chess

Taggart has discovered the world of chess! This is his 2nd year on the chess team at John H Shary Elementary. He took first place in his division at the regional meet! (bottom pic) Then we took a trip to Dallas for the State Chess meet where he took 5th place!!!(top pic) His team took 2nd place in his division and 2nd place in the elementary division as well. So, now they are national bound. Nationals is May 6-9 in Atlanta, GA. I am so happy that Tag has decided to try a "quiet" sport. I can see the wheels turning in his head when he plays. These kids are amazing, with their strategies and ability to think ahead....awesome.

soccer

Autumn made the 7th/8th girl's Shary North soccer team this year and they ended the season as district champs, undefeated. Autumn made 1 amazing, super sweet goal from half field....a beautiful shot, perfectly kicked into the top of the net. Let's just say it wasn't really intentional, but an awesome shot. She played mostly center or right midfield and right defender and really became an aggressive player. I particularly loved watching her play as it reminded me of my "glory days" as right defender (ha, ha).

Winter Baseball

I wanted to write something about winter baseball and realized the only picture I had was a grainy pic from my phone---and it most certainly is not of Taggart playing baseball. This picture is of the "spectators", absolutely freezing to death, as we watch Tag play. The winter season was unkind to the Boys and Girls Club baseball program this year. It rained so much that most games were cancelled or postponed so we ended up playing whenever it dried up enough. That means we played 3 games in a row on days when it wasn't wet. This picture is the first game of a 3 game night, which also happens to be the Fiesta Bowl night. Autumn took this picture before Brice dashed home to start watching the game. I was going to be clever and put Taggart's stats in a chart like the real baseball players, but who are we kidding, I really have no idea what all those little abbreviations and stats are. So, I'll just say Tag did great! We ended up playing 13 games and Taggart hit 24 homeruns, 1 double, and had 1 out. He plays 1st base and short stop and made at least one out every game. It looks like he is following in his Dad's footsteps.....He has now officially graduated to kid-pitch, which starts up again in March.

Merry Christmas - 2009

Autmn, Chelsea, & Taggart pretending like they have been nice all year......HA!!

Our good friends the Pavia's came to visit South Texas for Christmas. We had a great time with them.

Santa's mad helpers attempting Ginger Bread Houses.

The finished product.

Isaiah just heard Jason say that he had been "good" all year.

The kids & Sienna Pavia jammin out on Rock Band, Christmas morning.

Thanksgiving

My parents, Grandma Susan and Grandpa Philip, hopped in the minivan and drove (yes, drove 30 hours) to have Thanksgiving with us this year. They actually got to enjoy some much cooler weather this time around. The kids especially have a great time when Grandma and Grandpa are here to spoil them and spend time with them. This is the only picture we got...we didn't even get one around the Thanksgiving table. This is at the Hidalgo Festival of Lights. There is a driving tour of lights and also a walking tour of these beautiful lighted sculptures. And now, as we "go around and say something we are thankful for", I am thankful for my Mom and Dad, who are generous and thoughtful and a lot of fun.

Let the Basketball Games Begin!

Autumn made the 7th Grade A basketball team this year and we have dedicated and designated our Monday night FHE to family bonding, courtside. Autumn was fantastic (and I am not just saying that because I am her mother). She led the team in scoring this year, played right

forward, and survived only 1 minor injury (sprained ankle). Now, for those of you not familiar with 7th grade girl's basketball, let me tell you, it is aggressive, comical, and very entertaining all in one. There's a lot of "huddle" ball and a lot of missed free throws and a TON of fouls--but we love it! My favorite picture of the season: 1st jump ball, very 1st game of the season. I included the score board at end of game. Autumn made 12 of those points!

Halloween

Halloween pics! We are not sure what either Chelsea or Taggart were for Halloween this year. Chelsea chose something with wings yet again (3rd year in a row). I think the official costume description labeled it as "Vampire Fairy". Taggart just wanted to be something scary with black and with a skeleton mask---well he was a skeleton last year and didn't want last year's costume, so he came up with this one. Part of the night, he wore the mask from his last year's costume though. Autumn handed out the candy with no costume and since the the only pics I got of her are her actually eating the candy instead of handing it out, I decided not to include them. Andy, as always, was a good sport as long as we held a treat in front of him. We snapped the pics as we bribed him and then he quickly clawed the wig off his head and ran away. He is sporting the marilyn monroe wig this year.