Sunday afternoon football

 While the games on tv were great yesterday, I think my favorite game was the one that was taking place in my backyard.  Joel started out as the coach.

 But then at some point he decided to switch to basketball.

 He was really good with the whistle, though!

 It looks like Evan is going to miss this catch.

 But he doesn't!

 He is sort of taunting his dad with his catch.

 And he is having fun running the ball back.

 

Joel decided to forgo the basketball to play football with the rest of the guys.

 Steve even blocked for him

 But Evan managed to tackle him anyway (probably because Joel would backtrack to keep the play going longer).

But Joel was a good tackler, too - even when the "tacklee" didn't have the ball.

Ahhh, fall and football season are here!  And I love it!!!

Like Dandelion Dust

I have been a Karen Kingsbury fan for a long time.  I have read every one of her novels and I have cried at least once with each one.  I have also laughed out loud a fair amount, too.  I was excited to hear her talk years ago about one of her novels being made into a movie.  Tonight I was even more excited to see Like Dandelion Dust on its opening night!  (It is only open in a few cities currently and you can click on the link above to see if it is in your town yet.)  This is a very emotional movie, though - take tissues and don't wear mascara.  And don't say that I didn't warn you.  I think only one person in our viewing claimed to have not cried, and he did say that he enjoyed the film.  He just doesn't cry.

Tonight's viewing was "extra-fun" thanks to the fact that one of the stars, Cole Hauser, was in attendance and greeting fans.  We were one of the last few to meet him before the movie started, so we were a little rushed and didn't get autographs. 

 

However, in the category of "ask and you shall receive", I asked him if we would be able to buy the things on the table after the movie.  He replied that he thought it was all free.  I was specifically interested in a shirt that I saw so I said, "Even the shirts?"  He looked at the shirt and handed it to me and told me to take it.  I asked, "Are you sure?"  He said yes, so I took it!  Too bad I couldn't get his autograph on it, though.

We had a Q&A time with Cole Hauser, Chad Gundersen, and Chris Morrow after the movie and that was a lot of fun, too.  I didn't have any questions, but I enjoyed hearing them discuss the process of making the movie.  So, it was a great night out with some girlfriends!  And you really need to make plans to see this movie if at all possible!

Joel's Premiere in Concert

Joel has decided to take up drumming recently. He drums on anything and everything. This morning I went to both services of church, and Steve and the boys stayed home for the first service. During that time Steve and Joel played some music together (Steve on guitar and Joel on drums), and Steve told Joel that he was "very good". That encouragement must have meant a lot to Joel because he repeated it to me a couple of times. And he decided to put on a concert tonight! I thought it was for me, but then I saw that there were others in attendance, too.

The Audience

This is Grandpa ...

with his cup of coffee - conveniently located behind his back

Joel on the triangle

... and on the drums
(and winking to avoid the flash from the camera - maybe that's why they are banned in concerts)

Legos in a box as a rainstick
(his own creation)

My favorite technique - drumming on his belly

After the concert, Joel passed out food and drinks to his audience.
What a great host!

Are you ready ...

For some football?!?

GO GATORS!!!*

We are!

GOOOOOOO GATORS!!!

And Evan, especially, is!

And it's a good thing because tonight was the first game of his new season.
They have a lot more players on their team than they need, so he didn't play the whole game.

When he was in, he played quarterback on offense.

And he had his first completed pass in a real game! (He ended the game with a total of 2 completed passes.)
He also was a good blocker for this running back, who scored on this play.

Unfortunately, the scorekeepers said we lost by 1 point. The rules (like extra points) and the referee's calls were a little confusing to me, so I had thought we won - or tied. Oh, well. As we tell Evan, the point is to have fun, do your best, and be a good sport. And Evan seemed to accomplish all 3 tonight. GOOOOOOOOOOOOO GATORS ... and EVAN!

*Not the University of Florida Gators, but the LakePointe Sports Gators.

Q&A Time

We have been having lots of Q&A time at our house recently. My newest favorite is one of Joel's: Is anybody in Jesus' heart? Hmmm ... explaining the Trinity to a 4-year-old is not very easy. But then again, neither is explaining why Jesus said that we were drinking his blood. (His version involved people being thirsty and Jesus giving them his blood to drink. Kind of sounds to me like a "mash-up" of turning the water to wine at the wedding, His conversation with the woman at the well, and His statements from the last supper.) Or why the song says that He washed us with His blood. This is the song:



Anywhoo - this post is really about some questions I got "asked" by a friend and fellow blogger recently. I know you are all dying to read the answer and see who gets tagged next so read on!

1. What brand of toilet paper do you use?
It was Charmin, but I am trying different things now.

2. Who is the celebrity that you are most embarrassed to admit you have a crush on?
Not that I embarrass easily, but my biggest celebrity crush is probably Johnny Depp

3. What is your all time favorite movie?
Tough one - Pride and Prejudice, I guess (the A&E version). Others in the running are: Elf, A Muppet Christmas Carol, Sense & Sensibility, and Ever After

4. What store do you spend most of your paycheck?
I guess Target.

5. What is your favorite restaurant?
Depends on my mood, but my favorite dish is at Carino's (Italian nachos)

6. What is your most favorite thing to do in the town you live in?
Go on a date with my hubby

7. Where is the best place you have been on vacation?
Most of our vacations involve visiting family, and while those are fun, in terms of the place itself, my favorite would be the mountains of West Virginia or Colorado Springs.

8. What is the most distant place you have visited?
The most distant place I have been to is probably Guadalajara, Mexico.

Now it's time for the next 8 people to be tagged! (Even if you don't read my blog you are officially tagged)
Nicole Stonehouse
Jayme Doggett
Becca Hapes
Melody DeLuca
Julie George
Missy Schrib (even though you've already been tagged)
Carla Villanueva
Michelle Seabourne

First Day of School - Take Two (aka "Joel's Turn")

Joel has a completely different personality from Evan (in case you didn't know that already). So, his first day of school went quite differently from Evan's. It began with complaints about going to school, about wearing socks and tennis shoes, about the corners of the socks he picked out, about the cup his milk was in, about his two choices of peanut butter balls, and about the cheerios (there weren't enough in his bowl and there weren't enough chocolate ones - not a surprise since they were multi-grain and not chocolate).

I have to admit that some days I can take this in stride, but today was not one of those days for me. After we finally got everything ready, I tried to take some pictures before we left for school. Of course, he did not want to cooperate.

I was probably not helping matters since I was frustrated so I didn't push the picture issue. I did take these because I thought they were funny, though. Of course, that only made him more mad.

We both calmed down some on the drive to school and he posed for pictures there for me. He had no problems going into his class and getting settled in. I think it helped that 8 of the 12 kids in his class were in the same class last year.

One of his teachers tried to show him an alphabet puzzle, but he only gave it a little polite attention and then he went to the dinosaurs.

After school I took him to Braum's to get an ice cream cone. He asked before we got there if they had the "green kind with chocolate chips" and they did! It was a nice way to end the day.

He was glad to find out that he didn't have to go to school today. Tomorrow is another day, though ...