Tennis Lessons

I'm taking tennis lessons! Ben is pretty good now that he's been taking lessons for 2 years, so I wanted to be able to play tennis with him. I'm taking lessons with a group of ladies, all beginners like me, from Ben's coach. It's alot harder than it looks. I'm looking forward to Saturday's lesson already.

Memorial Service

Carmen & I drove to Mineral Wells on Saturday, 9/26/09, for LeAnn's memorial service. We made it to the church right at 2 p.m. (bad directions). It was a really nice service that LeAnn had planned herself. Lots of singing (no music--Church of Christ). The pastor told stories of LeAnn and how she was a great singer (we never knew this), planner, organizer, etc. She was buried in a private service before the memorial service. We stopped by the cemetary and the flowers were so beautiful! The church was filled with flowers/plants too. We went to Donnie's house afterwards for dinner with them. He has a really nice place on 33 acres about 6 miles north of Mineral Wells. Very quiet and peaceful there. You can tell he loves the farm and will really miss LeAnn. She did some amazing cross-stitch pieces that Carol showed us. I have a small one she gave me for a wedding gift.

Gators defeat Clark 14-12 9/29/09

Gators beat Clark last night in a nail biter. Charlie did chains and Carmen texted me with updates while I was with Joey at soccer practice. Alex played a lot on defense and special teams and did well according to Charlie. Gators intercepted in the endzone to clinch the victory! Joey & I made it to the last minute of the game, just in time for Joey to see Taylor Robinson, his girlfriend. No homework issues last night, so Alex got to bed at a decent time. Tuesday/Thursday are our busy nights...I"m resting tonight while watching Cougar Town & Modern Family. Ha Ha Ha!

Texans beat Tigres 3-1 9/26/09

Joey's soccer team beat the Tigres 3-1 on Saturday. I wasn't able to go to the game, but Charlie video taped it for me. Joey played great and played forward and midfielder. He had 2 great assists for goals. He's awesome!!

Sad news...

LeAnn Watkins died last night after a long battle with cancer. She was married to my cousin Donnie and they lived in Mineral Wells, Texas. LeAnn always sent email updates on her condition and had a great sense of humor for someone who was going through so many treatments and pain. She was a fighter and an inspiration to those of us who just thought we were having a bad day. I will always remember her from the Christmas Eve's at my Grandma and Grandpa's house. That's was usually the only time I saw them. I think she was the first person I knew that drove a suburban. She told me how easy it was to drive and that I needed it with 3 boys. She was right.

Cancer sucks.

Ben goes back to school...finally

Ben went back to school today after missing Monday & Tuesday because he was sick. We took him to Care Now on Sat. and he tested negative for flu, thank goodness. He had a fever until Monday, but still has some congestion & cough. I hope he makes it thru today okay. He had a lot of work that he did while he was out and had 2 tests today. His grades are so high, I think he could probably fail and still have A's, but I don't think that will happen. He said he knew the material. He is such a smart boy! While he was home, he found a new spot in the closet under the stairs. He would take his kee-kee's and blankets in there, lay down on the floor and draw! He stayed home from the football game last night since he didn't feel good. He hates football anyway! :-)

Griffin vs. Stafford 9/22/09

Griffin beat Stafford 13-0 last night at Wakeland. Alex played defensive end and special teams again. I have to say that last weeks game in the rain was more exciting than this one. Alex played well, but didn't get any tackles on his own this time. He was in on a few. He had a really big guy on him, but he always pushed him off. Stayed up til 11:30 doing homework and studying for a test then up again at 6 a.m. to finish homework and he didn't complain at all. Got to hand it to him for that.

Mom & Dad Visit this week 9/15/09

Mom & Dad came down for Alex's first football game. They have to come during the week now that Daddy is working at Wal Mart and doesn't get the weekends off. The game was moved from Tuesday to Wednesday because we've had so much rain that the field we were scheduled to play on (the only grass field) was too muddy. We played on Wednesday night instead. Daddy helped Carmen with some things around her house and I took dinner to them Tuesday night. Mom stayed until Sunday so it was great having her here. She baked the boys a Coconut Cream Pie that was delicious!!! She also made dinner on Thursday night for us. Carmen and I took her to lunch on Friday and shopping. She got pretty tired from walking around the mall. We were really worried about her, but she seemed to be fine. She will be 65 on Friday, Sept. 25th.

