Math Pentathlon Recognition and Class Party

This morning we walked to school and stayed for the assembly.  The school was recognizing the Math Pentathlon team. The school team placed gold in the state of Texas for the Math Pentathlon National Tournament.  They had all of the kids stand up to be recognized.

After that Morry went home and I went to Noah's class party.  They had centers with breakfast and crafts.  After, they played on the playground.

In the afternoon, the sky looked pretty dark and there was some thunder.  We decided to drive to pick up the kids from school.

Evan had a good day.  They had market day.  The kids made or brought in items to sell for pretend money.  Evan made finger flick footballs and said they sold well.  He bought some candy and a bag to carry it all in.

Morry and Evan went to baseball practice.

When they got home we had leftovers for dinner and ate outside.

The boys are ready for bed now.

Here are some pictures from today.

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a busy weekend.

On Saturday, Noah had a birthday party at Blazer Laser Tag at 11am.  We dropped him off and then went shopping at Sports Authority.  They are going out of business and we thought we could find some deals.  We were disappointed.  Most of the store was picked over.  We did get Evan cleats and two shirts for me.

At night, we ordered pizza from Papa Johns and watched the movie Vacation.  For dessert we went to Dairy Queen.

On Sunday, we drove to Dallas (actually Arlington) for the Texas Rangers game. They were playing the Pirates, which they only do every few years.  We met the Williams at the game.  Morry and the boys had a good time.  Evan got a few autographs and Daniel got a foul ball!

Today, we went over to Matt and Rachael's new house for lunch.

For dinner, we went to Uncle Marvin and Aunt Sandy's house.  We had a nice time at both houses.

The boys are ready for bed now.

Here a are a few pictures from the game yesterday.

Not Really a Day Off

Today the kids didn't have school, but Morry and I still had work to do.

We all went into Kick Pleat to get some work done.  Morry needed to setup some equipment for them and I trained employees on how to use the system.  The boys sat, very well behaved, while we got that done.  We were there from about 9am-noon.

After that we went to Wholy Bagel.

Evan went over to Wade's house this afternoon.

For dinner we went to a restaurant called The Park on South Lamar.  It was good. It was a sports bar with lots of food options.  The kids ate well.

Evan played outside some this evening when we got home.

Now the boys are getting ready for bed.

4 Day Weekend

This morning we walked to school.

Later in the morning I went with some friends for breakfast at Independence Fine Foods.  We had a nice time.

I came home and did some work. Then, it was time to pick up the kids.

Morry and I walked to pick them up.

The kids have off Friday and Monday for Memorial Day.

For dinner we had leftover chicken we put into tacos and salad.  The kids ate well.  Noah had 3 chicken tacos and all of his salad.

Soon, the boys will get ready for bed.

Lucky Number Thirteen

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Today is Rachel and my thirteenth anniversary.  It's hard to believe we've been married thirteen years.  We're just shy of having been together for fifteen years.

We walked to school this morning and then ended up talking to Jack's dad for a while.

We worked from home in the morning.  Rachel had a call and I had a call as well.

For our anniversary, we decided to have an anniversary lunch rather than an anniversary dinner.  We wanted to go somewhere that we wouldn't take the boys.  There's a German Bakery/Bar called Easy Tiger that opened on Sixth Street.  I had eaten there once before.  They server freshly baked soft pretzels and make their own bread for sandwiches.  They serve corned beef, but not thinly sliced, just slices of the brisket.  We were able to eat outside.  Their outside is covered.  We had a nice time.

I had a call in the afternoon so Rachel went to get the boys.

When Rachel got home, she took Lizzy to the vet for her annual checkup.  Everything went well but we're awaiting the results of the blood work.  But her weight actually came down some and everything else appeared healthy.

Evan and I went to baseball practice.  It was a really good practice.  Evan played really well.

For dinner we had leftovers from lunch.  We were able to eat outside.  The bugs are not yet too bad.

The boys are getting ready for bed.

Until next time...

Nearing the End

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Everything is starting to wrap up.  After today, the boys only have one Tuesday left of school.  And we're finishing up batting practice as well.  After today, there is only one batting practice left.

In the morning, after taking the boys to school, I went into Hey Cupcake! for a meeting.  They had a few issues they wanted to talk to me about.  The good thing is that I was able to bring home four cupcakes for us.

I worked in the afternoon and then walked to pick up the boys.  Rachel didn't come with me since she was tutoring.

I took Evan to batting practice.  I dropped Noah off with Grandma and Papa.  Rachel would have been home in time so Noah didn't have to go, but he wanted to go so I dropped him off.  He had dinner with them.

We had chicken skewers that we grilled tonight.  We got the pre-seasoned chicken skewers from Costco.

