Halloween Fun

We had a long day with lots of Halloween events.

Evan and Noah both had parties at their schools.  We went to both for a little bit.

After Noah's school, he and I went to HEB.

I tutored one student while Morry went to pick up Evan.  Noah and Zayde stayed at home.

For dinner we picked up Blue Bamboo.  We ate early and then started the trick-or-treating.

The boys were good and had a lot of fun.  We did a lot of walking and ran into Jack's family toward the end.  The boys enjoyed walking with them for a little bit.

The kids are getting ready for bed now.

Here are some pictures from today.

Redemption

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning I had to get Evan ready for school.  He needed to wear his class t-shirt as his class was going on a field trip to see the symphony for a Halloween concert.  As usual, it was easy to get him up and easy to get him to school.  He rarely gives me problems in the morning.

Noah slept until after 9am.  When he woke up he snuck down the stairs and tried to scare Zayde.  He then promptly turned off what Zayde was watching on television and put on the Wii so he could play.  I could hear him talking non-stop to Zayde.

After lunch, Rachel and I took Noah to Cole's house and then went to meet with a client.

The meeting went a bit later than we had anticipated. We came home and then Rachel left to get Noah at Cole's and Evan from school.

Rachel got home, dropped the boys off and she and I left to fill out papers to start refinancing the house.

Rachel went to tutoring, while I came home and did some work.

Noah had his first playoff game tonight.  I put Noah in his uniform and got everything ready for the game and then Zayde, Noah, Evan and I drove to the fields.  It turned out that the coach of the team that Noah's team was playing was the coach whose team knocked Evan's team out of the playoffs last year.  The coach was very shady and essentially got the win on a technicality.  Noah's coach this year was also Evan's coach so I knew that he really wanted to beat this coach.  Noah's team played very well as did Noah.  Noah ran really hard and scored twice.  He singled in both at-bats and then moved to second on errors in both cases.  He listens so well to the coaches and really pays attention.  He seemed to be really happy that the won.  He wants to go to the championship game.

We came home from the game and Rachel was preparing dinner.  She had put chicken in the crock pot earlier that day which we had but she also was getting food ready for the boys.

The boys are now in their rooms.  I think that Evan is already asleep.

Until next time...

Busy Afternoon

This morning Zayde came to drop off Noah at school.  Noah was in a good mood and seemed happy to be at school.

I went for a run with Lizzy.

Zayde and I picked up Noah from school and then came home.  Noah and Zayde played board games together.

I left for tutoring and Morry, Zayde, and Noah went to pick up Evan from school.

Evan had baseball practice tonight, but since playoff games are going on at his usual practice location they had to go to a park without lights.  They were only able to practice from 6 - 7pm.  Zayde, Morry, and Noah went to Evan's practice too.

I got home before them and got dinner ready.  We had pasta and garlic bread once they all got home.

Evan is reading to Morry and Noah is reading to Zayde. Then, they'll got to bed.

Baseball Regular Season Ends

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Noah was apparently the first to get up this morning.  He was up late, as usual, so it was surprising he got up first. Evan, who is normally the early riser, got up around 8:30.  When I came downstairs, they were forcing Zayde to play MLB Power Pros on the Wii and beating him badly.

We decided to go to brunch.  We chose to go to Waterloo Ice House.  They have a playground outside so the boys could play while we waited for our food.   They came back in just as our food was being served.  Neither boy ate very well.

We came home and relaxed a bit before going to the baseball fields.

Noah's game was first.  His team hasn't lost a game so far this season.  From the beginning of the game, it become apparent that they were not going to lose their first today.  Noah started the game at third base.  He didn't have any balls hit his way though.  He got hits in both at-bats and ran well.  He listens to the base coaches and runs hard when he's supposed to run.  The team won their last game.  Their first playoff game is Tuesday night.  If they win on Tuesday, they play on Friday night.  If they win Friday night, they'll play in the championship on Sunday.

Evan was warming up during Noah's game.  We all walked over and the team was getting ready to go into the dugouts and take the field.  Blanca and her mom, Rita, and dad Allen came to watch the boys.  It was really nice of them to come to see the boys play.  Evan also started the game at third base.  But all three kids up at-bat struck out, so Evan didn't see any action.  Actually the first six batters for the other team struck out.  Evan didn't have a good game at the plate today.  He struck out in both at-bats.   For some reason it looked like he wasn't swinging well.  He got one play in the field.  He was in right field in the third with a runner on first.  The batter hit a ball more-or-less down the right field line to the fence.  Evan ran out to get it and threw a one hopper to the second baseman who was just beyond the dirt holding the lead runner at third.  I knew the moment that the ball went to the fence that Evan was almost excited that he could show off his arm.  Evan's team won to finish their season with just one loss.  His playoffs begin on Thursday.  There's essentially a "play-in" game on Thursday.  If his team wins on Thursday night, they begin a double-elimination tournament on Saturday.

