Double Dubs redux.

It's basketball season again, and this time around, we're trying out a city league. We knew their coed teams would eventually face off, but wouldn't you know it, Ryan and Katie's teams played each other the first weekend!

We miss Upward's spiritual emphasis, but the kids are enjoying the full court defense and the change of scenery.


At one point during Saturday's game, a mom behind us apologized for yelling so much. She must've noticed how quiet we were. We had to explain that with both kids playing against each other, we had a hard time cheering for either team!

This was the first time for the kids to play against each other, but it's not the first time they've shared the court. Last season Katie helped Ryan's Upward team when they were short a "man." Seeing them play together was fun, but THIS? Too weird!

P.S. - The kids had the option of being on the same team, but they decided, for the sake of family harmony, to play separately.

Lost and found and lost and found.

See this dog?

Her name is Frisco, but it might as well be TROUBLE.

Last Wednesday she broke free from her leash and ran off while Brett was walking her. We were so relieved to find her at the local shelter not even 24 hours later. Then yesterday we returned home from church to discover she had tunneled her way out of our backyard. Sheesh! Sure enough, Brett got the call this morning: Our little jailbird had to be bailed out yet again.

Happy birthday, Memaw!

We celebrated my mom's 65th birthday Friday night at...

Cotton Patch!

Anyone who knows my mom knows how much she loves Cotton Patch Cafe. She rarely cooks for herself and enjoys eating out, but she doesn't enjoy the poor service she often gets when she's dining alone. At Cotton Patch, though, she's always welcomed warmly and never rushed through her meal. Now that she's been frequenting this particular restaurant for several years, the staff greets her by name and makes sure her glass of unsweetened tea is waiting for her at her table.

Since she eats there almost daily, we always offer to take her somewhere else for special occasions. But wouldn't you know it, she always requests Cotton Patch!

For her birthday song, Mom requested the "short version."

After dinner we came back to our house for cards, presents and cake.



It was fun to celebrate this "big" birthday with her, and it was special (as always) to see the VIP treatment she gets at Cotton Patch. What's funny is that we took her to dinner, but the manager paid for her meal. (Even funnier is that Mom told us the manager on duty earlier in the day had treated her to lunch, too!)

It's incredible how many people show kindness to my mom. She leaves her apartment for dialysis around 4:30 a.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Not too long ago, she found out that her upstairs neighbor—a man who also gets up early—watches her get into her car and drive off. His wife told Mom that he's faithful to look out the window on those dialysis mornings to make sure she's OK.

And then there's her newspaper delivery person. For several months now, her paperboy has been putting the newspaper bag on her doorknob, which is a huge help since her bad back has limited her mobility. Not too long ago, she ran into the young man and thanked him for putting her paper on the door. The guy said he had spotted her really struggling to pick up her paper with a grabber one morning. Once he realized how hard it was for her to bend over, he started making the paper easier for her to reach.

Of course, our church family does a wonderful job taking care of her—and all of us! For example, Mom was in a fender bender one Sunday after church, and it just so happened to be a Sunday when we were out of town. Some friends from church stopped at the accident site and stayed with her, later following her to Firestone to replace her tire. Others stopped to make sure she was OK. Meanwhile, we were completely unaware that she'd been in a wreck until much later that night!

All of these acts of kindness are heartwarming, but in my mom's case, they are completely appropriate and deserved. She has spent her whole life helping others, from all the children who were blessed to pass through her kindergarten class to my dad who faced a lifetime of health challenges. Now that she is the one who needs a hand, there are many out there who are willing to offer her one.

My mom's devotion to my father and the way she took care of his countless physical struggles gave me a shining example of what a wife should be. I am far from the patient, selfless woman my mom is, but because of her, I know firsthand the type of person I will always strive to be.

Happy birthday, Elvis!

Growing up, I always liked Elvis, and I remember being sad when the radio DJ told us that he had died. Still, I had never quite experienced all-out Elvis Love until my visit to Graceland in 1991. Some college friends and I drove to Memphis over spring break, listening to a mix tape (1991, after all) of every song about Elvis you could ever imagine. Then we'd listen to Elvis himself, hit after hit after hit. By the time we wandered into our first gift shop on Elvis Presley Boulevard, where even more Elvis music was piped in, we were oh-so-close to Elvis overload.

But somewhere between the tacky souvenirs and the Jungle Room, his legendary charisma kicked in. I was hooked. Ever since then, Elvis has had a special place in my heart. When Brett and I renewed our vows in Vegas, it was a given that an Elvis impersonator would officiate...

...even if he didn't look all that much like the real Elvis!

