Back to the Bucs

This morning we took it easy at home.

Evan and Noah played outside for most of the day with Jack and another neighborhood kid.

Morry ran out to Costco to pick up a few things.

At 3:00 Evan had baseball practice.  Everyone (all of the families) were meeting there after practice for a potluck party.

Noah and I stopped at HEB to pick up a few things for the party and for our family for the week.

We had a nice time at the party. It was good to see all of the families again.

The kids are getting ready for bed now.

Here are a few pictures from the party.

Happy Pooch

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning, Evan had a workout with Coach Chris.  Again he worked on pitching.  Coach Chris worked with him a bit on a curve ball but it's kind of advanced.  He also taught Evan how to throw a cut fastball.  Evan seemed to get a hang of that and Coach Chris said he threw it very well.

We stopped at Smoothie King on the way home.

As soon as we got home, Rachel had waffle batter made and we all ate waffles.

We cleaned up and left to go to Emma Long Park which is a leash-less 3 mile hike so we brought Lizzy.  Throughout the entire hike you keep crossing the creek.  Lizzy was in heaven.  She was running like I hadn't seen her run in years.  She was running back and forth across the creek, running ahead, although she would never get too far from us.  The boys would run ahead with her too.  After about 2 miles throughout the hike which was hilly at times, Lizzy finally started to slow down.  She did really well though and seemed to be so happy.

We came home, got cleaned up and then went and picked Grandma and Papa up for dinner.  We went to Buffet Palace which is an Asian Buffet.  Rachel and I had been there years ago but hadn't been back.  Someone highly recommended it to us.  It was ok.  The food was surprisingly fresh and didn't have that buffet feel.  But it wasn't anything special.

From there we went back to Grandma and Papa's and played Cranium.

We're home now and the boys are in bed.

Until next time...

Ferris Bueller

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Today was similar to yesterday - cold and sunny in the morning then sunny and nice in the afternoon.

Rachel went for a run in the morning.  Later we went to Wholy Bagel for lunch.

Evan went to Wade's after school so we just picked Noah up.  Noah was having a really good time on the playground with his buddies so Rachel stayed at the school to let Noah play before they walked home.  I ended up walking home alone.

For dinner, we got Papa John's.  Evan asked if we could see a movie while we ate.  Ferris Bueller's Day Off is on Netflix so we put it on.  The boys thought it was really funny.  The car scene at the end was hysterical when you're watching with two people who have never seen the movie before.  We all had a really nice time.

The boys are in bed now.

Until next time...

Back to Being Nice

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

It was crisp and cool on the way to school this morning but it was bright and sunny.  The day would go back to being a really nice spring day.

I went into Aaron's as we worked through a few issues.  I wasn't in for that long.

In the afternoon, Rachel and I walked to get the boys.  Evan had lost his lunch box so I went into the school and helped him look for it while Rachel and Noah walked home.  We successfully were able to get the lunch box.

Rachel left to tutor shortly after.

As soon as the boys were done with their homework, Jack knocked on the door.  The boys then went to play outside.  They were basically outside until 6:30 which is nice.

At one point, though, I was at my desk.  I heard Evan run in the house and run upstairs.  Then I saw him come downstairs with a Russian military hat that Dmitriy had brought back to him from Russia, a Nerf dart shooter, and wearing a fake mustache.  I just burst out laughing.  I think they were at "war" with the girls.

For dinner we had burritos.

The boys are getting ready for bed now.

Until next time...

Pizza at Home

This morning it was cold and windy when we walked to school.

Grandma/Lynn and I went to breakfast at a crepe place run by the deaf community.  To order, you point at items on the menu in front of the register.  It was good.  We would go back.

Morry and I walked to get Evan, Noah, and Jack from school.

I tutored Jack and Audrey this afternoon.

Evan and Noah spent a lot of time playing outside this afternoon.

Before dinner, Morry ran out to HEB to pick up a few things.

For dinner we made pizza.  I made the dough earlier in the day and Morry made the sauce.

