Another Season of FOOTBALL!!!!

Well, Basketball season is over and the boys had a blast.  Kason and Gannon, true to form, were very competitive and Baron enjoyed entertaining the crowd as if a stand-up comedian on stage.

So now what do we do to keep our sons from building illegal explosive devices with too much spare time??

MORE FOOTBALL!!!

Well, that was not the plan.  We had PLANNED to put the boys in track for the spring but some very smart youth football recruiter placed a very enticing "Spring Season Tackle Football" sign right in front of the school.  (Insert 2 boys begging to play football here).  A new league with a second grade team...go figure.  I,however, assume only Kason can play due to the whole "2nd grade" portion of the sign....Gannon is in 1st.  If both older boys cant play then no cookie.

Well, you can guess what the answer was to this question...

Lonnie goes out to a practice to let the head coach check out the boys playing abilities and next thing you know we have two boys on the team  as well as a coach! lol too funny...

So here are a few of my favorite pictures taken at the game.  Kason was Quarter-back as well as middle linebacker while Gannon was an outside linebacker.

Kason yelling "Down...Set...Hut!"

Kason tossing the ball to a running back while being attached by the defense.

Gannon lined up as a linebacker and about to "attack"

 (he was mad about being double-teamed and wanted to hit somebody)

 Gannon making a tackle!

 Kason and Gannon making a tackle together! Go Tullos Boys!

 Kason running with the ball during a Quarterback Sneak

Go Kason!

Gannon on defense!

Well, we now have 3 happy boys.  Kason and Gannon are playing their beloved football and Baron gets to play DS in the stands. (He was just happy to hear we were not going to make him run track) lol  Maybe a little flag football is around the corner for him.

Hope you like my proud momma pics. :-)

Basketball games and a black eye...

Well, our boys are enjoying their first season of basketball.  Both Kason and Gannon's team and Barons team have been winning lots of games.  It is a blast to watch the 4 & 5 year old play.  They are so stinking cute.  Baron is learning his way around the court but is more interested in being a comedian then being aggressive.  He will stop in the middle of the game and start making faces at his brothers watching the game.  Gannon laughs his head off while Kason  gets all serious and tells him to get back in the game. lol typical...

Kason and Gannon are doing really well and its so much fun to cheer for them.  Kason even received the game ball at his last game.  That reward went great with his other reward... a black eye.  Mom and Dad never noticed but Kason got elbowed in the eye during the game.  He never complained but by the next morning he had a great shiner.

So here are some highlight pictures of the last couple games.  I have a new program for my pictures so please excuse all the different effects I played with on these pics.  I have no clue what I'm doing but its still fun...

Kason helpin' out on the sideline during Baron's game

Kason making two points

Baron making an equipment adjustment during the game

Baron on defense

Gannon open

Gannon making 2 points

There are a few more games left so like it or not, more basketball pictures to come. lol

Victoria

I miss my dog...

Well, I haven't been on my blog in a couple weeks and this usually means a lot has been going on and this time is no exception.  During the last couple weeks our family has been busy with sports, school activities and home projects.  Throw in a holiday, a husband out of town and the loss of a family pet and mix it all up, you get a  mom on auto pilot with a heavy heart with no time to blog.

So 16 years ago, when I was a poor collage student working at Ryan's Family Steak House, I came across a lady in parking lot giving away puppies out of the trunk of her car.  One little black and brown puppy with floppy ears caught my eye.  Now again, I was poor and already had one dog I had adopted from my parents and a cat and living with a friend in a little tiny duplex apartment.  Yes, I am an animal lover to the core.  I had no business looking at these puppies, but I drove away with that little girl puppy I named "Dallas".  She and my other dog "Madison" were my best buds all through college.  I would take them to the beach, take them with me when I taught drums, and would not move anywhere that I could not have my girls!

They moved to Texas with me and lived in every apartment, trailer, and house that I had as I started my career and figured out where I was going in life.  Through thick and thin, they were there, my best friends Madison and Dallas.  When I met and  later married  Lonnie, they excepted him and even let him take their spot in the bed.  Now that is love.  They were there when I had my 3 sons and were so loving and patient with every tail pull and slobbery baby kiss.  Lonnie would laugh so much when I would play hide-n-seek with the boys because no matter where I hid, my dogs would follow me and sit right there giving me away.  That sums it all up, they would follow me anywhere...my loyal friends.

