carter's first basketball season

Carter has enjoyed playing on his first-ever basketball team at the Y. Several of his buddies from soccer and from school are on the same team. They just crack us up.

 he's been working on his defense skillz

 some dribbling action...

 he looks so intense! :)

he and his good buddy, Arieous, discussing some plays while on the bench :)

the hunting season has begun...

Jerry and his good buddy, Mike, headed out to shoot some feathered friends last weekend. They had a good time together, and didn't come back empty-handed. Jerry even said that the dogs did well! They were sure worn out and slept for about the next 2 days straight! :)

Now who wants some pheasant and quail for their freezer? Ours is getting pretty full...

HIT championship game

The Rojos played their hearts out and were undefeated in pool play, which meant they got to be in the championship game! They ended up taking 2nd place in the tournament, and we were all so proud of them!

the tournament director giving Coach Rob the trophy

 Grayson receiving his medal :)

 the '05 Sporting Wichita Rojos

 a crazy pic, of course ;)

Coach Rob, Grayson, Coach Daniel

Congrats to the whole team, on a job well done!!

heartland invitational tournament {2014}

Grayson's soccer team played in the Heartland Invitational Tournament in Overland Park, KS this past weekend. It was such a fun weekend!

 the tournament itself is soooo big that they hosted all the girls' teams the previous weekend, and then all boys' teams were there this past weekend!

i think there were 30-40 teams in G's age group alone!

 a throw-in (G is number 5)

 going for a header

 he takes a shot!

on Saturday evening, they played under the lights! it was a first for G!

and he scored TWO goals!

Notice Grayson's super-shiny new Nike cleats in the pics... on Saturday morning, as we were in the hotel about to leave for the game, Grayson announced that he had packed 2 right cleats. What?!?! 

I told him to stop joking with me, and he said -- Mom, I'm not joking. (insert complete panic feeling by me...)

 Thankfully, Dick's was about 10 minutes away, and they opened at 9am (G had to be on the field by 9:30)... so we sped over to Dick's for some new cleats and were back to the fields just in time.

 Whew!! 

Merry early Christmas, Grayson!!

the boys loved playing on the turf and under the lights... there were games as early as 7am and as late at 9pm... glad we didn't draw either of those! ;)

(it was 34 degrees out when they started their game at 8:15 on Sunday morning... brrrr!)

KU Roundball Lunch 2014

We have been attending the KU Roundball Lunch, hosted by Coach Bill Self and Coach Bonnie Hendrickson for several years now. It's always a great time to hear the coaches talk about their teams for the year... they are really candid, and pretty funny! My parents are always so kind to invite us to go with them, and Grayson and I were excited to attend this year. At the end of the lunch, they usually have a drawing for some goodies. Well, this year, GRAYSON was the big winner! He won an autographed 2014-2015 men's team basketball. So very cool!

 I don't know who had the bigger smile... Gramps or Grayson?!?

Even Bill Self was pumped that Grayson won the basketball! What an exciting day!

Rock Chalk!

barfing pumpkins

We all gathered at Nana and Gramps' house for a combination of Gramps' birthday celebration along with an early Halloween party. Aunt Laura came with fun treats with the boys, so they all posed on the porch. :)

 Nana came across a crazy-cool experiment that resulted in "barfing pumpkins"... the boys thought it was an absolute hoot.

We experimented with lots of different food coloring as well as Grayson being very proud when his pumpkin barfed out his nose. Nice!! 

A great start to our Halloween festivities!!

end of season soccer shots

Jerry coached Carter's soccer team at the Y again this year, and they had a great time. They were even undefeated! Woo-hoo!! Must've been the coaching ;)

 Meanwhile, Grayson's team ended up 6-1-1 in their league, and finished in 2nd place. Way to go, Rojos!! These are pics from his very last league game. We love watching both the boys play!! :)

 Grayson doing a throw-in

 he's so ready to be done wearing his splint in the games...

an awesome direct kick!