Spring Break Has Begun

Spring Break 2011 has begun!  Really, where does the time go?  The boys asked Friday if we were going anywhere for spring break and were a little sad to find out the answer was no.  When they asked why, I said we were gone the past two weekends which in turn meant we needed to stay home this week but would still have fun.  

The boys had Jake and Jedd spend the night Friday night.  They wore out all the NERF guns and played every man for himself with Chad.  Later that evening they came in the living room to talk and were cracking us up with their very, VERY animated stories.    Saturday morning Lisa picked up all four boys to spend the day playing at her house, and Carson was thrilled to be included.  Chad was at the farm building a field of dreams which meant I had the house to myself and took full advantage by watching the girls Big XII Championship Game (Sic 'Em Bears) followed by a girly movie on PPV.  Late Saturday afternoon I picked up the boys and took Christian straight to Wyatt's house to spend the night.  Carson and I came home, he took a bubble bath, I fixed us dinner and he fell asleep in my arms on the couch.  I love to cuddle with my snuggle bug so I proceeded to watch another PPV movie while Chad was out with the guys.

This afternoon we went to Pa Pa's house to go fishing.  Chad and the boys got there a few minutes before I did and were greeted by a 4 lb catfish that Pa Pa had just caught.  When I arrived shortly thereafter Christian had already caught one and Carson was catching his third.  The fish were hopping.  In the two hours we were out there the boys caught about 30 fish.  Christian had a long face at first because Carson seemed to be catching fish about every 30 seconds while he got nothing.  Every time Carson caught a fish, Christian would huff and puff.  The boys were standing 5 feet a part, using the same hook, line and bait, but Christian's line was dry every time.  After Carson caught about his 15th fish Christian insisted that he and Pa Pa move to the other side of the pond for better luck. He packed up their worms and away they went.  It was a good move because they quickly found a honey hole and Christian went from 3 to a bakers dozen real quick.  I forgot my camera at home but took these from my phone.

see the long face?

After the move...

Daddy I don't want to hold, touch or kiss the fish

Can we come back tomorrow Pa Pa?

I sure hope the boys think back and remember these days fondly.

ESPN College Game Day

The night of the Auburn Championship game, an ESPN Game Day commercial came on that showed all the locations they would be broadcasting and much to our surprise a green BU popped up in the state of Texas.  I looked and Chad and said how fun it would be to load the kids up and go down to the game.  So immediately I went on the computer to check on tickets and hit the purchase button!  We ended up giving the tickets to the boys for Valentines Day and have been eagerly awaiting our fun day.  Yesterday afternoon after Christian's last basketball game, which they won 30-8 (Bones scored 4 pts - his last shot was incredible and the whole place went crazy), we jumped in the truck went southbound on I-35 for the second weekend in a row.  We pulled in to Waco at 6:45 and tried to get into Buzzard Billy's but as we exited off the highway I noticed all the parked cars lined up on the service road...we were not getting in there tonight.  Instead we just grabbed something quick, drove around downtown in absolute amazement (that town is nothing like it was when we were there) and then made our way to the Ferrell Center for the game.  We made our way in, found our seats and sent Chad back down to get our rally towels that we missed on the way in.  

Aren't they cute all dressed in green and gold?

Ready for the game to begin

The game started slow for the Bears but Christian stood up in support the whole time.  It was so cute to watch him stand up, wave his towel around and give the obligatory Sic 'em Bears!

Future Bears????

Momma Bear and Baby Bear.  Carson looked so cute in his new shirt.  He told everyone at the game that his shirt was the body and he was the head.

After a heart-breaking loss, (it was a great game with terrible officiating) we slowly made our way down to the court to get some great pics!  It was Senior Night so Christian got this poster of LaceDarius Dunn  (the Big XII all time leading scorer).

ESPN College Game Day on the air after the game.  

On the court in front of the goal

I'm on the Ferrell Center floor......GO BEARS

Everybody was trying to get their picture taken behind the desk before they started disassembling it.  I kept telling the boys to go get in there to take a picture but some adults would walk up and the Christian immediately would step to the side.  Carson gave up and came to the front by me but Christian finally was assertive and did not step away.

Daddy and his boys center court!

We had so much fun tonight supporting our Baylor Bears.  We made a pact now that the boys are older that we are going to start doing this several times a year!  It was such an easy drive and hopefully a night that the boys will never forget!  

