Brakes To Go

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

I noticed that my car was vibrating when I braked.  Unfortunately, I know that meant I had some warping with my rotors in the brakes.  I called around and found out that there is a place called Brakes To Go here.  They come to your house and fix the brakes in your driveway.  In my calling around, they were priced the same as taking it in to some places.  So I scheduled them to come out his morning.  The whole thing took an hour.  I didn't have to bring the car anywhere, it was really nice.

Rachel had a busy day.  She left around the time the brake guy got here and went to teach.  Then she went to a lunch for the Pink Ribbon Cowgirls followed by a doctor's appointment.  She came home for a little while and then left to tutor.  She got home around 8:30 tonight.

The boys had play rehearsal until 7pm.  I picked them up and then we went to HEB and got some steak.  I cooked it for dinner for us.  I also made some garlic bread.

The boys are upstairs playing while Rachel continues to do all the things she needs to get done before she leaves.

Until next time...

Getting Ready

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

The theme for today seems to be getting ready.  This morning, I drove down to San Marcos for a meeting with Kissing Tree to review Grandmom's new house as they are getting ready to put up the sheet rock.  We walked the house.  It looks nice.

I came home and Rachel got home shortly after.  She quickly turned around to go get Noah from school.  He had an appointment with an ENT to look at his nose and airways to make sure that everything looked good and there is nothing that would inhibit his sleep. He is in good shape there.

Rachel came back home and rested for a bit before leaving for tutoring.

The boys stayed at school because they had play rehearsals.  They are getting ready to for opening night next Thursday.  Tomorrow they'll be at school even longer as the rehearsals are getting more intense.

When I got home, I heated up some chicken from last night and made some pasta to go with it while Rachel was getting ready for her trip.  She was packing and trying on clothes.

Evan is doing homework now while Rachel is continuing to get ready.  I think Noah is playing on the Playstation.

Until next time...

Post Thanksgiving

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

We had a family-filled week last week.  It started off with Evan's Bar Mitzvah.  We had a ton of family and friends come in to help celebrate.  There were about 90 people that made it to the actual ceremony.  It included family and friends from Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Florida, Chicago, Virginia, Oklahoma, and California.  Many of Evan's teammates and their families came to the ceremony.  Then Evan had a sports party where his entire baseball team and some additional friends made it.

Uncle Mike, Aunt Jen, Maya and Artie were here all week and we spent time with them.  For Thanksgiving, we went out to Uncle Marvin and Aunt Sandy's house.

But now the boys are back at school and we're back at work.  The boys didn't seem to complain at all which was good.

Evan's baseball season is over but he and Noah are doing Stage Crew for the musical at school.  The musical this year is Frozen.  Evan and Noah have to go to play practice this week after school.  Then next week are the dress rehearsals and the actual performances.

Rachel is getting ready for her trip right now.  Evan is writing thank you notes.

Until next time...

Busy Day for All

This morning we walked Chewie and the boys walked to the bus stop.

I went to my school and stayed a little while after my class to get some work done.

The boys stayed at school until 6:00 for theater.

I tutored this afternoon and got home around 6:45.

Morry picked up the boys from school and then took Evan to his baseball lesson.

On the way home Evan got Mod Pizza for dinner.

Noah and I ate dinner at home.

Evan and Morry got home a little before 9pm.

Now the boys are getting ready for bed.

Getting ready for the big weekend

Today, we walked with Chewie and the boys walked to the bus stop. 

After that, I went for a run.

Then, I was doing stuff today to get ready for Evan's Bar Mitzvah this coming weekend.  I went to H-E-B, made a bunch of phone calls, and sent emails.

I tutored this afternoon.

Both boys had theater practice this afternoon until 6pm.

Morry picked the boys up from school and then went to bowling.

When I got home I made dinner for the boys and me.

Evan worked on Hebrew and his speech with Grandma over the phone as I got dinner ready.

Now the boys are getting ready for bed.

Baseball Weekend

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Evan had two baseball games yesterday morning. Evan played well in them.  He went 1-2 with a sacrifice bunt and a key hit.  He played an excellent catcher and made some nice plays at third base.  Evan's team got the #1 seed for today.

When we got home, Reid invited him to go to the park where Reid's brother was having a birthday party.

Rachel went to get her hair cut in the afternoon.

For dinner, we went to a place called Epic Fun.  They have food, laser tag, mini-bowling, arcade games and other stuff.  Rachel got 4 free unlimited passes and dinner as well, so it was all free to us.  We had a nice time.

Evan's first baseball game was at 12:50 today.  Unfortunately, in the second inning, Evan took a ball off his knee that he was trying to block at catcher and was removed from the game.  He missed that game as well as the championship game.  His team made it to the championship where they lost.

