FBG #4

This weekend Malone played Tiffin at home.

The kids and I enjoyed the tailgate before the game. Nora has made friends with one of the parents and she gave her some sparkly hand sanitizer. Lets just say everyone at the tailgate had very clean hands. And Sawyer made sure everyone had a Spiderman sticker!

As we made our way to the stadium we noticed a big change…the visitor stands had been torn down. The football hall of fame is undergoing lots of renovations as they turn it into a HOF village. These renovations include a new stadium. It was kind of fun to have a view of the whole city. In fact you could see Malone's campus from the stands!

The game itself was quite exciting, dare I say heart pounding. Tiffin had a great offense, but the defense did well keeping them under control and Malone's offense kept racking up points. It was a back and forth game. At halftime the Pioneers were ahead 14-9. In the final seconds of the game Malone scored a field goal to tie the game (24-24) and send it to overtime.

the game was during Kolter's nap time…he may have been a bit tired

Tiffin had the ball first in overtime starting at the 25 yard line. The Malone defense held tight and didn't allow a 1st down, but Tiffin opted for a field goal and scored. Then the Malone offense took the field. They advanced a few yards, but were unable to score. Thus the nail-biting game ended with Tiffin winning 24-27.

I'm mean really…he couldn't possibly get any more adorable!

It was certainly a heartbreaker! But on the positive side Tiffin was a tough team and the Pioneers played them really well!

our 1st family picture of the football season…actually our 1st family picture since Easter

some snuggles to make daddy feel better

he always perks up when he sees a ball

A Girl & her doll

I had a little leftover fabric after making a skirt for Nora so I decided to surprise her with a matching dress for her doll. I patterned it after an American Girl doll in case she is ever interested in the future. But for now it resides on her baby doll.

she loved it!

Doors, Driveway & More

This summer we tackled some outdoor projects. I've mentioned the biggest project, the bottom part of the driveway in this post. To finish the driveway Kyle resurfaced the asphalt on the top portion. Kyle also replaced the storm door that was old, not aesthetically pleasing and broken. My contribution was re-painting the front door. I also painted a new door for the back door in the garage as the old one was literally falling apart (sorry no picture of that exciting project ;)

Anyway here's a few before and afters of our summer projects:

screen door before

Before: old faded brown screen door After: full view storm door in black to accent the shutters

The asphalt part of the driveway complete with lots of cracks

Before the resurfacing we did some power washing…I wanted to power wash all the things. So rewarding! This is the front walkway!

Here's an after of the resurfaced driveway and the concrete portion at the bottom. Such an improvement! Not the most glamorous project, but it does make a big impact.

And just for fun here's a before and after from the 1st day we took possession of the house (5 1/2 years ago to today):

Before:

After:

Another before:

And after:

I love the way it looks now…lets see if I can cover all the changes…new windows, new shutters, large tree removal, planted smaller tree, new garage door, resurfaced driveway, concrete driveway, removed overgrown bushes, new landscaping, mulch, new screen door, rebuilt chimney

The only thing that is not an improvement is the grass situation. Our grass right now is brown because of the lack of rain. In our 5 years in OH we've never had brown grass because it rains all the time. No one even owns sprinklers. So this is very unusual, hopefully it greens up again soon. Kyle is actually enjoying the lack of rain because it means he doesn't have to mow during football season ;)

FBG 2 & 3

The past 2 weeks Malone has played in Michigan. Both games were pretty exciting…

Week 2 the Pioneers took on Michigan Tech, which is in the Upper Penninsula of MI. The team left Thursday morning and returned at 6 am on Sunday morning. Kyle was a bit tired at church that day ;)
The game itself was very exciting! MI Tech was ranked #22 in the nation and the Pioneers gave them a run for their money. The lead went back and forth, but in the end Malone lost by 1 point (27-28). The team played very hard and everyone was encouraged by the effort.

Week 3 Malone traveled to Wayne State. The 1st quarter wasn't difficult, but the 2nd quarter the Pioneers pulled it together and scored 21 straight points (the defense held well) to take the lead. They went into half-time tied 21-21. We were all very excited, but the second half was basically a disaster and Malone fell 21-55.

We didn't travel for either game. Week 2 the kids napped while I listened to the game online. I also learned something new…in all my years as a coaches wife I've never worked out during a game. Well, I decided to try it and I have to say it was exhilarating! You have extra adrenaline and energy from the game so you feel superhuman while you're working out. I highly recommend it ;) After the game and the kids woke up we went to the head coaches house for dinner with the other wives and kids. It's always fun to have a distraction and to commiserate.

This is what Kolter did for Game 3…sat on the counter or table and ate the scraps…lets just say it was the safer option…his 1st attempt to entertain himself involved climbing on top of my desk, retrieving the scissors and rotary cutter then beating them on my computer

Week 3 was a night game so I invited all the wives and kids to our house. The wives watched/listened to the game while the kids ate and played. The game didn't end well, but it's always nice to have some company when you're all alone on a Saturday night.

4 according to Nora

This is Nora's annual birthday interview. We all love looking back at past years videos. I think it will be so fun to compile them all when they are 18!



My phone ran out of storage at the end of this video. So the 1 question that was omitted was…What do you want to be when you grow up? Nora's response: princess Elsa ;)

Baby Bed Birthday

For Nora's birthday present we restored Mema's baby bed. I've been on the look out for a baby bed for Nora, so when my MIL asked me if Nora would like her baby bed I jumped at the chance.

It was a little rough looking after years in storage and I'm sure it was covered in lead based paint ;) But it was still quite solid with the straight lines I love!

the baby bed before

the finished product

I sanded it down and spray painted the bed white. The pink cover with blue embroidery is the vintage cover my MIL used when she was a child!

I also made a new mattress and pillow to ensure the dolls comfort ;) Nora, unbeknownst to her, picked the mattress fabric (which I adore). And the pillow is made from a scrap of fabric from Kyle's grandmother's stash.

Nora adores her bed! And Jessie has taken up residence most of the time!

#2 & #3

#2 & #3

These 2 have a complicated relationship. She likes to be a mini-mama. He likes to be independent. She's not very gentle. He doesn't follow direction (at least hers) very well.

But now that they are the only two at home in the mornings their relationship is growing. They like to play tag together. Nora likes to "read" books and Kolter likes to be read too. Sometimes he wants help and Nora's always up for helping.

I love to see their relationship grow!

These pictures were taken after Nora's 1st day of school "photo shoot." When Nora was done Kolter went and stood in her spot because he wanted his picture taken too. He is a bit of a ham!