It says something that even 31 years after his death, Elvis's birthday still merits multiple comments on Facebook as friend after friend pays tribute to the King. Here's my contribution to the virtual ElvisFest:

A good day.

Frisco was lost but now is found. Katie won her school's spelling bee. And the 2006 Rose Bowl is on ESPN Classic.

SWEET.

Who won the Fiesta Bowl?

We were fresh out of buckeyes to use for this game's TEXAS Foodspell, but since those nuts are inedible, I don't think we can count them as food anyway.


As Darrell K Royal once said, "Ol' ugly is better than ol' nothin'." Our worst performance all year, this game wasn't pretty. Thank goodness for Colt McCoy! That last drive was a thing of beauty, as was Colt's spin-around rushing TD earlier in the game.

And how's this for a great headline? What a way for Quan Cosby to end his career at Texas.

Texas 24, Ohio State 21. Fifth straight bowl win for the Horns.

Happy Groundhog Day!

No, no, no. Not THAT Groundhog Day! MY Groundhog Day!

The day I could relive over and over again is Jan. 4, 2006, the day the Texas Longhorns won the national championship. On the first anniversary of that glorious January day, this was my recollection. Then last year, I posted someone else's video that closely represents the way I saw the greatest college football play of all time.

It's been three years since that game, and I still can't watch the DVD without getting nervous. And yes, I cheer and cry and laugh when Vince crosses the goal line. Still.

It was an incredible season, and I thank my lucky stars I had the chance to live the dream. Hook 'em!

Happy New Year!

It's 2009!

We spent New Year's Eve with friends, playing games and eating a plethora of fried foods.

Mad Gab: the game that gave us My Kojak Sun last year

And Guesstures!

Some of us also played cards,

while others played Yahtzee.

At midnight, we celebrated with sparkling grape juice (which the kids enjoyed just a little TOO much) and black-eyed peas.

It was a fun way to ring in the new year!

Year in review.

(Click on image to see bigger version.)

Our Christmas/New Year's card this year features highlights from 2008. Since some recipients may not know the stories behind the photos, here's a quick recap of this crazy year:

Upward Basketball:
Both kids participated in the Upward league last winter. It was a fun experience for all involved. Highlights are here, here and here.

New birth:
Ryan was baptized in January! We were so excited to see him make this commitment. Details are here.

Old mom:
I turned the big 4-0 this year. In spite of being sick the week of my birthday, we still managed to have a little fun—and sneak in an Austin trip—to mark the occasion. Photos and stories are here.

New heights:
The photo of Katie rock-climbing is from the Fourth of July. More pix from that outing are here. We also did some real "mountain climbing" this year when we visited Hot Springs, as you can see here. While we sometimes reminisce about our long-gone toddlers, we love that the kids are old enough to participate in more vigorous activities now.

Snow fun:
We had a couple of "snow days" this year. We had one night of snow, and then there was a drive home in snow. The real fun came when we had enough snow accumulated to create some pals in our yard. (We might've gotten a little carried away.) Snow photos are here. And then there was our other "snow day" when my school district closed after a wind storm because of massive power outages.

Traditions:
Regular readers know that we Dubs have a ton of random traditions. One such tradition is heading to Baskin-Robbins after certain school programs. Katie's picture is from our post-choir festival celebration. We seem to have a thing about going out for food after performances! Photos are here.

Successes:
On the card, Ryan is celebrating his success in our family Easter egg hunt. (He found the "bad egg.") On other fronts, though, the kids celebrated success in school (spelling bees and the like) and at home (pwning me in Guitar Hero). Brett successfully completed volume 2 of Classic Home Video Games, and it was fun to collect a couple of royalty checks from his first book. Of course, he really enjoyed getting to meet other gamers at local signings and other events. As a family we also marked Brett's parents' golden anniversary. The celebration, though tinged with sadness, was another of our successes this year.

Swimming:
We have loved having our own pool, and that's where you could find us for most of the summer. This year, however, we started our swimming season just a tad earlier than usual. We also hosted our 12th annual swimming party for Ryan's birthday. Who would've guessed the silly little rubber duckies I threw in the pool would be turned into projectiles? Swimming photos are here.

Vacations:
We didn't plan any big trips this year, but we did manage to sneak in some time in Hot Springs, Arkansas. We also spent more than a couple of summer days at Six Flags, and on one crazy Saturday, we took a day trip to the Fort Worth Stockyards. The kids and I had a "big day in Big D," and for yet another mini-vacation, a friend and I headed west to celebrate a football buddy's 40th. These vacations are chronicled here.