We came home and watched the Steelers game.  We took a break to eat dinner that we picked up from zpizza.

We gave the boys showers and they are now in bed.

Until next time...

Zayde

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning was Evan's last "regular season" football game.  I got up early and took him over for warm-ups.  We stopped at the Donut Hole on the way to the game.

Evan's team is really quite bad and they were playing the best team in the league.  Unfortunately today's game was not an underdog story and Evan's team lost pretty badly.  Evan played ok.  In fact, he was the only one to gain any yards.  He had a good run to start off the game and then caught a pass which looked like it was going to be intercepted.  I'm really not sure how Evan came down with it.  Evan didn't seem disappointed by the result though.  Two different parents came up him to tell him how good he is and then the coach asked me if Evan would be playing during the winter season.  I think Evan, who was thinking about basketball, is now wanting to play football.

From there, we met Rachel and Noah at the pumpkin patch since Evan wasn't able to go with Noah's class on Wednesday.  Below are some pictures from there.

We came home, while Rachel went to tutor.  I had to fold clothes and the boys played MLB Power Pros on the Wii.

We had lunch and continued cleaning up. The boys played more Wii as well as some other things.

Later in the afternoon, we played baseball outside.

Then we went to the airport to pick up Zayde.  The boys were very excited to see him.  We went to Logan's for dinner and the boys enjoyed putting crushed up peanut shells in Zayde's pockets.  Both boys ate very well.

Right now we are home and each boy is taking turns reading to Zayde.

Until next time...

Halloween Block Party

This morning I went for a run.  Morry and I both dropped Noah off at school.

I got some cleaning done at home and then picked up Noah.

Morry picked up Evan at school because Evan has been asking him to pick him up.

At 6pm we had our neighborhood block party in the cul-de-sac.  I made a few plates of different types of sandwiches.

It was pretty cold out (for us).  It was in the 50s.  Noah was complaining about being cold so I took him home.  I was pretty cold too and glad to be inside.

Morry and Evan stayed at the party. Evan had fun running around with all the kids and playing football with another little boy.

We Voted

This morning Noah, Lizzy, and I took a walk.

I made lunch for Noah and then we went to his gym class.  Morry and I dropped him off and then went to vote.  The line was really long and we barely got back in time to pick up Noah after his hour long class.  I'm glad we voted early and got that taken care of.

Noah came with me to pick up Evan from school.

The boys had their practices tonight.  I packed dinners for them to eat while they weren't practicing.  First, they went to Noah's baseball practice.  I took Evan to his football practice and then Morry and Noah met us there.  Noah stayed with Morry and Evan while I went to HEB to get some groceries.  Morry said Noah did very well at his practice today.

We got the boys ready for bed and then ate our dinners.

Noah's Field Trip

I went for a run this morning.

Noah had a field trip today so we all met at the Pumpkin Patch.  Morry came with us.  On the way there we were stopped at a light and Noah's friend Cole was right next to us. The kids thought that was so cool that they saw each other.

At the Pumpkin Patch the kids got to pick out their own little pumpkins and run around the hay maze.

We got back to the school around 11am and dropped Noah off.

At school the kids decorated their pumpkins with glitter.  We brought Noah's home.  He was very proud of it.

Noah came with me on the bike to pick up Evan today. 

Gabby came over.  I tutored and got home around 6:30.

The boys were eating dinner when I got home and then Morry and I ate an Asian frozen meal.

Morry is getting the boys out of the shower as I write the blog.  We'll read and then put them to bed.

Here are some pictures from today.

Noah Picks the Park

This morning I asked Noah what he wanted to do today before Cole came over.  He said he wanted to go to the park.  I gave him a few choices of parks and he chose Dick Nichols. 

We played on the playground and then walked the path around the park for a little bit.

I gave Noah lunch at home and then Cole came over.  Today, they played GeoTrax most of the time.  They made a huge track in Noah's room that extended out to the hallway.  They thought that was pretty funny.

Noah stayed at home while I got Evan from school.  Evan and Morry drove this morning because Evan wanted to be able to walk the "shortcut" with Jack after school.  There's a path that's not a shortcut that goes around the pond in the back of the school and comes out where you park in the neighborhood.  They call it a shortcut for some reason.  Anyway, I drove to get Evan and was happy to take the "shortcut" with Jack to where we parked the car.

Blanca came over and I tutored.

Morry gave the boys dinner and then we ate crockpot chicken when I got home.

Morry's reading to the boys now.

Late Baseball Practice Monday

I went for a run and Noah was still sleeping when I got home.  I had to wake him up to get ready for school.

