Ballard Bunch

New Year's Day was a big day for our family. TCU played in the Rose Bowl against Wisconsin. Wisconsin had ended the season one of the hottest football teams in the country and everyone was anxious to see their offense versus our defense. The Rose Bowl is a big deal- one of the oldest bowls, played in the largest stadium. It is considered "The Grandaddy of all Bowl Games". Jason got a TCU Rose Bowl banner from the kids for Christmas and we got it hung just in time. I made the kids climb on the ledge of the deck to get their picture under the banner. The wind died down just as I got them in place, so it turned out perfect! We were all purpled up! Lucy did one of her TCU tattoos, and Walker put on his TCU eye black stickers. Lucy painted my nails, alternating purple and white. We were ready! A New Year's Toast, before the game Way to go, Horned Frogs!!

The kids were so excited to go to the game. We went early so the kids could do some of the activities at Frog Alley, and that was great! They had the whole baseball team there to sign a poster and Matt Purke, the star pitcher, was nice enough to take a pic! Walker has his poster by his bed and is excited for baseball season now :) After face painting During the game The last game of the season and a few weeks before the implosion. We were sitting on the side that they imploded in December Great Christmas card idea that went wrong :( We wanted to get our Christmas card picture with the soon-to-be imploded side of Amon Carter in the background. Love the idea! However, nothing went right that evening. By the time we got to the stadium, it was starting to get dark. Here is a great picture of the fam- but not a great picture of Amon Carter :( I tried to "adjust" it a bit... Umm, still not "Christmas card worthy" OH, WELL

My stepdad, sister, Jason and I were lucky to go the first TCU game of the season- at the new Cowboys Stadium!! They played Oregon State, a ranked team, so it was a big game for us! We beat the Beavers and had a great time, even with the Oregon State fas sitting right in front of us!! Thanks so much, Poppa-I'm so glad we got to see JerryWorld and see TCU play. The boys just happened to come away with a souvenier! Those signs were magnetic and on the front of the concession stands. Yeah, that's right- we took 'em! And now it's in Walker's room!!!!

Well, we had our first sports injury. Walker broke his arm last week at football practice. I still can't believe it happened!! I never broke anything (technically, I broke my nose in high school playing basketball, but it wasn't really that big of a deal), and hoped we wouldn't have to deal with anything of this magnitude this early in the kids' lives. He was so brave at football that it took us a good 10 minutes to figure out his arm was seriously hurt and we needed to get it checked out. I will never forget when we took his jersey off and had to lift his arm- he screamed bloody murder and unfortunately, I cannot get that memory out of my head. We went to Cook's ER that night, and they got us looked at immediately. They gave him a sling and about 3 teaspoons of Motrin. At Cook's After x-rays, they said it was definitely broken, and sent us home with a soft cast. I called the orthopedic office the next day, and they told us to come right in, that the doctor want...

The fall has turned into quite a busy time of year for our little family. This fall was no different! Birthdays, bonfires and getting ready for the holidays- I LOVE FALL!!!!! Long sleeve T's, orange, brown, chili, chicken pot pie- just a few of my favorite things. OCTOBER Lucy girl turned 4!! Her birthday meal choices were pancakes, pizza and pancakes. The girl loves her some breakfast for dinner. She really loved the card her brother made for her (still taped up in her room) and her skinny jeans and fringe boots from Jojo. Halloween '09 Woody and Rosetta I love this pic!!! My sisters took the kids to the park and they were talking about exploring. My kids posed and luckily, my sisters got a great picture. This picture is awful quality- but I love it dearly. Jason went to California for a week in October. He never travels for his job, so it was really weird. I actually joined him out there for the weekend and then flew back. He was gone 8 days, and the kids were going crazy mis...

November was packed full of fun and family for the Ballards!! We went to the TCU v Utah game. It was the kids' first TCU football game- and I got no pictures! Wow- really nice job, Kristen. Good stuff. They actually had a lot of fun on the day we went to pick up the tickets. We went a few days before the game to get our tickets, and I took the kids around to see the stadium and the basketball arena, as well. We were probably walking around for an hour looking at everything. At the football stadium The Frogs awesome uniforms designed by Nike for that game An aerial shot of the stadium from the game that night. It was the largest crowd ever that night! Lucy is back in gymnastics and SO excited! She is in a longer class, and they are really teaching them alot of techniques as well as the "real" words for the motions and steps they are learning. Just a few pics of my sweet kiddos. Cuddling up in mama and daddy's bed Watching TV on the couch with their new ABC blanket that...

I LOVE fall and that is well documented on this blog. I've started putting together a blog book a year at a time. I started 2 years ago this month, so my first book is Sept. 2007 thru 2008. Then, at the end of this year, I will do a blog book of 2009. Anyway, I talk a lot about how much I love fall. Football is a big reason why! My mom's family, the Shaws, and our family, the Ballards, decided to do a fantasy football league this year. I am so looking forward to this- I think it will be so fun! My team is called Mama's Boys - I know, so cute. We did our draft online, but we did it together at Gran's house. We each had our own laptop or computer, Mom made a great spread- it was a fun night and I have a GREAT team!! YUM-O!! Getting ready to DRAFT! We have been so lucky to get to attend several ranger games this season. The kids (and I) have gotten SO into baseball and the Rangers, and that is something that is NOT well documented on this blog. I have never been a baseball...