Loss

3 Years, 27 Weeks.


I admit it.

I was a bit down earlier in the week; the Denver Broncos suffered our first loss of the season.

And to none other than Peyton Manning's former team, the Indianapolis Colts.

The hype of this matchup made this the must-see game of the week, Peyton returning back to play the team he helped build over his first 14 years in the league.  There was controversy over his return as well, primarily because Colt's owner Jim Irsay made some insensitive comments regarding the fact that although Manning took the Colts to the playoffs 7 times, there was only 1 Superbowl ring to his name.  Of course, after the firestorm of backlash from both media and players/coaches alike, he rescinded, stating that the comment was taken out of context.  Of course it was.  It was fuel to light up any team, but especially one that felt they now had to defend their leader.

Peyton was welcomed back to Lucas Oil Stadium to cheers and applause from his former fans; he was given a video tribute just before the game started.  Alas, we proved that the only way for a team to beat us was for us to beat ourselves:  we turned the ball over 4 times and had a difficult time protecting Manning from the Colts' pass rush, they sacking Peyton 4 times.  There was a moment when a comeback seemed likely, but that quickly disappeared when we fumbled at the 2 yard line.  Seriously guys?

So an undefeated season we have no longer.  But in the words of Papa Dave:  "Better now than in the playoffs."

I couldn't agree more!

Acknowledging his former fans.  It was a very nice gesture.

Here was our week:

• Sabbath we went to church and met up with Lolo and Lala there, who had come up to spend the weekend with us.  We hadn't seen them in a month and a half, as they had just returned from a whirlwind 4 week vacation up the New England coast and Nova Scotia.  The kids were happy to see them again, and eat up all the honey crisp apples they had brought back from their trip!  We had lunch back home and then Tangie and I took the kids out for a walk/bike ride while the grandparents snoozed.  Later that evening they took the kids while the Mrs. and I had a date night, starting with some kids' clothes shopping at a consignment event and then dinner at The Cheesecake Factory.

Braelyn at Sabbath School.

Wearing different animal masks to indicate uniqueness.

Cuddling with Lala.

Brae working the mixer, helping Mommy make pumpkin cookies.

My hot date!

• Sunday Tangie went to work early, as they are still trying to complete this monster of an audit.  They would continue working through the early morning hours throughout this entire week.  Meanwhile, laundry was the chore of the day as I took the kids out to run some errands, Lala accompanying us. There was an incident that happened in Lowe's, where Maddy was riding one of the John Deere lawnmowers and proceeded to go to the bathroom in her jeans, leaving the seat and blade cover soaked.  So yeah, that was fun. The grandparents left after lunch, with Tangie coming back home around 4.  I took Kohl to get his haircut before settling down for the big game, the result not what I was expecting to be that entire day.

LOVING her new dollhouse we scored at the consignment event the night previous.

Enjoying a homemade frozen yogurt banana split!

Boys afternoon out to...

get himself a haircut!

Final shampoo and rinse.

Ta-da!

• On Tuesday the kids all had their dentist appointment in the morning.  The girls were both very brave but Kohl wasn't so sure and cried just as they were all entering the patient areas.  So Tangie had to go in with him and they brought him to a "special" room, where they could close the door just in case it came to screaming, which it did not, fortunately.  In the end they all did very good and were excited when they received their new toothbrush kit, complete with toothpaste, stickers, and floss.  Tangie would head out to work afterwards, dropping Brae en route.

The girls in the fun room.

They have TVs in the ceiling so they can keep the kids' attention, while the dental assistant works on Maddy.

Kohl getting his teeth cleaned,

and getting them x-rayed.  

Showing their new toothbrush kits!

• The rest of our week:

Maddy takes a selfie.

Cheese!

We went to the Science Center after picking Brae up on Tuesday.

They have a new Sesame Street exhibit on the human body.

She said she was comfortable there.

Wearing her ballerina skirt.

An evening trip to the playground after dinner on Wednesday.

Heading to pick up sister from school.

Hugs with a friend during gymnastics.

I'm going to take this opportunity to jot down some individual points on each kid while I remember it:

• Braelyn

          She's doing very well at school, her favorite subjects are PE and Art.  She is 

          excelling in reading  and phonics, and continues to impress us with her tenacity 

          in remembering her memory verses.  I would say that math would be the subject 

          she needs improvement on the most.  This past week we found out that she was 

          the 1st grade spelling bee champion, as well as getting the news that she had
          made the gymnastics team!  She was so excited!

