What happened to the fall

Wow I haven’t done a blog entry since sometime in September.  That alone should explain the pure craziness that my life has been the past 4 1/2 months. Matter of fact I started this catch up post in early December and today (January 16) is the first day I’m getting back to it!

I won’t go into the details other than to say work has just about killed me, but it is finally slowing down {a little}…I hope!  I did manage to take pictures, I just didn’t have time to blog, so I’ll do my best to recap the past 3 months here.

the boys both played soccer.  Mac’s team was undefeated, and Coe was definitely his team’s highest scorer.  They both had great seasons!

Albi and I snuck off for the AL/GA game where we fully expected to lose but surprisingly came out as the big winner despite the torrential rain!

SCHOOL PICS 2015-2016

  

Miss Mallory got married, and Coe insisted on seeing his best girl walk down the aisle as the flower girl!

Best event of Fall 2016:  Grayson Farris Faulkner is here!  Born on 10/13 at 8:35p.m. 7lbs, 13oz and 19” of pure perfectness!  Big cousin Mac was VERY EXCITED to get to hold Gray.  Coe on the other hand quickly announced there was no need for him to wash his hands as he had no intention of touching Gray!

  

Although we rarely made it to church in the fall due to my trial schedule and having to work 7 days a week, we did all make it for Mallie’s baptism.  Look at that sweet angel staring at Pastor Wesley!

The annual church retreat to Blue Lake has come and gone.  I didn’t get to go :( but Albi took the boys with the rest of the Gillips, and they had a blast.  Thankful for Traci who took and shared photos of the weekend.  Also very thankful for the co-parenting by the beach group! 

            

Halloween 2015 – Amari Cooper (former AL player now playing for the Raiders) and a gold Power Ranger (3rd year in a row to be a PR!).  We stopped by to see Little Red Riding Hood and her {big} bad wolf before heading to the Phillips for a little trick or treating!

         

       

Halloween was funny because it was about 95 degrees out with 100% humidity. It started raining 5minutes into our journey which was one minute after it had gotten dark, Coe couldn’t immediately see me and we went to a house with scary music.  Coe cried and said he did not like this holiday and wanted to go home.  Although I like Halloween I was exhausted and wanted to go home too!  We trudged along and once we got back with the group and dried out a little, he perked up.  The next morning when he and Mac combined their inventory and started counting, he declared Halloween to be the best holiday ever!

Trial finally ended on November 5 and November 9 we moved!  IT. WAS. CRAZY. We love the new house, but trying to pack and move some stuff on our own (mainly becuase I couldn’t get it packed before the mover came) after a 3+ week trial was a little nuts.  It all worked out thanks to lots of help from mom, Vicki, Fil and Mrs. Myra!

On Nov 13 Albi and I left for Turks and Caicos to celebrate {a little early} our 10 year anniversary.  Keep in mind we moved 4 days before that so again it was a little stressful to leave, but once we got on the plane we left all the stress behind nad enjoyed 5 wonderful relaxing days.  That trip will get a post of its own…eventually!

Sometime during the end of the fall craziness, Mac started playing flag football.  To say his team was horrible would be an understatement.  They lost their first game 50+ to nothing.  There were only 6 games and I missed the first two.  I was there for the 3rd game though and snapped a few pictures before putting my camera away to watch him and his teammates continue to get beat…bad.  Then out of the blue Mac got the ball and ran it all the way down the field.  It was his team’s first touchdown of the season.  Mac {and really everyone at the game on both sides} was thrilled to finally see the Saints score!  Despite never winning a game, Mac LOVED flag football.  His said his team was all freshman, and they would be way better next year!  I’m hoping next year we can just play “yard ball”!

Trial prep and actual trial are over, we are moved into the new house, and the holidays are around the corner…that means it must be time for our bestest friends to spend the night!  All dressed up and ready for church the next morning. 

Finley came over for dinner and playtime, but she didn’t spend the night.  She was NOT a happy camper when her mommy and daddy said she had to go home.  I think she is old enough now and next time I will insist she get to stay.  When you already have 4 kids whats one more?

That was our fall in a nutshell.  Next up – Thanksgiving and then all the December holiday events.  Maybe I will have the blog caught up before Valentine’s Day…no promises though!

Soccer

Soccer started a few weeks ago and for the first time ever both boys are getting to play!

Mac first:  Mac is again on Coach Dax’s team – the Strikers – with a bunch of his former teammates and a few kids who played for the Strikers in the spring when we played baseball.  Despite having the same coach, same uniforms and a lot of the same kids, the experience is totally different.  We have gone from being one of the youngest teams in U8 to one of the older teams, from getting creamed almost every game to creaming everyone else {well we have only played 2 games so far but we won them both…by alot!} and most of the team having minimal understanding of technique and rules to true skill and understanding being shown on the field.

Coe: Soccer for Coe = pure happiness.  He LOVES every second of it.  At first he was enamored with having a coach and being part of a team – the Jaguars, but after the first game {where he dominated} his obsession is now scoring goals.  He is quite a bit bigger than most of the other kids on the field which at this age means he can get the ball out of the herd and quickly run it down the field to score which he does a lot.  At the first game he would look over at his cheering section after each goal to make sure we were clapping for him.  By the second game he would score and then walk off with a little swag to his step as if to say this is nothing new for me :)  Coe has also found a new girlfriend on the team.  He refers to her as “the fast girl!”  She is fast…and really cute!  She  and Coe score the majority of the goals for their team.  I am not sure if he likes her because she is fast, a good soccer player or just really cute, but I know he can’t stop flirting with her at practice :) 

I’m glad they are both enjoying soccer.  Now if the weather can cool off a little Albi and I can enjoy it as well! 

The Jaguars

         

The Strikers!   

 

 

Chi Os in Carefree, AZ

Two weekends ago – Labor Day weekend – I flew to Phoenix to meet 8 of my sorority sisters.  We are literally spread all over the country – from DC to Seattle, Texas to Colorado and everywhere in between. WE try to get together every 1-2 years, but this time it has been 3 years since our last real reunion which was in Gainesville.  Thankfully we all pick up right where we left off!  This was the first time ever that all 9 of us have made it to a reunion in almost 10 years, so we had a lot of catching up to do.  With work and flight schedules we were actually only all 9 together for about 24 hours, but the majority of us had a full 3 days to laugh, talk, cry (a little) and just enjoy being together.  We went to a spa one day and spent a full 8 hours basking in bliss.  Tracy bought a selfie stick to ensure we had a few group shots.  Love these girls!  #SPF #CarefreeChiOs #FLkickinAZ {we spent way too much time picking our forever # and our 2015 reunion #s!) 

 

HBD Gigi

Last weekend we celebrated Gigi’s birthday on a pirate ship.  A bunch of her friends and children and grandchildren came along so the boys had plenty of friends to play with on the boat.  The crew did a great job entertaining them with activities the majority of time we were out to sea and the Gilmer boys were quickly immersed in the pirate theme!  They even got Fin to participate in the activities {she takes a little more time to warm up to things than the boys!}.