A Hog Game, Bud Walton and a little shopping

We went to Fayetteville on Wednesday to watch the Hogs play Missouri. We won 10-0 and had a great time. It rained the first 3 innings so that wasn't very pleasant but in the 4th the rain stopped and it was a beautiful, all be it, chilly night. Kyle Atkins, a freshman player from DeQueen, threw Carson a ball during batting practice so we stayed after the game so he could get autographs on it to add to his collection. Kyle isn't getting to play right now but we are looking forward to seeing him in the years to come. I feel really old since he was like 3 yrs old when I graduated high school and I babysat his older cousins all through school and we would go over and swim at his house. I remember when he was born!

Carson at the game..he and Cade got their faces painted!

We went by Bud Walton on Thursday to look around. We've all been before but when you're 9 years old you forget what you saw when you were "only 8!"

My little angels! ;)

The kids showing off their form!

Marty and the kids "watching" a video in Bud Walton about the Hogs Championship year..the video didn't work so they were staring at a blank screen and listening to the recording. LOL!

Always a highlight of any trip for the kids..swimming in the indoor pool! Some boys Carson played against in baseball from Arkadelphia were there so they had someone to play with after the game while they swam. They had a good time for a couple hours.

It was a quick overnight trip but we had a great time. Did a little shopping before we came home...Hibbett's, Academy Sports..all the usual places Marty will go to! :) A great time was had by all...as Marty always says! ;)

God bless,

Sherri

Kids' Spring Break

Well, I haven't written in a while but it has been crazy busy around here. Baseball/softball season has started and so Gracen and Carson each have practice twice a week plus Gracen has another night right now of pitching practice. Add in church and piano and we have been going almost constantly. This week Marty and the kids are on Spring Break. I am not out until next week. They are really not happy because of all this rain we are having, but have been having a good time none the less.

Friday night both kids had a friend over..wild!! I should've taken some pictures but I forgot! Need to get better about that. Sunday night we had Cade and Karigan, the kids' cousins over to spend the night and then we swapped for last night and they stayed over there. Tonight after practice, Gracen is going to a sleepover at Swaha for her friend Lainey and then tomorrow our family is going up to spend the night in Fayetteville. We're going to watch the Razorbacks play baseball and stay at a hotel with an indoor pool!! The kids love the indoor pool of course! I'll definitely get pics while we're there and post when we get back.

God bless,
Sherri

New Shoes and Chic Fil A

Yesterday was a good day...well, most of it anyway. I went to HS's for a hair appointment and then met Marty and the kids to buy the kids new tennis shoes. They are both in the upper end of kids/lower end of adult sizes which is very hard to find the shoe you want in the size you want. We ended up having a hard time find them both shoes but we did..paid more than we wanted but they both had to have a pair. We ate lunch at Chic Fil A and then Marty took the kids to the state finals for more games. They had gone on Thursday night also. I met some of my friends from my Caney CHICS class and we went to eat in HS's and to the movie to see Confessions of a Shopaholic. Good movie..really funny! I really enjoyed my night out with them...was a great end to my week. I picked the kids up on my way back home and Carson said he had a stomach ache since he ate CFA. He complained last time he ate there, too. Well, he made it inside the house....and threw up all over my bedroom carpet! What is it about kids that makes them not realize they need to go to the potty to do that. He just kept standing there throwing up!!! I finally got him to the bathroom but by then he was done. LOL! I scrubbed my carpet for a while to no avail...will have to be steam cleaned now. Just awful!! He kept apologizing and I never even said anything to him. I assured him it was no big deal with a smile while I wanted to scream and was about to gag myself!!! He went to bed and got up this morning and was fine. He says no more CFA for him...and I love it!!! Oh well...not cleaning that up again!

God bless,
Sherri

Gracen's Crazy Singing Video

Okay so she is sideways b/c I used my regular camera to video and without thinking I turned it sideways...well, duhhh you can't do that when using as a video camera..oh well, you'll get the point. I promised her I would only post this on here and not email it. She was good with that! She's such a mess!!

God bless,

Sherri

Preteen craziness!!

I read somewhere that kids are considered "preteens" from 8-12 years old. Yesterday I was talking to Gracen about how old she was getting and I was doing my usual kidding with her..you have to stop getting older, stop it right now, I don't want you to grow up so fast...she was doing her usual..oh mommmmaaaaa and she giggles! Well, we counted it up and realized that they were 9 years, 7 months yesterday. That means they are now closer to 10 years than 9 years. Sounds trivial maybe but when they turned 9 I was sad b/c it was the last single digit birthday. Now they are 5 months away from the BIG 10! I'm teary-eyed just thinking of it!