The boys are getting ready for bed now.

Until next time...

Last Monday of the Year

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Today was the last Monday of the school year.  The boys are down to six more days of school.  Then Evan will only have one year left of elementary school.  Time has flown.

After taking the kids to school, I left to go to HomeAway.  Aaron and I are doing a project for them.

I came home in time to walk to get the boys.

Rachel tutored in the afternoon.  I took Evan to work with Coach Chris.  Noah came with us.  Chris worked with Evan and Josh at the same time.  The kids have so much fun working with him.

After that, we went to dinner at Via 313.  Grandma and Papa had friends visiting and so we met them at Via 313.  The food was very good.  The boys ate well and were behaved.

The boys are getting ready for bed now.

Until next time...

Baseball and Parties

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Noah had two birthday parties scheduled for today.  Actually, Evan was invited to both as well, but he had a game at 1:15 so he definitely couldn't go to the first game.  If they lost, he could go to the second game.

Evan and I stopped at Smoothie King on the way up.  The game didn't go well, although I felt Evan played well.  He played second base the whole game.  He made a beautiful tag on a boy trying to stretch a single into a double.  It was quite a play.  Unfortunately, the Bucs didn't really come to play and the umpiring was just plain awful.

Rachel took Noah to the first party.  It was at our old neighbor's new house.  Rachel got a tour of the house and then left Noah there.  She later went and picked him back up.

Evan and I met Rachel and Noah at the bowling alley where the second birthday party was.  Rachel stayed there and I went home.

The boys seemed to have a good time bowling.  Apparently Noah threw a strike.  They had pizza at the bowling alley.

We ate dinner outside on the porch for the fourth time this week.  It was very nice.

The boys will be getting ready for bed soon.

Until next time...

Good and Bad Day of Baseball

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning we got to sleep in a bit. Evan's first game was not until 3pm.  We had to be there at 2pm.  The fields were about an hour away so we planned on leaving the house at 1.

Josh's parents couldn't take him to the game so they dropped him off at our house around 10am.  Evan, Josh and Noah had a good time playing video games.  Then they watched a movie and we made waffles for lunch.

In the first game, Evan doubled in our first run of the game.  In his second at-bat he singled hard to the right side knocking in another run.  We were up 8-5 coming into the last inning.  We brought Evan in to close the game.  The first batter hit a ball to the second baseman.  It was going to be a mildly tough play but he couldn't get a handle on it and the runner was safe without a throw.  The boy stole second.  Evan struck out the next batter as the runner from second tried to steal.  The throw appeared to get the runner by the umpire (who was not in the right spot to make the call) said he was safe.  The next batter hit a ball to the shortstop who fielded it and threw so high to the first baseman it almost left the field.  A run scored making it 8-6 with a runner on first.  He stole second and third.  The next batter walked in a 10 pitch at-bat and took second without a throw.  So the tying run was on second with 1 out.  The next batter hit to shortstop who threw to first for an out and a run scored and the tying run moved up to third.  Evan got strike one on the next batter and then the batter hit a fly ball to center field.  The center fielder came too far in and then fell backwards trying to get it and the tying run scored and the batter got to second.  The last batter hit the first legitimate single off of Evan to win the game.  It was Evan's first blown save ever.  He seemed to handle it with poise.  I was proud of him.

Evan's hot hitting continued in the second game, though he didn't have a hit to show for it.  He really hit a line shot directly to the second baseman in his first at-bat.  In his second at-bat, he hit a ball to shortstop.  The shortstop back handed it and made a really good throw to the first baseman.  It really seemed like it pulled the first baseman off the bag.  I had a really good view of it, but the umpire called Evan out.  Evan did catch a flyball while playing right field.

The Bucs lost both games.

Grandma, Papa, Aunt Susan, Rachel and Noah came for the second game.  Actually they got to see the end of the first game as well.

After that we went to dinner at Fish City Grill.  It was a really nice time.

The boys are jumping in the shower and going to bed.

Until next time...

Last Friday of School

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Today is the last Friday of school.  The boys actually have two more weeks of school left, but they get off the Friday before Memorial Day (next Friday) and school ends Thursday, June 2.

In the morning I went into Aaron's so we could work on some HomeAway stuff together.  Rachel and I met later at Wholy Bagel for lunch.

We walked to get Noah.  Evan went home with Wade again.

When we picked up Evan, we went to Costco to get some stuff.  We picked up Torchy's for dinner on the way home.

The boys will be getting ready for bed soon.

Until next time...

No Power

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

I could hear the rain coming down hard when I got up.  I knew we wouldn't be walking to school.  Luckily the rain slowed down enough that we could drive to the trail and walk down.  But when Rachel and I were driving back home from the trail, the rain picked up again.

