Update on LIzzy and Noah's Poetry Reading

This morning we walked to school.

Morry and I dropped Lizzy back off at the vet.

I met Noah for lunch at 11:25.  After his lunch, his class went to recess and I helped set up the classroom for the poetry reading.

The poetry reading was at 12:30.  Morry, Marilyn, and Papa came.  The class was transformed into a cafe and the kids wore berets and mustaches while they read their poems. Noah did a great job.  Here's the video.  You'll need to turn up the volume.


I helped clean up and then came home.

Morry and I walked to pick up the boys.

Right after we got home I left to tutor and Morry and Evan picked up Lizzy from the vet.

Lizzy is doing a lot better, but still a little weak.   She's on steroids now which will hopefully help.

When I got home we all went to dinner at Me Con Bistro.

Soon the kids will get ready for bed.  The last day of school is tomorrow.

A few more days

Noah and I went to Chicago over the weekend for Aunt Gerry's birthday.  We had a very nice time.

We got back yesterday afternoon and a few hours later Marilyn came in.

Last night we went out to dinner with Grandma and Papa too at Slab.

This morning Lizzy was not doing well.  She had gotten sick and was disoriented.   Morry and Evan took Lizzy to the vet.  I dropped off Noah at school and then met them at the vet.

The vet is not sure what is going on, but they believe it is a neurological issue.

We left Lizzy at the vet and took Evan to school.

We got updates throughout the day.

Morry and I walked to pick up the kids.

Then, I tutored.

Morry, the kids, and Marilyn picked up Lizzy at the vet, but we will have to bring her back tomorrow morning.

For dinner, we had hamburgers and corn on the cob.

The boys are getting ready for bed now.

There are only 2 more days of school left.

Mid-week

This morning we walked to school.  We did not have Camp Gladiator today.

Around 10am Morry went to Evan's class.  I got there around 10:50. They were sharing writing pieces and presenting to the class.

At 11:20 I left Evan's class to pick up Noah so we could go to his therapist appointment.

After his appointment, I dropped him back off at school.

Morry and I walked to pick up the kids from school.

My tutoring was canceled.

Evan got a ride to baseball practice.

Morry and I dropped off Noah at Grandma and Papa's around 4:45 and then went to an event at Kerbey Lane.  I was invited to sample their new summer menu and got a +1.

The event was at the Kerbey Lane on campus.  We had a good time and got to try lots of different foods.

We picked up Evan at Cooper's house.

Then, we got Noah at Grandma and Papa's.

Now the boys are getting ready for bed.

Busy Day

This morning we walked to school and then went to Camp Gladiator.

From there I tutored.

Then, I went to have my teeth whitened.  A company reached out to me and offered a free teeth whitening, so I took them up on the offer.

I got home around 2pm.

Then, a little while later we walked to get the kids at school.

Evan was supposed to have baseball practice today.  Morry took Evan to Wendy's to get his carpool ride. He was on his way to practice when the coach emailed it was canceled due to rain. So, they turned around and came back.  Morry had not left Wendy's yet since he was talking to another dad.   He picked up dinner for Evan and then came back home.

Noah and I ate dinner at home.

Morry left a little after 8 to meet some neighbors for dinner.

Now the boys are in bed.

Evan Dressed Up

This morning Evan had to dress nicely since his class was going on a field trip to the symphony.

We drove to school since it was lightly raining and Evan was dressed up.

We did not go to Camp Gladiator today since it was raining.

I stayed at home most of the day.

I left to tutor around 2pm and had 3 students back-to-back.

Morry picked up the kids from school.

I got home around 7pm.

We had dinner.  Morry and the kids had pasta.  I had leftover chicken from the other night.

Now the boys are supposed to be getting ready for bed.

Party, Pool, and Michael

This morning I took the boys to a birthday party at Austin Sports Academy.  Noah's friend Liam invited both boys to the party.  They had a good time.

I made lunches and did laundry.

Then, later in the afternoon, I took the boys to the pool for about an hour.  It was overcast and only about 75 degrees outside, but they still wanted to swim.   The pool was pretty empty.  For most of the time, it was just Evan, Noah, and one other kid in the pool.  Evan knew the other kid. He is in his class this year.

Around 5:30 we went to Grandma and Papa's house.  Michael is in town for work.  So, we all went out to dinner at Maudie's.  We had a nice time.

It started raining pretty hard tonight.

The boys are in bed now.

Morning Rains Mean No Baseball

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

I awoke to a thunderstorm around 4 or 5 in the morning.  It seemed to be short so I hoped that it would dry in time for the tournament this weekend.  Then around 9, heavy rains and thunderstorms hit again, causing a cancellation of the weekend's tournament.

