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.

Back to the Ice Age

One of the few attractions in Waco that we had not seen was the Waco Mammoth Site, so the kids and I decided to check it off our list before school started. While it is amazing that these enormous creatures once lived in the same area as we now live in, overall the experience was not worth the $20 I paid. I would recommend going to the air-conditioned Mayborn Museum to see the mammoth skeleton there.

The mammoths that lived in the Central Texas area were about 13 feet tall to their shoulders. The bow tied to this light pole is right at 13 feet, so you can see just how gigantic those animals really were!

We saw the excavation site of a female mammoth, a bull mammoth, a camel, and several unidentified animals. The female mammoth is in the picture above.

While the trip wasn't really worth the money, the time spent with my kiddos definitely was!

Summer Vacation

The kids and Maddie's friend, Caroline, went on their annual summer vacation with Mawmaw and Pawpaw at the end of July. The planning began in early June for this summer's trip, so the count down was on for many weeks!

Everyone is excited to be on the road to Fort Worth, especially Cason. Look at that face!!

The first stop of the vacation was the Ft. Worth Stockyards.

Since the kids have some Aggie instilled in them, they thought this longhorn with his horns down was hilarious!

Cason tried out the mechanical bull

and Jackson did too. Jackson looks like a natural!

The kids also loved Leroy, the miniature cow.

Medieval Times in Arlington was the next stop on the Tour de Mawmaw & Pawpaw Summer Vacation. I couldn't wait to hear all the details about this leg of the adventure! I just knew the kids would love this too!

The kids thought the food was awesome & kinda liked the idea of eating with your hands.

Their knight was the Red Knight. He didn't win, but the girls thought he was soooo cute!

Hurricane Harbor was on the agenda for the next day. Since it's a water park, we don't have any pictures of all the fun they had there:(

After their fun-filled day at Hurricane Harbor, they went to dinner at Rainforest Cafe.

I'm not sure about the look on Cason's face, but I l-o-v-e it!

And this is what Corey & I did while the kids were gone:)

As always, the kids had a blast on their summer vacation with Mawmaw and Pawpaw! And as always, we are so lucky to have such amazing family!!!!

Who said white girls can't jump...

Maddie's select basketball team played in a summer league at the Doris Miller YMCA. It was a very good experience for our team, and we ended up coming in 2nd place for the season! We were all so proud of their hard work!!

Maddie getting ready for the opening jump ball
Maddie & Mason getting ready to post up

I just love good sportsmanship!

Our Lorena Leopards
back row: Brooke, Mason, Maddie, Lauren

middle row: Alana, Mabry, Aubrie

front row: Abby & Gracie


The Doris Miller YMCA held an Awards Ceremony for the summer basketball league. Before the actual ceremony began, they held a ticket-drawn shooting contest. Of all the people in that gym, Corey's ticket was drawn! He got to participate in a 3-point shooting contest, and he actually won! His prize was a new basketball, and the kids were stoked!

Corey, Cason, & Jackson hoping for their ticket to be called

And here is Corey shooting when his ticket was drawn

Corey and Maddie & Mason with their medals

The Lorena Leopards with Coach Corey & Coach John

What do Pig Racing, Bull Riding, & Blake Shelton have in common?

Cattle Baron's Ball is the answer! Cody & Brooke Lewis invited Corey & I to go to Cattle Baron's Ball 2010. The Lewis', along with the Sykora's, the Crenshaw's, and handful of Cody co-workers went along with us. While I do not have any pictures of the pig racing, I do have pictures of Corey riding a mechanical bull & Blake Shelton. I assure the pig racing was picture worthy, I just didn't capture any pictures worth showing!

Me, Lora, Brooke, & Cheryl in the extremely hot, un-air conditioned limo!
A group shot of all the girls

Corey, Blake Shelton, & me:)

Corey & his I'm scared-to-death grin

and then his WTH happened look. He did win some money off the bull ride bet!

This was definitely a fun, memory-filled night with great friends!