Gold Division Champs!

Last night proved to be one to put down in the books. The Republic Tigers basketball team came from a 10 point deficit in the fourth quarter to tie the game against the Hillcrest Hornets. The boys led the game only in overtime for the first time since the first few minutes of regulation. After battling back and forth we turned out to be the stronger team that everyone knew we were and won! We only won by two points with the final score being 43-41.
It was such a great experience being there as this is my alma mater, but now even more since Steven is coaching. I have seen him get pretty excited with games before like when they won the GLVC his senior year, but this was right up there with that. Something that really stood out to me that he said was "this was always a dream of mine when I was in high school, and to be able to see these boys experience winning the Blue and Gold was great! I am so blessed to be a part of this group." Now those of you that know Steven know that he said this with the biggest smile on his face and with as much excitement as if he were playing. I wish everyone could see the "little boy" I come home with and the giddiness that basketball brings out in him.

Congratulations Tigers and Coaches! It was a wonderful week spent with you all and a great ending!

How About Those Wild Cards?

Unbelievable.  That word barely describes the run to the World Series that the St. Louis Cardinals just completed.  Wow.
Lauren and I were fortunate enough to attend game 2 of the World Series at Busch Stadium.  It was a tough game though as we had to witness the Cardinals blow a 1-0 lead in the 9th inning and a chance to go up 2-0 in the series.  Lauren said that I took the loss like it was one of my basketball games.
The next week we traveled to Ft. Lauderdale, FL on my Birthday, October 27th.  Because of the rain Game 6 was pushed back to that day.  We had just landed in Atlanta when the game started.  I just followed Lauren's lead to our next gate as I kept watch on my phone at the gamecast on ESPN.com.  When we took off the Cardinals were struggling and mid flight we had to endure dropped fly balls and runners picked off as the Rangers took a 7-4 lead when we landed.
By the time we made it to the hotel to check in it was the bottom of the 8th and we arrived just in time to see the Cardinals strand 2 runners on base and the score was 7-5, thanks to an Allan Craig hr.


After we checked in we headed up to our room to watch the 9th inning.  In the elevator a Rangers fan had some prophetic words.  He said, "Hey kid, keep your head up.  I've seen the Rangers blow leads like this all the time.  The Rangers are real chokers."  I just shook my head and told him I hope so, trying to be a fan and hold onto what little hope was left.
Little did we know that when we entered our room that magic as about to happen in St. Louis.  After watching the top of the 9th we decided to get the Rally Squirrel out just for good measure.  I started chanting "Rally Squirrel" on every pitch and as the Cardinals began their comeback I danced around the room with the rally squirrel.  The people below our room were probably thinking that some monkeys moved in above them.  When David Freese hit the game winning walkoff hr following two comebacks in two innings from down two runs, the dancing was then mixed in with a few jumps on the bed.  I couldn't go to sleep for another hour or so because I was so excited.
The next day for game 7 we went to Duffy's.  Duffy's was a sports bar with about 17 large projector screens showing sports on all of them.  We were lucky enough to be sat next to 2 Rangers fans.  We tried to show good sportsmanship but we also rubbed in the amazing victory that our St. Louis Cardinals had just recorded.
Now a week later I'm still getting goosebumps everytime I see the Cardinals celebrating on the field at Busch Stadium after Allen Craig caught the last out.  Only thing that I keep saying is Unbelievable.  Wow.

They Did It For Torty      #11in11

Steven

District Champs!

Congrats to the Republic Girls Tennis Team for the first ever win at Districts! They now will play for sectionals on this Saturday at our brand new courts! What a great way to break in a new court!

Preview of Photo Shoot

A couple of weeks ago while Ryan Chowning and Steven were on a trip to Chicago for a PGA tournament Ryan's wife Candace brought their 4 month old little girl Avary over to the house to have some photographs taken.  Here are a couple samples.

Day 4 of 21 and going strong.

21 Days is not THAT long!

Searching on pinterest the other night I found a post that was no junk food for 21 days. While reading this it included: no chips, white bread, peanut butter, ice cream, candy, other bad spreads, etc. Well some of my favorite things are on this list including peanut butter and ice cream. I eat ice cream everyday- No kidding! So talking to Steven we came up with a bet that if I did this challenge he would buy me a new lens to my camera. Now if I lost and gave in I would have to let him get the NFL Sports Zone (or whatever it is - for Sunday Football games). I am definitely not loosing because things have to get done around here besides watching every game on a Sunday afternoon!

I am on day 3 and it isn't that hard, but I know that cupcakes are being brought to school tomorrow for a birthday. Plus we are going on a float trip this weekend. The best thing on float trips are junk food!!!! I will let you know how it goes! Let me know if someone else wants to do it with me. Maybe he will buy you something too. Ha! Ha!

Training for Life

As we said earlier, Steven and I, are training for a half marathon. We are running 8 miles tomorrow, which will be our longest run to date. I ran a half back in April but this is Steven's first half. We are excited to be running this half together.
We have been doing good on our eating as well as our running. We are making our lunches to take to school with us and are also making majority of our dinners here at home. It has really helped out with our training ability as well as feeling better in general.
Steven is in the middle of Girls Tennis season right now and the girls are doing really good. There record is  7-1. He has a tennis match most M,T,R,F nights which leaves us Wednesday nights to spend together.
We enjoy these nights to be together and catch up more than just how the day went.
I have recently started back to school to get my education degree and masters to become an art teacher. I am very excited about this new adventure and clear vision of what I should be doing. Along with this I also have joined Pinterest which I am obsessed with. Steven says I spend too much time on it - but I think that it has paid off because I have started to redecorate our entry way, master bedroom, hallway, and just tonight went to Hobby Lobby and bought 3 Canvas that I am going to paint. I think that I am well on my way to redecorating the entire house! Ha Ha! I will post pictures when I get the projects complete!
Have a blessed week.

Time to Get Healthy!

Lauren and I started our training for a half marathon last week. We are participating in the Bass-Pro Outdoor Fitness Festival Half-Marathon on November the 6th. Lauren has already completed a half-marathon this spring in Kansas City, and this will be my first half-marathon. We have added a training partner as well. In late June we adopted an abandoned puppy named Daisy Duke. She is a beagle-shepherd, according to Lauren's step dad Dave, a local vet.

Along with our half-marathon training we are also beginning a goal of eating better at home. Not only does this include eating better but also cutting down on our eating out and saving a few cents along the way.

One way that we have worked on eating at home more is by grilling a large amount of chicken breasts and then refrigerating them to use in dishes throughout the days ahead. This has simplified our cooking and shaved time off of our meal preparation.

We shall see how this trend progresses. Stay tuned for further updates.