So three years ago I lost Madison after a long battle with kidney and heart problems.  I was devastated to say the least.  She was 15 years old and had been there through it all with me.  Her loss hit me harder then I expected but I still had my Dallas to hug on.

Once I got used to having just one dog, we gave into the boys requests and got them a puppy.  After-all, Dallas and Madison only gave the boys attention if they had food.  So in walked Marshall the dalmatian.

Marshall brought out the puppy in Dallas and they spent countless hours playing.  In fact, Dallas played with Marshall in the backyard the last day before she got sick.  I was blessed to look out the window and catch them in the yard playing.  I smile when I close my eyes and relive that memory in my head.

So, last week I had to say goodbye to my Dallas.  She was never in pain but we found out too late that she had a brain tumor.  I had 16 awesome loyal years with her and I will miss her dearly.  I don't know if I will ever have a dog that was as attached to me as my Madison and Dallas but if I never do, it's OK.  I have been blessed.

The boys had lots of questions about the loss of Dallas that I somehow made it through.  Lonnie was out of town so it was a rough week by myself.  I noticed my boys giving me lots of hugs to make me feel better.  Those boys may be a crazy bunch but they can tell when their momma is feelin' blue.  They are so sweet...when they want to be. lol

But, please don't be mislead and assume my house is quiet with one dog missing.  We still have Marshall the dalmatian, the cat Riley, my brothers 100lb "puppy" and "Pops" the stray geriatric Chihuahua.  Pops is a whole other blog post all together.  I will leave you with this shot of "Pops" (who is sitting in my lap s I type this) to make you smile. lol

Basketball Season Kick-off

Well, After years of playing only "football", the Tullos Boys are playing a season of another sport (gasp...).  Baron was an easy sell because his best friend was going to be playing but it took a little bit to convincing Kason and Gannon that other sports exist outside of football.  After a couple of their best buds signed up they finally conceded.  So, today was the opening day of this particular leagues basketball season.  Baron is playing on the Pee Wee level with 4, 5 and 6 year olds while Kason and Gannon are playing at the junior level with 7, 8 and 9 year olds.  My boys have NEVER played organized basketball so I was not sure what was going to happen today but we were pleasantly surprised.  Baron did great and was so stinkin cute while my Irish Twins rocked the court.  I was so proud of my little basketball players.  So I warn you now that I will be boring you with lots of pictures during this season.

Baron with his best Buddie Austin.

Baron workin some defense! He has to wear a mouth piece and I think he spent more of the game playing with it rather then playing ball.

Baron shooting the ball.

Now thats the Baron we know and love.  He finds the ONE girl on the court and immediately started flirting!    

So fast I could hardly get a picture! lol

No caption needed....the picture says it all...I'm gonna have to keep my eye on this one!

"I'm Open!"

Then after Barons game was over, the older two had their game.



Gannon going for a goal.

Kason and Gannon ready to go in the game while busy chewing on their mouth pieces. lol

Gannon #20.

Kason stealing the ball.

G-Money running down court with Kason by his side.

Kason on defense.

My baby boys on the court playin together.

 Kason takin' off with the ball!

Well, it was a fun way to spend Sunday afternoon after church.  The boys discovered that basketball is a lot of fun and maybe they will even try (dare I say) "other" sports.  I think they thought that if they play other sports outside of football, their favorite NFL players would show up and kick them out of the "football club".  Fun day...and I was given an opportunity to "hone" my picture taking skills as a self proclaimed "Momarazzi". lol

Victoria

In the Emergency Room....again.

So, I have three sons whom are pretty stinking active but one them is a stand out in the injury department.  Our middle child, G-Money, has been a climber since before he could even walk and I have seen the inside of the emergency room with him more times then I would like.  He has been to the emergency room getting stitches or getting a broken bone X-rayed 5 times so far during his seven years.  When you combine my other 2 boys ER visits, Gannon still beats them both. 

