Wonderful Time Under Unfortunate Circumstances

I grew up in Chester,Virginia. I have remained in contact with my best friend (who was also my neighbor) all these years. In fact, our entire neighborhood remains in contact (God bless facebook!)

My friend's sister past away last week from a massive heart attack at age 44. I drove to VA on Saturday for the memorial. It was very sad and the circumstances were beyond horrible, but it was also wonderful seeing my friends and old neighbors. I hate that it took a funeral to get all of us in the same space. 

A highlight of trip was meeting my 3rd cousin, Jon David (my cousin's daughter's newborn son)
He had the sweetest smiles--but I think the flash on my camera surprised him each time!

Celebrating with Stacy...and scrapping a little!

This weekend, the girls got together to scrap a little bit and have a bridal shower for Stacy.  As usual, we enjoyed ourselves the entire time.  Stacy said my mom's homemade carrot cake was her favorite part!

Head over Heels

Yep... Literally head over heels. 

Tuesday evening, Will and I had a wonderful date night at Taste of The Town , the Hospice Fundraiser in High Point. We did many of the restaurant samplings, saw several friends, and really enjoyed our evening.

I said goodbye to Will in my driveway since he had to head back to Raleigh for work.  He was preparing to back up as I went down the steps leading to my house. This is where the story gets fuzzy....
Two, tiny frogs jumped, startling me. I tried not to step on either of them, but my balance was TOADally thrown off and I fell into the most ungraceful splat down four wooden steps onto the cement walkway.  My dress was up over my head, my necklace was firmly planted into my chin, I had dirt, debris and probably toad crap --cause let's face it, that surely scared them-- all over me.  I tried to spring back up---but wait, my body said, "Nope! You're 40 now.  Fall back down and get up s-l-o-w-e-r."
And I did.  Just in time to see Will wave goodbye and drive off.  (Stop.  Wait.  Come back!)
WHAT THE HELL???  Did he not see his future wife do the 360 dismount down the steps and faceplant the walkway??? 
:sigh:  I guess not.  I limped into the house and called his cell. 
Needless to say he turned around and came back to help me clean up the cuts and scrapes and bruises--and ice my immediately numbed foot.  It hurt like a mutha.  Luckily I still have pain meds leftover from my surgery.
I woke up today to a nasty colored toe, numb shooting pains in my foot, contusions on my leg, swollen hand and a swollen chin.  I went to the doctor to find out I had torn ligaments, a broken big toe (at the joint) bone fragment,  and something about my tendon I can't remember.  I'm taking anti-inflammatory pain meds, doing the ice and elevation thing for the next 4 days and I have to wear this special boot (aka ugly shoe) for a month.  It's a shame this shoe is so ugly because I bet it costs more than my last pair of Taryn Rose dress heels!
I tried to invent this colorful story about how Will uppercut punched me with his SuperBowl ring and then pimp hand slapped me down the steps.  For some reason, he has this reputation of being this sweet, lovable, laid-back guy so people just laugh when I attempt to blame this on him :-)

So, yeah, basically I'm a klutz and gravity is a bitch.

Just Beachy

We spent a 4-day weekend at Myrtle Beach last weekend with the family.  Spencer and IV had a fantastic time playing in the surf, digging in the sand, boogie boarding, swimming, riding bikes, playing games, goofing off and watching movies.  It was good weather, we got some shopping in, saw two movies (Dinner for Schmucks and SALT) had nice dinners out, relaxed, read magazines and enjoyed our time with the kids before the hustle of school starting back up.

Weekend of Unfinished Business...

Yep-- it was a weekend of "Unfinished" things--but that's not a bad thing.  In fact it was pretty good.

We didn't quite finish the First Friday party with the women's group from church.  We had appetizers at Natty Greens, did some shopping, tried to avoid the folks giving out "free hugs" and tried our darnedest to figure out what "glitter cigarettes" were at a junk store selling bongs, without getting ourselves in trouble....but 15 text messages/calls from her store and 1 stress headache later, Laura had her husband come pick us up a little early. But that's okay-- we had some fun and it was all good!

Will came to town for the weekend. Saturday was a hoot.  Since it was tax-free weekend, we went clothes shopping. I almost got us lost. Twice. 
Will hasn't lived around here in twenty years so he depends on me for directions when we are going places he isn't familiar with (in this case, Friendly Center) and I was playing Car Bingo with Spencer and not paying attention.  Twice.  But the true test of husband material is if he lost his cool about it...and he did not.

