Boards to Boomerangs

Lawn Boy Back in Business

We had to buy a new lawnmower this year.

Hunter's trying to start a little lawn business this year,

and this helps.

One of his lawn jobs is on a mountain of a yard.

We have to wear cleats, or will slide.

I say we because if I'm driving him there,
I'm not sitting and waiting for him to finish.

Good times with Hunter.

Follow the Bouncing Ball

Basketball season has been a lot of fun. Having five boys on teams made for a busy week and a lot of games!

Sawyer is a heads-up player and is alot of fun to watch.

His season will be continuing as he was selected for All-Stars.

He likes his new uniform and warm-up suit. And the fact that they spelled SCHENEWARK correctly! (He's just learned how.)

Cooper is a great defensive player, although winning his bracket in the competition demonstrated he is also a pretty good little shooter.

Cooper and Porter's knock-out game. They insisted this be documented.


Jarrod was asked to coach Porter's team. They worked well together and made it to the play offs.

Funny! What little boys dream about.

Porter was also selected for all-stars. He was happy his name FIT on the shirt.

Hunter's middle school team has many gifted athletes. It's an honor just to be on the team.

We joke about him being the cutest bench warmer, but truly he is an asset to the team.

Tanner's high school team was a lot of fun to watch. Their run and gun style made for some fast paced games, and watching Tanner improve, especially in rebounding, was exciting. He's torn his lateral miniscus on his knee, and is out for the remainder of the season.

Texas Tradition

Whenever we visit family in Texas, we go on a hike to the bamboo forest.

There are old foundations and chimneys, even cars, along the way, that give us a glimpse into the past.

Crossing the river is always an adventure, especially when the water level is high.

But out of 14 cousins, 10 are boys. It's a great thing to do with the boys.

We're grateful to Uncle Brad for making our visit more adventuresome, and hopefully as a well we'll walk off some of those Christmas pounds!

The Jingle Bell Run

What better way to celebrate winter, snow, and the holidays?

Tanner's literally running on air, just to get up early on a Saturday and run in a blizzard!

The present was very festive...

not quite sure what this is?

The elf is my favorite.

Hunter's having a jolly goooooooood time!

Porter's first race! He ran the fun run, one mile, and finished in 7:40 minutes, winning 6th place and a medal.

Thanks again Duncans!

The Turkey Trot

My boys were entered into this 5K race by somebody who KNEW they wanted to run - before they ate!

Some contestants were more festive than others!

It was good times at 9 a.m. Thanksgiving morning - very chilly to be in shorts!

Thank you Jay! Tanner finished 38th overall (5th overall in the 13-19 age group), Hunter 149th (19th).

Working

I'm THANKFUL for boys that are willin to work. Sawyer's chore was to rake the leaves, and empty them in the field.

I looked out my window, saw this, and yelled, "You look like Santa with his pack on his back! Way to get your work done!" He yelled right back, "It's not work when you are Santa!"

Professor Able

A professor Jarrod works with cut down a tree and asked us if we wanted the wood. How could we not refuse?

When he was delivering the wood, he saw the beast. He offered to come back and help us cut it up. How could we refuse that?

We're thankful for his generousity. We will love all this wood when it becomes colder and we sit by our fireplace.

Running Across Country Wearing Hardly Anything!

Tanner was less than thrilled with his uniform - and added spandex shorts to cover up. But his first race day excitement made up for what wasn't covered.

It was an invitational meet, and four or five other schools attended.

On your mark!

Waiting for the race to begin.

Close to the one mile mark.

Right at the finish line determined to not let three girls finish before him. He succeeded. Two miles in 13:35.

The Cross Country Journey

Tanner bought some new cross country shoes yesterday. They made me think of our cross country adventures this summer. It was quite a journey. He paid for these shoes by himself, having been able to earn money while visiting his aunt or uncle or grandparents. I appreciate family for that. He's running this year, for the first time, to stay in shape for basketball. He's up against some runners who have been doing this for seven years! He's on his third day. I keep reminding him: It's not about the race, it's all about the journey. It's good advice for me as well. Sometimes I race through my day, inside my house, and forget the little people with me on my journey. So here's to cross country, new running shoes, and enough quiet time to ponder.

Working Together!

I'm home, and have a lot of unpacking to do.

But working without my parents isn't as fun.

Even my kids were happy to help them, outside in the hot sun.

It was hard, heavy work. Not like working inside the house.

Maybe I need some visitors to make the inside work more appealing!

Any volunteers?