The boys are playing on their ipads.  Soon, they will get ready for bed.

Windy

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Overnight, we finally had some rain.  We really haven't had any rain this winter.  When the rain left, however, it left wind.  We were able to walk to school, but it was quite windy.  It said it was 58 degrees but it felt colder.  The high today was supposed to be over 70.

Rachel worked out this morning.  She stayed home all day until she left to tutor this afternoon.

I worked with Aaron on the project that we've been working on.

By the time I walked to school to get Evan and help with Math Pentathalon, it was 54 degrees.  I'm not sure how it got colder all day, but it did.

At Math Pentathalon, Noah was playing a little girl who was in his class last year.  After a few moves, Noah said he needed to go to the bathroom.  While Noah was in the bathroom, the girl said to me that she was never going to be able to beat Noah.  I said don't say never, but inside I basically agreed.  Noah beat her 3 times in about 20 minutes.  They ended up moving Noah's friend Owen over to play against Noah.  Noah was beating Owen when we had to finish up.  Despite all of Noah's success, he still says he doesn't like it.

For dinner we had leftovers but I grilled some corn for a side.

The boys are in their rooms.

Until next time...

Traffic

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

It was a gray day this morning but warm (in the 60s) on our walk to school.  Evan was tired after his long weekend.

Rachel spent some of the morning dealing with an issue on her blog.  I was waiting for traffic to die down before I went into Aaron's to work out this issue we were having.  Unfortunately, Mopac is under construction and traffic lasted much longer than normal.  I finally went in around 10.

Rachel went to HEB right around the time I left.

On the way home, I stopped at Smoothie King.

We drove to school in the afternoon because Rachel had to leave from there to go pick up Grandma from the airport.  Grandma and Papa drove to Dallas yesterday for an event and Papa is staying the week for work and then driving back.  So Grandma flew home today.  Noah went with Rachel to the airport.  Evan and I walked home from school.

Later in the afternoon, I played football with Evan and Noah for a little bit.

Grandma came over for dinner.  We grilled chicken and had asparagus.

Rachel just got back from walking Grandma home.  The boys are upstairs.

Until next time...

Tournament Champions

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Evan had to be up in Georgetown by 8:45 for the second day of the tournament this morning.  He and I left the house at 7:45 and stopped at Donut Taco Palace on the way up.

In the first game, Evan singled and scored twice.  He played second base for a good portion of the game.  He fielded one ball and threw the runner out at first.

After the game, we went to Popeye's for lunch.  That's where he wanted to go.

Rachel and Noah stayed home all day.  Rachel was doing chores around the house and Noah didn't want to do much.  Eventually, he ended up painting.  He painted a picture of a cat on the fence.  It's very good.

In the second game of the tournament, which was the semifinals, Evan came up with arguably the biggest play of the game.  Yesterday, the Horns, the team Evan was playing for lost to the same team that they were playing in the semifinals today.  In yesterday's game, the Horns went up 4-0 and held the other team scoreless for two innings.  But in the third inning a bad hop and an error led to a bad inning as the boys got down on themselves and the other team ended up winning.  Today, the game started off very similar.  The Horns went up 4-0 and the held the other team scoreless for the first two innings.  In the third inning, an error led to the first run by the other team.  The next batter hit a ball which rolled to the right centerfield fence.  Evan was playing left field.  The relay came in to try to get the runner who was trying for a triple.  Evan saw how the play was developing and saw that the pitcher did not back up the third baseman, so he ran over there.  The throw got past the third baseman but Evan was there to field it.  The runner didn't see Evan and got up to run home.  Evan threw home to get the runner out.  The coaches and kids were all cheering for Evan and the momentum, which looked like it might swing stayed on the side of the Horns.  They went on to win the game and make it to the finals.

After Noah finished painting, the kids on the street knocked on the door and asked Noah to come out and play with them.  He played outside for a little bit.

