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...

More Rain

 Today we had more rain.  It was raining most of the day.

I didn't teach today, so I was home, but I still had tutoring.

For lunch, the kids had pork tenderloin meals we got from H-E-B.

At 4:00 I Zoom tutored a college student.  I have tutored her since she was in middle school and the mom recently contacted me because she needs help with her college Algebra class.

At 5:00 I Zoom tutored the girl whose mom found me on Facebook.  I meet with her twice a week for 30 minutes each.  She's in 8th grade.

After I was done tutoring, Morry and I went to H-E-B to pick up some groceries for the week.

When we got home we got dinner ready. Morry had leftover Chinese food.  I had a chickpeas/rice/cauliflower prepared meal, and the kids had pasta.

Before dinner, Evan and Noah played basketball outside with our new neighbor, Riley who is Noah's age.

Now the boys are playing video games until it's time for bed.

Late Night Tutoring

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

I had a phone meeting early this morning after walking Noah to school.  After that I left to go into Touch To.

Rachel went in for a doctor's appointment shortly after I left.

In the afternoon, I worked at HomeAway and got back after Rachel had picked up Noah.  She took Noah to Jude's house and then left to tutor.

Evan got home a few minutes after me.  He had a snack and then I left to take him to Cooper's.  Cooper's parents were taking him to baseball practice.  On the way, they stopped to watch a freshman high school baseball game.  The high school that Evan will go to was playing against the high school near the facility.  Evan said he liked it.

I had a phone meeting this evening.  Rachel, who had returned from tutoring, and Noah ate dinner while I was on the phone.  Then Rachel left to tutor some more.

I made some pasta for Evan and me after Evan got home.  Noah had some too.

Rachel is on her way home from tutoring and the boys are getting ready for bed.

Until next time...

Cold Front

This morning,  Morry and Chewie walked Noah to school.  I left shortly after to go to my school.  It was hot and humid this morning, around 70 degrees.

I was there until about 12:30.

I left the house again around 3pm. 

I had a phone meeting and then tutoring.  I had the phone meeting in the driveway at my student's house before tutoring.

During the day, a cold front rolled in.

By the afternoon it was chilly.

For dinner, the boys had leftover chicken and pasta.  I had a sandwich.

It is now 43 degrees outside.

Now Evan and Noah are playing video games before bed.

Middle of the Week

This morning we walked to take Noah to school.

After that, I took it easy at home for a little bit.

I had a phone meeting at 10am and then at 10:30am Anna picked me up to go to school.

I got home around 2:00.

I drove to pick up Noah from school and the dropped him off at Grandma and Papa's house.

Shortly after Evan got home he and Morry left for baseball practice.

Noah was ready to be picked up at about 7pm. 

When we got home I started making dinner and Morry and Evan got home just a few minutes later.

We ate dinner.  Morry and Evan had pasta.  I had fish and green beans.

Soon the boys should be getting ready for bed.

Oh, and today is the 1 year anniversary of when we got Chewie!

Food Blogger

This morning the boys stayed at home.  I went for a run and then took Chewie for a walk around the block.

True Food Kitchen invited me +1 to come for a tasting.  I invited Mom/Grandma to come with me.  We had a reservation for noon.  I wasn't sure what to expect.  For some of these tastings, they have a set menu or set of items that they bring out to you to sample.  Today, we were able to each pick any drink, appetizer, entree, and dessert.  We had quite a feast!  It was all very good.

Morry took Evan to baseball this afternoon.

Around 3:30 Noah went to Grandma and Papa's house.

Morry made pasta for Evan and him and I had some of my leftovers from lunch.

After dinner, we walked to get Noah from Grandma and Papa's house.

Now the boys are upstairs, probably playing video games until it's time to get ready for bed.

Active Day

This morning Evan and I ran to Starbucks (2.5 miles), got a snack there, and then walked home (another 2.5 miles).

We had the garage repair guy come today and fix the middle garage door.  The spring broke and few other things needed to be fixed on it.

Then, Elise, the petsitter came by to get all of the instructions.

We ate lunch and then went to the pool for about an hour.  Noah's friend, Grayson, happened to be at the pool and they enjoyed playing together.

