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!