Our "Mr. Football" and his guest for the day.....

Last month, Baby Girl received a high honor....she was a VIP for the day.  That is very important person.  Of course according to her brothers, she maintains that status every day, so what's new? 

Anyway, one of our football players at the high school received a very prestigious honor.  He was nominated as one of the top running backs in the state.....and might I add, as a sophomore!  The schools in the Alabama High School Athletic Association are divided into classifications by size from 1A (smaller schools) to 6A (larger schools).  For each classification across the entire state, 3 players were nominated as finalists for running back of the year and 3 for lineman of the year.  Also the Alabama Independent School Association had a total of 3 finalists for running back and 3 for lineman.  My point (and there is one) to all this jibberish is this: 

 (with 384 teams from class 1A-6A equaling roughly over 25,000 players in the state (plus a few thousand more when you add in the independent schools) --  basically, in the room that day you were looking at the top 42 high school football players in the ENTIRE state of Alabama. 

And this sweet boy was one of them!

                                        

And he asked Baby Girl to be his guest for the day at the "Mr. Football awards banquet".  She is one of his biggest fans and adores him.  This past year during football season she was allowed to be on the "sideline crew".....and she always had a towel and water bottle ready for #4 during time outs! She missed his last game of the season due to her own gymnastics competition but sent him a short video to prepare him for the game, which included this phrase "play hard and be a BEAST like me".  Yeah, all 50 lbs. of her.   

A big shout out to our Head football coach who works hard all year long preparing those boys for football (and he works at home harder than anyone even realizes every night from August to November in complete preparation for each team we face). 

  

It was wonderful for our player to be recognized....a pretty big deal for our small town. We are very proud of him. 

Amazing talent (running) on the field and (coaching) from the sidelines....we can hardly wait to see what the future holds.  And Baby Girl can hardly wait to get the towels ready. :)

My boys of fall....

It's not that I'm a slacker...no, really, it's not.  I lost an entire laptop.  A spare laptop that I had been using after mine perished back in August.  And it was the laptop that I had saved pics from their Junior Varsity football games.  We've been searching for weeks...and finally, I found it! So, here they are, some very overdue football pics of my boys:

Because some days you just need a list.

I have so many random things swirling around my noggin that really aren't cohesive to make a post.....other than to just make a list, so here goes:   

1) College football begins in just over a week. War Eagle!!!!

2)  Are y'all enjoying Pinterest as much as me?  I hardly have time for it, true, but I'll carve out a minute for it when I can because I know I will immediately find something inspiring....a neat craft, a yummy recipe, a laugh out loud quote, a cool idea for the house, etc.etc. So many ideas....so little time.

3)  This summer I added a new app to my phone for the kids to play to help encourage their math skills---Arithmetick. 

 

I also added the iheartradio app (i know i'm way behind on getting this app but anywho...)---and my exercise regime has never been happier.  I love that I can listen to whatever I want....talk shows, various 80's music, comedy bits, or a little Elvis every now and again....

And speaking of apps (I still remain hooked on Words with Friends).....I was wondering what you had added lately....or what your favorites were? For the kids, yourself, cuisine, anything??  Please do tell.

4)  This guy is a killer.  And while I'm still not a cat-lover, I do love Mr. Jingles.

                                                                                                                  

5) I hope to have new updates posted next month sometime on finishing up our basement level.  We are using it soooooo much!  Love the spaces. Need to add some wall art, photos, lamps, chairs, etc., just some finishing touches....although as I've found with a home, there's always more to do. 

6) Somebody had a haircut earlier in the week....like 5 or 6 inches cut off...and she's never looked cuter.

7) And finally.....FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL!!!  It has arrived!

You win some, you lose some.

That's just how life goes. 

My high school team lost their game on Friday night.

My college team won their game on Saturday afternoon. 

I'm a fan every day, regardless of the outcome.....but it feels so much better to win.

Real men wear PINK.....

.....in honor of Breast Cancer awareness.   

A couple of weeks ago, many of our football players showed up on the field wearing PINK.  Obviously, they couldn't change their jerseys, but they could put in pink shoelaces, and pink pants strings, and pink sweatbands and such to show their support during October, this month of breast cancer awareness.

And they even share their laces with the ball/water boy on the sideline. 

My boy, the football player.

Yep, that's my boy.  And he plays football.  Now, he may not be the best to ever take the field, but he looks good in his uniform. And I think he plays well no matter what letter of the alphabet he lines up as....I think he's a "z", but what do I know.  

Oh, I do know something else, he finished up his play on Junior Varsity earlier this week with their Championship game.  Nope, we lost, however, I have news to report, my boy made a nice tackle while playing defense.....and I've never been more proud to see him take a guy down.  Don't you just love football season?  I sure do.

Yep, that's my boy, the football player and oh, how I love him.

Can you smell it in the air?

Football Season is HERE!!  Yahoo!  My favorite sport, my favorite time of year.  And also the time that you may want to skip on over my blog for the next few months if you don't care to hear or see football related posts.  I'm just sayin'.  I love it.

