Fresno State Football

Jackson got to go to his first Fresno State Football game this year. My company puts on a HUGE tailgate and we got free tickets from work. Jackson was so excited. I took him that day to the Bulldog Shop and he got some Bulldog gear. I got him a hat at my radio station office. He just couldn't wait.

We parked in the White lot right near our tailgate and met up with our friends at the ESPN Game Day tailgate. Jackson was too excited to eat...so he played football with the kids. He felt pretty special because my boss, Chris, saved us seats in the VIP section of the tailgate. We sat next to a guy who played baseball for Fresno State and had just been picked up by the New York Mets...Danny Muno. Jackson got his autograph on his hat.

We headed into the game just in time for kick off. Our friends, Drew and Tiff and their kids came and sat with us. Jackson had so much fun dancing and cheering with the kids. Oh my gosh. We were laughing so hard at all the dance moves these kids were doing.
Fresno State won! As crazy as that sounds (they didn't have a great season)...and Jackson was so happy. We went down near the locker room and waited for the players to come out after the game was over. Jackson got Pat Hill's autograph...We were sad to see him go! Jackson got Derek Carr's autograph and a lot of other players. All of the guys were so nice and thankful to Jackson for waiting.

Jackson had a blast...Seriously he almost cried leaving the game...He was so happy.

So grown up!

He is listening to his iPod. What? How did he get so big?

Fresno Grizzlies 2011

A few weeks ago we went to a Fresno Grizzlies game. We haven't been to one in a while so we were all excited to go. Since Jackson got so involved in baseball this year, he understood the sport better and really got into the game. He took his baseball glove in hopes of catching a foul ball. He didn't catch a foul ball, but a guy a couple rows ahead of us did...and he ended up tossing it back to Jackson.

Jackson was thrilled. So happy I thought he was going to cry. He asked to go to the gift shop to look around so we went down and I ended up letting him get the jersey. He wore it the rest of the night.

At the end of the game a few of the players were going down to the gate to give a short insirational story. Jackson and I headed there right away. I dug through my purse to find a pen and Jackson had his foul ball in hand. We wove our way through the crowd and stood right by the players. I told Jackson to "very nicely" ask for some autographs. He ended up with 3 autographs on his foul ball.

He was over the moon. What a night!

Another Baseball Blog Post...

Baseball has been our life lately...at least it seems that way the last 5-6 Saturdays. Right after Jackson's Angel League he started playing in another league on the Dodgers. He knew a few of the boys on his team, but he also got to meet a lot of neat boys on this team. We're hoping some of them keep in touch even after the season is over.

Today was Jackson's last day (he will be out of town for the last game next week). All the boys crowded around for a team picture and to tell him goodbye.

Jackson, Brayden & Darrell.

Team huddle...Up to bat...Making his way to second base.

Going out to first base...Making an awesome catch...Today we were so proud of Jackson. He got a little discouraged when he struck out, but he hung in there and ended up hitting a HOME RUN!!!!! WooHoo!

Lou and I met some great parents on this team. We are both a little sad to see it end...It's hot though! We'll be back next Spring for some more baseball fun!

Up next...Soccer! Soccer blog post coming this fall.

Happy Birthday...VIP Style

This year I was a little late planning Jackson's birthday party. We tried to have it at Bounce U this year, but I couldn't get it all coordinated in time. About a week and a half before his birthday, I went home feeling sad about not being able to make all the Bounce U details work. I sat down with Jackson and said, "Buddy, I am sorry I didn't start planning sooner. How about if we just have some kids over at our house? We can bring out the speakers and the microphone and you can plug in your iPod?" I was really trying to make it sound "cool." Jackson's reply..."Can we have a VIP area?"

WHAT? How does he know about VIP areas? We've never been anywhere VIP.

And that's how we came up with the VIP Party.

We created a VIP Lounge in our front room. Jackson and Lou put together a playlist of Jackson's favorite songs. We set up the microphone and roped off the section...for VIP's ONLY. It looks like Simon got in without a VIP pass.

We set up a chocolate fountain with a large variety of items to dip (or not). Cheese puffs, marshmellows, graham crackers, chips, gummy worms, oreos, etc.

Everybody loved it...including Uncle Bobby...I asked the boys to dip the craziest thing in the chocolate...chocolate covered Ruffles...Yuck!All the boys wanted to sit by Jackson...

Our friend Tiff made the cake! We loved it.Uh-oh! Is Grandma Bevy in the VIP section without a pass?

I'm sneaking in to get a drink...Present time...

Jonah had a fun time playing with the big boys...

It's time to play the Wii...VIP Style.
We love you Jackson! Happy Birthday.

Batter Up!

Well, I know I've already posted pictures from this season of baseball, but I just have so many good pictures...I can't stand to not post them. We are officially a baseball loving family.

He can really whack that ball!

Jackson has become quite a good first baseman. He loves being in all the action. He is a great team player, and is always encouraging his team mates.

Happy Easter

This is Jackson in 2007...

And this is Jackson this year....

We're still getting our hands dirty, but every year we get more and more creative with our egg decorating. This is Jackson's Clovis High Cougars Egg...Here are a few of the others that we colored. We had a sweet Easter this year. We got some time to color eggs and we had an egg hunt. It doesn't matter how old you get...hunting eggs is still fun.

We were looking for the old picture of Jackson from 2007...because we just love that picture and when we were looking through the old pictures, we found this cute video...