I dropped Noah off and then went to Target.  I met a woman from Craigslist who bought our roller coaster.  I also went in to return a few things as well.

At home I did some work and cleaning around the house.

Noah had a good day at school.

He came with me to get Evan at school on the bike.

Gabby came over and I tutored. 

Morry and the boys had dinner and then went to the baseball fields for Evan's practice.  I met them there after my tutoring and brought Noah home with me.

Noah and I walked around the neighborhood and then he played in Blanca's haunted house in their yard for a little bit.  There was another neighbor kid in there too.

I just got Noah ready for bed.  Morry and Evan are on their way home now.

Baseball, Baseball, Baseball

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Today, both boys had baseball games.  Evan had a game at 1pm and he needed to be there at noon.  Noah had a game at 3:30 and needed to be there at 2:45.  Knowing that we had a busy afternoon, we took it easy this morning.  The boys played baseball on the Wii for most of the morning.  Before we knew it, it was time for lunch and then we had to go to the fields.  Noah came with Evan and me.

They had Evan playing third at warm ups so I knew that he'd probably be playing that again today.  He's played so well there and he has the arm to get it to first.  He started the game at second base though and made some nice catches on cutoffs (which he also seemed to grasp) on balls to the right and right center.  He batted second and after the first boy got out, he singled and ended up coming around to score.  In the 2nd inning he was at third.  On a short popup, he came racing in and made a diving catch for an out.  He had another single in the third.  In the fourth, he was back at 3rd base.  A big kid came up and just turned on the ball rocketing the ball at Evan.  Evan calmly put his glove up and caught the line drive.  He seemed so nonchalant about it, though when he came back into the dugout later, he was very excited about it.  In the same inning, there was a slow roller than Evan ran up and picked up with his bare hand, though he didn't have a play.  And he got the third out in the inning on a ground ball that he fielded and touched third.  In the bottom of the fifth, Evan singled to score the fifth run of the inning which ended the game (each inning is capped at 5 runs or 3 outs).  Unfortunately, Evan's team lost for the first time this season 16-15.

After the game, we went over to the snow cone truck and got snow cones.  They allow you to put your own flavoring on it.

We walked over to Noah's field, ate, and then Noah warmed up.  He was very excited for his game.  Noah was the fifth batter and really hit the ball hard in the top of the first and ran hard for a single.  He played third base in the bottom of the first though he had to come out early because he had to pee.  In the third, Noah got out for the first time this season.  I was wondering how he'd handle that and he handled it like a pro.  I was really proud of him for that.  He seemed to know how got out, and casually walked back to the dugout.  He didn't seem upset at all.  He told me if the first baseman had made an error he would have been safe.  He came up in the fourth with a chance to atone and he came through.  He ran hard to first and that was the difference.  The batter behind him tripled and it was fun to see Noah running from 1st to home.  He did a good job.

After the game, we came home.  We made dinner and then I had to go back to the fields.  It was Evan's team's turn to volunteer at the concession stand.  So I had to do it from 6:45pm to 8pm.  The boys stayed home.  Evan through a fit because he wanted to come with me and help.  Rachel found a baseball movie to put on for the boys on Netflix and they watched it until I got home.

I did solve the problem with putting the boys to bed during the Steelers game and having them lose.  I started the game after I put them to bed.  It seemed to work as the Steelers won tonight.

Below are some pictures from today.

Until next time...

Total Domination

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning, Rachel got up early to go for a run.  I got up a short time later to get Evan ready for his football game.  I got his uniform and got breakfast ready for him.  Just before Rachel got back from her run, Noah got up.  The plan was for Rachel to get showered and come to the game a bit later but I had to get Evan there early for warm-ups.  Noah wanted to come with Evan and me.

