IT’S GREAT TO BE A FLORIDA GATOR!

Maggie LOVES college football, specifically anything related to the SEC.  She lives, eats, sleeps, and breathes football during the season.  Her two favorite teams to root for are the University of Florida Gators and Auburn University out of Alabama.  When college football season starts you can find her planted in front of the TV, cheering, yelling, coaching, and more every Saturday.  She has introduced her brothers to the love of the game. She has rekindled the love of the game in her daddy (who NEVER watched football until she started him in on it again, SIGH!), and has even inspired some friends and family with her love of the game.

When Maggie turned 10, we took her to her first Gator game for her birthday gift.  She’s been itching to return to the Swamp and Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at UF ever since.  This year for her 14^th birthday she was given tickets to the game by some dear friends of ours.   To say that she was thrilled would be an understatement of monumental proportions.  I think she scared the cows with her shrieks of delight.  With her birthday money we HAD to go shopping to get new Gator gear, which I laughed at, she has a drawer full!  BUT, the bigger boys were slightly left out, they really wanted to go to a game and have fun with the Gator life.  It seemed as if this year was all about Maggie again, or so they thought.

Maggie opening her birthday gift!

We surprised Ethan and John Robert this past Thursday evening with the news that they would also be going to their first game at the Swamp.  While they wouldn’t be sitting with Maggie (she was with the family that got her the tickets), they would be on the 40 yard line in great seats.  Not quite the nose bleeds section, but high enough off the field to see everything.  The boys were thrilled.  This was their first ever live football game and they got to spend the day with their daddy!

My parents graciously let us borrow their car since it gets a lot better gas mileage than our truck and so that I would have a vehicle since I was staying home with the little boys.  The day started off with three excited kiddos, all dressed in various shades of orange and blue getting up to head to the Swamp early.  At 8:30, they were off for the 3 hour road trip, excited chatter filling the air as the adventure began.  The game, or so I was told, was awesome.  The Gators won something that the kiddos were all thankful for.  

Maggie was with her friends.

The boys hung out with daddy.

It was a GREAT game!

Even more than the Gators winning and making it into a bowl game which I’ve been told is a HUGE deal!  (HA!); my kiddos won!   They got to spend the day with their Dad making some amazing memories.  They got to see the game up close and in person.  They got to dance, stomp, cheer, yell, scream, and chat with all the other fans.  The kids got to make a sweet memory that will last for a lifetime.  As a mother, I can’t ask for more than that!

It’s with pride that I say: It’s Great To Be A Florida Gator!  It’s with even more pride that I say: It’s Great To Be Robert’s Wife and My Kiddos Mama!!!

ONION SOUP, PURE YUMMY FOR YOUR TUMMY!

It’s finally cool here in the Sunshine State.  We are at a high of 65 or so with a low in the 40’s tonight.  To say that I am excited is beyond an understatement.  After another scorching summer we are finally getting some cool weather.  The kiddos and I were talking and I realized it has been over 5 years since we had a good and cold winter.  Maybe this will be the year for it.  If so, I can promise you this yummy soup will be on the menu!!

This soup is simple, filling, full of awesome flavor, and worth the 2+ hour cooking time it takes to make this so worth the end results.  The steps are relatively simple and the  end result is a soup that has been kid tested and husband approved!  Add to that the fact that there is no meat and it’s a great budget friendly option as well!

First step in the process is to gather the necessary supplies.  All you need is onions, beef bouillon cubes, water, garlic, salt and pepper, a little flour, some heavy cream and your favorite cheese.  That’s it!  Now onto the process!

First bring your water to a boil with the bouillon cubes for 15 minutes.  Add the onion and the garlic simmering away for about 45 minutes.  Add the salt and pepper and simmer away for 30 more minutes.  

Next add the flour and water mixture, simmering for 30 more minutes.

Lastly add your cream and cheese.  I like to whisk until the cheese is really good and melted in.  Your done, now it's time to enjoy and serve some yummy soup.

Not only is this soup flavorful, but serving it with some bread (flakey bread as my kiddos call it), makes it a great meal or a starter course for a fancy dinner party.  Trust me, your family and guests will thank you!

Onion Soup

Ingredients

2 quarts water                           8 beef bouillon cubes

2 large onions sliced                  2 garlic cloves minced

1 TSP salt                                 1 TSP pepper

2/3 cup flour mixed with 1 ½ cups of water to form a paste

8 oz heavy cream                       8 oz cheese (I like cheddar)

In a large pot bring 2 qts. water to a rapid boil adding the beef bouillon cubes.  Boil for 15 minutes.  Add the onion and garlic to the pot and simmer for 45 minutes.  Next add the salt and the pepper and simmer for 30 minutes.  Mix the flour and water paste and add that to the pot and simmer for an additional 30 minutes.  Finally add the heavy cream and cheese.  Whisk until thoroughly melted and serve with your favorite bread or croutons.

THE BIRTHDAY FUN CONTINUES!

Our birthday celebrations for November continued.  We celebrated John Robert’s 11^th birthday with his requested meal after spending the day at Kissimmee State Park with friends.  Both of the bigger kiddos miss going into the woods since Uncle Bill passed away and we can’t go to the K Rocker anymore.  That’s why this year’s celebrations were so special for us.  Not only did we get to head to a beautiful Florida ranch, but we got to hang out in the woods too.

This year I also rubbed off on Daddy more, he HAD to give the birthday boy his gift early.  John Robert’s gift this year was totally Daddy’s doing and he was so excited he couldn’t wait!  The birthday boy has now been outfitted with his own tool belt and the start of a collection of tools.  I think that Robert had a twofold purpose with this gift.  First I think he was tired of John Robert using his tools.  Second and most of all, I think he wants to help start our children off with what they will need as they grow and prepare to leave our home.  No matter what his reasons behind it, Robert did all the shopping and planning for this year’s birthday gift.  Both Daddy and John Robert were thrilled with results.  AND, after only one weekend of tool ownership, some simple repairs have been completed by a very happy John Robert!



While this wasn’t the year of “BIG” parties and fan fare, it was still the time of year to celebrate the joy that is our big kiddos.  Now it’s time to plan for a very spectacular Mickey Mouse birthday for our soon to be 3 year old man!

FALL PUMPKIN FUN!

This year we are adding to our schooling adventures some.  I am trying to introduce a fun theme and unit for at least a week at a time.  This past week we did a fun fall unit on pumpkins.  All the kiddos had a good time, measuring, seeding, and enjoying the math and science experiments that came from playing with our pumpkins.

More than the fun we had playing with the pumpkins, I loved hearing the kiddos describe their day to Daddy.  Ethan talked about how he had to count the seeds (imagine that), but lost count at 40 million.  John Robert talked about trying to carve his pumpkin and have it fall apart.  Cole talked about his pumpkin splashing all over John Robert and getting him wet.  Maggie, who didn’t want to have anything to do with this, chatted about the fun she had helping Cole carve his pumpkin. 

For the study itself, I pieced together different unit ideas that you can check out off my Pintrest board.  Don’t forget to visit Teachers Pay Teachers and check out all their awesome resources.  All in all we had a lot of fun working with pumpkins and can’t wait to do it all again next year