Happy Thanksgiving

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving.  Our Thanksgiving was pretty similar to the past two.  After waking up we made our way to church to help pack Thanksgiving meals for delivery.  Our church, along with a neighboring one, delivers about 500-600 meals every Thanksgiving.  We then joined the Kash family (and two other couples) for dinner.  The Chlarsons made their way to Bowling Green today to help celebrate Iowa's victory over the Huskers.  We also managed to get a bit of shopping in.  On Wednesday, we celebrated our 14th anniversary by going to the Louisville-WKU womens basketball game.  It probably wasn't the most romantic way to spend an anniversary but it was a pretty good game.  

Annee serving stuffing while Hayden plays with the mashed potatoes.

A&H cutting pie.

Pre-game photo.

Kevin looking good after Annee gave him a bit of a makeover.

Between Seasons

Finally getting around to a post- Toy Bowl update.  Pre- and Post- Toy Bowl festivities went better than the game did.  Game day started with a team breakfast at the Montana Grille and a caravan to the game.  The game itself didn't go particularly well but it was still a very good season.  Have included a couple of pictures from the day.  Although we have been done with games for a few weeks, we have been busy with basketball practices, swimming, and BRAVO volleyball tryouts.  A&H have also sang and rang the bells at church.  We are sure that Annee sings, but Hayden might just occasionally move his lips.  They have begun practice for the church Christmas performance.  Hayden and I also made it down for the Vanderbilt-UK football game.  We are looking forward to going back next year.  

Ravens Return to Toy Bowl; Annee Has First Swim Meet of Season

The Ravens have earned a return trip to the Toy Bowl after corralling the Cowboys 40-14 on Tuesday evening.  The Ravens scored all 40 points in the first half.  The Ravens will have a rematch against the Bengals in the Toy Bowl.  The first matchup between the two teams went to two overtimes before the Bengals prevailed.  Annee was busy on Saturday with All-State Choir.  On Sunday, she participated in her first swim meet of the season.  She did quite well with 3 personal bests.  She narrowly missed a PR in her fourth event.  Annee and Hayden also managed to start basketball practice on Monday.  Games will start in December.

Annee taking off in the 100 backstroke.

 Hayden getting ready for the kickoff.  He now plays all special teams, 2 quarters on defense, and 4 quarters on offense.

Hayden getting final instructions from Coach Price.

 
 Members of the All-State Choir from Briarwood

Annee with Allyra and Maggie.  Allyra and Maggie will be on Annee's basketball team this winter.

Some Pictures

We made it through a soggy and windy Halloween last night.  The break from rain was long enough to make it down Pumpkin Alley.  Hayden starts his football playoff tomorrow.  Annee has All-State Choir this weekend and a swim meet on Sunday.  Basketball practice starts Monday.  Below are a few recent pictures.

Hayden nearing the end of his last race of the year.

Hayden and his cross country buddies at Fazoli's.

 

 Homecoming Frivolity

 Warren County Youth Football players welcoming the Toppers back to field after halftime.

Hayden and Payton singing some karaoke at Fall Festival.

Annee and the Briarwood All-State Choir crew.

Annee and friends on Halloween.  Four of the five girls will play on the Hoosiers this winter.

The Dominoes

Catching Up

Just some quick catching up.  I will try to add some pictures later.  Hayden and the Ravens have wrapped up the regular season.  The Chargers defeated them relatively soundly last Wednesday, but the Ravens rebounded with a 24-0 win over the Falcons on Saturday to finish the regular season 8-2.  We will be a 2 seed for the playoffs and face the Falcons again this Saturday.  Hayden also ran his last cross country race of the season on Tuesday.  It was another 3k.  He did a pretty good job this year.  We did not see many offensive lineman running cross country.  Basketball is next.  Hayden was drafted by the same coach he has had the past three seasons.  Annee will also have the same coach that she has had the past six seasons.  Practices should start next week with games starting in December.  Annee also has all state choir this weekend and has a swim meet on Sunday.

