!  Here in the deep south, we LOVE football.  Friday night high school ball and college football on Saturdays.  Grant is having a great season! However after 6 interceptions with 2 for TDs, they quit throwing to your side. Even so, he still has had a few close calls!

Here Come the Gamecocks!

Almost!

Grant is the punter also

2) Marching Bands:  This kinda goes along with football but it would not be as exciting without the band.  Ryan is now playing the Baritone but is playing his Alto Sax in two honor bands this season.  We just went to one at Huntington in Montgomery and will do another next month at Univ of South AL in Mobile.  They also participated in a band competition at Troy Univ. 

Ryan is a featured performer on one song in their halftime show

at Huntington--Ryan is on the 35 yd line

At Troy Band Competition

 3) Homecoming: Gotta love a small town Homecoming...dress up days, pep rally, parade, football game.  I always take the whole day off.  We start with the pep rally.  They crown the queen,  the band plays, cheerleaders of all ages cheer and they have teacher and student "skits".  It lasts about 2 hours and is always fun.

Grant is #11

Ryan with the band

I just liked this shot

Ryan's class skit involved dancing and a bar room brawl...Grant was not in his class's skit

is it a bird? a plane? NO it's Ryan on Super Hero day!!

3) Birthdays:  I call this "birthday season".  In less than a three week span we have Ryan, Dennis and Grant's birthdays.  They usually just want to go out to dinner or have some friends over...no more big "theme" parties

Birthday Waffles and Bacon! yum

Ryan had a big party with about 35 teenagers

Grant just had the usual kids over for "backyard" football and Grandaddy's famous spaghetti for lunch

4) Fall decorating: LOVE getting out all my fall stuff: pumpkins and sunflowers, jack o lanterns and turkeys!

Rosie likes it too...after lizards and small frogs

our pumpkins...tried to plant some and the deer ate the sprouts.  Threw our pumpkins last year in the same field and we grew 5 (Dennis squashed one with the tractor before he realized they were there!

5) Holidays:  Halloween is not as fun (or as stressful) as it used to be with little trick or treaters but I still love it. I am so lucky to work at a school where we get to dress up for Halloween.  **I will post those pictures later.  No hints, you will have to wait and see this year's costume**
We have Trunk or Treat at church and I enjoy coming up with crazy ways to decorate the van.  This year I forgot it was today so we were scrambling to get it together.  Luckily Grant and Ryan helped and had great ideas and it all came together quickly.  I do have to credit Pinterest- of course- for the idea.

It's a mouth!!

and I am the DENTIST

We even made a huge toothbrush!

I also love the change in weather, getting out my boots and sweaters, fall leaves, craft shows and getting ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas!  I already found a radio station playing Christmas music!  Life is Good!

It’s FOOTBALL Season!!

Go Gamecocks and War Eagle!  Our seasons have started off great!  Grant has had 4 interceptions…two for touch downs!  I actually snapped a few good pictures of his catches!!

This one he returned for 101 yards with seconds left on the clock!

Ryan is in the band again this year and is again playing a different instrument.  A Baritone.  This one covers his whole face!!  On one song he and three others come to the front and play a “solo” or “quartet?”

We started our year with NIGHT OF THE GAMECOCK.  A community event to introduce all the the fall athletes, band and cheerleaders.  Then they can sign autographs and there is food, of course!  It is a nice event…3rd annual this year and bigger than last so that is good.

The band playing in the stands (above) and Grandaddy watching in our seats (below)

The Candy table sponsored by the football moms

JV Cheerleaders with cousin Gracie this year!

Introducing Grant #11 and cousin Corbin #50

Signing autographs

The boys with Gracie

Ryan signing autographs.  Fun night

Last Friday on the way to the game with 7 in my Van and 6 in Kenny and Nicki’s van, we headed almost 2 hours away to a small high school in the boonies.  Three miles from the school, my van died.  I would push the gas to accelerate, the RPMs would soar and the car would get slower!  Luckily, Dennis was meeting us at the game.  He borrowed a strap from one of our fans and came to get us.  I sent two of my kids with other fans who stopped and the rest piled in with Nicki.  Kenny stayed to help and good thing he did b/c that strap broke a mile down the road right in front of a questionable “house” with people all in the yard.  One man came to our assistance and had a huge strap laying right in the yard!  We used it to pull us to an old church right across from the HS and took the strap back.  We won the game!! BIG! and Dennis actually found the Deputy Sheriff (who used to work for our county) and he said he would alert officers to watch the car that night.  Kenny and Dennis borrowed a friend’s trailer and hauled my poor old van home.  It has 218,000 + miles on it but already had a transmission (by recall) several years ago.  It is now at the shop and we will see how much it will cost to fix it.  Thought I might finally get my mid-life crisis convertible but I still have too many kids to haul around….maybe in a few years!

Gotta run…more soon!

Two Freshmen and a Junior!

It’s Back to school time!! again.  But this year we have one in COLLEGE!! WOW!  Preston got to sleep in when I made Grant and Ryan take the annual First Day of School picture.

Don’t they look so excited.  In their defense, I had to get to work so I made them get up and get dressed early.  Grant is a JUNIOR in high school and Ryan is a FRESHMAN!!

Just today…August 18th…Preston took his First Day of  School “selfie”  I made him promise!!

The night before Preston left for college, all the boys hung out in his room while he packed and gave them old t shirts.  It was so sweet.  Great memory.

