First Round of the OCYFL Playoffs!

And we are still in it! The score was 6 to 6 at in end of the forth quarter and with a double overtime we finally got a run to declare the game over, Falcons 12, Packers 6! What a painful game! It was a tough one. I don't know who was more stressed, the kids or the parents. I seriously think it was the parents! It was an intense game!

OK, "Coach Doug" here. Raegan says I know more about the game so I should write about it. We had some kids just really gut it out today. The Packers have the best kid in the league on their team. We just know him as #99 and he's huge! (Truth be told, it will be Elijah who is this kid in a couple years!) He's 8 and weighs over 110 lbs. What a tank. Anyway, he smashed two of our running backs and a QB a few times. All of them came off the field at different times after being hit by 99. We had one kid "on him" for the whole game and by the end, he was exhausted. 99 had at least 40 pounds on him but he's the strongest kid on our team. His name is Isaiah and is the other adopted kid on our team, so he and Isaac have a ton in common. At the end, we had to keep telling him: "just one more play." He responded! Incredible.

Isaac had a fantastic game making several tackles once again and caused another fumble - which we recovered, but the refs somehow figured out a way to let the packers keep it. (They really don't like our team and I'm not exactly sure why.) Two of Isaac's tackles were HUGE. He made a 4th down stop on 4th and 2 that would have certainly given the pack a chance to score. He's something else to watch. He just sneaks into the backfield and grabs on and brings 'em down. We've called him "plastic man" all year and he's played true to that.

Our win came at the end of the 2nd overtime. The do overtime like the NCAA does, so each team gets a chance to score. In the first overtime, we got the ball first and had two penalties called on us to back us up even farther from the 15 yard line so we just couldn't get the ball in the end zone. On their possession, they drove a little bit and fumbled on third down. Since in overtime you alternate possessions, they got the ball again. This time, they had seven chances to score! On third down, we got them for a loss and there was a mysterious face mask call for five yards and though I'm not sure why - gave them an automatic first down. (They were no where near the first down.) So they had four more tries and one of those tries was one of Isaac's best tackle, getting the RB for a three yard loss. We held them to the one yard line and they turned it over on downs.
On our second possession, we started at the ten and immediately got a penalty. (Seriously, we had about 15 flags on us versus 3 on them - something seriously fishy going on.) We got to a third and goal from the 15 and our RB took an end around to the four. So, on 4th and 4 we ran up the middle and our RB took the ball outside to the right after dodging three guys, scores the winning TD by a foot! WE went nuts!!!!
I sure felt bad for the Packers in one sense. That was their FOURTH overtime loss this season, two against us. They played 8 games, so half were overtime losses. Poor kids. They were better than their record for sure.
So, NEXT week, we have the Colts. I HATE the Colts. Their coach is a league board member and many think he gets preferential treatment. I tend to agree, but I'm sure I'm biased. They beat us earlier this season but it was a lousy loss. We dominated the whole game but kept getting penalties for really bad calls. They had one lucky run on us and they made their extra point which we still struggle with. I don't think think this game will be as hard as the one today. We'll see!!!!

Happy Halloween!

What fun we had last night Trick or Treating! They kids were out in droves here in KY. The weather was perfect for being out after dark! We had so much candy that we never ran out and even shared with the neighbors! Seriously! I wanted to share a few more pictures from the day. Isaac & Elijah wanted to go as Star War characters. With Elijah having a Star War birthday last month and getting 2 Star War costumes as gifts, we were set for Halloween. No need to purchase anymore costumes! Good thing Isaac wanted to be Darth Vader or we would have been in some serious trouble! :)

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that we had a visit from Sarah Palin too! She brought her 2 little kitty cat trick or treaters along too! Who knew she would come all this way from Alaska to T or T?!

(Actually, this is my neighbor Diane with her little girls! Aren't they cute!)

So we had a Storm Trooper (Elijah) and Darth Vader (Isaac).

We also had a visit from Pippi Longstocking. She's our neighbor from across the street and she babysits the boys from time to time! But she drives now and works at Red Robin, so those times are fewer and farther apart! I hate it when we find a good sitter and she "gets a life" LOL

So that's the word in the life of the Lalli's! Enjoy your weekend! Look for a football update soon! :) Hint...we play again next week!

