Friday Funny Football edition

Are you football fans?  

We are at our house, unfortunately our favorite team, the Steelers, are done for the season.

This edition of Friday Funny is football based, however it has nothing to do with deflategate ~ although, I could come up with many funny jabs on that subject (as have so many others!) but I will refrain.

This may be silly, but I have always been a fan of the Bad Lip Reading videos. I've previously posted a couple of them on my blog (here and here).  This week the newest NFL version came out.  Maybe you've seen it already.  It's been popping up on my Facebook news feed consistently for the last two days.  However, if you haven't and you need a laugh or if you have and you want to laugh again, I bring you the 2015 NFL Bad Lip Reading Video:

And just like that fall is over......

Well, technically it is not over.  The last day of fall this year is actually December 20th, but when I look out my window and see the approximately 5 inches of snow that fell just the other day, I would never guess it was still early November.

Obviously I haven't blogged in a little while, so for the next few blog posts, I will walk you through our fall.

Let's start with sports:

I'll start with the oldest ~ Sassy:

She played a short season of fall softball.  While their team didn't always play to the best of their abilities, Sassy had a great time playing.  She loves to play and constantly strives to be better.  Even in her last tournament, she asked me to record her at-bat as she wasn't making contact with the ball like she wanted to and wanted to see for herself what she was doing wrong.  I love her determination.

While softball was going on, she was also playing volleyball for the high school she will attend next year.  The day the teams were picked was a rough one.  After a few days of tryouts, the results were in and before she even opened her letter to see which team she made, the varsity coach pulled her aside to talk.  Unfortunately she didn't make the team she wanted to, the team many of her teammates from last year and from last winter's club volleyball team made.  She was upset and frustrated.  The varsity coach explained to her that she didn't "make" the team because of lack of ability, but because the position he wants her to play was already filled with a couple of girls who were older than her.  Instead of her sitting on the bench watching her team play, he wanted her on a team where she could play every, single point and get lots of touches.  While it was hard to wrap her head around it in the beginning, especially seeing her friends playing together on the other side of the court, this decision was a good one.  Sassy played every game and was probably on the bench 10 minutes the entire season.  She got a lot of touches and opportunities to serve.  She was a great, positive leader on the court and was really fun to watch.

She has tried out for club volleyball once again.  She made a team with most of the girls she played with last year and she is excited for practices to start up in December.

Next up ~ Action:

Football was Action's sport of choice once again this year.  This was his 4th year playing and I enjoy watching him year after year.  His understanding of the game and ability to play has improved so much since that first year when the kids were just a bunch of 2nd graders running around ~ some trying to tackle each other, some trying to avoid all contact for fear of getting hurt.  This year, Action's favorite position was Safety.  I have to say, even thought they didn't win a game this year, the improvement in the boys was amazing.  They went from losing games by 20+ points to losing their final game 19-18 in overtime.  These boys had great sportsmanship, held their heads high and gave their all every single game.

And Finally ~ Smiley:

While Smiley is not playing any "sports" right now, she is in dance.  She has class once a week (which is closed to parents) and will have a recital in May.  I do know they are dancing ballet to "Lets go fly a kite" and tapping to "76 Trombones".  She seems to be enjoying it and can be found dancing around the house quite regularly.  She had a friend over last weekend and I thing they put on at least 10 "shows" for me!

That wraps it up for fall sports.   Come back tomorrow for more of my fall wrap-up.

Friday Funny - Football Edition

Are you all ready for the Superbowl taking place this Sunday?

We have a weekend  of fun scheduled and will hopefully be home in time to relax in front of the TV to watch the commercials.... I mean the game :)

While I'm not a super fan of either the Seahawks or the Broncos, I will be cheering for the Orange and Blue to win.  Go Broncos.  Will you be watching the game or maybe the commercials and halftime show?  Who are you rooting for?

Anyway, personally, I find these "bad lip reading" videos hilarious and hopefully this one makes you smile at the very least.

Enjoy and Happy Friday Friends!

I love to watch

Sassy's fall softball season just came to an end.  This past weekend her team played in their state tournament and they won second place in their tier.  They braved the cold, windy, rainy day and played 4 games.  Sassy pitched about 12 1/2 innings.  All of the girls played hard and learned a lot during this short fall season.

Many of you know that Sassy also plays Volleyball for the 9th grade high school team.  They either have a match or practice every week night with an occasional Saturday tournament.

Action is currently playing football.  His team has one practice and plays two games per week.

I have many friends whose kids are not as involved in sports as ours and question how we can handle the balancing act that it takes to get the kids to and from all of their practices and games, and/or why we would even want to.  Many have said, "We only let our kids play one sport."

I will say, I spend a lot of time in the car driving to different schools and fields.  Dinner is sometimes made and wrapped up to eat in the car.  For example, Sassy one night ate a taco I had wrapped up in foil for her in the car while driving from volleyball practice to softball practice other nights it's sandwiches and fruit.

Both of them attend "faith formation" at church once a week (on separate evenings), play their sports and get good grades at school.  It is a good balancing act we have worked out.  And we do this because they love to play.  And honestly, I LOVE to watch.  See, Sassy gets bused to each of her volleyball matches and could also get bused back home, but I go to every one.  I love to watch her intensity, her energy and her love for the game.

With softball, hubby is the coach.  I wouldn't have to go, he is there.  He has to be there at every practice and game.  But I LOVE to watch her play.   I don't want to miss seeing her passion, drive and the determination she has and shows at each and every game.  When she first decided she wanted to be a pitcher, she struggled.  She struggled with timing, with accuracy and with speed.  But she powered through.  She would ask her Dad to come play catch almost every day.  And all of that time spent throwing down the front sidewalk has payed off.