State Bound with Shea Shea

Last weekend the whole family loaded up and drove to Austin to watch Shea Shea in the state wrestling tournament.  We drove down Thursday evening to meet Sonia, Victor, Nikki, Pearl, Charles and Jay at the hotel.  Carson had slept for most of the drive down so needless to say when we got to the hotel, he was wide eyed and bushy tailed and ready to play.  Christian on the other hand had just fallen asleep as we were coming into Austin so we carried him up to the room and he was out for the night.  Friday morning once we got our wake up knock from Etta, Carson told Christian that we had a party last night in Aunt Tawnie's room and he missed it.  Christian could not understand why we would let him sleep through "the party".  It took some time but I think we finally convinced him that we really did not have a "party" and it was o.k he slept through it.  The next morning Shea Shea did not wrestle until noon.  It was a beautiful day so we suggested a great spot for lunch where we could eat out on the patio but not before serious miscommunication that I know elevated Sonia's heart rate to the dangerous zone! (LOL)  Anway, we enjoyed lunch and made it to the tournament to watch Shea Shea in her first match...an easy win!  We had a few hours to kill until her next match so we drove around and went back to the hotel for a bit.  Here the boys are walking back to the car in our matching Wakeland Wrestling State Bound shirts.  I wish we would have gotten a pick of the whole family today!

Back to the arena, Christian discovered he could stretch out in the handrails while he watched the matches.  He was just the right size.

Shea Shea ended up wrestling three times on Friday after she lost a devastating match.  I think this is the match the ref kept calling that Shea was clasping hands with her opponent.  It was a terrible call and an upsetting loss for Shea as she has poured her heart and soul into this sport with one thing in mind...winning state!  

Friday night we went to dinner and back to the hotel where the kids loved running from room to room to visit everyone and wrestle on the beds.  Chad and I were definitely chopped liver this weekend because every time we got in the car they were riding with Etta, Yai Yai and Aunt Tawnie or going to breakfast with Etta.  As grandma would say, "Shea had quite the gallery there".  Saturday proved to be another full day of wrestling too.  Shea Shea won one and lost one which meant she would now be wrestling in the finals that night for 5th place.  For the final brackets they had a parade of the remaining wrestlers come in to the arena to the song "We Are The Champions".  It was pretty sweet to see her out there in her orange and blue warm-ups.

Seeing Shea on the mat this weekend was very emotional and caused me to cry more than once.  To see her competing on this level, to see the ref raise her hand after an easy pin or hard fought win, the look of agony on her face as her opponent is doing everything in her power to break Shea's injured shoulder, but finally to see her standing on the medal stand Saturday night to receive her State Medal.  It was not the place she hoped for but she still came home with a state medal and we were all so very loud and proud!  

Here the ref is raising her arm after her final win!

Waiting to get on the medal stand

PROUD PARENTS

Shea Shea and Christian...maybe her biggest fan.  He would run down to hug her after her wins and losses!  Christian insisted on wearing his Wakeland shirt today too to show his support and he was not taking no for an answer.

Shea and Yai Yai

We love you Shea Shea

This is how the boys would get out some of their energy during the day

Jana Beth and Jason came Saturday to watch Saturday.  We went for mexican food together between Shea's final match and joining the entire Wakeland crew for dinner at Texas Land and Cattle late that night.

It was a great weekend! Shea, we are so proud of you and all that YOU accomplished!

I LOVE my new blog!

Can I just tell you how excited I am about this new blog I have created?  I LOVE it!!!  It is my scrapbook and journal all in one.  I had been giving some thought in to trying to change up my old blog for some time but the more I thought about it I really wanted a snazzier url.  After navigating around the blog world over the past five months and seeing all of the creative names out there, I decided it was time to do that for myself!  With names like Tatertots and Jello or lizardnladybug, I had to come up with something different.  My very first thought...Two Bobcats.  That should tell you something.  That short little phrase consisting of those two little words pretty much sums it all up.  We are a family of four that spends countless hours on the football field, basketball court, soccer field or baseball diamond playing, coaching, and cheering on our two little bobcats and their friends every week and we all love every minute of it.  The fact that we have only just begun this phase of our journey and have years and years ahead of us absolutely warms my heart.  I don't want it to go by too fast but I look forward to every minute of it!

I love this town I call home.  I love the pride that exudes from this place.  I love that my child can and has prayed in school.  I love the friends we have made and the close knit relationship we all share.  I love that my husband is one of the Coach Chad's and that he is making a difference in the lives of children.  I love that my boys know now and will always look back and remember that their dad was there for them and shared in the sweet, sweet victories as well as the defeats.  I love to dress in my orange on game day!  I love to walk in my child's elementary school and have kids wave or stop and say "hi Mrs. Cunningham" or "that is Christian's mom".  I love to wave at a car when it passes by and have them wave back or vice versa.  I love to walk in the Bobcat and have E.L say, "hi young lady, you keeping Chad in line".  I love to walk in my little church on Sunday.  I love that we are raising our boys in this community where the saying goes it takes a village to raise a child.  I would not live anywhere else.

In this digital era in which I have not had pictures developed in ages and therefore have nothing to scrapbook nor the time to do it.  I love this blog.  I love that it has given me the same joy and fulfillment in this day that my scrapbooks used to do years ago.  This truly is my scrapbook that I will have printed and bound into a book.  If anyone reads it or looks at the pictures then great but if not that is great too because I will have it and so will my kids.

