Spartans Practices and Milestones

For the 2024-2025 season of all star cheer, Kaitlynn was excited to join the Junior Small Level 3 Spartans, coached by Sheryl, Forrest, and Danny. After 2 years on Nighthawks, Kaitlynn was ready for this change which felt like a great fit. She was the oldest member of the team, so she felt like a natural leader and was enjoying making new friends from her team. 

These girls worked HARD! It was Kaitlynn's first year under Coach Sheryl, and she was a DREAM of a Coach for the Spartans. She had high expectations because these girls were the reigning Summit champs from the prior season. But more than that, Sheryl was so respected for her technique and methods to ensure she was getting the most from the team at all times. Although it was tough for Kaitlynn at times to be the oldest on the team with such younger girls, she was really excited about the opportunities ahead for this bright and talented Spartans team. 

From bimonthly milestones to extra practices to all the fun events of celebration in between, Kaitlynn had such fun in all the fall activities leading up to the Spartans official competition season that would kick off in December. Our favorite team activity was the holiday party, where we joined the team and parents at a local restaurant followed by a hayride through the iconic Pecan Grove neighborhood in the Richmond area. Every single house is decorated with some that are over-the-top in celebration of the Christmas holiday. It was such a fun and unique night for the Spartans, the perfect activity for team bonding and spirit in advance of their busy competition season ahead!

Fall 2024 Photos and Updates

Fall was well underway and our household was staying busy. Kaitlynn was so happy with her sophomore year scheduled of school and cheer. She shared multiple times how much more confident she was feeling with her classes and teachers, and she was really enjoying her friend group both in school and in her Spartans cheer team. We felt so proud of this young lady, who impressed us everyday with her success and accomplishments, and most of all, her determination. Love this girl with both inner and outer beauty!

One of Kaitlynn's very favorite activities in her sophomore schedule was her Collaborative PE class, where she served as a mentor and friend to the special education community in a PE setting. She was thrilled for her assigned buddy, Kynade, who she considers a sweet friend both inside and outside the classroom. Kynade has been such a blessing to Kaitlynn and so many in our community, and I was so happy to see how much fun these two were having on their fishing field trip one day in class. Love these two so much!

Kaitlynn and I were also staying busy with our volunteer commitments for National Charity League, which has given us some precious mother/daughter time together for years. We have bonded in more ways than one over our roles in NCL, and it's hard to believe we had surpassed the halfway point of our 6-year commitment with the organization.

As the busy fall semester wore on, we made sure to carve out some time for a WAC lunch to celebrate Julie's birthday before the craziness of the holidays overwhelmed us.

Throwing in a random fall pic - Grandaddy sure was enjoying his hunting season with his new puppy Tux along with another new birddog puppy, Buck. Tux and Buck were the perfect companions for his favorite fall activity, and Grandaddy never has a shortage of stories to share about his smartest puppy ever, sweet and mischievous Tux!

Jeff was able to attend a weeknight football game to see one of his favorite Texans buddies, Nick, play for his local high school. These are two peas in a pod with their love (obsession?!) with our Houston Texans, and Jeff wouldn't miss the opportunity to support his buddy!

I'm not sure if it was 2023 or 2024, but Jeff had developed quite the obsession with golf in his semi-retirement state. In addition to joining his Cypress area golf club in Longwood, Jeff took every opportunity to play golf with friends and buddies no matter the time or place! 

One of the toughest development in 2024 was the loss of our sweet Grandpa Dave. He passed suddenly in August, and it was the start of a very difficult chapter for Jeff as he supported Nana Judy in her next season. Jeff and Brian made countless trips to Dave and Judy's retirement home in Sacramento, and eventually made the difficult decision to move Judy to an assisted living facility in Michigan near her sister Mary. Before the big move, they held a farewell ceremony for Dave near the ocean in San Francisco. It was such a tough time for Judy and Jeff, but we know Judy was in the right place as she began settling into her new life in Michigan.

Katy HOCO 2024

Before we knew it, the homecoming season was upon us again. It's such a fun and festive tradition for Texas high schools, and Kaitlynn was excited for the festivities ahead. Most of her friends were getting mums this year, but she was still resisting the trend for now. She decided to attend the homecoming football game with her friends Allison and Addy, and she was perfectly content to avoid the struggle of hoisting the mum with her all day during school and at the evening game. It was a beautiful night for Katy High School football!

The next day was the Homecoming dance, and the girls were excited to get dressed up for the evening ahead. Most of the kids don't love the actual dance, but they really enjoy getting dolled up with their friends and having a fun evening together. Kaitlynn and Addy got ready at our house and we had a mini-photo shoot in the neighborhood before meeting up with more friends. These two young ladies looked gorgeous!

We then headed to Londyn's house, where several other couples and friends were meeting up for photos. They had a beautiful backdrop and the perfect setup for everyone to gather before heading out for dinner before the dance. Love so many of these sweet kiddos and their families!

Our next stop of the evening was La Centerra, where we had dinner reservations at a pizza place followed by some strolling around and later, some ice cream. It was the perfect pre-dance celebration for Kaitlynn and her sweet friends. They all looked so beautiful!

When it was time to head to the dance, we dropped the girls off at the Merrill Center. Imagine a high school of 3500+ students and their dates, all crammed into the convention center arena. It's quite the scene! The girls weren't there long before they were ready to leave the noise and chaos, ha! Kaitlynn had such a fun Homecoming weekend and was so happy to have celebrated with her friends by her side. Sophomore HOCO 2024 in the books!