For dinner, we went with Grandma and Papa to Hunan Lion.  The boys at well.

Noah is showering now and both boys will go to dinner soon.

Until next time...

Another Day Home

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Evan stayed home again this morning.  While he didn't have a fever, he didn't sound good and he didn't look good so we didn't send him to school.

I left at the same time as Noah to take my car in to get an oil change, a state inspection, and a new front headlight.  I spent most of the time talking to our CEO while I was there.

When I got home, I had a phone call with our COO.  Then I had 4 meetings with not much time in between.

Rachel got home from teaching as well as Goodwill. Rachel had to get some things from Goodwill for a campaign she's doing.

I took Evan to the doctor later in the afternoon.  Luckily, he does not have strep throat.

When we got home, we Rachel left to tutor. I took Noah to HEB to get some things for dinner.

After dinner, Rachel had some stuff to do.  Noah brought home some science homework for Evan which he did.  I put some stuff back in the attic which needed to go back up after we got our air conditioning replaced.

The boys should be getting ready for bed soon.

Until next time...

Two Hour Delay...for Noah

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

When Evan got home from school yesterday, he didn't feel well.  Later in the night, Rachel took his temperature and it was 101.7.  So we kept him home from school today.  He had a low grade fever most of the day - around a 99.  His teammate and friend also came home sick from school yesterday.  So we did not send Evan to school today.

Noah did have school but it was delayed two hour because or road conditions.  It was 28 degrees over night with rain and freezing rain.  It was sunny this morning and delaying school was probably a good thing.  It was fine by the time everyone needed to go to school.

I had a haircut appointment at 10 after I had a meeting this morning.

I had two meetings in the afternoon.

I signed up for Disney+ today since it was the first day and I put it on Evan's phone so he could watch what he wanted.

Noah went to Grandma and Papa's for dinner this evening.  He was home for a little bit before he went over there.

Rachel picked up Yaghi's Pizza for us for dinner.  Evan requested it.

Rachel, Chewie and I went and picked Noah up.  Chewie enjoyed going to Grandma and Papa's.

Evan just worked on his Bar Mitzvah speech some.  He's now laying on the floor in my office.

Until next time...

Mitzvah Project

For Evan's mitzvah product, he decided to help with Mobile Loaves and Fishes.  They are a local organization that feeds and helps provide homes to the homeless.

Yesterday, we (our family and Grandma and Papa) got a tour of Community First,  a master-planned community that provides affordable, permanent housing and a supportive community for men and women coming out of chronic homelessness. 

Today, we packaged meals and then served them from the food truck at a few different locations around Austin.

After we volunteered today, we went to dinner at Cava.

Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

Goodbye Calvin

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

When I got on to write this post, I noticed we hadn't written a post since October 14.  It's been a busy few weeks.  I've traveled to Richmond, Rachel attended a conference.  Evan has played a lot of baseball (31 games so far).  Noah has been playing and doing well at flag football.

However, this post is a somber one.  We lost out cat Calvin early this morning.  We're not quite sure how old he is, but we think between 14 and 16 years old.  Deborah gave us Calvin in December, 2013.  Here is a link to the day we got him and here is how he did on his second day with us.   The boys fell in love with him from the moment we got him.  Evan and Noah constantly came up with nicknames for him.  The two that stuck were Sazin and Fat Cat.  Any time the boys had to write a story in school, Calvin was the subject of that story.  They drew comic strips with Calvin and Flash.  Calvin was definitely the focal point of the house for the boys.

Calvin was such a sweet cat.  He was more like a dog.  When the doorbell would ring, he'd run over to the front door. He'd climb on people's laps who were shocked to have a cat climbing on them.  He made sure you knew he was there.

He wasn't scared of anything or anyone.  When we got Chewie as a frisky 8-9 week old puppy, Calvin held his ground and let Chewie know who was boss.

Unfortunately, he got sick and was diagnosed with cancer just before Labor Day last year.  We kept him as comfortable as we could and we were able to spend more than a year extra with him.  For that, we are thankful. 

We will miss Calvin.  He was a wonderful cat and it's weird not having him around.

Until next time...

The Long Weekend

On Friday, the kids didn't have school and came with me to my school.  They participated in my math class and then played tennis together for a while.  I was ready to leave and go home, but they wanted to hang out more.

Noah had a football game on Saturday morning. Grandma came with us and Papa met us there.  Noah's team won.

Evan had baseball games with the blue team on both Saturday and Sunday.

Today, the kids also did not have school.

I went for a run.  Then I tutored.  After that, we had a video conference with the rabbi.  Shortly after that, we left for Round Mountain.

Aunt Sandy and Uncle Marvin invited some of the family over for dinner since Mark and his wife Gina are in town.  We had a nice time.

Now the boys are getting ready for bed.

