Double Dubs yet again.

With the regular basketball season behind us, we were ready for the playoffs to begin. We WEREN'T ready to see Ryan or Katie's team play its last game!

But there we were, for the third time this season, forced to watch our kids play against each other for the chance to advance to the league finals. A couple of times they were even guarding each other! Torture!

We couldn't root for one team over the other, so we just went nuts when one Dub or the other had the ball.

All good things must come to an end, and on this Friday night, it was Katie's season that came to a close.
The team received medals for a stellar season.

And Ryan's team? They advanced to the finals!

Having the grandparents and even Katie's PowerZone teacher at the game made it all that much more fun. It was an exciting night, and once again we were reminded how blessed we are to have such strong, healthy kids.

Work, work, work...

It's yearbook season, and yearbook has consumed a massive chunk of my life! With our final deadline approaching, I've been working late and going to school on Saturdays. Add headaches and stomach ulcers and one stalled Project GOOD, and it all adds up to stressful times at Chez Dub.

Good thing we have ChaCha around to stay on top of our workload!

Happy hearts day.

This wasn't our typical way to spend Valentine's Day, but we made the most of it! Katie accompanied me to the yearbook work session at school, and then she and I were off to her Player Appreciation Day. All the Junior NBA players in our league were introduced, the Mavs Drum Line performed, and then here came Mavs Man.






After the program, Katie got autographs from the marvy Mavs guests.
Then we admired the Mavs Van (with the "1MAVS" license plate).

Fun, fun! After a quick lunch break, we were back at the rec center for Katie and Ryan's games. Then we sped from basketball to volleyball.

A friend's daughter was playing in a volleyball tournament across town. Since these friends live in Amarillo, it was great to be able to drive 20 minutes to see them! Brett and Ryan were tired from their morning outing, but they went with us to say hello to our friends.

We saw some really talented volleyball players there!

It was good to see Cole and his mom and dad, too. They also live SO FAR AWAY—in Mansfield! It was funny to realize that I had seen my Amarillo friend more recently than I'd spent time with my friend who's here in the Metroplex.

Ryan and Katie had a blast playing with Cole.


It was good to get this off-season chance to see my bestest football buddies, but man, did it feel weird for none of us to be wearing burnt orange!

The big send-off.

Katie. K-A-T-I-E. Katie.

Katie represented her elementary school at the district spelling bee today. I was fortunate enough to take a personal day, so I got to see her classmates greet her with "good luck" signs and cards. When it was time to leave campus,

half the school cheered on Katie as she walked down the hall!
How awesome is that? She was so honored and excited to get that attention, and I was impressed that the teachers took the time to recognize her!


Katie was one of 28 spellers from the district's elementary and middle schools.

She didn't win, but she will never misspell nightingale again! (I know I'll never misspell ravine ever since that word cost me the Smith County spelling bee title several decades ago!)

We're so proud of our Super Speller! I know many adults who consider spelling beyond their ken, but both Katie and Ryan have a knack for words. We think they're B-R-I-L-L-I-A-N-T.

Good dog.

WHAT?! Our crazy dog? GOOD? Frisco had surgery Wednesday, and yes, she has been a good little patient.

The sweet girl has freed herself from her cone just once (so far), and she has been so good to wait until Brett takes her outside to potty (instead of mistaking OUR bathroom for her own). We're hoping her recovery is speedy, and even though we love our Frisco, we're thankful she won't be adding any little Friscos to our lives!

Seeing Stars.

With our final yearbook deadline fast approaching, it was tempting to skip this newspaper field trip. But since our editor has a penchant for sports journalism, I couldn't pass up the chance to attend Dallas Stars High School Media Day. I was able to take two students to Frisco to watch the Stars practice and to attend a mock press conference with some media professionals.













We heard from Ralph Strangis, Gina Miller, John Rhadigan, Mike Heika and Barry Horn. Each took a turn describing his/her career path and giving the students advice for a life in sports reporting. Then three Stars players joined us: Stephane Robidas, Steve Ott and Trevor Daley. Actually, sitting in the back of the room was a "special guest journalist," some kid named Marty. (When Strangis convinced Marty to ask a question, it took a minute for some of the students to recognize Turco!) The students were able to ask questions, take notes and (I hope) learn a lot.

Since I'm more of a journalism geek than a hockey fan, I just loved hearing from the reporters. They all had good advice for the students, but I really liked what Barry Horn told them: Never let anybody tell you something's not a story. If you have a hunch about something, follow it up! Horn is the guy who noticed the 100-0 box score for a girls basketball game. His story (and the many follow-ups) about the Dallas Academy loss to Covenant School has brought a record number of readers to the Dallas News website.

Even though I had to stay late after school to try to make up yearbook ground, it was an outing definitely worth the drive and the time.

The date deferred.

My birthday last weekend was crazy-busy, so this Saturday, Brett and I scheduled an honest-to-goodness, just-the-two-of-us, old-fashioned dinner-and-a-movie DATE. Our destination: Slumdog Millionaire. But first, we browsed at B&N and then ate dinner at Blue Mesa, one of our favorite restaurants (if not favorite). We ate way too many sweet potato chips and feasted on churrascaritas and enchiladas.

Fat and happy, we needed to stretch our legs. After a nice walk around the town center (which included a swing through the Apple Store), we went on to the theater to kill a little time before the movie.

The little arcade there had a nice Elvis pinball machine, and we got a kick out of the animated hound dog and "Elvis has left the building" button that lit up.

The movie was phenomenal. I'm a sucker for a plot gimmick anyway, and this one just happened to be structured around the format of my third favorite game show. Add the way the film immerses the audience in another world and you have yourself an entertaining movie-going experience. A few months ago, our preacher reminded us how very rich we are, and Slumdog reinforced that. Seeing the utter poverty of those Indian slums was stunning. Watching that movie in the heart of an affluent American suburb was sobering.

Horning in.

Ryan competed in his first solo and ensemble contest Saturday. We band parents got to listen to the brass ensemble warm up, and when it was time for their performance, we were able to sit in the room with them. The group sounded wonderful (especially the trumpets), and it was nice to hear the judge's comments afterward.

It was my first band contest to attend as a parent but far from my first to attend. As all those middle schoolers warmed up in the cafeteria, the cacophony reminded me of countless all-region tryouts and S&E contests. It was bizarre to think it'd been 23 years since I'd been in this oh-so-familiar environment!

For the record, Ryan's ensemble received a Division I!

Nifty 50.

After 10 years of collecting, Ryan and Katie have now completed their state quarter map!

Hawaii, the last state quarter, was released in '08, but Ryan hadn't been able to get his hands on one until recently. Last weekend, he ceremoniously placed that last quarter on the map he's had in his room since he was 2.

We can remember thinking that 2004, when the Texas coin would be released, seemed so far away, and 2008? That was just so far into the future, and now it's already in the past!