Homecoming Parade

LOVE THIS TOWN!!!!!

 Love it, Love it, Love it!

Our small town is growing by the minute. Roads are being widened, stores are opening up, houses are being built like crazy. It is evident that our small town will not be so small in a few years. The whole town is basically under construction right now.  Nails in tires every couple of months to prove it! (ha)

 What comes with living in a small town are things like running into everyone you know at the local cafe for breakfast, lunch and/or dinner (ha), keeping your fingers crossed that CVS will have a grocery item you desperately need because we don't have a grocery store yet AND a homecoming parade!

A small town america Homecoming Parade...where Varsity and Junior Varsity football players and cheerleaders ride on flatbeds driven by Mac trucks! Where the ENTIRE town comes out to either be in the parade or watch the parade on every street corner of the parade route. Families, friends, neighbors, teachers, principals, city leaders and local businesses join together to create floats, order pizza and hang out along the streets, throw candy and celebrate one of the most treasured events our town holds each year! This year there were 96 floats! 96!!!  We have 2 stop lights, no grocery store and 3 gas stations. AND WE HAD 96 FLOATS!!! CRAZY!!! There was tailgating in the parking lot for an hour with food, music and cheering until all of the other floats arrived and were in order!  The energy was AMAZING!!!

I have witnessed the parade from the streets as a spectator, riding on a float with elementary age cheerleaders and this year from the back seat of Chris' truck as he was the driver for the Watch DOGS.  Any way the parade is experienced is so much fun and an excitement that stays with you for days!
My hopes for our town is that we will always keep the Homecoming Parade alive no matter how big our small town gets. It is loved by many and needed by more to hold us all together as a community! It is pure hometown proud at its finest!!!

GO PROSPER EAGLES!!!!!!!

  Lily's float being assembled...The girls couldn't wait to hop on board!!!

 Lily, McKenna, Brooklyn and Bella

 Hanging out in the parking lot waiting for the parade to begin.

 A little hug from daddy :)  SWEETNESS!!!

 Cade's garter and Lily's mum!  The cheerleaders were given their mums by the football players and football players were given their garters by the cheerleaders....yes, even at this age!!! CUTENESS!!!

 Hook 'em Horns!!!

 Cade and Ansley. They have known each other since they were 3.

 Look at the front of this truck which is pulling the Longhorn float! Smoke comes out of the nose! OMG...coolest thing ever!!!!

 The Longhorn float had all of the kindergarden, 2nd and 3rd grade cheerleaders and football players. It took both sides of the float to hold them all! That's a lot of spirit and they were over the top cute!!!

 Kinder cheerleaders

 3rd grade cheerleaders....ADORABLE!!!!!  Seriously, I wanted an outfit and to walk the parade route with them!

 Chris drove his truck for the Watch DOGS. Our friends, Jamie and Kenton came up with idea and a group of dads joined in to ride, walk, pass out candy and dress up! They played "Who Let the Dogs Out" from the speakers on top of the truck. Soooooo FUN!!!

 Jamie and I sat in the back of Chris' truck and had the best time talking, watching everyone and seeing so many familiar faces! Love this girl!!

 This was the front of the parade before they headed out. 2 Mac trucks in front ready to lead! :)

 And here are just a few of the awesome floats that participated in the parade!

What an incredible night with the kids and friends! We look forward to this every year!

Ken and Kim's Wedding

The long awaited day has finally arrived!  We couldn't be happier for these two! We are SO THANKFUL and BLESSED to have Kenny here with us today and to have Kim as a part of the family!

