Delta Eagle Already

 I got a call several weeks ago from a guy whose son goes to school with Jayke.  He has coached one of the teams on the Royerton League  in previous years and noticed Jaykeb when we played against his team.  He is also the same coach that saw Jayke at the YMCA one day when mom had taken him and asked, "Is that Howell?"  She told him yes and he told her that Jayke is really good and he remembered watching him play for the Royerton team.  He was calling to tell me he was putting together an AAU travel team and wanted to know if Jayke would be interested in playing on it?  OF COURSE HE WOULD BE INTERESTED!!

I'm not sure which one of us is more excited about this, Jayke or me!  First of all, for him to have noticed Jayke and feel that he was who he wanted to play point guard on this team was awesome!  Secondly, the experience he is going to get playing for this team versus the other elementary school team will be ten times better.  Also, all of the kids on this team are Jayke's friends and the boys who he will hopefully continue to play with for many years.

We play in the Richmond league so that means there is some travel for us.  Here the boys are waiting for their game to start in the big Richmond gym.

We also get to play in the Muncie Central Field house.  This was exciting for the boys because of the size of the gym, exciting for me because I hadn't been in there since I was a freshman in high school, and exciting for the grandparents because they hadn't been in there in a lot longer than that!  It's going to be fun watching these boys develop there game over the next several years.

One Unhappy Zombie

One thing you don't want to do is tick off a zombie, especially one trained in combat. I have managed to do  this quite easily.  Personally, I think he looks great!  He on the other hand thinks I am the WORST at putting on Halloween makeup ever and wants me to take him straight to Bob's so he can put his makeup on for him.

Once we got to Bob's he convinced him that his makeup was applied well and he wasn't in need of a touch up.  I think maybe he was really afraid that he would end up looking like a green faced Brett Michaels zombie!!!

Jeff joined us with his kids and two of their friends.  Zach is the werewolf in the back and Emily is in the pink dress in front.  Seth wouldn't join the picture, I guess when you are twelve it isn't cool to get your picture taken in costume with a bunch of younger kids!  

We took them all Trick or Treating around Bob's neighborhood and they got tons of candy.  All the kids got along well which is encouraging for future get togethers.

Halloween Classic and the End of the Season

Every year we end our fall soccer season with the Halloween Classic tournament.  It is one of my favorites both for it's theme and also it is the closest tournament to home that we play.  This year the tournament fell on the weekend after Halloween but it didn't lessen the fun!

Double Dose

We carved our pumpkin this evening and Jayke had an assistant of course.  Nemo loves pumpkins!  After carving our own pumpkins we got a second chance over at Bob's.  Alec looks like he is enjoying hacking that thing up way too much!  We quickly learned that you cannot leave three boys alone with pumpkins.  Bob and I left the room briefly and when we returned the pumpkin goo was flung every where.  What fun is carving a pumpkin without a pumpkin gut fight?

She's Just Rotten!!

Luna likes to sit in Zoey's cage so she can't go in it.  Zoey is terrified of Luna and won't even look at her when she is perched in there like the queen she thinks she is.

4th Grade

ooOOoo That Smell!

This morning after Jayke left for school I noticed the entire house smelled like a department store perfume counter.  I figured out that The Boy had obviously doused himself generously with cologne before leaving for school.  This was odd behavior for a kid who acts like brushing his teeth is one step away from water boarding so I had to wonder, what brought on this sudden urge to freshen up.  Later this evening I think I solved the mystery.  Laynie, the little girl from down the street and my boy were looking nice and cozy in the garage getting acquainted over some Play Doh.  I'm going to have to teach him that theres more to getting a girl than just smelling good, although it doesn't hurt...and obviously...its working for the playa!

Mom, Come ON!!!

It's that time of year again!!!  Time for me to drag The boy around and make him stick crazy things on his head so I can take his picture.  As you can see, he is absolutely thrilled about it.  I wonder how many more years I will be able to get him to cooperate with this?

Bowling Bash

Aidan, from Jayke's soccer team, had a bowling birthday party.  Once the kids were done the adults cranked up the juke box and took a turn.  Think I will have a bowling party for Jayke this year.  No better place to turn a bunch of wild boys loose!

Back at It! Fall Soccer

Just another spectator on the soccer sideline

More soccer than ever this year.  It keeps us running at least 5 days a week with practice Tuesday through Thursday and games at least Saturday or Sunday.

