10.15.2011

nothing better than a saturday morning football game under spectacular blue skies.

nothing better than watching the eagles huddle together.

nothing better than seeing colin play quarterback.

nothing worse than watching him throw an interception.

nothing worse than watching his smile turn upside down.

nothing worse than the long walk back to the car.

-

life lessons than can't be taught from a textbook.

life lessons that will break your heart.

life lessons that will make you stronger.

life lessons that are priceless.

10.14.2011

nathan is somewhere on the 'round rock' with the hopewell

middle school junior historians club.

gotta love nate - he gets involved in everything.

gotta love the draught conditions - you can walk to the rock instead of swim!

heres to making history today and looking back on it tomorrow.

10.13.2011

yesterday & today.

look what i found when i went to frame our summer family picture today -

our family picture from january 2003 was hidden behind

other photos in the frame.

oh my gosh.

when did these boys grow up?

where is my baby?

when did time march on without me?

what ever happened to those sweaters?

today & yesterday.

enjoy today.

you'll find it behind an old photo in a frame tomorrow.

-

'the best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.'
abraham lincoln

10.12.2011

overheard conversation:
nate: 'colin, what do you want to be when you grow up?'
colin: 'a nfl football player.'
nate: 'do you have a backup plan?'
colin: 'a nfl coach.'
nate: 'you might want to rethink those choices because let me tell you its REALLY hard playing tackle football like i do every week. i'm thinking of changing my career now that i barely made it through football camp & a couple games.'
colin: 'thanks, but i'm good.'
-
words of wisdom from a 7th grader today.
(must of been a challenging practice at 630am this morning.)

10.11.2011

what do you do when you have a house full for football fans?
you carry on with a fall tradition !
we are going strong with our nfl game picks.
results from this past nfl week #5:
steve: guessed 9 winning teams out of 13 games.
carol: 9/13
justin: 7/13
nathan: 10/13
colin: 6/13
the guys pick their teams in about one minute.
i take about 20 minutes.
we all have completely different strategies.
we all pick without consulting one another.
no peeking allowed.
it definitely brings about some lively conversations around here.
good stuff.
(go bills !!)

10.11.2011

week after week, those 7th grade hornets get better & better.

week after week, its right down to the last play of the game.

week after week, we sit on the edge of our bleacher seat.

week after week, we eat large quantities of stadium popcorn.

week after week, we put our zantac to the test.

week after week, we cheer on the team & number 64.

week after week, we love middle school football!

10.10.2011

just finished reading this book &

i absolutely loved it!

650 pages that i could not put down.

650 pages that went to car pickup lines, football practice & even work.

650 pages that i did not want to end.

650 pages that i had to wait forever to borrow from the library.

650 pages that were beautifully written.

i am going to have a hard time finding a book to follow this one.

10.7.2011

look whats hanging on our refridge already!

can you guess whos list this is?

10.7.2011

on tuesday, we bought nathan the newest book out by one of his favorite authors,

rick riodens the son of neptune.

on wednesday, this is the view out the front window while i waited for nathan

to arrive home from school.

on thursday, he has already read 200 pages and still going strong.

nothing better than a new book that you can't put down!

10.6.2011

happy birthday steve.

we wanted you to join the apple club with us.

(we promise not to tell your boss!)

enjoy!

your day was filled with pork chops and birthday calls.

we celebrated with cake and last nights episode of modern family.

you had surprises behind refridge doors & on skype.

you're finally as old as me now!

10.5.2011

can you see two honor band sippel boys?

me neither despite the fact that i was 35 minutes early to get good seats.

no matter which side i pick, the boys are always on the opposite side of the stage.

our evening was filled with wonderful tunes.

we enjoy hearing the music at home while y'all practice.

we love hearing it when accompanied by the rest of the band.

thanks for bring music to our ears!

10.5.2011

the story behind the old fashioned marble black & white composition books.

-

a week ago, colin asked me to dig out his third grade writing journal book - done.

a couple days ago, colin said his friend loved reading his 'story' from last year.

