Week of Baseball

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

High school baseball has suddenly become a big part of our lives. Evan had practice on Monday and Wednesday.  He had games Tuesday and Thursday, two on Friday and two on Saturday. 

Despite it being a busy week of baseball, it was a very good week of baseball for Evan.  At the game on Tuesday, Evan showed his toughness and helped show the team he was a good leader.  Down 6-0, with a very large kid trying to score, Evan got the throw at home. Although required to slide, the boy lowered his shoulder and knocked Evan over in an attempt to knock the ball loose.  Evan held on through the big hit, jumped up and tried to throw out the runner advancing to third.  It was a very heads up play and got his entire team excited.  Despite the coach's pleas, the boy was not ejected despite the rules that state he should be dictated.  But the play fired up the whole team. So, when Evan's team came to bat, they scored 8 runs and won the game.

On Thursday, Evan was asked to fill in on the Varsity team.  It was a really big honor for someone who is a Freshman.  The game was at a fancy private school in the area.  They didn't allow parents to watch the game but they provided a livestream to watch complete with an announcer.  Evan started on the bench, but came in to pinch hit in the fifth.  He walked and then stole second.  The batter behind him also walked and when they tried to pick the runner off at first, Evan advanced to third on a heads-up baserunning and then scored when the team was more focused on trying to get the other runner out.  That run ultimately ended up being the winning run.  Evan came in to catch in the bottom of the fifth.  It was so cool hearing Evan being talked about by an announcer.  It was a very surreal experience.

Evan was back to the JV team while playing two games on Friday.  In the first game on Friday, Evan caught and he threw two runners out trying to steal third in the same inning.  He also singled and walked in that game.  He played short for some of the game and started a double play on a single to left where he took the relay and threw home to get the runner and then tagged out the batter who was trying to advance on that throw.  In the second game, Evan pitched and did really well against a team of sophomores.  A couple parents from the other team behind me kept talking about what a good pitcher we had.  I eventually told them that was my son.  He also tripled over the centerfielder's head.

On Saturday morning, Evan caught two innings and batted three time.  He got his 11th, 12th and 13th walk of the season in each of those at bats.  Evan's team won big, 19-1, and they let Evan rest for the first time for the last inning.  In the second game, Evan caught all 5 innings.  He struck out and walked two more times.  At catcher, he threw out his first runner trying to steal second as a high schooler.  His coaches really love him on the team.  They think he just makes plays and that he's a really smart baseball player.  It's nice to see.

Meanwhile, everyone else in the family did do things during the week. Noah was invited to be a member of the National Junior Honor Society.  I spent the week onboarding two new hires underneath me.  Rachel finished up her last week of work before spring break.

The boys are upstairs playing Playstation.  Rachel and I will sit down in a bit.

Until next time...

Championship Sunday

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning when I got up, Reid's dad, Tony, had texted me inviting us over for food and to watch the NFL Championship games.  So we agreed to go over there.  Rachel offered to make cookies.

So, Rachel made sugar cookies and icing. The boys helped decorate them.  Since Reid and his family are Yankees fans, Evan made a Yankees logo on one of the cookies.

Noah decided not to come with us.  We went over and watched the game.  We ordered pizza to eat.  Evan and Reid didn't watch much of the game.  They were playing football in the back or doing other things.  Tony and I watched the game together while Rachel and Mandi hung out.  It was a really nice time.

Rachel left after the first game. We had driven separately so that Rachel could leave when she wanted.  I stayed for the first quarter and went home.  Evan stayed there.  I left so that Rachel and I could go to HEB and shop.

After shopping, we drove back and picked Evan up.  Then we dropped off food to Grandma and Papa that we had picked up.

Rachel is now doing some work while the boys play on the Playstation.

Until next time...

Professional Baseball Player

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Today was a pretty standard day.  It had started to lightly rain when I got up.  Rachel came downstairs not too long after me because she was tutoring this morning.

The boys had school all day while Rachel went into teach at ATA in the morning.

I interviewed a person today for a job with us.  The 30 minute interview went for more than an hour so it was pretty good.

After I finished work, Rachel was tutoring some more.  I made a marinade for boneless chicken thighs and put it in the fridge.  Then Evan and I went to Marucci Clubhouse to get some hitting work in.  Evan's tryouts for high school baseball are Friday and Saturday.

When we got there, we look at the schedule on the monitor.  A guy who was drafted in the first round by the Mets from Lake Travis was going to be there at the same time as us.  Evan got very excited.  While Evan was practicing, we both took a peek to see how he hit and things like that.  It was pretty cool.  Evan said that the video game, MLB the Show, did a good job of making the video game version of the guy look like the real player.

When we got home, I grilled the chicken thighs.

Now, Evan and Noah are upstairs playing on the Playstation.

