Indy Homecoming 2016

It's hard to believe that Cade has started high school this year. I have no idea where the time has gone. With high school comes homecoming and this year, homecoming has ushered in his first "date" of sorts. Date meaning, mom takes everyone's picture, then we get in mom's car and mom takes us to a place to have dinner (mom sits in a different booth). And then mom takes us to the school dance and drops us off:) I couldn't be more pleased with the girl Cade asked to the dance. She's super sweet (and she has great hair:) 

Cade and Lexie: 

This is  the group that rolled together for this night's outing. 

And, so we can look back on this and wonder, "what the heck?"...This is the Dab. Everyone is doing it and I have no idea what it means or why children everywhere are throwing their arms up over their faces. Welcome to parenthood I guess:)

Dylan and Jessica

Ryan and Taylor

Sweet group of fellas.

Sisters and twins:)

The gals. 

Cade had a great evening with Lexie and his friends. Here's to many more great nights of high school memory making! 

Eighth Grade Formal

The end of middle school is rapidly approaching! Heritage celebrates by having an eighth grade formal. Cade and his friends all decided to go together sans "dates". Cade was all gussied up in an awesome suit I got for him. 

The gang all met here for pictures and we all pitched in an rented them a party bus. It took them to Mellow Mushroom in Franklin for pizza and then dropped them at the dance. Such fun memories!! 

Great group of kids! 

Indoor Soccer

Cade finished his first season of indoor soccer with several of his buds. It was a lot of fun and little commitment. My kind of off season sport! Good times! 

The Park Where Dreams Are Made

I'm not talking about Disney World. I'm talking about Cooperstown, NY where baseball players' dreams come true! Cade had the opportunity to travel to the park for the annual 12 year old tournament that is hosted for teams from all over the nation throughout the summer. Only Bobby and Cade made the trip because the thought of riding in a car for 18 hours with the rest of everyone else made me feel nauseated. It was some good father/son bonding! 

The MAD Mayhem

One of the big things to do was to collect pins from all of the teams represented. This is Cade and his teammate Blake looking through their wares.

All of the boys and coaches stayed together in dorm style housing. I'm pretty positive that this thrilled Bobby to no end.:)

Cade put the perfect swing on a pitch and rounded the bases for a homer. It was surely one that he'll never forget! 

Grandma and Grandpa made the trip too and they were there to see every swing and pitch. Talk about dedication! 

How cute is this shirt my mom found? I know she sported it proudly! 

There was a little down time too and Cade and Bobby and some of his teammates went to the Baseball Hall of Fame. There was a ton of really cool stuff to look at. I think Bobby was way more into it than Cade since he's had more time to fall in love with baseball and it's greatest players.

Overall the team did really well finishing out 19th of 104 teams. I consider that pretty remarkable. Most of all there were memories made to last a lifetime! 

Thirteenth Year Partypalooza

Cade's annual Partypalooza got a little nutso this year when all day swimming became a washout when a swath of rain the size of Australia rolled in. It didn't stop the swimming totally. There was still wet fun to be had. 

 There's always a jumping picture. For years now. And it's usually the same crowd of boys...the regulars. This year a few more were added in along with the boys that have been friends for as long as my mind can remember. 

 Because Bobby and I are both obviously completely insane, we borrowed our friend Zach to help us transport all of these crazies to downtown Franklin where we went to see The Avengers in the quaint Franklin Theater. We didn't lose anyone so that was good. 

After that we stuffed their faces with pizza from Mellow Mushroom....

and topped it off with birthday Sweet CeCe's.

 Approximately $10,000 later it was time to load up and head back to the house where an intense game of Infection was brewing. (Basically hide and seek tag) 

We are officially into the teen years now and there's no going back. I hope it's not as rough as some folks have made it out to be. If I'm still living and functional I hope to be able to update this blog to let myself know that I am, in fact, living and functional after having a teenager. I do know a few things for sure: I'm super proud of Cade. I'm thankful God has given him 13 healthy, active years. I love these friends that he chooses to spend his time with. And, this thirteenth year has started off with a bang! Happy birthday, Cade! 

That One Time Cade Played Varsity

Cade got "pulled up" from the JV team to play varsity for the District Tournament. The honor was nice but it was sorta a bummer because well, we knew that that meant he would forgo his starting position on JV to be a bench warmer for Varsity. He did get to play one inning in the outfield and got one ground ball that he threw in to second. Good job Cade!:) Then he spent the next whole game putting on and taking off his helmet to be the pinch runner for the catcher who never got on base:/ Oh well. We wore the uni and rubbed shoulders with the big dogs. Good times:)

Memory Making

This summer each of the kids got to invite whomever they'd like for a day of swim time and fun. Each one got to have one day to themselves with just their buds and I personally loved it. It gives me tons of joy to look out and see a pool full of kids:) 

This was Cade's day and he was kind enough to let Rhett hang with his friends. He fit right in and I don't think anyone ever thought, "uggghhh, why is Cade's annoying little brother hanging out with us??", because Rhett is.....Rhett and he fits in just about anywhere:)

Elaina got to swim in with the big kids too. And don't think for a minute she was left out. 

She was surrounded by boys the ENTIRE time. With her supreme cuteness and love for all things sporty I think this will pretty much sum up her entire life:)

It was a great day of fun with all of these fantastic boys before school gets in swing in a few weeks. I'm so thankful for this pool to hang out in! 

Destin Game Days

We spent lots of hot days at the baseball parks in and around Destin. Elaina was content as long as there was a concession stand and as long as I kept saying "yes". I did give in to an early morning sno cone run so I could watch the game in peace:)

Cade played a solid third base throughout 9 games and the Mavs came through with 9 straight wins! 

The team got a huge trophy!

And, the boys all got super bowl sized rings. Look at that tough face:) 

It was the perfect ending to a great season. I honestly had no idea how being on this team would turn out but it has been a fantastic learning and growing experience for Cade in his baseball career. We were blessed to get to hang with a great group of boys and parents and that made the season so much easier to adjust to our new team. I wouldn't trade the season for anything and I'm pretty sure Cade would agree!