Family Photos and So Long September!

Adios September!

Maddy and me

Both Maddy and I commented this morning that

September just zoomed right by!

Being busy with work, school and volleyball, not to mention homework, 

made it a fast and fun month!

Me and the Mr.

Before the month ends and we move on

to all things "fallish", I wanted to finally 

share some family photos we had taken in July!

Yes, call me slow!  :)

The whole big family!

Philip and Catherine arranged the family photo shoot as 

birthday gifts for Mr. Miata and me -- such a

wonderful idea and much appreciated.  

The Originals!

I may be a teensy bit biased, but I think

they turned out fabulous!

My biggest problem now is

choosing a favorite!

The Mascot -- Goooooo Eagles!

Yes, we have a mascot!

Although there are only 10 girls on the 8th grade

volleyball team, there is a regular cheering section

and team mascot!

Can you guess what type of bird?

I gave it away in the title, didn't I?

Yes -- an Eagle!

Oh my word -- this kid kills me!

He is hilarious -- cheering, dancing and

getting the small crowd cheering, singing and 

bleacher dancing along with him!

He sings, he flaps his wings, he attempts cartwheels!

He's an 8th grader too and usually

has a couple of side-kick friends with him.

They may not admit it, but I think the team kind of likes him!

Did I tell you yet how much I love 

8th Grade Girls Volleyball!

Welcome Fall - Welcome Pope Francis!

Fall photo from 2011 -- our leaves have not turned or started falling yet!

Wow -- what a special day -- 

Pope Francis visits the U.S. and

we officially say goodbye to summer

and welcome to Fall!

So exciting to have the Holy Father in the United States.

Back when I was very young, I saw Pope John Paul II in Philadelphia in his

Pope-mobile riding around in downtown Philadelphia.

 I was working on the 25th or 32nd floor of a very large building -- 

your probably guessed that, right!

I quickly jumped on an express elevator and got out to the street just

in time to see the Pope drive by and bless the crowd.

I will never forget the excitement in the air and the special

blessing of the Pope.

Later, during that same visit, my Mom and sister attended a

Mass in Des Moines, Iowa.

Wish I was in Philadelphia again to see Pope Francis.

Our very own Bishop Conley from Lincoln was there 

and sent this photo!

Praying for a safe trip for Pope Francis and all those 

who traveled to see him.

A New Sport!

This year Maddy decided to spread her wings, expand her vision

and try a new sport -- claiming a spot on the

8th Grade Girls Volleyball team!

Practices started in early August and games just started last week!

It's really the first time she's been involved in a team sport.

Her other athletic endeavors have been individual sports -- 

tumbling, cheer, tennis -- that type of thing.

All photos credited to Volleyball team Photographer/Mom - Cathy Bender

Volleyball has been great!  She's really enjoyed it, learned a lot

and loves the team experience!

It's a relatively short season -- with only 8 matches

over four weeks.  They play on Monday and Tuesday nights

either at their home gym or another Catholic school gym.

Practices continue on every Wednesday and Sunday.

Maddy is No. 5

I never realized volleyball could be so exciting at

the 8th grade level!

Their first match last Monday was a close one, but they lost.

The match on Tuesday was a real nail-biter and

every point won by the Eagles (Maddy's team) was

matched by the other team.

Until . . . 

the very end when the Eagles took over and won!

The girls are so sweet and supportive even when some points are lost,

serves are out and returns are missed.

Love watching my girl learning a new sport! 

The Littles aka The Grands!

This is a post all about "the Littles" also known

as The Grands!!

They are a darling trio and we had some family photos

taken in July, so I wanted to share

their adorable cuteness with you!

Miss Janie - the oldest is now 5 years old and in kindergarten!

She loves seeing her teacher and friends every day,

learning to read and having chocolate milk at lunch!

Mr. Walt is 4 and going to preschool 3 days a week!

He was so happy to start school again and be reunited

with his preschool teacher from last year and all his buddies.

His only wish . . . that he would be able to have chocolate milk every day!

Little Mr. Harry turned 2 in August.  He is cuteness+

with a sweet and snugly personality.

And he operates pretty much at one speed - fast!

He plays big, runs fast, has never met a fence, stair or barricade

that he can't climb or take down.

Since Janie and Walt are in school at the same

time 3 days a week, Harry gets some 

fun one-on-one time with his Mom

and is attending an itty-bitty 

music/dance/jump class!

Here's the whole family  -- with big news -
a new little grand expected at the end of March, 2016!
Congrats to Philip and Catherine!