Almost a Long Weekend

Hello everyone, this is Morry

This morning, we went for a walk as the boys left for school.  Chewie acts as if he's never gone for a walk before, every morning.  We got home and I sat down to work.  Then Rachel and our neighbor Aileen went for a longer walk together.

I had a few meetings this morning and then one this afternoon. 

Rachel went into ATA to teach in the morning after her walk and then stopped at HEB on the way home.

Shortly after the boys returned, Rachel left to go tutor.

Grandma came over later and we were able to get her phone added to our phone plan so we could all get a savings for having 5 lines.  It worked out well.

I got dinner ready for the boys.  They had the smoked chicken I made last night.

When Rachel got home, she and I ate.

Rachel and Evan are working on Bar Mitzvah stuff right now.

The boys don't have to go to school tomorrow or on Monday.  On Monday, it's Columbus Day so they're off.  They have off tomorrow as their teachers have some training to do.

Until next time...

The News, Golf, Rabbi, and Football

This morning Morry and I walked Chewie as the boys walked to the bus stop.

At 10:30 I went to the Fox Austin News studios to film a segment for BRCA and Breast Cancer Awareness.  The segment will air in October and I'll let everyone know the date and time when I find that out.

From there, I stopped by a new Team Survivor class that was nearby.  They just started weekly golf/putting lessons and games.  The class is from 10-12 and I got there around 11:30. I still learned a little bit today and was able to play a little bit of golf.  It was fun.

Right after the boys got home, Evan had a video conference with the Rabbi.

I left for tutoring after that and Morry took Noah to his football practice.

Morry and Evan ate dinner at home.

Then, Morry picked up Noah from football, dropped him back off at the house, and Morry went to bowling.

I got home a little bit after Morry left and Noah and I ate dinner.

Now the boys should be getting ready for bed.  I need to go check on them.

Bike Riding and Baseball

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

On Saturday morning, Rachel, Papa, and Evan did the Mamma Jamma Bike Ride.  It's a charity bike ride for cancer.  They got up early and it was raining some on the way to Martindale, TX but it was not raining for the ride itself.  They rode 26 miles.  Apparently, Evan had to slow down and wait for Papa and Rachel, especially on the uphill.

After the ride, I met them and I picked up Evan to take him to two baseball games.  Evan played great in the games.  He especially played well given that he had ridden 26 miles on a bike earlier that morning.  He went 0-1 with an RBI and two walks at the plate.  He played a great third base and he even caught for two innings.  In the second game, he made a great play to end the game. His team went 2-0 and earned the second seed in the tournament.

Rachel went to Grandma and Papa's for lunch.  Noah just stayed at home.

For dinner, we went to Rudy's.  We went there for Reid's mom's 40th birthday.

This morning, we all slept in some.  Rachel and Noah went to Grandma and Papa's for brunch this morning.  Evan and I left a short while later to go to his baseball game.  Rachel and Noah came up to watch the game.  Noah got to play with Angelo's brother, Tony.

Evan's team won their first game against a team they had never beat.  It was a close game 1-1 for much of the game.  The other team took the lead 3-1 going into the bottom of the last inning.  Evan lead off the inning with a base hit that started a rally.  The team put together 4 runs to win 5-3.

The second game was not as successful, though Evan still played well.  He caught in this game and did a good job.  He also walked once and grounded out once.

For dinner, we went with Grandma and Papa to a new place called Aviator Pizza.  It was pretty good.

The boys are getting ready for bed.

Until next time...

Football Practice

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Rachel was feeling better today so she was able to walk with Chewie and me after the boys left for school.  Chewie just gets so excited on those walks.

I had meetings all day today.  As soon as I got home I was on the phone.  Rachel left to go teach while I was on the phone.

I did run out at mid-day to get a refill on Calvin's medicine.

Rachel came home in the middle of the afternoon.

The boys came home.  Evan didn't have any sports today so he could just relax. Noah had his first flag football practice.  The same boys have been playing flag football together every fall for four years now.  It seemed like Noah had a good time.

Rachel tutored in the later afternoon and then had to be at Back-to-School Night for her school. 

We had flank steak that I grilled and potatoes.

The boys are upstairs playing on the Playstation now.

Until next time...

Ribs on the Smoker

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning Rachel and I were able to walk.  I didn't have a meeting so that was nice.  One thing about working for a company on the East Coast - I have to start earlier sometimes.

We came home and I began to work.  Rachel laid down for a bit before going to school.

Around lunch time, I started up the smoker.  I decided to make ribs today.  I figured I could be done cooking the ribs by the time we had to leave for Evan's practice. 

When the boys got home, Rachel walked over to Luna's house.  They are fostering a dog that just had puppies.  The puppies are only a few days old and the boys wanted to see them.

