The One With Cheers

November 22-24, 2019

Another fall weekend in Oklahoma with ALL THE SPORTS!  Jake had a basketball game on Thursday night, Emma on Friday night, and Lara and her Pioneer Football team traveled to Yukon, OK to take on Choctaw in the State 6A-II Semi-Final game.  We had beaten Choctaw earlier in the season, and we expected nothing less this time around.  The players were ready, the trainers were ready, we were on neutral ground, and we were ready to go (even if it was a very cold fall night in central Oklahoma).

Molly and Lara in the tent w/heaters to stay warm pre-game

Keeping WARM!

ALL the managers in the heated tent!  

 My favorite moment of the game was during the first quarter.  Just a few moments into the game, Choctaw scored a touchdown.  They were the "visitor" team in this matchup, and their stands were PACKED.  Their band was there, spirit squads, and tons of fans.  When they scored first, the place went WILD1  I don't think I have seen celebrating like that in a very long time.  Alas, it was too much, too soon, and they didn't score again until the 3rd quarter - and by then the fans base had dwindled tremendously.  And they missed BOTH PAT's along the way.  None of it mattered, and Stillwater DOMINATED and the final score was 62.12.

Halftime

Halftime Selfie

Final Score

WINNING smile 

In the meantime, Emma had played in her basketball game and cheered for the boys, and was home at our house for the weekend.  We got home so late I didn't get to see her.  Both girls were up early Saturday morning to work at the donut shop!  As I was working around the house Saturday morning, I peeked into Finn's room (where Emma stays while she is here) and saw this:

I don't think I will ever get used to seeing pom poms in my house!  So glad she has another outlet to express herself!

As the semester winds down, we ALL had lots of homework to attend to on Sunday, so that's how the day went.  Next week is Thanksgiving, so everyone can take a little breath, finish up college classes, then work towards finishing the rest of the semester strong.  In 2 weeks, Emma is on Homecoming court for M-O Basketball, and Lara will be with her Pioneers at the State Game in Edmond.  WHEW!  I wish I could be in 2 places at once...  Thank goodness for Nana and Grandpa!

The One Where We Wanted Five More Minutes

November 15-18, 2019

We'll call this one Five More Minutes.  That song was on repeat all week in my head (see below).  Last week was Senior night, but this week... THIS WEEK was the real last time.  The last time we would play in this stadium as THIS TEAM.  It was playoff time.  And I might have cried more this week than last week.  So many emotions and memories tied up in this place with these people.  And it got here WAY TOO FAST!  But, it was PLAYOFF time, and our Pioneers were determined to stay undefeated and move on to the Semi-Finals!

Lara - O-Line love

Senior Pics sample

Getting fired up!

MANAGERS: Molly, Lara, Kara, Lindsay, Emma

Halftime Selfie!

Still Undefeated!

NEXT!

A typical weekend followed.  Girls worked at Missy's in Gurhtre on Saturday.  Lara worked until about 1:30, and Emms stayed until 5pm.  Homework and family time rounded out the weekend.  And then Evie tried to help Lara do her homework...

And this song still played all weekend.  The lyrics really get me!

On to the next one...

The One with Football Senior Night

November 8 - 10, 2019

S E N I O R  N I G H T
Friday, November 8, 2019
Pioneer Football

I have been dreading this night for at least a year.  So much preparation.  So much emotion.  And it was all so very worth it.  We spent one afternoon with all the Senior Football parents making decorations and finalizing plans.  And then Booster Club worked to make sure the senior blankets were in place for the football player, managers, cheerleaders, and pom girls.  And the night was here before we knew it!  It was a cool night, but not too cold.  The Pioneers were undefeated and working to cap off a perfect season by beating Del City.  And Lars's Senior year of football was almost over.  Last regular-season home game.  We knew there was a home playoff game coming, but this was different...

The posters were hung in the stadium.  As well as a large banner matching the home picture on this post.  The lights were bright, and the seats were PACKED.  It was time.  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!

Lara's BFF rolled out for support!

Lined up for the senior announcements

A sweet friend captures this from the scoreboard

We're NEXT!

Coach Barnard and Lara

hugs

Family on the Field

Halftime Selfie with NANA!

Final!  UNDEFEATED!