We had a big thunderstorm after that.  Some time around 9:30-ish the power went out at the school.  Evan said he was at art.  Noah was in his classroom.  We didn't lose power at our house thankfully.  I think the kids thought it was cool.  The power did not stay out the whole day but I don't know what time it came back on.

The sun came out slightly - enough for us to walk to school to get the kids.

In the afternoon, Rachel went to tutor.  We had leftovers for dinner and were able to eat outside on the porch for the second night in a row.

The boys are upstairs.  Noah is in his room and Evan is watching the Pirates game in his room on his iPad.

Until next time...

Our Wednesday

Overnight we had thunderstorms.  They stopped by the morning, so we were able to walk to school.

I had a dentist appointment this morning and then met some friends for lunch afterward.

Morry and I walked to get the boys from school.

I did not have tutoring today.

Morry and Evan went to baseball practice.

They just got home and Morry is grilling the burgers now.

Soon, we will eat and then get the boys ready for bed.

Low Key Tuesday

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

It looked like it was going to rain this morning.  So Rachel decided to get on the treadmill rather than run outside.  It never did end up raining.

I stayed home all day doing work.

Rachel's tutoring is slowing down since the end of the school year is close.  So she didn't have her earlier student for tutoring.  She was able to walk with me to school to get the boys.

The boys didn't have any homework so they immediately went and started playing video games together when they got home.

Around 5, I took Noah over to Grandma's where he had dinner and then Evan and I went to batting practice.

Rachel stopped at HEB on the way home from tutoring.

Evan, Rachel and I had dinner.

The boys are now in bed.

Until next time...

Vacation Officially Over

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Our vacation officially ended at 6:25am when our alarm went off and we had to get up to take the boys to school.  Evan had to get dressed in khakis and a button-down shirt because the fourth and fifth graders were going to the symphony today.

We stayed home most of the morning.  Rachel did things around the house.  I ended up having to run into HomeAway because the stuff I needed to connect to their network didn't work.  Their IT guy was not helpful at all.

I stopped at Smoothie King on the way home.

Rachel left to tutor and I walked to pick up the boys from school.

After Rachel tutored, she met some friends from junior high for dinner.  One of the women was coming in from out of town and Rachel had seen her since junior high.  She moved away at that time.  The other woman lives up in Georgetown.  They went to Hula Hut.

Evan met with Coach Chris today.  Noah came with us.  Josh and his dad met us there and Chris worked with both of them.

For dinner we stopped at Popeye's.

Evan is watching the Penguins play now.  Noah is upstairs.  They will get ready for bed soon.

Until next time...

Home from Costa Rica

Morry and I went to Costa Rica from Monday to Saturday.  We got back late last night as our plane was delayed in Houston because of weather.

The kids stayed with Grandma and Papa.

Today was spent unpacking and getting ready for the week.  I took the boys to the pool for a little while (even though it was only 70 degrees outside).  Morry took them later in the afternoon for haircuts.

Here are a few pictures from our trip.

Mother's Day at the Ball Field

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning I got up and all three boys were awake.  Josh and Evan got in their uniforms.

We stopped at Donut Taco Palace on the way to the fields.  Josh actually got breakfast tacos.  Normally, Evan and I just get donuts.

Evan started the first game and held the other team in check.  We played a full six inning so Evan played second base in the final three innings.  He did well and made some nice plays.  He was 1 for 2 with a hit and a walk.  We won that game.

In the second game, Evan played second base the entire time.  Evan continued to make good plays in the field.  He grounded out in his first at bat and then walked in his second at bat.  Towards the end of the game we were losing.  We needed to get some outs to have the opportunity to come back.  There was one out and a kid crushed a line drive to Evan's right.  Evan leapt in the air to his right almost horizontal and caught the ball, rolling on the ground when he came down.  The parents went crazy.  His teammates went crazy.  The kids were coming over to him and high-fiving him.  The next batter got out and I thought the momentum had shifted.  Unfortunately, it did not and the Bucs lost.

Rachel and Noah came to the second game.  They were able to see Evan make that catch.

We did stuff around the house in the afternoon.

For dinner, we went with Grandma and Papa to North by Northwest.  It was very good.

The boys are getting ready for bed.

Until next time...

Let's Play Two

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

We slept in a bit this morning.  Evan's first baseball game wasn't until 12:30.  We had to be at the fields at 11:30.

Josh came over at 10:30.  His sister had a karate test for a black belt so Josh's parents weren't coming to the games.  So Josh came with us to the games.

Rachel and Noah weren't able to come see Evan play today.  Noah had a birthday party to go to that coincided with both games.  Noah had a good time at the birthday party.  Grandma and Papa were able to come to the first game.