We started our adventure up north for a weekend wedding getaway to Ken and Kim's stomping grounds in Michigan.  We picked the kiddos up at noon on Thursday. Our flight to Detroit departed around 2:00. We  rented a car and drove to Charlevoix which was a 4 1/2 hour drive from the airport...in the dark...in the rain.  The roads for most of the drive were not on main interstates so they were not well lit and were curvy. It felt, as Rick put it, "like we were going to drive off the face of the earth at any minute." Ha! We all kicked and screamed at one point or another about the drive (and missed our turn-off which added another 30 minutes) but IT WAS WORTH IT! We arrived with a one hour time difference at 11:00pm.  The next morning as everyone was gathering for breakfast we heard stories of 16 hour days with flights being delayed, major traffic, missing flights and mishaps with rental cars.  It was laughable the next morning because everyone couldn't believe each others travel stories and each one made the one before seem not so bad off.  Thank heavens for laughter, right!!

We stayed at Boyne Mountain Lodge and Ski Resort.  What a beautiful area! The trees were already changing colors and the lodge resembled a Swiss Chalet. It rained off and on the whole weekend so the outdoor activities were limited. We spent lots of time visiting in the lodge or at planned wedding events with the family.  Lily and Cade ran around with their cousins Carter and Reese which was great entertainment all the way around!

 This is the view of the resort and main lodge looking out from our room at the clock tower.

 This is the Clock Tower.

 Inside our room

The adventure center was closed otherwise they had chair lift rides, zip-lining, and a water park among some of the activities around the resort.

Rehearsal Dinner was at the country club and the scenery could not have been prettier!
 I snapped a few pics! GORGEOUS!

 Kenny had a golf themed grooms cake at rehearsal dinner and lots of toasts to the happy couple!

 Ken's brother Patrick and daughter Reese.

Cousins- Carter, Reese, Lily and Cade

The rehearsal and wedding were held at Castle Farms outside in the courtyard and the reception held in one of the many large reception rooms connected to the courtyard.  It was a bit chilly at the ceremony but they were still able to hold it outside because the rain had held off miraculously until about halfway through the reception. And then it poured! Every bride and groom's good luck sign....Rain on the wedding day!

Lily danced the night away with every uncle and cousin and her daddy! Cade ran around with Carter inside and out. They had a ball!  Kenny and Kim were stunning! The wedding was beautiful! We enjoyed good food, good fun and lots of family! This was the first of 4 Carter weddings we will be at between now and next August! Lots of travel. We are looking forward to celebrating all of them!

Castle Farms

 Chris read a part at the wedding so we joined him at rehearsal and walked the grounds with the kiddos to keep them occupied.

 What is a castle without a dragon ...

 A moat...

 some gardens....

and a chess set!!!

Wedding Day

 The Groomsmen posing before the wedding ceremony.

 Carter pulled the flower girls in a wagon and Reese wanted no part of it!!!  So funny!

Patrick had to swoop in to get Reese out and Carter to his spot in the wedding. 

 Ken and Carter watching Kim walk up the isle.

Soooo pretty!!!

 Lucy and Frank are next up for their wedding in November! 4 weeks away!!

 Cade danced a bit and ran out in the rain...guess it kept him cool -lol

 Lily ditched the shoes (which most of us want to do at weddings but can't get away with) and danced song after song after song! Love her confidence and spirit!

 Cade absolutely wore himself out!

 Awe, Cousin Luke and Miss Lil

Luke is  already trying to convert Lily to become an Aggie...taunting her with the ring...he's starting early...A little cousin pressure - Ha!  Love it!

Congratulations Kim and Ken! We are so happy for you and enjoyed celebrating your big day!

Chris' Birthday

Chris turned 47 this year! A "young spring chicken"as we say in our family - ha! In keeping with his birthday tradition since we were first married, we celebrate with two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and a glass of milk.   There is a lovely explanation as to how this has come about....in typical Taryn fashion!  You see...when we got married I could cook rice a roni, chicken and rice casserole, tacos, spaghetti, and a decent pan of scrambled eggs. That was about all I had tackled. Enough to fill up a week of meals... so we were good! When Chris' birthday rolled around I decided the first 3 years to make a special birthday dinner...something really nice and even one of his favorite desserts.  Each year the special dish would either be over done, under done or just not right after hours in the kitchen. And each year we would end up eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as our last resort for birthday nourishment. So..... this is how we have celebrated the last 8 birthdays together....bypassing the ovens and straight to the good ole PB&J...on the "Special" plate, of course!!!!