Two boys on the other team were on Evan's tee ball teams the last two years.  One of the boys is playing with Noah this fall.  Before the game, Evan was playing with one of them and he seemed happy to have friends there, even if they were on the other team.  Once they started playing, it was if a light switch turned on for Evan.  He pulled flags on each of the first three plays and then he dropped an interception on the fourth play.  The other team's coach actually just stopped running the ball to Evan's side because Evan was not missing the flag.  On another drive, a boy for the other team broke free on the opposite sideline for what looked like a sure touchdown.  Evan raced all the way across the field and pulled the boy's flag.  The other team's coach actually high-fived Evan.  He never gave up on the play.  By the end of the first half, he had pulled 5 flags and had dropped three potential interceptions.  In the second half, it was Evan's turn to be on offense.  He was supposed to play "wide receiver 1" this week which ends up being a decoy for most plays.  On one play they did hand off to Evan for an end-around and Evan got a first down.  So the coach switched Evan to running back.  They handed off to Evan again for another big run and a first down.  As they got closer to the goal line, they handed off to Evan and he ran to his left.  There was a boy there so Evan turned around and ran to his right.  I guess he was supposed to pass because as he was running to his right, he fired a perfect spiral into the end zone about 10 to 15 yards.  The boy on Evan's team dropped it but no one could believe the throw.  It shocked me because a) I didn't know he was going to throw and b) I didn't realize he could throw a football that far and that good while on the run.  Several parents came up to Evan to talk to him about that.  The coach made a point to come over and high five Evan.  They ended up getting a touchdown on that drive.  On the next drive, they handed off to Evan and he ran all the way to the left sideline and he couldn't turn it up so he turned around losing about 3 yards and all the way to the right sideline and decided he couldn't get up field there so he turned around again, losing another 3 yards and ran all the way to the left sideline again where he turned it up and ran for a touchdown.  It was the first play of the drive so it was at the "20 yard line".  I don't know how long the field is (it's not 100 yards) so I don't know how long he ran but it was essentially the entire field from where they start out their drives.  And if you add on running the width of the field more than twice, he ran a long way.  It was an impressive run.  Again, the coach of the other team came over and gave Evan a high five.  On the two-point conversion, they handed off to Evan who ran and thew a pass into the end zone that hit his teammate in the stomach but the boy couldn't bring it in.  Unfortunately that was the last play of the game and Evan's team lost but he had a great game.  He had so much fun today.

Rachel had to go tutor and so I took the boys home.  We stopped at Smoothie King on the way home.  Then I made lunch for the boys.

After lunch, I played Super Mario Bros. on the Wii with them and then went out and played baseball in the front yard.  I did some work while they played in the backyard and then upstairs.

For dinner, we went to Carino's and then we stopped at HEB on the way home.  It was a late night and Noah was kind of cranky.  They need to get some sleep for baseball tomorrow.

Until next time...

Nice Weather

I went for a run and Noah was still sleeping when I got back home.

Noah must have been pretty tired.  He was still sleeping at 9am, when we usually leave for school.  I let him sleep another 30 minutes or so and then woke him up.  I figured he needed his sleep.

I dropped Noah off at school and then went to a meeting.

Later when I got Noah he seemed to have a good day, but was acting tired.

I rode the bike to get Evan.  When we got home the boys and I went in the cul-de-sac with their bikes for a little while.

For dinner we picked up Chiptole.

The boys are pretty much ready for bed.  We have a busy weekend with sports, so I'm hoping they both sleep well tonight.

One less sport today

This morning Noah, Lizzy, and I took a walk in the neighborhood.  I made lunch for Noah and then we went to the Little Gym.

After the Little Gym we ran a few errands and Morry and Noah got smoothies at Smoothie King.

I rode the bike to get Evan from school.

I tutored one student today and then met Morry and the boys at Evan's football practice.

Noah didn't have his baseball practice today since they had a game yesterday.  They have limits on the amount teams can play/practice.

I came home a little early and started getting dinner ready for Morry and I.  We still haven't eaten yet though.  Evan is reading to Morry.  We'll put the boys to bed and then eat our dinner.

Noah's Turn

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Last night, Evan was kind of cranky.  I think he was still tired from the long night of baseball the night before.  He went to sleep fairly easily.  When I got him up this morning, he was actually kind of hyper. We watched the MLB channel like normal and then we were getting on our bikes to go to school.  It seemed like it was misting.  I'm not actually sure if it was raining, but there was 95% humidity.  Either way, we decided not to ride the bikes so we drove.

Rachel went for a run this morning and then took Noah to school.  After dropping Noah off, Rachel had a massage that I had scheduled for her.  This week is "Spa Week" and a bunch of salons were having big deals.

Rachel came home, did a bit of work, laid down, and then got Noah.

Rachel's first tutoring session was cancelled so she was able to pick Evan up.

After I finished work, I got Noah ready.  One of the games that had been cancelled was made up tonight.  Noah was very excited about his game.  I was excited to get to see him play.  Noah started the game at third base.  Unfortunately no balls were hit to him.  He then played right field, left field and finished up at second base.  He dove for a ball hit to him when he was playing second.  He was very excited to talk to me about diving for the ball.  At the plate he hit the ball hard twice for singles and he scored two runs.  His team won and is currently undefeated.  He has his next game on Sunday.

After the game, there was a pinata since it was the birthday of one of the boys.  Noah didn't participate but Evan did.

We had corned beef that we'd cooked in the crock pot when we got home.  Right now Rachel is reading to the boys.

Until next time...

Surprise Rain

This morning as Morry and Evan rode bikes to school it started raining.  We looked at the weather yesterday and it wasn't supposed to rain. It ended up raining on and off throughout the day today.

Noah, Lizzy, and I took a walk.

I gave Noah lunch and then he went to Cole's house.

