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 With a Family Adventure

September 6 - 8, 2019

Now, this was a weekend filled with all kinds of activity and family time!  Fall is HERE!  We get to do fall things!  Football!  Family time!  Part-Time jobs!  Now, if the dang WEATHER would just realize it is not supposed to be this HOT after Labor Day!  MAN!  We had a lot of outdoor things planned for the weekend, and we were HOT and SWEATY!

In true Fall style, Friday Night started with Football under the lights!  Stillwater traveled to Edmond to play Memorial in their brand new (still under construction) stadium.  As tradition would have it, Dad and I took custom Stillwater Cookies to the girls before they left!  This was a rough evening in so many ways.  The visitor side of the stadium was not completed in any stretch.  Including, no restrooms on that side and no concessions.  Add to that, it was so HOT and sticky and gross.  Plus, the game was pretty ugly for the first half.  We got a couple of guys injured, and we went into the locker room tied at 7.  Luckily, the third quarter brought all kinds of relief - the sun had gone down so it was cooler, everyone had gotten into a rhythm, and our runningback scored 3 TDs.  Oh, but the stadium ran out of bottled water to sell.  It. was. So. HOT!  We pulled out the "W" with a final of 42-7 and headed back to Stillwater!

From Senior Football Pics on Thursday night.

2019 Cookies!

The Girls!

MY girls!  SENIORS!

Tradition

Hardest Working Girls in Football!

Final Score

Didn't get the halftime selfie, so this is our end of the night selfie

Saturday, Emma started her first job that wasn't for family!  She is working at a donut shop in Guthrie right off I-35.  They are also a bakery and deli with a full menu for lunch.  They had her come in and "get her feet wet" on a game day!  Guthrie is right between Norman and Stillwater, so all of the OU and OSU game day traffic traveling up and down the interstate stop by!  Both teams had home games later in the day, so there was a ton of traffic up and down the road.  She loved it.  Kept very busy, learned a lot of new things and she did just about every job during the course of the day, met new friends, and left with cash in hand.  She was thrilled!  Then she was off to Newkirk for a wedding.  She cleans up pretty nice!

Emma and her Dog Skye

So pretty!

Sunday.  Fun Day!  Family ADVENTURE Day!  Dad kept it a secret for weeks!  Put it on the calendar, told nobody anything.  This week, he did tell them all what kind of clothes to wear and that we were leaving our house at 10:30am on Sunday.  Emma got to our house about 10:00am, we loaded up, and Dad took us on a crazy route with twists and turns before we ended up at Frontier City.  It was HOT, and crowded, and Finn doesn't like rides.  We all rode the few rides we really wanted to, then Emma, Jake, Finn, and Dad went to the water park while Lara and I sought refuge in a cooler part of the park.  We bailed out around 3:30 - it was just too hot!  We went to Sonic for happy hour drinks, then went to Downtown OKC for a yummy dinner at S&B Burger Joint.  Lara and I split an order of Peanut Butter Bacon (sweet potato) fries.  YUM!  We all got back home dirty, worn out, and with full tummies.  It was a GREAT day!

Loaded UP in the Family Truckster and OFF WE GO!

Emma and Mom - Diamond Back

Mom and Lara - Steel Lasso

Emma and Jake - Steel Lasso

Lara, Jake, and Mom, Tumbleweed

Emma and Finn - Tin Lizzies

It was a good weekend.  And what we needed to kick off the upcoming season on CrAzY!  A LOT of things happen in the next few weeks.  It's a great time to stay tuned to the 2020 Project and see what the Crazy Redheads are up to!

The one with wins and losses

November 10 - 13, 2017
Hard to believe another weekend is already in the books!  There were a lot of sports contests, and some wins, and some losses.  Both girls seemed to have some illnesses along the way this weekend as well.  The weather was dreary and dark and a little bit more winter-y than we have had yet this year.  The seasons are truly changing - in so many ways!

Friday was a divide and conquer kind of night.  Lara and the Stillwater Pioneer football team were headed to Bixby for their first round playoff game.  Emma and the Lady Panthers were off to Carney for their first basketball contest of the season.  Since Finn has been struggling with his coughing and breathing a bit this week, he was off to Carney with Nana and Grandpa to see Emma and her team; while Jake, Dad and I went to Bixby for the football game.

It was a cool night, and a long drive over to Bixby.  The game was very one-sided right from the beginning, and after a lot of hard work, grit, and FIGHT, the Pioneers came up short, and *just like that* the football season was over.  So surreal.

Meanwhile, in Carney, the Mulhall-Orlando Lady Panthers were ready to open their season.  Although our Emma girl didn't get to see any court time, her team came out victorious after a close and hard fought game.  She got to hang out with Finn and and her grandparents and stayed in the gym to watch the M-O boys team play, but they did not come out with the win.  A late night for ALL involved!

Saturday, we all divided and conquered some more...  Nana had a meeting in Perry; Emma was home resting in Orlando, Lara was home in Stillwater with a friend over to binge watch TV, and we took Jake to basketball in Edmond - Grandpa and Finn met us there.  We got home after the OSU Cowboy game was already over (THEY WON!), so we watched the replay of that game and just hung out the rest of the day.  Emma was going to come to Stillwater with us for the rest of the weekend, but she had either some food poisoning or a virus, so she stayed home to keep the rest of us "well."  Lara's friend Erika was here for the whole day and well in to the evening.  She "taught" Lara to play chess, and the two of them had a fun time irritating Finn.

Sunday everyone slept in.  Finn had a rough night with his coughing, and Lara was starting the cold the rest of us had already passed around.  So Sunday was spent watching TV and resting.  We threw it back OLD SCHOOL and watched High School Musical and High School Musical 2 on Netflix.  Lara watched Camp Rock, too!  Thanks, Disney Movies!

This afternoon it was church, dinner, family meeting, errands, homework, showers, and bed!  SO thankful for these restful Sundays! Now, if everyone could just get well around here!