Halloween 2014

We had a fun day today.

I went to Noah's school for his fall centers party.

We did a lot of walking tonight.  We met up with Jack's family and some other kids and they all had a fun time.

Nikki stayed at home and passed out candy to the trick-or-treaters.

Here are some pictures.

Third Grade Play

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Noah was a bit cranky this morning before we left for school.  He was better on the walk.

Rachel cleaned this morning.  We also moved the treadmill out of my office into the niche by the stairwell.

We drove to pick up the boys.  Noah had a baseball game tonight and Evan had a third grade play.  We wanted to take it easy rather than walking.

Around 4:30, Noah and I left for his game.  The kids started well but were not able to keep it up during the game.  Noah went 2-3 with two singles and a strikeout.  I knew several of the coaches/dads on the other team so it was good to see them.

Meanwhile, Rachel took Evan to his play/musical.  I asked Evan how he did.  I asked if he actually sang or just mouthed along.  He said a little of both.  Rachel took some video which is posted below.

Also below is a video of the boys trying jelly beans that Uncle Mike and Aunt Jen sent.  They were disgusting flavors.  I guess there were two varieties of each jelly bean in the box for Halloween.  One was nice tasting, one was awful tasting.  So Rachel recorded the boys trying the jelly beans.

Rachel and Noah are reading now.

Until next time...

No Golf, No Tutoring

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

We had a pretty standard morning today.  Lizzy got to see Trooper, Jack's dog on the walk.

I went into Aaron's office for a bit this morning.

It was cooler today.  I don't think it got into the 80s.  If it did, it was in the low 80s.  It made the walk to pick the boys up much nicer.

Golf ended last week and Rachel's tutoring on Wednesday was moved to Monday so everyone was at home this afternoon.

For dinner I made burgers.

Rachel is reading with Noah.

Until next time...

Last Football Practice

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

It was just a normal morning.  Not too much went on.

Around lunch time, Rachel went back to the dentist to fix a minor problem with her bite that they discovered last week.  I went to Smoothie King because I hadn't been in two weeks.  I was having withdrawal.

When we picked the boys up from school we went into the school and got some books at the Book Fair.  We told the boys they could spend $18.  The $18 included the tax so I told them they had about $16.62 to spend.  Evan wound up finding several books on "sale" and got 4 books that totaled $16.50.  Noah got several books as well.

Evan had his last football practice today.  He seemed to enjoy it.  The boys would keep playing until it was well past dark if we let them.

The boys are now asleep.

Until next time...

Dark in the Mornings

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

It is quite dark in the mornings now as we walk to school.  By the time we get to the trail it has really gotten lighter though.  Next week, after the time change, it will be light as we walk to school.

This morning, Rachel stayed with Lizzy while I walked the boys into school.  As I was walking back up the hill, I heard rustling and a huge deer jumped out of the brush about 20 feet in front of me.  That deer was followed by a second deer who stumbled and started to roll down the hill towards me.  A third deer came flying out and jumped over the deer rolling.  I just tried to get out of the way as fast as I could.  Lizzy saw the deer and started pulling Rachel to go after them.

Both Rachel and I stayed home during the day.

It was pretty nice out with a nice wind when we walked to pick the boys up from school.

Rachel tutored this evening.  She got home a bit later so I made dinner for the boys.  Rachel and I ate when she got back.

Noah and Rachel are reading now.  Then the boys will go to bed.

Below is video of Evan pulling a flag from the very fast boy on the other team on Saturday.  For some reason Evan didn't like that boy and the game was very tense.  You can see Evan throw the flag to the ground as if he's dropping a microphone.  You can see his teammates very excited for him.

Until next time....

Report Cards, Football and a Birthday Party

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Yesterday the boys got their report cards.  In third grade the kids finally get letter grades.  In Kindergarten through second grade they get graded with numbers 1-4 with 4 being the best.  Evan got 5 A+ and 4 A's.  Noah got all threes and fours.

This morning Evan had his last regular season football game.  We stopped at Donut Taco Palace before the game.  Evan played well at defense in the game.  He made some big stops.  Unfortunately the team lost.

We came home and Evan and I just stayed at home in the afternoon.  Rachel took Noah to a birthday party.

