45-28

WE WON!!!!!!!!! 45-28!!!

If you'd like to read about our HUGE victory....go here!

Something I really love about the article is how incredibly gracious both HCs were. That speaks volumes about their characters and the programs that they've worked so hard to build!

GO COOGS!!!!!!!

Ohh, the irony...

Here in (fairly) small town Texas, high school football rivalries are a BIG deal. I'm talking the stand in line all day for tickets, painting faces and/or bodies, countdown to kick-off ticking away on local channels and becoming nauseated because you're so nervous kind of BIG deal. The crosstown rivalry here in Abilene is a rich tradition, and just about the entire town looks forward to it all football season. This year's game has even more riding on it because the winner of tonight's game will be declared the district CHAMPION.

As I've said before, this crosstown rivalry is kind of a funny situation for me. You see, this was me just FOUR years ago...

...graduating from the land of the Eagles...AHS!

...getting to school at the crack of dawn with my bestie (Lexi) to get on the front row for pep rallies!

...cheering on those Eagles with my girls!

...wearing my blackout Cooper rivalry shirt.

"Hey Cooper! Next year bring your varsity..."

...and just bleeding black and gold in general.

And now, here I am....a Cougar Coach's wife (and that coach graduated from Cooper, by the way!)

...cheering on those COOGS with my former Eagles!

...decorating my door in the red and blue.

...having the time of my life with some of the best friends a girl could ask for!

...supporting my hubby every step of the way.

...road-tripping to all of the out-of-towners with Lexi.

...becoming nauseated with nerves as I write this post.

...decked out in red and blue attire!

...and BLEEDING RED AND BLUE!!!!

I have to defend myself a lot, mostly on Facebook, to my former classmates, but I just laugh at their silly remarks....and tell them to shut up. Because that's what mature adults like myself do. But I wouldn't trade any of this for the entire world because I love it, I love my coach, and I love those COOGS!!!

LET'S GO COOGS!!!!!!

8-0, Family & Parties!

Hi friends! I've just had to accept that I'm going to be an occasional blogger for now, I hope you will too :) This time of year is just so busy, as I'm sure it is for you too!

We had such a fun weekend with family and friends last weekend! My brother and his fiance came in town. Friday night we, of course, went to support the Cooper Cougars!

Me, Nicole & Momma...

Dad, me, Kenneth...

The boys had to keep up with the Texas Rangers on their iPhones! How exciting that they are going to the WORLD SERIES! So awesome.

It's always a good sign when Rob & the other coaches come out of the press-box with several minutes to go!! The Coogs did it again! We are now 8-0!!! Coming up this week is the BIG cross-town rivalry against the Abilene Eagles. Both teams are undefeated in district, so this will not only be for the city title but also for the District title! The cross town rivalry is ALWAYS a good game regardless of records or anything else, I'm so ready for kick-off!! On a side note, this game is a little ironic for me as I graduated from AHS. The first year was hard, but it's getting easier every year! I now cheer for the Coogs 100% (obviously!!). Surprisingly, I'm not the only Eagle to Cougar convert! Lexi & Keathley both went to AHS as well. Those coaches will make you change your ways, I guess! ;)

Saturday morning, my mom's BFF, Lisa hosted a bridal shower for Nicole! The weather was crazy with torrential rains, but we had a great turnout! My family is blessed with so many wonderful friends, and we are thankful.

The Boyce ladies...

The food table, pretty right?

I loved the miniature cake & stand...

Nicole ready to open their gifts!

I was the present-writer-downer (that's a technical term!)

Nicole's been saying how excited she is to have nice towels! Haha, her wish finally came true!

Us with Nana...

Precious Natalie was a "hostess," so she got a little gift too! The girl loves her bath-time (especially in my parents' HUGE tub) so she got a cute ducky and princess soap...she loved it!

The happy bride & groom to be...

Natalie was probably asking, "Which princess is your favorite?" She also kept saying, "Look at my princess soap! It's for me!!" Haha, I think it's safe to say she loved it! Such a cutie pie.

After a little afternoon resting and a lot of afternoon prep, my parents hosted an engagement party for KB & Nic. Thankfully the rain cleared, and we were left with a crisp fall night!

Rob & myself before the party :)

And my precious parents!

Rob's twin, Will, also came to celebrate!

And those are the only pictures I got of the guests because I had a certain almost-3-year-old leech :) Natalie was my bestie that night, and we had lots of fun! I gave her her bath in the big tub with her princess soap, of course! Her Auntie Lisa also got her a princess gown (and panties) that she LOVED. After her bath, she walked around showing everyone how pretty her gown was! She is such a girlie girl and I love it!

My favorite princess is YOU, sweet girl!

My new BFF...

I was at HEB last week, and this little beauty popped right out at me from the bottom shelf...

