It's Fair Time

Like every October, the Heart O' Texas Fair & Rodeo came to town. And like every time the fair comes to town, the kids are dying to go. Lucky for us, Mamaw & Papa volunteered to take the kids one Sunday afternoon.

Thanks Mamaw & Papa for another great year at the fair!

Haunted Catfish???

A few weekends ago we traveled north to Waxahachie to play in a baseball tournament. Since we didn't play our first game until Saturday afternoon, most of the team decided to spend the night in Waxahachie. One of the other families on the team discovered a "haunted" restaurant called the Catfish Plantation. The kids were pumped up, and maybe a little nervous, about visiting this haunted restaurant, but were none-the-less determined to see some ghosts!

The Ghosts of the Catfish Plantation-Cooper, Mason, & Maddie

Cason in the Catfish Plantation graveyard

McCray & Jackson, more ghosts on the plantation

Maddie, Jackson, Cason, & Callan kneeling beside the headstone of one of the people who actually lived on the Catfish Plantation and who is said to haunt the plantation today.

Because of the size of our party, we could not sit inside the house, but we were assured that the ghosts have made appearances on the porch. Callan, Cason, Luke, Braden, McCray, & Jackson pose for a picture while waiting on the ghosts.

The kids were getting very impatient with the ghosts, or the lack of I should say. So, Damon, one of the dads, snuck into the bushes behind the table where the boys were sitting. We kept their attention facing forward while Damon shook the bushes behind them. Once the kids noticed the bushes moving, they were sure the ghosts had made their debut.

And Cason wasn't waiting around to find out which ghost they were going to meet! They soon realized it was only Damon and then they were back to being annoyed with ghosts.

A sweet lady from New York, who had a table inside the house, came out to smoke a cigarette & started chatting with the kids. She told them everything she knew about the ghosts that haunted Catfish Plantation, and then invited the kids to go inside the house to her table to see if the ghosts would come out to play. She was one brave lady to take 9 kids on a ghost hunt! Again, they came back disappointed, and continued to be disappointed throughout the entire meal! These kiddos were positive they were going to see ghosts.

While we didn't see any ghosts and the haunted restaurant seemed like just another restaurant, the memories we made were awesome, and the food wasn't too shabby either!

Put Your Guns Up

If you told me that I would ever say "put your guns up," I would tell you that you were crazy! I am very indifferent about Texas Tech; I don't root for or against the Red Raiders, unless they are playing Baylor or the Ags. However, we have some friends, Larry, Stacy, & Levi Hobbs, who have their "guns up" every day of the year. These sweet friends invited Jackson to fly with them to Lubbock to watch Texas Tech play football. Larry's dad has his pilot's license & owns a 10-passenger plane, so he flew everyone to Lubbock and back. Jackson was so excited to a) get to fly in an airplane, b) go to Texas Tech football game, & c) get to spend time with his good friend, Levi. I was a little nervous about Jackson going because he had never flown before, but he was fine and a good time was had by all! He came home with a Red Raider jersey, a new Texas Tech t-shirt, and his guns still up. Jackson now has another college to add to his collection. When someone asks who we root for, we just say we are a family of many colleges:)

Levi & Jackson boarding the plane for the flight to Lubbock
Jackson waiting to take off

Jackson experiencing his first landing. I think his face says it all!

On the flight home, he got to sit in the cockpit with Mr. Hobbs. He even got to be in the cockpit when the plane landed. Jackson decided that flying is a much better way to travel! Thanks to the Hobbs for the trip of a lifetime for our little man!!!!

Warning: The Pitts Are Back In School

So, this post is only about 5 weeks late, but better than late than never, right? Our first day of school was Tuesday, August 25. Why Tuesday, you ask? Good question for which I have no answer! As a teacher, I would much rather start on school on a Thursday. The first couple of days are spent introducing & reviewing classroom & school procedures. That leaves one or maybe two days to actually get something educational accomplished, but who wants to start to teach something, let the kids have a break for 2 days, & then try to pick up where you left off? Every year, I put my two cents in when the school board lets the teachers vote for our district calendar, but so far they have never chosen the calendar I voted on. I guess I'll have to wait until Corey is elected to the school board, and then I might get the starting day of my choice.