For dinner, we went to Johnny Carino's.  We had another Groupon to use.

The boys are getting ready for bed.

Until next time...

Outside Afternoon

This morning we walked to school with Lizzy.

Morry and I also walked to pick up the boys from school.  Wade came home with us.

Evan, Wade, and Noah played outside in the front yard until about 4:30 when Wade needed to leave for soccer practice.

For dinner we made pizza.

The boys are playing downstairs.

Soon, they will get ready for bed.

Last Day of Golf

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

It was a standard walk to school this morning.

Rachel and I both were home all day long.

We drove to get the boys from school since Evan had golf.

Rachel took Evan to golf.  For some reason, everyone was late - including the instructor.  Evan got to go around the course for his last golf lesson once it started.  He seemed to really enjoy it.

I picked Evan up and came home.  A little while later, the boys and I played football outside.

For dinner, I grilled chicken.

The boys are getting ready for bed.

Until next time...

Internet

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Last night during the Steelers game, our internet went out - for 45 minutes.  Our TV relies on internet.  We've been having problems.  We had someone come out at the end of August.  I called AT&T and insisted someone come out today.

In the morning, we walked to school.  Lizzy got all the attention as usual.

I went to Aaron's for a bit.

The AT&T guy showed up just before 1.  He couldn't find anything outside the house.  He ran a bunch of tests inside the house.  He's still not entirely sure what the issue is.  He put a filter on the line thinking there was noise on the line.   He also replaced our modem.  Let's hope it works.

We walked to pick the boys up from school and then Rachel tutored Audrey.

Evan had football practice in the evening.

Noah is reading to Rachel and then the boys will get ready for bed.

Until next time...

Getting back to school and work after busy weekend

This morning Grandma and Papa walked with us to school.  The boys were good, but tired.

Grandma and Papa left this morning to go back to Dallas.

Morry and I drove to pick up the boys from school.  We thought they would be tired, but Evan was actually hyper.

I tutored.

When I got home we made dinner. We had hamburgers and couscous for dinner.

Morry and the boys are watching the Steelers game now.   Soon, we'll get the kids ready for bed.

Tickled Pink

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This weekend was a very busy weekend.  Yesterday, Evan had two football games.  His team won both games.  After that, Grandma and Papa came in.  I then took Evan and Jack to Wade's birthday party.  When we got home, we immediately went to Jack's house for Jack's dad, John's, birthday party.

This morning, we got up early because Evan had a baseball tournament.  We were sponsored by Hey Cupcake so we made this a breast cancer awareness tournament.  Hey Cupcake's colors are pink and brown (mostly pink) so we got pink jerseys for the boys.

Grandma, Papa, Rachel and Noah came to the first game.  It did not go well.  The Bucs' pitchers were not good.  But we mounted a late comeback that fell just short with a final score of 16-13.  Evan walked twice and stole four bases.  The way the tournament was set up, there were 5 teams.  After two games, all the teams were seeded.  Seeds 4 and 5 would play in a consolation game, teams 2 and 3 played for the right to play seed 1 in the championship game.  After losing that first game it didn't look good.

In the second game, we made up for it.  After two and a half innings, we were winning 14-0.  To that point, the other team had not had a single baserunner.  They were playing awesome.  We ended up giving up one run and the final was 14-1.  The tiebreaker for the seeds were runs allowed.  But only giving up one run, we had given up 17 in two games which ended up being good for the second seed.

In the third game, Evan had a good game with a walk and a triple.  He played left field mostly in that game and really plays it well. Again, the Bucs jumped out to a 14-1 lead.  The other team scored a few to finish up the game and it was 14-5.  So for a third straight tournament, we ended up in the championship game.

Now Grandma, Papa, Rachel and Noah had left for Noah's baseball game.  Noah did well also.  He went 1 for 2.  He did not strike out for the first time this season.  He's been getting much better and making contact.  He played second base twice.  When I talked to him, he seemed to enjoy it.