(he apparently shared his journal book from last year at school.)

yesterday, colin said he might be a writer when he grows up.

today, colin asked me to pick up 4 composition books - wide ruled please - for him.

"i'm writing a very long book" he proudly declared.

how could i say no to that request?!

heres to writing.

heres to future stories.

heres to another everyday memory around here!

10.5.2011

nfl week four standings:

steve 13/16

carol 11/16

justin 13/16

nathan 10/16

colin 10/16

its a tight race so far!

we debate. we choose. we laugh. we pick winners.

we pick underdogs. we pick home teams. we pick based on quarterbacks.

we pick team colors.

we record. we score. we tally.

we do it together.

family fun in a new form!

10.4.2011

tonight in pictures.

justin & ashley at cdfulks middle school football field.

-

tonight in words.

i sometimes look out onto the field and i do not recognize you.

i am looking for that chatty toddler wearing my shoes all over the house.

i am looking for that older brother who did all nates talking for three years.

i am looking for that monkey who jumped on the bed & got stitches.

i am looking for that 8 year old who sat by himself on the plane to texas.

i am looking for the boy who cat watched & left the front door ajar.

i am looking for that kid who can solve all my computer problems.

i am looking for that guy that cuts the grass & takes out the trash.

i am looking for that brother who is able to help nate with his algebra & spanish.

i am looking for the person who hides the reese peanut butter chips for me.

i am looking for the person that sends 4,988 text messages in one month.

i sometimes look out onto the field and i do not recognize you.

not tonight.

there are are.

standing tall and proud.

sharing your faith, lunch & wisdom with all.

we are proud of you & not because you wear a football jersey.

we cheer you on always in whatever you do.

go. jdog. go.

10.3.2011

guess what i did today?

about a month ago, nathan asked me if i had ever been called to jury duty.

i told him that i had a long time ago, but because i was a nurse i did not have to appear.

i told him that its an exciting part of being an american citizen.

he had asked how would they ever find a jury for dr. conrad murray.

(he watches way to much news!)

we discussed our legal system at great length that day.

this is an example of great foreshadowing.

he must of known what was coming in the mail addressed to me.

i totally blamed this envelope on him.

-

it was actually a very exciting process.

the boys were excited to hear all the details.

i was picked to serve.

i got to sit in one of the six chairs.

i listened. i thought. i examined all the evidence.

six total strangers in a small room.

six strangers agreeing on a charge & a fine.

six american citizens doing there duty.

i was proud to contribute to the system.

good stuff.

good day!



10.3.2011

monday night.

one simple word to sum up nathans football game.

won.

(finally!)

(that was one excited football player)

(that was a whole lot of happy parents in the bleachers)

happy monday.

make your week be filled with touchdown memories!

10.2.2011

i am an old fashioned kinda girl.

i have a kindle, but i still love holding a real book.

i go the the library once a week to check out a book or two.

i am slowly working my way through the cookbook section these days.

i faithly glance at the books for sale at the front of the library.

look at the pile i picked up this past friday.

for just six george washingtons.

better than a grande cafe latte at starbucks.

one for justin - which he is already enjoying - 'facing the giants'.

one for steve - 'the new new thing' by michael lewis.

and four for me - that have all been on my to read reading list.

heres to finding a teenager carrying a good book around,

a hubby sitting outside in the evening sun turning the pages and

the joy of books piled all around the house.

-

" a house without books is like a room without windows"

- heinrich mann

10.2.2011

question:

what do you do when you move to texas but still are cheering for the buffalo bills

on a sunday afternoon?

answer:

jump in the car at half time, drive to your local sports bar,

have the manager change on of the tv screens to the bills game,

move to a different table for better viewing

and enjoy!

go. bills. go.

10.1.2011

saturday recap:

neighborhood garage sales to walk thru.

 ymca soccer games to watch & cheer.

band uniforms purchased for upcoming fall concert.

 college football games watched.

target football cards purchased.

flag football games to win.

swedish meatballs & queso for dinner.

 modern family episodes to laugh to.

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.