9.30.2011

my friday mailbox treat.

my guilty pleasure x 2.

my mindless reading.

my picture magazine.

hello j.lo, fergie & pippa.

hello gosling, cowell & mcconaughey.

i'm indulging in y'all!

thanks for making the walk to the mailbox a friday treat.



9.30.2011

afternoon cookouts at school.

nothing better than a burger with a side of colin.

happy friday!



9.30.2011

a new album.

a new month.

julys photos are organized.

julys memories are jotted down.

julys stories are safe & sound.

a little bit of scrapbooking +

a little bit photo album =

sippel stories to hand down!

9.29.2011

{nathans school football pictures arrived this week}

football. football. football.

its in our days lives around here right now.

we talk about our nfl weekly picks.

we plan our saturday afternoon & evenings around the college games.

we debate over the best quarterbacks.

we reviews stats as if they were multiplication tables.

we cheer on the sidelines.

we bleach white football pants daily.

we fight over the current issue of sports illustrated.

its fall football season around here

even if the thermometer is at 101 today.

-

austin weather records as of today:

90 days this summer in triple digits.

131 consecutive days greater then 90 degrees.

hot. hot. hot.

-

football. football. football.

this is right now.

nfl results for this week:

steve 11/16

carol 9/16

justin 8/16

nathan 10/16

colin 9/16

(correctly picked winning team/nfl games played)

friendly family competition around here.

$25.00 to the person who has the best record.

steves in the lead.

keep y'all posted!

9.28.2011

i didn't want it to end.

i actually had to force myself to read the last chapter today.

i am sad my journey with judith & willy has ended.

the writing is beautiful.

the characters are real.

the story is haunting.

the love is timeless.

the title has meaning.

the author has tightly woven together every little detail into

a novel that will surprise you, touch you and stay with you.

its about love - todays & yesterdays.

i can already see myself reading this one again!

9.27.2011

don't let those dark clouds fool you.

don't get out that umbrella yet.

don't stop those texas rain dances yet.

don't worry that they cancelled justins football game.

don't worry that nathan only played one song in the marching band before

they had to call all the students off the field.

don't worry about flooding.

the clouds rolled in.

the lightning danced throughout the sky.

the thunder was audible.

but the rain only lasted for a minute or two.

just enough to get the ground kinda wet.

just enough to tease us.

just enough to cause havoc in our evening plans.

just enough.

not enough.

drought life continues.

rain dances are back in full swing.

umbrellas are packed away again.

back to life.



9.26.2011

monday night football - week 3

the bleachers are packed, the cow bells are ringing,

the sun is 99 degrees blazing and the hopewell hornets are buzzing.

we are cheering, we are yelling and

we are munching on popcorn.

the shadows start to fill the field, the clock starts to wind down

and the boys feel defeat this week.

heres to next week -

its just around the corner &

a few 6:30 am practices away!

9.25.2011

sunday snow day for me.

nothing better than the sound of a telephone at 5am on a work day.

sunday football for all.

thank you for the houston game ending early

because we got to watch the last 2 minutes of the bills game (again!).

you can take the family out of buffalo but

you cant take the bills out of us!

colin was the only true fan around here this weekend.

we all picked tom brady but not colin.

we all sided with the patriots but not colin.

we all circled the red, white & blue bird but not colin.

we all lost this game except colin!

go.bills. go.



9.23.2011

{the gap year by sarah bird}

i loved this book probably because i will never have a 17 year old daughter.

i loved this book because it has a great hidden ending.

i love this book because sarah bird is an austin girl.

i loved this book because it is written in journal entry form.

i loved this book because it jumps back and forth in the time game.

i loved this book because i'm a mom too!

9.22.2011

we are sunrise chasers.

we bring the camera.

we jump in the minivan.

we take the same road everyday.

we catch a small glimpse along the way

but not until we pass the clubhouse do we really

know what the morning sun is dressed in.

some mornings she hides under a cloud blanket.

some mornings she is burning & blinding orange.

some mornings she is a purple pink hanging low.

some mornings she is a cloud stripped ball.

we are sun rise chasers.

just colin & i.