I picked up Noah from Cole's and we drove to the path to get Evan from school. It was drizzling so I didn't want to ride bikes in the rain.  We put Evan's bike in the back of my car and drove home.

For dinner we had chicken and potatoes.  We were going to grill the chicken but it was wet outside, so just put it in the oven.

Morry and the boys are playing Steelers Connect 4.  When I'm done we'll get them ready for bed.

Home Run!

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning it took a little bit to get Evan up.  He was sleeping pretty hard.  But he's always in a good mood when he wakes up so it was no problem.  It was a bit colder so he wore a sweatshirt on the bike ride to school.  As soon as we got there, he handed me the sweatshirt to bring home with me.

Noah slept until about 9am.  Rachel had to go to Westlake High School to meet with a teacher of one of her students.  The student got a bad grade on the test but would not allow the students to bring home the test to learn from.  She made it difficult to find a time for Rachel to come in to see it.  It's teachers like that that give all teachers a bad name.  I have no time for people like that.  Anyway, Rachel couldn't take Noah to school so I drove Noah in.  He was in a fairly good mood as well.

When Rachel got home, I was leaving to go to a meeting with a new client and when I got home, Rachel had to leave to get Noah.

I picked Evan up from school since Rachel was tutoring.  When I got home, Gabby came and watched the boys until I finished working.

Evan had a game tonight so when I stopped working, I had to quickly get dinner made, Evan's bat bag packed and in the car, get the boys to eat, make sure I didn't forget Rachel's dinner that she had gotten ready for herself and get the water ready.  I got the boys eating first before I ate and they both finished their dinner.  I think got Evan in his uniform and we left for batting practice first.

Evan's game began at 7:30 under the lights.  They changed up the line up for this game and Evan was batting fourth, the clean up spot.  He singled in his first two at-bats.  In the fourth inning, with two runners on, Evan came up and laced a line drive up the middle that split both the shortstop and second baseman, as well as the left and right center fielders and rolled all the way to the fence.  I looked at Evan and he was running as fast as he could so I knew he had a chance to come home.  The shortstop got the ball in the outfield and was running it in and they sent Evan home.  He beat the throw to the plate for a 3-run home run.  He was really happy.  In the bottom of the fourth, they had Evan at third base again.  With a runner on first, the batter smacked a ball a bit to Evan's left.  He moved sideways and got the ball on a hop, turned and fired to 2nd.  Unfortunately the second baseman could not hold on but he almost did it in back-to-back games.  If he keeps playing third like that, he may stick there.  Earlier in the game, while at 2nd, Evan got the throw as a cut off and the third base coach for the other team went to send the runner home. Evan threw a rocket home to the catcher forcing the runner to literally crawl back to third after he turned back to third and fell.

Needless to say, both Evan and Noah were super hyper as we came home at 9pm. They are in bed, but I'm pretty sure they are still up.  They were running around.  It was a fun night though.

Until next time...

Family Movie Night

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Early this morning, maybe around 5 something, I was awakened by the sound of thunder and the pouring rain.  After seeing how bad the fields looked because of the rain during Evan's game yesterday, I thought to myself that poor Noah's game was going to be cancelled.

When I got up in the morning it was sunny.  Evan and Noah were up playing with each other.  I held out a slim hope that maybe the fields would dry enough.  Unfortunately, around 11am, we got an email that the fields were closed and all games were cancelled.  Noah cried when Rachel told him though he refused to admit it was because of the game being cancelled.  I'm hoping that the game will be made up.

We decided we were going to go to Sam's Club.  It's been a while since we were there and we needed some things.  Evan and Noah were very well behaved there, so we got them an Icee and soft pretzel at the end.

We came home and had lunch.  After lunch, the boys went upstairs and started the massive cleanup in the game room and their rooms.

Around mid-afternoon, Rachel had to tutor a student so she left.  On her way home, she picked up pizza at zpizza and got the movie Big Miracle from Redbox.  We ate at the coffee table and watched the movie.  The boys ate well and they seemed to like the movie. Rachel also made meringue cookies.

We just put the boys to bed, but Evan decided to come down here and is watching me type.  He wanted to show me a baseball card.  If you need to get him something small for Hanukkah, baseball cards will do the trick.

Until next time...

Evan Knows

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

In the late 80s and early 90s, there was that set of Nike commercials with Bo Jackson that said "Bo Knows" as he played all the different sports since Bo excelled in both the MLB and NFL.  Well maybe they should be making commercials with Evan.  He had both a football and baseball game today, back-to-back.

This morning before the crazy day really started, Evan and Noah played downstairs.  Rachel went for an 8-mile run as she prepares for the San Antonio half marathon.

For lunch, I made pasta for us.  I figured Evan needed the carbs and energy.