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Baseball season has officially started! Jackson is playing on the Angel's this year. His coach is a lot more "strict" than some of the coaches he's had in the past. In fact after the first few practices, Jackson was telling us how hard his practices were. We have already seen a big improvement in Jackson's baseball skills. He is a great team player...and we are so proud of him. Jackson played 3rd baseman yesterday for the entire game. He has no problem catching those balls and throwing them right to first base. He is very focused on what's going on and we had so much fun watching him play. Lou, is the "Team Dad" and he has the job of calling out the batting order and making sure the kids are ready to go up to bat. Here is Jackson at bat. He really did a great job. Running to 1st base... Running in to Home plate....Jackson scored a run for his team! WoooHooo! Happy and tired out from running those bases. Taking off his gloves and getting ready to go out field to his spot at 3rd base. Overall, he had a really good game. The weather was great! We don't know if anyone officially kept score, but they all did a good job and we had fun. We are excited for this season. It is always fun to see how well the team improves over the course of the sesaon. On the way home...We're tired and hungry.

Almost Exactly Alike

A couple days ago I got an invitation to a baby shower for our friend Leslie Blanchard. I taped the invitation to the back door so that I would be reminded of the upcoming shower each morning when I leave.

This morning while Jackson was waiting at the back door for me, he said, "I just can't believe that Drew and Leslie are having a baby."

When I asked him why he couldn't believe it he told me this (I'll try my best to remember word for word):

Well, then the Blanchards are going to be almost exactly like the Standifers. You know, both of the dads are teachers at Clovis High. Both of the "housewives" have other jobs and take care of all the bills and the check writing. And both families will have a son.

Almost exactly... *********************************************************************************** A while back Jackson was playing the Wii. He was playing WipeOut the video game and he said to Lou as he passed by:

Jackson: Dad, there is this character on here who is almost exactly like me EXCEPT that he is older and African American.

Lou: How is that alomst exactly like you, Jackson?

Jackson: Well, it says "Most likely to succeed" by this player, and that is like me...right?

Almost Exactly....

Update: Life in the Standifer Home

I don't have a good excuse for my lack of posts...I feel terrible for letting so much go by undocumented. I thought instead of try to post one post at a time and try to fill in what I haven't posted I would just do one big update.

Jackson is having a great year...He played indoor soccer this winter and really enjoyed it. We got into it too, and I know Lou was sad to see the league end. But baseball season has already started and Jackson has started practicing with his team, the Angels. I haven't made it to a practice yet, but Lou tells me that Jackson has already excelled at a few of the different positions.

Jackson is doing great in school. He has joined the chess club and has been recommened to participate in Exceptionally Capable Learners (ECL) program. This is basically the GATE program for 1st through 3rd grade students. (Brittany, doesn't this make you proud?). He stays after school on Thursday's for ECL and on Wednesday's for Chess club. Truthfully, he's one busy kid these days between those two things and his baseball. He is doing well though so we keep encouraging it.

Lou's speech and debate season is winding down. It usually does towards the spring. He is still coaching after school and he has a few tournaments coming up, but he has a lot fewer weekend commitments during this time of year. We are planning a yard sale in April to help his team raise money...We are asking the kids to bring in items to be sold at the yard sale and all proceeds will go to the team.

Lou is enjoying music again and singing for a new band, Soul Kitchen. I am feeling lucky because they practice in our home right now so I get to hear them each week. They are already so so good. I just can't wait for them to have their first gig.

Lou recently bought a recumbent bicycle and is slowing getting back on the bike after a long hiatis. I am proud of him for getting back into it...He loves being on the bike so much. His back has recovered slowly, but we say all he time how much better he's gotten. He really has.

I just finished my first year with Chris. Last March I started working for Chris as the controller for all three of his companies, 1430 ESPN Radio/790 ESPN the Deuce/HiS Magazine (that's really only one company), A Plus Signs, & Mega-Prints. It has been the busiest job I have ever had, but truthfully...I LOVE it! One day a week I am over at the station and the rest of the week I am in my office at the sign companies. I really like everyone that I work with...especially Chris and Stacy...they have a sweet family.

I am still doing a few sets of books on the side, but I am lucky that my schedule is flexible and I am able to find the time to juggle it all.

This probably belongs on my fertility blog, but I haven't kept that up either...I started seeing a grief counselor not too long ago and I can honestly say it is the best thing I have ever done. I won't get into all of the specifics (at least not here), but I feel so much happier than I have in a long time. I'll leave it at that.

One reason I have not blogged through the holidays is because, even though we have had some sweet, good things happen to us, we've also been dealing with some extremely sad news. My grandma was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in early December. As soon as she started treatment for it her health declined rapidly. Sadly, she passed away yesterday morning. I feel lucky that I have been so close to her, and that we had a sweet holiday season with her. Even though it was so difficult to see her in such pain, some of my most tender moments were shared with her during the last few months.

I'm moving slowly this morning. My heart hurts today, and truthfully, I'd love to crawl back into bed and sleep all day, but I know I need to get moving. On we go...

Gone Fishin'

This morning Jackson and Lou headed out to the lake for some fishing. They met Skip and Jack out there and the four of them spent the chilly morning down by the water.

Jackson had never been fishing before. Last night Lou took him shopping for his very own fishing pole and they sat at the kitchen table last night getting ready for their big morning. Lou doesn't fish too much, but he has a small tackle box so they had fun getting that ready.

Since Lou doesn't fish all that much, he doesn't have a fishing license. When we went to the store to get him a day license, Jackson told the lady at the counter that he needed one too. She smiled at him and said, "Well, you don't need one unless you're telling me you're sixteen." I quickly explained to Jackson that he could go without a license as long as he was with someone licensed. I didn't want him to think he couldn't go if he wasn't sixteen.
They left early...around 7:30 or so. And I don't think they came home until almost noon. Lou said Jackson didn't even want to leave when it was time to go home...

Sadly, they didn't catch a single fish...lots of bites, but they couldn't pull one in. That's perfectly fine with me...I didn't really want to eat trout for dinner.