Cleaning and Baseball

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Evan had a baseball game at 9am.  He stayed over Wade's house last night so I told Wade's mom I'd get him at 7am.  He was ready to go when I got there.   We stopped at Donut Taco Palace on the way.

The team that Evan was supposed to play did not show up at 9am.  It turns out they told the tournament organizers they weren't playing this weekend but they never changed the schedule.  We were able to play a different team in back-to-back games but not until 10:45.  So we had a light practice during our regular game slot and then played.  It would have been nice to not have to get up so early.  I would have appreciated that.

The Bucs won 5-4 in the first game and 5-1 in the second game.  Evan played third base in 9 of the 10 innings they played.  He did really well.  He's really a natural third baseman.  He struck out in his two at-bats in the first game but batted better in the second game.

Grandma and Papa wanted to clean their house today from all the construction dirt and the dirt of the last owners.  Rachel and Noah went with them to help.  Noah was a really big help.  Rachel left to come see Evan in his second game but Noah stayed behind and continued to help clean.  We're really proud of Noah for cleaning up so well.  Papa paid Noah for his time.

For dinner, we went to Trattoria Lisina for Uncle Marvin and Aunt Sandy's birthdays.  The food was good, as always, but it took a really really long time to get our food.

The boys are showering and about to go to bed.

Until next time...

Evan "Mariano Rivera" Belkin

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

I got Evan up early for the start of his last tournament for the fall season.  We stopped at Donut Taco Palace on the way down.

Noah had gotten up just before we left.  Since Noah was up, Rachel decided to come to the first game.

In the first game, Evan played third the whole game.  At one point he fielded the ball almost on third base and threw across the diamond to get the out.  He singled and scored in the game as well.

There was some time in between games.  I packed some snacks for Evan.  Then we practiced a bit.

The second game was a tight game.  After two innings, we were losing 2-0.  We came through for 6 runs in the top of the third.  In the bottom of the third, our pitcher gave up 2 runs and walked the next two batters.  At that point the umpire announced that time had expired and we would finish up the game.  The coach brought in Evan with runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out with us leading 6-4.  Evan struck out the first batter that he faced.  The next batter worked the count to 3-2, though umpire squeezed Evan on two calls.  One of our coaches who normally is pretty quiet was giving the umpire a hard time on those calls.  On Evan's sixth pitch of that at-bat, he threw it in and the boy popped a weak pop up to shortstop for the win.  Evan was really excited.  He said he should be wearing #42 since that's what Mariano Rivera wore.

We came home and had lunch then watched a movie.

For dinner, we went to Trattoria Lisina.  Evan ate well there.  The boys enjoyed it.

The boys are about to get ready for bed.

Until next time...

Grandma and Papa in Austin

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning I had to wake Evan up to go to camp.  This was the first time I had to wake him up.  He's been awake and downstairs playing previously.  Rachel took Evan to camp.

Later in the morning, Rachel and Noah worked more on the garden.  Then the two of them went to Rachel's tutoring.

At lunch I went to pick Evan up for camp.  Darius wanted to go to lunch with Evan again so we joined Darius and his mom for lunch at Waterloo Ice House.  The two boys played on the playground until lunch as served.  Tomorrow, Darius' mom is going to take Evan and Darius out to lunch and a place called Jumpoline.

Around 4pm, Grandma and Papa arrived.  They are in town because they are flying out with Evan and Noah to go to Seattle to go camping this weekend.

We went to Uncle Marvin and Aunt Sandy's new house.  They closed on it yesterday and moved in it today.  It was very nice.  Evan was more interested in going in the large backyard.  From there we went to Trattoria Lisina for dinner.  The food was excellent as usual.

We came home, the boys showered and now they are in their rooms.

Until next time...

Zayde and UT Baseball

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning we "slept in".  At least the time on the clock said we did.

Around 10:30, Evan and I left to go pick up Zayde.  When we got home, we gave Evan some food because he was being picked up to go to the UT baseball game.  His friend Brayden and Brayden's dad were taking Evan.  Evan was very excited.

I got several texts during the game about what fun they were having.