          On personal development she can have some strong mood swings, depending on 

          the situation.  She can be strong-willed at times, especially when she doesn't get 

          what she wants.  She can be exacting on her siblings, yet shows tenderness when 

          she wants to be included.  She has already begun the stage where she doesn't 

          want them going into her room, getting into her things, etc etc.

Already learning to sauté onions and garlic!

• Kohlden

          Is very active and energetic.  Loves to pick on his twin sister.  Definitely is a boy 

          and loves to run and ride his balance bike, play with his tool set, but can be 

          known to play dolls with Madelyn.  He loves books and being read to; his 

          favorite show is Super Why on PBS Kids.  He is still somewhat of a messy eater, 

          although you can almost always count on him to finish his food and clean his 

          plate, especially if dessert is promised.  

         On personal development he is still a bit reserved and shy; he won't ever go up in 

         front of people, even if coerced.  He is definitely a mama's boy, and loves to 

         cling on to Tangie if he is in an unfamiliar place or situation.  He also seems to 

         think he can't do things by himself, even though he can, and always pleas for help.          He whines a lot.  And recently I've noticed him doing some excessive blinking 

         with both eyes, which upon research online came up as a transient tic, common in 

         boys his age.  It means his brain is developing and all his neurons and synapses 

         are firing away, causing the eyes to blink.  Something that will disappear over 

         time, but something that we will keep an eye on as well.

Mr. Poser.

• Madelyn:

          Still sweet and innocent looking, don't get on her bad side or feel her wrath; I've 

          caught her retaliate with a foot or nearby toy.  She also loves to pick on her twin 

          brother.  She loves to ride her balance bike and seems to be the one picking it up 

          faster than her two siblings.  She loves playing with dolls or electronic 

          devices/iPhones and could care less about what the other two are watching on 

          TV.  She goes by the beat of her own drum.  She can be affectionate and loves to 

          cuddle.

          On personal development she picks things up a lot quicker.  She is able to go to 

          the bathroom all by herself now (most of the time) and can change her clothes 

          and put on her shoes, something her brother still refuses to do by himself.  She 

          is, however, slow on other things, taking her sweet time.  It usually takes her an 

          hour to eat her meal, most of the time with me reminding her to chew or 

          threatening to take her plate away.  She seems to space out and forget the task at 

          hand.  We're gonna have to work on this as well.

Diva on a bike!

Food:  Enjoying our new Vitamix!

Roasted Pumpkin Sage soup.

Asparagus and Spinach soup.

Randoms:

Waking up to find butterflies emerged from their casings:  Priceless!

Never thought of having a wedding on the dock, but there you go.

At least they were on sale.

Indecent pumpkin exposure.

Quotes

• The kids were just finishing up their dinner and awaiting their dessert.  Braelyn had brought out some sprinkles to put on the whipped topping and told Kohlden to decide on which of the varieties he wanted.  He looked at his choices carefully then said, "A lot of them!"

• I was preparing supper Friday evening when the home phone rang.  Caller ID said it was a local cell phone, although I didn't recognize the number:

          Me:  "Hello?"

          Man:  "Graham?"

          Me:  "Yep?"

          Man:  "Hey, what's going on?  I thought you were going to meet me."

          Me:  "Who's this?"

          Man:  "It's me, Greg."

          Me:  "Oh, hey Greg.  What's up?"

          Greg:  "Are you on your way?"

          Me:  "I'm sorry, who are you looking for?"

          Greg:  "Graham.  Who is this?"

          Me:  "Brad."

          Greg:  "Oh, sorry Brad.  Are you at Graham's house?"

          Me:  "No, I'm at my house."

          Greg:  "So where is Graham?"

          Me:  "I don't know.  Why don't you call him?"

          Greg:  "I thought I did.  Wait, are you in Ocoee?"

          Me:  "Yes."

          Greg:  "Is this [gives street address]?"

          Me:  "No, it's not."

          Greg:  "Oh, okay, sorry.  I'm so confused..."

          Me:  "It was nice chatting with you, Greg."  [click]

          Oh my word!

          

Have a great weekend!