After shopping, and meeting my family for dinner, Will and I decided to go to the movies and saw Inception.  At least I think we did....maybe we were dreaming we saw it....or maybe he was dreaming we saw it and I was in his dream.  It was one of those movies where you enjoy it when you are watching it but once you walk out, it's like...meh.

Sunday, Will and I pulled the broken gutter off the house, weeded, repaired the bathroom wallpaper, made cookies, re-soiled the rosemary plant, fixed the toilet seat....uhmmm...not necessarily in that order---haha! We couldn't finish the gutter because I didn't have the right tools and he didn't have his with him.  We'll get to it next time.  Then we had to say goodbye again.  For over a year we have been making this long distance relationship work. We can do it  for another 7 months, right?

We decided to marry on St. Patrick's Day 2011 --hopefully--- assuming Will can transfer to a state job here in the spring.  Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Interview with Spencer (age 9)

A very enlightening experience!

1. What is something I always say to you?
Do a great job in school.
(okay..this is true)

2. What makes me happy?
Seeing me happy
(Awwww. This warmed my heart.  Seeing him happy does make me the happiest!)

3. What makes me sad?
When a pet dies.
(Wow. This answer surprised me.  We haven't had a pet die in years and even then it was a very, very old pet and it was a natural progression.  I kind of expected him to say something different here...)


4. How do I make you laugh?
Do silly things like make jokes with words.
(Yep.  Nail on the head.  He even went on to include an example from last night when my brother accidentally partly ripped Spencer's $100 bill he was saving for Disney and Spencer got mad and demanded "You're buying me a new one!"  We laughed, of course!)


5. What do you think I was like as a child?
Cute, fun little girl who played softball, had lots of friends, and read all the time
(sounds about right)


6. How old am I?
40
(damn.  This one he gets right.)


7. How tall am I?
Six feet tall
(sigh.  only in 5 1/2 inch stripper heels!)


8. What is my favorite thing to do?
Read
(yep.)

9. What do I do when you're not around?
Work and Cook
(Too bad the correct answer isn't attend glamorous parties, workout, invest my lotto winnings...etc.)

 10. If I become famous, what will it be for?
Reading
(If you can become famous for this, I might have a chance!)

 11. What am I really good at?
Cooking
(Bless his heart.  He thinks I'm a good cook.)

12. What am I not really good at?
Climbing trees
(He missed the obvious answer: SINGING!)

13. What is my job?
Bank of America
(Even when pressed, he couldn't tell me WHAT I did for the bank other than talk on the phone and type on a computer. )


14. What is my favorite food?
Grilled Chicken Samich
(I guess he figures if I order it all the time it must be my favorite, right?)


15. What makes you proud of me?
You help people and you cook for people.
(I think he means I do Mobile Meals.  I just deliver, I don't cook it. But I do bring the folks on my route goodies every now and then.)


16. If I were a cartoon character, who would I be?
Goofy
(Really Spencer? Goofy? I'm more of a Bugs Bunny!)

 17. What do you and I do together?
Legos, Board games, bake cookies, walk Bowser, watch TV, movies, cards, shop...
(I'm proud to say, Spencer had no trouble firing off several things easily to answer this question.  We do lots together!)

18. How are we the same?
We both like cherries and we have blue eyes.
(I found it funny that the first thing he thought of was Cherries!)

 19. How are you and I different?
I'm a boy and you're a girl---and I like to swim and you don't!
(Yep.  I have a water phobia!)


20. How do you know that I love you?
You give me hugs and kisses and always help me.
(Sweet kid, huh?)


21. Where is my favorite place to go?
Barnes and Nobles
(Word.)
 
 
22. What has been my favorite vacation so far?
Alaska!
(Thanks Nana and Boppa!)
 
 
23. If I had $1000 what would I do with it?
We would go on vacation to Disney or the Beach.  Because hotels are expensive.
(I love how cost conscience my kid is about travel expense--ha ha  He always wants to go on a trip and I'm constantly telling he that we have to save up for it!)
 

I can afford Crab Legs but not DumDum suckers....

