Time to get muddy!

Well, I have a new toy...a big kid's toy! I think it is the biggest purchase I have ever made apart from my house and car! Since a house and car are a must this day in age, this is the first TOY I have ever spent a lot on! It is a White, Honda Foretrax 4-Wheeler with powersteering! The powersteering part is very important...that means I can turn quickly enough that I don't run into trees....this has come close to happening before on other non-powersteering 4-wheelers that I have driven!!! Now that I have it, I have the itch to go riding. Hopefully within the next couple of weekends I will convince my friends and we will go!!

Are You Ready For Some Football?!!

Jeremy took me to my first ever Dallas Cowboys game this weekend. This is the last year they will be playing at Texas Stadium, so we wanted to be sure to see a game while they were there. We got to the stadium and parked in timbucktu for $30! We had fun tailgaiting with all of the other crazy Cowboys fans. We then walked up to the stadium about 1 mile away and saw the rest of the crazy fans! Our seats were row 11, but when we got to them there were only 4 rows in front of us, so we were really only 5 rows from the endzone! They were great seats. We had a great time watching the game and saw lots of great plays. It was pretty cool to see the touchdowns and only be a few yards away! The players look so much bigger in person than they do on TV! The stadium was packed! It holds around 80,000, and I think that there were 80,000 there! It is so loud and was a very fun place to watch a game. The Cowboys beat the Bengals 39-22!

Batter Up

Hayllee is playing softball again this fall and the team is doing much better. They are hitting and fielding good and wining games! Hayllee has played several positions and has helped make several outs in each game. I have taken the duty of book/stat keeper and Jeremy is coach and runs the pitching mashine when Pink Crush is up to bat

The City of Roses

It had been 3 years, but I finally made it to Portland and Jeremy was able to go with. While we were there, Portland decided to put her best foot forward and roll out the red carpet for Jeremy. The weather was absolutley beautiful with clear blue skies and 90 degrees! We couldn't have asked for a better weekend.
We arrived to Portland at 1130 AM. Dad, Grandma, and Joy picked us up from the airport and we went to The Original Taco House to eat some lunch. It's funny how that seemed like the best Mexican food ever to me at one time. After living in Texas I realized we definatley spice up our Mexican food here! After lunch we went through the Oregon Gorge to Multnomah Falls. Dad and Joy rolled Grandma up to the view point and Jeremy and I hiked to the bridge of the falls. After a quick stop at the falls, we began our drive to Dad's house. We made a quick stop on the way to stop and say hi to mom. I'm not quite sure what Jeremy thought of going to the cemetary and taking pictures at mom's grave site, but he was a good sport since he knew it was important to me. Next, we made it to Dad's house and I showed him around where I used to live!
Jeremy and I then left to go to the Benson Hotel for Nicole McCord's wedding in which I was a reader. The wedding was a lot of fun and it was great to see Nicole and her Maid of Honor, Kelly Shunk; both of whom I grew up playing tennis with. Jeremy and I had a wonderful time at the wedding as well as the reception.

Sunday morning we got up and since we were already downtown, I figured it would be a perfect time to give him a tour of the city. We drove all through Portland and Jeremy even got to see Rose Garden Arena where the Portland Trail Blazers play. I then continued my job as city guide and we drove up to the Rose Gardens and to the Pittock Mansion for Jeremy to see more pretty views of the city. From there, it was on to visit with Sandy, Will, Kaitlyn (my God daugthter), and Emily. It was so nice to have Jeremy finally meet them. Although Sandy and I talk almost every week, it was nice to be able to talk and have her right there next to me!

You would think after all of that, our day would be over, but we still had more to do and see. Jeremy got more of a tour of the houses/schools I lived, attended, and worked. Then we decided to see if we could see Roloff Farms where Little People Big World is filmed. The family's farm is only 5 miles from my dad's house. When we got there, the tours had just ended, but that was ok with us since we were able to see almost the entire family and took pictures. We also were able to see and take pictures of the house, all of Matt's cars, the zip line, and barn. It was fun for both of us to see since we watch the show all the time!

We ended the evening with dinner at Red Robin with Chris and Shelly Hartenstein and both of their girls. It was then back to the house to visit a little with Dad, Grandma, and Joy.

Monday was a little more calmer of a day. We got up and then eventually made our way over to Tualatin Hills where Jeremy was able to see where I grew up playing tennis and meet my coach. We then made our way around the area by my house and oddly enough ended up buying snow skiis since they were on sale and we can't get them in Texas! After an afternoon of running around, we went back to the house so we could go out to dinner with Dad, Joy, and Grandma to Newport Bay on the water at the waterfront. Once again it was a gorgeous night and we were able to eat out on the dock. The next morning it was time to head home to Texas, but we had a funfilled weekend!

