Christmas!

baseball camp

For Christmas, Oma and Opa paid for Max's baseball camp at Texas Tech. He had a blast! A bunch of his friends went, too. It was a great day and an awesome gift- thanks Oma and Opa!

We have had lots of fun in December. Max won these glasses in school and loves them. He wore them everywhere (yes, even the store) with his Indiana Jones hat. We decorated Oma and Opa's tree with Ashley and Brynn. We helped deliver Christmas presents with Mission 2540. The kids loved playing Santa and I love that they see how important it is to help others. We all went caroling with Oma and Opa. This is a yearly tradition that I love. I love seeing my kids deliver poinsettias to homebound people from our church and seeing their eyes light up. I love hearing them sing sweet carols. Addie got to have some girls over to decorate cookies and ornaments. I am still finding sprinkles and glitter on the floor, but it is totally worth it-they had fun.

Jake and Addie finished their seasons in early December. They both had fun and did a great job.

Jake's first flight

It was a normal Tuesday afternoon. A little cold, but sunny with a few wispy clouds. We had just gotten out for the Thanksgiving holiday and I was busy preparing for the weekend ahead. My dad offered to pick up Jake from school so they could go to their flight class early. OK, I didn't think much about it. Until, I got the call. "Hey Julie, go watch above your house, Jake is about to fly a plane over it!" Oh the things that went through my head. He's only 10! I didn't sign anything stating he could go in a plane much less fly one! Where's my camera? Opa is in so much trouble! Then I heard it, the sound of a small plane getting nearer. I ran outside and there it was. My baby flying right above me! He went by a few times then flew over to Oma & Opa's, Brad & Carla's, and Trey at work. I waited outside for him to come by again and he did. I stood there in the driveway waving and taking pictures. Hope the neighbors don't think I am weird! I was a little upset at first, I mean this was my baby flying an airplane and I had no prior knowledge of it! However, I know how much this meant to him and I know that this is a memory that he will have forever. By the time I got to talk to him, I was just so excited to hear about it and that he was on the ground again. He was the pilot and the instructor helped when necessary. Jake took off and landed twice. Once from the Amarillo airport and then from Tradewinds. Uncle Brad and Opa rode in the back seat. What an experience! Thank you Opa, but next time ask for permission!!!!

November

Below is a slide show of most of our November. We had a busy month. Max turned 7 on the 12th. We celebrated that night at home and then he had a friend party on the 22nd. We had his party at our church's gym and played capture the flag. It was really fun and he had a blast running around with his friends. Addie was in a reader's theater at her school. She also has been playing basketball and volleyball. I'll add some pictures of volleyball later. She is on the black team in the pictures below (she is #5 and has 2 black stripes on her shorts). Jake has been playing basketball and has made some great baskets! (pictures coming!) We've played a lot of games, the kids love Cranium games and baseball Monopoly. On Thanksgiving morning Trey had to demolish part of our utility room. We had a leak behind our washing machine and it made a huge hole in the wall. We had the plumbing repaired and then Trey fixed the wall, pulled up the flooring, and then painted the concrete. Poor guy, but he never complained. Besides that, we had a great Thanksgiving holiday with our families. Below is a picture of Addie with the cute turkey cupcakes she made. We are so thankful for our family and our overwhelming blessings.

RHS VS CHS

On halloween night, Randall played Canyon, an old rivalry that hadn't been played in a few years. Now we are in the same district, so the rivalry was reignited. We won 37-20. It was Max's night to be on the field with dad. These are pictures of him and 2 other coach's kids enjoying being with the "big" boys. They got to run out of the blow-up helmet, warm up with the team, and hang out on the sidelines. Max is the one with the blonde hair.

Halloween Happening

OK, we really did have a good Halloween. I don't know why Max and Add look so unhappy in this picture, but I promise I was not torturing them! We had been at Halloween Happening-a carnival/trick or treating party at Randall. Max is a baseball player and Addie is a volleyball player. Jake was there, too but he didn't want to dress up or be in the picture. It wasn't that long ago that we were taking him to the ER in his Charlie Brown costume to get staples in his head after an accident at a Halloween party. He was 2 and a very cute Charlie Brown. Over the years he was a turtle, Charlie Brown, a Peppermint Patty (the candy), a fireman, a baseball player, and a football player. Life just goes by so fast, enjoy your little ones because they will soon be in 5th grade!!!!

Flag Football

Max had his last flag football game last Sunday afternoon. He did great! He had 2 touchdowns and helped on defense, too.
He enjoyed his first season of football!

Knight's Night

We went to the kids carnival at school last week. Max and Addie had a blast on the Monkey Motion. Addie learned how to do back flips, but Max had trouble. Last time he did it at a party, he was great at back flips. He just couldn't get the rhythm this time. We had a good time and then were off to the football game!

