New Floors

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Back when we had our kitchen redone, we wanted our kitchen floors and my office floor replaced with hardwood to match the rest of the hardwood floors downstairs.  They did not have enough of the hardwood floors left to do my office.  The floors were backordered.  A few weeks ago, the flooring came in.  Today they contractor came to start installing the floors.  They came at 8:30 this morning and worked until after 5pm.

I moved everything to the dining room and worked out of the dining room today. Rachel took Chewie to Grandma and Papa's house.

The boys were back to school.  They both seemed to get back into the swing of things.  Everyone is virtual for this week.

The contractor had all the floor laid in my office by the time they left.  They still have to add on some wood to the baseboards and paint it.  They are going to fix the transition into our kitchen.  And they are going to add some backsplash in to where the wall was exposed when we replaced the range hood.

I took Evan to TRPD for hitting lessons after they left. 

When we got home, we had dinner.

Rachel is working on some lesson plans and the boys are playing upstairs.

Until next time...

The Weekend After Thanksgiving

 It rained Friday and Saturday, so we didn't do much. It was nice to take it easy.

Today, Morry and I walked with Chewie around the lake.

Evan went swimming at Reids house.

Later in the afternoon Morry and I went shopping at H-E-B and then picked Evan up at Reid's house on the way home.

For dinner, we had leftovers.

Then Morry worked on getting his office cleaned up and the furniture moved out.  Tomorrow, we will start the hardwood floor installation in Morry's office.  We have a few other things getting touched up the house as well.

Thanksgiving

 Today we spent the day getting ready for our Thanksgiving meal. 

Morry and I took a walk.

When we got back Morry, Evan, and Maya (on Facetime) made chocolate cream pie together.

At 3:00 we had a family Zoom.

Then, at 4:00 we went to Grandma and Papa's house.  Marilyn met us there and we all ate outside at our separate tables.

It was a nice time and all of the food was really good.

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

 Today, we started getting ready for Thanksgiving tomorrow.

Noah and I made an apple pie from scratch.  Noah found the recipe and did a lot of the work, including cleaning up.  He just needed help on some parts of it.

Morry smoked the turkey.  We had a tiny taste and it tastes great!

For dinner, we had leftovers.

Then, we went to H-E-B to get a few last-minute things for tomorrow.

Now we will relax some before going to bed.

Here are some pictures from today.

Exciting Night

 This morning I met Leslie, a baseball mom, to hike at the greenbelt.

I was supposed to tutor at 4:30 this afternoon, but the student did show up on Zoom. The mom called to tell me their internet was down, so I ended up not tutoring.

After that, Morry and I went to Randall's to pick up some things for Thanksgiving.

We ate dinner and then Morry and Evan went to his baseball lesson.

On their way home, they found a lost dog in the neighborhood and brought it back to our house.  Morry posted on Facebook, but no one responded.  Morry brought the crate downstairs thinking we were going to have to hold on to her overnight.  So, I did some digging around and found someone post about a lost Husky back in April, on NextDoor, with a similar description.  So I reached out to the lady on Facebook.   It turned out to be her dog and she didn't even know it was gone.  So, she just came and got it and thanked us.  Chewie had a fun time playing with the dog in our backyard until the owner got here.

Here are a few pictures from today and yesterday.

Fishing Trip

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

On Friday Evan and I left for a fishing trip in Matagorda, TX.  We were meeting some of the boys and their fathers from the baseball team.  There were 4 other fathers and 5 boys there.  We stayed at a little motel which was nicer than I had pictured.  

For dinner on Friday night, we went onto the beach.  We had a grill and made hamburgers, sausage and chicken.  We dug a bit pit and had a fire going.  The boys played football on the beach and playing in the water.  When it got dark, we made s'mores over the fire.  It was a really nice time.

On Saturday morning, we got up early and went down the marina.  There were three boats with a driver on each boat. The driver acted as the guide.  There were 4 people to a boat.  I've never gone fishing before, and Evan has some experience. The other father/son duo that went with us was also somewhat inexperienced though they had more than we have.  The driver/guide that was with us was good with newbies.  We got a fishing license that let us catch 6 redfish between 20" and 28".  We were allowed to get one "bonus" redfish if it was over 28" long.  In the first five minutes, Evan caught a trout.  A little while later, Evan's friend Gavin caught a catfish which we had to throw back.  Those catfish are not good to eat.  I then caught the first redfish.  Eventually, our boat caught 16 fish - 12 redfish between 20 and 28".  1 redfish caught by Brian, Gavin's dad, that was 30", a trout, and two black drum.  We split up all the fish to bring home.  Evan caught the second largest at 28".  He caught 5 redfish and the trout.  I caught two redfish, 3 catfish (that we threw back) and one stingray (which we also threw back).

