Mark's Early Christmas Gift

I had to give Mark one of his gifts early. I had been planning it for a little while, but in order to do it, I needed him gone for an entire day. That is not a problem during basketball season! He had a game up in Flagstaff and left to catch the bus at 7 am. I got up and started the project! I spent all day painting and didn't even get to the lion. He was so surprised when he got home and pulled in the garage! I finished the lion 2 days later. He loved his early gift!








Mark's basketball logo painted on the wall of our garage!

The Black and White Ball

Mark had to chaperone the dance up at school and so he took Caity and Lindsey as his dates! The girls and I had a fun day of shopping for their outfits. It was a black and white ball and we were able to find some really cute outfits at Justice! They had a blast getting ready for the dance!

Lindsey....Our Little Character!

This year our school is doing something a little different with our "Character of the Month," program. Each early release day we are holding a school wide assembly. The teachers choose their Character of the Month ahead of time and send a secret letter home inviting the parents to the assembly. The students are then surprised at the assembly. They play loud music and have colorful lights going and all of us teachers make a tunnel for them to run through while everyone is cheering for them. Today was our first assembly and Lindsey was chosen as the Character for her 4th grade class. Mark was able to get a sub for the morning and be there! Lindsey was a little suspicious when she came into the assembly and saw her Daddy there. I told her it was because he knew that Mommy had to perform in the teacher skit at the assembly and he came to make fun of her! I think she bought it! She seemed very surprised when they showed her picture on the big screen and called her name! We are so proud of Lindsey and her great character!

Softball and Heatstroke

Caity pitched in her first game of the season this past Saturday. She did a great job. Her pitching coach, Vanessa, came to help her warm up and offer encouragement. She was doing great and then after the inning was over started to feel very sick and looked like she might pass out. We ended up having to take her home after that inning. Why they have to play games in the middle of the afternoon when it is still 100 degrees outside is beyond me. Thank goodness we have had cooler weather this week and this Saturday's game is at 8 am!

Family Update

Wow! I can't believe how long it has been since I have posted anything. Life in the Wood house has been busy! Caity started softball last week and it looks like she may get to be one of the pitchers this season! The coach said she will get to pitch in next Saturday's game. We'll see! I'll take lots of pics to post! Mark had his first Liberty basketball player commit to a D1 school this week! Jordan went to visit University of Texas at San Antonio and gave them his verbal commitment. He can officially sign on November 17th and the school plans on making a big deal out of it! Mark is very excited. He has coached Jordan since his freshman year and saw his potential at a very early age! Lindsey is doing an amazing job at school and dance. She made "high math" this year and is working very hard. Her dance team is working on a new competition routine to Hannah Montana's song "Supergirl" and Lindsey gets to act out the part of Hannah. I'm not sure Caity was too happy about that! They are also busy working on their dances for Glendal Glitters already! I will let everyone know when they will dance at that! I promise I will try to some pics up soon!

First Day of School!

Last Monday was the first day of school. Caity is now a fifth grader and Lindsey in fourth! They both LOVE their teachers. Caity is not real happy to be back at school of course, she is certainly not a morning person! My first week went well too. I forget every year how little they are when they first start 3rd grade and how much time it takes to "train" them in the classroom procedures. I came on Friday exhausted and without much of a voice left! Things should start to calm down once we get used to our new routines! The girls are still dancing once a week after school for 2 1/2 hours. They are working on a new routine for the upcoming competition season. Soon, Caity will start her softball season and Lindsey is thinking about trying volleyball. And then, before we know it basketball season will be starting! Life just gets busier, and busier the older they get! :) But, we are loving every minute of it!

Caity-5th grade Lindsey-4th Grade

New Kids on the Block!

Where to begin..... I guess the best place is back at the beginning, about 20 years ago! There was this band, maybe you've heard of them....The New Kids on the Block. To say that I was in love would be an understatement. Their posters covered the walls in my room, I knew every song by heart, I wanted to marry Joey Mac! Right about that time I met Eileen. She also shared my obsession and thus began a life long friendship! 19 years ago we camped out all night at MetroCenter in Phoenix just to get a lottery number to see them in concert. Our seats were horrible, we couldn't even see the stage from where we were, but we didn't care!

This brings me to 20 years later! Last night, I received a phone call from Eileen. The New Kids were in town for a concert and she said Come on, let's go! We drove downtown, bought a ticket at the window (no camping out this time!) and had the best time!!!! Honestly, that was the most fun I have had at a concert in such a long time. All that time has gone by and I could still sing every word to every song. The guys were amazing, they've still got "the right stuff!!!" The show was a little different, they were selling beer this time around! The commentary from the guys between songs was a little less G rated, but they still remembered why their fans liked them and performed all of their hits! Okay, so right about now some of you are laughing and wanting to make fun. I'll tell you what I told Mark this morning! "Go ahead, make fun of me all you want....I had the best time!" I have to thank my amazing husband who bought me the ticket as an early birthday present and insisted that Eileen and I go! And yes, I screamed until my throat hurt!

Here they are, as Caity calls them....The Old Kids on the Block!

Here's Joe, he came out wearing his hat with the hole on top and sang "You're my Popsicle!"