At about 1:40 we left the house.  Evan's football team had pictures schedule for 2.  His game didn't start until 3pm.  After pictures they practiced some.  Noah and I had a catch.  Rachel came for the start of the game.

Evan started at wide receiver.  On their first possession, they attempted 4 wide receiver screens to Evan but the quarterback hopped the ball to Evan 3 of the times.  However, on one, Evan caught it and turned up field and ran all the way for an apparent touchdown.  The referee, however, said that Evan had stepped out about half way down and brought the ball back.  Evan seemed to handle it well.  They also handed the ball off to him on end-arounds twice.  Both times the other team tackled Evan as they tried to grab the flag.  That's a penalty and an automatic first down.  So Evan was responsible for 3 first downs in the first half.  Unfortunately, Evan's team lost.

We got Evan changed into his baseball uniform in Rachel's car and then Evan, Noah and I drove over to the fields for batting practice before his game.  Rachel went home for a bit.  Evan did well in batting practice.

As the game was about to start, it started to rain hard.  It did this on and off for most of the game.  In the bottom of the first, Evan came up to bat with two kids on.  At this point it was really pouring.  Each kid gets 6 pitches.  If you don't get a hit in 6 pitches, it's a technical strikeout.  Evan fouled the first 5 pitches off.  On the sixth pitch, he turned on it and put it into left field for double scoring the two kids.  Later in the game, Evan was playing third with a kid on first.  The batter rocketed a ball at Evan on the ground.  Evan scooped it so quickly and threw to second, I was slightly worried that there was no one covering second, but there was and the boy running from first was out.  It was such a nice play that the coach of the other team came on the field to high five Evan.  A few batters later there was a short pop up that Evan ran in and dove for.  Unfortunately, the ball hit before him and came up and hit him in the mouth.  He was crying.  He didn't want to come out of the game.  His coach high fived him and Evan crushed his coach's hand.  They knew that Evan was ok.  Evan's team ended up winning in the bottom of the fifth (the last inning).  The kids were really excited.  They've got a good bunch of kids on his team.  Evan likes his teammates.

Rachel had left a bit early to pick up Blue Bamboo for us on the way home.  When we got home, she had gotten food ready for Evan and Noah.  We had dinner and the put the boys to bed.  Amazingly, they had energy.  We didn't leave the baseball field until 7:20, almost 6 hours after we had left the house. Noah was with me the whole time and was amazingly well behaved.

Until next time...
 

Our Friday

Let's see... it was pretty much a usual day.

I went for a run and then took Noah to school.

When I picked up Noah from school he and Cole were playing with some musical instruments.  Noah was playing the triangle.

After that we went to the bank and Noah choose a blue lollipop.  I think he likes those because they turn his whole mouth blue.

Morry picked up Evan today from school.  Noah wanted to come along too.  So, Morry and Noah rode the bike to get Evan.

This afternoon Morry played baseball in the front yard with the boys.

For dinner, we picked up Torchy's Tacos and ate at home.

Noah is calling to me to come down and read with him.  He loves doing that.

Soon, we'll get the boys ready for bed.

Another Sports-Filled Thursday

This morning I went for a run.  Noah didn't want to come with me.

I made Noah lunch at home and then we went to the Little Gym for his class.  He and Cole had fun. 

From there, we went to Target to return/exchange some things.

We came home for a little bit and then it was time to get Evan. Morry had a meeting so Noah came with me to get Evan on the bike.

Morry took both boys to Noah's 5:30 baseball practice.  I got there around 5:45 and took Evan to his football practice.  Then, after Noah's practice Morry and Noah came to Evan's practice.  Noah ate his dinner at Evan's practice and Evan ate his dinner in the car on the way to practice and on the way home.

Morry and the boys are watching the Steelers game now.

Blanket Fort

Noah keeps asking Morry to wake him up in the mornings so he can take Evan to school.  Morry did wake Noah this morning.  Noah was talking up a storm, very loudly.  I think he was excited.  They couldn't ride bikes since it was misting out.  Morry drove to the path and they walked the rest of the way.

I went for a run and then took Noah to school. 

After that I went to pick up some medicine for me and then to a Mom's Club meeting.

Noah had a good day at school.

Morry took Noah to pick up Evan since I left to tutor.

Gabby came over and a little while later Morry took Evan to the doctor.  He's been coughing for about a week now.  Evan just has a cold, but the doctor prescribed some cough medicine to help him sleep.  Evan also got his flu shot while he was there.

On my way home I picked up Evan's medicine.

Morry gave the boys dinner and then we ate turkey burgers and couscous.  While we were eating the boys made a blanket fort with the dining room chairs.

Evan finished his homework and reading.  Usually while Evan reads to Morry, Noah reads to me.  Noah's been doing very well.  He loves that reading set I got and is doing well sounding out words.