Plano Balloon Festival

The city of Plano held their annual balloon festival this past weekend. Our friends Kristie and Brian invited us to join them for the festivites. Getting there was not the easiest. After sitting for 45 minutes to get through 1 signal we finally decided to park at Sams Club and walk a mile and half to the festival. When we got there, we discovered we were not the only people who had the same idea. It was packed. Since we were all hungry, we grabbed some food, which took another 45 minutes of standing in line. At least we had the counting down and lighting of the balloons to entertain us. Once we finally were able to get food and eat, we saw a spectacular firework show; possibly better than the 4th of July. We then enjoyed the rest of the activites at the festival. Hayllle and Allyssa (Brian and Kristie's 3 year old) had fun playing in jump houses and playing games. After an enjoyable evening we had a nice walk back to the car. It was great to be able to spend time with Kristie and Brian again. For those of you who are wondering, Kristie is finally starting to do better. She has a long way to go, but she is slowly gaining strenght, weight, and starting to live life again.

Making History

The Boyd Bronco Tennis team made history at McKinney Boyd. With a win of 12-7 over Plano East Senior High, we recorded the first win of any team in 5A district play! One of the exciting aspects of being a coach at a new school is that there are many chance to make history and have many firsts!

Mustang Hayllee

Hayllee seems to have made a huge impression on her 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Zaccarella. She came home this past Monday with the announcement that she was selected as Mustang of the Month for the 2nd grade. On Tuesday night she was presented her award at the PTA meeting and got her picture with her teacher and the principal. We are all so proud of her. I could not be at the ceremony because we had a district tennis match. Hayllee was disappointed and wanted to know why I couldn't just get a sub. Unfortunately it doesn't work like that for coaches! I made Jeremy take my camera though, and he took lots of pictures so that I could see her on her big night!

Hurricane Ike

Hurricane Ike definatley blew through Texas and Jeremy and I were in Athens 4 wheeling! It was quite possibly the most fun either of us has had out on the 4 wheeler. Jeremy took off work on Friday and went down and rode with his buddies. I had a tennis match against McKinney High School (which we won 17-2 for our first win against them ever) and drove down early Saturday morning. I got to the 4-wheel park, Pools Ranch, at about 10 AM. It rained on my entire drive down and finally let up when I pulled into camp. I changed into my mudding clothes and off we went for our 1st ride. Within about 1/2 hour it began to rain. It wasn't a hard Texas rain, but more of a steady Oregon rain. We were in the trees most of the time so we didn't feel much wind until we got back to camp about 2 hours later for lunch. We came back to find our friend's tents blown over and soaking wet! At this point Jeremy and I were very glad to be staying with our friend in their camper where all of our things were dry! We set up a canopy next to the camper and with us each at a post and grabbing on when the winds came, we each staked out a spot and grilled cheddarwurst for lunch. After about an hour we had enough of the wind and rain and decided it was time for another ride. This time it was muddy! It was probably the most fun we have had. There was so much water that it carried us down the trails. It was almost like a ride at Disneyland! A few hours later we made it back to camp for dinner and sleep. Sunday morning we woke up to warm weather and sunshine. We went out for one more ride. Jeremy discovered a new pond to do water wheelies. After getting bored in one part of the pond after a short time he decided to test the waters and ended up floating the 4-wheeler. After trying to jump and let the water spill out, we finally got towed back to camp. 4-wheelers can take on a lot of mud and water, but apparently not to the point where they are floating!

It's a Date!

Jeremy and I went out on a date with our friends David and Candace. It is not very often that we actually go out on nice dates anymore, so this a fun night! David and Candace picked us up at Jeremy's house. From there we went to a restaruant in Fort Worth called Joe T's. It is a Mexican restaurant that only has 2 items on the menu and you can only pay cash! When we got there the boys let Candace and I out to put our name in. As we were walking to the restraunt we saw a long line. We thought that it couldn't be the line to put our name on the list, but sure enough, it was! We thought it would be a 2 hour wait, but I guess cash only and 2 items to choose from speeds things up a little! Within about 30 minutes we were seated. The restraunt is huge and is mostly outside. I felt like I was a Carribbean resport eating! After some good food and a margarita (what Joe T's is known for), we headed off to downtown Fort Worth to go to Hyenna's Comedy club. After the comedy club, we met Jeremy's cousin, Tiffany, at the place where she was celebrating her birthday. It was a very fun evening!