Joey's first fall soccer game 9/20/09

Joey's Dallas Texans team won their first league game today 2-1. Joey scored a goal and got the assist on the 2nd goal. Charlie took him because Ben has been sick this weekend, so I didn't get to see him. But according to Charlie, Joey is even faster and stronger than he's ever been! I can't wait to watch him play this weekend. He has 2 games and I'm not missing them! Joey is such an outstanding soccer player. He loves soccer so much that he is constantly touching the ball throughout the house all the time. It's just a natural thing for him.

1st Gator Football Game 9/16/09

Alex finally played his first football game as a Griffin Gator A Team. It poured down rain the entire game! Alex wore #32 and it took a while to get used to seeing him in yellow & green??!! Mom & Dad and Carmen came to the game. I have to hand it to them--sitting in the rain like that--Alex knows they really love him! He started at special teams and then finally went in on defense as defensive end. He got 3 tackles and 1 sack. He played with a lot of intensity & was so excited when he made the tackles! He was jumping up & down. We were all so proud of him. He really showed he could play football-- thanks to Coach Eli and his other Wildcat coaches who taught him so much in those 6 years. The Gators trailed at the half and they didn't look so good--we were a little worried. But in the 2nd half they woke up and remembered what to do. Nahshon scored 2 td's and little Brady did a great job as the QB. Big Brady played all sides and even was the punter. The final score was Griffin 13, Fowler 7. A great start to the football season!

We had to buy some dress clothes for game days. Alex and I went shopping the other night and he picked out his tie and clothes. A handsome little man.

Rain Rain Go Away!!

It's rained for 3 days in row and I am ready for some sunshine!!! Joey's soccer game was cancelled because of the rain and the boys and Boomer are going stir-crazy! We watched college football most of the day on Saturday and Charlie watched NFL today. Mom & Dad are supposed to come down for Alex's first Gator Football game Tuesday. We are looking forward to their visit especially since Daddy has been here in so long. Carmen and I are trying to solder necklace charms. I think we have it figured out, but finding the supplies isn't so easy. Alex and I went to the mall Sat. night to buy his dress clothes for game days. He looked so handsome in his khaki's and blue button down. He picked out his tie which looks great with the shirt. He is becoming so mature. He even told me "thank you"! Ashley & Matthew played here today with Ben. When they all get together they get loud and crazy!! It's okay though, because Ben has so much fun with them. He also had another friend, JT, over Friday after school. Apparently he loves to draw too, because that's all they did. We've got a very busy week ahead of us, so I'm going to try to relax tonight!

Week in Review 8/31/09 to 09/6/09

We were so busy last week, I didn't update my blog!! Wednesday, Alex got the news that he made the "A" team in football. He was very excited to be on the competitive team--the team that plays to WIN!! His first game is Sept. 15, so we can't wait to see him play as a Gator.

On Thursday Ben received EXCITING news from Pine Tree Poetry! He is going to be PUBLISHED! He was so happy when he saw the envelope and he knew right away it was his "Dragon My Dragon" poem. We are looking for the original so I can post the poem here for everyone to read. We are so proud of him. We are ordering copies of the book, but they won't be shipped until January.

Joey played in an intra-club friendlies tournament Sat. and Sun. so they played other Dallas Texans teams. He played so great! He can play any position his coach puts him in! He is super fast and can attack that soccer ball like it's a box of candy! He loves playing forward and scored 2 goals on Sat. and one on Sun. Forward is his favorite position, but he is a terrific sweeper and midfielder. He can pass so well and always knows where to pass the ball to the forward (eventhough the forward may not know where to go). I think Joey has a great future as a soccer player. They won 3 games and tied one.

We won't talk about the OU game.....that's another blog all together.