And then the next day, we were off bright and early.  There he goes…..with me following

He is on the third floor with NO elevator!!  and it was HOT!!!  I did like the little sign on his door.  The apartment was NOTHING like the model they showed us and another parent complained so much that they came right away to work on the air filter (possibly from 2008~yuck), brought them “new” mattresses and may move them into the renovated building soon while they renovate this one.  We will see.  I was a little shocked but it IS a COLLEGE apartment and I have lived in some just like it (and they are still there).  This place is under new management and everyone was friendly and nice (It IS AUBURN!!~Friendliest village on the plains).  After unpacking and organizing what little we had, we went to get a few of his books and ate a nice lunch.  Then I had to leave!!!  He let me stay longer than I thought and I really enjoyed helping him move in.  He is a GUY so we did not do curtains or stuff on the walls etc.  But it was still a little fun.

I had a hard time saying good bye and cried off and on a little on the drive home without him.  I am SUPER excited for him and this next phase of his life BUT I will not see him everyday, or talk to him everyday.  He will be GONE more than he will be HOME from now on!  It’s the way it should be but it is not easy.  So when I needed a potty break, I decided to stop at a large Home and Garden store I had never been to and WOW!! it was nice.

I did “visit the restroom” where I saw this sign!  Too Funny!

I got home in time to ride with Dennis to spray the cows and sheep and see a nice sunset over our pasture. (He did not get to go with me because he was helping his Uncle with a family reunion that was planned months ago)

The colors were much better in person.

So now, Dennis is back in Huntsville and with Preston gone it is just me, Grant and Ryan….until this weekend when you never know who or how many will show up!  We have our first football game…a preseason game.  Ryan is in the band again and Grant is playing cornerback, receiver and punter (possibly).

Here are all the junior players and cheerleaders. *Grant is 11*

I have been doing home visits.  My kids start Wednesday.  I do not have an aide right now, or one for one of my challenging children so I might have two subs to start!  Should be interesting.

Here are a few pictures of my section of our room.  I hung lanterns to look like Apples but still would like to find yellow ones to add.  I will take more pictures tomorrow when I am finally going to get ready for kids….no visits or meetings! yay

I love the Fall and this one should prove to be VERY interesting!

Our Summer

I cannot believe I am saying this in JULY, but our summer is just about over!  In two days, I go back to work and Dennis moves to Huntsville!  This summer has been a bit different and very, very busy!  It started the day after school ended and we headed to Maryland to work on our rental house.  Dennis is taking time off between jobs and was home all summer for the first time EVER.  We also began building our “barn”….actually that project started in mid-May and has taken ALL summer. 

From our back yard showing the patio and boat area

This will be a patio with tables and chairs, old church pews etc

Boys want the loft to have couches and a ping pong table…um no… it will be STORAGE!!

We have a (or will have) a toilet in the barn so dirty men and boys can stay outside.  We designed the “bathroom” to look like an outhouse! 

Back side (or right side) of the barn has three bays. One tall bay to allow for the tractor, a lift to work on cars and/or the travel trailer we just bought Dennis to live in in Huntsville!  The boat will be under the overhang.

 

Dennis has also baled hay and started a cross fencing project on the pasture land.  He has kept the boys very busy.  They have dug holes and put posts in the ground, learned to run a trencher and are now laying water pipe, for the barn and across the road for the cross fencing project. 

This has also been the summer of BOYS!!  Dennis said we are running a teenage daycare.  I cannot count all of the boys that have been here one day or another.  We have a few who have spent a week here at a time and others that roll in and out.  We have had as many as six EXTRA boys for several nights.  They play, EAT, sleep, EAT, and WORK!!  Dennis has taken advantage of the extra “man” power and put them to work.

The World Cup consumed many hours here.  They met to watch certain games on TV, yelling and running around when a team scored.  They brought the game system downstairs so they could play “FIFA” on the big TV with room to run around and yell when they scored.  They even play outside at all hours of the day and night.

They have chairs and saw horses set up as goals because I would not buy them big soccer goals!!

This is how Dennis and I spend a Summer night.  On the front porch swing with drinks or ice cream, watching the boys play.

Preston took time out to spend a little time with his poor girlfriend who is also tired of the teenage daycare!  Poor thing is always surrounded by silly, loud, smelly boys!

I will be closing the day care soon and will head back to work. Dennis will head to Huntsville and the boys will finally read their summer reading book assignments.  We will shop for school supplies and clothes and they will help arrange and re-arrange our Pre K POD.  In August Preston will get his wisdom teeth out and head to college.  Then and maybe then, the house will be quiet again.  Until college football starts and then it will be loud and full of people again!!  Gotta LOVE it!! and we do.  We settled down and designed our dream house just for this reason. 

Dennis and I celebrated our 23rd Anniversary yesterday by slipping off for pizza after Sunday night church by ourselves!!  We discussed our teenage daycare summer and were both very proud that our dream house is “in use” so much.  We have even discussed getting bunk beds upstairs so they don’t have to sleep on couches and floors.  It does not seem that long ago that we brought Preston home from the hospital and watching him was our entertainment.  The last 18 years have brought two more sons and many more boys (and girls) into our house.  **Ryan planned a surprise party for a girl in his class in two days…at OUR house of course.  He said all I had to do was make some cupcakes, lemonade, get some chips and hang up our HAPPY BIRTHDAY sign…that’s all!!  He had about 12 boys and girls show up** 

That is how our summer has been!  Bring on FALL!!