PICK SIX

This is a picture of our sweet boy right after he scored his first touchdown (he was excited, the sun was in his eyes). It was right after halftime and the other team threw a pass. Max intercepted it and took off running, but he went the wrong way! He ran through a group from the other team and then realized he was going the wrong way, so he turned around and ran back through the other team and then half the field for the touchdown. It was awesome! All the fans were cheering for him, it was the first interception for our team. We won 35 to 0. He also got a ton of flags and of course, had a great time with his buddies. Max's baseball team also started the end of the year tournament at NRC. They lost the first game, but he caught another pop up and hit well. They won the second game and he played great, had a base clearing triple (could have been a home run), and hit some other great hits. Addie also played a great softball game which they lost by one point and a basketball game which they lost by more than 20. Oops, we'll get better. Addie has only played Upwards, so this basketball league is totally new to her, much more fast paced and competitive. It really is good, but she has some catching up to do. I did give her credit for an assist when the ball hit her in the back of the head, her team recovered it and scored. She is so much like her mom. She said that was really funny when the ball hit me in the head. She is so funny!

Trey and Julie

We have been unbelievably busy this past month, but we wouldn't have it any other way. Some parents can't wait to have a break from their kids, but we love being with ours and watching them do all the things they love to do!!! The Raiders are doing good this year, they just won their district opener. Trey has been busy working, but the other coaches don't mind if he runs out for a while to watch the kids games on the weekend. My job is going good, too. It is hard to see some of the kids struggling, but great to see them improve! I almost got puked on, but she missed me by a few feet. That is one of my fears-I don't deal well with vomit, but who does? Read on to find out what has been going on with our sweeties.

Mr tooth-Max

Max has lost 4 teeth at school in the past 2 weeks. The nurse told him she was going to run out of the special tooth treasure box necklaces if he keeps this up. He is so funny! He has been doing so great at school. I had his beginning of the year conference with his teacher and she told me he was reading on a 3rd grade level and a great leader in the class. He helps get the class ready every morning and will let kids know if they are making bad choices. He adores math and Mrs. Rains said he is at another level than most of the kids. When he started K, he could add coins with ease. I hope he always loves math. Max's baseball team has struggled a little this season, but Max has done great. He made an unassisted double play last week and then hit an in the park home run. He plays 1st this year and has done pretty good. He likes to get people out. Max also played flag football this year. He has played a little bit of offense, but mainly defense. He loves to pull those flags!!! He caught a long pass, but I wasn't there to see it. We usually have 6 games a weekend, so sometimes I am with Addie and Trey is with Max, but I heard it was great! Little Max is a cool kid (without many teeth)!

Addie

Addie has been so busy these last few weeks. Her softball team, the Pink Panthers, are doing great. They have only lost one game. Addie plays second and sometimes center field. She loves softball!! One game, her team scored 14 runs, she had 7 RBI's and scored twice. She can rip the ball when she gets ahold of one! Add has also started basketball. We have scrimmaged a team of older girls a couple of times and her league games start this weekend. She is improving every practice and scrimmage, she is actually trying to set screens now. Addie always does great in school, she loves to read and work! She hasn't made below 103 on any of her spelling test and her report card was awesome. She never gets any marks for behavior either! She has also been a party girl-4 parties in 2 weeks. Add is always busy, but she truly likes it that way. She is so sociable and wants to be doing something all the time. We are so lucky to have such a sweet and smart little girl.

Jake

Jake is really enjoying his new school. He loves all the science experiments and reading club. He gets points for reading books and taking tests over them on the computer. Jake has always loved to read, he reads way above grade level. On back to school night, all the kids had an "all about me" sheet on their lockers. Jake's had info like I am attending flight school, I want to be an aeronautical engineer when I grow up, and my favorite book is 30 seconds over Tokyo. He decided not to play football-a relief for me! We just signed up for basketball and he is ready to play. This past weekend, Jake went with my parents to Ft. Worth to go to an air show. He saw so many planes and the Thunderbirds. He had a blast! Jake is such a good kid and we are always proud of him!!!

Rowdy makes 6

We have a new family member! We adopted Rowdy a few weeks ago and he is fitting into our family great. He was loved and trained by another family who just didn't have a big enough yard for him anymore, so we took him. He is 2 years old and a great dog. The kids just ran and ran with him the first day we got him. Then, Max and Addie took him on a "tour" of our house. We feel so lucky to have him.

Homecoming

This week was homecoming and Wednesday, we had the parade. In this black convertible are our kids, the Plunk kids, Coach Plunk, and Trey. The kids had a blast waving at their friends and throwing candy at the crowds. I think Trey had fun driving the car, too. There were tons of people at the parade and then a big cookout afterward. It really was a fun night and something I know the kids will remember forever!

Second Day of School

Well, here they are on their second day a school. We are so lucky to have such good kids. We love you guys!

First Day of School

Although my children LOVE school, the first day is always hard. Our days of sleeping late, swimming, playing outside way past dark, staying up late playing games, and just spending tons of time together are over! A lot of moms say they can't wait for school to start again, but not me. It is always a hard day, but exciting, too. All five of us started school this year. Trey is in 9th grade at Randall. Oh, I mean he teaches 9th grade! Jake started 5th grade at Greenways Intermediate (a new school in a new district for him), Addie started 3rd and Max started 1st at Windsor, and I started a new job (intervention) at Sundown Lane Elementary. The morning was wild and we forgot to take a picture! I was so sad-not only was summer over, but I had no picture either. So, these pictures are what my sweeties looked like after a full day back at school.

We have had a great summer and the best thing we did was spend time with our families! We are so blessed to have such wonderful people in our family. Thank you for letting hang out with you! We love you!!!!