We needed to leave by 2pm to get Evan home in time for baseball.

Evan and Morry left the house around 2:15. 

Then, around 2:30, the doorbell rang.  It was Grayson coming to see if Noah could play. So, Noah went over to Grayson's house for a little while and then they hung out at our house until Grayson went home around 5:15.

For dinner we made pasta.

We spend a lot of the evening going through the boys' clothes and pulling out items that don't fit anymore.  We are hoping to go to the outlets this weekend and wanted to figure out what we needed.

Now the boys are in bed.

New Dog Gate

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Our walks to take Noah to school in the morning go very quickly now.  Chewie pulls so much that we walk very fast.  It's certainly faster than Lizzy towards the end as she walked quite slowly.

Rachel went into work when we got home.  I left for the office a bit later.  We had someone coming in for a job interview and I had another meeting in the afternoon.

Rachel had a doctors appointment at the time we would get Noah, so I went by myself to get Noah.  Chewie was surrounded by four kids at one point.  He was so happy.  As we walked home, a car drove by us and a boy yelled "Hi Chewie!" out the car window (not one who had been petting Chewie.  Noah said he thinks all the kids at the school know Chewie.

Rachel stopped home for a few minutes before she left to go tutor.

We found a gate that we can put up between the kitchen and laundry room that has a cat door built in.  That way the cats don't have to jump over the gate, they can go through the cat door.  But we can keep Chewie out of the laundry room.  I put that up this afternoon.  So far, so good.

While Rachel was tutoring, the boys and I watched The Usual Suspects.  I think they liked it.

We had pasta for dinner.

The boys will be getting ready for bed soon.

Until next time...

It's really snow!

This morning it was cold and wet again so we drove Noah to school (with Chewie in the car).

When we got back I went to my school and taught the two classes.

After work, I met Morry at Wholy Bagel for lunch.

We walked to get Noah from school.  On the way there it started sleeting a little bit.  The kids coming out of school were very excited about the "snow".  There were maybe just a few snowflakes mixed in there.

By the time Evan got home around 4pm there were actually quite a few snowflakes falling.  A ton of kids came outside to play in the snow.

I left to tutor. 

As I was coming home around 6pm, it was still snowing and starting to accumulate.

We ate dinner (pasta) at home and then the kids went outside to play in the snow.  There was enough on the ground to make a small snowman! 

Morry took Chewie for a walk.  He was super hyper.  He loved the cold and the snow.

Now Noah will have some tea and Evan will have hot chocolate and then they'll get ready for bed.

Here are some pictures.

Exercise & Work

This morning after dropping Noah off at school I walked with some friends. 

I got home around 9am and then left for work. 

Morry went to Camp Gladiator this morning.

I got home around 2:30 and then we walked to get Noah from school.

Shortly after Evan got home I left to tutor.

Morry and Evan went to baseball practice and got home around 8pm.

We had pasta for dinner.

Now the kids are getting ready for bed.

Squeezing Everything In

This morning we walked to school.

Morry went to Camp Gladiator and I went to school

Between my two classes, I went to HEB and got a flu shot.

After school, I came home for a few minutes and then drove to pick up Noah.  He had a 3:30 therapy appointment.

I dropped Noah off with the therapist and Morry got there as I was leaving.

On my way to tutoring, I stopped at Target and Office Depot.

Morry took Noah to football practice and then Evan to baseball practice.

After tutoring, I stopped at home to get Chewie and then went to Noah's football practice. 

We gave Brody a ride home.

Morry and Evan got home around 8:30 and we had pasta for dinner.

We took Chewie for a walk after dinner.

Now the kids are getting ready for bed. 

Orientation

This morning Morry, Lizzy, and I walked Noah to school.  As we were close to home Evan was walking to the bus.   In the summer, Evan said he wanted to walk with us every morning to drop off Noah.  I was wondering how long that would last.  Not very long.

When we got home, I left for ATA. Today and tomorrow are the orientation for the students.  They have mixers and rotate to have short sessions to meet the teachers.  I met all of my students and it went well.    I did a math scavenger hunt with them and a brain teaser problem.  They seemed to like both.