Guess Who Turned 5 Yesterday?

Yep, he's five! Hard to believe it! Elijah has grown up so much in the last year! He decided he wanted a Star Wars birthday theme this year with a Darth Vader cake. Well, Darth Vader was not going to happen. With a little Internet search this is what I came up with! Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi are fighting on Mustafar, and also where Anakin gets all messed up and has to become Darth Vader! A dad came up with this great idea for this cake and I just ran with it! Such a great idea and everyone loved it! You are asking, I'm sure, what the volcano mound is made from, right? It's rice crispy treats! Basically it's lots of red icing and melted chocolate bark all on top of a brownie base. It was a yummy combo.


Darth Vader (Daddy) came to visit briefly and take pictures with most of the guest. It was a bit hot in the house, so it didn't last for long. He was a big hit!

Doug came up with the idea to have Jedi Training. They had to pin the X-wing fighter on the Clone Wars posted while blind folder (think pin the tail on the donkey here). Next it was off to target training. Shooting over figurines with nerf guns. And onto light saber contest to see who was the winner! I think over all the contest was won by our older guests! But truly didn't keep score well enough to do that. It was just lots of fun.

Here you see the Storm Trooper Elijah. He as been seeing these in the stores for several weeks just couldn't stand the idea of not getting one! This is what we picked out for Nana & Papa Lyons to give.
Here is General Grievous' Starfighter! This was a hard to find one, but finally Doug has success and found it ToysRus! Uncle David, Aunt Debbie, Becky & Kelsey gave his this. He was so excited.
And from Grandma & Papaw Lalli he got game cube controls and starwars games that can be played with the Wii. I'm not sure who is more excited about this, Isaac or Elijah, LOL

Over it was a great evening. We keep thinking we aren't going to do these big parties but they just keep happening. They only happen once a year and it's a long time from September to May and I think Doug & I forget how much work they are! But from May to September we do remember and we just can't do for one and not the other, so we do it once again! Doug is the brain child as far as games go and I take care of the cake and other decorations, so we make a great team! I'm thinking a family party sounds so good to me right now!

Thanks for sharing in our day, even it's long distance and from this venue. It means the world to him! He loved each card, phone call, e-card and gift! He was excited all day long and told everyone we saw yesterday NO MATTER WHERE WE WERE or who they were, stranger or not, everyone knew it was Elijah's 5th Birthday yesterday!

Fun In The Pool...

I totally forgot to post pictures of the boys playing in the pool! They have had so much fun it already. I know the water has been a little cold, but they should still get a few more good weeks of use out of fit before it gets winterized. We are planning to have a pool party for Elijah's 5th birthday. He is excited about it. Assuming the weather holds out, he'll be so excited.




I honestly think Elijah's lips are blue in this picture and Isaac is shivering, LOL I know they are looking forward to warmer water this weekend! Have a great weekend!

Football Season Has Begun!

It's August and that means school as well as OCYFL starting! It's a new season, new coaches and new teammates. We had a great season last year and have BIG shoes to fill this year! I thought I would share the pictures I took on Saturday. I got lucky and got some good shots, but we are still buying pics from the actual photographer. We'll keep you posted as the season goes along. We have Jamboree on Saturday, a scrimmage game, which will be most of the boys first experience with an actual game, it ought to be a something to see!

Isaac's First Day of First Grade! August 13th!

The summer was just too short! Truly he only had 10 weeks of summer! It went by so fast. Isaac was very ready to go back, he loves school and was excited to see who was going to be in his class.


We learned on the 7th that Isaac's new teacher was going to be Ms. Jessica Doty. She is in her 3rd year of teaching and is full of great ideas! We love her already.

About the only thing we were less than happy about was that Isaac only has 3 kids from his Kindergarten class. I think I was more upset about it than he was, but then again, isn't that how it usually is, mom or dad upset, kid just rolls with the punches! He has already made some new friends and he does get to have recess with his old classmates, so he will still get to them from time to time.