Noah spent most of the time on his computer.  He and Zayde played with Legos some.

When Evan got home he was really excited.  He got to meet Roger Clemens who was at the game watching his son.  Evan got Roger Clemens' autograph.

For dinner we went to Trattoria Lisina.  Evan ate all his pizza.  Noah ended up sharing my steak.  It was a nice evening out with Zayde.  Zayde also brought a bunch of change for the boys to throw into the fountain.

For dessert we went to Teo.  Everyone got gelato.

The boys are now in their rooms.

Until next time...

Ridiculous Amount of Rain

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

It started raining after we put the boys to bed last night and it poured all night long.  There was a lot of thunder and lightning.  Every time I woke up I could hear it raining as if it was one of the short downpours but it kept going.  Evan said he woke up at 4am because of thunder.  He got up and looked out the window on the stairs for awhile before going back to bed.  One person on Facebook said their rain gauge measured 9 inches of rain.

Needless to say, there was no baseball today.  But the worst part of that is mid-afternoon we heard from the league and the fields were apparently damaged severely from flooding.  The fall baseball season is suspended indefinitely until the damage can be assessed and an estimate on the work needed to fix up the fields is done.  The fields are closed and locked until insurance adjusters can go out and see the damage.  It is very upsetting.

Grandmom, Evan, Noah and I went to Target this morning.  Noah got a big Lego set and Evan got baseball cards and some Legos.  When we came home, we watched the Steelers finally win a game.

The boys played with their Legos during and after the game.

We went to Trattoria Lisina for dinner tonight.  The boys ate really well.  It is still raining.  Below you can see pictures of Evan and Noah that we staged at the water fountain there.

When we got home, I had an email from Evan's baseball coach.  He's thinking of putting together a Select Baseball Team and wants to see if Evan would be interested in playing.  I could answer without asking Evan.  There are several fall baseball tournaments in the region.  We can enter a team.

We're about to put the boys to bed.

Until next time..

Getting Ready for a Big Weekend

This morning Noah wanted Aunt Jen to come to school for drop off. After dropping Noah off at school, I dropped Jen back off at home and ran some errands. I went to the bank, library, and Michael's.

When I got back home I started getting things ready for the parties this weekend.

Grandma and Papa got here around 2:30 and Grandma came with me to get Evan at school. Evan was very happy to see her and ran up and hugged her.

Evan and Noah stayed at home with Uncle Mike and Aunt Jen while Grandma, Papa, and I went to HEB.

Today is Michael's birthday and to celebrate we went to dinner at Trattoria Lisina. Aaron and Mandy also met us there. It was a good time and the boys were well behaved.

Evan and Noah are ready for bed now, but not yet asleep.

Haircuts

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

The boys went to bed very late last night.  For some reason, after the Parents Night Out at the Little Gym, both Evan and Noah came home very wired.  Noah was in our room after midnight telling us it was morning and therefore he did not need to sleep.  He did eventually go to sleep.  They woke up a bit after 8am.

I came downstairs when I got up and made some phone calls and did some stuff I needed to do while the boys played Wii.

Rachel came down and we had some brunch.  After that, we took the boys to the Wildflower Park.

The boys needed haircuts and they always fight going to get their hair cut.  So we decided we'd pay a bit extra and go to Cool Cuts 4 Kids.  We went there after the park.  When the kids sit down, they choose whether they want to watch a movie or play a video game.  At each station they have a tv and a game console.  Both Evan and Noah chose to play the Lego Star Wars video game.  As we were driving over there, Noah was throwing a fit that he didn't want to go, but once he was in there and saw all the things, it was almost hard to get him to leave.  He loved it there.

The boys did not really rest during "nap" time.  They ended up playing some more Wii.

For dinner we had a Groupon for Trattoria Lisina.  We went over there at 5:30 but we were told it was an hour and 45 minute wait.  They said they might be able to get us in at the counter but that never materialized.  We waited a bit to see if that would work out.  They have a playscape there now so the boys were fine playing.  But after a while they told us we'd have to wait the full time.  So we left and went to dinner at Craig O's.  We also had a group coupon there.  The boys ate very well.