A Call From The Principal

This afternoon my phone rang around 2:00 pm.  I looked down and saw Celina Elementary School.  For a split second about 20 different things ran through my head.  Hesitantly I said hello, not wanting to hear the dreaded your son is sick and needs to be picked up.  To my surprise it was Mrs. V, Christian's Principal.  I instantly knew she was calling in regards to PTA but.....wrong again.  She was calling to let me know that Christian received a positive referral from a teacher and to let me know what a fine young man he is.  She actually had quite a few wonderful things to say about him, let me know he was coming home with a certificate and then asked if I wanted to talk to him.  When Christian got on the phone, you would have thought he was in big trouble.  He had no inflection in his voice, was very subdued and just gave me yes or no monotone answers (boys!).  I told him how happy and proud of him I was to get such a phone call that I would see him in a little while!  When he got in the car he was a little more excited and could not wait to tell dad the good news!  Time to celebrate!

Happy Heart Day

Valentines Day came and went and like most every other day we were on the go.  I dropped Christian off at school with cupcakes for his class party and got to enjoy the rest of the day with my sweet little Valentine Carson.  We hung around the house that morning and then went to have lunch and spend the afternoon visiting with Yai Yai and Aunt Tawnie, something we don't get to do that often anymore.  Carson got his valentines presents from Yai Yai....candy and a stuffed dog he named Scruffy.  For two days the two of them have been inseparable (crossing my fingers that Scruffy replaces CoCo...that poor bear).

That afternoon we picked up Christian, came home and went through his bag of valentines!  He was excited to get the mail too on the way in as he knew there would be some cards in there from Grammy.   She told the boys to watch the mail when she took them to the popcorn store Saturday after his big win.  He was really excited to show me the Dr.Peppergram that his friends had sent him at school.  Going through the valentine cards and candy Christian said that he really thought he should take Casey a special valentine present.  We agreed that he could go to the store after basketball pictures and pick something up to take to her.  Chad and Carson stayed in the truck while Christian and I went in.  He picked out a teddy bear and box of chocolates!  As we stood in line I could not help but look around and see all the last minute frenzy.  I caught a few smiles and gazes in our direction as people noticed Christian.  Standing there in line I could not help but think of Ross and all the teddy bears, chocolates and necklaces he bought over the years starting at about Christian's age now or maybe even younger.  Ross always took the roll of ladies man and I know he would have been the first one pointing Christian in the right direction.  I knew Casey would not be home until 6:30 so that gave us just enough time to go home and give the boys their valentine present from us before Chad had to leave for IG.  

The boys and I made chocolate covered strawberries...a family favorite and then it was time to get in the car. 

Christian asked if he could sit in the front seat and I agreed since we can take back roads to their house and be there in about five minutes.  I threw the camera in my lap as I must take document this evening.  The first time my son took the role of a gentlemen caller.

As we pulled in the driveway I glanced at the clock...6:47 pm. We pulled up to the house and Christian hopped out of the car.  He walked up to the door, rang the doorbell and I saw Casey round the corner inside.

She opened the door with a big smile on her face and Christian said, "Happy Valentines Day", she replied back "Happy Valentines Day" to which he immediately handed her the gifts turned around and SPRINTED back to the car.  Jennifer came around the corner, Casey yelled "thank you Christian", he said "you are welcome" from the car and off we went.  Clay was over by the garage, we said hello and he asked Christian if he brought him anything.  We said goodbye rounded the driveway and were out the gates....6:50 pm.  PRICELESS

I see the sun!

I cannot begin to tell you what a wonderful feeling it was to wake up this morning to the sun shining through the windows!  We have just been home for what I know must be a record 4 snow days in a row.  Days 1-3 were really ice days as the roads were treacherous.  Day 4 though kind of made it worth it as we received probably 6 inches or so of fluffy, time to get out and play snow!  I first insisted that Chad get me out of the house early yesterday afternoon.  Christian had spent the night at a friend's house, I had been sick with a stomach virus earlier in the week and had not left the house in 4 days.  I was officially going stir crazy and needed some interaction with the outside world so Chad, Carson and I went and drove around Frisco.  As we approached Main Street from 5th Street I could not help but think we were back in Crested Butte with the large snow flakes coming down around the buildings.  It really was breathtaking.  After filling up on a good cheeseburger and cheese fries (we needed substance), we came back to the house to get the sleds and snow gear and met Christian and the Stephens to do a little sledding!  Christian and Carson would take turns behind our truck, one would sled while the other would get in the front seat and try to warm up while I took pics out the back window.  We also spent a lot of time trying to pull Joel's truck out as his 4 wheel drive had gone out!  It was a fun afternoon but it came to an abrupt end when the kids realized they were all soaking wet and freezing!  Thank goodness for the extra change of clothes in the car.  The dads did a lot of donuts in the snow and we called it an afternoon and went home to enjoy a nice bowl of snow ice cream after dinner...YUM!  Now keep the sun shining!