Anywho, the kids & I had a great first day. Maddie began her career as a Lorena Middle School student, which makes me feel really old, by the way. She was very anxious, but came home raving about how awesome 5th grade was. Jackson also had a change in location. He moved to the Elementary school to start 2nd grade, and Cason started 1st grade at the Primary. So, now I have kids at 3 different campuses; now that makes for interesting mornings! Luckily, Corey was able to help me out the first couple of weeks until we could get into a morning routine.

Jackson-7, Madison-10, & Cason-6

Jackson, 2nd grader

Maddie, 5th grader

Cason, 1st grader

Cason in Miss Thigpen's classroom

Since Jackson & I are at the same school, I got to walk him to his classroom before all of my students came to mine.

Jackson with Mrs. Sanders, his 2nd grade teacher


The 2nd Annual Lorena ISD Back to School Bash was on the evening of our frst day back to school. It was really hot, but the kids had a great time.

Both of the boys got their face painted by the cheerleaders. I'm sure Cason didn't really care about having his face painted as much as he did the cheerleader who painting it. He is such the ladies man!

All in all, the first day went very well. We were all pretty worn out by the time we got home that Tuesday evening, and wished the next day was a sleep-in day!

The Boys of Fall

Kenny Chesney's new song "The Boys of Fall" hits the nerve of anyone who has ever watched or played Friday-night football. I'm not an emotional person, but this song even brought tears to my eyes! The age my boys are at right now is where the "football feeling" begins. Evidently, this "football feeling" is one like no other, and one that you can't understand unless you've felt it. I think it is comparable to the feeling a mother has for her child. Whatever the feeling is, I am so happy that I get to witness where it began for my boys! So, here's to "The Boys of Fall."

Jackson is playing for the Buccaneers, which is a 7-9 year old flag team, and Cason is playing for a 5-6 year old flag team, the Gators. Corey is coaching Cason's team this year, and one of our good friends, Paul, is coaching Jackson's team.
Carter, Jackson, & Cason pose for a pre-football game picture. Lucky for Gram, Carter & Cason are on the same team. Now she only has 3 games to watch every Saturday instead of 4:)

I so wish I could've gotten good video of this! As the huddle is swaying back & forth, Cason is yelling "Who are we?" and the team is yelling back "Gators." After several times of Cason asking & the team replying, Cason yells "Say it loud & proud!" and the team responds quite loudly "Gators!" They were too cute!!!

Jacob, Cason, & Carter are discussing the game plan.

Believe it or not, Cason is the quarterback for the Gators. And if I do say so myself, he can throw the heck out of the ball. This picture was the very first play of the game. Cason got the snap, handed it off to Jacob (#15), and Jacob ran all the way down the field for a touchdown! Way to go Cason & Jacob!!!

Cason is also an aggressive defensive player. He was a flag-pulling machine!

High fives and shakes were all around because the Gators defeated the Bears 12-6

Each football team has a cheerleading squad that will cheer for them at every game. The Gator cheerleaders were awesome! They had football signs with each player's name on it and they passed out a goody bag to each player after the game. Those cheerleaders must know that the way to any football player's heart is with food!


Jackson also played his first game on Saturday, and it just happened to be at the exact same time as Cason's first game. Corey is on the board of the Future Lorena Football league, and he is the board member who created the game schedule. One would think he would've scheduled our kids' games at different times;) It was very difficult trying to watch two games at once. Oh well, that just meant we had more of the day.

Jackson is right behind the blond in front. This huddle is a little more attentive to the coach than the Gator's huddle!

Jackson is ready for some defense! I don't really know the defensive too well, so I can't tell what position he played. Okay, I don't really know the offensive positions either, so I can't tell you what offensive position he played as well! I do know the quarterback handed the ball off to him in the video below. He ran with the ball & then tried to pitch it to another player, but that player dropped the ball. Hopefully, when I only have one game to watch I can get better pictures and video.

So, there they are...my boys of fall. We all got the "football feeling" and it was only the first week! We cannot wait for week 2!!!

Always nap with one eye open...

because if you don't, this is what you might find!

Don't worry the boys do not really have a broken pencil stuck through their noses or cheek-it's only magnets! Corey was napping on the couch when the boys decided to put magnets in any exposed orifices. They thought this idea was picture-worthy, so they snuck the camera into their room to snap a few pictures. Boy was I shocked when I scrolled through the pictures on my camera!!! Gotta love the creativity of little boys:)

FYI...I did talk to the boys about putting foreign objects in their noses, ears, mouths, etc.,

but I can almost promise it will happen again one day.