Nighthawks End-of-Season

Oct. 6. Nighthawks v. Poston Butte Broncos. WIN 21-7.

This was a GREAT game! Jacob made several "braggable" plays. The players each wore one pink sock at each game in October for Breast Cancer Awareness month (it's a great cause, but I giggle a bit thinking the boys are a little too young to appreciate it).

They are always good sports, but "good game" is so much easier to say when you win!

You can see Jacob peeling out of the line,

And then in the center of the cheerleader tunnel!

Oct. 13th. Nighthawks v. Jaguars. LOSS 39-0.

(This was a very devastating game. They all told Jacob that if he had been there it wouldn't have been so ugly. We were blissfully having a great time on Fall Break in Utah.)

Oct. 20th. Nighthawks v. Gilbert Dawgs. WIN 20-19.

This was a close one! Put us in the playoffs.

I love this kid.

Oct. 27th. PLAYOFF GAME. Nighthawks v. Chandler Bears. LOSS 7-27.

Nov. 3rd. CONSOLATION GAME. Nighthawks v. Southeast Valley Thunder. LOSS 0-20.

In the end, they only played one playoff game, but were so proud of what they had accomplished this season. I am so grateful to Coach Boxton and his amazing coaching staff who taught respect and hard work, and who demanded excellence in school and at home to earn the right to step on the field. Jacob thrived under their leadership.

Marching Band

Every Friday night the marching band played in the stands at the football games and performed at halftime. I LOVED watching my boys have fun grooving to the music and being with their friends. It was a long, demanding season and I'm so proud of their hard work and dedication.

A rare smile from Noah! Drumline is so hyper military and they are usually not allowed to look right or left or smile or talk.

Prepping for halftime.

I really enjoyed helping out with the pit cart at the games and competitions.

Pre-show pit bonding.

Go Noah (middle bass)!

Go Spencer!

There were also marching band competitions and festivals every Saturday. One weekend I rode with the kids on the bus to a percussion-only show.  They rocked, of course!

Nighthawks

Jacob had a great season with the Mesa Nighthawks. He's such a dedicated and tireless player with an incredible understanding of the game.

Sept. 1st. Nighthawks v. Tucson Wildcats. WIN 26-0.

Jacob is still #30 in this game; their official game jerseys had not arrived in time.

We were so excited that they won so handily. Isaac couldn't resist a huge hug for Jacob.

Sept. 8. Nighthawks v. West Valley Hoyas. LOSS 18-26.

The pre-game weigh-in. Jacob is #43 now.

The pre-game hype-up.

Jacob had to block this huge kid the entire game. Not easy!

Sept. 15th. Nighthawks v. Chandler Knights. WIN 14-6.

Jacob is an incredible, well-rounded player. He can always be counted on to get open to receive the ball.

He's a pretty good blocker.

An awesome kicker.

And, like I said, can almost always catch the ball.

Good game, Nighthawks!

Sept. 22nd. Nighthawks v. Southeast Valley Aztecs. LOSS 6-19.

We get such a kick out of the Nighthawks cheerleaders. They do their cute little cheers and even made a banner for the football players to run through.

The Nighthawks fought hard but this was a tough game all around.

Jacob caught this ball,

but this was a heartbreaking play. He had his hands on the ball and it would have been a touchdown, but that  kid just stripped it right out of his grasp.

Sept. 29th. Nighthawks v. Laveen Stampede. WIN 18-0.

(No pictures. I had the camera with me at a band competition.)

First Campout

Jacob went on his first campout as an 11 year old Boy Scout on Sept. 21st. Jeremy tagged along and they had a great time together.

Jacob set up his first tent, but said he was pretty uneasy while trying to sleep. They could hear coyotes in their camp calling to each other all night. Desert camping is both beautiful and scary!

The next morning they ate a hearty Scout breakfast cooked by Brother Moore and Brother Klug.

Jacob had a football game that morning, too, so they had to leave the campout early (Jacob was thrilled to miss the hike). Congratulations, Jacob! You (and dad) survived your first campout.

May the Odds Be Ever in Your Flavor

For Spencer's 17th Birthday we did a "Hungry Games" theme. Food was a main attraction; we served rustic breads from the Mellark bakery, nightlock berries with vanilla ice cream, Capitol pizza, and tracker-jacker anti-venom to drink.

As everyone arrived, they practiced being Katniss with a bow and arrow.

Whatever number they hit on the target was the District they represented in our "games." (This is Pablo, who will forever be known as Rue in our family.)

To start things off, each of the "tributes" made a weapon out of tinfoil.

They were all placed in a pile and then after a countdown, they could grab any weapon. If someone got touched by a weapon they were out. Chaos ensued.

The final showdown: coming out as the victor was Kylie!

We played lots of other games, too: marshmallow retrieval from the "cornucopia," dropping parachutes, and movie trivia. After the games we finished out the night watching the Hunger Games movie. It was so awesome hanging out with these super kids. What a fun party!

On Spencer's actual birthday, he requested lemon cake with lemon frosting. Yummy! Happy Birthday, Spencer. I love you.