The Official Word

Well, we took him in for his annual checkup and shots. The doctor gave us the official word. Texas is, in fact, overweight. As you can see, he took the news pretty hard.

2nd Annual Crawfish Boil

Sunday was our Lifegroup's (that's Sunday School for you old-schoolers) crawfish boil. I'm not a fan of eating crawfish, too much work for too little meat, but I always enjoy the fellowship and, well, the popsicles. The kids get to play with the crawfish before they are sent to the boiling pot, which is Grey's favorite part. And best of all, Holland had a really good time, not a single bug-terror. Also, one of the older girls put on a show for the younger girls. "Hannah Montana" is the big thing around here for girls. She is a character on the Disney Channel who is an average girl who has a secret life as a rock star. Holland didn't really know anything about "Hannah Montana", (Grey knows, but won't admit it.) but now she is all about it. She's pointing her out on posters at Walmart and on commercials. Since music, dancing and drama are about 90% of Holland's personality, this was right up her alley. At one point I looked up and she was in the conga line. Grey meets his lunch date.

Holland enjoying one of the finer things in life, while still wearing her 3D glasses from Friday.

The Hannah Montana impersonator concert. Holland is on the front row, of course with her popsicle/microphone.

This pic was taken before Holland stepped in one of the many pools of water seen behind her.

Amy, Me, and Stacy keeping guard over the desserts behind us. We also kept the chairs from blowing away by sitting in them just in case the wind started to blow. We took a break to pose for the photo.

This is my friend, Amy. No, her haircut is not a tribute to Britney Spears. She is in the middle of her chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer. She and Dave and the kids are going through one of the hardest trials I know of, and she (and Dave) have such an amazing testimony. Their strength, faith, love, humility, trust, and even sense of humor is inspiring. She is such a blessing to me and so many others. I feel honored to call her my friend.

The Return of The Good Guys

That's the theme for this year's Houston Astros. Monday night was opening day for the team. Fortunately, a friend got us and our friends, Pat and Gary, some tickets several weeks in advance, because it was sold out. (Attendance was just over 43,000.) Mac has been to some Astros games in the past, but this was my first game. My favorite sport to watch is basketball, because it's so fast-paced and exciting, but I have to say after this game I am hooked on Astros baseball and can't wait to get to another game. I got to see George and Barbara Bush sitting in their seats behind homeplate. We saw and heard Clay Walker sing "God Bless America". I learned the words to "Deep in the Heart of Texas". And I have to say what's really nice about Minute Maid Park is it's retractable roof so you don't have to suffer in the hot and/or rainy Houston climate. You know me, I'm all about climate controlled. It was a great game until the Pirates tied it up in the 9th, and then the Pirates sealed the win in the 10th. Astros 2 Pirates 4
Next time we go we are going to take the kids, because they have really cool area designed just for them. (The Juicebox) Since they didn't make this game we bought them each a souvenir. Gary had suggested the mini wooden bats, but visions of them whacking each other flashed through my mind so we opted for the foam fingers.

This is "Roy O" (Roy Oswalt) pitching.

Roy Oswalt is from Weir, Mississippi so you know he's "good people".

Palm Sunday

Not trying to steal anyone's thunder....

I was going to wait to write this post. There are so many pregnancy announcements right now, and I didn't want to steal anyone's thunder. It's a little early to announce it, (I'm only 7 weeks.), but we are expecting a baby!!! We decided to go ahead and have one more because, let's face it, Mac isn't getting any younger. Our official due date will be November 24, although my babies tend to take the express route and arrive early. Also, we still have that unicorn farm for sale because it is April Fool's Day. Boy, that was fun. The past couple of years I pulled that one on Mac. His face was priceless and also a definite reminder that we are done having children.

The coolest mom ever....for a short while, anyway.

Friday was an early dismissal day for Grey. He was scheduled to get out at 1:00. However, Holland and I went to the school to check him out early for a little family fun day. Mac has been gone all week, and Holland and I have been battling sinus/allergy wars so we haven't done a lot this week. (I believe there is a fine green layer of pollen covering my lungs.) Anyway, after we got past the school's Front Desk Nazi, ["Did you send a NOTE this morning with your son?" paired with the evil eye and then followed with the exasperated sigh.] Grey was busted out at 10:00 am. We giggled all the way to the car. Then, I took the two of them to Target to pick out a toy. Mac tries to bring them something back when he is gone this long, but his days at market are long, and he doesn't have any wheels so I let them pick out something. Then, we went to eat at one of Grey's favorite resteraunts, The Olive Garden, which just so happens to be one of my favorite. Hmmmm..coincidence? After that we caught the 12:25 movie of Meet The Robinsons in 3D. We all loved it, and Holland wore her 3D glasses on top of her head until she went to bed. They went to bed thinking I was the coolest mom ever! Then this morning, we got up and I had them help me clean the house. My cool factor has dipped some.