2nd Grade

Hayllee started the 2nd grade this year at Morningside Elementary in The Colony, Texas. Her teacher's name is Mrs. Zaccarella. Hayllee remembers it much better than Jeremy and I do! She seems very excited to be starting another year!

3rd Place!

My Bronco tennis team had their first tournament this weekend and we took 3rd place even though we were missing 4 players on our team! Our semifinal match came down to the last 3 matches on the court and all 3 were in 3rd set tiebreakers! Unfortunately Centennial High School (the first school I worked at here in Texas) clinched match #10 by 2 points! It was a hot weekend on the courts, but one that showed our team that we are going to do well and go far this season!

Now that tennis is in full swing, school will begin tomorrow. I will be teaching inclusion (special education) English and of course tennis! The school has been under construction for the first 2 years, so this is the first year we will not be winding our way through construction in the parking lot and dealing with beams swinging over the tennis courts as we play! We will have 2800 students at the start of this year; which is why we have now moved up to 5A!

Happy Birthday Cissi!

It is the last weekend of summer for me since tryouts start on Tuesday. Jeremy, Hayllee, and I came to Athens for Jeremy's mom's birthday party. We all hung out at the house and Bob cooked a ton of food for everyone to eat. Since dating Jeremy and coming to Bob and Cissi's I have been introduced to wild boar, venician sausage, duck, and probably a lot more that I don't really want to know what it is! I will admit, so far it has all been pretty good! There were a lot of people at Cissi's birthday including several of Jeremy's friends. Jeremy of course played washers again...that east texas party game of choice!

Barnum and Bailey's Circus

Jeremy's work had a family day and we all went to the circus at the American Airlines Center. It was a very fun afternoon and we really enjoyed the circus this year. There was always something going on and everywhere you looked there was action! We really enjoyed seeing the tigers and the elephants. Hayllee also liked the dogs and I think wishes Lexi would do a lot of those same tricks!

Sidekicks Karate

Hayllee has started taking karate with her cousins Abbey and Jordan and her friend Riley this summer. The karate instructor is very strict but great with the kids. He is big on manners and always makes them answer with "Yes sir!". They not only teach karate moves but are also teaching the kids how to get away from strangers, what strangers are, etc. All of the kids are doing very good and if they keep it up, they are going to be protecting all of us adults!

Tricks and Treats

When Hayllee isn't outside in the pool, she is outside playing on her swingset. She has become quite the friend to Lexi this summer and has decided that it is a lot of fun to play with Lexi in her kiddie pool (Lexi sheds way too much for the real pool and Jeremy has banned her until she doesn't shed so much since it clogs the drains!). She has also been enjoying teaching Lexi to climb up to the treehouse part of her swingset. Lexi isn't completly fond of this, but will eagerly go along with it if treats are involved!

Pool Fun

Now that Jeremy has the pool fixed we have all been having fun and enjoying being able to cool off in it on our hot 100+ degree days! We have had a pool party with friends who all have little kids...mostly little girls. I have enjoyed relaxing on my float and reading books or magazines in the afternoon. Hayllee has loved getting better at jumping off the diving board and diving for rings at the bottom of the pool. So far we have no more leaks and the frogs have seemed to take residence elsewhere other than in the backyard!

Pool Cleaning

Most of the time when you hear that someone has a pool in their backyard, you get a little jealous wishing you had one yourself. Notice I said most of the time! That would not be the case with Jeremy's pool. Since he fixed the light and painted the pool last summer, there has been a leak in the pool. As a result he had to keep adding more water which in turn made an inbalance in the chemicals. After a while of trying to keep it blue and swimmable, we gave up and it began to turn a lovely shade of algea green. Fall, winter and spring came and still the pool sat. One night we noticed that there was some croaking in the backyard and discoverd about 3 frogs happily making their residence in the pool. Jeremy fished them out and mentioned that he really needed to call his friend to see about fixing the pool. A few more weeks passed and Jeremy was mowing the yard. He saw something moving in the pool and realized that there were now tadpoles and baby frogs swimming around in the pool. Not just one or two, but hundreds! Apparently it took this to get the pool cleaned. The next weekend we were out draining, cleaning leaves, and painting the pool. I have decided that one job I never want is to be a pool cleaner. Between the algea, the leaves, the dirt, and whatever else, that was the nasiest looking and smelling stuff I have seen in a long time!