Jayke is on the U10 academy team this season.  Each year they mix up the kids in his age group and form two separate teams as equally matched as possible.  They all practice together and most of the time travel together.  He has been playing with some of these kids for several years now and made some really good friends, including a boy whose mom I went to high school with.  

I had this blanket made for him with the team shield.  After seeing it many of the parents ordered them as well.  Yea...I'm a trend setter.

FIRE!!

One of the neighbors in Mason's neighborhood decided to catch their deck on fire today and the boys were on the scene to check it out!  Everything is a photo op for me!

Little Fisherman

He's turning into quite the little fisherman this summer.  Goes out all by himself and usually does pretty well!

He caught this HUGE bass but needed a little help with it.  It looks almost as big as he is!

Another Soccer Tournament...More Great Times!

One of Jayke's best friends, Jonathan.  They finally got to play on the same team.  They have ridden the bus to school together since kindergarten and were super excited when they found out they finally got to play together this season!

For this tournament we had a club wide picnic in between games.  AJ came and joined us since we were so close to her house and got to see Jayke play a couple of games.  She even brought Kyle out the second day.  I need to remind her next time to bring chairs so they will enjoy it more.  So glad Jayke's family likes to come watch him play and cheer him on!

What is Gabi doing behind him?

Still best of friends, Jayke and Mason.  I absolutely LOVE this picture and really wish I knew what Mason was saying that is cracking him up so.

Jayke, Chase, and Chase's brother Jake.  Jayke and Chase have played together on the same team since the beginning.  I like that when all the other kids are so much bigger, Jayke has someone else on his team about his size.  

The Boy and Me

4th Grade! Something is Amiss...

Jayke started 4th grade today!  He was ready to go back and quickly got himself ready this morning.  The bus came early so I missed getting a picture before he left.  I asked Mom to take this one when he got home and promptly posted it to Facebook.  Later it was pointed out to me by mom that something wasn't quite right in the picture.  If you look closely, in his haste to catch the bus, he put on two different shoes and wore them all day!  Good thing they are so similar, he said no one said anything to him so maybe no one noticed.  Didn't bother him, as you can see, he is all smiles!

The Senior Citizens

Simon and Laynie are still with us...15 years old this summer!

I've Been Having Fun Too!

Those are Tequila Pickle Backs on that tray!  A shot of tequila with a chaser of pickle juice...sound disgusting?  It's not.  Loved it!

Above we are at the Red Dog to hear my friend, Mandi's husband's band play.  Pictured are Johna, Mandi, Sean, robin, and me.

We celebrated Kim's 41st birthday with a dinner at Amazing Joe's.  The guys were all there too, including NEW BOYFRIEND, Jeff.  (More on Jeff later)

Melanie, Angi, Me, Kim, Robin, and Mandi obviously find something extremely funny...I have no idea what but Ryan was taking the picture so I'm sure it was something he said.

Besides hanging out at Bob's pool, playing euchre and cornhole, I also went to two concerts with AJ.  Maroon Five and New Kids on The Block.  Yes, NKOTB and they were great! 

Maroon Five probably would have been a great concert had we not had lawn seats, (a first for both of us) and had a large group of very drunk and disrespectful people behind us.  AJ was quite funny experiencing the lawn with it's rowdiness, distance from the stage, and oneness with nature.  She managed to get a mosquito bite before we even made it inside the venue and was totally lost without the comfort of entering through the VIP entrance.  We made it through the evening and even got to enjoy parts of it.  I'm glad I experienced the lawn...once...it probably won't happen again any time soon though.

For our second concert it was a completely different story.  She got us VIP seats in a suite at Banker's Life Fieldhouse to see NKOTB...her fave!  I was skeptical but I must tell you, they put on a FANTASTIC show!  AJ was much more in her element in the suite with food and a stocked bar for us to enjoy.  I admit, the suite was more my speed too.  We had a great time with NKOTB, 98 Degrees, and Boyz to Men.  A big THANK YOU to AJ for thinking of me when looking for a date!

Busy Summer...Catch Up...

The Boy has been busy this summer... learning new things...

Taking in sporting events...

Providing dinner...

Exploring his world...

And taking it easy....

He got invited to spend the night with a friend and was getting his things ready.  After gathering his stuff he asked me, "Is this too much to take to a sleep over?  I don't want to look like I'm moving in!"

It's been a great summer so far with much more to come!!

All For Me!

He said he wanted A LOT of crab...