In the finals, the Horns took the lead 2-0 after the first inning and a half.  Evan batted in third in the bottom of the second.  The two boys in front of him got on base.  The first pitch to Evan was above his head but he swung and crushed it.  It went flying over the third baseman's head and past the left fielder all the way to the fence.  Evan ran faster than I have seen him run for a triple.  The next pitch got by the catcher (but not that far) and Evan made a good jump and stole home.  The Horns went on to win the game and win the tournament.  Evan got a brand new trophy.

Rachel and I had leftovers for dinner when we got home.  The boys ate some other things.  They've gotten ready for bed and are in their rooms now.

Until next time...

Baseball is Back

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Evan and Noah stayed over at Grandma and Papa's last night.  But Evan was asked to fill in for a baseball team at a tournament this weekend.  It was up in Georgetown which is about 45 minutes away with no traffic.  He had to be there at 8am.  I brought his uniform over this morning and he got dressed and were on the road by 7.  We stopped at Donut Taco Palace for the first time since the fall baseball season.

As a fill-in, Evan was relegated to right field for the entire day. That didn't stop him from making a few nice plays.  He caught a fly ball and then got in to the relay man to get the boy tagging from third for a double play.  He walked, stole second and third and scored and he hit a ball to the right side to move the runners up later in the first game.  In the second game, he had a couple good at-bats that didn't end up with him on base.  In the last inning he fielded a hard hit ball and threw to first to try to get the runner.  I actually thought he got the runner.  The two umpires were not actually watching the play.  One was focused on a runner coming home and the other was focused on a runner to second.  I guess they saw the ball go in the outfield and didn't think Evan would try to get the out at first.  We got home around 3pm.

Rachel went over to Grandma and Papa's.  They all played a game that Noah legitimately won.  It was a strategy game.

Shortly after I got home, Rachel left to go to a Team Survivor orientation.  It's a women's fitness program for cancer survivors.

The boys and I watched a documentary about Rocky and then walked to Grandma and Papa's.  Rachel met us over there and we all went to Pho Thai Son for dinner.

We're home now and the boys are in bed.

Until next time...

Late Night

This morning we walked to school.

I went to Target and Walgreens today.

We walked again to pick up the boys from school.

Later in the afternoon I left to tutor.  Before Morry and Evan went to baseball practice they dropped off Noah at Grandma and Papa's house.

On my way home from tutoring I picked up Noah at Grandma and Papa's.  They were eating dinner when I got there, so I joined them too.  Noah had a fun time there.  He and Grandma played Boggle.

We got home at 8:00pm just as Morry and Evan were getting home.  They picked up Popeye's for dinner on the way home.

The boys are ready for bed and in their rooms now.

Mid Week

This morning we walked to school.

When we got home I walked on the treadmill.

Around lunchtime I had a hair appointment.

Morry and I walked to get Evan, Noah, and Jack.  The weather was really nice.

I tutored Jack and Audrey in the afternoon.

Morry and Evan played some baseball in the front yard.

For dinner we had flank steak and corn on the cob.

The boys are getting ready for bed now.

Die Hard

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

After walking the boys to school this morning, Rachel made a run to HEB.  She needed to get stuff for the week.

Aaron and I worked together on a project later in the morning at his office.

Rachel tutored in the afternoon and couldn't get the boys.  There was no Math Pentathalon this week so the boys and I came straight home from school.

Evan went out to play in the cul-de-sac and Noah joined him a bit later.

I made pasta for us and the three of us sat down and watched Die Hard.  The boys enjoyed the movie.  Rachel came home right at the end of the movie.  After tutoring, she went to a fundraiser for the Breast Cancer Resource Center.

The boys are asleep now.

Until next time...

Evan's Parent Teacher Conference

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

The kids were off from school today for President's Day.  But we had to go in for Evan's Parent-Teacher Conference.  That's what it's called, though we barely spoke to the teacher.  She had instructions for your child to show you what they had been working on.  Evan has been working on poetry.  He wrote two very nice poems.  One of the poems was about PNC Park.  I was very impressed with it.