Everyone came to the championship game.  This game ended up with much of the same.  We scored 8 runs in the top of the first, batting completely around the lineup.  Evan walked, stole second, stole third and then scored on a wild pitch.  He played third base this game.  By the time the bottom of the fourth rolled around, we were winning 14-2.  The boy who started the game had throw a lot of pitches.  We were debating when to take him out.  He struck out the first boy and then gave up a hit.  Our coach was going to pull him then and decided to give him another batter before he brought Evan in.  But that boy then picked off the runner on first.  We brought Evan in to pitch and try to get that final out.  It took Evan one pitch.  His first pitch generated an easy pop up to first base and the Bucs won their first tournament since Father's Day having finished in second in three of the last four tournaments.  The boys were very excited.

From there, we drove to Uncle Marvin and Aunt Sandy's house for dinner.  Aunt Sandy made pulled pork.

We came home and the boys showered an went to bed.

There is a link below to view pictures that Papa took today.

Until next time...

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/iq8k1rtmagh3dlp/AAD7DwUUZ4_YmMg7UCpjRtyJa?dl=0

Doctor Visit

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

It was a typical walk this morning.  The boys did well.  Lizzy enjoyed it.

I went in to Aaron's for a bit this morning.

Rachel and I went to Wholy Bagel for lunch.

Around 2, we got a call from the school nurse.  Evan was in there.  She said he looked pale and that he was complaining about some dizziness and his stomach was hurting.  We said we'd come get him because school gets out at 2:40.  We drove to school.  I drove Evan home and Rachel and Noah walked home together.  Although, Noah used his scooter to get way up ahead.

When I was with Evan he was acting normal.  But we made an appointment to see a doctor at the after-hours clinic.  The earliest appointment they had was 8pm.

Around 6, Noah and I left for baseball practice.  He did better this week than he did last week.

Evan has been complaining about his stomach for awhile.  He tends to tell me about every single little ache and pain he has so normally, I just ignore it.  The doctor checked and his ears looked fine and his throat.  He definitely wasn't sick.  So they did an x-ray on Evan's stomach.  It turns out he's constipated.  So she gave him Miralax and talked about what to have him eat/look for.  So he'll be fine and he'll be ready to play football and baseball this weekend.

Noah and I stopped at Austin Pizza Garden and picked up pizza on the way home.

The boys are getting ready for bed now.

Until next time...

Back to Baseball

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Somehow we got an early start this morning.  Because of that we didn't see the two little girls that love Lizzy.

Both Rachel and I stayed home all day.

When we picked up the boys, they wanted to go home by themselves.  Since we walked, we walked quickly behind them, but we let them speed up on their scooters and get all the way home.  They bumped into Jack and Jack rode his bike along with them.

Evan and I left early and stopped at Chick-Fil-A for dinner before baseball practice.

Evan had a good practice.  It was their first practice in a week.  We have a tournament this weekend.  When Evan pitched he didn't tonight, every single pitch he threw was a strike.  He didn't throw any balls.

We came home.  Rachel and Noah were out running errands.  They just got home.

The boys are about to get ready for bed.

Until next time...

All By Themselves

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

We had another cool, crisp morning.  Lizzy loves the temperature now.  The boys both took their scooters to school.  The mother of two girls that love Lizzy offered to have Lizzy at their house if we ever need pet sitting.

We had a cleaning service come to clean the house this morning.  We got the cleaning service off of Angie's List.

Rachel had a dentist appointment today in the morning and I stayed while the house was being cleaned.

When Rachel got home, I ran to Aaron's to meet with him.  I was not able to make it back home in time to get the kids from school.

Rachel went to pick up the boys but they told her that they wanted to ride their scooters home from school by themselves.  So Rachel drove home and left the car and then walked to the corner of Tanaqua and Larue Belle Lane.  Just as she was getting there, she could see the boys turning onto Tanaqua from Spruce Canyon.  Lots of kids walk by themselves but this was the first time the boys did it.  They really liked that.

Evan had golf in the afternoon.

Rachel tutored and when she got home we had leftovers.

The boys are about to get ready for bed.

Until next time...

Noah Rides A Horse

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning it was very cool out when we walked to school.  The weather app said it was 54 degrees.  I don't think it was quite that cold but it was cool.  Lizzy seemed to really enjoy it.  Evan rode his Razor Scooter.

We stayed home in the morning.

I had a dentist appointment at lunch.

It was only around 80 when we walked home from school.  Much nicer than those 95+ walks home.

