Blake basketball, KSU basketball and Packers football....

Saturday was the beginning of a busy weekend....Brett had basketball practice at 8:30 a.m., then Blake had his last basketball game at 10:15 a.m. and we then headed to Topeka to drop Christmas stuff off at my parents house and then we all met my brother, girlfriend and nephew in Lawrence to take my mom out for her birthday lunch. After that we headed to Kansas City where we watched the Cats take on Alabama at the Sprint Center. After a rough start the Cats pulled out a win. We stayed in KC as on Sunday we went to the Chiefs vs. Packers game (the boys bday gift this year). Here are some pics to recap the weekend.....

Blake's game....for whatever reason Blake tends to stand with his hands on his hips alot, we do not know why he does this.

Playing defense.Last game means medals.

Packers vs. Chiefs. The upside to this whole day was that the weather was decent and we didn't freeze to death. Yes I along with the boys we're rooting for the Packers. Marty was rooting for the Chiefs. I'll admit I figured this game was going to be a blow out....I mean...the Chiefs just fired their headcoach, they were like on their 4th quarterback and how many games have they choked on this year. Well Sunday was definately their day to prove something and good for them...but why did they have to pick the game where we were rooting for the other team and the game where we wanted to see Jordy Nelson shine like he has all season. I'm not sure who felt worse after the game, me or Brett. I so wanted Jordy to have a good game so Brett could see it live. Oh well...everyone's entitled to have a bad game/day and it was the Packers/Jordy's turn I guess. However it was a neat experience for us and the boys.

My little 'cheeseheads'.

We had really good seats...thanks Marty/Dad!!

Jordy during warm-ups.

Clay Matthews...another fav of Brett's.

Getting ready for kick-off.

Jordy waiting for kick-off.

During half-time a local boys football team played the "Mascots"...various mascots from the KC area. It was pretty funny.

Last but not least...Christmas is days away, the boys are officially on break, and we are ready...I think. Our travels will be short and sweet...Saturday we'll be at Marty's family and Sunday we'll go to NE to see my grandparents before heading back to Wichita. All of this provided weather permitting....most people would like to have a white Christmas...I do not!! If it's going to to snow it needs to wait until after we get back from the bowl game. We will celebrate Christmas with my family New Year's weekend.

My final project for this year was something for myself.....

if you look closely the manger is a footprint (Blake's). I saw this idea on Pinterest (great place to get ideas and waste valuable time) and I'm a sucker for things made with kids footprints/handprints. I wasn't sure what I wanted to put it on but decided my Grandma Saathoff's pie plate was perfect. She made the best peach pie (or any flavor for that matter) and it's something I miss along with her during the holidays, but now I will always have a little reminder of her displayed.

From my family to yours....Merry Christmas and God's Blessings in 2012!!

Handsome Boys and Stuff I've been working on

Tonight the boys Sunday school class sang before the advent service in preparation for the program this Sunday. We will not be at the program as we'll be in KC for the Chiefs vs. Packers game. So I took this opportunity to dress the boys in their best and take a picture (or should I say pictures, I won't even go into how many pics I took just to get these) by the tree. You can't really tell in the pic but they are both in purple (Brett in dark and Blake in light and ties on). My cousin is getting married in June and both of the boys are part of it and her colors are purple. (How lucky for us!!) So I took the opportunity to get their clothes for the wedding and sweaters to wear with them for Christmas.

I know I haven't posted stuff I've done lately and mostly its because they've been mostly gifts for friends of friends or family and I don't know who reads my blog so I haven't posted them. However if anyone is looking for a last minute teacher, office or easy simple gift for someone I do have the following available. Email/call if you need something.

Here are a couple of gifts I did for people that I'm pretty sure don't read my blog regularly...at least not yet.