When we came home, Rachel and the boys went to Mt. Bonnell.  They went with a family where the mother is  Pink Ribbon Cowgirl and friend of Rachel and her son is Noah's friend.  Deborah and another Pink Ribbon Cowgirl met them there.  They stopped at Whole Foods and picked up food to each there.

I worked all day.  Late in the afternoon, I played football with the boys.

We went to the airport to pick up Grandma and Papa.  We stopped at Kerbey Lane for dinner on the way home.  The food was good.

The boys are in bed.

Until next time...

Valentine's Day 2016

This morning we took it easy.

We left the house around 10:30 to head downtown.  We spent a lot of the day walking around South Congress and Downtown.

We parked on South Congress and walked to Big Top Candy Shop. We all picked out some candy to bring home.   Then, we ate lunch.  Evan got a slice of pizza from Home Slice.  The rest of us got food from Ms. P's Chicken.  We ate outside on the picnic tables in front of the food trailer.

From there, we walked downtown to Voodoo Donut.  There was a long wait at Voodoo Donut.  The Austin Marathon was this morning and downtown was packed.  There were a lot of people getting donuts after the race.

Then, we walked back to the car.

We took it easy this afternoon.

Before dinner we walked to Grandma and Papa's house to get their mail and put out the trash cans.

For dinner we had leftovers.

The boys are getting ready for bed.

Tomorrow, there isn't school, but we have Evan's parent teacher conference in the morning.

Here are some pictures from today.

Mr. Pitcher

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning Rachel and Noah went for a 3 mile run.  Rachel said that Noah ended up walking quite a bit but it was such a nice morning and she was glad that he wanted to get out of the house.

Meanwhile, I took Evan to work with Coach Chris.  Rather than hitting, they focused on pitching today.  Evan did very very well.  Coach Chris worked with him on bring his arm further back to add velocity.  He then taught him a changeup called the circle change.  Chris came up to me afterwards to gush about the movement on the changeup.  He said for sure that if Evan uses that in the game, it's a definite out pitch.  He was really impressed with Evan's ability to throw it and have control.  He said it's dropping down and in on the right handers.

Evan and I stopped at Smoothie King on the way home.  We had leftover pizza when we got home.

Later in the afternoon, Evan, Noah and I played football outside.

At dinner time, we drove out to the Galleria.  We stopped at a place where Noah will be going for a week long camp in the summer.  It's a cooking camp.  Then we went to Madam Mam's, a Thai restaurant, for dinner.  After dinner, we walked around the Galleria.

The boys are in bed now.

Until next time...

New Pizza Place

This morning we walked the boys to school.

For lunch Morry and I went to Wholy Bagel.

We walked again for pickup and Wade came home with us.  Morry and the boys played some football in the front yard.  Wade stayed until about 5:30.

For dinner we tried a new pizza place called Pinthouse Pizza.  Morry and I thought the food was good, but the boys didn't eat well.  Noah asked for a pepperoni roll and said he'd have some pizza.  Morry ordered a large pizza because of this.  Noah did not touch the pepperoni roll or have any pizza.  We were not very happy about that.

Morry is on the treadmill now trying to get some more Fitbit steps.

Soon, the boys will get ready for bed.

Competitive

This morning we walked to school.

I walked on the treadmill this morning and then took Grandma and Papa to the airport.

I had an early tutoring today, so Morry went alone to pick up the kids from school.

The boys played outside with other kids from the neighborhood.

When I got home we made burritos for dinner.

The boys are in bed now and Morry is on the treadmill.  He's in a weekly challenge on Fitbit and trying to get the number 1 spot.

No Tutoring and Nice Day

This morning we walked to school and we walked to pick up the boys.

This afternoon the weather was really nice.

Jack walked home with us for tutoring, but since the 4th graders has writing benchmarks today, Jack ended up not doing tutoring so that he could have a break.  Audrey ended up not coming as well.

Morry and the boys played football outside for a little bit.

While we were getting ready the boys played in the cul-de-sac with Nathan.