Just before we had to leave for Evan's practice, I was able to get the ribs off the smoker, wrapped them in foil and a towel and put them in a cooler to stay insulated. 

Evan had a good practice and was really happy with his pitching and hitting.

When we came home, we had the ribs.  The boys ate a ton.  It was great that they liked it.

The boys are about to go to bed.

Until next time...

Another Late Night

This morning Morry had a meeting, so I walked Chewie when the boys left for school.

I taught and then went to a meeting with St. Jude to talk about doing some social media for them.

I tutored one student in the neighborhood.

Noah went to Grandma and Papa's for dinner.

Chewie and I walked to pick up Noah from Grandma and Papa's house.

Morry and Evan went to Reid's house for a fantasy football draft and just got home at 10pm.

Back to it

This morning it was a usual school morning.   The kids walked to the bus and Morry and I walked with Chewie.

I taught and then came home for a little bit.

I was leaving for tutoring when the kids got home.

Evan got a ride to baseball practice since Morry had a Fantasy Football draft to go to.

After the baseball practice, Evan got dropped off where Morry was.  They are still there at the draft,

Noah and I ate dinner at home.

Labor Day Weekend

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This was our last weekend before baseball tournaments start.  We didn't have any scheduled baseball activity.  So we decided to really take it easy all weekend.  We know we'll be constantly moving and doing stuff starting next weekend, so we decided to stay near the house and just relax.

On Saturday, Rachel and I took Chewie for a walk so all three of us could get some exercise. Then we came home and had some lunch. After that we ran some errands including going to Walgreens and HEB. 

In the afternoon, we relax and in the late afternoon I started making dinner.  I took a whole chicken and butterflied it.  I put it on the grill with charcoal and a little bit of wood to give it some smoky flavor.  And put two bricks on it.  The recipe didn't have me cooking as long as I should have.  I think I know how long to cook it now.  The boys really loved it.

Yesterday, Rachel and Papa went for a bike ride.  In the afternoon, the boys and I watched Zombieland.

For dinner, we went with Grandma and Papa to a restaurant called MezzeMe.  It was pretty good.  The boys ate well there.  Evan said he'd go back.

This morning the boys and I went to the Ramati's for our fantasy draft.  I think we did ok drafting.

Following the draft, we met Rachel at a bagel shop called Nervous Charlie's.  It was our first time there.

For dinner tonight, we had the leftover chicken.  Then Rachel and I took Chewie for a walk.

Rachel and Evan are working on Hebrew right now.

Until next time...

Wet Noah

Hello everyone this is Morry.

This morning was Rachel's first day of school.  They had several welcome activities so Rachel needed to be at the school earlier than normal.  She left shortly before the boys went to the bus stop and I took Chewie for a walk.

Rachel ran a few errands on her way home and got home after lunch.

When the boys left school, it started raining.  Evan has been making Noah sit with him on the bus to and from school each day.  Evan took it a step further today, and made Noah sit by the window and Noah was not allowed to close the window while they were driving.  It's not clear how the window came to be open.  I don't know if Evan also opened the window.  In any event, Noah came home somewhat wet.

Rachel tutored in the late afternoon.  Evan went over to Grandma and Papa's for dinner not too long after Rachel left.

For dinner, I grilled hamburgers for Rachel, Noah and me.  Then we walked to Grandma and Papa's to get Evan.

The boys are upstairs playing now.

Until next time...

Good Weekend

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

I think it's been a good weekend.  Yesterday, Rachel started her morning going for a bike ride.  She had a nice 15 mile bike ride before it got too hot.

I decided to smoke my first brisket.  We bought a 12 pound brisket but I decided to cut it in half to try with a smaller size first.  Really, after trimming the fat, it probably was closer to a 9 or 10 pound brisket.  So the brisket I cooked was between a 4 and 5 pounder.  I put the meat on the smoker around 11am and got it off around 7pm.  It was a lot of work but it seemed to work.  Evan said the brisket was better than Rudy's.

Rachel went to a baby shower for Laurent in the afternoon.  Noah and I watched the Dark Knight.

Evan actually didn't eat the brisket with us last night.  He went to Reid's house and stayed over night.  When I picked him up to take him to baseball this morning, I brought some brisket so he'd have protein for baseball.

Evan had a 3 hour scrimmage in very humid and hot temperatures.  He pitched and inning and caught two innings.  He did well in both positions.  He struck out and walked in his two at-bats.

We got home in the late afternoon.  Evan was home just a little while before Reid and his dad picked him up and they went to play tennis together.

For dinner, we picked up Grandma and Papa, then picked up Evan from tennis, and went to Chen Z for dinner.  The service was just ok, but the food was good.

The boys are upstairs playing right now.

Until next time...

