I absolutely love the start of football season – high school, college, pro… not necessarily bc I understand the rules of the game very well or I'm ready for Fantasy Football drafting to begin, but rather for the simple excitement it brings to seemingly everyone – young and old alike. Perfect strangers will stand around in the gas station, chatting about this play or that, and sports bars everywhere are filled with menfolk who have donned their favorite jerseys.

Sophie is a huge fan of football season too, mostly for the hundreds of spicy garlic chicken wings she and her dad will consume at Buffalo Wild Wings during gametime(s). And although the high school games don't offer chicken wings at the concessions stand, there is plenty of popcorn and candy to share with friends – which is exactly what Sophie did last weekend.

She and two of her gal pals decided they were going to give themselves makeovers and get dressed up in Wildcats colors to cheer on their future high school's team.

Here is her "before" picture…

And here is her "after" picture!

She then realized that tickets cost money, so she sheepishly approached her dad, who is always ready to help his homegirl out…

However, since Sophie is a sensitive soul, she felt it necessary to ask, "Are you sure, Dad?"

And since Sophie is a clever child, she never asks a question without first knowing the answer. 😉

So she happily walked a couple of houses down to meet up with her gal pals, cash in hand.

Watch out, Class of 2018. These girls have spirit, yes they do.

When Breanna and Sabrina were little, they were involved in pretty much everything available to them – soccer, cheerleading, swim team, piano, band, choir, gymnastics, book club, and dance. And I'm sure there were other things. Eventually, I had to start phasing out many of their activities bc I was just plain tired of living in the car, and I'm sure they were too.

Guess what. It's Sophie's turn. Only this time, I'm actually saying NO to things, and so far Sophie is handling that just fine. Still, her schedule is quite busy, which is something she's not used to. My Sophie has always been a homebody, and very content to be so. But recently, she's decided to add a few things to her daily routine besides snuggling up to her mom on the couch…

1. She tried out for the school's swing choir and made it! 🙂

1a. I said NO to piano lessons, bc although she SWORE to me that she'd practice faithfully and never complain about having to go to her lessons, I know this to be false. Experience is the best teacher, and I got plenty of experience last year when I had to drag her to Mrs. Nabel's house every Thursday night.

2. She is playing soccer for a second season, and moved from a recreational league to a little more challenging one…

2a. I said NO to gymnastics, bc the last time she was in gymnastics, she was angry that they expected her to learn a proper somersault instead of getting straight to the heart of why she joined in the first place: to learn a triple round-off backhandspring with a full-out 360 twist at the end. (Breanna, please don't shoot me for not using correct tumbling lingo.)

3. She joined the YMCA's volleyball team again…

(There she is, going for the ball in the background.)

3a. I said NO to cheerleading bc the last time she was in a tumbling class, she was furious that they wanted her to learn a proper somersault instead of getting straight to the heart of why she wanted to be a cheerleader in the first place: to do a quadruple round-off backhandspring while being thrown in the air by her team of bases and landing in an arabesque atop a 4-tiered pyramid. (Again, Breanna, wipe that look off your face.)

4. She joined band, opting to learn the clarinet…

4a. I said NO to orchestra bc I already owned a $1200 clarinet and didn't feel like coughing up twice that for a violin. Plus, I feel sorry for the poor horse that gets his tail hairs pulled just to string the instrument.

5. The reason her hair is in a crazy 'do in her clarinet photos is bc she tried out for the swim team and made it! She's been on the wait list to try out for over a year, and has been practicing as much as she can during that entire time, preparing herself for the one day she'd get a chance to make the team.

5a. I said NO to horseback riding lessons bc I didn't want her getting any more ideas about violin lessons.

Btw, Sophie is also in Student Council, which means she has to attend monthly meetings at school. Today she ran for the Student Council President, and had to give a speech in front of 81 students. If I was an eligible voter, I'd have most certainly voted YES for Sophie! (I did ask her if I could come watch her speech, to which she replied, "Well… umm… it's just that… you're a mom."