Oh and he will have this teacher and these classmates for both 1st & 2nd grade. I was a little concerned about this at first, thinking that if we didn't get a good match with the teacher we would have problems, but knowing now who we have, I couldn't be more thrilled.

Isaac asked the other day when he gets a break from school again! It's started already! :) However, he also added that he didn't think First Grade was that hard! I told him he hasn't started to have homework yet, so he might change his mind. Our note says homework will start the week after Labor Day so we still have one more week before it really kicks in!

Pool Install August 13th

Yep, we did it, we bought a pool late in the summer! It was install on August 13th, Isaac's first day back to school! He was excited when he got home!

I was amazed at how fast these pools go in. Did you ever wonder what 6 tons of sand looks like? Well, now you now.


Not that impressive is it? I thought it would be a huge mound! Not that much!

I think the guys were here about 4 hours total, and the hardest part was Doug & I putting the ladders together on Saturday! Our neighbors joked that they nearly divorced over putting the ladder together, we didn't find it that challenging in our marriage, LOL We did however have a few words while putting the pool cover on, yep, just a huge piece of bubble wrap, LOL!!!

Enjoy the pics! Have a great day!

Someone's Having A Birthday!

Our niece Ruth is turning 12 on Saturday! I whipped up this little card for her over at Smile Box

Love this website! I thought I would share it with you!

Make a Smilebox free ecard

Big Picture Scrapbooking

I'm loving the BPS class I'm taking, "Baker's Dozen". With a little direction we gathered embellishments, pictures and some patterned papers and now we are putting embellishments with those pictures and creating layouts, 13 in all when it's all said and done. I've been so inspired by the class. Darcie is a great instructor and with her sketch ideas it has made it extremely easy to whip out a layout every other day. Well, in my case, 4 in one evening. I'm still behind by 3 and another one will be posted tomorrow so I better get busy!



I thought I would share the layouts I worked on last night! It was fun to be creative again, I feel like I haven't really had my creative "mojo" lately, just rolling with the punches. This felt freeing and fun!!!


Enjoy your weekend!

What I Love About Summer...

Over here on this blog http://georganahall.typepad.com/listen_in/ from Adornit they are having a little Summer Celebration. Georgana challenged us yesterday to create a layout about what we love about summer! So I took the challenge, but just today was I able to get to it! Here is what I made in just a few minutes too!
I know it's a little silly, but I truly want my kids to know what little things make/made me happy! And a little splurge on myself a few times a year, is to get a pedicure. Elijah called it a "pedicare" this time last year. I think he finally has it figured out now!

Now, Summer toes aren't the only thing I love. Those other things would include being a little lazier than we are during the school year! Dinners from the grill. Longer days! The boys playing on the water slide. Play dates. Zoo trips. One dollar movies. Mini vacations. Camp Grandma & Papaw... I know the list could go on and on, but those are just a few of the reasons why I love Summer! Happy Summer everyone!!!

Funny things kids say...

Doug actually witness this one along with several of our friends. On Monday night Doug and the boys went to dinner at the Ellison's. It had been a busy weekend and day for that matter. The boys were running on whatever reserve energy they had left. They had had a late dinner and finally at one point Elijah came up to Doug and said, "Dad, do you suspect we should be going home now?" As Doug said, they all fell out laughing at that one. And on the way home Elijah let Doug know that was going to "rest his eyes for a bit" We all know what quickly followed! ZZZzzzzzzz

Elijah has always come up with some good ones, but I hardly ever write them down, and I just wanted to share this one with you!

We gotta Wii today!

We are all so very excited! I found out on Wednesday that Walmart was going to have them in stock today! Well, there was no way either of us was going to get up and stand in line in hopes that we would get one, so there went that idea! After church and a pot luck lunch, Doug decided to try Walmart, "just in case". He had prepared the boys that there probably wasn't going to be one. And you know what? There weren't any. However, the salesman had just put one back on the shelf that someone had bought this morning and returned it this afternoon! So they were in the right place at the right time! We all feel so lucky as we have been trying to get one since this past November! Today was our lucky day! The boys have had so much fun with it so far! I'm sad to say that we have already spent over 7 hours playing it today alone! Yikes! We will get more games down the road, but for now, we are pretty excited around here! Have a blessed week!

