Another Round of Ridings

We are SO EXCITED to that another group of Ridings came to visit us!

 Everyone wore their matching Texas shirts for a round of jumping at an indoor inflatables place.  Baby Ruth has a longhorn shirt but just wasn't in the mood to wear hers. 

 Jumping really works up the appetite and so a trip to orange leaf was our next order of business.

 Don't they look cozy all tucked into bed. 

Annie and I took this selfie just before she left.  She told me I could look at it if I got sad and missed her.  AHHH -- sweet Annie - we miss you already.  Come again soon!

Christmas

Let the Christmas season begin.  In Austin that means a trip to the trail of lights.  Since we discovered the early bird tickets that let you in an hour before the trail opens to the public it has actually become a fun evening. 

 YES --- it was warm enough that night we were able to walk the trail in our shirt sleeves.  Gotta love Christmas in Texas. 

 It really is pretty with the Zilker Park tree in the background.

 Of course, as the sign indicates, it is a HOLIDAY tree.  Don't make the mistake of calling it a Christmas tree. 

 JD was a shepperd in the little nativity pageant we had at church.

The children were all very cute.  They each said their part and then sang Away in the Manger.  My piano accompaniment had a few missed notes but I'm getting better.

JD visited  with Ralph Melgosa dressed as Santa.  It didn't fool JD one bit - he knew right away that Ralph was not the REAL Santa.  He played along anyway so I could get a photo.

Graffiti

The children are smarter than me!  How do I know?  This is the graffiti they leave behind on my chalkboards.  After I watched a group of them work through this problem I told them I was making a new rule -- no Calculus in Economics class.

Thanksgiving Week

Our new puppy Rosie has been going to dog school.

 This week she graduated.  It was more of a "participation" graduation since she STILL isn't the most obedient dog around.

JD got to participate in science day at Bowie.  This balloon with a pointed stick  through it is one of the experiments he brought back.  Thanks to Alex who did a great job as escort.

 Uncle Keith and Aunt Nina came to visit.  Aunt Nina was kind enough to make the obligatory climb up the tower at the Wildflower center.

Just in case you forgot where you can find us --- check out this picture.  AND YES --- we are wearing shorts on Thanksgiving weekend.  Gotta love that Austin weather.

Salute the Flag

JD participated in the flag ceremony at last night's cub scout meeting.  He looks so handsome in his new brown Webelos shirt!

Cold and Wet

It was a cold damp weekend to set up camp but we did it anyway!  I think we deserve cub scout extra credit for braving the elements and spending the weekend with little boys in a muddy campsite.  This was actually our neighbor's fire.  Dave earned his Eagle Scout award as a boy and is the rock star of our Pack. THANKS Dave for sharing  your fire with our cold little boy.  JD's shoes were so bad when we got home they went straight into the trash can and didn't even make it into the house.  He had fun --- George and I lived to tell the tale.

The Pledge of Allegance

JD recited the Pledge of Allegance at morning assembly this week.  Ready pledge . . . .

Play Ball

It has been a long weekend of baseball.

 JD has been throwing . . .

 . . . and he has been batting.  (I won't say hitting yet -- although he is trying!)

 AND FINALLY  -- the championship game.

 JD's team WON!!! 

The weekend involved finishing a game that had been rained out earlier in the week, two games that went into extra innings, and one AMAZING come from behind victory.  Kudos to out coaches Matt and Jason for helping these boys learn some of what makes baseball so fun!

Halloween

 JD's favorite Halloween event is the trunk or treat that happens in the parking lot at the church.  We decided to dress our car up like a monster.  Lots of people must have liked it because our car won best costume. 

 At school we all dressed up like the Assistant Principal who oversees our department.  That's him in the middle of the photo with his hand over his face.  We met him in the courtyard this morning and made him laugh so hard he cried.  It was the best halloween idea EVER!!!!

Here is what has been scaring my students lately ---- Marginal Propensity to Consume.  Other Social Studies teachers walk into my room, - look at my boards, --- and just walk out shaking their heads.  A.P. Economics just isn't for everyone!

JD Pitched this weekend!

JD had the opportunity to pitch this weekend.  He had fun and looked like a pro.  He even threw a few strikes!  Please excuse the poor quality of my "phone through the fence" video.    It looks like I started out OK and then got a little excited because the batter hit the ball and ended up recording the ground.  OH WELL - I tried to capture the moment.

The Muckdog Strikes (out) Again

JD is still playing muckdog baseball.

The vision he has of himself as a great hitter isn't quite reality. 

 I guess it doesn't matter as long as he is having fun.

 Here he is outstanding in his field (ha ha ha ha).

waiting for his pitch

Aquarium Weekend

We spent the weekend with JD's cub scout pack at the Texas State Aquarium

Our first stop was a meal along the beach.  I took JD's picture mostly to get a picture of the well dressed gentleman behind him.  I don't know if his shirt came with the sleeves cut off or if he made that modification himself.  At one point the waitress was going around trying to find the owner of a white Nissan ---- this fine gentleman's response -- "do we look like we drive a Nissan?"  NO sir you do not!

 We went into the aquarium after if closed to the public and got to watch a diver feed the fish.

 JD pet a baby shark.

 Fine dining with a group of boys means pizza on the floor.

 After a not very restful night sleeping by the jellyfish we found this shark that we had to take a picture of.

Corpus Christi is the home of What-a-burger.  There is one on every corner so we had no choice but to stop and eat.

Oak Hill Mustng Muckdogs

JD wanted to play baseball!  We have signed him up and he is now an official Muckdog.

 He played his first game this weekend.

 After the game the coach talked to the boys about how they did.  JD is number 5 in the black shirt.  There was a red shirt shortage and so JD gets to be different for now.

It's Football Time Again

 This puppy was very sad to see school start.  We decided to take her to training a couple days during the week while we are in school.  She is just too BUSY to sit around all day while we are gone. 

 It is the beginning of High School football season again.  JD and I waited out a lightning delay on Friday night before the game finally got underway.

I think JD has decided he wants to be the bulldog when he grows up.  He could do it - he is certainly silly enough.

Boys of Summer

 We had one last visit to Round Rock.  The boys of summer will be hanging up their bats this weekend so this is it until next spring.

 JD waited in line to get Spike's autograph.  He is old enough to understand that spike is just a guy in a dog suit but for some reason wanted his autograph anyway.

 The Spurs Cheerleaders were there along with their NBA championship trophy. 

JD was a star on the jumbotron.  Trust me - that's him.  It is just hard to take a picture of it.  He was excited to see himself on "TV."

A Last Tribute to Summer

I have a few more pictures of our summer adventures to post.

JD went to camp at Mu Sool Won several times this summer.  They always end the day with dodge ball or nerf guns.  All those balls were aimed at JD.

 Uncle Keith had a job in Houston and so he was able to come for a visit.  He and JD made dinosaur fossils and painted them.

 Our neighborhood pool was where we spent LOTS of afternoons.  We were SO SAD to drive by this weekend and see that it was empty.

 JD fed the goats at the zoo.  Our Austin zoo is a rescue and so they have an odd assortment of animals.  They operate on a tight budget and so the trails are extremely rough and uneven.  If you go there beware - I fell and left a pretty good sized blood stain by the bear enclosure.  Since we had just talked about first aid in cub scouts JD was very helpful but was worried dad would be mad at him for not having his first aid kit with him.

JD read the part of the Hairy Man at the readers theater at reading camp. 

Here is our selfie from today.  We took this just outside JD's school.  This big boy is going into the 4th grade.  I'll be in the 12th grade yet again!