Back To School

*These pics are not in any kind of actual order.*

Back to School: Anderson

Anderson's 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Moore, is AMAZING so far. She is very Type A so I have a feeling that it is going to be a good year. 

Posing after his back to school haircut. 

I know that he loves me because he humors me with these pictures. 

I really love that we invested in this UT backpack last year because I have a feeling it will serve as his actual backpack for most of his school career. One day it might actually fit him. 

I will walk him into school on the first day every year that he lets me. 

Not much has changed here.

Max & I walked him in another day. I discovered that they will let him in before 7:10 if he is a "walker."

This was one of his first assignments. I am really glad that we crammed in all of those summer activities so that he could say he went to our house and his grandma's house. 

Back to School: Me

August is always the craziest month for anyone in education. No matter how much I try to pre-plan, prepare, etc. it is crazy. 

I went in to catch up on some things that could only be done at school and brought Noni with us to watch these boys chase each other around the gym. 

Tracking down all of these cokes were my main summer activity. 

"Back to School" also means "Back to Football Games"

Back to School: Max

I love the updates that I get from Max's school. This one was from his last splash day over the summer. 

Technically Max has been going to school some over the summer but this was his first day of the last pre-school class and I wanted to document it. 

Things I want to note: his boots, his hat, his new wedding pants, his camo backpack/lunchbox, his monkey. 

Love. 

A pic from his first day as a bear. 

This pic with Marley was actually a different day than the first day despite the fact that he is wearing the exact same outfit. 

Football so far

We are letting Anderson play tackle football. 

This is a very real thing and a decision that we did not make easily. We actually did not not even contemplate allowing it until after his recent eye appointments when Dr. Cogen gave his approval. 

Also, this. While it had absolutely nothing to do with football, it struck a chord with me when I saw it in Anderson's folder. If you know anything about him, you know that he is OBSESSED with football and has been since he was 3. He has an obsession with watching it, playing it and talking about it. I don't want to limit what he can do because of his eye and this reminded me of that. 

The day after we told him that he could play, this is what he brought home. 

Thrilled was an understatement.

Also, it is only fitting that I start off a post about Anderson playing sports with pictures of entertaining Max. 

He is 4, which is old enough for him to play his own sports, and yet...

Anderson has had football 3-4 times a night for the past month and it has been HOT! Some of his practices last 3 hours so we don't always bring Max with us, but when we do, life is not too hard for him. 

Practices are near various parks, so we hit up lots of playgrounds and duck feeding areas. 

Also, these camo pics are not all the same night or even week. You know Max loves his costume phases and this one hit hard for a bit. 

I think this was after he soaked himself in a random sprinkler and had to change into the back up clothes I keep in the car. He would never wear just a t-shirt so casually. 

Back to the football player- he was SO excited to get his helmet. 

He didn't take it off for hours and would rush inside to put it on for the next few days. He still likes to sit and look at it and try it on at various points during the day. This must be a boy thing...

This is not related to football, but how cute is this girl?

This is from the football camp, which was one of his first nights in pads. It was 4 nights of 3 plus hours of football in 99 degree weather and while we were melting away, HE WAS IN HEAVEN. 

Me: Do you love football as much as you thought you would?

Anderson: No.....I love it even more than I thought I would. It is my passion. 

There is SO much equipment needed for football. I had no idea. Also, all of this gets so nasty after ever practice so it is safe to say that my washing machine is going every night. 

I love so many things about these 2, but the fact that they are basically the same person is one of my favorite parts of their relationship. They both have incredibly high expectations for themselves (and others around them,) never settle for less than winning 1st place and GO BIG every time they do anything. Brandon has taken on the role of football dad very seriously, which I am very grateful for because I literally have no idea how to put all of the pieces together. I also have no idea what specific expectations are associated with each of the many positions, so there are lots of conversations that I just cannot even join. 

I am not even exaggerating when I say that he has waited his entire life for these moments.

I sound like a crazy parent, but if you have ever met him, it all makes sense.  

Also, those cleats. I know. 

We gave him the option of about 8 different kinds and he chose those without hesitation. 

They won their very first game 8-6 (ANDERSON SCORED THE ONLY TOUCHDOWN!) and apparently it was some kind of "bowl game" so there was a trophy. I have yet to figure out how the men in charge of things can plan out a bowl game WITH trophies, but still cannot figure out an actual game schedule. But, whatever, he was excited. 

Then...they had another "bowl game" the next weekend and won that one, too. (Anderson scored again:) Still, I am so confused over what appears to be a made up reasons to pose with trophies, but I will go with it because both of the games were at FHS, which is close to us. 

Just look at my baby right there. 

#25. 

Stay tuned for more pics as this continues to consume our lives. 

Here are some high quality videos from practices and games:

*I am the WORST at recording. I am usually yelling, talking, chasing Max or all of the above, so I am just unable to focus. Also, in one video I don't even realize it is Anderson running the ball until about halfway through so you hear me say, "Who is this kid?" 

A football video

POURING RAIN

Summer. Cousins.

Because summer lasts forever, we ran out of places for Anderson to go when we were at work, so Nicole agreed to take him for a bit. He was SO excited (and, so were we) until we realized that he had football practice so he could only go for about 36 hours. However, the Hughes family managed to cram many activities in that short time, so it worked out pretty well. 

Museum visits, playing outside, jump jamming, eating and lots  of other fun stuff that I forgot to save the pictures of because I was distracted at work when I received them. 

3/5 of the boy cousins just hanging out at Noni's

A few weekends ago, we were able to have lots of hang out time with the 3 younger cousins. Lily came over and immediately started baking. 

We ventured downtown and hit up the sunsphere,

World's Fair Park,

the splashpad, 

Rita's, 

& Krutch Park! We loved hanging out with our Hughes & Brimer cousins all day. 

 That weekend we made significant progress in our relationship. 

There was lots of playing outside at Noni's, as usual. 

And, we totall embrace this hidden rock thing and painted our own. Lily was present; my picture taking skills are just a little off. 

The very next weekend, we crashed the Hughes' Gatlinburg cabin.

*This  trip followed a lot of drama basically related to exhaustion/dealing with small kids/nobody having time to think. 

They had to bring me a cushion because my legs were too short to reach the pedals. 

We went to Hell dinner where the kids terrorized everyone and nobody ate anything. 

But, lightning bugs were caught so it was not a total loss. 

Levi snagged Max's monkey & blanket and with his stolen goods & angry face, he gave me a flashback to Max. 

There was a movie room, a hot tub and a "neighborhood goat," so it was a perfect evening. 

Breakfast at Waffle House did not disappoint. 

On Sunday we actually closed down Splash Country, which was SO much fun. I have become slightly obsessed with Splash Country this year and we will be returning next year for sure. 

He is crazy, but the baby of all of the babies sure is sweet when he is asleep.