 Happy Birthday Babe! Thank heavens you love me just the way I am because
 some things-or many in my case- may never change - LOL

Football and Cheer

"THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!" - Cade 2013 - Game Day

Cade LOVES football! He is, after all, a Carter boy! All of his uncles and his daddy played football in high school and part of if not all of college.  It's in his blood! Cade is on the Longhorns team and he plays defense.  HOOK 'Em Horns!!!

Watching Cade play football has been GREATNESS!
Watching ANY 5 year old sport is GREATNESS!
 I thought the same thing when Cade played soccer and Lily tried softball. But football has been a little different.

 Let's start with "Conditioning Camp" ...in the middle of August....YES, for 5 year olds...It is Texas remember! :)

Two coaches VS 10 five year old boys.

The coaches show the boys how to run the square at practice...I'm sure there is a fancier word for it but that is all I can come up with at the moment.  So the boys line up....one boy at a time catches a ball that the coach has thrown into their arms...they run, run, run forward...then shuffle, shuffle, shuffle sideways to the left while trying to get low to the ground and keep the ball in their hands, then run backwards, backwards, backwards trying not to trip and keep the ball in their hands, then shuffle, shuffle, shuffle sideways to the right and pass the ball back to the coach .... WOW....I don't know what I expected practice to really be like but  I did not expect to see The Dallas Cowboy practice moves ... these coaches are serious....Well, It is Texas I remind myself AND the boys are still just 5 so while they are waiting for their turn with the ball we see lots of tag, cartwheels, pushing, laughing, and a few tears! The rest of the time they practiced chasing each other in a circle trying to get flags off of each others waist.  And if the coaches dared to chat for 30 seconds the boys took off across the field and had to be called back. It was a bit like herding sheep. The moms watching laughed. The dads ended up helping the coaches. It took all the man power they had to keep up with 10 five year old boys! The coaches got tickled at all of this too... so thank heavens it's not too serious....the coaches are laughing...phew...good sign!!

Two practices a week start after conditioning camp, YES, for 5 year olds! Chris and I take turns for each practice because it is sweltering and least I say miserable for an hour and a half for the adults. The boys on the other hand are having the time of their lives! IT'S  FOOTBALL! They have a ball in their hand, they are with all boys, and they get to run, chase, and high five each other! It's a boy thing and I'm starting to understand the love of football! Starting...

Back up about 5 years. When we found out we would be having a boy one of the many discussions Chris and I would have would be about football. I had made up MY mind that OUR son would not play football. It starts too young, there are too many risks of spinal and head injuries, Chris and his brothers have had one surgery after the other fixing knees, rotater cuffs, necks...their bodies are just worn out by the time they hit their twenties. Nope...no football for our son! Mind made up. Chris never said a word. Never told me otherwise. Never agreed, argued, swore up and down either way. He just listened for 5 years and it stayed between us.

In the spring of 2013...just before Cade turned 5.... he said, "Mom, I want to play football."  It took me about 5 seconds and I said, "You do? Well ok...you can play football." WHAT!!   ....Did that really come out of my mouth! I swore up and down he would never play football and when he said that I melted....how could I melt!!!???  I looked at Chris and he looked at me and we both smiled. In that instant I knew that he knew I would come around when the time was right and he was probably thinking..."that's all it took" - lol.  He just knew to let me be and listen and ignore.  He is a patient man!

 Sooooo....here we are today....playing FLAG football ....and Cade has "the best day of his life" every Saturday!

Tackle will be another story! Oh, Chris is already getting an earful about it.  He's just listening, not saying a word...but yes, it WILL be another story....(at least I think so)!

Bella, Lily, Brylee and Abigail hanging out before the game starts! 

Yep...they have cheerleaders too!!

Good Game Longhorns!!!  Good Game!

Cheer time in Texas people!!!  All blinged out and ready to go!