For dinner we had a frozen Asian meal.

We Facetimed with Artie since today is his first birthday.

The boys are getting ready for bed now.

Better Math Pentathalon for Me

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Noah didn't want to go to school today because he didn't want to do Math Pentathalon.  I think in general he just always wants to come straight home from school.  So it was a tougher walk to school.

Later in the morning, I had a meeting with a client.  Rachel went to Whole Foods for a Pink Ribbons Cowgirl event for lunch.

I stopped at Smoothie King on the way home.

Rachel's tutoring was pushed back a little but she still couldn't come to school to help with Math Pentathalon.  Evan sits outside the classroom while I help with the kids.  My experience thus far has been difficult as there are more kids that don't pay attention and can't do math than those that do pay attention and can actually do math in their head.  Why the poorly prepared kids are signed up for the team, I don't know.  So while Noah has been largely successful, I get frustrated dealing with the kids.  Today, though, Noah was paired up with his friend Lucy from Kindergarten and First Grade.  Lucy is a great kid and she's good at math.  It was such a pleasure to work with two kids that actually paid attention and knew what they were doing.  I think even Noah enjoyed it more, even though the competition was tougher.

We walked home afterwards and then Noah did his homework.

Evan, Noah and I played football outside before dinner.

The boys are signing their Valentine's Day cards for their classes now.

Until next time...

Noah's Checkup

This morning we walked the kids to school.

I picked up Noah at 10am and we went to his ENT checkup appointment.  We had to wait about an hour and saw the doctor for less than 5 minutes.  Everything looked good in terms of his tonsillectomy recovery.  He does not need to go back.

Noah was back at school a little after 12pm.

Morry and I walked to pick up the kids.

Before dinner we went to HEB to pick up a few things.  Noah needs a small plant tomorrow for some class project.

We had leftover food from the party for dinner.  While we were getting dinner ready and eating we watched Wheel of Fortune.  One of our friends (the woman who bought our old house) was on today.  She didn't win, but it was still fun to watch.

Morry is on a phone meeting now.   Soon the boys will get ready for bed.

Super Bowl Party

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

I had a phone meeting this morning.  While I was doing that, Evan and Noah were playing on the Playstation and Rachel was walking on the treadmill.

After that, Evan and I went to the middle school football field.  He wanted to use his new kicking tee to practice field goal kicking.  He was able to make several from the old extra point range.  He made one a few yards beyond that.

Most of the afternoon was spent getting ready for the Super Bowl party.

Three families on the Bucs came as well as Grandma and Papa.  Everyone had a really nice time.  The boys played outside until the start of the game.  Then they intently watched the game.  Two of the families left shortly after halftime.  All-in-all, it was a successful party.

The boys are now in bed.

Until next time...

Lisa

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning, Rachel and Noah went for a run.  They ran most of the way to Starbucks.  Then they got some stuff at Starbucks and sat down.  They walked most of the way home.

Evan saw a kicking tee that he wanted to buy at Academy.  He had a gift card there so he and I went and he bought it.  We then went to Clayton where we threw the baseball and he kicked a football off the tee.

We came home and had lunch.

After lunch, we left to go to Barry and Lisa's.  Lisa was diagnosed with breast cancer and had her first chemotherapy session on Thursday.  We brought a fruit salad up to them.  We stopped by Tiff's Treats first to get some cookies.  Lisa has been using Rachel as a sounding board which I think has been good for both of them.  Lisa's sister, Angie was there helping out.  Barry and I played football against Evan, Noah and Lincoln.  Not surprisingly, there was some questionable calls that went the way of the boys over the fathers.  Evan was behind most of those questionable calls.

On the way home, we stopped at Zen for dinner.  The boys ate really well there.  They said they want to go back.  We didn't realize that on Saturday it was Kid's Eat Free.  It ended up being a very cheap meal.

Rachel is making stuff right now for the get together we're having tomorrow.  Some of the families from the Bucs are coming over for the Super Bowl.

Until next time...