Rachel and I ended up sleeping in since we didn't have any where to be.

Noah was invited over Jude's and went over there around 11:30.  Rachel, Evan and I had lunch at home.

We picked Noah up later in the afternoon and went over Grandma and Papa's.  The boys had to clean up the upstairs.  They had made a mess when they were both over there earlier in the week,

The boys and I went to see Guardians of the Galaxy 2 later in the afternoon.  Rachel had an event to go to for bloggers.  The movie was very very good.  All three of us enjoyed it.

We met Rachel at Old Navy when we were done.  The boys needed some dress clothes.

For dinner we went to Fire Bowl Cafe.  The boys ate well there.

Rachel stopped at Academy on the way home.  The boys and I stopped at HEB to get a movie and get a few things for breakfast for the week.

The boys are getting ready for bed now.

Until next time..

Candy and Pizza

This morning we walked to school.  Today was the last Friday of the school year.

After that, I went for a run nearby and did some hill work.

Later Morry and I got bagels and went to my Brazilian blowout appointment.

We walked to pick up the kids from school.

We were at home this afternoon.

Noah earned a reward from us.  We gave him some options. He could choose a restaurant or dessert, or whatever else (within reason).  He chose a trip to Big Top Candy Shop.

So, around 5:30 we drove to Big Top and got some candy.  Then we picked up pizza from Home Slice to bring home.

We watched Lemony Snicket while eating dinner.

Then, the boys made another candy video.

Soon, they will get ready for bed.

Client Meetings

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

There wasn't any Camp Gladiator this morning so we didn't go out after walking the boys to school.

I went up north and picked up the client who was in town and brought him down to the house.  We sat outside on the porch and worked for about 3 hours.  It was really nice out there working.

I took him to lunch at Kerbey Lane.  Rachel came with us.

Rachel left to pick up the boys and I took Michael (the client) to the airport.  Right after the airport I met with a designer who I do work with occasionally for clients.  We have an upcoming project that we talked about.

Rachel tutored in the afternoon so the boys were alone for a bit.

For dinner, we grilled corn and chicken.

The boys are getting ready for bed.

Until next time...

Two Ships

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Today I continued my meetings with my client who is in town.  But first we drove the boys to school.  It was raining so we decided to drive the boys to the front of the school.  Just before we got to the front of the school, the way all but stopped.

I wasn't home long before I left to have the meetings.

Rachel stayed home all day and picked up the boys from school.

I came home just before Rachel left to go to tutoring and a Pink Ribbon Cowgirls dinner.  Noah went with her.   I left about 15 minutes later to pick up Cooper and go to Evan's baseball practice.

After practice was over, I dropped Cooper at home, and Evan asked to go to Popeye's so we ate there.

We're home now and Rachel and Noah are on their way home.

Until next time...

Quick update

Yesterday and today we walked to school.

Yesterday, we did not have Camp Gladiator so I went for a run.  I saw another CGer running while I was out and we gave either high fives while passing (it's a CG thing).  :)

I tutored in the afternoon.   Neither Morry nor I could pick up the kids to Grandma got them and they went home with her for a while.

Morry and I picked up the kids around 6pm.

We had steak for dinner and ate outside.

Today, I went to Camp Gladiator, but Morry had work to do.

From there, I tutored.

In the afternoon I picked up the kids by myself since Morry had a meeting.

Noah went to Grandma and Papa's right after school.

I took Evan with me to the library where I tutor.  He was picked up for baseball there.

I picked up Noah around 7:15 at Grandma and Papa's.

Morry had a work dinner and then picked up Evan on his way home.  His carpool ride brought him to the Wendy's near us.

Now it's late and I'm going to bed.

Mother's Day Number 12

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

We tried to let Rachel sleep in a bit for her twelfth Mother's Day.  She did order bagels from Wholy Bagel for Grandma so she had to get up to go get that.  The boys and I gave Rachel her gift before she left.  Evan went with Rachel to get the bagels.  They each got a bagel for themselves and then dropped off the present with Grandma.

When they got home, we went for a long walk.  We walked half way around the Lady Bird Lake trail.  Then we walked around all the new stuff around the Seaholm Power Plant and eventually made our way to Jo's Coffee where we got some food.  The boys shared a pulled pork sandwich.  Both Rachel and I got pastries and a drink.

After that we walked back to the trail and then the rest of the way to the car.

We hung out at the house for a bit and then went to dinner at North by Northwest with Grandma and Papa.  For dinner we went to TCBY.

The boys are asleep in bed now.

Until next time...