Ravens Win Another Close One; Drakes Creek has VB Banquet

The Ravens ran their record to 5-1 (7-1 overall) in games decided by 8 points or less on Tuesday night.  Once again the boys overcame a halftime deficit to rally in the second half and post a 16-8 victory.  Two more regular season games remain.  The game Wednesday against the Chargers should be another tough one before a relatively easy game versus the Falcons before playoffs begin.  On Saturday, Annee and Heather had their volleyball banquet. Annee received the All Around Player Award.  She is going to try to play some travel volleyball for BRAVO again this Spring.          

Annee & Hayden sang in church on Sunday.  It was Hayden's first time singing in a while. Annee also was and acolyte and I ushered so we were pretty well represented.

SKY Conference Cross Country Meet

On Tuesday Hayden competed in the SKY Conference Cross Country Meet.  It was the third time that Hayden had run this particular course and he ran it about 7 seconds slower than the last meet there.  He finished about 63rd out of 102 elementary runners.  He was listed a couple of spots higher than that but he likely passed a couple of runners in the chute after crossing the finishing line.  The Greenwood Elementary Boys team finished 2nd out of 8 schools competing.  It looks like Hayden will probably be able to compete in one more meet this season before focusing exclusively on helping the Ravens defend their Toy Bowl title.

 Hayden & Jacob before the race.

Hayden and Ryan mid-race. Hayden and Ryan played together on Triple Threat last year.

Ravens Escape Upset Bid

The Ravens bounced back from a sluggish start to post a 16-14 win against the Cowboys Monday.  The Cowboys jumped out to a 14-0 halftime lead but the Ravens bounced back with 2 touchdowns in the 2nd half to run their record to 6-1.  Hayden picked up his fourth personal foul in five games but did make a couple of nice tackles in his quarter on defense.  The Ravens return to action on Saturday against the Chargers.

Fall Break

We spent most of fall break in Bowling Green with an overnight in Nashville.  Actually, it was fall break for everyone except me.  Highlights in Bowling Green included a trip to Lost River Cave where we took the underground boat tour and an afternoon at Jackson's Orchard.  In Nashville, we hit the Loveless Cafe, the Nashville Zoo, Layla's Bluegrass Inn, Laser Tag, and jumping at Sky High.  We also managed to get a little bit of shopping in too.

At Lost River Cave - it used to have a nightclub in the 1930s.

My favorite stop in Nashville - Layla's Bluegrass Inn

Guess who scored a major victory playing laser tag.

Hayden in the foam pit at Sky High.

A&H with Patrick waiting for our tour at Lost River Cave.

Fun at Jackson's Orchard.

Waiting for our table at the famous Loveless Cafe.

Annee & Hayden with their feathered friends at the Nashville Zoo.

More fun at Sky High.  They spent a lot of time playing dodgeball.

Pumpkin carving time on Friday!

Drakes Creek Wraps Up Volleyball Season, Ravens Roll

Our fall became a bit less hectic this past week.  Annee and Heather wrapped up their volleyball season on Wednesday.  The 7th grade Gators finished 2nd in the district tournament to South Warren.  Drakes Creek led 23-17 in the first set of the championship match before it slipped away.  South Warren won the 2nd set 25-16.  The 8th grade lost in the semi-finals to Bowling Green on Tuesday 21-25, 24-26.  It was a pretty well played game.  The 7th grade team finished the season 12-3 while the 8th grade team finished 12-8.  Annee has a month of just swimming before basketball starts up.

Hayden and the Ravens rolled to an easy victory (38-6) on Wednesday against the Jets.  They are now 5-1 and have a week off for fall break.  Hayden is playing 4 quarters at center and 2 quarters on defense.  The next game will be Monday the 14th.  Last Saturday, Hayden finished 91st out of 187 running at the Gatorland XC meet.  It was the first meet where he had to run a 3K.  He is doing a pretty good job for not getting to many practices.

7th grade Gators with their trophy.

Annee waiting for a serve against South Warren.

The Executive Committee for the Republican Party of Kentucky had a retreat and meeting at the Lake Cumberland.  I spent my first night on a houseboat.  Below is a view from our cruise around the lake.

Hayden & Miss Cathy catching some volleyball action.

Hayden nearing the finish line at Gatorland.

Annee and Hayden were formally inducted as members of the Beta Club at Briarwood.

Navy played at WKU on the 28th.  WKU won and is now 4-2 on the year.