Will and I had "date night" with the kids on Saturday night.  The boys wanted the steak and crab leg special from Outback so the special pricing combined with our coupons for free appetizers made for a reasonably priced good dinner out.
Then, instead of movies, they chose bowling.  Even with the bumpers up, it was an exercise in humility. But we laughed the entire time and all the goofy pictures from the evening are priceless.

And when did bowling get so expensive? $52.00 for the four of us to play two games (with shoe rental)
Holy strike and a spare!  And that doesn't even include the quarters wasted in the arcade trying to win 40 tickets to cash in on a dum-dum sucker.  Yeah, you read that right, it took 40 tickets to get 1 cheap piece of candy. 

But that's okay-- our boys had fun and made some great memories ♥

We're U9 but U10 feels so good we play U11...and U12

Spencer and IV play in a soccer challenge league.  They are eight and nine but play up a league. Although they should be U10, we have them playing in U11 tournaments. Their first two tournaments, including the one this weekend, had some U11 and U12 combinations.  Kids at that age take a massive growth spurt so they really outsize our kids!  Plus, this is our first year in the league, and although our boys are good players, they are new to the 3v3 format--and it has been quite the learning experience.  That's the polite way of saying the poor kids are getting whipped by bigger, more experienced kids.  But it's good for them-- after this season, they will have lots of experience and toughen up, right?

Wine Down

Laura and I went to the YWCA Wine Down fundraiser tonight. We enjoyed wine tastings from several NC wineries, a nice dinner at Blue Water Grille, and then "corrected" coffee at the Blue Water bar with friends. It was a great girls night out--especially for a Thursday!

Mobile Squeals!

Today was a Mobile Meals delivery day.  Despite the heat and humidity, it was going pretty well until we got to the next to the last house on my route.  Keep in mind, this old woman "claims" she doesn't see well, and her old little dog (Sassy) tends to run out the door.  Therefore, she barely cracks the door and I pass the food to her through the small opening.
Sassy was doing her usual "on your mark, get ready" tap dancing (aka excited toenails against hardwood floors) so as the woman opened the door a little bit, I held my foot up to block the inevitable Sassy dart.
But Sassy didn't dart.
And to be INCREDIBLY tiny and slow, that little old woman had impressive speed as she snapped her cane and cracked me across the top of my foot!  I squealed and then she screamed.  The look on her face was priceless!  She saw my foot and thought it was the dog darting out and whacked it!
Luckily, the top of my sandal took the blunt of the blow-- but geez,  quick draw McGraw there had some serious cane speed!

Rosemary Baby!

Will's neighbor has quite an impressive lot of rosemary growing beside her house.  I *LOVE* cooking with rosemary, so this weekend, Will got me a chunk of it.
Will donned his hideous, red Ronald McDonald gardening shoes and he and Spencer created a flower bed area and then planted it for me.
I have already found four, new rosemary recipes...AND...decided to make the rest of that flower bed into an herb garden.  Next up---chives!

Time for a change?

Tonight, I played with some virtual makeover software to get some ideas about hairstyles and makeup.  Ironically, it only told me what looked terrible on me and not what looked better.  For example--I can never go blond and I can never wear my hair straight! And I can't rock the Cher wig without looking like a tranny...

Sunday Driver

Dee, Mom and I spent Sunday road-tripping to Chapel Hill and Raleigh to shop at some of our favorite stores. We had a great time and although we spent more than we intended, we came home with the car full of packages, make up and skin care items that smell divine, new clothes, shoes, toys for the kids, and the cooler full of perishables safely making their way to our kitchens. We spent over 2 hours just in A Southern Season (affectionately called ASS).  They had a killer sale and now my kitchen is stocked up with gourmet goodies, cakes, breads, treats, wines, dips, cheeses and sauces!  Now would be a great time to drop by for a visit...

So ugly she's cute?

Will's little chi-weenie, Lacie, is so different from Bowser.
Bowser is ALWAYS ready to play and love...Lacie is temperamental and likes her nap time.
Never and I mean NEVER bother her when she has retired to her crate for a nap!
Bowser routinely offers you his big, meaty paw...Lacie is more of a face licker. Consider this your only warning because her tongue has considerable reach.
Bowser will lay anywhere....Lacie likes to build forts out of the pillows on the sofa or burrow down in covers.
This past weekend, Lacie needed some "alone time" away from Bowser...and possibly Spencer...and I found her burrowed in my fresh sheets!!!

