Ready to Rummmmbbllleeeee!

Ian had his first away game against Cameron last Thursday.  

His team-mates take turns being Captains.  This week was Ian's turn.  

I'm not sure he was listening to the ref's instructions though, because of a mouthpiece malfunction.

A really, really bad mouthpiece malfunction!  

Alright...alright...let's shake hands so we can tackle each other!  Blah...blah...blah....yes, I will be a good sport.  Yada...yada...yada......I promise not to clobber them to hard.  La-Ti-Da........no I am not on a growth hormone!  

Let's get ready to RUMBLE!!!!!!!

Rick always stands on the side-lines as the team doc.  I always pray that he isn't needed, but it's handy having him there.  It decreases my mommy instinct to run onto the field when my babies get knocked down.   I tend to.......um.......overreact

Ian surprises me when he plays football.  Normally, he has a comfort bubble that no one is allowed into.  He's not especially fond of hugs.  However, when he's on the field, the bubble pops!!!!!  I love how he is staring down his opponent.  Nope......no bubble there.

Then, the ball is snapped and Ian rushes across the line to make his tackle.  If you had audio with these pictures, you would hear helmets clanking together and grunting.  Lots of grunting!

Looks like E-man has two or three boys on this play.

I love watching you play pigskin!  

Gracie's Dream Day

Last Saturday Gracie went to her very first concert.  We picked up her BFF first thing that morning and headed to the city.  They both wanted matching outfits.....only different colors.  I'm cool with that!  

This little number is what they finally agreed on.  The silly faces are an added assessory.

As you can see, my Aunt's dog, Taken, loves to be included.

We were one of the first people to arrive (cause we were so stinkin' excited).  We needed snacks (what's a concert without pretzels, nachos, cheese popcorn and cotton candy?)

This is the stage.  You cannot believe the props and lights and fireworks.  Honestly, Taylor Swift isn't my favorite singer/songwriter, sorry Gracie.....but her stage was the best I had ever seen.  NO QUESTION!!!

This tree was placed in the opposite end zone.  That way both sides of the stadium were able to see her up close.  When the lights were dimmed, they lit this bad boy up in every pastel shade that you can imagine.  Even the Easter Bunny would have been impressed!  She sang three songs under that tree.  Of course, while there, she couldn't do a "dress change".  Gracie thought that maybe she wore her favorite dress while doing that part 'cause she wore it the longest.  

I thought I would include the article from the KC Star.  It is better able to summarize the night with better adjectives than I'm capable of.  

CONCERT REVIEW

Taylor Swift’s KC show a rush of spectacle and songs

BY TIMOTHY FINN

The Kansas City Star

SHANE KEYSER | The Kansas City Star

Taylor Swift sang her hits — and her young audience sang along all night — at Saturday’s show at Arrowhead Stadium.

• Taylor Swift at Arrowhead Stadium | Saturday, Sept. 24
• Community Faces | Taylor Swift concert-goers

More News

The football stadium is where rock megastars go to show off their muscle and might. It’s no place for the small, the slight or the meek.

So when Taylor Swift announced that some of the dates in her Speak Now Tour would be at football stadiums, including our own Arrowhead, some of us wondered how her pop anthems, her stage personae and her somewhat infamous voice would translate.

Saturday night, we got our answer: Just fine. For more than two hours, she rained spectacle and hit songs on nearly 50,000 fans, most of them fawning teen and preteen girls with mothers in tow.

The show was a manic rush of sights and sounds: fashion/wardrobe changes, dancing (including ballet and tap), aerial feats, the usual visual treats (confetti, fireworks, flash pots) and 17 songs performed by Swift and her nine-piece band, all presented before a towering, lavish and garish stage (big red curtain, balcony, ramps, trap doors) that rivaled one or two of U2’s stadium showcases.

At times, the circus going on around her threatened to overwhelm Swift and her songs.

The stage was flanked by two large, high-definition video screens that broadcast all the action and energy to those in the upper deck of Arrowhead. It also projected close-ups of Swift singing and playing instruments (guitar, banjo, piano, ukulele).

If she was getting any vocal “help,” it wasn’t obvious. In fact, it was obvious many times, especially when the cameras zoomed in on her, that she was singing live — and more than adequately.

She would give the folks in back some personal attention about halfway through the show, when she left the main stage, skipped to the other end of the stadium and performed solo-acoustic on a satellite stage, under another prop: A glowing, lighted tree. If anything, all the skits and interludes, which made time for all the wardrobe changes, interrupted the flow of the show.

Do the math: 17 songs in two hours and 10 minutes means there were plenty of breaks.

All the gowns and glitter and dancing and props and drama skits were icing on the cupcakes, which were the songs.

