Down, Set, Hike!

Football, Football, Football! 

We are a football family!

We watch football, we talk about football, we practice football and we play football.  How lucky can I be to have so much testosterone in one family?  Combine it with football and there you have it, the perfect recipe for football "madness". 

I have learned so much about football this year and I am so thankful. 
(No sarcasm here, right?)  

*I know how to take pads out of football pants without gagging at the smell.

*I know the right combination of Spray and Wash and Oxy Clean to get any stain football can throw at me.  No pun intended.

*I know the right color of Gatorade to buy.

*I know what treats to bring for after the game if you want to be labeled as the "cool mom".

*I know that every Monday night FHE is going to involve practice for Jake and a game for the BMan.

*I know that for the rest of my life August - November will be dedicated to a lot of football.

Mesquite in August is awful,  August football in Mesquite is pure torture.  It is the motivation for me to be a good person so that I never end up in  H.E. Double Hockey Sticks!
I have been there.....Mesquite in August watching a football game.


Think how my Jakey felt in pads and a helmet!  Good thing our coaches are a little "redneck" and brought the bug - fertilizer sprayer  full of water to cool these 3rd graders off.


(See him spraying in the background?)





3rd Graders come in all shapes and sizes but one thing always remains the same...the confidence that each one of them "knows" that they are the "coolest"!

I have to admit the first time I saw Jake on the field in pads I cried just a little bit.  He is so big now and I feel like I need to hang on a little tighter so that he can't grow up quite so fast.  

Don't get me wrong sometimes the boy can test my patience to the point that I become the devil... but for the most part, he is still my little Jakey!  I just can't lift him anymore and even if I could he would just tell me that he is too mature for hugs from his mom!

Jake chose #13, he apparently is not superstitious like his mom. (He thinks it's sooooo cool)!

Look at the form! Jake is gaining experience playing defense for the Bulldogs but I think he likes being the kicker for his team a little bit more. 
  Anything that puts him in the lime light suits him just fine and being the special team kicker is right up his alley.  I don't know where he gets this from, Rand and I have always been so shy and quiet!

Can you believe this is 3rd grade, what are we thinking?

It's been a great year Jake!


NEXT.......


What do you get when you put a 4yr old in  "soft shorts",  surround him with his buddies and tie some flags around his waist? ? ?

PURE ENTERTAINMENT!


I secretly look forward to Monday nights just to watch the BMan play flag football!  This little guy has one determined SPIRIT!  I think he is a bit of a natural as well!  


"B's" first game was pretty intense as one of the opposing team members ran for like a  300 yd touchdown covering almost all 3 fields at the rec center.  


The BMan was just determined to pull a flag, which he did!  
(Right off the waist of one of his own teammates).  (I think this happened in game 3, so hard to keep them all straight but I do remember it vividly because right after he pulled the flag he turned to the crowd and gave us the "2 thumbs up" sign).

Oh my land, how cute is this kid?

"B" is always ready - ready for Gatorade.  He left the field 2 or 3 times just because he was so ready for a drink of Gatorade.  It didn't even matter that it was during a play.....when you are dehydrated you must take care of yourself and in his words he was "so, so, so thirsty, because he was running so, so, so fast"!

Braden listens to his coach really well.  He also asks him every huddle for a high five and if it's time for snack!  Notice the two tall kids in the background, they are both named Cameron and Braden looks up to both of them!  One night he even prayed that he could just run as fast as the "2 Camerons".  For being one of the youngest on the team our little Brady Bug holds his own....he has even scored a touchdown or 2!

It's blurry but that is only because Braden was running SO FAST!  He told me he can run as fast as the green car he sees at preschool!
I think pictures of Braden are jinxed, they always come out blurry!

So I say again..


Down, Set, Hike or is it Down, Set Hutt?  Is Hut or Hutt even a word?  Who really knows?  What I do know, is that I get to grab a drink, sit on my camping chair  and talk with the other moms.  I guess that I just realized my life is  a little bit better with football in it!