Is my gastric distress deficiency showing?

"Ewwww!!  This is so gross!!!  Taste it!!"  ---Spencer
"Ugh. I am going to puke.  You want the rest? " --- Jimmy
"This popcorn is making me sick!  You want some?"--- Dee
"I have some nasty K-cup flavors to give you." ---Lesley

This seems to happen way too often to be a coincidence!!
:sigh:

No Fireworks, but a Nice Weekend

I hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend!  We did the normal family stuff like make red, white and blue sprinkled cupcakes, played board games, went for ice cream at Mama Laura's, and had steaks on the grill:

July 4th weekend is always low-key for me.  I don't like crowds or fireworks, so it is a holiday of relaxation. But don't worry, Spencer still gets to swim in blistering heat, fight crowds and traffic and then swat mosquitoes in muggy, humid weather while ooohing and awwwwing over colorful, loud lights....only he goes with other family members, not his mommy ;-)

Will and I stayed home, in the AC, sipping Prosecco, munching on hummus and chips and watching funny movies.  Celebrating our nation's Independence felt wonderful...and a comfortable 70 degrees.

Since my weekend was dedicated to relaxing, I don't have much to blog about this week.  Here are a couple of my favorite cartoons until I think about something else to write about....

Hello July, let me welcome you with a dose of crazy...

Check out this little punk:

For the greater part of the afternoon, this little bird sat on the window sill at my home office and chirped and sang so loudly that I had to mute my conference line.  At first I thought it was cute...but look at him.  He has a mafia look and attitude..and his tweets were loud and obnoxious.  He strutted back and forth along the window, scowling,  like I owed him money or something.....

It was difficult to choose a picture from the evening Will proposed because the ones that seemed to tell the "story" the best weren't exactly the most photogenic; however, I narrowed it down to two and I am trying them out in a frame in the living room to see which one gives me a warm fuzzy when I look at it.  So far, they both do.  That's good news.

I'm enjoying the color changing properties of the Alexandrite in my engagement ring.  It goes from the beautiful greenish blue (like the Caribbean waters) to deep purple, red, raspberry, confederate blue, emerald green, bright blue...I jokingly say it is like having a mood ring.

I wanted to show Will pictures of all the color changes, especially in incandescent light, so I took some photos in variable light sources. I used candlelight in a dark room and no flash and captured the purple; however, the stone appeared to show something else as well...

Check out the purple on the top left and the blue on the bottom right--can you see it?

Look at the bottom right again enhanced:

Do you see the upper torso of a man?  hands on his hips...I swear it looks like Will.  Freaky?  yeah...but I like it ☺

Reviews, Dues, and Disney Plans, too!

Will and I celebrated the one week anniversary of our engagement with dinner at Emerywood Fine Foods this past weekend.  I worded it "one week anniversary" for a reason...hold that thought...

Dinner was nice. Notice I didn't say exceptional.  Their lunches/sandwiches are great, this was my first time having dinner there. Our salads and soup were very good. The chef sent out a honeydew mousse with basil oil and goat cheese to cleanse the palette between the soup and salad course and the entree; however, the mousse was not cold enough so it was bland and left a slightly oily residue on the tongue. Quite the opposite of palette cleansing.

Will got the Blackened Filet, glazed Asparagus, Bleu Mashed Red Potatoes. I got the Grilled Chicken Paillard with Goat Cheese and Cherry Tomatoes, Basil Orzo, and Snow Peas in a Balsamic Reduction.  Both entrees were good, but neither were the type that we would go back and order again--which is disappointing, because a special dinner out should be...well, special. The waitress said she "heard" it was our anniversary and offered us free dessert. Uhmm...okay. We think she confused us with another table, but once Will heard the words "Crème Brulée" he totally shot me the "oh hell yeah it IS our anniversary" look and we enjoyed a free dessert on our special evening.

Spencer and IV started their Challenge League Soccer team practices this past week. This is quite an adjustment from the Saturday YMCA league I am used to seeing.  The dues are high, the travel expenses, the uniform costs, begging for sponsors, the heat, the camps, the skills workshops, the tournaments....wow.  Now I know why soccer moms are always bitchy and drive big SUVs.  Because they freakin LIVE IN THEIR CARS!!
But, the kids look good and I think this is going to be good for the boys! Our first tournament is in July.  The boys will be in Sky Blue uniforms and I will be in a melted puddle of angst and heat stroke....