We came home and got the boys ready for bed.  They are still awake though.

Until next time...

Last Flag Football Game

This morning Evan had his last flag football game at 9am. We all went to the game. It was a playoff game, but since Evan's team didn't win that was the last game.

We came home for a little bit and then went to lunch at Trattoria Lisina. They added a nice playground outside so the boys played for a while after we ate.

We took it easy at home the rest of the day. Fran played football with the boys.

We ate leftovers for dinner and then I made merengue cookies for dessert.

We just got the kids ready for bed.

Wearing the boys out

We went to Locomotion today and the boys both ran around a lot. They had a good time.

After Locomotion we all got Slushes at Sonic.

At home we took it easy and then got ready for an early dinner. We made reservations for Trattoria Lisina in Driftwood.

We got there at 5:30, had a nice dinner, and then played outside. Evan played Bocce Ball with some other older boys. Noah ran around. The boys also enjoyed throwing coins into the fountain.

Here are some pictures from today.

San Antonio Weekend

We were in San Antonio over the weekend. My cousin Zach and Allison got married.

The kids were not invited, so we had babysitters for them for the rehearsal dinner and the wedding. Both nights went well and the babysitters were good.

Friday night, the rehearsal dinner was at the hotel. Saturday we went to Brackenridge park with Grandma, Papa, and the boys. We rode the train and played Frisbee.

The wedding was at the McNay Museum of Art. It was a beautiful wedding. The music was good and it was very nice to see and chat with everyone.

Sunday brunch was next door to the hotel overlooking the Riverwalk. Evan and Noah especially had a good time playing with Ryan.

Before leaving to go home we hung out at Aunt Diane and Uncle Jay's house for a little bit. We drove Michael and Jen to the airport and then went back to Austin.

Grandma, Papa, and Bubbe are going to spend the night here and then drive back to Dallas tomorrow.

For dinner we ate at Trattoria Lisina. Evan and Noah ate well and were well behaved. We all enjoyed our food.

Now, we are totally exhausted. The boys are in bed, but still pretty wired. Noah doesn't seem like he's going to fall asleep any time soon.

Here are some pictures and video from the weekend.

Picasa Web Album of Zach and Allison's wedding weekend here.

Zayde

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning, around 6:10am, I heard Evan's Star Wars CD turn on. I knew he must be up. He didn't come in our room, though.

At 6:45, we got up because we were going on a bike ride. Today is Livestrong Day. It's the day that, 14 years ago, Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with cancer. So his bike shop, Mellow Johnny's, was having a bike ride in support of the Livestrong Foundation. You could pick rides or 50, 35, 20 or 10 miles. Since I haven't been riding a bike in several years, we chose to do they 10 miler.

Gabby came over at 7:30 and took care of the boys while we went on our ride. It was nice being outside and the day was absolutely beautiful and a perfect temperature. Also it was really nice seeing parts of Austin we don't normally get to see. However, I think the pace of the 10 miler was a bit too slow for us. It was good to go riding nevertheless.

We came home and Rachel hooked up the tandem bike to her bike and took Evan riding. He really enjoyed. She and Evan rode to the elementary school. Evan played a bit and then they came back and we had lunch.

After lunch, Evan, Noah, and I went to the airport to pick up Zayde. Evan fell asleep on the way to the airport and Noah fell asleep on the way home from the airport. They had both been excited to see Zayde, but didn't really show it initially due to being tired.

We got home and put Noah down for a nap, but he didn't sleep after having slept in the car. So I got him out of his room and Zayde, the boys and I went out back. Evan and Noah went on the swings for quite a long time.

We came in and the boys watched Return of Jedi.

We went out for an early dinner at Trattoria Lisina which is a winery near us. The boys were really well behaved. They each got 8" pizzas. Evan ate all of his and 2 of Noah's pieces. Then he ate his gelato. I ordered a roasted chicken and it was the best chicken I have ever had. I highly recommend Trattoria Lisina if you are in Austin.

After dinner, we let the boys run around outside of the restaurant. They threw pennies into the fountain, and ran over this little bridge. You can see video of it down below.

We came home and put the boys to bed. I think they are still awake.

