Football in February

Before I dive into our fabulous day of football in February, let me back up a bit and just say that on our actual anniversary day, we promised the kids we would go and celebrate mom and dad being married 10 years as a family! So what did we do? We went to PF Changs and a Predators game of course! It's one of our oldest family traditions since moving to TN. The kids absolutely love it and to be honest, so do I. I have never been a huge sports fanatic or anything but the first time I saw hockey...I was hooked! Don't get me wrong...it doesn't really speak to the greatness of the sport as much as it feeding my ADD and my need for things to "move along already!"

Football? Oh dear, I almost have a panic attack enduring all those starts/stops....false starts etc. It's more than my running 100 miles a second mind can take! And basketball? I cannot stand the squeaks of their sneakers! It literally can drive me batty! I even cheered for basketball in high school so for the life of me I can't remember when it was exactly that I actually heard the squeak and then could no longer NOT hear the squeak...yes, I realize this makes me officially "weird." Bowling? Can't stand to wait my turn... Golf? Pahh Haa! Tennis? Now that's a sport I could love...IF I had the nice legs to pull of those skirts...that and well, the endurance to play it for more than 5 seconds! Not to mention there is too much grunting that goes with that sport...a little strange to me. So, we're back to hockey....what could you NOT love about hockey?!?!?! I know I know...they are allowed to beat themselves to a bloody pulp and it is actually part of the rules...a little barbaric I suppose...I sometimes wonder if it were so those poor Russians and Canadians could warm themselves up a bit? And I actually don't like it when they fight....we do not glorify it and we have boogoos of learning conversations with our kiddos about why that is NEVER appropriate in God's eyes to handle anger or conflict that way....but honestly, I would rather my kids witness a little "five for fighting" here and there...all within the games rules and regulations and know that that's where it stays, than see some of the less than role model behavior that goes on so often outside of the rules and regulations in so many other sports....and to be honest, if the day comes that I see my kids throwing off their gloves and duking it out with one another to handle their issues, I'll build a penalty box...just kidding, you catch my drift. Besides, it looks like my kids prefer to be a bit more diplomatic.

Now onto warmer, less painful thoughts..

It was literally in the upper 60's here this week so we loaded up the bikes and headed to the park to hit the bike trail....

Aidan made it about .4 miles before acting as though we had just asked him to hike Everest...that's always awesome.

So we ditched the bikes when we made it to the Playground!

Then, Tyler trekked back to the truck to get the football and we ditched the Playground for some tag football...

Someone pinch me...I cannot fathom that this kid will be 13 in a little over a month!

There is something very "real" and poetic almost about this picture of these two...night and day they are!

obviously waiting for someone to throw something their way...

Guess Mag decided to take matters into her own hands instead of waiting...

A little huddle talk...

Although she joined in and was a sport with the boys in her life, Maggie wasn't super impressed with tag football..she was more impressed with the purple weeds...I had a pocketful when we left!

Peyton who????

The kids even invited another little boy named Charlie and his dad to play too!

My big guys...

I live for this smile

The coolest dad in all the land...

enjoying a little Clementine after a hard day of play

The La Jolla....Adam has endless amounts of fun by torturing me over my bike...yes, it looks like I should have grey hair and that possibly all it's missing for a complete look is either a big basket on the back (full of vegetables or flowers) or a little basket up front with a dog in it, but I HATE bikes with 234 gears! I could not even master a 10 speed as a kid...which is odd cause I can drive a stick shift...just not a bike that requires you to change gears...I always make this horrific grinding of gears sound and the chain feels like it's coming off the tracks...and eventually I would find myself stuck in first gear for the remainder of my ride...so I said "so long" to all things manual in the world of bikes. I am however interested in some nifty new automatic bikes my friends have...so who knows, I may retire the La Jolla soon...or just keep it around for when I have grey hair.

A Fabulous February Day!

"And whatever I do, may it always bring glory to you"