Noah's Test

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning, Noah was scheduled to take a test that evaluates any issues he might have but also an IQ test.  It was at 9 so he didn't got to school in the morning.  Just Evan and I walked to school.  Since Rachel stayed home with Noah, Lizzy was forced to stay home as well.

Noah said the test (which lasted close to 2 hours) was "easy".  He said it "might be hard for some kids but not for me."  We'll get the results in two weeks.

We took Noah to Wholy Bagel for lunch.  He had lox and capers.  We then dropped him off at school.

After school, Rachel and I walked to get Noah.  Evan went home with his friend Ethan.

Just before dinner, Evan was dropped off at home.  We then went to Costco to get things.  The boys ate there.  We stopped at Torchy's on the way home to get food for us.  The boys also each got a taco to eat as well.

The boys are getting ready for bed now.

Until next time...

Busy Thursday

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

As we left to go to school this morning, I checked the temperature and it said 32 degrees.  I don't think it felt that cold though.

I left shortly after I got home to run to a client's location.  From there, Mandy and I had a meeting with a prospective client.  It went very well.  Then I went back to the client for a little while before going home.

Owen's mom, Lorena, had a brunch for some moms this morning.  Rachel went.  She said it was a lot of fun.

The boys were in good moods when we picked them up.

Rachel tutored in the afternoon.  I went outside and played football with Evan.

For dinner, we had a frozen Asian dinner.

The boys are in bed now.

Until next time...

Laid Back Wednesday

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

While the mornings were a bit warmer the last two days, this morning it was cold again on the walk.  The only problem with it being cold is that not as many other people walk so Lizzy doesn't get as much attention on those days.

I stayed home all day today, though I had to run out to pick something up at Staples.  And since Staples is just behind Smoothie King in the same shopping center, I went ahead and just picked up a smoothie.

Rachel ran out to Kohl's and HEB in the morning.

We walked to get the boys and Jack came home with us for tutoring.

For dinner, Rachel had made a pork tenderloin in the crock pot.

The boys are playing in the game room right now and should start to get ready for bed shortly.

Until next time...

Noah Wins

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

After walking the boys to school, I came home and had a phone meeting.  Then I went into Aaron's to work on a project.  From there I stopped at another client before heading home.

Rachel went for a short run this morning.

Tuesday is Rachel's long tutoring day so she left before I left to get the boys.

I walked to school and then met Evan and we went into the school for Math Pentathalon.  I worked with Noah as he played a game that I hadn't seen against two different girls.  He played two games against each girl and won both of them.  This game was different than the other games that I helped with as it was more strategy and there really wasn't any luck involved.  The other game you had to know math, but there was luck involved with what dominoes you were dealt.

When we got home, Noah did his homework and then both boys went out and played with the neighborhood kids in the cul-de-sac.

For dinner, I grilled a steak for the boys and me and Rachel cooked fish.  Noah ate both the steak and the fish.

The boys are about to get ready for bed.

Until next time...

Playing in the Neighborhood

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

It was warmer this morning on the walk to school, though it was very foggy and overcast.  It did get nicer during the day somewhat, in terms of sun and clouds.

Rachel stayed at home most of the day while I went into Aaron's to work on two different projects.  On the way home, I stopped at Smoothie King.

We picked up the boys from school.  Noah played on the playground with his friends until Evan came out of the building.

In the afternoon, Brody knocked on the door to play with Evan and Noah.  Noah didn't want to go out.  Only Evan went out.  But then Evan came back and told Noah he needed his help.  Apparently all the kids on the street were out playing with each other, both boys and girls.  The girls were chasing the boys I guess.  I don't know.  They were out there for close to an hour and a half.

Rachel left closer to dinner time to go with Deborah to some healthy digestive system meet up or something like that.  I guess it was some seminar in eating well.

Since Rachel was out for dinner, the boys and I decided to eat dinner and watch a movie.  I made pasta and we watched Shaun of the Dead.  The boys really liked it.

The boys are getting ready for bed now.

Until next time...