Team Holland vs Team Hungary x 8

Mercifully, the soccer season, or rather the 8 game playoff series between Team Holland and Team Hungary is over. At one point, we had the series tied up 2 games each. But it went downhill from there and Team Holland lost the last 4 games.
I think Mac enjoyed being assistant coach even though he had to miss some practices and games for work, and I know he enjoyed working with Coach Patrick.
During the halftime peptalk, Coach Patrick would say stuff like, "You guys are doing great; keep working hard......blah blah....." and then he would turn to Mac and say, "Would you like to add anything, Coach Mac?"
And Mac would say, " YOU GUYS NEED TO BE MORE AGGRESSIVE!" He might have even thrown a chair or two if there had been any out there.
It was like good coach/ bad coach. But to no avail.

This would not be a banner season.

September/October 2009 Upwards Soccer Season

Happy Birthday!

I am not too old to wear a silly hat on my birthday.

However, I am too old to not be wearing lipstick for a picture.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes and gifts!

Happy Halloween '09

The pink Detective, Nancy Drew and the Astronaut. Originally, Grey had created his own Halloween costume and it looked like Grey had created his own Halloween costume. Fortunately, my friend Amy loaned us the Astronaut Flight Suit. (thank goodness.)

Grey's friend and soccer teammate spent most of the day with us, and he had this impressive Werewolf costume which they used to terrorize Nancy Drew.

After our chruch's fall festival, which was a blast but yet I have no pictures from the event. I may have to fire my photographer. She can be a bit of a slacker. The kids played with the neighbor kids, and then one of our neighbors got a trailer and the cadillac of 4 wheelers and we roamed the neighborhood in a restless pursuit of candy. The trailer would stop every 10 houses or so and the kids would jump off and pillage and plunder any house with a front porch light on.

Kate, Holland, Faith, and Nick

Mission Candy

Then we followed up the evening with a marshmallow and smores roast. I have to say I was exhausted by the end of the evening. Either that or I was in a coma from all the sugar.

Hope you had a great Halloween, too!

Official School Pictures (with commentary, of course)

This is Grey's official 4th grade picture. This one will grace the pages of the annual. He's pleased and I'm pleased. Thank goodness.
We don't have an official school picture from last year because they were taken on the scheduled retake days because of Ike, and he forgot to take the money in on the day. Then for Spring pics, he had the flu, and nobody wants a picture of that. So, now I can never have one of those 12 year photo frames that documents each school year, not that I have kept anything for 12 years or even that I wanted one, but it's kind of sad knowing the option is no longer on the table for Grey.

Like I was saying, here's Grey's 4th grade picture.

He will autograph for free.

Holland's picture came out pretty good, too. She always gives me a smile. We had a "not our best" kind of hair day. I actually took her to get a haircut a couple of days before, but a small, possible tornado actually came through our area, when I say area, I mean my neighborhood. It's never a good sign when news helicopters are circling above your house. Anyway, the storm blew some trees down, lightning set one house on fire, and knocked power out for about 6 hours. Undeterred, I headed to the mall to get her hair cut, but alas their power was out, too. I should have known that when I got a great covered parking spot. Long story short, (where's the entertainment value in that?) No haircut.

Also, she had a VERY loose tooth that day. I asked her when she got home from school holding it, if she lost it before or after her picture was taken and she said after. I was so relieved. We needed all the teeth we could hold onto for the picture. But if you enlarge the picture or look closely, you can see a very bloody tooth and even some blood on her lip. Only Holland loses a tooth ON picture day.

But I still like the picture and even more 'cause it captures a neat moment, bloody tooth and all.

The Day Before Halloween

Every year the school has a Halloween parade for the K-2nd grade classes at the school. That plus a costume birthday party plus Halloween always make me feel like I get my money's worth out of a costume for Holland. This year, we went with a costume that totally suits her. She is a private detective, (Nancy Drew) 'cause, let me tell you, this girl asks at least a million questions every hour. Questions that are important, questions that are sometimes too deep for me to go wading in, then questions she already knows the answers to, questions that have no answer, questions about questions. Sweet mercy, it is like living with Columbo minus the cigar...."And one more thing.." AAAHHHHHH! So that's why we went with the detective, even though she did have a couple of questions about it.

Grey's age group doesn't participate in the School Halloween costume portion, probably because their costumes are too scary or the girls can get a little inappropriate, (yes, even at this age). So 3rd - 5th grade got to have Wacky Wardrobe Day. I think that is self-explanatory. If not, check out his picture below.

Yes, he picked it out ALL on his own. I TAKE ABSOULTELY NO CREDIT FOR THIS ENSEMBLE. Just wanted to put that out there.