The boys are doing email now and then we'll get them ready for bed.

Horsing Around

This morning Morry and I had a phone meeting at 10am.  After that I made lunch for Noah so he could eat before Cole came over.

Cole came around 12 noon.  While Cole was here I got dinner ready.  I made stuffed peppers and got them all ready so all Morry had to do was stick them in the oven later.

Noah and Cole had fun, like always. They played outside some and played Wii together.

Cole left around 2:30 and I rode the bike to get Evan.

After school Evan and his friend Miles were running around and somehow Evan slipped in the dirt.  I was there watching them, and I'm not sure what really happened.  Evan got a little scrape on his hip so we went inside the school to get a bandaid from the nurse.  After that he seemed fine.

Blanca came over this afternoon and I tutored.

On my way home I got gas and picked up food for Mottel so it took me a while to get home.

Morry made the boys' dinner and we had our peppers when we got home.

Evan and Morry are doing email now and then we'll give the boys showers.

Early Release

Today it was pretty cold in the morning (high 40s), but Morry and Evan still rode bikes to school.

I took Noah to school and did some work at home.

Evan had an early release day today so I picked him up at 1pm.  We rode bikes home and then left to get Noah at school.  Evan was excited to get to come to Noah's school. He doesn't normally get to pick him up.

I tutored and Gabby came over.

On my way home I stopped at HEB.  It was very busy.

We had to eat early and make something quick so we had pancakes for dinner.

Morry and Evan went to Evan's baseball practice.

Noah, Lizzy, and I took a walk.  We saw Jack and his dad outside so we stopped for a little bit. Noah and Jack played some football and then we walked back home.

Evan's practice goes until 8:30 today, so they probably won't get home until around 9pm.

More Baseball

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Rachel always has me write the blogs on game days.  She knows how excited I get about the games.  Evan and Noah had their first baseball games in two weeks since last week's games were rained out.  Both boys were excited.

At around 10:15, I got a text from Noah's coach.  He was asking me if it was ok if he started Noah at the pitching position.  The pitcher has to wear a chest protector and face mask.  I told Noah and he was super excited.

We had lunch and then I took the boys to the fields.  Rachel was going to come later.  Evan had a catch with one of the kids from the team while Noah and I had a catch.

Noah's team was the visitors and so they batted first.  Then I put the gear on Noah and he went out to be pitcher in the bottom of the inning.  Two balls were hit to him.  He fielded both.  On the first one, the ball slipped out of his hand and went backwards on his throw to first but he had a great throw on the second one.  Later he played second base.

Evan's friend Jack was the one sitting out the bottom of the first and I hadn't taken Evan over to his field yet.  So the two of them were able to play in the dugout.  We have some pictures of them being silly down below.

I ran Evan over to the batting cages for his warm up and came back.  Unfortunately, I missed Noah's first hit.  I guess he got a hit and the boy behind him hit a home run so Noah came around and scored.  He was excited to tell me about it when I got back.  Noah got another hit in the game.

In the top of the first in Evan's game, he came up.  He seems to be getting comfortable with the new bat I got him before the season which was a bit heavy.  He had a great swing and laced a double into the gap between right field and right center.  In his next at-bat, he hit a grounder to first and he attempted to slide into first which earned him a rebuke from both his coach and me.  But then he singled in his third at-bat, again to right field.  He got a kid out when he was playing second base on a force.  And he generally played well in the field again.

After the games we watched the Steelers game recorded.  I did not have to put the boys to bed so the Steelers won.  You may dispute whether has any impact but the facts are clear - the Steelers are 2-0 in games the boys watch the entire game and 0-2 when I put them to bed (with the lead).  I'm just saying.

The boys are in bed now and, I think, sleeping.  Nope, Evan just came down telling me he can't go to sleep.

Until next time...

Fall Football Day

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Yesterday the temperature got into the 90s.  Today it was not supposed to get out of the 60s.  It was overcast all day and very windy.  It was football weather - which was good since Evan had a flag football game.

When we first got up, Rachel decided she was going to do a long run today as she prepares for the San Antonio half marathon.  We talked about it and she was going to run to Scooters Coffeehouse where I'd meet her with the boys.  Scooters is great because they have a Red Bull smoothie which I love.  I was there about 10 days ago.  I got filled up a gift card.  If you put $20 on a gift card, you get a free drink.  So I was watching Rachel run using the Find My Friends app on the iPhone.  I tried to time leaving so we'd be there as Rachel got there.  As I was driving, Rachel called.  Scooters went out of business.  I couldn't believe it.  I'm super upset.  Plus I have an unused gift card.  Luckily there was a phone number on the door about how to get your money back.

We went home, Rachel made smoothies at home, and then we had lunch.

Evan and Noah played some Wii and then we went out and played baseball before leaving for Evan's game.