Rachel tutored Audrey in the afternoon.

Noah and Evan had an early dinner and then Evan and I went to his football practice.  Rachel and Noah followed Nikki to the barn that is keeping her horses.

Noah got to ride on the horse and help take care of the horse.  He seemed to really have fun.

The boys are about to get ready for bed.

Until next time...

Day Off / Parent-Teacher Conferences

Today the kids had the day off from school.  We still had to go to school for parent-teacher conferences.  We scheduled the conferences back-to-back.

We walked to school.  Both boys are doing well and we had good conferences.

Later in the afternoon I tutored.

For dinner we had baked breaded chicken with asparagus.

The boys are getting ready for bed now.

Noah Plays Baseball, Evan Comes Home

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

We didn't have anywhere to be this morning so we didn't have any particular reason to get up early.  Noah slept in until nearly 9:30.

When we got up, I texted the Josh's father to see how Evan was doing.  He said that Evan was super easy and they had a great time.

We picked Evan up and then went to Target.  We had to get some things.

We came home and quickly got Noah ready for his baseball game.  Evan stayed with Rachel and I took Noah to the field.  Rachel and Evan went to Costco to get some things.

Noah's team tied.  Noah got a hit in his first at bat and struck out in his second at-bat.  While the team tied, they struggled for most of the game until the end.  Evan saw a bunch of kids he knows and was very happy.

For dinner, we went to Alamo Drafthouse and saw Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.  I think the boys like having dinner while watching a movie.  The movie was actually fairly good.  I was thinking it was going to be bad because it was nothing like the book.  But there were some good parts and it kept my attention.  The boys really enjoyed it.

The boys are about to get ready for bed.

Until next time...

Night with the Upshaws

This morning Morry and Evan went to breakfast with Darius's family.  Noah was still sleeping when they left so we stayed home.

Both Evan's football game and Noah's baseball game were cancelled today because of the rain.

Evan went to Darius's house after breakfast for a little bit.

Morry brought Evan home for lunch and then he went back out to go to another friend's house. His friend Josh from his baseball team invited him over to spend the night.

Aaron, Mandy, Jeremy, and Nathan came over for dinner. They picked up Schmidts barbecue.  We had a nice time and we were able to eat outside.  Noah and Jeremy had fun playing Legos together.

They left a few minutes ago and Noah is ready for bed.

After School Activities

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

We had a typical morning this morning.  Lizzy enjoyed her daily walk.

We stayed home this morning.  I was very busy this before lunch so we were not able to go to Wholy Bagel.  Rachel went out and picked up food there and we ate it at home once I finished up what I was working on.

Evan went home with Wade and some other boys after school.  We walked home with Noah.

Noah seemed to enjoy having the house to himself after school.

When I went to pick up Evan at Wade's, there were four boys.  They were playing football.  Wade's mom said that they had been playing for the 2.5 hours since they had gotten home.  Evan's face was all red but he was very happy.

After coming home, Noah and I went to Noah's baseball practice.  He missed all baseball activities last week so it was good to get him back out there.

On the way home from baseball, we picked up Vietnamese food from Pho Thai Son.

The boys just showered and are now in bed.

Until next time...

Baseball Night

This morning we walked to school with Lizzy.

While the boys were at school I got stuff done around the house.

Morry and I drove to pick up the boys since Morry had a meeting he had to back for.

This evening Evan had baseball practice.  Morry fed the boys and early dinner and then Morry and Evan left for practice.  They are still out there.

Noah is going to read to me - the 2 books his teacher assigned to him to read tonight.  Then, I'll get Noah ready for bed.

Golf

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

We walked to school today as normal.  We were leaving when Lizzy's friend was coming up so she didn't get to play with her friend.

I had a meeting after lunch that I went to.  I was not able to go pick up the boys from school with Rachel today.

When the boys got home, Evan did his homework.  Then Rachel took him over to golf.

I got home shortly after Rachel got back.  When it was time to get Evan I picked him up.  He seemed like he had a good time playing.

Rachel had made the dough for pizza and I prepared the pizzas and baked them for dinner while Rachel was tutoring.

Noah is doing his reading and Evan is decorating a notebook for school.  He needs to decorate the notebook by Friday.

Until next time...