College ball will be here in just a matter of days----I'm on the countdown!! 
High School ball is in full swing....and we started the season with a big game against a local rival. 

A local rival that is a much bigger school than we are in classification (but not in heart). 
A local rival that was favored to win (but they've been favored before). 
A local rival who tried to create some drama to throw us off balance (but only pumped our boys up even more). 

That local rival lost to us on Friday night.

 Ah, the smell of sweet victory....it was in the air on Friday night. And come what may, that one should last a while!!  It's always nice to get a win, especially in those games.

Thought I'd share a few photos with you:

Baby Girl and her cousin enjoy cheering in the victory line!

Middle Boy, engrossed in the action, ready for the next water break.

Elder Son, looking stellar in his uniform. 

Yes, it was just another Friday night for some folks. But for us, it was a long night, full of action, overwhelming emotions, and excitement beyond compare!  Congrats to our "boys of fall"!

AU Football Camp + a free ride.

Elder Son and his friend & fellow teammate are attending Auburn's Football Camp this week.  It's Elder Son's 3rd or 4th year....he loves it.  Me?  Not so much.  I mean we discussed this before, here on the blog, in fact I think we've cried it out a time or two.  His first year when we left him, Baby Girl cried more than I did and wanted us to turn around to go back and get him.  She (just as her mama) did not understand why we should just drop him off on the corner of a college campus, neatly set up his bathroom supplies, bedding essentials and match up his blue shorts with his orange shirt, only to merely drive away and leave him there ALONE.....as if they knew how to take care of him, or as if he knew how to take care of himself, or as if he'd ever survive without his MAMA.

The sad news to Baby Girl and I.....he did indeed survive.  And has requested to go back to camp every year.....away from his little sister and his mama. Hmph. That's all I have to say about that. Actually, I'll say this.....in all fairness, Elder Son is growing up....and year by year it's been a bit (but really only a smidge) easier to kick him to the curb with a sleeping bag and a pair of cleats and holler "HAVE FUN"..."AND DON'T FORGET TO TEXT ME EACH DAY"....than I ever thought it would be.

Part of growing up, I guess you'd say, for the both of us.

Temple was super impressed with my behavior upon our departure this time around. He stated he was really proud of me for not crying.  I said, "what can you do when he's as tall as I am?"....

As for Baby Girl....she didn't shed a tear either.  But of course she was too busy enjoying the day,  and not having to walk all over campus in the blazing heat.....she's cute enough in her Hollywood shades to catch a ride.  

A fab Saturday on the PLAINS....

.....of God's country, Auburn University!!  Last weekend we traveled down to our collegiate alma mater for the A-Day football game.  Which, for those poor souls who aren't familiar with some good ol' SEC football, that means it was Auburn's spring practice, where you get to see all the new recruits, scope out the up and coming quarterbacks, see your favorite running back that you've been missing dearly since the bowl game, eat some stadium food, soak up the sun with great friends and family on a fantastic Saturday in one of my ABSOLUTE favorite places, ever.

 Nana with the kids:

We also were able to tour the new Auburn Basketball Arena that is still under construction, but will be opening this fall. I had to take a picture of this wall panel high above the seating, it is so true for any faithful tiger fans:

There's always friendly faces to find while visiting any event in AU, and we hadn't been on campus 15 minutes before we met up with one of my oldest and dearest friends, (we not only grew up together from childhood, cheered together in high school, but also attended Auburn together as well).  Our kids enjoyed a full day of playing together all clad in their AU attire!!

After testing the seats in the new arena, it was time to get to the stadium for the REAL action:   FOOTBALL....oh, how I love thee.  

And Mario, Mario, I love the way you run the ball out of the backfield, too.  

And here's what everyone came to get a look at for the upcoming year:  Cam, the rising star at QB.  And with a 6'6", 250 lb frame....this constellation of stars may just align in his favor, come fall.   I can't wait to see him in a game situation take the snap and RUN CAM RUN.

The Middle Child wanted badly to get closer to the action, so we let him belly right up to the ESPN camera in the endzone.  See him at the ledge, right near the feet of the camera man?

Getting even more relaxed and acclimated to his surroundings:

And finally just perching himself as if he's watching it on TV at home, but all the while, he was ready to leap to the field of play, should they need him to call a play at any time.

After the A-day game, Auburn's players all assembled back on the field for an autograph session.....and our boys were somewhere scattered in this mix.....seeking out the signature of #27 and soaking up every moment from being on the field in Jordan Hare Stadium. 

Because they want to focus hard, learn what they can, and aspire to wear one of these off the rack on game day sometime in their future:

Now Baby Girl.....well, she wasn't in line for any autographs, but let's just say she was focusing hard too.  You can find her, along with my friend's two daughters, in the center of this photo practicing their own skills for the future.

Because one day....she wants to be one of these, for real:

I love Auburn.  Such wonderful memories, made from the early 90's clear through to this past weekend. 

War Eagle, and bring on September, I'm ready for some football!! :)