Action....

This will be his third year playing football.  This year he has really come to better comprehend the game. His understanding of the plays and the importance of each and every player out on the field is growing with every practice and game.  He keeps a running tally of the number of tackles he makes each game.  When the game is over he can not wait to come off the field and talk to me about it.  Win or loss,  I love seeing the excitement in his eyes when he knows he did his job on the field to help his team.  I LOVE to watch him play!

So you see, I think it's important for our kids (and all kids really) to play a sport or be involved in some sort of organized activity.  It teaches them so much!

It teaches them to:

Make new friends and work together (even with people you may not care for)
Make mistakes and learn from them
Compromise
Balance church, family, school and friends
Have fun
Be disappointed and to move on
Work hard
Practice
Rely on others

Over the course of the last year, I have worked on myself to watch what I say to the kids regarding the game or activity they just participated in.  I am trying to not be the parent who gets in the car and points out that if they wouldn't have hesitated they could have gotten the out, or if the block would have been held longer a touchdown could have ensued...... If the kids bring up the bummers and errors of the game, we talk about it.  But I want them to know that regardless of the outcome and the score on the scoreboard, I am proud of them and I LOVE to watch them play.

Although Smiley doesn't always agree with me

(Truth be told, she actually likes going to her sibling's games and has made lots of friends.  She was actually mad in this picture because she really wanted her Sister's 2nd place softball medal!)

And, a side note:  If our kids ever said they didn't want to play anymore, that would be their decision.  I will not force them to play (I admit, I am bummed Sassy doesn't want to play basketball this winter, but she has chosen not to).  But, while they do play I will go and support them because like I've said many times before, I LOVE to watch them play.

And so we say "Good Bye."

~ Goodbye ~

Last week 2 of 3 of the kids started back up at school.  Neither were terribly excited for the summer to be over, but gave me some smiles as they headed off to school for their first day back.

Sassy is beginning 7th grade.

This is the beginning of the (supposed) "dreaded" middle school years.  She started at a new school that is much larger than she is use to and she is getting up earlier than she is used to.  She gets on the bus at 6:45 am (for the previous 6 years it was 8:15am).  The thought of having to get from her class to first floor, up to second floor, back down to first and to the other side of the building (and so on) had her a bit  nervous, and for me to see this confident girl of my nervous pulled at my heart strings.  She has a full schedule, with what could be some tough classes:  S+ Math, Spanish, Woodwinds, Life Science, PE, S+ English, S+ Us Studies and FACs.

On top of that she is playing volleyball for the 9th grade team at the high school.  Meaning, everyday after school she is bused to the high school for a 2 hour practice.  Two nights a week she has matches, two nights a week she has fastpitch softball practice and every Sunday she has 2 softball games.  The girl is busy... thus making her parents busy :)  But, so far she is managing everything very well.


Action is in 4th grade at the same elementary school as previous years, but with a teacher who is new to the school.

His school also hired a new principal (thankfully!) and assistant principal.  They have been a breath of fresh air and it has only been one week.  For example,  last year the kids were "assigned" a group of kids they had to play with at recess (friends or not), then they could only pick one thing to play for the entire recess.  This year, that rule is gone.  They choose who they play with (size of groups are limited for safety) and they can play whatever they want.  So nice to see him excited about this simple change!   Anyway, week one went down as a success!  He is playing tackle football again this year.  Their first game is tomorrow night.


Smiley is once again in preschool this year.

She goes to school on Monday and Wednesday mornings.  Today is her first day back.  She was excited to get back and see some of her friends again and ready to make some new ones!  I think she was getting tired of just hanging out with me all day long now that the other two are back in school! :)


Like always, it was a bummer to say goodbye to summer ~ we tried to squeeze as much in as we could around all of the activities the kids were in.

The time they are home is fleeing and the memories we can make together are priceless (even if they don't think so now!)

Yes it can be trying to have all of the kids home all day long, every day in the summer, yes they bicker and bug each other.  Yes, I have begged for just a minute of quiet.  But before we knew it, it was already gone.  And only the memories are left.  Memories I will savor!

 I hope you are all doing well.  I am still here, and I hope you haven't written off my little blog.  I hope to get back to being more consistent again.  I have a list of blog post to write and I am looking forward to finding all of you and getting caught up.  I am so behind on my blog reading!

~ So Goodbye Summer ~

We've had a lovely time and look forward to seeing you next year and creating many many more memories.

Friday Funny

Hello Friday!  Couple of things ~
First off, the kids have the day off from school today so we all decided to sleep in.  When I woke up at 8:00 this was what our indoor/outdoor thermometer read:

YIKES!!!  Great day to stay inside!  Except that Smiley has to go to gymnastics in an hour and birthday presents need to be purchased for parties this weekend.......

Anyway, this video was floating around Facebook and I found it fitting for this friday's smile, since this Sunday is Superbowl Sunday.  I laughed watching it and my kids watched it over and over, so I hope it brings a smile to your face on this lovely Friday!

So, what is the weather like where you live?

Are you going to watch the Superbowl ~ who do you want to win?  (I'm going with the 49er's!)

(via Football Fanatics)

Do you watch it for the game or the commercials?

Wound Up

This guy

Had a football game last night.  Their team lost by 1 ~ bummer!  Final score was 14-13.  Anyway, we didn't get home until 9:30 and let me just say, some one's adrenaline was pumping.

Yep, can you say wound up?

But I did get him to calm down for 1.3 seconds ~ just long enough for me to snap a quick picture of Action and his helmet hair and myself with my hat hair.  Just so you know, it was a stocking had ~ 55 and windy.... gotta protect the ears :)