Are you ready for some football?

These guys sure are!  We are on our second week of practice and it won't be long before it's game time.    The boys are excited and looking forward to the start of a great season.

I made them humor me and smile for these pictures even though they tried to tell me tough football players don't really smile.  So, this mama now has an "I am a tough football player" picture and "I am going to make my mother happy" picture.  

Seventh grade is the last year for Bears football, so this is it for Austin.  Next year it's school ball for him.

Go Bears!

It's the little things

Little things in life that make us smile #32~

Naps

In looking at our calendar in the upcoming months, this weekend was the last little bit of freedom for awhile.  So, I made sure to work hard getting the house cleaned and laundry done on Saturday so I could enjoy a nice Sunday afternoon nap.  Ahhh...it sure was a nice little treat!

The first day of school

I think I'm having a harder time with this year's first day of school then when either of the boys headed off to kindergarten.  I'm not sure if it's because it's our last year of elementary (Carter),

or if it's the fact that I have a 7th grader (Austin),

or the fact that my mother pointed out a few weeks ago that the next time I painted the living room would probably be for graduation and the stark realization that my boys are growing WAY TOO QUICKLY hit me like a ton of bricks.  This mama's heart needs time to S.......L.......O.......W down!

Homemade Happiness

It's been since LAST summer when we Ace repainted the kitchen.  I had a few ideas of what I wanted to do to decorate, but football, basketball, baseball and many other things life got in my way.  That's okay though, just so long as you didn't think terribly of me because I've had bare kitchen walls for a long time :)

After seeing these two ideas of using your grandmother's handwritten recipes on Pinterest I knew it was something I would love to recreate in my own kitchen. I know I told you about my love of what a person's handwritten word means to me here. My dream was to be able to gather at least one recipe from each of our grandmothers. My mother-in-law was terrific about getting me her mother's German pancake recipe.  My mom dug through her own mother's recipes and found a banana split recipe that she remembered growing up.  I was so excited when the boys and I were visiting my Uncle Joel and his family in Sioux Falls, SD and I stumbled across my grandma's orange slice cookie recipe that I remember so well from growing up.  My uncle was such a sweetie to part with it.  I promised it would be well cherished and protected :)

I set out to find some frames, scrapbook paper and ribbon that would tie it all together in the kitchen.  Of course after becoming one with my Cricut and vinyl after creating my gallery wall, I figured I might as well add the saying homemade happiness through the generations to complete the look.

I just have recipes from two more grandma's to track down.  Aaron's mission is to talk to his aunt's on the Clayberg side and see what he can do.  I know his Grandma Pat wasn't much for recipes.  She simply dumped ingredients until it "looked right".  I can hardly complain because that's how I cook - not bake, but cook.  The boys and I visited my Grandma Janet the other day and she was going to see what she could dig up for me and even thought she might be able to track down a recipe or two from my great-grandmothers.  I can't even begin to tell you how cool I think that would be!  Thank goodness I left myself some room on the wall to add more in as I track down those precious handwritten memories.

It's the little things

Little things in life that make us smile #31~

Brand stinkin' new school supplies

There is something that I absolutely LOVE about brand new school supplies.  I could stand for hours in Target, Wal-mart, and Staples browsing through the school supply section. Fresh markers, colored pencils, glue sticks, pens, pencils, and planners all signal a fresh start.  It's a chance to start anew.  New students, new lesson plans, and a fresh perspective is something that I thrive on every August.  I am one of the lucky ones that constantly gets a "redo" with my work.  Each and every year, I get to try it all over again with a new group of kids and new ideas.

Now I'd hate for you to think that I won't miss the summer because that's just plain wrong.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE my summer time!  I might even get a little cranky before it's time to go back to the working world, but it's not my job I don't love.  It's the loss of complete freedom and lazy days and really being able to do whatever the mood strikes. What makes me a little cranky is the return of structure and a hectic pace.  Now don't get me wrong, structure isn't a bad thing.  I thrive on it in my classroom and actually get far more accomplished when I'm a working woman with little time to spare.  But, once the school year starts, break neck speed is required to keep up.  Thinking about that is what makes me a bit cranky.

So, it's probably a good thing that as I return to work again this morning (I really started last Wednesday) I can look into my bag at my new purple polka dotted planner and fun new pens to make me happy.  It really is the little things in life that make me smile!

Teed Off

The boys have never been golfing before.  Can you believe that?  I take that back.  Austin has once at a friend's birthday party.  If you know me well, that should strike you as a little strange.  However, eons later I still can't get my high school golf coach's voice out of my head.  Girls, I don't want to hear of you swinging a softball bat and ruining your golf swing!  You can field the ball and throw the ball, but there will be NO batting practice until the golf season is complete.  Yes, I know.  My conscience seems to have a mind of it's own as that was almost 25 years ago that voice started in my head!

