a Christmas assembly

Todd and his dad tackled the IKEA bookshelves my mom got for Madison...a few beers and not that much cussing later they were done! Look at her big girl room! Almost a teenager!

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trying to Betty Crocker it...

I've been making this candy for a few Christmases, but this year had a hard time...of course. Todd helped me with the second batch, so hopefully the tradition will live on...

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can't catch me!!

Dang kinder teachers!! But, we finished our gingerbread man! Army head to toe courtesy if Grady.

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interesting post game note

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Thanksgiving 2011

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We spent Thanksgiving in College Station with our every-other-year Aggie vs. t.u. game watching tradition.  I always get so excited on the drive down, and turning onto University drive practically gives me goosebumps every single time.  There is no other place on earth that feels like home more than Aggieland.  I'm seriously in love with everything about it.  We made it just in time for Yell, and the kids had a great time 'humping it'.  Grady really got into the FARMERS FIGHT!  I don't think I ever stopped smiling, even when my sappy eyes filled with their sappy tears when R.C. spoke, and the head yell leader choked up as he recited The Last Corps Trip.

It's always great fun to set up the tailgate and cook the entire feast out of the campers, and the kid had a great time with their cousins riding bikes, drawing on table cloths, listening to music, and just being together on such a Thankful holiday.  But, this year it was especially bitter sweet.  As of now, we just played the last Aggie vs. t.u. football game.  With us moving the the SEC, Texas has opted out of the rivalry game for the future.  I knew I would be sappy emotional about it, for no other reason than just the fun banter between the schools, but the gut-wrenching loss made it that much worse.  Grady and I dropped the ticket holders off at the game, made a round at the book store, and then took a stroll around campus.  I showed him a few of my favorite buildings, and we ended with a walk through the Quad.  Right now he's obsessed with the Corps.  As we walked past Kyle Field we heard the game begin and Grady asked if it was our turn to go to the game.  It wasn't-just not enough tickets to go around this time, but man, I never wanted to be at a football game more in my life.  He saw the other scalpers asking for tickets and thought he would try to "get two for him and his Mommy."  As we walked back to the trailer, Grady said he would be my date, but "he would drink milk, I could drink wine, and we'd save the beer for Daddy."  We bundled up, and settled in for the last rivalry game.  And, it had to be the most frustrating game I've ever watched in my entire life.  There's about a ten second delay from live action to satellite action, so I'd hear the yells from the field, and wait to see what happened.  If it was a big yell or a cannon, I knew the news was good, and if I was waiting for a big yell and didn't hear one, I knew the news was bad.  Every now and then I heard a smaller  yell and knew the t-sips had done well.  We looked good in the first half, but as typical for this season, lost it the 3rd quarter.  We pulled ahead for mere seconds in the 4th, but a few mishaps gave the t-sips the final say.  

I almost cried.

I wanted to win that game so badly.  I wanted the Ags to leave the Big 12 with something under their belt, and I hoped that with a win we could entice the Longhorns to keep the traditions and the rivalry going.  I know it was just a football game, and I've told myself that over and over.  I know I shouldn't get my feelings hurt over something so trivial, but I did.  It did hurt.  It hurt in person.  It hurt the tradition.  Heck, even the comments on Facebook stung a little too deeply, and were just a little too much for me to hear.  But, Gary woke up on Friday, walked outside and said, "The sun did come up after all."  So yes, the sun came up, and the world kept going, traditions and rivalry or not.  We are the Aggies, the Aggies are we, true to eachother as Aggies can be...

Despite the loss, we had a wonderful time with family.  The kids knew what they were thankful for:  their cousins, their Gran and PaPa, their Mommy and Daddy, and of course, the Aggies.  I'm thankful for all that and so much more.  God truly blessed us every one.

Suessical the Musical!

Madison just finished her first run as an Actress.  She tried out for, and made the high school play, Suessical the Musical.  Although her part was small (just a Who afterall), she had a blast, and it was great for her to see the work it took to make something such a huge success.  This past weekend she performed in five shows, and slept until 11 on Monday-it took it out of her!  She really did shine on stage, and is already looking forward to the next play, hoping there is room for some "Littles."

Grady Gran Aggie Game

Grady fell in love with the Corps, and I think a good amount of brainwashing set in about Aggieland!

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Tanner's Day

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Since I'm posting anyway...

I might as well include some Fall Baseball & Tball pics.  None of my softball pics came out because most of our games were in the middle of the night.  Hopefully the spring will give us daylight games, and better pics!

This was Grady's second season in Tball, and Tanner's first season in kid-pitch.  We were a little nervous to move up to "real baseball" from machine pitch, but the boys surprised us!  They can actually throw, catch, pitch, and hit balls!  Tanner was a little frustrated with the transition, but hopefully by the spring we can work out the kinks in his "mental checklist."  This last Saturday we played in the playoff bracket, beating the hated Bandits, and coming in second for the championship!  Tshirts and trophies for everyone!  Pretty good for a team of bad news bears that had only won one game in the regular season.  :)

Go Scallywags!!

Happy Halloween 2011!!

Another Halloween in the books!  We had a Greek Goddess, Anakin Skywalker, and Bobafet this year (not sure on the spelling of those last two).  We did the usual dressing at home, of course with photo shoot.  They are getting good at getting into character, don't you think?  Then we trekked to the grandparent's houses for some personal trick or treating before the big annual extravaganza at the Wren's for the REAL trick or treating.  This year we had a spooky snack contest, and there were some great entries!  I wish I could take credit for the bones, but Gran was our saving grace again with the snacks.  I just can't seem to get food into my to do list.  :)  After a round of gathering candy we loaded back in the car for home--quickly considering a trip to Screaming Bridge, but thought we'd wait a few more years for that. 