9.21.2011

whats going on in this photo?

a) nathan is waking up the sleeping computer with a trumpet tune.

b) nathan is googling and practicing his trumpet simultaneously.

c) nathan is making a you tube trumpet tutorial lesson.

d) nathan is doing his homework.

-

correct answer: d

nathan is playing his trumpet piece into smart music & his teacher will review

his recording, give him a grade on his new piece & make comments.

how homework has changed!

9.20.2011

{tonight - 8th grade football game @ cedar ridge hs}

i feel like we are on a photo shoot.

the backgrounds change as quickly as the quarters.

quarter one: cotton candy cloud backdrop

quarter two: orange dusk blanket

quarter three: bouncing rose spikes

quarter four: tuesday night lights

great weather, great backdrops, great game till

ridgeview scored to win in the last quarter.

-

nfl update - our scores for week two:

colin 14/16

nathan 11/16

justin 8/16

steve 13/16

carol 10/16

(winning team picked/total games)

after two weeks, colin & steve are tied for first place -

each guessing 23 correct team wins.

15 weeks left in regular season.

 

9.19.2011

where's nate?

where's nate?

claire: "sweetie, if they don't fit you then you're going to be the only one not wearing white and then you're going to stand out... like where's waldo."

phil: "actually, where's waldo doesn't stand out. he's super hard to find... that's the challenge. also, his name is just waldo."

go. nate. go.

number 64.

center.

snap that ball.

pull up those pants.

nice job.

monday memories.

9.18.2011

weekend memories:

friday night live music at the ranch house  $20.00

something borrowed dvd from the redbox   $1.30

brunch at z'tejas with miss ashley  $75.00

getting the last two minutes of the buffalo bills game  PRICELESS



9.17.2011

happy days of june are all scrapbooked.

memories recorded on archival safe paper for future generations.

the big events & the daily events.

the parties & the quotes.

the photos & the ticket stubs.

the stories & the dates.

the everyday memories of june!

9.16.2011

the perfect book club book.

light. easy. nonpolitical.

love story.

small english town.

loved major pettifrews dry sense of humor

carried throughout the book.

9.15.2011

classic legos that you can't find in a lego catalog.

classic legos that you can't find on a target shelf.

classic legos that you can't find in our house.

classic legos are the thing around here now.

nathan & colin spend hours minutes searching ebay looking for just the one

to add to their collection.

and their newest acquisition just arrived this week.

classic sports hockey from 2003.

complete in the original box - never opened.

complete lego fun with pieces that look like antiques.

completely overtaking the kitchen table.

heres to more lego pieces filling our house.

heres to tomorrows ebay find.

heres to my ebay selling many years from now!

9.14.2011

are you ready for another season?

we are!

we had so much fun doing this last year that we are doing it again.

we each have our own 'program'.

we each pick who we think is going to win the football game.

we do not help each other.

we each have our own method.

statistics, injuries, home field turf, team colors.

we watch. we cheer. we tally.

after week one, here are the standings:

nate 11/16

steve 10/16

colin 9/16

justin 8/16

carol 7/16

(i'm going to have to go with something besides the team color method!)

the prize at the end of regular season.

$25.00 to the person guessing the most correct wins.

game on.

heres to days filled with espn, sports illustrated and

family time watching the games together!!

now if we could just all scrapbook together....

9.13.2011

tonight.

flag football practice on drought brown grass at 6:30pm in 102 degrees.

doesn't get any better than this.

well, maybe a little.....

9.12.2011

hello monday.

we are happy to see you and all 105 degrees.

we are happy to sit in one of the 11,000 seats and cheer.

we are happy to watch nathans first tackle football game.

we are happy to announce no broken bones.

we are happy to say it was a great game right down to the last 3 seconds.

we are happy despite the loss.

we are happy for middle school football season to start!

heres to a safe one.