Taking Time To Stop And Smell The Flowers

I can't believe it's November already! It seems like this year has absolutely flown by. We closed out the football season with a big win last Saturday and Coach is already on the road recruiting. We were disappointed that we didn't make the playoffs this year, but we had a young team that was plagued with injuries, illness and some bad decisions. It's frustrating that these young players don't yet understand that their actions not only affect them, but greatly impact my family as well. Sometimes I just want to shake them and tell them to grow up, but I guess that's what they're in the process of doing. It's just hard to stand by and watch sometimes.

On a completely unrelated note, the weather has been FABULOUS lately! After school yesterday, the kids and I decided to go out to the beautiful East Texas Arboretum. It's such a great place to spend a few hours. The kids really enjoy walking the trails, "accidentally" getting their feet wet in the creek and playing around the old red schoolhouse and in the Three Bears playhouse. I love looking at all the beautiful flowers and plants, and taking pics of the kids having fun.

While we were exploring some trails yesterday, we came across all kinds of scarecrows in the woods. Different schools and businesses had decorated them and placed them along the trail. It was neat until the sun started to go down, then we realized we were the only ones still at the Arboretum and we had walked a long way from the car. The Scarecrow Trail started to seem kind of dark and eerie! We decided it was time to get out of there and we all took off running! Once out of the woods,  we discoved the sun setting on all the beautiful flowers and there were butterflies everywhere! It was so cool.

The Arboretum is such a treasure in our little town. It's very well kept by a handful of volunteers and there's always something new to discover. It's a peaceful place for a relaxing afternoon with the family and a beautiful setting for weddings and festivals. They also host a fabulous Eco Camp for kids every Summer and it's one of my favorite places to take clients for photo sessions. It's one of the things I really love about our little town.

~Gridiron Girl