Panther Day, aka, Field Day -- Go White!!!!

Today was Panther Day at Ford's school.  Basically, it is what we called field day when I was a kid.  Personally, I was never much of a field day fan -- any of you that have seen my athletic abilities can certainly understand.  Ford, however, has been looking forward to Panther Day since it ended last year!!!  Competition is quite important to 7 year old boys (and girls too apparently!).  This year, Ford was chosen to be the team captain for White Team 1.  Here is a shot of the 1st graders getting ready to start . . . lots of cheering going on!

Go White Team 1!!!
Taking a photo break between activities
Even Brent got to stop by for a few minutes and it made Ford's day!
He is amazing on the monkey bars . . . seriously he can go forever!  But look at the concentration -- my dad does that same thing with his mouth when he is concentrating!!
Tug of War -- 1st grade Blue vs. White -- the white team lost but they tried awfully hard!!!  You truly can't imagine how loud the screaming was during this.  After each grade competed, the final round was 5th grade students vs. the Reed teachers -- the teachers won, they have some big guys teaching at the school!!!

Some fall fun in the sun . . .

Ford's soccer practice is every Thursday afternoon at 5:15.  Thankfully, there is a wonderful playground at the top of the hill and the soccer field at the bottom.  I can strategically place myself to watch Virginia and Jeb climb, swing and run while still catching most of Ford's soccer practice.  Multi-tasking at its finest!!  Here are a few pictures from Thursday afternoon . . . 

Ford practicing his kick . . . check out the concentration on that face!

Virginia loves swinging and would swing for hours!
What great hair!!!
Virginia, Ellie and Sarah . . . poor Jeb, they all look after him at soccer!!!

Forest Park Balloon Glow

Last night we went to the Balloon Glow in Forest Park.  It was such a beautiful sight to see all those balloons lit against the night sky.  I have always had a thing for hot air balloons since I did a project on them in 7th grade and attending this event is becoming a family tradition!  Last year we attended the Saturday race and this year we decided to check out the "glow".  The crowds were amazing and so was the traffic!  After an attempt at making it by car, we made a u-turn and followed Ford's advice and took the Metro.  We didn't even arrive until 30 minutes after bedtime but, for the most part, the kids tolerated the late night well!  Ford LOVED getting up close to the balloons and even got to sit in the basket of the Missouri Lottery one!  Jeb and Virginia, however, liked the view from a distance!  We stayed until the end and saw the balloons all lowered and then watched the fireworks.  A very fun night indeed with no one in bed until 11pm -- yes Aunt Genny, my kids were up until 11pm and I was with them! :)

Lighting the MO Lottery balloon . . . 

Ford watching in amazement and Jeb covering his ears and screaming "It's too loud!!!" . . . 




Getting a little sleepy . . . 

The metro ride home was amazingly crowded . . . the kids got a seat two stops before we were getting off!
I think the balloon weekend is one we will keep on the calendar each and every year . . . so fun!

Go RAMS!

OK, so maybe they aren't the best pro team in the NFL but they are our team now and so we try to cheer them on!!! :)  Brent was fortunate enough to receive two tickets to the Rams/Giants game on Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome.  It was Ford's first experience with pro football and even though the Rams were defeated (41-13!!), he still had fun!!  So . . . go RAMS!!!!

Butterfly fun!!!

We needed some fun and distraction today and Brent needed to work, so I took the kids and headed to The Butterfly House.  It amazes us each time we visit!  Here are a few pictures from our morning . . . 

Virginia trying her new gymnastics balance beam skills on the caterpillar outside the entrance . . .

Jeb showing off his treasure . . . 
Eeeewwwww look at those bugs!!!!
Ford's impersonation of a hissing roach . . . 
Checking out the butterflies  . . . 
The owl butterflies were in abundance today!
This owl butterfly just hung out and let the kids check him out . . . 
The kids found it amazing that these two butterflies were hanging out together . . .
Somebody always looks away . . . this time it was Jeb (he was making sure no butterflies got on him!)
All in all a fun day . . . and as you can probably tell from the picture, we are now going to settle in for some football . . . WAR EAGLE!!!!

Missing Huck . . .

Picking up Huck in Birmingham, AL in July 2007 . . . love at first sight!!

Ford with his two favorite things . . . Auburn jersey and Huck!

Huck LOVED the snow . . . and we had lots of it this past winter!

Always with Ford . . . he ran right beside him when he rode his bike.

Yesterday was a very sad day for us.  Our sweet boykin spaniel, Huck, died at just 15 months from kidney failure.  It was both unexpected and sudden.  Needless to say, we have all been very sad.  While Huck could be as annoying as any other young dog, he was also the most loving dog ever!  His sweet eyes were always on us and that tail was always wagging . . . actually, he wagged his whole bottom! :)  Ford and I have been discussing "funny Huck memories" and we have come up with so many.  It is amazing how much a part of your life a dog can become in such a short time.  How sad it is to pull into the driveway and not have a greeter waiting at the garage.