Building Our First Snowman

I know that may sound funny to some of you, but for me, Isaac & Elijah it was our first time building a snowman! Doug was the experienced one. The bottom ball on the "man" was just pushed up snow that we made into a ball and then I thought, can you really just roll the snow and it will make a big ball? YES! I thought that was only in the cartoons and movies. So the rest of the big guy wasn't that hard. Our neighbor kids came over to help as well. Zada loves Elijah and they play so well together, we figured out yesterday that they will start Kindergarten together in 2009/2010 school year. They will both attend WRCC Preschool again in the fall. Just couldn't ask for better neighbors, that is all there is to it!

I hope you all had an enjoyable weekend! It was a lazy day here today! Oh and we ended up with about 12 inches of snow! We enjoyed it, but I do look forward to warmer weather to come! Have a great week!


Oh yah, I keep forgetting about this picture. I asked Isaac & Elijah to make me a snowman on Saturday and this is what they came up with. :)

I got Tagged!!

Elizabeth at http://smirleyworld.blogspot.com/ tagged me for a MEME. Here are the Rules: 1. Link to the person that tagged you. 2. Post the rules on your blog. 3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself. 4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. 5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.


6 random things about me:

1 - I'm up at 5:00 am most days of the week! I like to be ready prior to getting Isaac off to school and before I head to work.

2 - I am in the habit of starting a book and never finish it! You should see my pile of books! My excuse? I'm raising my boys and they don't allow me the time to read, how much longer can I use them as an excuse? LOL

3 - I'm constantly trying to figure out new ways to stay or start getting organized. This is a life time project, cause I love to pile and live a messy life. But when your DH isn't a lover of clutter you need start working on the mess! ;)

4 - I can't pass up a bargain, even if I don't need it! I'm working on this one, because of number 3!

5 - When I was a little girl, I took my pet gold fish for a ride on my tricycle! One problem, he was out of the fish bowl, :(

6 - I once lived off of $500 a month income and lived on my own! How did I do that!? I know it was a different time in life, but hey, my rent was $200 a month! I was poor but happy!

Here's where I will probably falter, I don't know 6 people with blogs! So if you find yourself over here and have a blog, consider yourself tagged!

My view from here...

What a beautiful snowy day we have here in Louisville/Crestwood! Elijah & I were already off from school today so it came as a surprise when I woke up this am to find out that there was no snow on the ground, however they had canceled school for Isaac. It didn't take long to figure out why! At about 8:00 am it started snowing and really hasn't stopped since! Sometimes light, sometimes hard, but always a beautiful sight to behold God's handy work!



I received an email today from my friend Tonya who now lives in Orlando and she sent this picture to show us the weather they are having! Nice way to rub it in girlfriend! :)


You know, I know we will have many a warm day here in KY so for today I will be glad with the weather we have and enjoy this beautiful day God has given us! Both the boys are having fun being home together. We are going to have a taco dinner (the boys favorite) together. I should be at my monthly crop tonight at the church, but I canceled it due to the weather, wise choice on my part for once! So I hope that I will get some time to myself tonight! I am hosting a 28 hour crop next weekend so I won't go without my scrapbook time this month!

Have a wonderful and blessed day my dear friends and family!!

Finally lost that first tooth...

It seemed like forever! I was beginning to think Isaac was going to have his baby teeth when he graduated from high school! One of his bottom front teeth as been loose since before Christmas and then the other front bottom one kicked in. But they were not about to come out on their own. His permanent teeth had already started to come in behind them. We had his 6 month dental check up and the doc said not to worry they'll come out. Two weeks later I was back in there for a filling and I said can we just extract them? (a much longer story goes along with this, but I won't bore you with it) He said of course, I was never against extracting them to begin with, he just didn't want his to have a bad dental experience. So I made the appointment for 2 weeks from then. On the Saturday before his extraction appointment, we made a quick run to the grocery and Isaac asked if he could push the cart. Well, that was a disaster. He was all over the aisles. People were having to move out of his way, etc...So I told him to stay directly behind me to not come around me, etc. He did as I asked, but wasn't paying attention to what I was doing and he ran into the back of the heal of my shoe which in turn, caused him to hit his mouth on the handle of the cart. He was devastated! Crushed even! His lip was blooding his teeth were bloody! I couldn't get out of the store quick enough! Well, to make a long store shorter, that little trip to the grocery saved us about $200 on dental work! Doug was able to pull them both out with out too much effort! Maybe a little, but not too bad. Did you know that the Tooth Fairy leaves receipts now? It's kinda of cool! He got $2 for this first tooth and $1 for his second one. He is saving his money for a new Wii! He's got a long way to go! But he's saving it! :)

I don't want to forget...

