Volley Zou!

Ella is taking volleyball lessons with a few of the Mizzou volleyball players after school this year.  Sam did this when he was in fourth and fifth grade and really enjoyed it.  Ella is enjoying it too, although she says her arms hurt at the end of the hour.  Last Friday night the volleyball team had their youth night.  The kids that participate all go and get volleyball t-shirts, get to walk in a parade on the court in-between the second and third sets and they get autographs from all the Mizzou players after the game.  
John decided to stay home and Sam was going to a haunted house with one of his friends so it was a girls night for Ella and me.  Ella chose to start the night with dinner at Cheddar's.  After dinner we headed to the match.  She sat with me for the first set then wanted to go and sit with her friend Emma.  They had a fun time watching, cheering, and especially walking in the parade.  They found Jocelyn during the parade and she came and sat with them in the first row for the third set.  They had a great time as one of the cheerleaders taught them the cheer for "Point Mizzou" that they do each time Mizzou scores a point.  She would come over to the girls each time and do the cheer with them.  They thought that was pretty special.  The had a good time and I enjoyed watching Mizzou win 3-1.  We had not been to a volleyball match all season and it was something we should do more often because they are exciting to watch.  

Twas the Weekend Before State...

Sarah's softball team won their sectionals and were headed to Jefferson City to play Helias in the quarterfinals of the state tournament.  She texted me to see if we wanted to come and watch her play.  There were seven senior girls on her team and they were so excited that their last four years of hard work had paid off.  We headed to Jefferson City that morning and met Dana, Hannah and Caleb for an early lunch then it was time to head to the softball field.  
The girls got off to a good start but one bad inning and they got a little down and the game went downhill from there.  Sarah had some good at bats and a good catch in left field but it was not enough for a victory.  There were some tears as their season came to an end.  They went farther than any Rogersville team ever has though and should be proud of all they accomplished.  

All smiles before the game! 

Running onto the field for introductions. 

Picking the Perfect Pumpkin

We had our annual trip to the Suburban Pumpkin Patch a few weekends ago.  The weather was cooperative and this time Brian, Lauren and Savannah joined us to look for pumpkins.  Emma, Sam, Ella and Aiden are old pros at the trip.  They went straight to the popcorn for a snack and then to the face painting station.  Ella got a pumpkin this year and Sam went for a KC monogram for the Royals.  
After everyone was painted it was time to head out to the pumpkin patch.  We loaded up in the firetruck and away we went.  The kids paused for a few pictures on the hay bales then headed out to pick their pumpkins.  My kids are getting quicker at this process.  They already have in mind the shape of pumpkin they want and are able to choose quickly.  We enjoyed holding Savannah and watching her get her picture taken with all the pumpkins while everyone else looked for just the right pumpkin.  Then it was time to head back to the store.  Ella and Aiden played on the equipment while others were mum shopping and Emma and Sam just hung out inside.  
We switched the order of the pumpkin patch and lunch this year so Savannah could have her nap.  So while they headed home for her nap time the rest of us headed to Winstead's for lunch.  It was yummy and fun as always.  Another successful trip is in the books! 

Heading to the pumpkin patch. 

Look at all this cuteness! 

Three out of five sort of looking at me isn't too bad??

We loved the puppy hay bale this year! 

Spectacular Six!

We celebrated Kylie's sixth birthday two weekends ago.  We had a small party at Mom and Dad's house.  I asked Kylie what she wanted for her birthday at my dad's party and she said a horse.  After I clarified to make sure it was a toy horse,

I told her I thought I could do that.  It is a good thing I followed through because she kept telling everyone I was getting her a horse.  I think she liked it and her other presents.  She had fun running around and enjoying her special day.  I can not believe that she is six already! 

Let's March

Homecoming game day at Mizzou always begins with the Homecoming Parade. It is a huge event with over one hundred entries and thousands of people lining the streets to get a look at the bands, floats and other attractions.  This year Ella's soccer club decided to walk in the parade.  She was so excited to get to be a part of the event.  She walked next to her friends Harper and Jocelyn and they handed out candy to spectators along the way.  I asked her when she was done if she liked it and she asked, "Is it over already?"  Sam and I watched the parade with his friend Jacob and his family.  It was fun to watch all the excitement and cheer along for Mizzou!
Then it was back home to rest before the football game that evening.  John was not feeling well and decided he was going to sit this game out and after the Tigers performance the week before no one could blame him.  Ella decided that she wanted to skip the game too, so it was just Sam and I headed back into town.  We briefly visited the Swoffords' tailgate to say hello and have a few snacks then it was game time.  The call by John and Ella was definitely the right one because the Tigers' offense was miserable.  It was a rough game to watch but we cheered anyway and stayed for most of the game. Let's hope Homecoming next year has a happier ending.  

They loved the huge wheels of the tractor pulling this float. 

Sam's favorite float complete with Slugger! 

Game Time! 

The wiener mobile was at the parade. 

The girls from Ella's team that walked in the parade. 

Heading down the street, midway through the parade. 

Ella and her friend Jocelyn. 

Watching the Big Girls Play

Ella's soccer club had a special night at one of the Mizzou women's soccer games.  The under twelve girls got to be ball girls for the game and the under 14 girls got to scrimmage  on the field at half time.  Ella's team just loved hanging out together in the stands.  I think there was more talking and snacking then actually watching the soccer but the girls had a good time.  They were really excited to watch the under fourteen girls scrimmage and lined the fence to cheer for them.  They see these girls every week because they practice at the same time as them.  The Mizzou game was an exciting one and our Tigers came away with a victory.  

Tourney Time

Ella officially began her start with competitive soccer this last weekend.  She tried out and made the Synergy FC soccer team at the end of the summer.  Synergy is a new club in Columbia and because of limited numbers they combined the under nine and under ten girls into one team.  That is forcing many of the girls to play up an age group but they are excited to be playing.  
They practice twice a week together and have scrimmages on the weekends against the boys' teams their age and recreational teams.  This weekend though, the girls competed in their first tournament.  The tournament was here in Columbia.  They competed against teams from Columbia, Springfield and Jefferson City.  The girls played four games and were able to come away with one win.  A few of the games they lost by many goals but each game they improved and are learning to play as a team.  

Ella was enthusiastic throughout the weekend win or lose.  She also, to our surprise, played quite a bit of goalie this weekend.  She has never liked playing goalie before but this weekend she said she enjoyed it.  She was super excited that she played goalie the entire game that they won and was able to say she had her first shut out.  She is even writing a story about it at school this week.  I hope her enthusiasm for the game only continues to grow!