So that's what it feels like to be told NO. Okay, I can handle that – no biggie. But if she continues to tell me NO, I'll just tell her how much fun I used to have watching Breanna do those quintuple round-off backhandsprings with double-fulls, landing atop her base's shoulders just after doing an airborne Hercules, all the while playing her violin with a riding crop.

And then Breanna would have to hurry and get ready for piano lessons.)

The big Homecoming dance is in just a few weeks, so Sabrina, Sophie, and I decided to go dress shopping. After roaming the mall wings for what seemed like days, I plopped down on the fitting room floor and decided to rest while Sabrina tried on some dresses.  I hadn't planned on taking photos, but I grabbed my little purse camera and tried to take some (from the floor, mind you – I was NOT about to stand up) in the very poorly-lit fitting room…

Sophie's job is usually to take out the rejected dresses and bring in some new ones, but this year she decided to have her own fun…

(Since short is in again this year, Sophie's dress would have been entirely too long!)

It looks like girl-style cummerbunds are all the rage… both of the girls loved this pink number…

If you'd care to find out which dress Sabrina chose, don't forget to check back around the 26th! Unless I'm too exhausted to blog about it, that is… I offered to host a pot-luck dinner before the dance, and I'm afraid all those kids might take me up on it! 

My Breanna went back to Lincoln to start her sophomore year a couple of weeks ago, and while I won't miss the daily queries as to whether I'll be joining her at the gym or not (to "get her fitness on," as she put it), I will miss her joining me in the living room for coffee and stitching. (I got my fitness off quite some time ago.)

Mike loaded into the cars all of the STUFF we packed to move her back into the dorms, and then he did what he could to get her day started off right: he pumped and purchased her tank of gas for her…

Then we hit the road and arrived in Lincoln a little while later, where Mike unloaded from the cars and hauled up to her room all of the STUFF Breanna and I had packed to get her moved back into the dorms. 🙂

While Mike made his many trips back and forth to the parking lot, we girls got her clothing put away and her bed put together and her decorations put up. See those three bottles on top of the desk? They're Yankee Candle's new Halloween tea lite holders, and Bre loved them so much she decided to display them immediately…

(The lone popsicle Christmas ornament hanging next to her Abbey Road poster puts a smile on my face. And don't you love the coordinating pillow cases my mom made for her? And that row-by-row quilt was the very first quilt I ever made.)

There's her roomie, Sarah, working hard at getting her desk in order…

This was the best part of her whole room (teeheehee)…

And I'm not sure why she needed this particular coffee cup. I mean, I don't get it. Surely she's joking, right?

RIGHT?

Pshaw, of course she is! Whew.

No, Mike, you can't move in. And somebody please tell him to put his Hook 'em Horns sign down before someone hurts him with a corncob.

When I bought this doormat for Bre, it seemed funny at the time. But now, after reading her coffee cup again, I'm not so sure. I'll need to check to see if I still have that receipt…

We said our goodbyes and I remembered how this time, last year, I got such a horrible lump in my throat I couldn't speak. I also remember Mike telling me that if I needed him to turn the car around so I could go give Bre one more hug, he'd do it. But I managed.

Now I only get lumps in my throat when she shows up on the doorstep with 14 loads of laundry.

Have a great year, Bre! We love you so much!

When we were in Kansas this past time, Sophie spied an entire doggy wardrobe that I had stuffed into a bag to be hauled out to the garage sale. She pulled out each piece – sweaters, raincoats, a "10 Karat Dog" shirt – and cried, "Mom! What are you thinking, putting these in the garage sale!?" I explained to her that I don't really care to dress dogs bc I think God blessed them with the perfect outfit just as they are, to which she replied, "But what about when it snows! Look how cute these are!! Oh please let me have them, please!"

I gave in.

I'm sure the Yorkie thinks Sophie has lost her mind, given the forecast for today. But something tells me that as long as Sophie carries her around like the 10-Karat dog the Yorkie believes herself to be, then all is forgiven.