Final Day of Football Camp

Today was the final day of football camp! The boys were super excited to show off all they had learned and to compete against all of the other camp goers! Greg even came to see the excitement. We had high hopes for them but knew they wouldn't be breaking any records. : ) They did just as well as about every other kid except for "those" kids. You know, the ones whose parents probably have them watching old football movies and plays from well known games all day long. When they aren't doing that, they are attending private lessons on how to grip a football, catch a football, kick a football, tuck a football, love a football and maybe even sleep with a football! Anyways, not my kids, we go to camp and then go home and well....watch cartoons! That's just how we roll! So, the final day of camp ended and the boys lined up to receive their shirts. I was hoping the boys' shirts would read "I survived Bixby Football Camp!" but they just said "Bixby Spartan Football" which was great too! However, we did decide we would sign them up for football this Fall and I started my research as soon as we got home. Let me just start by saying, "Are you freakin' kidding me?" It costs $150.00 per player just to play. Then, we have to purchase pads, shoes, helmet, chin strap, blah blah blah! Then, there is a draft, which takes me back to my school days. Remember being the last kid to be picked? Well, I do! I sure hope Jackson and Jagger would not be the last kids to be picked but it is their first year and they don't even know what a quarterback is! Oh, and it says they could practice up to four times a week and 2 hours per practice! Is this the NFL?!?! Well, I am really gonna have to pray about this! I have 5 kids and only 1 me.....

Football Camp - Day 3

Day 3 of football camp came with rain but we loaded up anyways because I knew we would still be practicing. On the way there, Jackson informed myself and Jagger that they do not make little kids play in the rain so he was sure we would be in the gym. I tried to tell him otherwise. I knew for sure they would be out there if it wasn't lightning. We unloaded and I thanked God it wasn't blistering hot like the day before while Jackson looked for the gym. We headed to the field and to Jackson's amazement the coaches began yelling, "Get on the goal line!" He looked at me and said, "We are really going to practice outside in this!?" Before I could say more, the coaches told the boys to get out there and reminded them they weren't sissies! So, day 3 came and went without a hitch. The kids practiced hard and actually said they enjoyed playing in the rain!

Football Camp-Day 2

Well, we showed up to day 2 of football camp with not near as much excitement and definitely no "Cool Mom" chant! However, we unloaded and I quickly reminded them I was staying and would have my eyes on them the entire time. There are 6 different stations the kids go to for about 15 minutes each. It started off well except for Jackson limping and grabbing at his leg which he has informed me several times is missing a bone. Right?! That's Jackson...dramatic! I quickly gave him the "I'm watching you" double eye point motion and look. He picked it up! Things were going great! I followed them on the sidelines to each station with the coaches all looking at me like I was a "helicopter" parent but not really in a bad way. While the other mom's were talking, I was pacing back and forth, hollering "Get with it!" "Pay attention!" "Hustle!" The third station ended and it was time for a 10 minute water break. Here come all the kids and the crowd clears and Jagger is holding his hand and bawling! "I got stung by a bee!" Oh good gravy! That would happen to my kid! However, I was secretly thanking God it wasn't Jackson because we would have already called 911, had an ambulance toting him off with him assuring us he would never use his hand again! All the moms looked at me like well, what are you gonna do?! So, I looked at it, kissed it, nudged him back onto the field and said, "Go baby go! Oh, and if you have trouble breathing, let me know!" I'm sure the other moms thought I was insane but who cares right?! They wanted this and I paid for it so they're gonna do every minute of it! So, Jagger did get over it and day 2 of camp went on and ended with Jagger still breathing and Jackson panting. The boys were super proud of themselves and of course I was too! I sang them a few lines of "What a Mighty Good Man?!" and did a few dances on the way to the car. They then informed me they were ready for the "real thing" and I said "Let's just get through camp!"

Football Camp-Day 1

A month before school ended, the boys excitedly ran in with football camp sign-up forms. Just like every other activity form, I threw it to the side and said those famous words, "I'll think about it...." Almost every other day, the boys would ask, "Did you sign us up?" With all that excitement from them, you would think I would sign them up, right?! WRONG! You see, we have done this before! First, it was Soccer. Jackson showed more interest in butterflies than the ball. Second, it was Karate. Jackson and Jagger were sure they were ninjas so we thought it would be perfect. However, after the first couple of bows, they were done! We ended up dragging them there each week and promising them that we were going to finish after paying that much! Third, it was Basketball. They did pretty well but we still were the parents on the sidelines yelling at them to get their head in the game and out of the clouds! Yes, we are those kind of parents! So, after those attempts, we decided to wait on sports for a bit. However, after being repeatedly bothered about football, I decided we would start with a 4 day camp. So, I have been working them up for about 2 weeks now and today was day 1. I have to tell you that I absolutely love sports! I have dreamed for years of being the sports mom driving the minivan full of kids toting water bottles to all of their sports practices and games. So, today arrived and I think I was as excited as them. We arrived at the high school football stadium. I watched Jackson and Jagger's facial expressions in the rearview mirror turn to excitement as they exclaimed, "We get to play here?!?!" I said yes and then made them do a little chant about me being the coolest mom ever! We unloaded from my "minivan" and within seconds of walking up to the field, the boys were loudly prompted to hit the line and get ready to run. Jackson says, "oh boy, I can tell I'm gonna be tired after this!" I inwardly smiled, knowing they were in for a shock, very shortly! It wasn't long before I heard the coaches yelling those same old sayings..."I ain't your momma!" "We ain't here to look pretty!" "What are you....girls?!" I loved it! However, you could tell Jackson and Jagger didn't love it so much! I told them I would be back in an hour and a half and left.... I return to see boys running plays, throwing passes and tucking and running. I was impressed until the crowd cleared and I saw Jackson walking between plays and acting more like a football manager than a player. I was thinking what's wrong with you? Get with it Jackson! Put some pep in your step! Jagger was in it and working hard! The coaches are yelling at Jackson, "Hustle!" He was just walking like he couldn't even hear them. All I could think of was back in my junior high and high school days of sports and band activities. If the coach or director yelled at you, you had better move and follow it with yes sir or ma'am. If you didn't, you ran sprints and your parents would take care of it at home as well! I could feel my blood boiling from the sidelines watching the total lack of respect along with laziness. Day 1 of camp ended and of course the tongue lashing began and was met with every excuse in the world. I told them about the "old" days and what I expected which was met with eye rolls. I eventually got commitments of respect and hard work for day 2 but I will be staying to ensure it occurs. Start praying now, I will update tomorrow...