Oh my goodness, I got ridiculously excited about it! I've already told everyone I know via Facebook & Twitter ;)

GF Bisquick gives me lots of possibilities to easily make things I've been missing.

I really love the flavors of fall, so of course pumpkin spice lattes are one of my faves!

Hubs got up before me Sunday morning and woke me up with one...such a sweetheart! I really love when he does stuff like that. I don't really care about getting flowers and jewelry, ((although I like both of those things too ;)) I just like to know I'm being thought of! He knows the way to my heart is through food and lattes...ha!

Anyway, tonight I decided to combine two delicious things...pumpkin spice lattes and pancakes! They turned out so good! I'll definitely be making these again soon! And you should too ;)

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

Make plain pancakes following the recipe found on the back of your box of Bisquick.

Add to the plain batter:

1/4 cup of granulated sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/2 (heaping) cup of pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

Cook according to package directions & enjoy!

**The back of my Bisquick box makes about 10 pancakes, so if yours makes more, you'll probably want to add more sugar, spice & pumpkin puree**

7-0!!

That's right, the COOPER COOGS are rollin!! We're 7-0 on the season & 2-0 in district! Both of our district games have been INTENSE, hard-fought battles.

Last week we played Midland Lee in Midland and won 56-52. That game was exciting from buzzer to buzzer!

Happy coaches after the victory!

Last night we played Odessa Permian and won 34-27. It was another exciting back-and-forth game, but the Cougars came out on top!! I'm so proud of my coach :)

*****

I've been in kind of a blogging slump lately mostly due to the fact that there has been a lot going on in my life lately. I've got some health issues that have come up recently, but I now have a diagnosis, and Rob and I are trying to move forward with it. Life is just hard sometimes, but I know the Lord will protect me, and ultimately His plan will prevail. Patience is not my number one quality, but I'm trying. I will probably write about what has been going on sometime soon, but I'm just not quite ready yet.

Ok, enough about that! It's a beautiful Saturday, and I'm off to spend the afternoon with my Mom and the night with my hubby! :) Looking forward to a relaxing and fun day! Hope y'all have a great weekend, too!!

Reminders.

Don't you love when God gives you a little reminder of why you're doin' what you're doin'? Did that make any sense at all? I'll explain...

Football season can get a little challenging for me at times. I miss my hubby. I selfishly want him to just be able to hang out with me. Sundays are lonely. I don't have kids that are missing their daddy, but I know that's also a challenge for the mommas that do.

Tonight, Rob came home and told me about a conversation he had with one of his players today...it went a little something like this...

Kid: Coach, are you married?

Rob: Yes...

Kid: Do you have kids?

Rob: No...

Kid: Well do you want kids?

Rob: Yeah, sure...some day.

Kid: Would you ever adopt me?

Rob: Sure, I'd adopt you if you didn't have a place to go.

Rob said the kid's face just lit up when he told him that he'd adopt him if he needed to and that he seemed totally surprised that Rob said yes.

The reality of this particular situation is that the kid does have a home and does not need to be adopted, but it just made me appreciate Rob so much. It reminded me of why we are doing this. A lot of these kids do not have positive male influences in their lives, and coaches often play that role. These young men really look up to their coaches...for acceptance, for love, for advice, for discipline, for stability, and for guidance. Rob is doing so much more than simply turning them into good football players. It's easy to get caught up in the busyness of this time of year, so I'm thankful for these little reminders from the Lord to be grateful for the honorable man He has blessed me with. I could not be any prouder of my hubby!

"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality." --Romans 12: 9-13

I want.

Look at what my hubby put together for me last weekend...

A composter! I'm really excited about it! I've been wanting one for awhile, so Rob's grandparents got it for me for my birthday :) Hopefully I'll have some nice, organic soil for planting season next year!

Another thing that's been on my wish list are some tall, light brown leather, riding-style boots. I love to wear boots throughout fall/winter/early spring, so I'd like to add to my collection ;)

I'm thinking something like these...

love.

maybe a little too tall?

loving the studs.

love the color.

not crazy about the bulky buckle.

interesting heal.

all images found here.

So my question is, do you own a pair similar to these? Where did you get them? I'm pretty cheap, so I don't want to spend a ton, but I also know that quality costs. Help me out, girls! :) Please?

I'm loving the cooler temps we've had lately! It feels so good to be able to open the windows at night and actually wake up chilly. To celebrate fall's arrival, I made gluten-free pumpkin muffins tonight! I used this recipe, and they turned out SO yummy and moist. Mmmm.

I did make a few adjustments to the recipe though:

-I used an all-purpose GF flour mix (1.5 cups)

-I added about a 1/4 cup of extra sugar (the batter wasn't sweet enough to me)

-Squirted in about a Tbs. of honey

-I used only cinnamon & ginger because I didn't have pumpkin pie spice

my wrist looks weird.

Happy Hump Day, friends!