Sandwich Birthday Boy (minus the bread of course)

 My kids are all completely different!  Karson is a natural born leader, overachiever, and has always acted well above her age and made sound decisions (traditional 1st child).  Miles is compassionate, social, and has always been completely content with having to do things he doesn't want to do (typical 3rd child).  Then, there's Isaac, our colorful and unique (middle) child, sandwiched between Karson and Miles.  Isaac thinks outside the box - in fact, he'd take the box, cut it up, add some flair and stuff it under his bed so his mom doesn't throw it out - and is a free thinker and speaks sarcasm better than me.  In fact, we were at a tournament this weekend in Sevierville, and I came across this t-shirt.  Too bad it wasn't kid-sized.

It's sometimes hard to harness all of Isaac's energy, and he has a lot of it - could be all the Cokes he drinks, although I buy Caffeine-free.  He's a happy kid though and likes to snuggle.  He had a fever most of last week, and all he wanted to do was cuddle.  Ever since he was tiny (and still is quite tiny), he's been such a loving little guy.  He used to jump out of his toddler bed in the morning and run down the hall and get in bed with me.  He's actually been doing that the last few days.  I love it and him!  I came across this picture of him (from preschool) - adorable! 

 

He's incredibly smart (and apparently short) and recently won the spelling bee at Plano and will compete in February at the Warren County Spelling Bee at St. Jo.

 

  He's also part of the quick recall team and Science content (testing) area this year.  The QR team had their first event against Alvaton last week.  It was evenly matched, and their team won one and our team won one.  Those meets always make me feel incredibly stupid =/.  Isaac did really well and answered a couple of questions for his team. YAY!

 

Trying new things (unless it's his idea) simply isn't his forte.  I don't think he's difficult, he's comfortable.  BUT, there are some things that I've made him do which have been good for him (like Academic team).  He initially didn't want to apply for Warren County's off-site advanced/gifted program 212 Academy.  I forced him to apply and made him write the essays.  He was selected (and few are) to be a participant this year and really enjoys it.   If you've been given a brain like his, you need to use it.  Thankfully he does use it, he's always been a book writer, puzzle worker, movie maker, and artist!   

I love following 212 on Twitter because I get to see pictures of Isaac during his time there.

 Today, Isaac celebrates his 11th birthday.  It takes my breath away that he is already in 5th grade and only has one more year before middle school - not even possible. I didn't realize we were going to have a BLIZZARD this weekend or probably could've planned a party this week (since everything has been cancelled).  But, he was supposed to have a basketball game tonight, Spelling Bee tomorrow night and other things going on this week, so I hadn't planned any sort of party.  Plus, I wanted to wait for basketball to be over and was thinking it would end this week or next (who knows now).

Birthday Cinnamon Rolls to start the day.  Well, that, and Isaac lost a tooth! NICE! After a birthday lunch at Wendy's, Matt took him to see the movie The Boy.  He loves scary movies and couldn't wait to see this one.  He and I went to see The Forest last week. 

We went to Zaxby's, his favorite restaurant for dinner.  I ordered him a completely iced cookie cake from The Cookie Store, another fav!  Pap, John, Laura, Seth, Ben, Pops, Meme, Evan and even sweet little Mae Kathryn joined in for dinner.

HAPPY 11TH BIRTHDAY ISAAC!  WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

District Runner Up - South Warren Middle School - 7th Grade Girls

Floor burns, broken toenails, knots, weak ankles, (all of Karson's current ailments) sweat and perseverance paid off this weekend for our 7th grade girls.  Our basketball team finished strong this weekend at the District tournament defeating Franklin Simpson in the first game, a nail-biter semi-finals game with Allen County and the finals with Bowling Green.  Bowling Green always has a strong team and clobbered us in the finals.  We already knew it was probably going to be that way - so I told Karson to have fun and do her best not to get hurt.  No amount of prepping though can prepare you for a good ol'fashion'd butt whoopin'.  BGJHS ran up the score almost immediately in the first quarter, and I could tell Karson was fighting back the tears.  She has so much heart and is so competitive.  Thankfully, their coach stopped pressing us and did some subbing from the bench.  Whew!  The girls played their best but were no match for the Purples, 47-22 final score.  That's ok!  We will take the 2nd place finish and hold our heads up high for a wonderful season!

Karson snagged 9 of the 22 points in the finals and was pleased with her game.  She and Coach Manion celebrating!

Karson has quite a few Purple friends - she and Whitaker have played competitively against each other since 1st grade and have become friends through the years.  She's a phenomenal athlete and very kind.  She and Karson sent the sweetest texts to each other after the game.  Sportsmanship at it's best!  We went to Pizza Hut with the Vernon's (Tucker at center) after the game which made the night even better!  We're thankful the season is over.  Karson has been pulling double duty the last two weeks with BRAVO practice and basketball.  It'll be nice to focus on volleyball moving forward.  We have a tournament this weekend! 

Tis' the Season! Recap!

Our version of Elf on the Shelf.  Because my kids were a bit older when the Elf on the Shelf surfaced, we never really got into it.  This year they started talking about their classroom Elves, etc. and had mentioned getting one for our home.  I told the boys, why do you need an Elf when your stuffed animals can do the exact same thing?  That idea never occurred to them. 