I got home as Morry was walking to pick up Noah.  I quickly dropped my things off at the house and walked to meet them at school.  I got there as they were just leaving the parking lot, so I was mostly able to walk home with them.

Evan got home around 4:15.

Shortly after Morry took Evan to baseball practice.

They got home around 7:30.  

We had pasta and soup for dinner.

Evan's working on his homework now.

At Home

We spent the day at home today.

It was still rainy and windy outside.

Morry ran out to Home Depot to get some netting to cover the gap in the fence.  Papa came over to help set it up.

For dinner, we had leftover pizza.  Noah had shrimp and Evan had pasta.

The kids are ready for bed, but they are still playing some since we have a 2-hour school delay tomorrow.

Drama Camp and Camp Gladiator

This morning we dropped Noah off at drama camp and then went to Camp Gladiator.  Evan came with us and participated in the workout.  He did well.

Morry had some meetings today.

Evan and I stayed at home.

Morry and I picked up Noah at 5pm.  He said he had a good time, but didn't want to talk about it.

For dinner, we had leftover pizza and pasta.

We took Lizzy on a short walk after dinner.

Downtown

Today the boys and I spent a lot of time downtown. We started at the Blue Cat Cafe. It's a "Vegan cafe serving light fare featuring rescued cats available for adoption plus resident felines." No, we were not going to adopt a cat. We got a couple of appetizers to share. There wasn't much on the menu that the boys would eat. We shared a pita plate that was supposed to come with humus, but they were out so it had black beans instead. We also got chips and salsa. The boys enjoyed playing with all of the cats.

 The boys couldn't agree on where to go next. Evan wanted Voodoo Donuts and Noah wanted s'mores from a coffee shop. We decided to make two stops.

 From there we walked toward Voodoo Donut. We passed the Toy Museum and stopped in there for a minute. I thought they just took donations, but we were told the admission fee was $9 for adults and $4 for kids. We (or I) decided we'd come back another time.

 We stopped in Voodoo donut and Evan ate his donut.

Then, we walked to Halcyon for s'mores.

 While we were walking the boys were playing the Pokemon game on my phone. There were lots of Poke stops downtown.

 Noah enjoyed the s'mores. Evan had a few as well.

 We walked back to the car as the wind picked up. It started sprinkling a little bit on a way home.

 We stopped at HEB to pick up a few things and got home around 5pm.

 We had pasta and quinoa (me) with veggies for dinner.

 We took Lizzy for a walk after dinner.

 The boys will be getting ready for bed soon.

 Here are some pictures from today.

Non Stop

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Noah stayed home from school again this morning.  We probably could have sent him, but I think it would have been pushing it.  He hadn't eaten in more than 24 hours.  We wanted to see him take it easy for one more day.

Meanwhile, just as Evan and I were about to leave to go to school, the skies opened up.  We drove and parked out front and ran in.  Even in that short distance, we got pretty wet.

Later in the morning, I went to get my hair cut.  After that I went into Aaron's to go over some things.

From Aaron's, I met Coach Chris, the coach who works with Evan sometimes for lunch at Austin Pizza Garden.  During the day, Chris works at a startup tech company.  He had some questions for me and wanted to talk about potential projects.  It was a good lunch.

Rachel walked to get Evan when I got home.  She hadn't been out of the house all day.

Rachel left to go tutor later in the afternoon.  As she was leaving the family cancelled.  Rachel went to Walmart to get some things she needed (she had some coupons).

Evan and I left just as Rachel was coming home to go work out with Coach Chris.

For dinner we had pasta.

The boys will be getting ready for bed soon.

Until next time...

Noah - Math Pentathlete

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Today was the day of Math Pentathlon.  Noah has been going every Tuesday in preparation for today.  He had to play all 5 games.  There were around 25 elementary schools from around Austin represented.  We left the house at 7am to take him.   Rachel and I took separate cars.  Rachel dropped Evan off with Darius because Evan had two baseball games today.