Manager Girls!

Team Picture at the end of the game

Lara's ATC replied to my post about the night on Facebook

At the end of the night, all of the Seniors from the school gathered on the field to celebrate one last time together.  They played favorite songs, hang up, cried, and soaked it all in.  The fall semester is coming to a close!

In the meantime, Emma was off being a sporty spice as well!  She had a game in Agra where she got to play a lot of the game and score 8 points (I think?) and then did her cheerleader thing.  Here are some pictures she sent me with her cheer squad!

M-O Cheerleaders 2019-20

CHEERS!

The rest of the weekend was pretty tame.  The girls both worked at the donut shop on Saturday (Lara worked Friday morning as well), and then we worked on homework and being a family!  Thank You, NEXT!

The One After Halloween

November 1 -3, 2019

Thursday night Halloween means a late night for the younger 2, and therefore a late night for the older ones as well.  I know Emma dressed up as something, someone showed me a picture (she still has no phone), and Lara was a basic teenaged babysitter.  She went around our neighborhood with Finn (SpiderMan) and his friend Hud.  She picked up all the "street candy" - things the kids dropped out of their buckets as they ran house to house), and she got away with a pretty good haul!  But, the next morning was a little rough on all of us!

Best Babysitter in the neighborhood

Friday night lights were back to Putman City!  PCOriginal, this time.  Not quite as cold, and definitely drier.  But still, the hottest thing happening was the scoring!  The sidelines we so laid back at this game; it was fun to watch them just have a good time and play a fun game.

Managers!

Halftime Selfie

Emma showed up at halftime!

FINAL

Saturday, the girls both worked all day at the Donut shop in Guthrie.  When Lara got home, she changed clothes, and headed right back out the door to Molly'd 18th birthday party.  I don't feel like I ever see that girl anymore!

Sunday we got up and went to church, then we HAD TO FINISH Lara's senior board.  We had finally gotten the missing "R" letter, but we had to finalize the design and glue everything down.  Here's how that looked:

Everyone worked on homework until the early afternoon.  Then it was time to head up to the high school to decorate the football locker room for Senior Week!  The senior moms (and a couple dads) worked on making then each a personalized locker sign as well as putting finishing touches on all the big boards.  We ended the time by hanging the personalized board in the locker room; the other signs will go up on Thursday for Friday night!  Here is a sneak peek:

So here we are at Senior Week for Pioneer Football.  We are conference champs.  If we win Friday night we are District Champs as well.  The road to state begins here...

The One with Cold and Wet Football

October 25-27, 2019

Friday Night Lights involved a lot of rain, a lot of cold, and a lot of scoring.  The drive down to Putnam City wasn't too bad, and the new Stadium at West was nice, but the cold drizzle and rain were a little much!  Luckily, there was an overhang, and the attendance was low, so all the Stillwater Pioneer fans huddled up together at the top of the stands under the overhang.  There was hot chocolate, and hot hands and blankets and umbrellas, but the only thing that was hot was the Pioneer Football team!  Everyone was so cold and wet that at the end of the game, the players helped the managers get all cleaned and packed up so it wouldn't take as long!  TEAMWORK!

I said a little rain never hurt anyone.
Lara said it hurt her

See came to warm us up at halftime!

Halftime Selfie!

FINAL

Emma also had her first Mulhall-Orlando LadyPanthers basketball scrimmage on Friday night!  She said it went well, and she is doing better with her IT band strain.  Another week and she should be good to go!

Saturday, Emma and Lara got the day off from the donut shop in Gurhtire, but only because it was a national ACT testing day!  They both took the test in Stillwater this time. Both trying to increase their score by a point or more.  I think Lara slept the rest of the day, and Emma was in Orlando so I am sure she did the same!

Sunday we did homework, went to church, and rested.  We went to dinner as a family to welcome Jake back from his weekend church camp in Missouri, and afterward, we went to Hobby Lobby to collect supplies for Lara's Senior Night Football poster.  we got home early enough to work on it a little bit, as well.  We are missing a letter "R" - so dad is on the hunt for that this week!

Just getting started

Adding the tassels - evenly spaced of course!

1st draft - nothing glued down

Another away game this week!  Then, senior night!  Halloween, too.  WHEW!  October is flying!