The boys had a BLAST using their stuffed animals as "Elves."  They came up with creative ways to display them during the month. Miles is our only child that still completely believes in everything Christmas.  The other two were in 2nd grade when the questions started flowing and doubts started arising - I didn't even try to keep the facade going.  Miles, at 3rd grade, is still a firm believer.  He's got the most tender heart and spirit - it would be so much easier if I just spilled the beans.  I can't do that to him though and have stressed to the other two kids NOT to tell him.

 School parties at Plano - gift card exchanges and lots of sugar!

We celebrated Christmas with our friends to kick off the season in early December.  It's always fun to have an "adult" holiday party when so much time is spent focusing on the kids and the humdrum of shopping.  I'm glad Lisa and Katie dressed up too.   Otherwise, I would've been quite embarrassed - not really.  I stopped being embarrassed 13 years ago in the hospital delivery room.   I had full intentions of getting my hair up in a beehive.  I watched You Tube videos and knew I could pull it off.  Nailed it Wrong!  Thank goodness tinsel saved the day (wrapped around my noggin).  Nothing screams Christmas spirit like tinsel sprinkles all over your hair and floor - well, that, and ornament hooks, wrapping paper shards, fake Christmas tree needles.

  

Hands down, my favorite people in the entire world in this picture!  Been chillaxing with this group of ladies for the last 10 years!

 

Basketball team Christmas Party during the Holiday Break.  It's been a fast and furious season which will come to a close next weekend (for the 7th graders).  Karson has been pulling double duty with basketball  and BRAVO practice(s) which started this week.  Dinner is confined to the car, in-between practice transfers.  She's worn out and has sore ankles, broken toenails, jammed fingers, busted lips and stretched muscles - the life of a ball player.  

I worked much of the holiday break, but the kids had full plates.  Karson had ball practice and a tournament but also snuck in some time with friends.  We began a yearly girls tradition (starting last year) of going to Nashville with some of our dearest friends - The Warders.  Our night consists of playing the Nashville Escape Game and eating at P.F. Changs.  If we can sneak some shopping in as well, bonus!  The girls wanted to try the game Prison Break.  You can guess the outcome by our picture  =(.  We will ESCAPE one year!  However, we might have to play one we've already done or stop selecting the super hard ones.  P.F. Changs makes everything better!  We didn't get around to shopping this year because a bad storm was heading our way, and we wanted to get back home before it hit.

Karson got to spend the day with one her favorite friends, Amelia, during the break.  These girls are two peas in a pod and are so much alike, it's scary =).  Amelia is a sweetheart and has a house full of pets which Karson loves.  She was sending me videos of Amelia's cat Finchy which is an exotic short haired cat.  She wants one so BAD!

 The kids, mainly the boys, logged a lot of hours at Jump Air Zone which is a new trampoline park in Bowling Green.  It's the perfect place to take kids and burn all the energy off.  The park is close to SKyPAC so I was able to go over and see the kids one afternoon.  Shannon organized a group outing and got us a great rate.

Isaac got to hang out with one of his favorite friends, Eli, during the break.  I can easily tell who the character of the group is.

Grabbing some grub at Chick Fil A!

 Like last year, this year was even worse with picture taking!  Thank goodness Matt whipped out the camera and snapped some shots.  I feel like my mind is going in a thousand different directions in the Christmas whirlwind.  We are certainly blessed with a multitude of places to go and people to see (and who treat us like royalty with all the presents we receive). This was the season of WWE.  The boys are absolutely eaten up with everything wrestling right now.  We've got guys, rings, props, shirts, the whole SHE-BANG!  The boys had drafted their lists on Amazon this year which made it rather easy to shop for them.  Karson got clothes, money, books, blankets - traditional 13-year-old stuff.  She and Elizabeth rockin' their BRAVO swag.

 December 22 (Facebook post) When your 9-year old states Santa is bringing him something that's never been mentioned = a trip to Toys R Us (courtesy of mom) at 9:15 on a Monday night!
Miles hadn't really said anything or mentioned what Santa was bringing him so I'd planned on WWE stuff.  However, when I squeezed out the information, it wasn't that at all.  He was wanting some of these NBA Lego-type figurines (C-3 construction sets) and a court.  He already had a few of the mini-figures but nothing else.  I knew where they were at TRU and bolted out the door, fingers crossed they had them in stock since SANTA was bringing them.  Thank goodness they had them =) - it was too late for Amazon Prime by that point.

 

Snuggles with our baby Mae Kathryn at holiday happenings!

 I'm probably one of the few people from Bowling Green that has NEVER been to Nissan Stadium, home of the Tennessee Titans.  I managed to wind up there during the break for the UL football game. We had the opportunity to see the game in a luxury box (even better).  The weather had turned chilly last week so I was bundled up thinking the box might be half indoor/half outdoor.  It did have the option of moving all the windows (to be "exposed" to the game) but no outdoor seating option - whew!  We ate some appetizers and finger foods and enjoyed a night of football.  A wonderful experience all around!

We spent New Year's with friends at Greenwood Park - laughing, eating and playing games!  I'm quite certain I've known half of the people in this picture my entire life - love it!


This week was a hard awakening to late nights and "lazy" days.  We're back in the swing of things and powering through the remainder of the school year. (Come on SPRING)

Isaac won the school spelling bee yesterday and was invited to compete at the county wide spelling bee later this month.  He's been working hard at early-morning science and quick recall practices. Both are way out of his comfort zone which makes me so proud of him!  Hard to believe his 11th birthday is right around the corner!