weekend round-up: rugby domination!!

so as much as i may complain from time to time about jason playing rugby, deep down inside i think it's pretty awesome. i'm glad that he gets to play, i'm thankful for the friendships our family has made because of rugby, and i do like to brag about how awesome he is from time to time. and this season has been especially awesome. 

this weekend was the last home game of the spring season, which also happened to be the first round of playoff games. the stormers won, 86-7. yes, you read that right. they are undefeated this season and heading to naples, florida for the south championship in two weeks. 

the weather this weekend was gorgeous. one of those few weekends a year that are not too hot, not too cold. a great day for watching rugby. the kids are old enough that they can run around and play, so i actually get to hang out and watch the game, which is always a plus. it was a fun game to watch and a great way to end the home season.  

 

*pictures are from Razorbackfoto - go check out the rest!

houston!

jason and i got away this weekend. we went to houston to watch a USA v. italy rugby game. it was a fun time, good to get away, good to get a break, and - despite the fact that houston may be the worst place to go for a weekend in the middle of summer - not a bad time.

national anthem 

action shot!

celebrating the US try

setting up for the conversion kick

jason and pari, one of his teammates from Palestine who now lives in houston. so fun to see him!

saturday's a rugby day!

as i was putting hiba and matthias to bed, i mentioned that i don't have to work tomorrow because it is saturday. to which hiba replied, with a huge grin, "no....it's...RUGBY DAY!". jason will be so proud.

so then we talked about rugby and it went a little like this...

me: yeah, it is a ruby day. we can go to the game tomorrow.
h: so, daddy will have to come back from the airplane, right?
me: well, no, he won't be back for the game, but we can still go even though he won't be there.
hiba: (look of total confusion. like she is trying to figure out how that is even possible)
me: i mean, there will still be a game and it will be at the rugby pitch, but daddy won't be there. we can still go and cheer for his team.
hiba: well, sometimes daddy is a stormer. so are there going to be stormers?!?! stormers are awesome!!
me: yep, that's right.
hiba: (huge smile) yay!! i love the stormers. (pause) wait, will there be any bad guys?
me: yep, memphis.
hiba: ooooooo. memphis. we don't like them. but we like the stormers! and do you know what?!?! i think that precious* is a stormer, so he will be there and i'll watch him play and yell "go precious go!". what do you think of that?

it's great to know that jason has her completely indoctrinated at such a young age. :-)

*precious is a guy on jason's team. his real name is patrick. he is not a creepy guy or a made-up friend, as some people might think that he is. 

we are the champions!

this weekend was the ozark rugby tournament, here in little rock. it was a pretty great weekend. my sister came to visit, which was so fun. it's always good to see her and i love hanging out with her now that we are both "grown-ups". we had several friends come out to watch the games, which always makes it better. jason had a great time, no real injuries, and little rock won the tournament!

all ready to go on saturday! 

ice cream makes watching rugby way better.

ref: "do you know what you did?"
jason: "i punched him, sir."

congratulating jason for scoring!

matthias was out. in the middle of cheering - zero response. 

that's my man!

it was a pretty great way to end the the season. i am definitely looking forward to the break (even if it is only like a month).

the weekend was also great because it was so different from last year. jason and the team always talk about themselves as the "rugby family". because they are like a family. i always talked about them as "my step-family". because a lot of times it felt like that. but over this last year, i have made some great friends with the guys, the wags (wives and girlfriends), the women's team. it was a fun weekend because i felt like our whole family belonged there, not just jason. and having mutual friends is something we've missed for a long time, so it's great to feel that changing.

saturday's a rugby day!

Little Rock's Future Prop

Such a cutie!

Cheering on daddy

All conked out

beautiful weather. friends to hang out with. rugby to watch. all adds up to a pretty great saturday. did i mention that my awesome husband was man of the match? yeah, he's pretty great.

saturday's a rugby day!

this weekend, we went to memphis for a rugby tournament. jason takes the summer off from rugby, which i am very thankful for. but it was fun to get in on one tournament and i know jason enjoyed playing. as an added bonus, some of our really great friends, kristina and rhys, came with us! they moved her from the UK a few months ago and rhys was going through rugby withdrawals, so they came along and he got to play some games. it was really great to see them and i was glad that kristina was there for me to hang out with.

after the tournament, we headed to downtown memphis for a night out. rhys hadn't ever been to memphis, so we thought we'd hit up beale street.

at dinner

no-teeth smiles due to the ribs that were stuck in our teeth

yay for friends!

the hampton inn in the background is where jason and i stayed on our way home from our honeymoon, and we hung out in this park while we were in memphis. awwwww.

despite the awful heat, the very early morning, and the total lack of sleep for the weekend, it was a great time. and totally worth it.