We have so much to be thankful for each year on Thanksgiving day, but this year was definitely a special one for us. Seven years ago today, God blessed us with our sweet little boy, Hunter. It is so hard to believe that it has been seven years. Thinking back on that day we first held him in our arms, we could never have predicted how much joy he would bring into our lives. We are thankful for his sweet demeanor...for his eager to please attitude...for the way he loves his little brother and all of his family members...for the way he treats his peers and everyone he comes in contact with...for his curiosity and eagerness to learn...and most importantly, for the ways we can see Jesus working in his heart. He truly is a gift from God, and we couldn't be more thankful that He blessed our lives with our precious Hunter.
After months of anticipation, the big day finally came...we took the boys to their first Longhorns football game. They were excited about it all last week and couldn't wait to root on their favorite team in person. We arrived at the game early to tailgate with some of Chris's partners, and then walked over to the stadium to watch warmups and senior presentations.
Once the game started though, all eyes were on the football field and they cheered like they had been coming to games forever. In one of the crowd favorite cheers, they say "OU Sucks". Well, Hunter quickly caught onto that so we had to insist he say "OU Stinks".
Chris went to his first Denver Broncos game around this age and has such vivid memories, so we are hoping the boys will always remember their first night of Longhorn football. And if all continues to play out well, this will be a season to remember for the Longhorns, as the National Championship is within their grasp!
Over the weekend, we wrapped up another fun season of fall soccer. This was Hunter's 4th year and Carson's second. They both absolutely love playing and we have all enjoyed every minute of soccer this season.
Hunter's team was the Tornados, and there were nine other boys from his school on the team.
Yes, that's me on the left...Coach Julie! I helped out with their team this year and had fun working with the boys. They were all great and didn't even mind a mom out there on the field with them.
Hunter got his trophy yesterday and was awarded a certificate that said 'Best Natural Scorer With Either Foot'!
Carson's team was the Jetfires. He has definitely followed in the footsteps of his big brother and loves playing soccer. Carson is lightning fast and really has a good understanding of the game (since he has had the benefit of watching his big brother play over the past few years).
Maneuvering around a defender
The Jetfires
My dad came into town to watch their final games and we all had a good visit with him. We are already anticipating the next season of soccer for the boys. For now though, on to basketball!
Over the weekend, we took a whirlwind family trip to Chicago. It was such a great getaway...from the fabulous weather we had, to the quality family time together, to reuniting with our college buddies. It was jam packed with events, but we definitely made the most of our 48 hours in the Windy City.
One of the highlights was going to the top of the Sears Tower, all 110 stories of it. Until 2004, it was the tallest building in the world. It was a clear day and we had a great view of Chicago. On a good day, you can see 4 states from the top (Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin).
There was a cool (but rather scary) glass bottomed observation deck...yikes! (see video at the end of the post).
We spent some time in Millennium Park wondering around and enjoying the city and water views. We came across this sculpture called Cloud Gate. It is a giant kidney bean shaped sculpture that reflects everything around it, including the city skyline. The boys got a kick out of it (see video at end).
We walked along Michigan Ave and then headed out to the end of Navy Pier, taking in the sights along Lake Michigan. The great lakes truly are great. It looked more like an ocean than a freshwater lake.
The boys took their first subway ride.
We were in Chicago for the wedding of a great college friend of ours. The wedding took place in the chapel at Northwestern University. Here we are outside the church.
It was a gorgeous chapel with amazing stained glass windows.
Chris with all of his college buddies
And my girl friends....a shout out to Marcia and Kristin, who are loyal readers of my blog. It was awesome hanging out with you two!
Videos (the first is at the top of the Sears Tower, and the second is Cloud Gate at Millennium Park)
The boys have been asking us for months to take them to a 'real' football game, so last Friday we bundled up and headed to the Austin High v. West Lake game. It is always a huge rivalry. Austin High is my alma mater, but the boys wanted to root for West Lake, so I obliged and sat on the WHS side.
For those of you not from Texas, high school football here is taken as serious as many colleges take their football teams. There were foam hands and rally rags being passed out, shirtless guys with body painting, wild celebrations and loud raucous cheering. The atmosphere was great and it was a close game. We left at half time and the score was 21-21, and WHS ended up winning 49-42 in overtime.
There were a few activities for the kids before the game, and the boys were able to throw the football through the star for a prize.
Hunter has really taken to football this year, and Chris loves watching it with him and giving him the play by play.
Hunter saw several of his buddies at the game, and was even given a sweet, "Hiiiii, Hunter", from a cute 5th grade cheerleader that rides his bus! He played it cool though.
Carson fell asleep on his foam hand before the half was up. He said the cutest thing when the game started. He asked where the yellow line was (the one they use on TV to mark the distance to a first down)!
I'm sure this is the first of many more football games in our future.
We hope everyone had a spooky Halloween! Ours was lots of fun. The kids really enjoyed carving a jack-o-lantern this year, and we created the scariest face we could think of...Hunter is demonstrating.
I got to join Carson at his school party. He decided to paint his entire pumpkin blue!
The boys dressed in Star Wars gear again. This year, Hunter was Darth Vader and Carson was Luke Skywalker. They trick-or-treated with their friend, Meredith.
We lighted up our jack-o-lantern at nightfall before a fun night of trick-or-treating.
Checking out their loot at the end of the night
The Thus came in town for Halloween to celebrate all of the excitement with us. We have had a great visit and a fun Halloween weekend.
On Friday, Carson and I headed to Sweet Berry Farm in Marble Falls on a field trip with Hunter's class. It was a glorious day...70 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. It definitely reminded me of west coast weather. The area where we lived in Northern California had pumpkin patches everywhere, and I loved taking the boys to them several times each fall to play among the pumpkins. Our trip on Friday brought back some fun memories.
There were literally mounds of pumpkins everywhere. Carson helped me pick out the perfect one to carve for our jack-o-lantern this year.
The boys picked out a small pumpkin to paint as well.
Hunter's class did relay races where they had to get a pumpkin in the wagon and pass it off to the next person in line.
They also learned how to shuck corn...
...and then every boy in the class proceeded to turn their corn husk into a gun. BOYS!
Carson said his favorite part was feeding the horses. This one was so friendly and was eating right out of Carson's hand.
We also went on a hay ride with the class and had fun playing hide and seek in a huge hay maze at the farm. It was the perfect fall day!
We have so much to be thankful for each year on Thanksgiving day, but this year was definitely a special one for us. Seven years ago today, God blessed us with our sweet little boy, Hunter. It is so hard to believe that it has been seven years. Thinking back on that day we first held him in our arms, we could never have predicted how much joy he would bring into our lives. We are thankful for his sweet demeanor...for his eager to please attitude...for the way he loves his little brother and all of his family members...for the way he treats his peers and everyone he comes in contact with...for his curiosity and eagerness to learn...and most importantly, for the ways we can see Jesus working in his heart. He truly is a gift from God, and we couldn't be more thankful that He blessed our lives with our precious Hunter.