You'll never guess what I saw today? A bond between two boys that melts my heart! Elijah and I walked to pick Isaac up from the bus stop this afternoon and like most days they chased each back to the house. But today, Elijah won, but instead of boasting about it, he ran back toward his big brother with his arms opened big and wide waiting for him to hug him. It was precious. It only lasted for a split second, but I saw it and it's engraved in my memory! I hope that one day I can get a picture of it, but those moments don't always come. Sometimes you just get to write about them. So a little bit about my day! Not special to everyone, but very special to me. :) Have a blessed day!

Lazy Day Today

We are staying home today. Elijah has had a cough/runny nose all week and just doesn't seem to be getting any better so we are going to stay home from church today and hopefully get him on the mend! They are anxious to see Daddy as he has been gone a retreat this weekend. (However, we did drive to see him yesterday for a few hours, LOL) He'll be home after church, they are excited to see him. I start my regular hours at my job tomorrow, I'll be working M/T/TH evenings now. I look forward it! My prayer is that the boys (all of them) adjust well. Isaac hates change, so we'll see how he does. I plan on doing the "homework" reading in the afternoon when he gets home from school so that will be one less thing Doug has to do each night. Dinner will be ready at 5:00 and I'll be off to work at 5:30, so it will be a change of pace for the Lalli household starting tomorrow, but at least I will be home at night more than I am away! :) Blessings to you all on this wonderful Lord's Day! :)

Did I mention what day it is today?

It's my big sister's 47th birthday! That's right! Happy Birthday Debbie! I'm so glad I got to talk to you today and wish you a Happy One! I wish I could be there to hug your neck and give you a big birthday kiss! But, I guess it'll have to wait until later!!! :) Here's to you sis!!

New Job...New Adventure

I started a new job today, well actually I'm in orientation and will actually start the job sometime later this week. I'm excited about it. I'm working in LaGrange at the Baptist Hospital Northeast (TriCounty for all those that know it by that). I'll be working in the ER department basically seeing what patients needs are and deciding who gets seen first! Fun job, huh? I met lots of great new people today. They are a very friendly group of people out there! I think I could find a career there. But, this is just a part time job to get my feet wet and to see what the future may hold for me in the medical field. I'll be working just 12 hours a week, 3 evenings a week. Isaac's first response was, "but mom! I won't see you!" "Of course you will buddy!" I will still have each afternoon with them and they will have so much fun with their daddy! Today was a school holiday, (Martin Luther King Jr). The boys went to see The Pirates who don't do anything! They had a blast! They are still tired from yesterday! I didn't think they were going to make it through dinner tonight, but they managed. Snow is a possibility tonight, so I'm kind of hoping for a snow day, it will be much needed! One more day to play with the neighborhood kids! :) I'm still really excited about the fun the kids had yesterday...

Been Waiting For This Day

I know you all have thought about that day when your house is the house where all the neighborhood kids want to play! Well, today is that day! Two of Isaac's football coaches and their families came to church today and the head coach, Perry, and his family came to our house for lunch. The boys were having a great time together. Isaac wanted Perry's boys to stay and play with them for the rest of the day and how could we say no! Two other neighbor boys who played on the team also came over, so with Isaac & Elijah, we had 6 boys over to play! They spent the better part of 30 minutes outside in 19 degree weather doing what little boys love! Play FOOTBALL! I just had to take a minute to document this day! I want this to be a place our boys want to have their friends come over and for their friends to want to come over! I can see a fridge full of cold drinks and a basket full of snacks always on hand! I love this time right here, right now! Life is good!!! :)