Um... I am not bragging, because at this point I have started  taking him to "different" Emergency Rooms each time just so they don't start keeping a file on us!  And Oh Dang you should here the stuff that comes out of this boys mouth each time the ER Doctor asks the dreaded question "Soooo, what happened to you young man?"  The pictures he paints as he sits there all bloody just makes me cringe while I attempt to interject with "What he means Doc, is..."

SO, I could just show you what happened this Friday night, but I will make you wait.  Instead, I will humor you with a brief pictorial review of Gannon's injuries through the years.

Here we are in December 2004.  Gannon just turned 1 and has his first black eye.  He decided to fight with the coffee table and he lost.  We should have known then. 

So our first official trip to the ER with Gannon was for this little doozie.  He was 3 1/2 years old and was climbing a book shelve in the play room.  Like any "good" parents, we made sure we anchored all the furniture to the walls to avoid injuries.  Well, if they climb to the top of said 6 foot tall "anchored" book shelf and jump onto the train table below, and land on their face...this happens! 

The highlights: Blood everywhere...husband driving too fast to the ER...stressed out mommy...Gannon advising doctor that a "train" hit him...Mommy fumbling for words...something like 7 stitches later, we have a typical Gannon memory.

So here Gannon is 5.  I failed to take a good picture of his stitches but I did take some pictures at his football game with his eye patched up. (So why is he playing sports with stitches you ask...talk to his Father) Anyway, picture this:  Small group night at our house.  All our awesome small group gathered in the kitchen talking and then the scream.  Down comes ALL 5 small group boys attempting to keep Gannon from dripping blood on the carpet and Kason saying "I'm sorry Mommy"...hhhhhmmmm 

The highlights: leaving OUR house still filled with our small group, my awesome friend Lori staying with my other 2 boys (I love her),  driving Gannon by myself to the ER (where is my husband you ask...Out Of Town.  This will become a common theme) Gannon telling the ER doctor that his brother slammed his head in a doorway "with a door" and his brother is REALLY MEAN!, me again fumbling for words...I had none... just a half smile as I mentally rehearsed my future statement in the affidavit to CPS,  4 stitches later another typical Gannon memory.

Here Gannon is still 5.  Actually this "injury" happened just 20 days after the previous one.  We are at a football game and Gannon catches the ball wrong and his index finger is sticking out in a way it should not!  The coach thinks its just out of socket and proceeds to "put it back" (Luv ya Arthur).  Gannon then seems fine and wants to play.  Um... ok.  SO now the football team is at Chick-fil-A after the game and Gannon's finger is turning colors and swelling.  So NOW its time to go to the ER. (I'm a horrible mother!)

Highlights: Me driving all my boys to the ER (where is my husband you ask...again.  Answer: at work....typical. The boy cant hurt himself when Dads home...oh no.) I purposely drive to a different ER than I did 20 days earlier!  Gannon getting X-rays while Baron is busy sweet talking the ER nurses out of lolly pops.  The doctor advising G has a broken knuckle bone and walking out with G in a finger splint.  Calling the Coach the next morning to advise one of his players is benched for 4-6 weeks. Oh but don't worry yourselves about this!  As you can see above, Gannon was playing football by the next weekend.  (Talk to his Father, that's all I have to say) lol Another Gannon memory.

And here we are in 2010.  Gannon playing football with stitches (big surprise).  Actually this particular wound was not stitched but rather "taped" shut.  So what happened this time? Well those of you who got my Christmas card know the answer, but lets just say he had a little "run-in" with a 100lb blood hound and lost.  So should a young boy with a wound like this be playing football?? (yeah you know the answer...talk to his father). Another typical Gannon memory.

So here is Gannon's most recent stitches from Friday night.  So you might be wondering what happened... OK...picture this:  we get the carpets cleaned that day, Lonnie removed the ladders from the bunk beds for said carpet cleaning.  Fast forward to about 7 that evening.  We are about to eat and the boys are gonna camp out in the living room (because the bedroom furniture has not been put back yet and carpets are drying)
Gannon decides he needs to go climb up to the top bunk via the "end" of the beds (remember, no ladder).  Fans are on full blast (you get where this is going)...next thing we know, Gannon screams "MOMMY" (they always do that...) and is standing upstairs with bloody hands.  By the time I get him downstairs, his face is covered in blood (even in his eye).  So off to the ER we go...again...

