F is for Fall and Football!

September 23rd marked the "official" start of Fall. But here at the Simmons' house, fall begins the first time the pads go on, when the bands perform the National Anthem, when the coin is flipped for the very first time, at the first sound of the whistle, and the first opening kickoff. Football "kicks off" our fall, and we LOVE this time of year.Football can be an every day event for us.
So far every day but Tuesday.

MONDAY: Packers practice (Cade), Monday Night Football
(Doesn't even matter who's playing.)
TUESDAY: only day off
WEDNESDAY: Either Packers practice or
Packers game night (Cade)
THURSDAY: SMC Panther game or college on tv
FRIDAY: SMC Panther game or college on tv
SATURDAY: Packers (Cade), Chiefs (Cooper), and
our Gorillas!
SUNDAY: BengalsYes, our family LOVES football. It's been so fun watching Cooper dive for flags and Cade's first year of tackle. And it won't be long when we'll be going to jr. high football on Tuesdays, junior varsity games on Mondays, high school games on Thursday or Fridays, and the final YMCA games on Saturdays. Right now, I have to pack at least 2 footballs in our diaper bag so that both Carston and Colton can play while the big brothers are on the fields. We've already begun the "all football gear left outside in the garage" rule. And sneaker balls...wow, they really do make your shoes smell good.
Football is so BIG at our house that if you ask Carston,
"What time is it?"
he'll answer you with, "GAME TIME!" every time!
And now that it's OFFICIALLY fall, I can bring out the pumpkins and mums, we can take a trip to the pumpkin patch, think about Halloween costumes, and hopefully take an updated family pic in our Pitt State Red!Yes, there's nothing better than a good pair of jeans,
a nice over-sized hoody, a cool breeze, chili in the crock pot and FOOTBALL!!
Especially when the Panthers, Gorillas, Chiefs, Packers, and Bengals all win!
HAPPY FALL from the Simmons family.

My newest obsession!

As if I need yet another reason to not clean the house, cook dinner, or fold laundry....

I'd like to introduce you to my newest obsession. It's called Pinterest.Pinterest is a virtual pin board where you can categorize things you see on the web and don't want to forget. It's just like a bulletin board or an idea notebook. You can follow people, "like" something, or repin something a friend of yours has put on their "board".
I'm OBSESSED with it right now. I've come across so many good ideas. And not only with crafts, but I've also pinned recipes, gift ideas, outfits I like, decorating ideas, and quotes.
Below is just one example of a "pin" on my "Future Projects" board.
I found this idea on Pinterest:So with the help of my hubby, I set out to make my take of one. I found this frame, which initially came with cork board, at Hobby Lobby. I loved the look and how it seemed to fit on the wall in the kitchen, but we never really used it. Eric got some white marker board at Home Depot and cut it to fit inside the frame. I then decorated it and voila! I LOVE how it turned out. And whether I want to be in there or not, the kitchen is the heart of our home. They are the first lights we turn on in the morning and the last lights we turn out at night, so it made sense to keep it there. Now we can all write our intentions on the board and at the same time, it serves as a reminder to take some time out of our hectic lives to say thanks to God for all that he's given us.
I imagine that the board will fill up more once tests start, the boys have a big game, Cade loses his ipod again, or Eric's gone on those far away business trips!

So here's one of my future projects I got from Pinterest
when I should have been menu planning:Fear not friends, it's going to be either a Pitt State wreath, or a SMC wreath. I can't decide, so I guess that means I need to make both! :)

Hope everyone is enjoying their Labor Day weekend. We are headed to watch Cade's first football scrimmage. Yes, it's just a scrimmage, but with weather like this...who cares...we get to hang outside and it's FOOTBALL!

August Recap

It's September?? Really?? Because it feels like mid July with the 100+ temps.

I am sooo ready for fall to get here.

You can tell that our August was fast and furious, considering I didn't post 1 time the entire month. So here's a quick review of a month that just seemed to fly by! See ya August, hello fall...please!!!
It began with all 4 kiddos heading to Elkhart so I could remodel the boys' playroom. (Thank you Grandma/Grandpa Simmons!) I'd say it was a success! I LOVE it, and just have a few things to finish. Not really my ideal way to spend 7 days without kids, but definitely rewarding.
Then we went on a family vacation to Branson, MO. The house we stayed in was AWESOME! We had our own media room and pool table!
(Thanks Mom & Dad!)
While in Branson we went to White Water (twice), the lake, hit the go-cart track, and chilled. It was really relaxing and a lot of fun.We came home and shifted in to SCHOOL MODE! (Or at least I kinda did!) Hard to believe I have a 5th grader. Won't be long and he'll be heading to the jr. high. Cooper was super pumped to go to school! He loves wearing his uniform and school lunches. He doesn't care for the 3 recesses, and with this heat, I don't blame him. Carston asks every day if he gets to go to school. Unfortunately for him, he only goes 2 days a week.
Makes for a long week, but he's loving it too.
Before officially starting school we got to celebrate a birthday! COOP turned 6! He requested chicken and noodles for dinner and Oreo Cookie dessert for his "cake". YUM! Hard to believe my little guy is 6. He's such a sweetheart and I've missed not having him at home all day.
For Coop's birthday we lucked in to some Red Sox/Royals tickets. Under the influence of his older brother, Cooper became a Red Sox fan. So we had Cooper, Cade, and I wearing our Red Sox attire and Carston and Dad cheering on the Royals. It was a great night. It was Cooper's first MLB game, it was the RED SOX, and it was Fireworks Friday. We were a foul ball short of making it the BEST DAY EVER!!!

WOW...I'm almost tired again from just thinking about how busy our August was. Makes sense how the month got away from me.
So we have almost two full weeks of school under our belt. We're getting used to the early mornings, lack of naps, and homework. And now yet another activity is beginning to take over at the Simmons house.
FOOTBALL!!!Are you ready for some football, because we are!