Football Practice

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

It has been cool in the mornings and Lizzy really likes walking to school when it's cool.  She has become friends with another dog that comes.  She got really excited this morning when that other dog came up.

Both Rachel and I stayed home all day.

After walking to pick up the boys, Rachel tutored Audrey.

Evan had an early dinner and then went to football practice.  He seemed to really enjoy being out there playing with his friends.  He did fairly well.

We came home and the boys are getting ready for bed.

Until next time...

Back To Normal

Hello everyone, this Evan and Daddy.

I woke up and I had corn pops for breakfast.  Noah was feeling better this morning.

I had a good day at school.   At recess I played kickball.  I was pitcher.

We had popsicles on our way home from school.

I decided to play MLB Power Pros.  I went outside with Daddy and played wiffleball.

For dinner we had left over Rudy's.  It was a lot of brisket.  It was spicy too.  I like spiciness.

Now I'm playing with a stuffed soccer ball and helping Daddy write the blog.

Next we're going to go to bed.

On the Mend

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

I got up around 8:30 and came downstairs.  Evan was playing Wii and Noah was watching him.  Noah seemed better than yesterday but still seemed sick.  I got breakfast for the boys.  After Noah ate his breakfast, I gave him medicine.

The boys continued to play throughout the morning.  Nikki left after 10am to take Keith to the airport.

At 11:30, Rachel and Evan left to go to Aunt Susan's 60th birthday party.  With Noah being contagious it wasn't a good idea to bring Noah, so I stayed home with Noah.  Noah played Wii all day long.

I did work and watched the Steelers game on the computer.

Rachel and Evan got home after 3pm.  Evan got dressed for his football game.  Today was a make up of the rain out two weeks ago.

Evan's team won today.  The team they played was made up of mostly 3rd graders.  Evan's team really played well and dominated the game.  Evan played a good defense and pulled a few flags.  He didn't catch a pass on offense though.

We went to Rudy's after the game to get food for dinner.  Darius' family was there.  They were planning to eat there.  While I ordered food, Evan and Darius stayed together.  They were walking around the place like they owned it.  We'll eat with them after next week's game.

When I got home, Noah looked like a new kid.  His color was back, he was hyper.  He ate a ton of sausage and brisket.  Evan also ate a bunch of brisket.

They had showers and now they are in bed.

Until next time...

Strep

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Noah came into our room early this morning.  He said his throat hurt still but he was feeling better.  Rachel took his temperature and it was 99.5.  She gave him some ibuprofen and he laid down with us for a bit.

I got up with him a little while later.  He said he was feeling better.  He was actually a bit hyper.  I got breakfast for he and Evan, though he ended up not eating the breakfast because he said it was hard on his throat.

Rachel ended making an appointment for Noah to go to the doctor for the afternoon.

Then I took Evan to his football game.  They played a team of fourth graders and they got beat pretty badly.  Evan played well.  He prevented an interception on a throw to him by knocking the ball out of the other boy's hands.  He also knocked a ball away when he was on defense in the end zone.  As a receiver he caught three passes.  He seemed to have a good time which is what matters.

We came home and had lunch. Then we went outside.  It was really really nice out.  I did a bit of work while I was on the porch and Evan and Noah played wiffleball.

Later in the afternoon, I took Noah to the doctor.  The doctor said that his tonsils were inflamed and very red.  They did a strep test.  Shortly after we got home, I got a call that the strep test had come back positive and they called in a prescription to HEB.  I went and picked it up a bit later.

We had leftovers for dinner.  Noah ate a bit.  Then I gave him his first dose of medicine.  He wanted to be tucked in after that.

Noah is now in bed and Evan is in his room.

Until next time...

No Sports Today

This morning we walked to school with Lizzy.

During the day Morry had a lunch meeting.

We walked with Keith to get the boys after school.

A little bit after getting home Noah's friend Caleb came over for the first time.  They seemed to have a good time together.  Evan played with them too.

When Caleb left Noah seemed like he didn't feel well.  We took his temperature and he had a slight fever.

For dinner we had hamburgers with Nikki and Keith.

After dinner Noah fell asleep on the couch.  We'll need to wake him up soon to get ready for bed.

We will see how he feels in the morning.