Until next time...

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.

Trees Trimmed

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

On Wednesdays, Rachel tutors online early in the morning.  So she is up and ready to tutor by 8am.  In addition to that, on this particular Wednesday, she had to get to school a bit early to help one of her students, so she left immediately after finishing her tutoring.

My morning was busy but I didn't have meetings until the afternoon.

During one of my meetings, the doorbell rang.  Rachel had called a tree service to come trim the trees around the sidewalk.  With Halloween this weekend, we wanted to make sure the sidewalks were clear.  He was able to trim the trees today which was nice.  I thought we'd just get an estimate, but he came prepared.

Rachel got home before the trees were finished so she could approve.  After that, Rachel laid down before more tutoring.

Evan and Rachel left shortly before 6 so Evan could go to bullpens and Rachel could tutor a student near the baseball facility.  Noah and I stayed home and we watched a movie.

For dinner, we had leftover ham.

The boys are upstairs playing on the Playstation.

Until next time...

Outdoorsy Day

 This morning I tutored on Zoom from 8:15am -9 and then went to my school.  

I was there from 10am - 2pm.  I have a two-hour break from 11-1 each Wednesday and Friday.  During that time today, I went for a run on the trails near the school.

Here are a few pictures.

When I came home Morry was heating up Evan's chicken for lunch.

At 4:45pm I tutored on Zoom and then took Evan to his baseball practice.

From there, I went to tutor in-person at a nearby house.  This family lives right on the lake.  We sit outside on their covered porch with a view of the lake.  Not bad!

When Evan and I got home, we all had dinner. Morry made dirty rice and shrimp.

The new Playstation is available on pre-order now and Noah's been trying all night to try to order one.  The websites for Target and Amazon are slow now with everyone trying to buy one.  I'm not sure if was able to get one or not.  I'll find out tomorrow.

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...

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...

HitTrax Tournament

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

There is no baseball tournament or flag football game this weekend.  But they did have a HitTrax tournament at the facility.  HitTrax is a system that measures how the ball is hit, the velocity off the bad, the angle and the launch angle and tells you where the ball goes and if it's a hit or not (based on their age).  Evan's team had to form smaller teams and were allowed to bring friends that weren't in the organization to compete. 

Before we left for that, Rachel left to tutor a girl for the ACT.  It turns out she had other math homework so Rachel ended up not helping her prepare for the ACT.

Evan had already formed a team with Cooper, Angelo and Cooper's friend.  They called themselves the "Megabombers".  They ended up winning the whole tournament.  Evan was very excited. 

Rachel stopped at HEB on her way home and got some stuff for the week.  She said it was very crowded at HEB.

We got home about an hour after her and we had lunch.

The rest of the afternoon, we took it easy.

For dinner, we went to The League with Papa.  We had a nice time.

The boys are playing on the Playstation now and Rachel is making cake balls for a Super Bowl party tomorrow.

Until next time...

Free Bahama Buck's

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Tuesday, like usual, is Rachel's early day at school.  Just Chewie and I walked Noah to school.

I came home and worked for a while before driving into Touch To where I worked most of the day.

Rachel got home around lunch and I got home in time to walk to get Noah.

Rachel just had to tutor one student this afternoon.  It was here in the neighborhood so she didn't have to drive far.

For dinner we had pre-made fajitas from HEB.

After dinner, we went to Bahama Buck's.  It was a "Sno Day" today and they were giving free small shaved ice.  We thought it would be crowded.  While there were people there at every table, we didn't have to wait in line to order or anything.

We're home now and the boys are playing on the Playstation.

Until next time...

HEB Run

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Tuesdays are Rachel's early day so she can't walk Noah to school.  Noah and I walked with Chewie.  It was around 33 degrees when we walked, but there was very little wind so it didn't feel bad.

I went into Touch To and worked from there today.

I came home in the early afternoon and did more work before walking to pick Noah up.  Rachel had a staff meeting so she didn't come home.  She also had to run into Charles Maund to renew the car.

We needed to go to HEB since we hadn't been there for shopping in more than a week.  Evan arranged to play basketball with his friend who lives near HEB.  I dropped Evan off there and Noah and I did the shopping.  It was a big shopping trip as we needed quite a bit.  I picked Evan up on the way home.

Rachel was home when we got home.  We unloaded the dishes and made dinner.

Right now, Rachel is doing some work while the boys play on the Playstation.

Until next time...

Annual Checkup

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

The boys needed to have their annual checkups.  I scheduled them for today but I could only get a mid-morning appointment.  I ended up picking each up from school and taking them to the appointment.

Both boys are healthy.  Evan is still just above average in height and weight.  Noah is just below average in both.  Evan had to have some vaccines today.  Everything was normal and healthy.

