Super Bowl Sins

I could literally feel the arteries in my heart clogging as I ate this. This scrumptious barbeque cheddar burger was our treat during the Super Bowl yesterday.

When I took the first bite and the cheese dripped out of the bun and the juice from the burger ran down my hands, I said,

"I can't believe I am ruining my healthy eating streak so that I can eat this."

Bradley replied with,

"It's the Super Bowl!  You are actually suppose to eat bad during the Super Bowl."

That was good enough logic for me, so I continued devouring my sinful burger.

I am pretty sure that paired with the Rotel Queso Dip, it qualified as gluttony.

Since we follow college football more closely than pro football, we weren't fanatics about the outcome of the game.  Although we were rooting for the Giants, we wouldn't have lost sleep either way.

I was more excited about watching the commercials.

My favorite was the Clint Eastwood car commercial about Americans rebounding and buying cars made in Detroit.

The boys LOVE the E*trade commercials where the baby talks, but thought the speed dating baby commercial was kind of a dud.

The M&M commercial where the candy was stripping to the song I'm Sexy and I Know it was a hit.  How can you go wrong with dancing chocolate?

I also thought the Anheuser Busch commercial about the end of prohibition was very creative.

I really couldn't care less about the actual game, but my burger was worth all 10,000 calories and I loved just chilling with my guys for the night. 

We pretty much just sat in our chairs watching the game without moving for 4 hours.

I am almost certain that would count as slothfulness.

We covered gluttony and slothfulness all in one evening.  And perhaps even lust....if you count having a desire for an M & M.

Best Bedroom for the Birthday Boy

We built and moved into our current house when Tucker was starting 2nd grade, Sawyer was 18 months, and Carter was only a couple of weeks from birth.  When we decorated the boys rooms when we moved in, we knew that the boys rooms would have to be updated as they got older. Sawyer's room was designed with a cute little pastel quilt with airplanes, motorcycles, and firetrucks. We had airplanes hanging from the ceiling. That was 7 years ago.  It was time for a redo.

If you are new to my blog, you may not understand how passionate Sawyer is about football.  He is about as obsessed as a kid can get.  He is never more than an arm's length away from his football.  You can read more about the little football fanatic if you'd like in an earlier post called "A Boy and a Ball".

Sawyer really, really, really wanted his room redecorated.  The airplanes and cars and stuff never really matched his personality at all.  So, for his 9th birthday.....that is coming up this Friday.....we told him that we would redo his room.  He was totally pumped about the idea.

He knew we were planning to focus on football...obviously....but he didn't know what it would look like.  So.....when it arrived, we closed the door and set it up and surprised him. 

He was thrilled with the choices....to say the least.

He was so happy about his room that he actually laid down on his bed and hugged it.

He is a seriously happy camper.

We built a set of "football lockers" for him with a place to hang his jerseys and shoulder pads, and a bench storage to put some of his regular clothes in.  The locker is his favorite part.

I can't imagine giving him anything in the world that he would've liked any better for his birthday.

This is the best bedroom ever for our birthday boy!

The Boys' Most Favorite Way to Spend an Afternoon

If we asked the boys how they wanted to spend their Sunday afternoon, this is the way they would chose to spend it.....

 Playing a football game in our "Redneck Sports Complex".

This section of pasture in front of our house gets lots and lots of playing time.  We play baseball here.  We have used it for soccer.  The boys practice throwing javelin on this field.  We have run races and jumped hurdles, but their favorite is playing football.  And we could still put cattle back here if the need arises.  It's a very versatile piece of property.

  We invited these friends over for an afternoon of football and grilling.  Our friends, The Timmermans, have 4 boys and we have 3.  The ages of the boys span from 3 years to 12 years.  A couple of them have matched up together as "best friends".  They get along very well.  So, the boys knew that The Timmerman's coming over for football would be the highlight of their week.  The boys have known they were coming over for a couple of days.  They have been beside themselves with anticipation.

  They even went so far as to draw out plays for our family to run to assure a big victory over our friends.

Unfortunately for the boys, I didn't agree to a "pregame practice" so that we could practice our plays.  I told them that we would just have to wing it.  I didn't want to admit to them that I didn't understand any of the plays they had drawn up.  My plan was basically to avoid falling down and try to keep from peeing on myself. 

Our family beat the snot out of the Timmerman family...77 to 56....suckers!  Oh, sorry....I mean....whose keeping score, right? After the game, we let the boys prepare their own shish kebobs.  While the food was on the grill, the boys took off to the trampoline and the adults got to enjoy some grown-up friend time.

 The boys so enjoyed their evening playing football in a pasture.  I don't think we could've spent any amount of money on any other fancy entertainment and them like it any better.  Kids are happiest when they just get to play.  And if you play with them, it's just an added bonus.  It was our most favorite way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

As The Sun Set On His Last Game of the Season

As the sun set on Tucker's last football game of the season......

