Too Much Too Soon

So on Monday (which was the day after HALLOWEEN!) they came and put this Christmas tree up in the lobby of my office building.  Seriously?  November 1st?  Later that evening I was driving down Shelbyville Road and noticed that Von Maur had their Christmas lights up (maybe they stay up all year long, I'm not sure, but now they are LIT).  I can't believe how early people are trying to celebrate Christmas, and what I really don't understand is why.  I have to be honest and admit that Christmas is not my favorite time of year.  I get really anxious and stressed and by the end of the season I'm physically, mentally and emotionally drained.  To try to combat this annual let down, my sister and I decided to tackle a good deal of the holiday preparations (mainly gift buying!) early this year.  We plan to spend all day Saturday Christmas shopping with the hope of actually enjoying the experience because we are beating the crowds... and then we'll have the entire month of December free to spend with friends and family.  But then this tree showed up.  And Von Maur's lights came on. And now I don't feel so on the ball.  I feel behind, I feel stressed, I feel anxious!  Maybe if everyone else is pushing Christmas so soon, Starbucks will start offering their seasonal Gingerbread Latte soon too.  That would make me feel a lot better.  

Trick or Treat!

 

We had another fantastic Halloween this year, with some new little goblins on the scene!  Our family tradition is to host Halloween at our house...of all our brothers and sisters, we are the only ones in a neighborhood so it has always made sense to trick or treat in Hurstbourne.  The kids are getting older which has made me a bit sad that we may be in the sunset of our trick or treating days, but with the addition of new cousins and friends over the last few years, the spirit of Halloween continues to thrive!  My sister and brother-in-law's sweet grand-pumpkins came by (Reese as a fairy and Maverick as a dinosaur), and my friend Katie brought her little Sophie (who ended up being Sarah's shadow since they were both witches).  The little ones being there, along with all our parents, made the night fun and the kids had a great time trick or treating and hanging out.

Our fabulous five cousins - Bruce (Avatar), Claire (Taco), Sarah (Elphaba), Sydney (The Great Pumpkin) and John (Giant Baby)


 Sarah and Sophie

 Sarah and me as Elphaba and Glinda from Wicked

The Young Family of Jack-O-Lanterns



Joe and Dino Maverick

Joe Jr. and Fairy Reese

Shannon and Dino Maverick



The Boys of Fall

Last night was John's football banquet, and the evening was a celebration of a fantastic inaugural season.  This was Christian Academy's first year to ever have a 3rd and 4th grade tackle football team, and tonight was a culmination of the efforts of a countless number of parents and volunteers (including my wonderful husband, and John's awesome dad, Lawrence).  There were many months of planning, hard (and sweltering!) practices, injuries, tears and frustration, but along with these moments there were also victories, laughter, cheering, and the simple and timeless thrill of watching boys play football.  I loved watching both my guys on the field...one coaching and one learning to love the game of football as much as his dad.

Fall Break

Sarah's and John's fall break was a few weeks ago and we were blessed with a fabulous autumn weekend.  On Friday afternoon we kicked off the break with a trip up to Huber's Farm to pick some pumpkins to carve for Halloween.  On Saturday we headed to Nolin...fall has turned out to be one of our favorite times to go to the lake. After relaxing at the house for a while we headed to Bowling Green (just 30 minutes away!) for the WKU football game.  It was so great to be back on campus!  The campus looked beautiful and we had a fun night (even though the Toppers lost).  On Sunday we spent the day hiking in the woods and jet skiing on an almost empty lake.  After pulling out the boats and jet skis on Monday we reluctantly headed home.  I love, love, love fall and am grateful to have had such a perfect long weekend.

Well Hello There!

Welcome to my blog!  I am so excited to start documenting the day-to-day happenings of the Young Family.  I fear my posts will make our lives appear much nicer and neater than they actually are, but I'll do my best to record the good, the bad and the ugly (of course I won't include any ugly pictures of myself!).  Thanks to my friend Katie for getting me started - this should be fun!