Summer's Last Blast!

Last weekend - Labor Day weekend
-- the official end of summer!
Boo hoo !

We had one of the best summers!
While I worked until about 1 or 2 pm every day, Maddy
slept late, took the pup for a walk, tidied up the house
and watched a movie or show on Netflix.
Add to that her zoo crew duties and some sports camps
and the summer flew by!

Mads and I spent a ton of time at the pool -- not during the heat
of the day getting all sunburned, but instead in the evenings,
and we often had the whole pool to ourselves or shared it with
only a few others.

The last couple weeks, the weather changed and it was a
little chilly for August, but we were determined
and continued to hit the pool, even
with its shorter hours after school started.
We became such regulars that if we were a little late, the lifeguards
started calling to make sure we were on our way! :)

Labor Day was the last day of pool-time fun
 and sadly, our pool (club) is closing forever.

On one of the last nights there, I was
able to get these silhouette photos
with my iPhone of some folks going off the high
diving board!

We will really miss that place!

Go Read a Book!

It's National Read A Book Day!

Do you love to read?

Me too!  Sadly, I haven't read as many books

lately as I would like to be reading.

Maddy loved those Junie B. Jones books -

she and I read those like crazy!  We have

a full library.
Junie B was so hilarious!

Now Maddy's favorite books are dog books -- dog training,
dog breeds from A to Z, dogs, dogs, dogs! :)

First grader -- 2008!

The last book I started was that uber-popular --

"The Japanese Art of Decluttering" or

some such title.

You know what -- it both overwhelmed and

depressed me.

While I know in my head that all the stuff sitting

around could be decluttered and sent to trash, save or give-away,

isn't there a teensy bit of benefit to keeping

some old things?

When we cleaned out my Mom and Dad's house,

my sisters and I loved seeing the things they kept -

old report cards (yes, I was an A-student!!), First Communion

photos, handwritten recipes, cards and notes.
It made me feel so loved.

Is that silly?
Someday when I don't have a lot on my list to
accomplish, I promise to declutter . . .
but just a little! 

Crisp, Crumble or Cobbler???

Last year, my son wowed us with his

Peach Crisp or is it Crumble?

I vowed to try to duplicate it as the only crumble or crisp

I've ever made is Apple Crisp!

Lo and behold Mr. Miata brought home too many peaches one day,
so my plan was in place ---

get those peaches ripe and 

and make me some peach crisp/crumble.

Photo - courtesy of the World Wide Web

But . . . I was foiled by Mr. Miata eating too many 

of the peaches, but that's what stores are for, right!!

Just  had to wait a few more days for new

peaches to ripen!

Finally, it was time!

The other day, I actually made the 

Peach Crumble or is it Peach Crisp???

It turned out fabulous -- though truthfully it

took longer and was way messier than I thought it 

would be. 

Peaches are juicy!

Mr. Miata and Maddy declared it a huge success!  

Served with a lovely scoop of vanilla ice cream

 and you've yourself got a meal!  :)

What?  

You've never head of a one-dish meal??

Peach Crisp/Crumble -- it's what's for dinner!  

A Little Bit of Cheer

Hello all -- I didn't fall off the face of the earth,

I'm just in a slow blogging mode.

But, I wanted to share a little cheer with you all.

Last Friday night, my granddaughter, Janie Boo (kindergarten)

got to cheer at a high school football game!

She was so excited!  

Janie cheered the entire 1st Quarter and

while some of the kindergartners stood around

wondering when to cheer, not Janie.  

She cheered the entire time and even harder when a touchdown occurred.

Sadly, most of the touchdowns were made by the opposing team!  

Maddy participated in a Thunderette dance routine

at halftime that was pretty cool and was over very fast!

Dancers really have to move and get off the field in a hurry.

Even though Janie kind of wanted a ring-pop, popcorn, cotton candy or Gatorade --

 I suggested she wait ( I hate sticky messes), 

so promised 

 ice cream after the game.  

I also may have reminded Janie that 

ring-pops cause cavities and are sticky, messy and icky.

Janie agreed and then informed a 

couple of 9 or 10 year old girls

 who did have ring-pops that those things were really bad for them 

and maybe they should throw them away.

The girls looked a little puzzled by such a wise-beyond-her-years

5 year old and smiled at her!

The real cheerleaders

And yes, we did stop and get ice cream and french fries

after the game -- gotta have a few treats, right!

Friday Night Lights 2015  -- we are there!