Gracen has really taken on these new personality traits the last couple weeks. It's really funny because she is always so embarassed to sing, act silly or draw attention to herself around a group but lately she's been doing this funny singing voice..really loud and even in front of others. She did it playing washers to distract Marty while playing with her older cousin Kameron who she doesn't see a lot and Marty about fell out laughing!! Now she goes around the house doing it constantly. She's using all these funny voices around the house...just things that aren't typical of her...we're thinking it's the preteen craziness coming out in her?! I plan on getting her on video soon b/c as phases go..it could be gone as quick as it started! I hate to see them grow up so fast, but I love seeing them develop such good personalities so far and love spending time with them. They are so much fun!!

God bless,
Sherri

State Tournament

We just got home from the state tournament. The sr. girls did not do very well..lost their first game which was not expected. We went up on Wednesday after school and the girls played Thursday at 4 pm. We stayed in a brand new hotel, the Fairfield Inn and Suites, which was actually really nice. We had a suite so when I woke up earlier than Marty and the kids I could sneak into the living room area and lay on the couch and watch tv for a little peace and quiet before the rush of the day started. It was nice to have the extra room for our little mini-vacation. We always enjoy the state tournament week and I hate the girls lost..Carson cried of course even though it wasn't Marty's team. He said, we had our whole weekend planned! It was too funny!



There was an indoor pool and last night the kids swam with some of the girls and had a blast! They played a game where the kids all made a line and the girl in the front had to swim backwards through all their legs...of course half the time everyone fell down and they all laughed hysterically! It was a great time watching them all. Jackie and I sat out by the pool and it is so funny seeing our kids play with these teenage girls who are so good with the kids and even though they lost they can relax and have a good time. Here are some pics I took...the lighting in there combined with my phone's camera wasn't the greatest but you'll get the idea. I also took some pictures of Gracen's spirit pants. Jacynda made Gracen these pants for her to wear like all the "big girls" have been wearing lately to the games. The front says Gracen and Sr. 2018 (Can't even believe she will be a Senior in 9 years!!!!!!!!!) and the back says I Love Coach Smith (of course! ;)) and Go Trojans! She was thrilled with the pants!!!



Gracen's Spirit Pants :)

The game...someone is swimming through their legs here...

Jesse holding Brody and Carson acting goofy!

God bless,

Sherri

Hooping it up.....

Gracen at halftime at Mt. Ida.
Gracen bringing the ball up the court...I'm prejudiced but she's really good at this!
Carson for 2!!










Carson hustling down the court...he's our little man!

We had a great time with 3rd grade basketball this year!! Carson's team was undefeated and Gracen's team split with Centerpoint for their only loss. Even if they did play 8 Saturday mornings in a row at 9:00 AM...I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!!

God bless,
Sherri

More like them...

Well, it's been a long week this week. Seems like it would never end but now it is Sunday and about to start again. We were playing in the regional tournament at Saratoga this last week. The boys lost their first game against Nevada by 5 points. It was a tough loss. Nevada is a really good team. They went on to lose by 2 points to Bradley who may very well win the state if they play well. The girls placed as runner-up in the regional to Nevada County. We really wanted to beat them..their coach sends a player over to stand right beside Robert every time he calls one of our players over to talk to them during the game..like a free-throw or something like that. It is so irritating! I call them "the spies!" I know..so much bigger things to worry about in the world..entertains us during the game though!

This Saturday morning was the first Saturday morning we were able to sleep in..no pee wee basketball yesterday. But, I loved watching them this year! I did enjoy not having to go this week, however and though I did do some laundry I also watched a little tv, cooked breakfast for Marty and the kids, things we haven't done on a Saturday in a good long while...luxuries these days! I'm going to get around to getting up the pictures from the kids' season...maybe tomorrow!

On a sadder note, today we attended the Celebration of Life for Hannah Joy Sullivan. It was a beautiful service! In typical Sullivan fashion when we walked in, there stood Brad, Jill and Bethany greeting everyone as they came in. I couldn't believe it. They are the most gracious family I have ever met. At a time when I would be tempted to crawl in a whole and shut the world out, they have opened their arms and welcomed everyone in. Bethany and Brad both spoke during the service and did a tremendous job. Everyone actually applauded after Brad spoke. He spoke about Hannah and what God had done in her life and in their lives...how he had given them "the peace that passes all understanding." (Phillipians 4:7) I was so impressed with what both of them had to say. Bethany's ability to stand up before a crowd of we estimated at about 700+...maybe way more than that it was hard to estimate b/c the church is so big...and speak when you have been through what she has just speaks volumes to the job Brad and Jill have done with her. Not only did they so obviously instill in Hannah what we have seen demonstrated this past year during her "storm" but I think we saw before us today that they have raised not just 1 but 2 beautiful, Godly daughters. I only hope I can instill in my kids a small bit of what they have done. As Marty said about Brad and Jill after we left the service ...I want to be more like them....so do I.

God bless,
Sherri