These two banners are for the the Preschool teachers at Blake's school. Mrs. Newlin (Blake's teacher) is a big Wichita Shockers fan so I did hers in black and yellow, with Shockers on the back. The other one is for Mrs. Boss who was Brett's teacher, she's a KSU grad so hers is done in purple/white with Go Cats on the back. I usually stop in her classroom after dropping Blake off to chat about KSU football/basketball weekly. She's a great lady as is Mrs. Newlin and I will greatly miss them both as this is Blake's last year at Holy Cross.

And last but not least another tile for my mom to give her hair stylist, Miya, who happens to be a childhood friend of mine. Our parents used to play softball together back in the day and Miya and I became friends at the ballpark. (FYI...the flower is a dark purple..not black like it looks like in the pic.)

Hope everyone is getting ready for Christmas, although it was a little difficult to think it's a week and a half away with the temps near 60 today. It was so nice (once it stopped raining finally) that I cleaned windows. I know crazy right, but how could I not, if nothing else to say I cleaned windows on December 14th!!

KSU bb in our own backyard.

Last night we got to take in some KSU basketball and we didn't even have to drive to Manhattan. The Cats played West Virginia in the Wichita Wildcat Classic downtown at the Intrust Bank Arena.

I wasn't sure how the crowd would react when Coach Bob Huggins was introduced. I soon learned that we Cat Fans are the class act I always knew we were. They gave him a warm welcome as did Frank and the rest of the team. As we should....Huggins brought us Coach Martin.

Coaches meet before the game with a handshake.....

and a good ol' fashion "man hug".

Mr. Kstate, Ernie Barrett, even has a warm welcome for him.

Before the game started both coaches were brought to mid-court where Coach Huggins presented Coach Martin with a basketball representing his 100th win for KSU which he achieved on Sunday.

The boys like to take pics so the next couple are from them....Blake's favorite person...Willie!!

Brett's....#42 Gipson Brett's fav player this year. He's a freshman and he's a big boy. We hope to see a lot of him on the court the next 4 years.

KSU has definately given us a bang for our buck this year. The football team gave us 4 OT's in the Texas A & M game, and the basketball team gave us 2 OT's last night.

End of regulation.....

End of 1st OT.

End of 2nd OT.

It was a hard fought game...neck and neck the whole way. Unfortunately the Cats didn't pull out the win. This obviously won't be our last meeting with West Virginia as they are joining the Big 12 next year. Welcome Mountaineers!!

This is what happens to Blake after an 8:00 p.m. basketball game that goes into 2 OT's....he was one tired dude and took a good nap when got home from school.

K-State Football comes to an end....but not without going bowling first.

We attended the last home game for the Cats on a very wet and cold Saturday. Kickoff was suppose to be at 11:30 however due to lightening strikes it was delayed till 1:00....this of course meant we tailgated in the rain a little longer. It wasn't too bad...the group we tailgate with had tents with walls and we were all quite cozy inside. Brett and Blake however did find themselves playing in the water a few times...which meant several changes of pants and socks thru out the day. (Good thing mom brought extras....). Once we finally got into the game it wasn't bad...for us anyway... as our seats are under the overhang so we are out of the elements...can't say the same for the rest of the fans. All in all it was a good game considering the weather and the Cats pulled out a win....30-23!! Blake entertains himself with giving hi-fives to fans as they leave the stadium.

With it being the last game the team walks around the stadium and thanks the fans for their dedication this year. Congrats to our seniors...you will be missed.

Even Willie gives one last victory run!!

We found out tonight that the Cats will be playing in the Cotton Bowl. Most would say the BCS screwed us again and they probably did but I know our dedicated fans will turn Dallas purple on January 6th and we just might be there to help with that. We have sent our name in for tickets and now we wait and see if we get them. Brett is excited to go, Blake doesn't really understand what it means other than another football game (nor does he understand it's a little further to travel...this part I'm not looking forward to.)

Last but not least congrats to Kstate Volleyball team as they defeated NU Friday night and have advanced to the Sweet 16!! Go Lady Cats!!

All in all Kstate has had a great fall season (football and volleyball) and we're now hoping to have a great basketball season. Purple Pride!!