Yesterday was a struggle.

Who am I kidding, it was hell.

The hustle and the bustle was just too much for me to handle.

Yesterday was also mine and Chet's anniversary....nine years.  We had a quiet dinner....because we were frustrated (he at me, me at me)....at 9:30pm.  As I sat there eating (my bland tetrazzini which I worked all damn day on to have ready so Chet could put it in the oven when we were at Cru's soccer practice, but preparing it involved cooking bits and pieces in between picking up Cru, lunch, dentist, picking up Reese, then back to dentist), Chet informed me that while I was gone snapping pictures of our almost eight year old....

(more to come on that and another reason we did not eat until LATE)

Cru's soccer coach walked down to our house (Cru had literally just finished practice, skipped supper, and was in the yard practicing) and awarded Cru his first patch - the first one on the team to receive one - for putting in extra work!

My heart burst!

All the bad that happened earlier in the day was forgotten; I was so happy.

Too bad the day was over and Chet was still angry with me, BUT it did help my attitude when I still had to get Reese's birthday treats ready for school the next day.

It's the little things.

Wondering about the patch system....

Cru and his teammates can earn patches (for their jerseys) when they accomplish what's listed.  It's new.  And it's brilliant!

Wondering about the dentist....the doctor, had nothing but good to report....

Dr. Yowell had nothing but good to report as well :)

Everlee did not have a check up, but she sure made her presence known....in the midst of talking (NONSTOP!), she put up her hand, like hold up, and said (in her sassiest tone), "I DO NOT swim in my underwear..........oh wait!  Yes, I do!"

Tears of laughter from the doctor.  Tears of embarrassment from mama.

I'm so thankful today is a new day!

Make it a good one!

LIFE

Oh how I'd love to someday get caught up on blogging, but I have a feeling that won't happen for a very long time! 

Life is crazy! I wouldn't trade it. Really, I wouldn't. But dang a little break would be nice! 

Cru has had one week...ONE...off from soccer since LAST SPRING!!! Yes, we signed him up, we made the commitment, but that's two practices a week for let's just say A LOT OF WEEKS! 

But he seriously LOVES every minute! He counts down the days until every practice. And he's learning a ton! He runs A LOT, however, never lacks in the energy department!

Everlee and I sweat a lot.

Between all the kids, we've spent many hours practicing and playing games up at Grant, but tonight we had a new first....

Football!

Oh my goodness! He was in HEAVEN! His focus has always been soccer and baseball, so I wasn't exactly sure what he'd think...now we are counting down the days until the next football practice!

I must note because I definitely DO NOT want to forget....

I've used A LOT of capital letters in this post!

Cru was asking questions about football earlier in the day, and he asked me if he had to wear his Chiefs helmet to practice. 

His KC Chiefs costume helmet!

I nearly died! I told him no, but we did need to get him a mouth guard.

Fast forward a few hours, Chet walked in the door to get ready for practice, "Hey, Dad! I need a lifeguard!"

No, we were not swimming!

Mouth guard....lifeguard....same thing....kind of. Not really.

One more thing before ending this random post....

Because I do not want to forget the amazing words that come out of these precious mouths!

Here is a conversation Reese and I had last week while she was taking a bath....

Reese: Why can't girls be pastors?

Me: Girls can be pastors.

Reese: Father {the priest at her school} said only men can be priests.

Me: Well, he's right....only men can be priests, but you could be a pastor at our church!

Long pause....

Reese: Welllll, I want to be the Pope!!!!

With that, set your dreams high!

Back To School

I can't believe school has started again!  We had a wonderful summer, but I can't help but think we didn't do everything I had hoped.  As fast as time is going, it'll soon be Christmas, then spring break, then the last day of school, so I won't get too upset because we'll be back to staying up late and sleeping in before we know it ;)

Reese is now in 2nd grade.  Whoa, let me say that again....2nd grade!



































She insisted on a cross body backpack this year, and could have cared less about pencils and glue, give her keychains!  She even has two that light up "in case the power goes out"!

 
































I believe her words after the first day were "BEST.DAY.EVER."!  Thankful for that! 


































What I love about her school is there is only one teacher per grade, so same kids every year, and what joy it is watching them reunite ♥



Cru-Jo is now in Kindergarten!  It's a scary thing, I know. 



When I woke him up the morning of his first day, he was quick to tell me he only slept for three minutes that night!  Followed by, "If I get tired, I'll just sleep at school."  Awesome.



































He now wears a uniform.  He had a few "issues" buttoning his pants and belt the first morning, so I was worried what would happen if he had to go to the bathroom.  So, of course, that was one of the first things I asked him when I picked him up.  He said, "I didn't even have to unbuckle my belt, I just pulled my weenie out!"  Ok, then.



































He was the most nervous; just took it all in, kind of in a trance.  Chet was in the classroom next door, helping Everlee, and when I asked Cru if I could go see how she as doing....he wrapped his arm around my leg and said not yet.
























































I slipped out a few minutes later.  After I checked on Everlee, I went back into his room.  His back was to me, he seemed to be doing fine, so I turned around and walked right back out....


































They sure make dorky uniforms look cute :)

Yes, you read that right earlier, Everlee started school as well.  Preschool.



































And yes, her backpack is bigger (definitely not brighter;)) than she is.  She picked it out at Justice....that's what happens when you have an older sister.



She also picked out her entire outfit by herself.  She told me the night before she wanted to wear the purple dress ♥



She goes two mornings a week for three hours.  She is loving it!  Listening to her tell me all about her day is indescribable.  Priceless.






That leaves me home {alone} Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  Sounds amazing, right?  The silence about killed me.  I accomplished one thing - a shower....during the day.  My time was spent looking at the clock, counting down the minutes until it was time to pick Everlee up.


































Give me a couple weeks, and T/Th will be my favorite days of the week ;)

I've slacked lately, but for valid reasons.....





So, what better way to "bring my blogging back" than with this (brace yourself!).....



Singing Sexy Back yet? :)

Yes, that would but the one and only Justin Timberlake!



































I surprised Chet with tickets for his birthday.  I know what you're thinking....more of a gift for me than him.  You're right.  But in my defense, Chet is a fan.  Just maybe not an order-front-row-tickets-to-his-concert-that's-three-hours-away fan. 

I think he changed him mind once we were there though and saw that JT has other male fans ;)


































































When we first arrived, a security guard walked up to Chet and made a comment about him looking thrilled to be there, and after chit chatting for a bit, he said that later in his show JT would be performing right in front of us in the VIP section.  BOOM!

When that happened, part of the stage literally lifted to the ceiling while he was still performing!



 And then it rolled to the other side of the arena! 












































































































































































My friend, who was in the VIP section, texted me this butt shot....

He's taking a selfie with a lucky fan.  And we are going to focus on his butt and overlook the fact that he's wearing girl sweats...WTH?!

Yes, my friend was that close.  Yes, she touched him.  She knows what I think of her ;)







































































































 The stage rolling back to the front right above us....coolest thing I've ever seen at a concert!



































It was seriously AMAZING!  I was actually kind of in shock....JT, really?  I just took it all in....while dancing, of course!  Now today, the day after, reality...JUSTIN FLIPPIN' TIMBERLAKE!!!!!


Thanks to Chet for being such a good sport!  He even took pictures for the groups of women around us. 



Could be my favorite pic of the night!  He offered.  Then they asked him to take more!  They apologized, and he told them it's nothing new :)  Love him!

And a special thanks to my parents for watching the kids!

Memories like this come once in a lifetime! 

Thank you, JT!