Until next time...

Nice Day – Lots of Treats

This morning, after getting the boys dressed and fed we all got in the car. I had to make a quick stop at the library and then we went to the zoo.

When we first got to the zoo the boys wanted to see the goats. We were able to go in the fenced in section and pet some of the goats. The boys thought it was funny when one of the goats started peeing. They both jumped back really quickly. We fed the goats and deer, then saw the pigs. About that time Evan and Noah said they were ready for lunch. We found a picnic table in the shade and ate our picnic lunch. The boys ate well and were well behaved so we all got shaved iced from the little stand. Evan and Noah shared a bubble gum flavored one. I had strawberry. By the time they were done with their shaved ices it was getting late so we left to go home. We have a membership to the zoo and it’s pretty close to our house, so it’s nice being able to go there for a little bit and not feel like we have to spend the whole day there.

It took Noah a while to fall asleep for his nap.

For dinner we went to Trattoria Lisina. It worked out really well. The boys ate a lot of pizza and then we all got gelato for dessert.

We just put the boys to bed, but Noah is still talking at his gate.

7 years!

Today is our anniversary. It’s been 7 years.

This morning Evan and Noah gave me a hard time for some reason and we were very late dropping Evan off at school. Noah has been extremely whiny lately.

After dropping Evan off Noah and I ran some errands.

We had lunch at home, but Noah didn’t eat very much.

We picked up Evan and then came back home. Noah napped for a little while.

When Morry came home we got the boys’ dinner ready and got ready to go out. Blanca came at 5:45 so that we could have a date night.

Morry and I went to Trattoria Lisina in Driftwood. We had a nice, relaxing dinner. After dinner we tried going to Hey Cupcake for dessert but they were already closed for the night. We ended up at Starbucks instead.

When we got home both boys were in bed and asleep.

More Gallo

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning, around 6:45am, I was awakened by Evan coming in our room. He wanted us to put on a movie for him in the gameroom. Rachel, very generously, offered to set Evan up. However, he insisted that Daddy get up and go downstairs and get him breakfast and start the movie. I tried to go back to sleep after that but never really fell into a deep sleep. I dozed off a few times. Rachel even got up with Evan a little before 9 and let me stay in bed but I never got a good sleep.

When Noah got up, Rachel took the boys out to go looking for toddler stuff at garage sales. Unfortunately there weren't many going on.

When they got back we went out the library. Evan and Noah really like going there. I think if Noah could, he'd pull every single book off of every shelf. You really have to watch him.

After the library, we went to Target. Rachel had to return some stuff and exchange some other stuff. I took the boys over to the toy section. There was this two foot high robotic dinosaur toy. It was encased in glass and you pressed a button and it roared and stomped around. Noah thought this was great. He pressed the button over and over. In that same aisle, across from the dinosaur, was all these new Buzz Lightyear toys. Evan was in heaven. He kept grabbing different Buzz Lightyears and saying "look at this kind of Buzz Lightyear". Many times, he'd just grab behind the box he had just grabbed so it was really the same Buzz Lightyear. I guess with Toy Story set to be re-released in October and Toy Story 3 coming out in June, the toys are coming back out.

When we got home we had lunch. Neither boy ate much and so we put them down for naps. They took very good naps.

Noah got up first. He and I were downstairs and I was getting dinner ready for he and Evan and I heard Evan yell from the top of the stairs, "Gallo!!" Noah got a big smile on his face and yelled "Guy...O" back. It was very funny. So pretty soon we're going to have both boys using the word Gallo.

Blanca came over and babysat while we went out for date night. We had dinner at this place in Driftwood called Trattoria Lisina. It was really good. There was an hour wait so we ended up eating at the bar which was kind of neat. The kitchen is open so at the bar we could watch everything going on. We were seated by the dessert people. The food was really good. From there we went down to South Congress to try out the cupcake place called Hey Cupcake! However, even thought it said there hours on Saturday were from 10am to 10pm and it was 9pm, they were closed. Odd. So we went to the crepe place. We enjoyed our crepes.

We are back home and the boys are sleeping, so that's a good sign.