Half-Marathon

John, Lilly Grace, and I went to Florence last weekend for John to participate in the UCP Life Without Limits Half-Marathon on Halloween morning. We spent Friday night at the Evans house. My friend, Karen, her boyfriend, Kyle, and her dad, Bill "The Beav" were also running. We were treated to a delicious meal and good company on Friday night. I think all the runners were excited, and LG enjoyed all the attention she was getting.

Ready to run! They were out the door by 7:00 a.m.

Rocky, Speedy Gonzalez, and Zorro

Riley and LG watching the runners about halfway through

My sister-in-law, Casey, also participated, so she and Riley made these cute shirts for the girls to wear. ("Go Mom Go" and "Go Dad Go")

Kyle did great! I can't believe he wore that sweatsuit the whole time!

Roan and Jimmy (friends from Tupelo)

Roan did so well! She won 3rd place in her age division and didn't even realize it until her name was called!

Here come Karen and Casey for their big finish!

Go Beav!



After the race, we headed back to the house for showers and leftovers. Lilly Grace helped Mr. and Mrs. Evans set up "Pumpkin Man."

You may have noticed that I do not have a picture of John crossing the finish line. When we saw him at the halfway point, he was doing awesome! I handed him a banana and some orange juice, and off he went. A mile or so down the road, his knees totally locked up on him. He said he couldn't bend them at first. Then it got a little better, so he started trotting again. Not good. He ended up having to walk the rest of the way. At every mile post, there was a sign with a picture of a child who has benefited from the Cerebral Palsy Center. I heard several of the runners talk about what an inspiration that was. And some of the mothers who ran in honor of their kids crossed the finish line in tears. So, I am glad that John participated and finished. I walked the last short stretch with him, so I didn't take a picture.

Welcome, Kate!

Katherine Marie Speyrer

Born at 12:40 p.m. today in Baton Rouge

to Nick and Abbie (Johnson) Speyrer

7 lb 1 oz

20"

Welcome to the world, sweet Kate! Can't wait to meet you!

UT@UA 10/24/2009

View from our tailgating spot

Who's ready?

Casey's ready!


The Boys
Troy, Brad, John, Stevie

How could I pass up an offer like that?

Pregame

If you squint and look to the far left, you can see Coach Saban leading the team onto the field.

That's me after our tailgate. Oh wait, no, that's CODY! Or BLOCKY TOP!

Yes, there I am with my handsome husband.

First Play

Oh, we had such high hopes at this point in the game.

Did they really come just for this game, or are they international students?

Lilly Grace is 5!

When back we look...

...Successes prove our all-enduring will,
To see the mark we set so high,
Move ever-skyward still.
The mark of the Bruin has now been made.
Its highest challenge we will not evade.
Yes, Bradshaw, dear Bradshaw will forever be,
In our hearts through eternity.
Bradshaw, dear Bradshaw.

How about that?! I still remember the words to my high school alma mater! (Don't ask me what the words are to UNA's alma mater.)

The girls and I went to Florence last Friday in time for the Florence High School homecoming parade (Bradshaw H.S. and Coffee H.S. were recently combined to form Florence H.S.) We stayed with my Aunt Cheryl and Uncle Bill, and Cheryl went with us to the cold parade.

British Open champion, Stewart Cink, was the grand marshall. He is a Bradshaw graduate. This is the best picture I got.

The cheerleaders were generous with their candy. They thought LG was cute. :)

FHS Band


Annie and Emily enjoying the parade

I didn't take the girls to the football game on Friday night because it was just too cold. We did, however, attend the coldest picnic in the history of picnics on Saturday. By this time, LG had started to get a pretty nasty cough, which she must have gotten from John because by the time he got to Florence on Saturday, he was just too sick to go to my reunion on Saturday night. He had been looking forward to it with me, and I really wish he could've been there. But I still had a great time! It was like we all picked up right where we left off...sort of.

My mom made our senior flag for homecoming week 1998. I can't believe it's still in such great shape after all it went through. This flag spent the night on the roof of the basketball dome guarded by senior boys...just to let the rest of the students know that us seniors were awesome and not to be messed with. Ha! We were silly.

Bradshaw High School class of 1999 (some of us, anyway)

Erin, Shannon, Me, Laura, Stephanie, Kristy, Courtney, Leah, and Nicole

Leah Whitten - "Changed the Least"

Matt Cavender - "Longest Married"

Me - "Most Children"

Nick Kirkpatrick - "Longest Journey" (Guam!)

We were also awarded purple "Party Like It's 1999" leftover prom shirts!

My name tag

For Your Listening Pleasure

My smart husband just helped me add music to my blog!

Soccer

Lilly Grace is having so much fun playing soccer! Unfortunately, many of her games have been rained out, but there are still several more to be played before the season ends in November. There are six little girls on her team. The games are played 3-on-3, which seems to keep the girls from getting into a motionless clump around the ball. LG scored a goal during her first game, and I captured it on video just seconds before my camcorder battery died! Whew! Watching 4-year-olds play soccer is pretty funny, but probably the most amusing part is how many of them score in the wrong goal! It keeps up parents laughing on the sidelines.

Before her first game

Getting some last-minute pointers from Coach Ginnie

Getting more tips from Daddy

Post-game snack with Nana

After the game (I have no idea who won)