I'm going to be a 2nd cousin on my mama's side (again)

I know that doesn't have the nice ring of "aunt", "grandmother", or "big sibling", but I am just as excited. My identical first cousin, Jennifer, is expecting her 2nd child in September. pause... allow applause to die down. The Cavender Fan Club, a division of TheDavis4 corporate office sends out a hearty congratulations to Matt, Jenn, and Will!
Since this takes the "pregnant women I know" toll up to 6, (and I believe there is one more out there holding out on us) you may think that it would make me want one myself. Honestly? No. Mac and I are quite content with the 2 we have. We are running a man-to-man defense that's working quite well. If we add another child, we would have to move to a zone defense. We'll stick with our current game plan. Besides, if we add one more then we have to change the name of the blog to The Davis 5 which would cause confusion and mass hysteria. Do we really want to pull at that thread?

The Packers

We don't let much time pass between our sports. The day of Grey's last basketball game (undefeated, undefeated....just like saying it) was the same day as his first flag football practice. He is playing for The Packers. (Mac is considering buying a cheesehead hat to wear to the games.) Today was his first official flag football game. Though the word "football" is in the name of the sport, there are so many modifications and rule adjustments, we, the fans, aka the parents, are confused most of the game. When the referee throws down a penalty flag, we all pull out our Upwards Rules of the Game brochure and try to figure out what the penalty is for. I think everyone, including the players, will get it once we get a few games under our flag football belts. Unfortunately, we start this season with a loss, a close one, but alas, still a loss.

Packers 6 Patriots 7

"Houston, we have a problem"

As I mentioned in a previous blog, we took the kids to The Houston Space Center, NASA. This time we made sure we got on the right tour tram, (there are 3). We wanted to be sure to see the Mission Control room. It was in use from the 1960's up until 1996. It was the famous place for "Houston, we have a problem" (obviously) for Apollo 13. We got to sit in the viewing room where all the presidents of the U.S. since Johnson have sat along with several celebrities. We learned a lot of interesting facts about historical space events and got to see all kinds of artifacts. Of course, we are going to have to watch Apollo 13 again now that we are equipped with all this new knowledge.

Mac wanted to make sure you got the point.

Mac at Mission Control.

Holland refuses to go to into space without her "slicky".

A Zoo within a zoo

We wrangle our snakes in Texas.

Spring Break is a great time to grab your friends and head to the zoo. Of course, everyone else thought the same thing. It was packed! It really was a zoo within a zoo. However, the weather was really nice. All the animals moved around and acted like they were enjoying life. Usually when we go it's so hot, they lay like slugs or hide out in the shade. I used to think that some of them might just be stuffed, but my theory was proved wrong. In fact the Albino Alligator that has never moved in the 3 years we have visited this zoo actually yawned. I call that a successful visit.




The Lion King






I wonder if they do home installations.















Finding Nemo

Tree Hugger

The Zoo Posse:

Grey, Hope, Madison, & Holland

Spring Break 2007

Fear not blogger fans, thedavis4 is back in full swing. (I haven't forgotten my peeps.) We have been on spring break and it has seriously cut into my blogging time. Sleep in and relax for the week? No such luck.
MONDAY, Day 1
Ceramic Painting with friends, Hope & Faith. Grey painted a tiger salamander (can't be a plain old lizard) and Holland opted for Wilbur from Charlotte's Web.

Tuesday, Day 2

We took Grey and 2 of his classmates, Hope and Madison, Holland and her good buddy Faith and respective moms to the Children's Museum in The Woodlands which always includes a carousel ride and checking out the Disney Store. I'm embarrassed to say I forgot my camera so you are going to have to use your imagination for the visuals.

Wednesday, Day 3

We originally had bowling scheduled with the same motley crew, but Faith was sick, and I needed to run some errands, much to Grey's dismay. However there was a consolation prize of pizza and the promise of a visit to the zoo.

Coming up:

Thursday, Day 4 The zoo (with pictures)

Friday, Day 5 YMCA, movie rentals, and dinner at our favorite Japanese steakhouse. (no pics) (Did you really want to see me on the elliptical machine?)

Saturday, Day 6 Daddy's pick: The Houston Space Center, NASA (lots of pics)

Playgroup Does The Houston Rodeo

Hangin' on the fence like real cowpokes.

