Touchdowns & Tour de Memphis

The kids are having so much fun spending time outside in this wonderful fall weather.  We enjoyed another week of playing football, riding bikes and just hanging around outside.  I was able to catch Griffin's touchdown celebration after scoring against the girls team.  He did this EVERY single time he scored.


Mamie loves to ride her bike now.  This is a big deal because she used to absolutely hate it. I know some of you remember this very well.  I think it helps having a buddy to ride with.



Griffin had to get dressed for the occasion.  This is his "Lance Armstrong" look.

Intense Bike Riding

Margaret was showing me all of the things she has been learning in gymnastics, and then she decided to do my hair.  She wasn't feeling like exerting herself too much.

Our Favorite Pumpkin Bread

I know everyone is loyal to their pumpkin bread recipe.  But in case you don't have one, this is our favorite!  I make it at least a dozen times in the fall.  It makes the whole house smell incredible.  The only downside is that it takes a long time to bake.  It is moist, delicious, and it freezes well.  These are my favorite bread pans.  You can find them at Bed, Bath & Beyond.  Also, if you don't know what to do with any leftover canned pumpkin, here's what I am thinking of making.  Yum!

Here are all of the ingredients you'll need.

Mix it all up with a whisk attachment.
Pumpkin Bread
Pumpkin Bread
recipe source: adapted slightly from At Home Cafe
makes 2 large loaves or 4 small loaves

3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 cups canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
3 cups flour, sifted
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray two 9x5x3 inch loaf pans with PAM.  Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and set aside.  Mix sugar and oil in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Add eggs one at a time and beat well, using a whisk attachment.  Mix pumpkin into egg mixture.  Add sifted dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.  Pour batter into loaf pans and let stand for 20 minutes.  Bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours, or until done.  (If making small loaves bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour until done.)

Dancing Baby Doll

I came into the den on Monday morning to find this....

Griffin with flashlights on his fingers singing Black Eyed Peas while Margaret made the baby break dance.  Mamie and I couldn't stop laughing.  When I asked them where they heard the song, they said at the RYM pizza party.  They don't forget anything...

Fall Festival

This weekend we went to the fall festival at the Agricenter.  We try to go every year.  The kids love looking at all of the different types of pumpkins, eating cotton candy and popcorn and playing games.

The pumpkin the kids are sitting in front of in this picture weighed over 1,000 pounds.

As you can tell, it's really hard to get Margaret to smile and look at the camera right now.

Griffin loved these painted pumpkins.

Griffin played the football toss game, and got it through the tire on his first try. He was concentrating very hard.

The kids got their faces painted.

We went on a hayride.

And then we picked out some pumpkins to bring home.

Richie loves nicknames, so every year we name our pumpkins. Last year we had a Conan O'Brien pumpkin because it had a large swooping stem. This year we have a tall skinny one and a short fat one, so the kids named them Bob & Larry.

A Praying Life

I have been reading A Praying Life by Paul Miller.  Have you read this book yet?  It is the best book I have ever read on prayer, and I highly recommend it.  I just saw in our church's bookstore that they now have a study guide to go with it.  I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did!

Football Game Timroe

Griffin scheduled a football game for Sunday afternoon too.  However, the girls had lost interest by then, so it just ended up being he and Richie.  Here is the flyer that he made for the game.  (In case you don't read "1st Grader Handwriting" it reads, "Tomorrow Afternoon, Unless Rain, Tennessee Lions vs. Memphis Cougars Football Game, Free, No Tickets.")

These are the team pictures he had me take.  He doesn't have any pads, so he had on a batman shield and he stuffed clothes under his jersey.  He also tied a whistle to the helmet, and he pretended that was his mouth guard.
Here are some of the action shots from the game.  It was very serious as usual from Griffin.  This was a very "real" football game to him.

Whoops! Losing some of the "football pads."

After the game was over, I went up to his room and found this "kheck lisit" that he had made for the game. I guess he needed to make sure he didn't forget any part of his uniform. He included: batman chest shield...check, clothing under shirt for padding...check, football pants...check, helmet...check, whistle (a.k.a. mouth guard)...check, jersey...check, cleats...check, gloves...check, and finally the wristband...check. 
(I hope to have some more posts for the girls soon.  They don't like me taking their pictures as much.)

Lazy Saturday & Family Football

We had beautiful weather and cooler temperatures this weekend, so we spent a lot of time outside.  After Griffin's soccer game Saturday morning we just hung out and relaxed.  Mamie organized some crafts and snacks for the kids.


However, Griffin doesn't hang out and relax for long, so we always end up doing some sort of sport.  Right now, he is really into football, so we had a family football game.  Richie was the quarterback, and the kids took turns coming up with a play and  running the ball.


Griffin's touchdown and victory dance

They came up with several trick plays, like this one where Margaret put the football under her dress.  Griffin was not a fan of the trick plays, because "they aren't fair." It did not end well...we'll just leave it at that.
Don't you love Margaret's football outfit?  She is all accessorized for the big game.  She must also think that her Hello Kitty rain boots are fancier than her tennis shoes.  I don't know how she ran in them!