Trick or Treat!!

Aggie Tailgating Happiness

Yell Practice. Whoop.

Happy bday to me!!!

My very own iPad!!!

First Eagle Game.

First Day of School 2011

We survived the first day of school...again.  This one was way different though--even our Baby Grady started his very first day.  It just doesn't seem that long ago that we ushered Madison into her first day at Woodland Springs Elementary in Keller.  I had a lonely three year old Tanner and a baby Grady on my hands then, and I didn't see the end to diapers or sippy cups in my near future.  Now it's all big boy and girl cups and ipods.  Things change so fast.

I thought I had it together until our staff meeting this morning.  Somehow seeing all the things ready for school officially to start set me off, and I boo hoo-ed like no other.  In fact, if I had the chance, I would have literally sobbed.  I needed a dcoke break at 8 this morning, but instead I had a classroom of my own kids to get ready for fifth grade.  His teacher, Mrs. Joseph, was super sweet, saying she would take good care of him, and I was able to see him a little throughout the day.  But still, he's only going to get bigger from here.  :(  The other two survived no problem-even Madison with her momma for a homeroom teacher.  We have a routine to settle into--there tends to be a lot of crazy that comes with the Scrogginseseses, but it is nice to know we are all in this together.

Ireland

I don't even know where to begin-we just spent the last week in Ireland to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary.  I'm still digesting everything we did and everything we saw.  For now, I will post a website to access our pictures, and the column I submitted on the topic.  I'm not sure if the column will be published, as it came out more personal than I intended.  But as I wrote it just all came out-15 years of being married to Todd and growing up with him.  My cup truly runneth over.

http://scrogginsirelandtrip.shutterfly.com/pictures

Fifteen Years.

My husband and I are celebrating our fifteenth wedding anniversary next week, and while I’m impressed when I read about fiftieth wedding celebrations, I have to admit, I’m equally proud of our little milestone. We married young. In fact, I often joke that we married when we were only twelve years old. We didn’t, of course, but that’s when we met. He befriended me when I was the New Girl, and I let him cheat off me during Spelling Tests (which he still denies to this day). We settled in as friends and rode the roller coaster of high school, complete with its ups, downs, highs, lows, fast turns, and even faster plunges. It was bumpy, but we were always in the same car, and headed the same direction.

When we announced our engagement, people smiled sweetly and said things like, “of course you’re engaged,” or “we knew it would happen,” along with, “it was just a matter of time.” At first we were surprised by the familiarity of people’s responses, because as it happened, it really was news to us. After some time, we began to see ourselves through their eyes, and realized with certainty what had been right in front of us since the day we met.

As college student newlyweds, we searched for free entertainment, and found it in camping, fishing, cooking, and the occasional road tripping when we were feeling rich and adventurous. We became expert road trippers and travelers, always planning and hoping for the next weekend, the next city, or the next National Park—there was one REALLY big road trip in there. It became a part of Us, a part of the Story of Us, and when we became parents, a part we hoped to share with our children.

We entered the grown up workforce together, and each year were faced with new challenges and hurdles. And, as it turns out, marriage is not all wine and roses. It’s actually a TON of work. And talking. LOTS of talking. And planning. SO MUCH planning. Then there’s talking of the planning, which really when it’s all said and done is just WORK. With all this work, it feels so easy to lose touch with Us, and our Story. We’re on a different roller coaster these days, one with different twists and turns and its miles and miles and miles long. Just when I think I know the pattern of the ups and downs, we turn abruptly to the left and I’m left breathless all over again. We’ve worked, talked, and planned through five moves, seven jobs, and three children.

And that was just the first fifteen years.

To celebrate, my husband surprised me with a trip to Ireland—just Us. My family has Irish roots, and we both have always been intrigued with retracing those generational steps. It was one of those things on the “someday plan.” But not something I expected now, at this part in Our Story. A trip like this is something we would have talked about, planned for, and worked toward. I was stunned, surprised, excited, and then a little guilt ridden. We will be leaving the children for seven full days, and we will be putting an entire ocean between them and us. An ocean. Of water. On top of the entire ocean, our international communication will be subpar at best. I will be inconsistently available to talk, to check in, or to blow kisses through the phone. I am not sure I even know how to pack the kids for when I leave the country. I’ve thought about it all summer, and made plans accordingly. I have a document giving the grandparents notarized consent to take them to any emergency room available—with my youngest, I feel certain they will need it. I plan to pack their bags with some extra tender loving care, maybe stash a few love notes and tokens for them to find throughout the week. We’ve enlisted family to give them a fun week of activities, and my hope is that they are so busy they don’t event notice the ocean between us. Seven days seems like an eternity to not see them, to hug them, and to tuck them into their beds. Plus, I worry they will have horrible manners, fight, whine, cry, or throw fits; they will probably have to be reminded to brush their teeth, hair, and when to flush; they will get annoying, loud, and even louder. It’s a lot to ask, and by the end, we might have used up all our credits with family babysitting.

It feels strange to be leaving the kids behind for this adventure, to be excluding them from this extreme road trip. They are falling in love with the fun of packing a suitcase, throwing it in the car, and seeing what lies ahead just like Us. But then, that was what we hoped to do with all that talking, planning and working, right? We hoped to show them a part of Us as we built this little family unit. We hoped they would share our same loves, and grow with us as we braced ourselves for the next turn. I have no idea how I will feel when I set my eyes upon the church where my great grandparents married, but I can imagine I will want to know more about Their Story, and could it too have started with the New Girl in school and the boy who needed help in spelling.

Uncle Carl Visit!

It might have been the hottest day ever, but we had three little cowhands participating in all things Texas while the "Ohio People" were visiting...and fun times with the "cuzins" made it all worth while.

Grandpa Visit!