Cakes, Pumpkins and the Christmas Tree

In between holiday get togethers, parades, sporting events and more, we love the simple day to day fun of the holidays! Uncle C and Aunt Taylor were making a cake one night, and they invited the kiddos up to help.  And what great help they were!!  They were also great taste testers!

Reed is still rocking the face paint from his Thanksgiving program!

Let's just call this the great pumpkin race!  Beau (and Levi) love playing chase with the kids.  Beau had confiscated a small pumpkin, and the race was on!  The look on Lillian's face is the thrill of victory when she finally caught him and got the pumpkin!

Twas not the night before Christmas, but we are getting in the spirit here!

We are headed to the beach this weekend for Maddie's state gymnastic competition.  She's had a great competition season, and it's been so much fun following her this year! More to come!

Thankful

I am thankful every minute of every day for the wonderful blessings we have!  However, it is great to have a special day set aside to show our gratitude for all that we have! It doesn't take turkey, dressing, and all the trimmings to truly celebrate, but that was pretty awesome, too!

I began the week celebrating with Chief Flying Arrow at his Thanksgiving program.

Maddie and Lillian performed in this same program over the years!! They grow up too fast!!

 We ventured to Uncle Tony and Aunt Sandra's on Thanksgiving Day. Lots of food, fun and family!

 And did I mention horses??  Uncle Tony saddled up a couple of horses, and the fun began!

Gator rides, cousins and more! Wendy and the girls were here from Alaska!  It was wonderful to see them.  

 Next year, we will have another little one in this picture!

 

My people!  Love them beyond measure!

Every picture tells a story.......and this one tells a story of love, commitment and lots of fun!



These two sweeties are preparing their heart  and home for our new bundle of joy! What wonderful parents they will be!




Thankful beyond words for these four!



The gangs all here!  Cousins make the best friends!  Maddie, Lillian and Reed love spending time with the big cousins!

Now, bring on Christmas!!

End of the Season

Maddie made the All Star Team for soccer.  After winning their regional tournament, they traveled to Dothan for the state tournament.  Pop and I left at about 4:30, and got there in plenty of time.  I think this is her third season of soccer, and I would like to tell you I know a lot about it.  However that is simply not the case.  I know that there is lots and lots of running.  They have penalty kicks and corner kicks.  Did I mention there is lots of running?  The bottom line is this - I may not understand it, but she loves it, and we love watching her play!

Relaxing with Pop before the first game!




We are just going to call the next few pictures action shots!  I would also like to say that the coaches from the other team were among, shall we say-the most vocal I have ever heard!  












Corner kick is on the way!!



Get it girl!!  



I have no idea why she is grinning like this!  But I like it!!  You should always enjoy what you do!



Back to the action!



Cutie pie! I asked Lillian if she was going to play soccer or softball.  She promptly told me she was going to be a cheerleader and a dancer!



In between games!



Too much fun!!



They were one goal away from the championship game. On to the next adventure!!

You Go Girl!!

We had a really busy weekend.  Maddie played in the state soccer tournament in Dothan on Saturday, and competed in a gymnastics meet Sunday in Montgomery.  I'm going to blog about the gymnastics meet first.  Gymnastics is really a family affair.  Lillian and Maddie both practice several hours a week.  To make that work, it takes a commitment from the entire family.  Often tough choices have to be made, and they don't get to participate in everything they would like. Juggling school, work, dance, gymnastics soccer and more takes a toll on everyone, but boy the rewards sure are awesome! Maddie is very competitive, and takes gymnastics very seriously.
She reminds me so much of her mom at this age!

Waiting for the meet to start!




Sweet friends ready to compete!  It's a lot more fun when you have a buddy to share the journey with you!



Moms need buddies to share the experience with, too!



Sweet team-ready to compete!

The vault-I have to be honest and say that I have yet to figure out the scoring process at this level!  However, I will say that she has improved tremendously!



The uneven bars-She will tell you that this is her favorite event, but it's sometimes the one she has the most trouble with.......Her warm-up was a little shaky, but she had a solid routine when it counted.  I love the look of determination!

The beam is her best event!  She always gives a solid performance on the beam!  I love her long lines! She had her highest score ever on this event at this meet.






Floor-I love watching her on the floor.  All the gymnasts use the same music, and I promise I hear it in my sleep!




I think this is called "a come to Jesus meeting".  These two really are troopers!  They just get a little stir crazy from time to time!!



Awards!!-Floor



Beam!






Vault



And 1st All Around!  We could not be prouder!  She works so hard, and it's great to see that hard work paying off!!





The little ones are proud of her, too!!

Next up, soccer!

Hunting Weekend

Pop has been hard at work getting fields ready, and building a new shooting house for Maddie before youth weekend.  They were up early every morning, and back in the field each afternoon.  Only Pop and Maddie made it to the early morning hunts.  But, Lillian accompanied them one afternoon, and Reed the next.  We were thrilled that Lillian went!  Maddie loves hunting, but I don't think it's ever going to really be Lillian's thing!  She and I made cookies and rice crispie treats while the others were gone, and that seemed to suit her just fine! 

Pop and his girls!  The shirt Lillian has on was actually Caleb's.  Lots of memories both past and present!

Looking for the big one!

I'm not sure what Pop's going to do when all three want to go!

Fun in the shooting house!

This doe actually weighed 140 pounds!  Wow!  Maddie had missed a pig earlier in the weekend, so she was thrilled to kill this doe.  Uncle C and Pop helped her load it up!

Reed was with them on this hunt, so he gets to claim part of the victory.

And when they aren't hunting, they are doing other really important things!

Rudolph!  She got this hat in Tuscaloosa and wore it all weekend!

Just like her mom growing up-always on her head!!  Count and see how long I can stay up Nana??

Cheese!

Our little hunter will be playing for the State Championship in soccer this weekend, so we are heading to Dothan.  She also has a gymnastics contest that we hope she is able to compete in on Sunday! They keep us busy!