Evan's team is terrible and they got blown out again.  However, Evan had another good game.  He played on defense in the first half and had a "tackle" for a loss and made a good play catching a kid from behind to pull his flag.  In the second half he was quarterback.  They had him passing a bunch to try to catch up.  Unfortunately, his receivers kept dropping the ball.  Evan likes playing defense better, he said.

For dinner we went to Cypress Grill.  Then we had coupons for a new light ice cream called d'Lites.  It's a light frozen custard place, though they do not use fake sugar.  It was really good.  The boys liked it.

On the way home, we did our weekly shopping at HEB.

The boys are now in bed.

Until next time...

Back on Schedule

This morning I went for a run and when I got back I took Noah to school.

He was happy to be going back to school and the teacher seemed happy to see him.

I had a meeting at a coffee shop.

I was home for a little bit and then it was time to get Noah from school.  Noah had a good day.  He told me they ate lunch outside.

Noah stayed home while I rode the bike to get Evan.  Evan seemed to be in a good mood.

We took it easy this afternoon and evening and stayed at home. Both boys were kind of cranky.

We had flank steak and corn on the cob for dinner.

We just got the boys ready for bed.  Morry is reading to them now.

Back from Dallas

Noah and I got back today.

We had a nice time in Dallas.

I had doctor appointments Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Everything looked good so far.

Uncle Irv and Aunt Ora came in from Israel, so I purposely planned my doctors appointment for this week so I could see them.

They were only in Dallas for 2 days, but it was nice seeing them and I'm glad Noah got to spend some time with them along with Uncle Jay and Aunt Susan.

Noah and I got back late afternoon.

For dinner we made pasta.

Soon, we'll get the boys ready for bed.

HEB and Pizza

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

It was another uneventful morning.  It's been cold in the morning but Evan seems to take after his dad.  He doesn't want to wear a coat.  Of course, I'm not mean, and I don't make him wear a coat on the way to school, though we are riding our bikes.  The problem is that by the time I pick him up from school it's 85 degrees.

I had a meeting this morning with a client.  The meeting went very well.

I picked up Evan at school and talked with his teacher a bit.  She told me how good he was.

Evan played in the house and on the computer some while I did work.  After we were finished, we went to HEB to get some fruit and vegetables and some other stuff.  They are remodeling some at HEB and it took a while to find everything we needed.

On the way home, we stopped at zpizza and got a pizza.  Evan and I completely finished a 14inch pizza. I think Evan had 5 pieces (though he doesn't eat the crust).

Evan had a shower (he's now doing it himself) and then he read to me as part of his homework.  The teacher sends home a specially picked book each day that he's required to read to us and then we have to ask him questions.

He's in bed now.

Until next time...

Not Much

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Not much happened today.  Rachel and Noah were still in Dallas.  Rachel had an appointment with the Nurse Practitioner from the breast surgeon's office.  Everything looked good.

Evan was in a good mood this morning and had no problems going to school.

I had a meeting this afternoon with a new client.

When I picked Evan up, he was still in a good mood.  He had had a good day.  He played quietly while I finished up work at home.

After I finished up, he and I went outside and played baseball in the front yard.

For dinner, I made fried matzoh.

I helped Evan with his homework and then put him to bed after dinner.  He's sleeping now.

Below is a picture a mom took of Evan from his baseball game on September 23.  The mom is an freelance photographer, I believe.  Anyway, you can see how focused Evan is during a baseball game.

Until next time...

Survivor

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning I took Evan to school.  It was fairly uneventful.

Rachel had an appointment in Dallas with her oncologist.  Everything looks good.  She is supposed to have another appointment in 4 months and after that, she'll only need to go every 6 months.

Meanwhile, Lynn and Lenny took Noah to synagogue for Sukkot and he went inside a Sukkah and had grape juice and challah.

When I picked Evan up from school, he was in a good mood. He was generally pretty good while I finished working.

For dinner, we had pasta.

After dinner, Evan had his baseball practice.  His practice goes from 6:30 to 8:30.  The first hour is dedicated to hitting.  They are in the batting cages.  The second hour is dedicated to fielding.  At the end of the first hour, they normally have a game called survivor.  Each kid, in turn, gets in the cage and gets one pitch.  If they hit it, they're still in, if they miss it they are out.  They keep going until one kid is left.  Since there are 4 8-year-olds on the team, normally, it's one of those kids that win the game.  But today, Evan was able to win it.  It came down to Evan and one of the 8-year-olds.  They kept going around and around.  Finally the coach made it tougher.  He said they had to hit what appeared to be a fair ball.  If they hit it foul, they were out.  Evan came through.  He was very excited.  All-in-all he had a very good practice.

He was cranky on the way home.  It was late. He's asleep now.

Until next time...