The night was one long sing-along, even when she slipped into a few verses of One Republic’s “Apologize.”

She opened with “Sparks Fly” from her “Speak Now” album, which has gone triple-platinum since its release a year ago, then two more from that album: “Mine” and “Story of Us.” But it didn’t matter much which album she pulled a song from, her fans sang along with her all night.

The show was one long highlight but a few songs ignited louder responses, such as “You Belong With Me,” “Fearless” on the ukulele, “Dear John” and the closer, “Love Story.”

Swift turns 22 in December, but she still has some of the mannerisms of a girl in her teens (the skipping, the hair flinging, some facial expressions), which suit some of her material. She ended with one of her best songs, “Fifteen,” a parable about young love that seems to resonate hard with the adolescents and with the mothers who brought them.

She can probably do that song until she retires, but it will be interesting to see how she evolves, as a songwriter and stage performer, away from the teen themes that have made her so popular. I suppose she needn’t worry about that for a bit. Right now, she’s one of the biggest things in popular music, and she has the stadium show to prove it.

As an added bonus for you.......AND ME!

I carried our little point and shoot into the concert because I didn't want to lug around the big Canon.  

It was already loaded with a memory card and a full battery.  No prep needed, I just threw it in my purse.  When I went to download the photos from our night, I found a few bonus pictures.  For instance, this nice little number of Gracie's doll, Felicity.

A nice shot of Gracie's bedroom.

The contents of our fridgerator.

A stunning self-portrait

Our Boo-boo bunny who has lived in our freezer since Ryan was a toddler.

And lastly, a pyramid that Gracie made out of M&M poker chips.  

All for your viewing pleasure!  

Brains, Heart, and Courage

Last Friday was Chillicothe's Homecoming.  

That means much more to me than it used to.   I have a high school football player now.  It also means that I'm in a group called "football moms".  We painted business windows with our kid names.  We tied ribbons on every single car's antennae at the high school Friday morning.  Approximately 8,938,924 of them.  If they didn't have antennas, we tied them on the wiper blades.  I came across one car that had neither wipers or an antennae.   We make desserts for Thursday night team dinners.  We give the boys treats for the bus ride on away games and we ride on floats during the 

Homecoming parade.  

Then on Friday evening.....

I planted my hiney on a stadium bleacher, alongside my hubby.  Ryan usually plays in the J.V. games and we were flabbergasted when he didn't run out with them.  What Rick didn't know.......what I didn't know......what Ryan didn't know until moments before, was that he was starting his first Varsity game!  

 

My pulse quickened.

I couldn't feel my limbs.

I started to sweat.

I thought my head might explode!

There is my boy.  You see that guy running across the field?  He's my son.  #84.........I am his mother!

His name was announced overhead and I sort-of remember it, but it all seems a little fuzzy now.  I do recall them saying something like this.........

A sophomore, playing end...............RYAN SMITH!!!!!!!!

Then the Hornets swarmed into a huddle.  (you get it?  Swarmed.......the Hornets swarmed.  Oh forget it.)

Then the dance squad walked onto the field and did the cutest rendition of "Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead" I've ever heard.   Are you noticing our Homecoming theme yet?  

Then, before I could catch my breath, they were lining up on the field.

I said several quick prayers.  Something about protecting him, blessing him and guiding him.  Again, my brain still was not clicking on all cylinders.  

I always know where my boys are on the field.  Both Ryan and Ian stand at least a head taller than everyone else.  So, I scan their helmets.  The one that sticks up above the others is usually my kid.  Even though I cannot see his number in this picture, I still know exactly where he is.  It's convenient.

And that would be Ryan before 2,000 pounds of boy pounced on him.

(sure glad I prayed)

He gets his facial expressions from his father.

Half-time

Put 'em up, put 'em up!  Which one of you first?  I'll fight you both together if you want.

I'll fight you with one paw tied behind my back.  I'll fight you standing on one foot.

I'll fight you with my eyes closed.

Ohh, pullin' an axe on me, 'eh?  Sneaking up on me, 'eh?

Ryan, I know you don't read this blog.  It embarrasses you, I'm sure.  But in case you ever do, I want you to know that this was one of my proudest moments.   Your dad was just as proud, if not more.  We were both running on 100% adrenaline.   

You are not just an amazing athlete, your a kind young man.  You're smart and I simply cannot tell you how much I love you.  I know that I'm impatient with you sometimes.  I understand that I'm overprotective and annoying.  It's just because I KNOW I will have more proud moments like this one.  I also know that it won't always include a ball.  

You have a heart like the Tin-man....

You have brains like the Scarecrow....

You have courage like the Lion......

and I love you.