After I dropped the boys off, I went home for lunch and then went into the office.

When Rachel was finished with teaching, she went to a Girl Scouts Luncheon that she was invited to as part of her deal with Charles Maund Toyota.  They bought a table and invited Rachel to join them.

Rachel picked Noah up from school.  Our office had a team building event so I didn't come home.  We went to a rock climbing gym.

I got home in time for dinner and the boys were outside playing with some of the neighbors.

For dinner the boys had waffles, and Rachel and I ate our own things.

The boys are upstairs playing on the Playstation now and Rachel is taking pictures for a product that was sent to her.

Until next time...

Easy Morning, Long Afternoon

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Evan was scheduled to play two baseball games at 4 and 5:45.  We had to be at the fields at 2:45 so we had to leave around 2.  Since we knew the games wouldn't be done until 7:15 at the earliest, we took it very easy this morning.

The boys played in the game room with the Playstation and Wii for most of the morning.  Zayde was in there with them.  Zayde was able to tell the boys about their family tree from that side.  Evan seemed very interested.

Rachel and I used the opportunity to sleep in some.  When we got up, Rachel went for a run.

We had waffles and eggs for brunch.

Then, Zayde, Evan, Noah and I left for the game,

In the first game, Evan played first base and right field.  He got one at bat and drove in a run.  I thought he was safe at first but the umpire called him out.  He got several opportunities at first base with throws over and pick offs.  It was good for him.

In the second game, Evan was catcher most of the game.  He really played well at catcher.  His throws to second and third looked great.  He had three hits in this game, including a double as well as a ball he really hit solidly to left.  He scored the first run of the game after doubling, taking third on a passed ball and scoring on a wild pitch.  The coach came up to me at the end to tell me he thinks they found a new catcher and they're going to really want to do some more work with Evan back there.  They said they wished they could clone Evan.  It was really nice to hear.  Evan was very happy with how the day went.

Rachel was invited by another blogger in the city to go see a acapella group named Straight No Chasers.  The blogger was able to invite 9 other bloggers in the city to go to a meet and greet, private preview, dinner and the show.  In return they just had to blog about the band.  Rachel was able to meet the band and seemed to have a good time.

For dinner, Zayde, Noah, Evan and I went to Texas Roadhouse after the game.  The boys ate well.

They are sleeping now and Rachel is on her way home.

Until next time...

Super Bowl Party

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

I had a phone meeting this morning.  While I was doing that, Evan and Noah were playing on the Playstation and Rachel was walking on the treadmill.

After that, Evan and I went to the middle school football field.  He wanted to use his new kicking tee to practice field goal kicking.  He was able to make several from the old extra point range.  He made one a few yards beyond that.

Most of the afternoon was spent getting ready for the Super Bowl party.

Three families on the Bucs came as well as Grandma and Papa.  Everyone had a really nice time.  The boys played outside until the start of the game.  Then they intently watched the game.  Two of the families left shortly after halftime.  All-in-all, it was a successful party.

The boys are now in bed.

Until next time...

End of Season Party

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

When I woke up and came downstairs, Noah was playing on his iPad quietly.  He then moved to the playstation.

I got things ready to go meet the Bucs' parents over at Rudy's for the end-of-season party.  Josh's dad was bringing Evan since Evan stayed over there last night.

The party itself was very nice.  The kids all played various sports and had a great time.  We ended up being there for 3 hours.  Evan played the whole time.  Rachel and Noah got there an hour after we did and Noah played with the boys until the end.  Both boys looks very sweaty and hot at the end.  We had a nice time though.

We came home and the boys played on the Playstation for awhile.  It was good for them to take it easy.  Then they cleaned up.

For dinner we picked up Pho Thai Son. The boys ate very well.

They showered and now they are getting ready for bed.

Until next time...

Touchdown Evan

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This Sunday was much like last week's Sunday.  Evan had a football game and he had baseball practice.  It was his last football game so it's just baseball from now on.

I came downstairs around 9 and the boys were playing on their iPad and the Playstation.  Because Evan had all of his stuff today, the boys had to clean up this morning.  I gave them until 9:30 before they had to clean up.

Evan's football game went very well.  They lost, but they remained competitive and really had a potential chance to win towards the end of the game.  Evan was on fire.  He caught about 12 passes and scored two touchdowns as well as caught an extra point.  It didn't matter whether there were kids around him, he was catching everything.  His second touchdown catch came when he was in the back corner of the end zone.  The defensive back managed to get a hand on it but Evan still caught the deflection.  I think Evan was very excited about his play today.