We had already scheduled our next family Disney trip; but we finally had the family meeting where we nailed down dates, tickets, when/where, mapped the parks, checked on shows, dinners, parking, accommodations, rides, schedules, etc.  IT IS GOING TO BE FANTASTIC! 
Will and Joe will be with us. Joe has NEVER been to Disney and Will hasn't been since he was a kid--so they will enjoy it even more than we will.
Spencer and IV are finally over 54 inches tall and can ride all the cool rides. Plus the kids are old enough to enjoy more than Mickey and Donald...they are looking forward to the fun stuff at all the Disney Parks and Universal Studios like Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Dr. Doom, Spiderman, Space Mountain, Test Track, Tower of Terror, Jaws, MIB, etc. 
Now, we just have to wait a few months for our trip...and save money....

I loved the Disney campaign for the Star Wars promotion-- Too cute!  Our boys are going to have a blast!

Father's Day 2010!

We had a lovely cookout for Father's Day this year.  It was too hot/humid to be by the pool, so we all gathered in the kitchen and enjoyed each other's company.  Boppa was showered with fun gifts--just the way he likes it--ha ha!!

And you thought turning 40 was big news....

I am engaged.

Will proposed at my birthday party last night.  It was one of the best surprises of my life ♥
After lots and lots of wine tasting/sampling/drinking, lots of story telling, and of course lots of laughs and side splitting joking around with friends, he decided the time was right.  Thankfully, Laura had my camera and was able to get some pictures for me!

Knowing, I'm more of a non-traditional girl (ha ha) he opted for an Alexandrite center stone with diamonds on the band.  He chose the stone and the setting and had it custom made.  Alexandrite is my birthstone and it is a color-changing stone that blends blue and red hues beautifully--which is perfect for our Carolina/State house division.

And yes, the proposal was the big news of the night, but that came later in the evening. Earlier in the evening, friends brought wine and we had apps and desserts. It was an evening of a million laughs and I will forever remember this night....despite the abundant amounts of vino!

Wine Tasting

This weekend I attended a wine sampling menu at Bistro Sophia in Greensboro with the Greensboro Corks Crew. It was fantastic!  Check out our menu:

• Nardi Giordano Prosecco “Spago” Frizzante DOC Prosecco di Treviso, Veneto, Italy/NV paired with: Truffled Pommes
• Torrent Bay Sauvignon Blanc Nelson, New Zealand/2008 and Wildhurst Chardonnay Lake County, California/2008 paired with Smoked Salmon & Cucumber Sandwiches
• Pere Anselme dry rosé of Grenache Côtes-du-Rhône, Southern Rhône, France/2008 paired with Duck Salad served on Bibb lettuce 
• Pellegrini Family Vineyards Carignan Redwood Valley, California/2007 paired with Sliced Beef Tenderloin with Roasted Mushroom Salad 
• Eredi Lodali Dolce Frizzante DOCG Moscato d’ Asti, Piedmont, Italy/2009 paired with Miniature Crème Brûlée

 I could have easily bought a bottle of the Prosecco and stayed out on the patio talking for hours; however, I switched to coffee and enjoyed the company of new friends for a while.  I can't wait for their next event!

Da boyz

This weekend was Spencer and IV's end-of-school year pool party they host for their little friends. We had lots of snacks, drinks, pool toys and an entire sunny afternoon to just have fun!

Congratulations to Spencer for ending the school year with another excellent report card AND receiving TOP DOG OF THE YEAR!!!  I'm so proud of my little guy!!!

Mom and Dad's 45th Anniversary Celebration

June 4, 1965 my poor, poor Dad sold his soul to the devil..... Wait, that makes me a spawn of evil.  Scratch that. Forty-five years ago, my lovely mother married my brilliant father!

To mark this special occasion, we had a surf and turf dinner Friday night and a cook out/family party on Saturday night.

Your Momma's a Pecker Face!

Going to dinner the other night, Spencer called IV a "Pecker Face".

I took a deep breath. 
I knew this was going to happen sooner or later.  Name calling is normal, right.  But..geez...PECKER FACE???
Nana and Boppa managed to stifle their giggles as I asked Spence if he knew what that term meant. He said no so I calmly explained to Spencer that it was a rude way of calling someone a penis face.