Day 3

This morning we all left the house at the same time again.  The kids walked to the bus stop and we took Chewie for a walk.

Today, I had a consultation with a plastic surgeon.  My implants are now more than 9 years old and I remember the doctors telling me they last around 10 years.  Morry came with me and we talked to the doctor about my options.   Within 1-3 years I need to have these implants removed.

The boys were a little later coming home.  It was a different bus again for some reason.

Morry and Evan went to baseball practice.  They came home a little after 8pm and we had dinner.  They had pasta and I had fish.

Then, Evan and I worked on Hebrew.

Now Evan is finishing his homework.

Day Number 2

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Day number 2 at school seemed to go well.  Like yesterday, we all left the house at the same time but Evan and Noah went one direction, while Rachel, Chewie and I went another direction.  Chewie was very hyper on the walk and really seemed to enjoy it.

When we came home, Rachel went for a run.

Both of us were home all day.  I had several video calls and one phone call.

For some reason a different bus picked the boys up from school.  The bus driver also missed the turn so the boys were a little late getting home.

For dinner we went to Firehouse Subs.  A PR company contacted Rachel.  We got a free dinner while Rachel took pictures.  Rachel will be doing some promotion for them.  The owner came and talked to us.

We stopped at Target before heading home.  We needed to get some school supplies.

Rachel just worked with Evan on Hebrew.  He's got a little bit of homework after that.

Until next time...

First Day of School - 6th and 8th

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Today was the first day of school for the 2019-2020 school year.  Noah is now in 6th grade and Evan is now in 8th grade.  What that means is they are now both in middle school and both riding the bus.  It also means that we don't have to get up as early since elementary school starts the earliest of the three types of school.

We woke up about 20 minutes late than we would previously.  Evan had breakfast, Noah did not.  Noah almost always refuses to eat breakfast.  Both boys were in good moods.  Rachel wanted to take pictures of the boys as we do on the first day of school every year.  This year, Noah insisted that Rachel take pictures in the backyard rather than the front yard.

Noah also seemed anxious to go.  I think he was worried about missing the bus.  Evan was definitely calmer about it. Noah insisted that we could not walk with him to the bus stop.  In fact, Rachel was able to get a picture of them walking to the bus stop but she had to zoom in because Noah wouldn't let us get close enough.

We still took Chewie for a walk.  We want to keep our morning walks and Chewie really enjoys it.  He seemed to sense that there was school today.  He was definitely more hyper this morning.  So we walked the opposite way that Noah and Evan walked so we followed Noah's rules.

Rachel tutored around lunch time.  Of course I just worked at home all day.

What was weird is we didn't have to be home by 2:50pm so we could walk to get Noah.  This was our first time not doing that.

Evan went over his friend Henry's after school.  We had asked Evan to meet Noah at the buses at school to make sure Noah was ok, but Evan didn't do that.  Noah was able to get on the bus fine himself.  He was with his buddy, Grayson.  Noah got home around 4:10 or so.  He seemed to be in a good mood and didn't have anything bad to say about school.

Later in the afternoon, I picked Evan up.  When I got home, I left again to go to a meeting at TRPD for the parents.

Rachel made dinner for the boys.

When I got home, we went for our annual first-night-of-school-frozen-yogurt at TCBY.

We're home now.  The boys are getting ready for bed.

Until next time...

Friday - Wednesday

Friday - We met the Williams and Mantis (the families we normally vacation with) for dinner and swimming.  We had planned on going on a vacation together this summer, but it didn't work out.   So, instead, we all got together on Friday.  We met for dinner at Mandola's and then went to the William's house after. They have a pool and all of the kids had a great time playing together.

Saturday - Evan had a baseball practice and then Morry and the boys met Alex and Jake at the movies. While they were out, I met a friend of mine for happy hour in the neighborhood.

Sunday - We took Chewie for a walk around the lake.  For dinner, we met Morry's cousin, Aaron, for dinner at Moonshine.

Monday - We took Calvin, Flash, and Chewie to the vet for their yearly checkups.  Calvin lost another pound so now we will give him one pill daily, rather than 1/2.  Flash looked good, except he needs a teeth cleaning and possibly one or two teeth extracted.  Everything was good with Chewie.  He was a big baby though.  He's so scared of the vet for some reason.   After the vet I tutored.

Tuesday - I tutored.  For dinner, Evan went to Grandma and Papa's house.   For our dinner, we made chicken and rice in the Instant Pot.

Today - I tutored.  Then, I met Morry and Evan at Hill Country Indoor, where we might have his Bar Mitzvah party.  Noah went to Grandma and Papa's.  For our dinner we made Buffalo wings.   After dinner Evan had baseball practice.  I walked with Chewie to pick up Noah from Grandma and Papa's.

Here are a few pictures from today.

