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!