Football & Cheerleading 2010 Part 1 - Watermelon Social

We started out our football and cheerleading season back in the summer with a car wash & bake sale fundraiser. A lot of girls showed up, but Bug was the ONLY football player there. Go figure. I'm betting that the $$ got split between the two groups even though only one group participated. Maybe I'm just too cynical. I snapped one whole picture of my kids working, because I knew I'd probably never catch them washing MY car with that much enthusiasm!

They must first complete two weeks of conditioning before they are allowed to have normal practices. At the end of these two weeks, the high school football players and cheerleaders invite the little people to join them for a watermelon social. It's a tradition. They are all supposed to meet and mingle while eating watermelon. I'm not sure if you can tell by the pictures, but the high schoolers don't really interact with the kids. There's watermelon, but no social. A bummer really, because those big kids could pass on all the infinite knowledge they think they have to fresh, young minds eager for...anything. Hmmm. At any rate, my kids had fun devouring enormous slice after enormous slice of watermelon, getting ridiculously sticky & running around the adults and high schoolers like we were some kind of human maze. Good times. :)

Confessions of a Lazy Crafter & A Project!

I really must stop lying. I promised you way back on the 16th that I would be back later that day with something. Anything! What day is it now? LOL

I also must confess that I have not sewn, crafted, blogged, or even looked at all my favorite crafty blogs in weeks. Instead I have been spending insane, ridiculous & shameful amounts of time playing games on the computer. My stress is at an all time high right now & instead of being creative as a means of coping, I'm escaping. Does that sound healthy? Yeah, I didn't think so. Anyway, I decided to do something different (for at least part of the day, LOL) by uploading all my pictures, looking at a few crafty blogs & actually blogging. Shocking, I know.

The first blog I looked at today was Brown Paper Packages. I love this blog because there are so many useful projects on here. And since today is Wednesday, Leisel is hosting Wardrobe Wednesday. It's a time for crafty people to show off the things they've made to be worn. I've been wanting to join in since I first saw it, but since I never get around to posting the things I've made, I never entered. TODAY IS THE DAY!

NOTE: I am also linking up to Make It, Wear It at The Train to Crazy! (Also, a fabulous blog!)

I saw this awesome Pleated T-Shirt Tutorial from Create & Delegate and knew I wanted to make Pinky Lee a special outfit for football & cheerleading. Last year she just wore Lil' Coconut's old cheer uniform, but I wanted her to have something unique this year.

TA-DA!Isn't she just adorable???
Quite the model.

In action!

I love it, she loves it, and we got a lot of compliments on it. This won't be the last time you see this pattern because I am in love with it! Ooooh, that sounded like a promise on my part. Let me rephrase: You may or may not see more dresses of the pleated t-shirt variety. This will depend on my making more (which I have), taking pictures (which I have not), uploading pictures, editing pictures, and finally blogging about said dress and pictures.

For now, please enjoy this one & don't forget to enjoy everyone else's project entries here:

The Ike Special - Varsity Edition

Okay, who saw this awesomeness on the Yahoo homepage? If not you must watch! I cried through my laughter. It's so super sweet. These boys rock!

There is good in the world after all.

Just checking in!

We've been super busy again! Granny & Papa visited us for 8 days. We had a great time with them & as always, I have pictures of that to share. We're also back in the full swing of football and cheerleading again and I am so excited to tell you about what happened at Saturday's game. As soon as I load the pictures. We have lots of things to catch up on, but I will try to be back later today to post something!

Oh, yeah. I have a big announcement coming soon. I have a few more kinks to work out. Please check back often to see what it is! Thanks!

Goodbye Stella

Our beloved Stella went to puppy heaven this weekend. We are very sad & will miss her very much. She was a great dog and the only pet our kids have ever had.
We got Stella about 6 years ago when DH was deployed to Afghanistan. Bug kept asking for either a dog or a little brother, so I went with the dog. Our daycare provider knew of some people who needed to find a good home for a nice doggy because their new foster child was allergic to furry animals. I fell in love with Stella immediately & brought her home. Bug & Lil' C were ecstatic.

About a year ago, Stella went blind. We don't really know why, but she never did regain her sight. These pictures were taken with her back in April when she got really sick and the vet thought maybe it was something neurological and uncurable, but she recovered after treatment for an infection. She endured a lot, but was always affectionate, loving & loyal.

If you've ever lost a pet, you know how hard it can be. We've been uncertain of how to handle it with all the kiddos, but are figuring it out as we go. Bug and Lil' C are super sad, Boo is too young to understand, and Pinky Lee keeps asking when Stella can come back. That makes me super sad.

Goodbye Stella. We miss you & will never forget you.