Maybe Dad's tricking us...

I'm sure you can't make it out, but #66's jersey says "GARRETT."

As Josh headed into the ER for a night shift, I took the boys to the local high school football game. I noticed a Raider with our last name. I pointed it out to the boys & asked Jack if he could make out the name. He read it & thought it was pretty cool. 

Sam had a different take: "Hey, maybe dad's tricking us! Maybe he's not at work. Maybe he's really playing for the Raiders!" 

Yes, Sam, probably so....

When I grow up...

A friend and I who both have boys about the same age were laughing the other day about how amazed we were that our preschoolers were talking about their future occupations, spouses, etc. This was serious thinking ahead. Jack's typical ideas about the future don't begin with "when I grow up," but instead, "when I get big like a daddy..."

A couple months ago, he was upset after we had tucked him in. Josh went in to talk to him and the conversation led to the idea that when Jack was a daddy he would have a job too. He said, "but I can't have a job. I haven't learned how to fix sick people yet!"

In the last few weeks, he has told me on a number of occasions that he wants to be a football player when he gets to be a bigger boy. "And I'll go to the big school (a.k.a. Habersham Central)." Tonight in the car, out of nowhere, he said, "Mommy, when I get big like a daddy, I don't want to be a football player that is in the game." I'm thinking is he about to tell me his future goal is to be a benchwarmer?? Then, he adds, "I want to be the coach. Like Hudson's daddy. And I'm going to wear those big headphones!"

I only wear orange on Fridays

Friday night kicked off another season of high school football in the 'Sham, and we were thrilled to begin our evening tailgating with friends before the game. As usual, the boys enjoyed running wild on the practice field and dreaming of their future glory days, I'm sure.

Put me in, Coach!

Best news is the Raiders hung on to win. What a great way to start the year. My sweet friend and fellow blogger is a bit superstitious and insists that we'll have to tailgate before every home game now. April, I think you forgot about one of the most important ingredients to that Raider victory...

The ceremonial "soaking of the tree!"

Raider Fun

Friday night we took in the first Habersham Central home football game. Jack was in absolute heaven all day on Friday as I kept telling him we were going to see football that night. In fact, he was a bit upset that we were tailgating before the game instead of heading right into the stadium! We had a lot of fun letting the kids run around and play ball before the big boys took the field.

Sam sure didn't seem to mind the noise and game going on...he fell asleep sometime during the first quarter. His nap was somewhat brief, but he was a trooper. We eventually headed out just before the fourth quarter before meltdowns had time to occur. Jack has been to the Raider games the last two years, but I think he's really starting to enjoy it this year.



Unfortunate side note: the Raiders lost. They fall to 0-2, but there's always next week!

This was his face/reaction when he saw the team running out. I like that his left hand is almost nudging Josh as if to say, "daddy, are you seeing this?"

What a Weekend

What a weekend it was. It was a busy one that was full of fun...with the exception of a few hours on Saturday evening. But at least both Florida and Tennessee lost too! Friday night some of us tailgated at our house before the Raider game. Andrea made some excellent Taco Soup. After packing up and heading to the game, we settled in our seats. We hadn't been there more than 30 seconds when the rain began to fall. We hadn't brought umbrellas or hoods or anything! So, we headed back home. Jack played for a bit before heading to bed. Here's a shot of him playing with his new laptop from Cissy. In case you haven't noticed in my last couple of posts, he's pulling up on just about everything these days. He's a big explorer.

We waited up for the Walshs to arrive and were excited when they rolled into town. They got a tour of the house and even a sneak peek at sleeping Jack. We hadn't seen Mike & Liz since they got married over a year ago; so we did some serious catching up before finally letting them get some rest. After all, we both had a big day in Athens on Saturday.

Early Saturday, the Walshs got to meet Jack before heading down to Athens for their full day of tailgating. We took a little more time getting ready and leisurely made our way to Athens. We ran a few errands before joining most of the family for lunch. Jack enjoyed the moose at Loco's. He wore a new outfit for gameday :)

Later we headed downtown for an afternoon with food and friends. We had a great time tailgating with the whole Carr clan, my family and the Walshs. It was a big day for Jack too. He loved Ms. Mickie's mac 'n cheese and banana pudding. There are tons of pictures with the group. The food was great, and the fellowship was even better. Here's Jack getting some banana pudding from his Aunt Lisa.

My mom took Jack home with her and the rest of us headed to the game. In case you were in a cave all weekend, we lost...BIG. It was painful to watch, but we stayed till the bitter end. I have to admit that if I had been at home I would have quit watching.

Sunday morning we went to church with my parents and then all went to lunch afterwards to celebrate my dad's birthday. We also dropped in on a shower for Terri and John, who are getting married in less than 2 weeks. Then, we headed home. It was a long day, but we enjoyed spending time with family and friends. Here are a couple of cute photos of Jack waiting on his daddy to get out of the shower tonight b/f Josh headed to work.

Orange You Glad?

Any of my close friends or family members can tell you that orange is one color that has not been a part of my wardrobe for quite some time now. I'm just that much of a die-hard UGA fan...orange is the enemy, whether it's Auburn, Clemson, Florida or Tennessee. Well, last fall I bought an orange golf shirt from the Motherhood Maternity store in Commerce to don on Friday nights. Mind you it was off the clearance rack, but it still signified a big step in my life.