Highlights: Hubby driving too fast to the ER, my face as I grimace during the doctor questions, me trying to explain why there is a fan next to the bunk beds with no ladder and its on...high! Kason explaining to the Doctor how many times Gannon has been to the emergency room! (remind me to leave him in the waiting room next time) Gannon walking out with more stitches to add to his collection and now I have to clean blood out of my freshly cleaned carpets! But another typical Gannon memory.

Feel free to say a prayer to keep this little fella safe because below is how I found him tonight (with a  head full of fresh stitches, mind you).  This boy is why we have insurance.

Later,
Victoria

Tullos Crew through the years...memories...

So because it is still the holiday season and I can't stop being thankful for the family the Lord has blessed me with, I thought I would walk down Memory Lane and look at our Christmas family pictures through the years.  Actually, I have a new external hard drive that I have been busy putting all my pictures on that have been stored all over my stinking house in every form possible.  The cool thing about compiling all my pictures together is I get to look at all the pictures of my boys taken during the last 8 years.

As you will see below, I started 8 years ago with Lonnie, baby Kason and myself all wearing the same color for our picture.  So each year after I kinda stuck with that idea and coordinated us somehow.  For those who know me well you are saying, of course you did!  That's so Victoria of you!  Truth be told, I grew up in a broken family and I never experienced things like family pictures for yearly traditions with my parents.  So my poor husband and kids get a big spoonful of my yearning for family and traditions.  They humor me well and go along with my antics.  I love those guys!! :-)

So as I have previously posted, here is the 2010 picture.  I did not put us in matching colors (after therapy) but I just had to at least have a theme. (baby steps) The boys asked for this theme so I went along with it.  We are a walking advertisement for under armor.

This is the 2009 picture.  Though Lonnie and I are in the same color, if you look closely, the boys have different color shirts (under their matching pull-overs...) Again, baby steps.

Here is 2008.  Yes, all matching.  I was unwilling to go to therapy at this point.  Marshall the dalmatian was not in the 2008 picture and we got lots of grief, so he showed back up for 2009 & 2010. What you would probably never notice (but drives me nuts) is that "Daddy" got the boys dressed that year and accidentally switched the shirts on Kason & Gannon.  I know...OCD...I know

Here is 2007.  This was my formal stage and I begged Lonnie to wear a tie.  (poor man) Marshall the dalmatian made his grand entrance into the family that year.  I was feeling green that year. um...the boys will not be fond of this one when they are in High School I'm sure.  Sorry boys, humor me....you know I love you!...

2006 was  our first year in our current house next to the lake.  I recall this being an extraordinarily difficult year to get those boys to cooperate.  And have you noticed that when my green eyed hubby gets outside without sunglasses he turns into an Asian man.

2005 was our last year in our old house.  Baron was only 6 weeks old in this picture and he was not in the mood AT ALL.  You can't really tell, but Baron was screaming his head off during this picture so we photo shopped his head from another picture.  I swore I would never tell but that story is just too funny to keep to ourselves.

This is the 2004 picture.  Now THAT was a crazy year with two little guys ages 1 and 2.  wow...gotta love my hair in this one!

2003 was pretty funny.  Gannon was like 2 weeks old, Kason was 1 year old and I was huge and PALE!  But my boys looked so cute!  Remind me not to wear white again when I have avoided sunlight for 2 years!

2002 was our 1st family picture. Kason was 4 months old and so stinking cute!  I however was wearing an awesome pair of high waisted jeans and my face was...lets just say..."fluffy".  Lonnie is Asian again.  memories...



I hardly remember what it was like to have just one baby.  I'm sure we were fussing about how hard and busy it was...oh silly rookie parents!  We had NO CLUE at that point what craziness lay ahead.  Ignorance was bliss!

Hope you enjoyed that little trip.