We got home and made the fish for dinner.  I had a steak since I don't eat fish.  Everyone loved it.  We gave Grandma and Papa some fish.  They loved theirs too.

This morning, I talked to my siblings for a bit.  Then we went outside and started a fire in a fire pit.  Rachel "rented" a fire pit through a paid ad she's doing for a rental company.  So we started a fire and roasted marshmallows.  Rachel took pictures and video for the stuff she's doing.  Then Rachel and I sat by the fire.

For dinner, we picked up Hula Hut.  After dinner, we went for a walk.

The boys are playing on the Playstation now.

Until next time...

Batting Cages

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Rachel had to get up a little bit earlier this morning as she had a staff meeting before her morning tutoring session.  When her tutoring was done, she went into school to teach.

As usual, I was home working and the boys were doing virtual school.

Rachel is home earlier on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  But today she stopped at Dick's Sporting Goods.  Evan ordered some sunglasses and Rachel passes right by.  She did the curbside pick up.

After Evan was done with classes, he went out and worked on some pitching in the backyard.  He said he was working on a knuckle-curve that he felt broke both vertically and horizontally.

Later, we met Josiah and his dad, John, at Marucci Clubhouse.  Evan and Josiah hit off the pitching machine for about an hour.  Evan was successful, especially at the end.  He made a slight tweak to his hands and felt the difference.  The results definitely showed.

We came home and made something quick - just pasta - for dinner.

The boys are upstairs now.

Until next time...

Another Monday and Tuesday

 Yesterday, I was busy even though I didn't go to my school.   I usually use Mondays to catch up, do lesson plans, and get things ready for the week.  

I tutored in the afternoon.

We ate ham for dinner and then Evan and Morry went to Evan's baseball lesson.

Today I Zoom tutored and then went to school.  It was colder than is has been this morning and I needed to wear a sweatshirt to teach outside.

When I got home I went for a walk.

I Zoom tutored again this afternoon and Noah had his Hebrew lesson with Grandma.

For dinner Morry and the kids had steak and I had fish.

Then Morry and I took a walk.

Now we will relax some before going to bed. 

Last Baseball Games of the Season + BBQ with Grandma and Papa

 Yesterday, Evan played his last two baseball games of the season.

He played for his regular team and they asked him to play on the higher level, 16U team.

Here's a video of his hit for his 15U team.

Today, Morry and I walked around the lake.

Then, we picked up Salt Lick for us and Grandma and Papa.

We met at their house (in the backyard) for an early dinner around 4:30.  We wanted to meet early so we could get together before it got too dark.

Everyone had a great time, including Chewie.

After that, we did our weekly H-E-B shopping trip.

Now Morry and I getting ready for the week and the boys are playing video games.

Here are some pictures from today.

Marucci

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

As crazy as it seems, the boys only have one more week until Thanksgiving Break.  The school year seems to be going by quickly.  I think after that Thanksgiving, the boys only have three weeks until winter break.

This morning was a busy morning for me. I didn't have any meetings but there were a bunch of things at work I needed to complete.

The boys had school as normal.  One of Noah's teachers is dealing with family issues.  And in the new COVID world, they don't get substitutes.  The kids get an assignment to work on without any synchronous instruction. 

Rachel went into teach at ATA today.  At lunch, she met a mother from baseball who lives near there for a nice walk.

After school and work, I took Evan to a set of batting cages called Marucci Clubhouse.  We met Josiah and his Dad there.  For the first 30 minutes, Josiah's dad, John, pitched to the boys.  The second thirty minutes Evan and Josiah hit off of the pitching machine.  They have a thing there called HitTrax.  They also have it at TRPD.  John gave a suggestion to Evan to get his back hip around and Evan immediately set a personal best for distance a hit traveled and exit velocity of the ball.

We stopped at Simply Pho on the way home and got dinner.

The boys are new upstairs and Rachel and I will sit down and watch TV.

Until next time...

Monday & Tuesday

 Yesterday I got stuff done around the house and did lesson planning.  In the afternoon I Zoom tutored.

Evan normally has a baseball lesson on Monday, but it was moved to Thursday for this week.

Today,  I Zoom tutored in the morning and then went to my school.  On the way home I made a few stops - Walgreens, the library, and H-E-B.