I realized that I wouldn't see this team standing at attention again for the Star Spangled banner for a whole year.

I realized that I wouldn't see them hover together in prayer until a new season begins next Fall.

I realized that he would no longer do warm up stretches on the field this year.

They wouldn't run through the "Victory Line" again this year to the claps and cheers of all the fans.

I realized that he wouldn't get the chance to sneer at me from the sideline again because he sees that I have my camera pointed in his direction almost the whole game.

 

I realized that this would be the last time he would be one of the littlest shrimps on the team and have to spend a great deal of time here on the sideline.

I realized that it would be almost a year before I would get to experience pride when he does something really great on the field.

 I realized that I wouldn't have to hold my breath and feel panicked when he is making a tackle like this.

I realized that he wouldn't be all sweaty and smell like a wet goat after the games for a whole other year.

And then I realized......

I realized....

Basketball season starts tomorrow.

And then I realized...

That about the only thing that will change is the shape of the ball and the type of field he will play on.

  He will still stretch and warm up.  He will hit the field...um... court to the cheers of the fans.  He will still be making great plays.  He will still spend some time on the sidelines...er...bench. There will still be a risk of injury.  He will still smell like a wet goat.  We will still be rushing from homework to practice to games, while squeezing in dinner.

I'm not feeling as nostaligic today as I was yesterday.

As the sun goes down today .... Tucker begins his first basketball practice of the season.

Shrimpo vs. GOLIATH

  This kid right here....

He made me have a mini heart attack last night during his football game.

Tucker is in the 7th grade.  He plays on a team with 8th and 9th graders.  The 7th grade boys are itty bitty compared to some of the 8th and 9th grade boys.  I realize that all of that will drastically change over the next two years.  But for now, he is a shrimpo on the football team. 

If we are playing a really tough team, then this is what Tucker and his buddies do most of the game....

They wait on the sideline for their chance.

Luckily, our team is pretty good, so they get their chance often in the 3rd and 4th quarter.

Last night, was his chance.  We were winning.  Big time.  Putting our shrimps in would not cause us any risk of losing. He went in the game in the 3rd quarter.  The other team had not started putting in their second team yet.  That meant that some of the first shrimps to go in from our team were facing their first team giants.

Tucker ran a couple of defensive plays and got pushed around a bit, but was also a part of some of the defensive plays. He was doing a good job. He stayed in when we changed over to offense.  The other team kept their starting defensive line in.
Their giants were still on the field.

Our quarterback handed the ball off to Tucker.

He was suppose to run up the middle with it.

He had the ball in his hands for about a tenth of a second before GOLIATH, from their defensive line, showed up in Tucker's face.

GOLIATH had to have been well over 6 feet tall.  He must have been over 300 pounds.

Tucker is #9 there in that photo below.  His very large and strong team mate next to him is #70.

GOLIATH had already thrown Tucker's team mate, #70, to the ground earlier in the game.

Oh dear.  This cannot end well.

It took only a brief moment for GOLIATH to take my child completely off the ground and hurl him down onto his back like a rag doll. 

Kind of like this..

His gigantic arms wrapped around Tucker's itty bitty body and he literally threw him.

This was followed by a full body slam. GOLIATH piled his massive girth on top of my little shrimpo.

In that brief moment when GOLIATH was approaching my shrimpo child, I had a tiny heart attack.  I envisioned that in just a few seconds, all the players would be reverently on one knee to honor the injured player. 

I envisioned that I would have to decide whether or not to run hysterically screaming to the field to scrape up what was left of my child or to stay seated and let the coaches scrape him up.  I imagined that his bones were going to be shattered into a million pieces.  I just knew that Tucker and the grass would be meshed together as one when GOLIATH removed himself off of my son.

My tiny heart attack was short lived, though.

Although GOLIATH attempted to send Tucker to the ground to his certain death, his plan was foiled by some hefty football pads.  No more had GOLIATH turned his back, than Tucker had popped right up again.  He joined his team in the huddle and didn't even seem any worse for the wear.

I am glad that my shrimpo is a tough shrimpo.

Take that, you meanie GOLIATH!

A Boy and a Ball

  

This afternoon, as I was loading the dishwasher, I was listening to Sawyer and Carter play.  They were in another room, so I couldn't hear exactly what they were saying.  Several times, I heard them say, "Let's pretend like...."  Carter was saying something about pretending things were invisible and that he wished there was really a such thing as "invisible dust" to turn yourself invisible.  I kept hearing Sawyer say the word "football", but wasn't sure how the football fit into what Carter was pretending. 

Then Sawyer must have realized his football was out of his sight.  I heard him say, "Oh No!  Where is it?!"