Very Very Happy Lizzy

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

They built a new parking place out by the airport called Bark & Zoom.  Actually, they built two out by the airport.  The other one - the original one - is called Park & Zoom.  The first one is your standard long-term airport parking.  The new one is both parking and a pet boarding.  Today was their opening day festivities and as a blogger, Rachel was invited.  It went from 10am - 2pm.  We went out there and took Lizzy.

We got there as they were opening.  Because we were one of the first before it got busy, they gave us a tour of the facility.  When you board your dog, you have the option of a private "room" for the dog with a bed and a tv.  I'm not making this up.  See the picture below.  It's $85/night for that option. The have rooms without beds and televisions, and then they have the standard kennels.  They will groom your pet while they are there.  They had outdoor stuff built for the dogs to have fun including a small pool.

Lizzy seemed very hesitant to get in the car on the way over there.  And then when we went out to the area with the pool, she seemed hesitant at first.  But once she got in the water and was in it for a bit, she suddenly got really hyper.  She came out of the pool and was literally running in a full gallop around the area.  It was as if she was a puppy again.  The boys thought that was so funny.  The only thing I can figure is that the water felt good on her joints.  She'd go in the pool and the bark at us to throw the tennis ball to her.  Every time she'd bark, she'd cause all the other dogs to bark.  I think she enjoyed being a puppy again.

After that, we dropped Evan off with Reid and his family.  They were taking him to Evan's practice.  Then we drove to Noah's football game.  Lizzy came with us to the game.  Grandma and Papa met us there.  Lizzy got some attention at the game.

The game was very competitive.  It came down to the final minute when Noah's team couldn't quite score.  Noah had a decent game.  In crunch time he had a really important flag pull.

After that we came home.  I was only home for a minute before I had to go get Evan.  Evan wanted Reid to come home with us.  They played in the backyard for most of the time.

We dropped Reid off and then went to Me Con Bistro for dinner.  After that we went to HEB and did our grocery shopping.

The boys are in bed.

Until next time...

Houston Trip

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

We left the house early this morning as we walked the boys and Lizzy to Grandma and Papa's.  We needed to leave to go to Houston for check ups for Rachel at MD Anderson.  Once we dropped Evan, Noah and Lizzy at Grandma and Papa's, we walked home and left for Houston.

The trip down was fairly uneventful.

All the appointments went well.  Rachel got most of the results back and everything looks good.  She's just waiting for one more test result.

After the hospital, we went to Katz's Jewish Deli.  There isn't a Jewish deli in Austin.  It was pretty good and wasn't overly expensive.

Evan went to Wade's after school.  Papa took Noah to football practice.

Rachel and I went straight to Noah's practice to get him then we went to Grandma and Papa's for dinner.  Papa had already picked Evan up.

We are home now and the boys are in bed.

Until next time...

Yet another long day

This morning we walked to school.  Then, Morry and I went to Camp Gladiator.

After Camp Gladiator, I tutored.

Then, I went to a grand opening of a blow dry salon (Drybar) that I was invited to as a blogger.  I got my hair done and met the owner of the business.  This is the 75th location she has opened.

Then, I had to stop at Sprinkles (the cupcake place) since it was on the walk back to the car.  I bought a few cupcakes to bring home for us to try.

There was a lot of traffic and it took a while to get home.

Morry had a dentist appointment and got home a little bit before I did.

Then, we walked to pick up the kids from school.

We were home for about an hour and then we went to the Toyota dealership to look at some cars.

We ate at Freebirds for dinner.

Now the kids are getting ready for bed.

Noah's 2 Appointments

This morning we walked to school.

I picked up Noah around 11:30 for his therapy appointment and then dropped him back off at school around 1:30.

We drove to pick up the boys because Noah had a pediatrician appointment at 3:30.

After getting home, Noah and I got back in the car and went to his appointment.   He had a urine test and a blood test.  It will take a few days to back all of the results.  We were there for a while.

Meanwhile, Morry and Evan went to baseball practice.  While Evan was at practice Morry went to eat wings some other dads.

When they got home Evan, Noah, and I had dinner.

Now the boys are getting ready for bed.

Rachel Out All Day Again

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Rachel had another busy day planned today and I, too, knew I'd be busy so we passed on going to Camp Gladiator.

Rachel left around 9:30 to go tutoring.  She got all the way to the parking lot of the school before hearing that they had cancelled.

I left shortly after she got home to get my hair cut.  I stopped at Smoothie King and for gas on the way home.

Before I got home, Rachel left to get her hair done.  She was there until she needed to leave for tutoring. After tutoring, she met some friends for dinner.