Fast forward one year and I own 3 orange shirts (2 short sleeve and a sweater for those chillier games). Josh still refuses to wear an orange shirt, but he will wear an HC shirt with orange on it. Luckily, he doesn't object to Jack wearing orange. He looked so cute in his orange and navy shirt with blue jeans this Friday night.

It was the third Raider game of the season, and Jack enjoyed his time there. We left at the half to meet Josh's parents. They came into town to watch Jack for us on Saturday. Josh and I traveled over to Columbia to attend the UGA-SC game with Chandler & Sara. It was so great hanging out with them and seeing little Noah, who is just 6 weeks older than Jack. It was a scorcher of a game and the Dawgs barely eeked out a win. It wasn't pretty, but as they say, "It's a W."

Big Bulldog Weekend

We had a busy bulldog weekend, and there are plenty of photos to prove it. The fun kicked off Thursday evening when some friends of ours rolled into town. Ben, Wendy & BJ joined us for a long weekend. We gave BJ his birthday present, which you can see he loved. A Stafford jersey and football. The Pucketts brought Jack a jersey too.

Josh grilled up some great steaks. The weather was great so we hung around outside and enjoyed catching up. On Friday, I had a MOPS meeting. It was our last one before our new year kicks off...yippee! Afterwards, I met the Pucketts at the park, which was fun. Jack again loved the swing...giggling as I pushed him back and forth (all while his hair is flapping in the breeze!)

Friday afternoon as soon as Josh was home we headed to Helen to walk around a bit and then enjoyed dinner at the Nacoochee Grill. Then, we joined the Raider football game already in progress. The Raiders beat Heritage 12 - 7. Jack lasted most of the game, falling asleep on Wendy some time in the 4th quarter. He was a trooper.

We got up early Saturday morning as we had an errand to run in Athens before game time. The Pucketts joined us later at IHOP for a delicious breakfast. Then we dropped Jack off and did a little tailgating before the game. It was a hot day, but there were some clouds in the area, which provided some much needed shade during the game. We were treated to an awesome game as Georgia drilled Central Michigan and Knowshon showed off his vertical. The photo here is was just after T.K. made the first catch of his college career. We were never prouder to be from Habersham County! We went nuts! Our evening finished with pizza at Peppino's.

Sunday was also pretty busy as Josh had to work and I had the ER Open House. The Bates graciously agreed to watch Jack for several hours while I greeted folks and showed people around. Then, Jack and I headed to church. He managed to stay awake until almost 9 waiting for Josh to get home. After they had a little time together it was off to bed! What a fun weekend!

Catching up from the weekend

What a great Labor Day weekend it has been. It's drawing to a close as I type this and I'm actually missing some college football to do this, but it's just UT v. UCLA. Anyway, our weekend began on Friday as we hurried down to Athens to take in the Habersham Central football game at Cedar Shoals. My mom met us there and enjoyed spending time with Jack. My dad does the play-by-play radio broadcast for the small high school I graduated from. (So small they didn't even have football when I went there). So, you'll notice mom listening to their game while she watched a different one!

Since the visitor's stands were packed we ventured onto enemy territory. Luckily, we happened upon Bo, Madeline, Derek & Tate. Jack enjoyed playing with two familiar faces. It was a pretty hot and humid evening and the night quickly turned unfortunate for the Raiders as they fell to Cedar 23 - 14. Jack was very well behaved for his first game, which is good news since we have season tickets to the home Raider games.

Saturday was the official start of college football for us because it was Georgia's home opener. The dawgs took on Georgia Southern. My mom happily watched Jack while Josh, Dad and I headed to the game. It was a pretty hot day. The temperatures hovered around 89, but it felt much hotter. We stuck it out and stayed for every snap. Next week kicks off at 3:30, so maybe we'll get a little bit of relief from the sun.

Saturday's game also signaled the introduction of UGA VII, the newest english bulldog to grace the sidelines at Sanford Staduim. He's a cute little guy, although I'm still partial to VI, who was a perfect looking bulldog. This photo of him on ice is pretty cute. Sometime in the second half they showed him on the big screen asleep in his dawg house. I guess he knew we had the Eagles under control.

After the game we joined my mom and Jack to visit my Papa, (Jack's great grandfather) who has just moved into assisted living. It was good to visit with him, but he's quite confused and pretty sad. Next time you say a prayer lift one up for him as well. My parents and uncle are working very hard to ease the transition, but it's just not that easy.

The five of us grabbed a quick dinner before Josh, Jack and I headed home. We got home in time to see most of Bama's derailing of Clemson. The ACC is not looking so strong this year. Oh, and we watched it in High Definition. Yes, I broke down and ordered the premium content. We've had a HD television for several months, but I just didn't think it was worth it to pay extra for HD channels. This summer I agreed to order it in time for football season, and not a moment too soon...they hooked it up on Friday afternoon!

Our Sunday was pretty normal. We had the nursery, so I managed to snap a few pictures of Jack in his class, which was neat. We just had 2 kids...our Jack and another Jack. Go figure...we picked the new most popular name for a boy! After church and a fun lunch at the japanese place, we all took a nap! Josh had to work, so then Jack and I headed to evening church. I subbed for KidzLife, so I missed our great discipleship class we've been participating in, Boundaries w/ Kids.

Monday was a pretty lazy day for us. Josh caught up on the sleep he missed while working all night in the ER. Jack and I just played as quietly as possible. Later Josh joined us to hang out. I was cleaning up after dinner, when I heard a lot of rustling in the living room. I found Josh reading the paper, and Jack in the floor destroying the sections he had already been through. Needless to say, he was covered in newsprint!