In the first game, we were losing 2-1.  Evan struck out in the second inning but he was playing well in the field.  He fielded two balls cleanly at second base and threw the kids out.  In the third inning with the bases loaded and two outs, Evan got the call to come in and pitch.  We had played this team before.  I heard the kid on first base say "I remember this kid.  He only throws strikes."  Ironically, Evan's first two pitches were balls.  The second pitch looked like a strike to me but the umpire called it a ball.  The next pitch looked like a ball to me but the umpire called it a strike.  So the count should have been 2-1 and it was 2-1, just not the way I had thought.  Anyway, Evan didn't seem bothered because his next to pitches were strikes ending the threat.  In the bottom of the third, we batted around.  Mostly by walks.  The other team used 3 or 4 pitchers and no one could throw a strike.  The inning went on so long the game ended and we won 8-2.

In the second game, we lost 3-0.  The pitchers for the other team were throwing really slowly.  Much slower than most of the other pitchers we faced.  This really messed with our boys.  They were way out in front of every single pitch.  Evan did play well again.  He fielded two balls at third base and each time threw a perfect throw to first.  He walked in his second at-bat but was stranded at third base He also caught a really hard line drive to him.  He walked off the field and looked at me and said, "That's why they call it the 'hot corner'."

Josh came home with us.  He'll be staying over night and we'll bring him to the game tonight.

We had Papa John's for dinner.

The boys are playing outside right now but it's getting dark and they'll need to come in.

Until next time...

Friday with Wade

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

It seemed especially bright this morning on our walk to school.  Both boys were in good moods.

Rachel did work for Kick Pleat in the morning and I worked on some stuff for HomeAway.

We went to Wholy Bagel for lunch.  Even though we went at the same time as we normally do, they were pretty cleaned out of bagels.

After lunch I went into Aaron's.  I had to show him what I had done on HomeAway since I won't be able to work on it next week.

Rachel went to pick up Noah.  Evan went over Wade's after school.  It's become a Friday tradition.

We picked up Evan and went to a new Asian restaurant that serves both Chinese and Vietnamese.  It was pretty good.  The boys seemed to like it.

The boys are getting ready for bed now.

Until next time...

Around the house

Today we walked the boys to school, like usual.

I stayed home getting stuff done around the house.

We walked to get the boys from school.  Jude asked Noah to come over after school, so he went home with them.

I went to tutor and Morry and Evan met Coach Chris.  I picked up Noah on my way home.

We just had dinner - leftovers from the week.

In a little bit I'm going to a friend's house for a Cinco de Mayo party for other moms in the neighborhood.

Take a Hike

This morning we walked the boys to school.

Right after we got home Lynn/Grandma and Lenny/Papa picked me up and we went for a hike on the Violet Crown trail.  After that we ate brunch at Kerbey Lane.  We had a nice time.  The hike was beautiful and the weather was good.

We walked to pick up the boys at school.

I tutored Audrey this afternoon and Morry and Evan went to baseball practice.

After tutoring, Noah and I went to HEB.

For dinner we had corned beef and baked potatoes.

The boys are in bed now.

Second Day Home

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Evan was really whining this morning about not feeling well.  He was complaining his throat, head and stomach were feeling bad and he couldn't even try to go to school.  Rachel and I relented and let him stay home with specific guidelines.  He was acting pretty sick this morning.  He did write his report that he has due tomorrow.

I had a dentist appointment at lunch.

Rachel left to tutor in the afternoon and I walked to get Noah.  Evan stayed home alone while I went to get Noah.

Evan was not allowed to go to hitting practice since he didn't go to school today.

The boys are watching the Pirates game now.  Rachel should be home soon.

Until next time...

Happy Birthday Flash

Today is Flash's 2nd birthday.

Evan stayed home today.  He wasn't feeling well. He was complaining of being achy.

Morry walked Noah to school.

I stayed home all day with Evan.

I walked to get Noah from school.

For dinner we a frozen Asian meal.

The boys are asleep in bed now.

Ice Cream Social

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Everyone slept in this morning which was nice.  We took it easy in the morning and then had lunch at home.

After lunch, we went to Wonders & Worries where they were having an Ice Cream Social.  They had a table where they'd scoop some ice cream and let you put on your own toppings.  They also had other things like a place to paint a rock, some games to win prizes, a way to make a small boat out of wine corks, a place to pet ponies and a bounce house.  The boys seemed to enjoy it. They were in the bounce house a while because there was a basketball hoop in there.

Afterward, we came home and the boys cleaned up.  When they were done, they went outside and practiced pitching.

We grilled hamburgers and corn and then ate outside.  It was our second time this year which was nice.

The boys are getting ready for bed.

Until next time...