Although not a record in time passed but too much has. You know its been a long time when you husband is on you to update. I have excuses and i can make them sound really legit too...just give me a minute.... also sad when I have to check my Facebook status updates to see what we did but hey what ever jogs the ole memory.
We took in a RGV Magic arena football game. It was actually really cool, the place was bacially empty which had to stink for the players but nice for the extra room, and the really crazy part is the pretty much every kick off results in the ball in the stands to a fan...so a TON of balls are used. Two old UT players are on the team one being Ramonce Taylor... not sure that's right but he scored a TD in the 2005 rose bowl, but had issues with drug possessions so the NFL did not want him.... he was a good player though and still is... but a good life lesson to the boys that drugs do not pay off.
My dog earned SUPER-DOOPER-AWESOME-DOG-STATUS. He found and killed a mouse. And the very next day found a snake. The mouse was in the grill and he would just not leave it alone so in cleaning it out out runs the rat and Bevo takes chase and nabbed it out of the pool where i guess it was trying to escape and he bit it and killed it. I stood there screaming like a school girl...as did my kids... I guess i was a bad role model in this situation. Dog took it under the trampoline and dropped it... I think this was the first time he ever tasted blood and was unsure about it and its taste. So out comes Duke... the knight and shining Daddy to finish off the mouse who know is bleeding to death... I cleaned out the dogs mouth and gave him a bone. FFD to next day... family swimming in pool and dog going NUTS again... behind the shed now... but I hear hissing...i think rats don't hiss.... cats do... and snakes do. So sure enough I bravely peered behind the shed ...from about 50 yds away and see a snake all coiled up... thank goodness he did not try to bit the snake as we could not see a type but heard no rattle. So again Daddy goes in gets a gun and finished it off... it turned out to be a rat snake that had just eaten so 2 rats gone and snake too if you are keeping score. But it was big almost 6 feet long ....which made me think there is a food diet that allowed him to grow that big.... and its behind my fence. So I went and got a bunch of rat bait and tossed it all behind my fence in the open field... so the dog can't get it and i just delivered poison room service to the colonies of rats i hope. The owner of the field does occasionally mow but there is a barb wire fence 2 feet off our fence line that he does not do so over the years it is covered in brush and weeds a little rat haven...well NO more. The dog also has been going nuts at the palm tree... basically climbing it I guess he smells them up there so we trimmed a bunch of branches off it and a tree in the field that canopy together to make a little bridge to our yard... and no visible activity recently but I got more bait. Good Dog Bevo...you earned those bones.
We also just finished Baseball... WHOO HOO... the boys turned out to be good little players... so glad we did Valley sports u to give them some knowledge on the game. They still struggled a bit with some of the funkier rules but had a good time. Reid loved his little team and was a a big player on the field and batted like a champ. Dale struggled with batting a bit and was walked most of the time ... I guess the small strike zone... but at the close of the season when the pitchers could hit it he was a little of of practice in swinging and was doing a dip thing ... but he did great. WE struggled with the coach who in my opinion was over scheduled.... he had 3 teams and could not make our practices on time... and did not push the team to be there at practices...and its hard to play a team sport when you do not practice together. I digress... It's over they did it and another learning experience under our belts. And I am soo happy to have some week nights that are empty.
The boys were on their school track team for the district meet. SOO cool to watch them run. Dale did the 50 and the 400 relay and Reid did the 200 and the 800 relay. Reid is 2nd grade but was pulled up on the 3rd grade team to run. They did great, Dale got 2nd in the 50, and in his relay ran 2nd leg and took them from 3rd to 1st... they came in 2nd over all. Reid got 2nd in the 200, and he took the baton in 5th and handed off with a big lead in first, they took 1st in the event. Another crazy thing about the valley is the amount of hold backs they have in grades. I fully grasp a kid behind a year and being held back but it is very vogue here to hold back achievers to give a leg up in athletics so a HUGE majority of kids are old for their grade and some are WAY old like 3 yrs back... i hope due to lack of performance in academics but the coach said yea you see a BUNCH of boys there with facial hair and they are competition now but will be gone by HS bc the drop out. SO I guess its cool to beat up on 4 graders when you should be in 7th but when they are in 9th and you should be graduated and are legally able to choose they choose otherwise. I just do not see how a public school can allow a parent to hold a kid back when they are excelling at school. My thought is you are either good enough or your not and one year really is not going to benefit that much.... right??
Macy and Dale have each lost another tooth Dale just pulls his own now ... and Macy actually did too this time.... another sign they are growing up.
So then their was mothers day.....yea my day.... I was sufficiently spoiled with hand made goodies, and cards, and the kids bought me a pool float that I love, and Duke bought me a beautiful necklace... that I really love. And then we went to the beach to take pics of the kids since we live so close I wanted pics on that beach... and we did it ... they are not professional quality but hey got the job done. So after a windy beach afternoon we made it home to a nice evening of chinese take out.... it really was a great day.
Dale had to do a project for school on an enigma and make a product so he did a board game on the Minotaur... hes a mythology fan... but it got chosen to represent his school in a district competition...so good for you Dale. I wish I got a picture of it as they took the board and pieces for the competition and I hope we get it back before school ends.
Macy has been doing great at gymnastics and is getting it more and more every time... she is trying out for her school talent show... so we did some music and a little routine for her ...should be cute.
One sad note Dukes Aunt passed away suddenly from a tragic car accident this May. So we made the trip to Odessa to lay to rest Dukes moms last sibling. We lost his Uncle in 09, his Aunt in 10, and now Martha. My heart hurts for his mom. Odessa has not changed and I think Duke enjoyed taking the kids to places he visited as a kid. So 20 hours in the car, numerous movies, played on Dukes childhood park and this other park with modern play equipment including a perpetual motion chair...that was cool, saw the meteor crash site, visited Duke grandparents graves, and laid Aunt Martha to rest, all in all a fast trip but necessary.
We also closed on our land that we had in Bulverde. Needed to happen but sad to me as the land represented my 20+ year dream home we would grow old in, and the market failed that dream but then to sell the land too kinda hurt as we are currently in a state of flux. In a rental house until we feel confident in market to build or buy a home ... and then the decision of where.... a bit of salt in the wound but none the less we are in great shape when we want to do something.
Finally the school year is coming to a close ... making it one year in the valley, 2 homes, 3 mice, one snake...
Macy has kinder graduation this Saturday she has really loved her kinder year, her Teacher is great and she qualified for GT for next year, and Reid has his awards following graduation, where he got A/B honor roll... he got an 89 in the 3rd 6 weeks, so 1 pt from all A's, and Dale got the A honor roll, and Millionaire status, since he read One million words ...actually almost 2, and was commended on all 4 Taks tests... we find out at his awards if he scored perfectly on any of them, and He also took top award for highest reading level in his class. That's all I can recall from assisting in the prep for the shows but there is a few more in there I think.
Then comes Summer... the kids have camp in Kerrville the first part of June, Duke and I have our college weekend in rockport, then my birthday and the boys are going to do Summer TAAF track with their speed and agility coach and then July Football begins again... wow I hope I can keep up and keep it blogged!