I drove to pick up the boys because it was raining.  Also because it was raining, Evan's practice was cancelled. Noah still wanted to have dinner with Grandma and Papa though.

Evan and I went to Texadelphia for dinner.

Later in the evening I picked up Noah.

Rachel just got home and the boys are ready for bed.

Until next time...

Busy all day

This morning we walked the kids to school.

Morry and I were both exhausted from the weekend and knew we had a lot going on today.  So, we skipped Camp Gladiator today.

I had a meeting at a car dealership at 11am.  I might be doing some social media promotions for them and we met to talk more and work out details.  I was there until 2:00.

From there, I went to tutor.

Morry picked up the kids from school.

I got home around 5:30.

We had kabobs for dinner.

The boys are getting ready for bed now.

Evan the MVP

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Evan's team got the 9-seed in a 16-team bracket.  Luckily we didn't have an 8am game.  His first game was at 11:30.  He had to be there at 10:30.  Evan and I left the house around 9:15 and stopped at Donut Taco Palace for donuts.

Rachel and Noah rode with Grandma, Papa and Aunt Susan to go to San Antonio for Susie's daughter's birthday party.  It was at the community pool.  I think they had fun.

Noah got invited to go to our community pool with Jude when he got home.  He didn't swim in San Antonio, but he swam up here.

Evan's team won the first game.  Evan caught.  He also went 2-2 with a double and 3 RBI.  This was after going 2-2 yesterday with 3 RBI.  After the first game, we went to a pizza place.  The whole team joined us.  I brought 3 of the kids in the car with me which made Evan super happy.

In the second game, we played the one seed.  They were quite good.  But Evan's team played well.  Reid pitched amazingly.  Evan cooled off on the RBI, but he still went 3-3 with a double and two singles.  Every ball he hit, he hit really hard.  Evan played first base in this game.  Evan's team won making it to the semi-finals.

In the third game, Evan caught again.  You could tell he was getting tired playing 3 games in the heat.  His throws didn't have the same zip to second that they normally do.  He had thrown another runner out at second yesterday.  Again, Evan came through at the plate going 2-2 with 2 more RBI.  He also stole several more bases.  In the final inning, the TRPD pitchers began to struggle.  They pulled Evan out at catcher.  I assumed it was because he was getting tired.  Nope, they pulled him out to pitch.  He ran into the dug out and threw off his gear and got his regular glove and went out and pitched.  He got the final two outs of the inning.  Unfortunately, it wasn't enough and they lost.

I looked at Evan's stats on the team site and Evan is leading the team in hits, singles, batting average, RBI, on-base percentage, and OPS. He's second in slugging percentage and stolen bases.  He has the second fewest strikeouts on the team as well.

On the way home, we picked up Subway.  Evan got a foot long sub.  I think he needed all that food for energy.

Rachel and Noah ate dinner without us.  They were watching Brain Games when we got home.

The boys are now in bed.

Until next time...

Football and Baseball

This morning Noah had a football game at 11am.  Grandma and Papa met us there.  Noah played well.

We relaxed at home for a little bit and then Evan had his first baseball game at 4:45 in Taylor.  He rode with Reed there.  Morry and I went separately.  Noah and I rode with Grandma and Papa.

Evan played well, but the team lost the first game.

Grandma, Papa, Noah and I left after the first game and met Aunt Susan for dinner at Mellow Mushroom.

Evan's team won the second game at 6:30.  After that Morry and Evan ate at Popeye's for dinner.

Now the boys are in bed.

Here are some pictures from today.

Science Day + Photography

This morning we walked the kids to school.

A little while later, I walked back to school for Evan's 5th grade science day.   Grandma also came to the school.  The kids rotated classrooms and participated in various science experiments and hands-on activities.  Evan seemed to have a really good time and liked having us there.  It was nice.

As I left the school, there was an exhibit up with the kids' photography.  I was very impressed.  They took pictures around the school campus and then added commentary to their photos.  I took pictures of Evan's pictures.  If you zoom in you might be able to see what he wrote.

From there, Morry picked me up and we got lunch at Wholy Bagel.

We walked to pick up the kids.  Both went over to friends houses after school.

I picked up Noah from Jude's at 4:20 and brought him to football practice.

Wade's mom dropped Evan off around 4:30 and then Morry took them to meet Reed's mom, who then took them to baseball practice.

Morry picked up Noah from practice, got Evan at his practice, and then they picked up pizza on the way home.

While they were gone I practice some of the photography tips I learned from the class.  I still have more to learn, but it did seem to help a lot.

Whey they got home we ate dinner while we watched a Lemony Snicket episode.

Now the boys are in bed.

Here are some pictures from today.

My practice pictures:

the neighbor's pig