The token boot picture
(Trent, Mia, Holland, Kendall, & Kaylee)

Playgroup, this week moseyed on down to the Houston Rodeo. As you can imagine, the rodeo is a big deal around here. Besides all the exhibits with animals, there is a huge carnival, tons of food booths, big name concerts with attendances that get as high as 70,000. But for playgroup we focused on the kid stuff. We saw a cow milking show, and yes, it's every bit as glamorous as it sounds. We saw chicks hatching, bee hives, horse rides, and other "hands-on" exhibits. Naturally, there was a petting zoo,(check your germ phobias at the door) with a variety of animals and an in-your-face llama that freaked me out when I turned around and it was an inch from my face. I need a comfort zone of 2 feet between my face and that of a heavy-breathing farm animal. I think the best part was the pig races. They raced several races, each with 4 pigs. The pigs had names like Britney Spareribs, Kevin Bacon, Hillary Rod Ham, Tony Porker (Spurs), Sow Ming (Rockets), Shaquil O' Squeal, Arnold Shwartzenhogger, and so on. It was a lot of fun.

Enjoying a nice foot massage...it's probably even better if your feet actually touch the massage foot pad.

Texas Chicks (on both sides of the glass)

Meeting the star of the "Cow Milking Exhibit"
You can see the cow's head and the utter end. (Hey, it was their joke, not mine.)

Kendall, Holland and I grab good seats for the "Cow Milking" show.

When It All Started.....

"Mom, he's touching me. She touched me first. No, I didn't.

Yes, she did....."

"Unofficially" 2007 Division Champs

Well, the Falcons took on the Bears in their last game of the season. They beat them 38-17, ending with a perfect record of 8-0. Of course, in Upwards sports, at this age level, they don't officially keep score, but we, the fans, sure did. Grey actually got hurt in this game. While trying to steal the ball, he got some fingers either jammed or bent back. His daddy happened to be standing by the bench filming the game and attended to the injury. I stayed in my seat. I figured no 7 yr old boy wants his mama running across the court and kissing his boo-boo. During half-time, the sports trainer on staff at the church checked it out for us and said it was fine. And Grey asked coach to put him back in the game, so in he went. He racked up 2 fouls while he was out there. After the game, the team went to Incredible Pizza for the after-season party. They consumed mass quantities of pizza and root beer, played games, rode go-carts, played mini-golf, and rode bumper cars. Then, on Sunday, they had their awards ceremony. Junction Jack, the Houston Astros mascot was there, (Mac was way more excited than Grey), and the CEO of the Houston Rockets spoke to the kids and gave his testimony. It was a lot of fun and a great season. In fact, Coach Nick said he wanted the same exact team next year. Yeah right, like they aren't going to break up this powerhouse.

And they're off.........

The AWANA Grand Prix was held Saturday evening. Gator Raid weighed in at 4.3 oz (max was 5 oz) and Grey had the option of adding more weight, but decided not to. He didn't like the way the extra weights looked on it. Grey competed against the other 1st graders, including "Tow Mater" by Shelby Streater, also from the Jim Streater Collection which, by the way, won Best Design. How the race worked: Each car raced in 4 heats. Then the the times were averaged to come up with overall 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places. We didn't place overall but we did win one of our heats which thrilled Grey. It really was a lot of fun! Grey is already thinking about next year's design. I better see if Jim can pencil us in on his calendar.

Here are Gator Raid and Tow Mater talking a little smack before the race.
Here is one of the heats where Gator Raid and Tow Mater went head to head. Tow Mater came in 1st and Gator Raid took a close second.

And this is the heat Grey came in 1st. (Yes, we did a little victory dance, a small Baptist-approved victory dance.)

AWANA Grand Prix

It's time for the annual AWANA Grand Prix or Pinewood Derby, whichever name you prefer. This is Grey's first year to participate, and we were a little in the dark as to what all this entails. But we bought our kit thinking all this would require is paint and wheel attachment. I didn't realize we would be receiving a block of wood we had to design, cut, glue, sand and so on. At the Davis house if something can't be done with a screwdriver, hammer, or a plunger, we have to outsource the job. Fortunately, our friends, Darla and Jim Streater took pity on our sawless selves and offered to help. When I say help, I mean Jim helped Grey pick the design, sketch it, cut it, sand it, add the structural details, weigh it, offer suggestions on how to paint it and make it even more aerodynamic, and Darla fixed us a nice lunch and put up with us for 3 or so hours. We're thinking about asking them to adopt us.

Here is the design we had on our own. I call it the Houston Metro Bus design. (Hey, I've seen them move pretty fast, well, sorta fast once they got going)
Here is what Jim did, using the same block of wood, with the design Grey picked. Grey was all excited.

Here is a comparison between the two. You make up your own mind.

Since we obviously went with the far superior race car, the next challenge was painting and giving it some of Grey's personality. So this is what we came up with. We call her:

"Gator Raid"

(We weigh in tonight and race tomorrow afternoon.)