The pretending ended and a quick frenzy of looking for the football followed.  It didn't take him too long, before it was back in his hand.....tucked by his side where it stays most of the time.

Often times, parents will make statements about their children regarding their interests to other people.  They may say things like, "He just loves airplanes."  or.... "She really likes princesses."  ....or "He is really into cars."

I can't think of a word that appropriately describes Sawyer's affection for football. 

It's way beyond "like".  The word "love" is overused.  He is more than "into it".  Saying he "enjoys it" is not near strong enough a description.  Maybe passionate about it?  Obsessive?  Possibly.

Sawyer adores all things sports, but he yearns to play football.  He has talked about it for years, and he is only 8.  He can't get it off his mind.  Not a single day goes by that he doesn't mention wishing he could play. 

 Sawyer was at the pantry getting a snack.  He had not been playing football, nor was he about to.  The ball just naturally finds its way into his hands.

 We stopped bt Nannys grave Sunday to look at the flowers.  We were heading to church.  Notice the ball is in Sawyer's hand.  It's almost like an extension of his arm.

 We were in an open field at a campground here.  Most of the kids were on bikes and some were flying kites.  The ball is lying next to Sawyer.  He was just waiting for someone to agree to play with him.

Yep.  It's in the pool with him, too.

Sawyer is not lacking in intelligence.  So, he has done well in school.  He has gotten several awards over the years.  All A's, Good Conduct, Math Awards and even The esteemed "Principal's Award" that is given to only the top student.  He was proud of those, but this award was his favorite.  His 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Hammond, gave him the "We Are Marshall Award".  It was awarded for his determination and his love of all things football.  To this day, he sees it as his highest honor.  Close behind it is the 1st grade award he got.  The "Skor Candy Bar Award" for being the most athletic.

He dreams of playing college football one day and then "going pro".  I have always thought that kids who wanted to "go pro" needed a strong "back up plan".  And I know the odds of Sawyer playing pro ball are small, but I also know that there has never been a more determined kid to do it.  If anyone can do it, he can. 

Perhaps one day, years from now, I will be able to write a blog titled A Boy and a Ball Fulfilling a Dream.

Too Poor for Proper Tailgating

  Seriously?!  Who knew that only rich folks could tailgate at college games?  I didn't know.  I was shocked to learn that the average college fan was banished to do their tailgating miles away. 

   We carried the boys to their second college game yesterday to cheer for our favorite team, The Auburn Tigers.  We had such an awesome time at the first game, that we just had to do it again.

We decided that this time around, we would show the boys a whole new experience.  Tailgating.  It was an experience all right.

  We arrived at the college campus hours before kickoff.  It was nearing lunch time and we had the truck loaded down with a grill, a canopy, burgers, chairs, chips, and anything else we thought we would need for some fun tailgating.  We began driving around the campus looking for the perfect spot.  We would need a place to park the truck, a place to set up the tent, and a grassy area for the boys to throw the football.  It seemed simple enough.  Wrong.

  What we didn't realize, was that all of the area within about a mile and a half radius of the stadium is blocked off for a different kind of folks.  The kind with money.  The kind who have extra cash in their bank account.  The kind of people that have so much extra money that they can give away a bunch of it to the college.  Apparently, these folks are given a special parking card. We are not that kind of folks.  We are the kind of folks that are proud to even have scraped up enough money to buy the cheap seat tickets.  We didn't have the parking pass.

  So....we began driving farther and farther away from the stadium.  Away from the big fancy grills that probably cook without ever touching it.  Away from the ridiculously lavish RV's.  Away from the stadium.  We were looking for somewhere that didn't require the rich family pass...er...I mean....parking pass.  We drove.  And then we drove some more.  We looked and looked.  We drove and searched for a parking area that would accept such a lowly family as us.  We drove for an hour.   Finally, we found a collection of other fans like us.  They were set up with their tents and RV's over a mile from the stadium.  These people were like us. They were broke and just happy to have tickets into the stadium.

   After we found our rightful place.....which wasn't even within earshot or sight of the stadium, we had a wonderful time.  We dusted off our pride.  Unloaded the truck. Set up our tent and let the boys loose.  Bradley fired up the grill and the boys found a tag football game with some other kids to join into. 

 Grilled burgers. Ohh la la. Yummy to my tummy.

I love these moments with my boys and their Daddy.  They make my heart swell. 

 Here is a whole slew of kids playing tag football.  This was probably my boys favorite part of the whole tailgating deal.  We knew these kids.  They are the kids of several friends of ours.  As it turns out.... our friends are too broke to have a rich family pass, too. 

 Carter is a ham.  Bradley was trying to take my photo and Carter kept jumping in front of me.  He thought it was the funniest joke ever.

  

Our team won the game.  They kind of stunk and played yucky, much to our dismay, but they won.  We were all real happy about that.

 This is the happiest poor couple in the world.