Saturday Mornings

We love our Saturday mornings around here.  The girls come into our bed and watch cartoons while daddy snoozes.  I may or may not catch a little nap too.  Great way to start the weekend!

Losing More Teeth

Whitney lost a big one today!  Well, really we had to have it taken out.  Along with a couple others on the bottom.  They're going fast!

Boosterthon

Boosterthon.  Also known as "get the kids all in a tizzy about how their school is about to fall apart and they can save it by getting pledges to run laps in the heat of August in Georgia and win cheap toys that are going to fall apart therefore leading to dramatic meltdowns."  It's really great though.  No, really, it is actually fun watching them run.  I promise.  Oh, the memories. :)

Saying Goodbye

And so it was time to move out of yet another house.  Another place we had watched our girls grow, where we called home for half the year, where we had made friends and just lived life.  This one was a hard one for me.  I don't know if it was because this was the longest we had been on one place or if it was because it felt like we were really closing the chapter of football in our life.  It just seemed over.  Which is ok, don't get me wrong, we are so excited for things to come in the future.  But this move was just different.  This cul-de-sac is where both our girls learned to ride on two wheels, the house we spent three Christmas seasons in, celebrated Whitney's first lost tooth...lots of memories.  For some reason, this one hurt.  Good by Charlotte.

Football Update

Well, I haven't mentioned much about football all year.  There's a reason for that.  There really isn't a whole lot to tell.  After the season, Ben really did some soul searching about whether or not he even wanted to play another year, but in the end decided he wanted one more season to "smell the roses," one more time to enjoy training camp, one more time to go to dinners with the guys, one more time to run through tunnels, to hear the crowd, one more time to take in all that has been for the last ten years.  He became a free agent in March.  The Panthers did offer him a contract, but to be honest, with Ben contemplating returning at all, and what they were offering, it just wasn't worth it at the time.  What they were offering was something he could get in August from any other team, so we decided it would be better to see if there were other teams that would be interested and possibly offer a more secure contract throughout the summer.  In May he had a workout with the Patriots.  It went well and he was happy to have a good workout.  Nothing came of it at the time.  There really wasn't anything going on during the summer.  He was supposedly on lots of teams "short lists," but nothing came about.  Towards the end of July, just after training camp opened up, it looked like the Patriots were going to sign him.  They called and we were working out details, but when they were supposed to call us back on a Sunday, they never did, and wouldn't return calls until the following Wednesday and basically said the didn't want him.  Ups and downs.  Always with the NFL.  A couple weeks later, they called back and this time we agreed to terms although we were very skeptical.  The deal was sketchy and so were all our times interacting with them.  Our hope was he would go, have a good camp, get some game film out there showing that this old guy could still play and contribute, even if the Pats did cut him.  So, last Sunday he flew up to Boston to join training camp.  These girls had mixed emotions about their daddy leaving.  We have had a wonderful spring and summer with him around and getting to do things that he normally isn't around to do.  So even though it was a good thing for him to be going, they didn't want their daddy gone.

Unbeknownst to us, when he got there they were signing two other tight ends as well.  Did I say we were skeptical of this deal from the get go?

Admittedly, he wasn't mistake free, but he felt good about his efforts even though he felt like things weren't going his way.  The other guy was getting more reps, more "atta-boys" from the coaches.  Then, just like that, the turk was waiting for him yesterday morning on the way into the facility.  The day before a preseason game, his chance to show he could still play, but such was not the plan.  He was home that night.  We, of course, were so happy to see him!  He was disappointed, but not down.  I'm so proud of his attitude about it all and thankful that he has such a peace about whatever happens.  He obviously wants to play, but we are excited about the next chapter of life too.  More waiting around.  I think that's going to be happening a lot this season.

Jumping Break

I'm going to miss these moments someday...

Jack and the Girls

These girls love their Jack kitty!  He's getting big!

Back to School!

We have a 2nd grader and a Kindergartner!  We are looking forward to a great year with Ms. Bailey and Mrs. Sproles!

Back to School Bash with the neighbors

The girls and I started a tradition of going out to eat the night before the first day of school.  This year Lindsey got to pick because she is the big Kindergartner!  She chose McDonalds.  She likes the toy in the happy meal.  Also, daddy got to come with us this year!  Every other year he has missed out on this tradition being in training camp.

It's here!  The first day of school!

Of course we needed on with Jack

Most of the neighborhood kids

2nd grade!

Big Kindergartners!

Lindsey was so excited!  Not an ounce of apprehension.  She was so ready to be with her sister at Mulberry!

And this girl, ready to be a big 2nd grader!

Loved seeing them walk out together with big smiles on their faces!

Looks like it was a great day for this big girl!

Friends

Love doing life with these peeps!

Date Night

This is what it looks like after you think you're going on a nice bike ride on date night, but all of the sudden it turns into some sort of off road jungle trek.  I'm talking, it's no longer a bike ride, but a, get off your bike and walk it adventure, all the while ducking and dodging thorns and briars that are causing you to bleed.  Then once we do find our "path," we realize we are not in for a nice, leisurely ride, but a seven mile mountain biking adventure.  This guy keeps me on my toes for sure!  Love him!