Evan insisted we by 3 beets at H-E-B and he peeled and cut a beet.  Then, ate it raw for lunch.

At Grandma and Papa's Noah and Grandma made cinnamon rolls.

Baseball Already?

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

It was a pretty easy morning this morning.  The boys got up earlier than they had been getting up.

Rachel went to a Pink Ribbon Cowgirls lunch up north.  I made lunch for the boys.

Just after lunch, I had a meeting.  It went well.

Evan had some hitting instruction at the facility in the afternoon followed by a throwing course.  It felt weird to already be taking him out to TRPD.  His buddy, Angelo, also did the throwing course.  Evan went home with Angelo afterward and is staying the night.

Noah went to Grandma and Papa's for dinner.  They had fried rice.  I think Noah helped make it.  It was still light when they were done, so he walked home.

Rachel and I had dinner at the house.

Noah is now upstairs playing video games.

Until next time...

Back on the Blog

Hi!  Did you miss us?

We've had a busy summer so far.  Here's what's been going on since the last post.

Morry and I flew with the boys to Greensboro, NC to drop the off at camp.  We got there the night before camp.  Overnight, Evan's ear was bothering him so much that we ended up video conferencing with a doctor and getting a prescription for what was most likely and ear infection.

Camp drop off went well.

From Greensboro, Morry and I drove to Richmond and spent a few days there with Fran and Scott.  Morry's new job is based out of Richmond, so he worked most of the days at the office.  I was able to explore Richmond a little bit.

Fran and Scott picked up the boys from camp and Fran flew home with them.   Then, she spent a few days with us here in Austin.  We had a great time.

We went on a big trip to Canada with Grandma, Papa, Michael, Jen, Maya, and Artie.  We spent a few days in Calgary and a few days in the Banff area.  It was beautiful there and we had a really nice time.  We just got back late Sunday night.

Now we have less than 3 weeks left before school starts.

Today, I tutored and the kids stayed at home most of the day.

Evan went to Grandma and Papa's for dinner and then we walked to pick him up.

Now the boys are playing video games.

Here are a few pictures from the summer.

Long Time No Post

Hell everyone, this is Morry.

It's been a long time since last posted.  It looks like it has been 12 days.  In that time, the family took a trip to Tucson, and the boys also went to Fredericksburg with Grandma and Papa.

We spent 5 days in Tucson seeing Aunt Fran and Uncle Scott, Uncle Ron and Aunt Kelly, as well as Aunt Rachel, Uncle Dax, Quin and Lennon.  But the real reason we were in town was to celebrate Zayde's 85th birthday.  We had a nice dinner on Saturday night.  On Sunday night, our host family cooked paella for everyone and we ate out in the backyard.  The boys enjoyed seeing everyone.

On Friday, Grandma and Papa took the boys to Fredericksburg, TX.  It's a small town about an hour west of us.  They have a Pacific World War II museum there that the boys wanted to see.  They really enjoyed it.  Apparently, they spent about 3 hours there and could have spent more.  Some of the museum was being remodeled.

This morning, Rachel and I took Chewie to Emma Long Park which has a 3-mile leashless trail.  Chewie had a great time.  He was really good about staying with us and any time he got hot, he'd run into the creek that the trail followed.  The hike was nice as it's in the woods and fully shaded, so the temperature was not uncomfortable.

Evan was home shortly before going to Reid's house where he'll stay the night.  Rachel, Noah and I had dinner at Chuy's. 

We're home now and Noah is upstairs.

Until next time...

In the last week...

In the last week, we've been busy even though the kids didn't have school.

Noah had cooking camp last week and really enjoyed it.  His team won the cooking competition on the last day.

Evan had his last baseball tournament for the season last weekend.

This week Noah will have his middle school transition camp.

Tonight, Morry took the boys bowling.  Morry and Evan joined a bowling league with some other baseball friends.  Noah came along and bowled with his friend Tony while the league was bowling.  It sounds like everyone had fun.

Memorial Day Weekend

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

On Saturday, Grandmom flew in.  She went straight to Matt and Rachael's house for Ben's graduation party.  Rachel and I took separate cars as I had to take Evan to baseball afterwards.  It was a nice party.

Evan played well in his baseball games.  He hit well and pitched well.  Unfortunately, his team lost.

For dinner, we met Rachel, Noah and Grandmom at Texas Roadhouse.

Evan had baseball early on Sunday.  We took Chewie to the game.  He got a ton of attention.  I think 75% of the time we were there, someone was petting Chewie.  Evan played amazing and his team won.

I drove Chewie home and got back in time for Evan's second game.  He again played well, but the team lost.

Grandmom came over after we got home.  Rachel and I left her with the boys and went out to dinner for our 16th anniversary.  After dinner we went to a coffee shop called Opa!