Spencer scowled at me--immediately sat in judgement OF ME and said, "Well, Mommy, that's what the penguin called the other penguin in the movie Surf's Up because they have bills on their face. Maybe you should be more careful about which movies you let me watch!  I am only nine!!"

I sat in total disbelief.  I took an innocent penguin joke and made it dirty.

A simple equation

This is a burn on my arm.

It looks like a jack-o-lantern face, a sail boat, the symbol for pi, or...the word "IF"  as in IF I had not drank as much of this:

and decided to bake cookies, I may not have burned my arm!

On a related note-- the Mead (honey wine) was yummy.  And how cute is it that a medieval version of me and Will are on the label-- ha ha!

Chain Smoker

Do you know that disc golf is a serious sport? 

no seriously...quit laughing. 
More than hippies and stoned college sophomores play it. 
I'm being totally honest here.
Will is an avid disc golfer.  And don't say "Frisbee Golf" because that is a name brand of a disc (that isn't even used in disc golf any longer--sort of like saying Q-Tip for a cotton swab...or Kleenex for a tissue.....but that is an entirely different blog post, huh?)

Anyway...this weekend I finally got to see him play disc golf.  He's REALLY good...and he ain't bad at disc golf either... hardy ha ha...

To celebrate our one year together, I surprised him with a putting target:  

Little boys and their toys are so cute....

K-Cup Junkie

In my 20's, it was cool to have the party blender--and all the mixers to make the fun "TGIFriday-esque" drinks... pffffhhhhht--how 90's is that?

Now, I'm da bomb dot com because of my Keurig.
And my big ass basket of K-cup choices....
And coffee syrups, liqueurs, frothers and toppings...etc....

Coffee drinks are the tea leaves of this century. You can tell a lot about a person about how they fix (or order!) their coffee.  For instance...if a certain person digs through the k-cup basket for 10 minutes and then gets REALLY excited to find the last Pecan Praline flavored k-cup, then proceeds to add a ton of Kahlua to the coffee anyway and therefore can't taste the flavor he was so excited to find...that would indicate a bit of goofy right?
:sigh:

Thousand Trails

Last weekend, I went to a retreat at Thousand Trails campground near Mocksville NC.  We stayed in little cabins on the lake, I fed geese and a bunch of us met up at the conference center and crafted our hearts out-- some scrapbooked, some made cards, some quilted, some made bags...Mom and I made jewelry.  It was fantastic! I could get spoiled to such weekends....

Ready? Set? Wait.....

After 8 weeks of post surgical recovery, I returned to work today! 
Well, kind of.  It took ALL DAY to reset my ID and access ....so it was a day of waiting. 
The highlight of my day was a surprise floral delivery from Valerie!  She made sure my desk was nice and cheerful for my first week back. Thanks Val! (I don't care what everyone else at the bank says about you, I think you're awesome...)

It's all about me today

Mother's Day 2010-- my sweet little Spencer made me the cutest card and calendar and gave me a beautiful potted flower.  Later that evening we all met up at Nana's for a Mother's Day cookout.  A very nice day indeed!

Lego My Wallet

Will and I took the boys to the Lego Brick Magic event this past weekend at the North Raleigh Hilton.
Brick Magic is an event where kids and adults try to out-nerd each other and spend as much $$ as possible on over priced tiny pieces of plastic.

I have to admit, the designs/displays and the Lego vignettes were pretty cool.  Spencer and Joe were loving the vendors and picking out cool Lego people that they can't find in stores.  Will and I were happy to find a Starbucks in the hotel lobby...

Totally Adorkable

This is what "Hey! Let me get a cute picture of the two of you" means when interpreted by Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum...

But geez... ..I *think* I know where they get it from.....

Orange you glad we won?

Spring 2010 soccer came to a close this week.  After several exciting games--and a 4 game scoring streak by Spencer, our little Tornadoes went from 6th place in the season to coming in 2nd in the tournament. 
Yes, that means we made it to the finals but lost; however, it was an amazing learning experience for the kids and a serious amount of fun for all the parents/grandparents/supporters.
Parents were rewarding each other's kids, everyone was pitching in to help the team, we had the team's hair painted orange for the finals, war paint on their faces, ice cream parties, pizza parties, cheers and celebrations--the kids got a taste of WINNING and it was addictive!