Kaitlynn's 3-on-3 Fall Basketball

Along with Kaitlynn's usual tumbling classes, she decided that she wanted to play basketball this fall with Katy Youth Basketball league. The fall league was a 3-on-3 format and the season was relatively short, but she really enjoyed her team and the extra playtime. The team named themselves the Zebras - any guesses where that  Her favorite game was the one when she played at her former elementary school, WoodCreek. It was our first time back to the campus since we had moved back to Katy. Kaitlynn's team won a couple of games but didn't manage to advance in the end-of-season tournament. She learned a lot and was really looking forward to the winter league later in the year.

Her favorite game was the one when she played at her former elementary school, WoodCreek. It was our first time back to the campus since we had moved back to Katy. Kaitlynn's team won a couple of games but didn't manage to advance in the end-of-season tournament. She learned a lot and was really looking forward to the winter league later in the year.

FOOSH

In early October, the kids' had a half day off from school and were enjoying some down time at home. After several hours of being cooped up inside, I sent Connor outside to play in order to get him off of his phone for a while. A short time later, he rang the doorbell and came inside very upset and holding his left wrist gingerly. Apparently, he had been playing tackle football (a big no-no!) at our local park and he went to the ground hard, falling on his wrist. As he was describing his injury, he told us he heard a crack when he fell on it. UGH! With those words, I knew we were likely dealing with some type of bone break. We made him an ice pack and I took him to the local emergency room at Texas Children's Hospital.

We had to wait a while for Connor to be assessed, but eventually they took him back for an x-ray of his wrist. Then we waited even longer for the doctor to call us back and tell us the results. As we feared but suspected, Connor had broken his left wrist. But in true Connor fashion, he managed to break BOTH bones of his wrist. The good news was that the break wasn't near his growth plate. He was put into a splint and shoulder brace, and they made us an appointment later in the week to visit the orthopedist for a hard cast.

A couple of days later, it was time for Connor to get his hard cast. He visited the sports clinic and was able to choose the color of his cast - red. The male nurse was super efficient and had the cast on and ready in a matter of minutes.

As we talked more with the nurse, he asked Connor how he injured his wrist. After Connor explained, the nurse was telling us that this type of wrist injury is super common. So common, in fact, that nurses and doctors in emergency rooms only have to say one word to describe the injury: FOOSH. We looked at him curiously and he told us what it meant: Falling On Out-Stretched Hand -- FOOSH! Since then, the word "foosh" has become a regular part of our conversations, ha!

CUB 14U Baseball

In addition to Connor's junior high football team, he was also playing on a Select fall baseball team through Catcher's University. His 14U CUB team was newly formed and he only knew a few of his fellow teammates, but he was excited to get back on the field. He played catcher and outfield, but he was quite rusty from taking a long break over the summer. We were excited to see him in action again and thankful for the team photos posted by one of the fellow parents.

Life Lately At Home

After hoping to return to work for quite some time, I was quite surprised and very blessed when the right opportunity fell into my lap. In early October, I joined Blankenship Change Consulting based out of Dallas as a consultant and project lead. Our organization supports clients with people/process change management, and the best thing is that I am able to work remotely from my home office. Occasionally I will travel to Dallas or elsewhere based on client needs, but primarily I can be found at home and quite possibly in my pajamas. ;) I recently had to provide a head shot for some client materials and Jeff snapped this quick one at home, ha!

As I was getting up to speed on my new job, Jeff was fully enjoying his new role as "Retiree" and taking on various projects around the house. One of his first big projects was to architect and build overheard storage shelves in the garage. He worked on and off for several days and sweated through multiple shirts but managed to build a solution for all of our extra garage junk!

As school started back for both kids, we were all a little shell-shocked at the immediate increase in difficulty of the curriculum. We knew that the academic standards in Katy were far different from our former school in Dubai, but it was still surprising to see the kids struggle with the pace of their subject curriculum, particularly in math. Connor volunteered to help Kaitlynn with her word problems on several occasions, while Connor and I began having many one-on-one tutoring sessions for his high school level Algebra course. He didn't really mind the breakfast study breaks at Chick-fil-a!

Speaking of Connor, at age 13 he is quickly surpassing his mother in height. I noticed the other day that I had to look UP to him and Kaitlynn took this photo as evidence of his taller stature. He is also now wearing a Mens size 12 shoe and his voice is sounding deeper everyday. :-( This age is proving to be our most challenging yet. I have said so many times that I would NOT want to be a teenager in this day and age. So tough!

Lately at home, Jeff and Kaitlynn have been thankful for our next door neighbors and their precious backyard pups, Sadie and Sassy. Most mornings before school and afternoons after school, Kaitlynn can be found outside getting and giving love to these girls. So cute!

Finally, I couldn't resist sharing this photo posted by our realtor and friend, Mary Ann. Jeff is considering a rental home investment and we recently went to tour a boarded-up foreclosure home. Before we could get inside, we had to sign a strict waiver that signed away our rights should we sustain an injury up to and including death! We had no idea what to expect but we all came prepared, ha!

Kaitlynn and Sophia

It's always the highlight of Kaitlynn's week anytime she is able to get together with one of her besties, Sophia. These two have been friends since 2nd grade and no time or distance has ever dampened their sweet friendship. Play dates with ice cream, tumbling, and pool time are always some favorite activities they share together.

Church Lock-in

Our church hosted a super fun overnight event for the 4th and 5th graders at the beginning of the school year. Kaitlynn was beyond excited to attend with her friend, Lauren. These two cuties have the sweetest friendship. Nonstop giggles and fun. I love that they enjoy the church activities and I'm so thankful for our church that uplifts and builds the faith in our youth. The girls had such a fun time together and weren't quite ready to be picked up, despite how sleepy their eyes looked!

First Junior High Football Game

As Connor began his 8th grade year, he was adamant that he did NOT want to participate in junior high football. His final year of Katy Youth Football with his 6th grade Falcons team really did a number on him, and unfortunately he had truly lost his love of playing the game. I knew, however, that the football program through his school would be run very differently and would not have the negative impact on him the way that the KYF recreational league had. Despite his many protests, I told Connor that I wanted him to play school football this year to try it out, and then he could decide whether he wanted to participate in future years. He was NOT happy with me, but he begrudgingly went along with it.

The only benefit of being on the football team for Connor was that many of his friends were also playing. A select group of these friends had started a great tradition the previous year where they would meet up in their game day dress clothes (collared shirts with ties and dress pants, yay!) for a group breakfast prior to school on the day of their first game. The boys had fun but the Moms may have enjoyed it more. What a rare opportunity to see our handsome young men all dressed up! Love these boys and their Mamas!

Later that evening, we were so excited to see Connor and his teammates play their first game at none other than Katy High School. Connor was on the B team playing quick guard and some other position that I still don't understand. What we noticed right away is that besides the special teams plays, Connor wasn't subbed out for the entire game. It was hard to spot him at times but his red cleats helped us see him, especially when he was positioned at the end of the defensive line.

Connor played tough, but admittedly he just didn't enjoy playing. Despite his height, Connor still managed to get pushed and thrown around on many plays. That's just not his idea of fun! Throughout the season he definitely improved and made some great plays, but he never managed to say any positive things about his participation in junior high football.