In the afternoon I Zoom tutored and Noah had his Hebrew lesson with Grandma.

Evan got a ride to practice, so that was nice that Morry didn't have to drive.

I took a walk after tutoring.

When Evan got home we ate the smoked porked that Morry made for dinner.

And now, Morry and I will sit down for a little bit. 

Fall Weekend

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Yesterday, Evan played two baseball games in Liberty Hill.  That is about 45 minutes, or so, northwest of the city. Rachel's cousin, Lauren, and her family live there.  Rachel's Aunt, who is going through chemo, has been staying with them.  Rachel decided to join us to watch Evan play and also visit with Aunt Susan.

Rachel dropped Evan and I off at the field for warmups while she went to Lauren's.  She sat in the backyard with Aunt Susan.  She said Aunt Susan looked good.  Her coloring was good and she seemed in a good mood.  She had shaved her head as her hair has begun to fall out.  Rachel said it was a nice visit.

In the two games, Evan was 4-6 with several RBIs.  He played third base the entire first game and catcher the entire second game.  In the first game, he had one play at third base.  On a steal the catcher threw a little wide of third base.  Evan caught it and made a nice dive to tag the runner out.  The coach was very pleased with Evan's athletic tag.  At catcher, only one runner tried to steal on Evan.  Unfortunately, the shortstop dropped the ball or Evan would have thrown him out. 

We come home for a bit, then went out and picked up dinner.  We got dinner from Cypress Grill.

We didn't have anything that we needed to do today.  So Rachel and I decided to go the Hamilton Greenbelt and take Chewie for a while.  Chewie was able to splash around in the creek there.  He was quite happy.

On the way home, we stopped at Black Rock Coffee.

Evan and I watched the Steelers game.  It was a tense game.  Noah didn't want to watch because every time he watched last week, the Steelers played poorly. He'd come downstairs to check on the game and see how things were going.

We got pizza from Domino's.  Then we went to HEB to do our weekly shopping.

The boys are playing on the Playstation now.

2020 Election

 Yesterday I met up with Deborah.  A long-time friend of hers who she was also living with passed away on Sunday.  Deborah was her caretaker over the last few months.

I Zoom tutored in the afternoon.

We ate grilled chicken for dinner and then Morry and Evan went to the baseball lesson.

Today is the big day - election day.   Morry got up around 6:15am to go vote.   I voted early a few weeks ago.

Both Morry and the boys were off today.  There was no school because many of the schools are voting locations.

After I taught, I dropped my car off to get serviced.  

Morry met me there and then we went to lunch nearby at a place called Hideaway.  It was good and we were able to eat outside.

After picking up my car we went back home.

I Zoom tutored this afternoon.

Morry and Evan are at baseball practice.

When they get home we will have corned beef for dinner.

We will see what happens tonight in terms of the election.

Lights

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Before I talked about what happened today, Rachel suggested I talk a bit about Evan's games yesterday.  Evan has been playing especially well in the last few weeks.  In particular, he's hitting the ball hard every time.  Yesterday, those hard hits finally paid off in the form of a triple.  He had hit a ball very hard earlier in the day to deep center but this one was a line drive that was so hard hit down into left field that it rolled all the way to the corner and Evan ended up with a triple.  While he was playing catcher, only one run scored (on an error) and only one kid tried to steal on Evan. The ball was in the dirt so Evan had to block it and wasn't able to make a throw.  At third base, Evan fielded a ball towards the mound and threw to first on the run to get the runner out.  He also barehanded a ball and fielded another ball and threw to end the game.

Evan slept over Reid's last night so he was not home this morning. He stayed at Reid's until after the Steelers game.

Rachel and I went to Lady Bird Lake and walked around.

When we got home I watched the Steelers game.  Rachel took a nap and also tutored during the game.  Noah watched with me but he left when they were losing.  When the Steelers took the lead he was nervous to come back and watch with me.

After the game, I picked Evan up and brought him home so he could clean his room.  Rachel has a sponsored post on her blog to get these wifi-enabled colored led light strips for the boys' rooms.  Rachel and I put them up in Noah's room at the top of one wall along the ceiling.  It was a bit of a pain.  Then we attached them underneath a shelf in Evan's room.  Both boys seemed to like them.  Rachel took pictures for her sponsored post.

When we were done, we went to HEB and shopped for the week. We had Domino's delivered for dinner.

The boys are upstairs playing.  Rachel and I will sit down to watch some TV soon.

Until next time...