Today, Rachel got up and took Chewie for a long walk.  After that she went to tutor.

Evan, Noah and I picked Grandmom up and we went and had lunch at an Independent/Assisted Living Home.  I don't think Grandmom liked it much.

We came home for a little while before driving to Round Mountain to have dinner with Uncle Marvin and Aunt Sandy.  Aunt Sandy cooked chicken and ribs.  It was good.  Grandma and Papa joined us.

We came back and dropped Grandmom off and are now back at the house.  The boys will be getting ready for bed soon.

Until next time...

Last Day of Elementary School on to 6th and 8th Grades

Today was our last day going to the elementary school.

We drove to school today.  Noah went to his classroom and we went to the cafeteria to get seats for graduation.  Grandma and Papa were already there when we got there.

The graduation started at 8am with the 5th-grade kids walking the hallways.  Then, they came into the cafeteria.

They had each kid come up, one by one.  They said their names, where they want to go to go college, and what they want to study.  Noah said he wants to go to Carnegie Mellon and study Fine Arts.

After graduation, they had cookies and juice reception for everyone.

Then, the kids got ready for their pool party at the pool next door to the school.

We went home after the reception.

I had to go into my school for a little bit to take care of a few things and enter final grades into the system.

We did our last walk to school this afternoon and brought Chewie with us.  Chewie got a lot of attention, so he was happy.

For dinner, we went to Kura, the revolving sushi place to celebrate Noah's graduation.

Then, we went to Aaron and Mandy's house for Mandy's graduation (MBA) party.

It was a long fun day and now we have 6th and 8th graders!

Here are some pictures from today.

Last Monday of Elementary School

Today, we walked Noah to school and talked about how it's the last Monday walking to the elementary school.

I took it easy today since I had a big weekend.  I went to San Antonio for a travel bloggers event.

We walked to get Noah from school today.  It was very hot and humid.

I tutored one student this afternoon.

Evan went to Grandma and Papa's for dinner.

For our dinner, we made tacos at home.

After dinner, we walked with Chewie to Grandma and Papa's house.  The kids played Frisbee in the backyard for a while.  Chewie had fun running around with them.

Now, the boys are playing video games and will get ready for bed soon.

Second to Last Tuesday

We are getting closer to the end of school.  This is our second to last Tuesday before the end of school.

I had to be at school early today, so I didn't walk with everyone to school.

I was at school until about 2:00.

On my way home I stopped at Petsmart to get more food for Chewie and saw a friend there. One of the moms on Evan's baseball team works for Petsmart and she happened to be at the store when I was there, so we talked a little bit.

I got home in time to walk to pick up Noah from school.  He went to Grandma and Papa's house on the way home.

I only had one hour of tutoring today in the neighborhood so that was nice.

I went to Grandma and Papa's after they ate to pick up Noah.

When Morry and Evan got home from baseball we ate our dinner.

Soon the boys will get ready for bed.

Final Two Weeks

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Over the weekend, there was no baseball.  It rained enough last week that the tournament was cancelled.  Noah had a football game. He played quite well.  He played defense the whole time.  He pulled several flags.  He jumped in front of one pass and knocked it down. (though it was caught by someone else despite his best efforts)  His coach was highly pleased.

After Noah's game, we went to Toyota of Cedar Park.  We were able to get a good deal on a Highlander.  Rachel had to turn back the car she's been driving to Charles Maund.  But we were able to get a good deal at the other dealership. We hated to turn the car back in, but if we had to, I think we got a good deal on a good car.

Yesterday, we went to Snooze for Mother's Day with Grandma and Papa.  We came home, got Chewie and went for a walk around Lady Bird Lake.  For dinner, we picked up food from Pinthouse Pizza and then got frozen yogurt at TCBY.

Today marked the start of the second-to-last week of school. It was a nice morning so we did our normal walk to school with Chewie.

As always I was home.  I had several phone meetings.

Rachel went into school to teach around lunch.  After that, she had to run up to the dealership that we bought the car at and drop off a check.  Then she had to give the keys to the dealership where we were returning the car.  She and Evan got home at the same time.

For dinner, I made ribs on the grill.

After dinner, we had to go to HEB to get a few things.

The boys are getting ready for bed now.

Until next time...

Science Day

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

We drove Noah to school this morning.  It wasn't raining but there was rain predicted.  It seemed like it could rain at any moment so we didn't want to chance it.  We did just drive to the trail rather than the front of the school, though.

I had a meeting at 8:30.  After the meeting finished, Rachel and I went to school for a 5th Grade Science Day for Noah.  They showed us some of the things they worked on and performed some experiments for us. Noah seemed happy to have us there.  It also marked the last school event that we'll go to other than Graduation at Clayton Elementary.