Summer camp:
Katie attended Camp Impact in June, and then Ryan and I were at Camp Cornerstone in July. Both camps are on the Oklahoma Christian University campus, and both were rewarding! From my stint as a dorm mom at Ryan's middle school camp, I could tell how much fun the campers get to have and how much they learn. Some photos from our OC experiences can be found here.

New dog:
Frisco came to live with us this summer! She was a stray when she stole Brett's heart. The dog is flat-out crazy, but she's found a home with us. The story of how she came into our lives and some photos of her exploits are here. Unfortunately, soon after Frisco arrived, KitKat departed. ChaCha's still here, though, so we have the matching set of black-and-white pets.

Hook 'em:
For the 23rd year in a row, I had season tickets for Texas Longhorn football. The games and tailgates kept me entertained all fall (except for that one November night). The Texas-OU game and the State Fair were especially fun. (The BCS might not remember it, but Texas won, 45-35.) Ryan and Katie got to go to two games with me this year, and as always, their presence made those weekends extra special. Football and tailgating photos and a couple of rants are here. You'll also find all the times we spelled TEXAS with food at that link!

Holidays:
The photo depicts Ryan and Katie's Halloween costumes, but on this site are accounts of other holidays, too: New Year's, Valentine's Day, Mardi Gras, Easter, Mother's and Father's days, Memorial Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. The holiday collection is here.

School:
Ryan is now in seventh grade (middle school) and Katie is in fifth (elementary). Ryan's pre-AP classes have been challenging, and because of that advanced curriculum, he's brought home some interesting projects, from pirate Potato Heads to Newton cars. Ryan plays trumpet in band, and Katie is loving her involvement in her school's choir. Meanwhile, I'm still teaching high school journalism and English. Some photos and stories from our school days are here.

Storage:
So why do we have a picture of a bunch of boxes on our Christmas card? Home may be where the heart is, but storage is where a bunch of our stuff is! We began Project GOOD (Get Out of Dodge) this year and put our house on the market in August. In September, we had a buyer who was in a hurry to get into our abode, so we were on the fast track to find a new place. We fell in love with a bigger house, had a contract on it, and started moving our junk into storage to prepare for our closing date. And then we waited. And waited. And waited. We ended up having to cancel both contracts (on the house we were selling and the one we wanted to buy) because our buyers had some financing issues. Bummer. Our house is back on the market, our stuff is still in storage, and we pray that God will give us some peace while we're living in our mostly empty house. We are so very thankful to have this problem (our stuff has its own house!), but we're ready to know what's next.

So there you have it: our year in review.
All of these events and many others have made 2008 memorable, and we are blessed beyond belief. May you and yours enjoy a blessed 2009!

In the mail.

After two years of early mornings, late nights and plenty of hard work, Brett's manuscript is in the mail!

This book will be volume 2, a follow-up to Brett's Classic Home Video Games.

This afternoon we celebrated its completion. Especially after these last few days of photographing games and systems, double-checking the manuscript and printing all those pages, we're all excited to have a break from the deadline crunch ... at least until the publisher returns the proofs!

Holiday in the Park.

We finally made it out to Six Flags for Holiday in the Park. Even though the decorations screamed DECEMBER, the weather yelled SPRING!

Upon our arrival, lines were really short. We rode the Titan right away. (By mid-afternoon, we wished we had gone ahead and taken another spin because the lines were much longer later.)

The Cave (as I'll always call it) was awfully pleasant.

Last year the kids got a big kick out of Frosty's Snow Hill. We were happy to see the lines so short on this trip!




Sledding in shorts: only in Texas!



We also rode the Shock Wave a couple of times. Katie especially loves this ride.


After lunch the crowds had grown considerably. We knew we'd have to wait a while, but we wanted to ride Superman Tower of Power one more time this season. To help pass the time, I gave one kid my iPhone and the other my camera:






Interesting shots, eh?




We miss the old big chair that used to be here! We had made it a tradition to take a picture there every visit.


By the time we made our way to the exits, the park was lit up beautifully. We were so tired from walking all over the park, and my 40-year-old dogs were really barking.

So what would make me smile at the end of this long day?

It's the Barrel of Fun!

We had passed the one in Boomtown when I was fresh out of quarters. We saw another one later, but some guy was resting there with his baby and I didn't want to bother him. But when we saw this one in Spain, WHEEEE!!!

I even had four quarters by that point in the day, so each kid got a turn and I got two. Now how sad is that: After the Titan and Superman, my favorite "ride" was the Barrel of Fun! Best buck I spent all day.

Before we could escape, the kids noticed that the Conquistador line was really short. They rode it about four times while I held the hot chocolate.

It was crowded later in the day, but wow, was the weather perfect. We love, love, love Six Flags, and we're thankful we had such a nice day to use our 2008 season passes one last time.