I really don't think a costume company could make anything as scary as this.

Happy 10th Birthday, Grey!

1 year old

Terrible.....I mean terribly cute...2 years old.

3 years old

4 years old

Feelin' 5 years old

6 years old

7 years old

8 years old

9 and forming his own SEC loyalties.

Happy 10th Birthday!

Because I love him so I agreed to eat Chinese on his birthday. The picture is proof.

I also agreed to eat Chinese every year his birthday falls on a Sunday. Thank goodness, that's only every 6 years...it would have been every 7 years.....darn that leap year.

WE LOVE YOU, GREY!

Murder High Class of 1985 Reunion

My friend, Sheri, hosted a Murder Mystery Dinner for her husband, David's 40th birthday. The theme was the Murder High Class of 1985 Reunion. We were each assigned a character with background info and even given different instructions throughout the night. We were also given play money with which to bribe and/or extort each other with. At one point, one of us in the class is murdered and naturally, one of us did it. At the end of the night we each had to guess who did it,( Hint: It wasn't Col. Mustard in the Conservatory with the candlestick.) and we also voted on best dressed, best actor, and revealed how much wealth we ended up with. We had the BEST time!

My assigned character was Mallory Majesty, the prom queen. She is very wealthy, thanks to Daddy who owns the small town she lives in. Basically, she can't let go of her glory days as a beauty pageant winner, but really holds tight to her title of Prom Queen. She is married to Mike Majesty (Mac), who was Prom King and works for her Daddy at his power plant and is bribing the presidential hopeful to pass a bill that is bad for the environment, but will make him an instant millionaire. Mallory makes Mike wait on her hand and foot and constantly reminds him that he wouldn't have a job if it weren't for her daddy. Mallory doesn't miss many photo ops and always with that pageant smile.

The Murder High Class of 1985 Senior Pictures.

Mike Majesty's senior picture.

As if my hair could have ever done that.

Mallory and Mike, complete with tiara/crown and sashes

Beware of the glare of Mike's shoes.

Cindy Crawfish, the class flirt, and Judd Jensen, Class Stud

Terry Johnson (Hall Monitor) and Molly Ringworm (Drama Queen) with her Emmy

Sally Sax, Marching Band and Danny Drums, Band (I keep thinking Slash of Guns 'N Roses.)

Cindy, Sally, Nancy Nixon (Class Vice President), Mallory

Mallory making Mike wait on her hand and foot and Mike expressing his love for her through his eyes.

Cindy and Mallory

Not one to let a camera flash without her in it.

The 3 friends that "ruled the school"

Judd, Mike, and Joe Nebraska, (The Jock)

The girls of Murder High

Myra Keaton, (Math Team Cheerleader), Sally Sax, Natalie Nebraska (Cheerleader),Pamela Abdul (Pom Pom Squad), Mallory Majesty, Bailey Babble (Class Gossip), Cindy Crawfish, Bobbie Bright (Valedictorian), Nancy Nixon, and Molly Ringworm and her Emmy.

Naturally, Mallory wanted another picture with her other best side.

The Host and Birthday Honoree, Nick Nixon (Class President) and Nancy Nixon. Mallory just knew they would want her in their picture. After all, what's a picture without the Prom Queen.

Ruining Mallory's perfectly good reminiscing about prom, Steve Spielson (Visual Arts) had to go and get murdered.

Turns out Molly Ringworm was the murderer. She hit him with a blunt object...perhaps her EMMY?!

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of everybody. Being the self-indulgent, controlling, socialite Mallory Majesty was work, incredibly fun work, but still work. Besides Mallory wants to be in front of the camera, not behind it. (My cheeks still hurt from all that pageant smiling.)

It truly was a great time with great friends!!
Thanks!!

Hometown Hoedown

The children had themselves a hoedown at school last week. Nice to see my school tax dollars hard at work. Actually, it's a fun way for the kids to get exercise during the PE hour. We certainly never did anything that fun. So, anyway the kids were supposed to put on the western duds to help get into the spirit of the event. Now, I know you're thinking, "I bet they have loads of western clothes..they live in Texas, after all." Well, I don't. Just like when I lived in Mississippi, I didn't have a hoop skirt, the recipe for mint julips, or a cotton gin in the back of my closet. Fortunately, since it was the night before, I was able to pull some stuff from the closets and put together an outfit with a western vibe to it. Let's face it, a bandana and pigtails go a long way. During the hoedown, the kids danced to the Hannah Montana "Hoedown" song and then the Cotton Eye Joe. The Cotton Eye Joe and I go waaaaay back, so when the PE teachers made the parents get out on the floor and dance it, I was so prepared.

Armed and dangerous.

Armed and fabulous.