Rachel left to tutor not too long after Evan got home.  Then I dropped Noah off at his football practice and took Evan to his practice.

For dinner, we picked up Me Con Bistro.  At dinner, Evan told us about his science work in his Engineering Design Problems class.  He and a partner had to build something to keep an egg safe when dropping it.  They used a drone to lift the project up and drop it from varying heights.  Evan and his partner were able to build a case for the egg that survived a 300 foot drop.  They won third place in the class.

The boys are getting ready for bed now.

Until next time...

Wellness Check Ups

This morning I had to be at school for my early class, so just Morry and Chewie walked Noah to school.

The boys had wellness checkups at 10am.  Morry picked the boys up from school and I met them at the doctor's office.

The boys are both growing well and everything looks good.  Noah is 4ft 6inches tall and Evan is 5ft 1in tall.  Evan got one vaccine and Noah got 3.

I took Evan back to school and Morry took Noah back.  After dropping off Evan I went back to my school for a staff meeting.

After school Noah went to Grandma and Papa's house.

I tutored this afternoon.

Morry took Evan to baseball practice, but it started raining and they ended practice early.  They stopped at got Tucci's on the way home.

Champions

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

I just noticed how long it's been since we wrote the blog.  It's been a busy few weeks.  Two weeks ago, Rachel was at a conference for most of the week.  Last week, I was in Philadelphia and then Richmond for work.  And this past weekend, Evan and I were in Dallas for a baseball tournament.

Rachel enjoyed her conference.  She feels like she met some good people and made some good contacts.  We'll see if anything comes out of it, but it seems promising.

My trip to Philadelphia and Richmond was good.  I went to Grandmom's retirement party.  It was nice and some really nice things were said about her.  It was also a super productive time at the office.  I think it went really well. 

Evan and I left for Dallas on Friday afternoon.  We were able to get out before the big rains came.  Rachel and Noah went to Panera and on the way home, they saw police cars.  It turns out there was a water rescue not far from Panera because of the floods caused by the heavy rains.  Luckily our house was good and the lighting which was close did not affect Rachel, Noah or the house.

Evan and I went out to dinner with all the families that had made it up to the hotel.  Then the boys went swimming at the hotel while the parents are sat out and talked.

Evan played on Saturday late morning/early afternoon.  His team won both games.  He caught the first game and threw out a runner at second.  He almost threw out another runner.  The throw beat the runner but the umpire said the tag was too slow.  The team won the second game as well.  Evan had a key hit in the game and played third base.  He was also involved in a controversial rundown where the umpire said that the fielder interfered with him and they said he was safe at home.

Noah had a football game in the afternoon.  Rachel didn't think it would happen based on the amount of rain the night before, but they were able to play.  Noah had two QB sacks and caused a safety.  It seemed like he had a good time.

Saturday night in Dallas, we went to a sports bar for dinner.  There is a pool table and arcade games for the kids to play.  The parents all ate together.  Then the kids went to a laser tag place with the coaches while the parents stayed at the hotel.  Evan came back into the hotel with his arm around his friend Elliot.  They seemed to be in a really good mood. 

On Sunday, Evan's first game was not until 11:30.  He was named the starting pitcher for the first game.  The other team showed up late, but they still played.  They did shorten the game.  Evan pitched two innings of no-hit shutout baseball.  The offense took over most of the game and took up the rest of the time.  Evan had a hit and scored a run.  The final score was 7-0.

We wen to lunch and then played the second game.  Evan caught in that game.  He played very well at catcher.  The starting pitcher also pitched well.  The team won that game 6-0.

In the third game - the championship - the team faced a pitcher who was 6'5" or 6'6".  He seemed about as tall as Evan's coach who is 6'6" but we didn't see them exactly together.  This boy was 13.  But Evan's team did not seem intimidated.  Evan had an RBI ground out, knocking in the first run and a well hit line drive that was right at the shortstop.  The boys threw hard, probably in the mid 70's.  But the pitcher on Evan's team was even better.  Evan made three very key plays at third base including two in the final inning.  He looked really good there.  They won the championship, 4-0.  So for the day, they didn't give up any runs.  They allowed two total hits in 11 innings with 17 strikeouts between the three pitchers.

We got home a little after 10pm.

Today, the boys started their 3rd-to-last week of school.  It was a fairly uneventful day.

Until next time...

Back to Another Monday

This morning we walked Noah to school.

I taught later in the day.

Morry and I walked to get Noah from school and shortly after I left for tutoring.

I got home earlier than normal since I just had one student today.

When I got home, Evan was getting ready to go to Grandma and Papa's house for dinner.

Noah, Morry, and I had matzoh ball soup for dinner.

Then, we walked to Grandma and Papa's house with Chewie to get Evan.

Here are some pictures and videos from Passover Seder on Saturday.