Since my boys are both baseball players, I've always figured the golf swing and baseball swing needed their separate place in the summer thanks to my coach, Jean Mowry :)  Well...they have been begging to go all summer and I vowed to wait until Carter finished his All Star baseball season.  Then the weather had to go and be a million degrees for the rest of July. It was almost too melty hot for the pool some days let alone several hours on a golf course! Just the other day the boys asked again when I was going to take them golfing.

Baseball done.  Check.  Beastly hot weather gone.  Check.  Only a couple more days before I had to go back to work.  Check.  I guess it was time!

I decided if we were going to do it, we were going all out and letting them play a full nine holes.  I knew the courses in Ames were usually pretty busy, so I thought we'd make a day of it and head over to Hubbard on the course that my parents used to let my brothers play holes 2, 7 and 9, the three shortest holes, when we went with them.  I figured it would take us awhile and was hoping the course wasn't too busy so we wouldn't hold too many people up.  Thankfully I was right. We practically had the course to ourselves.

What an unbelievably fun day it was!  The boys were in hog heaven and really couldn't get enough of it. Surprisingly, they weren't nearly as horrendous as I thought they might be.  They even humored me and listened when I told them about golf etiquette and gave them some tips on their swings.  I hate to admit it, but each of them ended up out driving me a couple of times throughout the day.

I figured after the three and a half hours it took us to play the first nine holes, they would be done.  Oh no!  They were rip roaring ready to go for another nine.  I think they were a little motivated to try and beat me, even though they didn't come close the first round :)

We headed out for another nine, and I really think they could've golfed the entire rest of the day.  They had so much fun. There are a couple of holes that are lined by fields along the right.  Needless to say, Austin spent some time searching the beans and corn looking for a few of his errant drives.  I just had to giggle because I can remember searching for lost balls in those fields growing up.  He was lucky and actually found his ball nearly every time.

The smiles on their faces at the end of the day said it all.  They had a blast! I'm so thankful that I got to experience this with both of my boys.  I'm sure we will be spending many more hours on the golf course in the coming summers.  

It's the little things

Little things in life that make us smile #30~

Opening up the house and sleeping with the windows open

After such a beastly hot July, it's been a great blessing to have some cooler days and nights in which to open the window and let the breeze blow some fresh air in the house!  Now, since I have to go back to work again on Wednesday of this week, the nice weather can go away.  I know you don't feel sorry for me, but you really should :)

Gallery Wall

Remember how my husband was making my "blues" go away?  Well...slowly but surely, the living room transformation is taking place.  Pinterest was the fuel for my inspiration in creating a gallery wall.  I had the perfect wall to use and some amazing pictures from an amazing photographer that deserved to be showcased.   I totally fell in love with these two ideas:

Let's just say Ace was not the most excited about this idea as he thought it looked too busy.  Not one to let that stop me :) I simply gathered up my photos and spent hours trying to figure out the best arrangement, how many pictures to include, and convince my dear hubby to hang them on the wall for me.  I know he was excited to hang them because it meant they were no longer laying around the floor in different arrangements he could use his new laser level that's been hanging around his toolbox for about a year.

I do believe he was about the strangle me halfway through the process as I was a bit particular about the spacing, but we survived.  Then I got cold feet.  The pictures looked pretty good on the wall without the lettering mixed in.  Maybe I really didn't want to add the words and phrases in, but the vinyl and my Cricut were calling my name.  So, away I went, for hours upon hours and days upon days creating the perfect sized letters in fun fonts for my gallery wall.  

What do you think?  I was pretty darn pleased with the final product.  My hubby's the most pleased because it means it's one wall I won't change out with new items and nail holes during the change in seasons and holidays!  

It's the little things

Little things in life that make us smile #29~

Having a weeklong sleepover with your  best friends

That's exactly what Carter was able to do when he was at Riverside Lutheran Bible Camp all last week and was in a cabin with "the posse".  He was looking forward to this all summer, and I know the week didn't disappoint!

Carter and Austin spent a week together at camp last year, but this was the first time for the rest of the posse to spend the entire week at camp.  I love the memories that these boys made together all the while  forging a deeper relationship with God.  They met tons of new friends, were there for each other in case a little homesickness crept in, had amazing counselors and got to show a glimpse of what they did throughout the week at the closing program.   Even though I felt like a part of me was missing all week, I'm so thankful that my son is growing wings and was able to share this amazing experience with his three best buds!