Wyatt's First Soccer Game - October 4

Wyatt played his first soccer game today. Danny and I were both a little anxious about how he was going to do in an actual game. He tends to get pretty distracted during practice and has always struggled in social situations when he feels overwhelmed. He did a good job keeping up with the pace of the game (although near the end he yelled over to me, "Hey, Mom! How much longer?") and even managed to kick the ball a couple of times. Most importantly he had fun and can't wait for his game next week!

Rocky Mountain National Park - September 22-28

We had so much fun on our trip to Colorado. Check out Danny's blog (www.griffisfamilyoutdoors.blogspot.com) for lots more pictures!

Colter's Special Weekend - Sept. 19-21

Each of the kids is going to get a special time in Lubbock over the next few months. Colter had the special privilege of going first (being the middle child he needs to feel extra special from time to time!). I have decided to send the camera with each of them so that they can share their favorite moments with us. Here are some of the highlights from Colter's weekend with Noni and Papa...

fish sticks and mac & cheese for supper

picking apples at the apple orchard

going to the Texas Tech football game

Football Jerseys - September 19

The boys' football jerseys finally arrived and they are just too cute! They can't wait to wear them to the next football game.

Weekend at Noni and Papa's - September 12-14

The kids and I didn't know if we were going to make it to Lubbock this weekend after they got almost 8 inches of rain on Thursday. Friday morning every highway into Lubbock was closed, but by Friday afternoon roads were opening and we decided to make the drive. We had such a fun weekend playing and shopping with Noni and Papa. I am so glad the rain stopped we were able to make that drive!

First Steps - September 13

Zane is still not really walking, but he has been taking more and more steps. The problem is that he thinks it is really funny to fall down, so often he just stops and falls instead of walking more. He is such a youngest, always trying to make everyone laugh!

Like Father, Like Son - September 8

Danny has been practicing for his bow hunting trip next week. The kids are all very curious about his trip and keep asking lots of questions, especially Colter. So none of us were surprised when Colter chose a toy bow set for his "fair toy" ( a special treat from Noni and Papa). He loves to practice shooting just like Daddy!

Castro County Parade and Fair - September 6

Our fair weekend continued with the parade and fair events on Saturday. Here are the highlights...

The kids love collecting candy during the parade.

Danny and I won several ribbons in the photography competition.

Zane had his first snowcone (with the help of Noni and Papa).

The kids loved riding on the "train."

Our favorite fair lunch is the yummy beef fajitas.

And our fair experience wouldn't be complete without a trip (or two) down the inflatable slide!

Friday Night Lights - September 5

Tonight was the first home football game of the season. Here are our little Dimmitt Bobcats ready for their first game...

Sabrina: "Look Mom, this is what the cheerleaders do!"

Wyatt: "Just because we have football shirts on doesn't mean we are going to play football."

Colter: "But someday we will!"

Colter: "Look there's the Bobcat!"

Junior Tractor Pull - Septemer 4

Tonight was the first night of the Castro County Fair, which can only mean one thing - the junior tractor pull competition. Wyatt and Sabrina were both old enough to participate this year. They had fun participating and we had fun cheering them on!

Busy Boy - August 30

Zane is a busy little boy. Here are some of his favorite activities during a normal day at home...
Even with a playroom full of toys, Zane always seems to gravitate to toward the cars. He is such a boy!
Zane has been watching his older siblings use crayons and often crawls into the playroom, pulls out crayons and paper and starts drawing!
Zane loves playing with his "kitchen toys" while I am cooking. He even pretends to stir and eat his "food"!

First Day of School - August 25

Dressed and ready for the first day of school. Aren't they just the cutest?
Backpacks on and ready to go inside. Monique is in the 2 year old class, Colter is in the 3 year old class, Sabrina is in the 4 year old class and Wyatt is the kindergarten helper in the 4 year old class.
Celebrating the end of a fun day with our pencil brownie cake!

Backpacking with Daddy - August 22-24

I know that many of you have been anxiously awaiting pictures from Danny's backpacking trip with the kids this weekend. Here are just a few of my favorites, but be sure to check Danny's blog for more pictures and stories later this week. You can see the highlight of their trip in the picture below...
Yes, a black bear followed them on the trail for part of their hike. They had just finished eating lunch by the creek (which is never a neat and tidy event!) and Danny is pretty sure the bear just wanted to see if any more food was going to be falling on the trail! They kept a nice, clean camp and didn't see any more of the bear.

Corn, Corn and More Corn - August 18

So you've probably heard the stories of rural doctors getting paid in chickens. Well Danny got paid in corn today! One of his patients (who actually did pay his bill, this was just an added thank you to Danny!) came over with a truck load of sweet corn for us. Danny put it in two big bins and he and the kids started shucking. We ended up with over 100 ears of corn! We are going to eat as much as we can over the next few days (which is quite a bit with a family of seven) and then freeze whatever is left.

Splashing Around - August 16

We have continued to have lots of wonderful and much needed rain this weekend. We took advantage of a little break in the storms to let the kids go ride their bikes in the ditch in front of our house. They had great fun and I'm sure they will beg to do it again before all of the water is gone.

Standing Up - August 15

Zane is still not very interested in walking on his own, but we did notice the other day that he is practicing standing up. He crawls over to the fireplace, sits down on the edge...
pushes himself up...
and stands for a few seconds before plopping back down and doing it all again!

RAIN! - August 14

The last time we got rain in town was while we were on vacation in Colorado (almost one month ago!). So we were very happy to have this rain last night and even happier when it rained again tonight. We're supposed to get even more this weekend, so as long as it doesn't flood we'll take everything we can get!

On His Head - August 10

Here is Zane's newest trick - maybe he learned it from all the gymnastics we've been watching the past couple of days!

Rolly Pollies - August 5

Wyatt: "Mom, Mom! I need a bug jar! There's thousands of rolly pollies out here!"

Colter: "Me too!"

Mom: "Wow, that's a lot of rolly pollies. What are you going to do with all of those?"

Wyatt: "Touch them and watch them and play with them."

Happy Birthday! - August 4

I got to spend my birthday weekend with some of my favorite people...

Megan, Nathan, Cathryn and Jerod all came up on Sunday afternoon for my party. Mom and Dad also came for the party, but the best part was that they were able to spend the night. It was nice to have them here for my birthday.

Danny had taken the kids shopping on Friday, so they each had presents for me to open. They were so excited!

Danny fixed hamburgers Monday night for my birthday dinner before Mom and Dad headed back to Lubbock. It was a fun birthday weekend!

A "Real" Swimming Pool - August 2

Our neighbors just finished their swimming pool a couple of weeks ago and we finally made it over to try it out. We really weren't sure how everyone would react to the "big" pool, but we didn't need to worry. All the kids loved it! There is a great shallow end where they can sit and splash and a deeper end where Daddy can catch them when they want to jump. Now we have the perfect spot for Daddy to teach swimming lessons!

Dinner at Sonic - August 1

We rode our bikes to Sonic for supper tonight. It was about 4 1/2 miles round trip and the kids loved every minute of it. I loved that I didn't have to clean the kitchen after we got home!