We came home for 30 minutes before we had to get back in the car to go to baseball.  We are having a big cold front come in and the temperature was at 50 degrees and dropping.  The temperature really wasn't the problem, actually.  It was that it was really humid out and that the wind was around 15-20mph and it was a cold wind.  All the kids were having problems with their hands stinging when they hit the ball.  Evan had a good practice though.  We had our first live kid pitching to kid drills.  Evan pitched really well.  It's amazing how consistent he is in finding the strike zone.  He also hit well when it was his turn to hit.

We came home and had leftovers.

The boys just showered and are going up to bed.

Until next time...

A Visitor for Lizzy

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

It threatened to rain all day but it seemed like it would be fine to walk to school this morning.  The boys wanted to ride their scooters but we were afraid it might rain and their scooters and helmet would get wet.  Jack caught up to us and Evan and Jack walked to school together.

I worked from home all day with the exception that I had to go meet someone at Aaron's office for just a bit.

The rain continued to hold off in the afternoon, so we walked to the school.  We brought Lizzy and we carried their scooters.  Evan, Jack and Noah all rode home together.

Rachel tutored in the late afternoon.

The boys and I watched an episode of the Simpsons.  Near the end of the episode, the doorbell rang.  When I opened the door, the girl who always wants to pet Lizzy, Savannah was there, with her mom.  Savannah was selling Girl Scout Cookies, but they purposely drove to our house to sell to use so that Savannah could see Lizzy.  Lizzy was very excited to see Savannah and her mom.

Rachel had the last of the stew when she got home while the boys and I had pasta.

Evan is playing on the Playstation now.  Noah just finished reading.  They'll go to bed soon.

Until next time...

Biker Gang

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

At some point early this morning, I heard Rachel exclaim "Ow, Flash!"  Apparently he attacked her finger because she must have moved it in her sleep.

Rachel stayed in bed when I came down to start working.  The boys stayed upstairs, but were already awake.  The boys came down later and got themselves cereal.

In the late morning, the doorbell rang.  It was the twin boys, Connor and Christian, from across the street.  They wanted to see if Evan and Noah could come out, ride bikes and play.  Noah couldn't go because he's still sick but Evan went out with them.

The boys came in for a bit and then went back out, riding their bikes down Larue Belle Lane and Cove.  Around 3pm, I was getting ready to run to HEB and I saw the three of them riding their bikes around.  I joked that they were a biker gang.

I bought a bunch of stuff for New Year's Eve at HEB.  We're going to do fondue at home tomorrow night.  Maybe we'll rent a movie or something.

When I came home Evan, Christian and Connor were still playing but they followed me into the house.  Evan asked me to make popcorn for them.  Then the three boys went into the backyard and ate the popcorn out there.

Around 5:15 the twins had to go home.  They want to play again tomorrow.

I made spaghetti for dinner for the boys.  Rachel, who is still sick as well, had leftover matzoh ball soup.

After dinner, I ran out and got a new monitor for my office.  I found a really good one on craigslist.  It worked out well.

The boys are playing Playstation together and are about to go upstairs to bed.

Until next time...

First Night of Hanukkah and Trail of Lights

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

After walking the boys to school with Lizzy, we were coming home and came upon two women walking two golden retriever puppies.  Lizzy wanted to see the puppies and the puppies wanted to see her.  They were really smelling each other and Lizzy seemed happy.  As we walked away, Lizzy got really hyper.  She seemed to enjoy it so much she was jumping and running.  She was trying to do this while on the leash which made it difficult, but she loved those little puppies.

Around lunchtime, Rachel ran out to return some things at Michael's and stop at Bed, Bath and Beyond.

We walked to get the boys from school.

The boys did their homework when they got home.  And then we had our first "night" of Hanukkah.  They each opened a gift.  Tonight's gift for each was from Zayde.

The reason we had an early Hanukkah was that Jack invited Evan to go with Jack's family to the Trail of Lights.  Jack's family picked Evan up at 4:30 today.  He should be home shortly.

Noah played with his Playstation game from Zayde while Rachel tutored.

For dinner the three of us had hamburgers.

Rachel and Noah are now reading.

Until next time...

Thrift Store

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

We had our normal walk to school.  For the second day in a row, Lizzy got to see one of her dog friends.

Later in the morning, Rachel went to a Thrift Store and on to Half Price Books.  At the Thrift Store, Rachel was looking for stuff for skiing.  In particular she was looking for snow boots for the times when we are not skiing or snowboarding.  We don't have anything like that.  She said it was absolutely packed.  Rachel found some roller skates for Evan.  Apparently the owners are known as the thrift store nazis.  At Half Price Books, Rachel got some books for the boys.

We walked to pick up the boys from school.  It had gotten colder in the afternoon a bit.

When we got home, Evan roller skated around for a while.

Rachel left to tutor.  I played NHL 15 Hockey with Evan on the Playstation.

For dinner, I grilled hamburgers.

Evan is upstairs in his room and Noah is reading with Rachel.

Until next time...