The actual Pentathlon was in northeast Austin at a basketball gym shared by several Austin high schools.  The kids were on the floor and the parents were up in the stands.  There was one "monitor" for every two kids.  The monitors were parent volunteers.  They did not act as a referee but rather handled a "challenge" where one of the players felt their opponent violated the rules.  Noah and I got there at 7:30 but we really didn't start until after 9am.  It was a lot of waiting and getting set up.  Each game was scheduled for 30 minutes although if the game was completed in less time, the kids could come back to the stands.

Noah lost his first game.  He came up to me and he put his face in my chest and cried.  I felt so bad for him.  We talked about it and I said it's just one game.  And he can't think about it any more.  I don't know if that made him feel any better or not.  But he went and crushed the kid in the next game he played.  I think he took 5-10 minutes in beating the other child.  This time he came back and he was very happy.  He won the next two games as well.  Both fairly easily and he was really happy. In the fifth and final game, he tied.  The game is very much luck and it's a long game that almost never completes in the 30 minutes.  Most times that game ends in a tie.  Each win was worth 3 points, a tie was worth 2 points and a loss was worth 1.  Noah ended with 12 points.  That got Noah a bronze medal.  He was so happy.  They had an awards ceremony where they called each kids name grouped by their point total.  So anyone 10 points and under got a certificate.  Eleven total points got them a certificate with an honorable mention.  Twelve points was a bronze medal and a t-shirt.  For 13 points, they got a silver medal and a t-shirt.  Fourteen points was a gold medal and a t-shirt.  And 15 points, which was perfect, got them a gold medal, a t-shirt and a "Hall of Fame" declaration of some sort.  There were probably 400 or more kids there.  It took a long time.  But Noah was really really happy and we were so proud of him.

Meanwhile, Evan played two games.  He told me he played really well in both games.  He got one hit today and walked every other time he came to bat.  So he was on base every time today.  The Bucs lost the first game, but Evan walked to drive in the winning run in the second game.  He was so excited to get a "walk-off walk".  He told me his friend on the team, Carter, pretended to interview him after the game on his game-winning walk.

He and Darius' family stopped at Whataburger on the way home.

For dinner, we just had pasta.

The boys are in bed now.

Until next time...

Lots Going On

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

After our walk to school this morning, Rachel had a call with a Point of Sale company.  She's learning it for a client of ours.  She's going to teach all the people who work in the store how to use it after she sets it up.

I helped out Mike Gordon with something he was working on.

After that I went into Aaron's.  We had a phone call with a client.  I stopped at Smoothie King on the way home.

Rachel worked on the POS and had more calls with the company all afternoon.  I ended up on the phone with the client that Aaron and I spoke to as well.  So Rachel and I were both on the phone all the way up until we needed to get the boys.

Jack came home with us for tutoring.  Audrey came after that.

Evan and I went to baseball practice.  Rachel and Noah went to the Apple store because Rachel's battery is not holding a charge as well.  Then they went to HEB.

Evan had a good practice.  He was pitching especially well tonight.  He had a good time joking around with his buddies.  The boy who was catching for him kept joking "this is it!  For the World Series!" and then they'd jump into each other's arms.  It slowed down his pitching a bit since this was happening more frequently than it should have.  But Evan was having fun.

We had pasta and leftover Home Slice for dinner.

The boys are in bed now.

Until next time...

Hoppin' House and Pizza

This morning we took it easy.  I went for a short run and then the boys and I went to Hoppin' House.

Wade's mom invited us to join them and Evan's friend Nathan.  The boys had a good time.

Afterwards, we got pizza nearby at Giovanni's.  The kids really liked the pizza.

For dinner we had pasta.

The kids are in bed now.

Back to Normal

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Today felt like everything had gotten back to normal.  Everyone is back home who traveled.  We didn't have anyone staying with us.  It was a normal Sunday before school.

We went to see Creed in the morning.  Deborah met us there.  I felt like it was the best movie I had seen all year.  It was very well done and a great story.  It was a great continuation of the Rocky story.  Evan and Noah both really liked it as well.

The boys played upstairs in the afternoon while I did some work.

At 3pm, the Steelers game started.  Evan and Noah watched the first half with me.  Noah went upstairs during the second half so just Evan watched the conclusion with me.

For dinner we had pasta.

The boys are asleep now.

Until next time...