Happy 42nd Birthday Keith!

For any of you who know Keith in the slightest, you will know that he has had trouble keeping a nice pair of sunglasses over the years. In fact, one month is a pretty long time for him to keep a pair in good enough shape to even wear, if he hadn't already lost them. The last pair of sunglasses Dustin bought, Keith confescated and took for his own. This pair has lasted a couple of months, but Dustin really wants them back. This motivated him to get Dad a new pair for his birthday and couldn't wait to give them to him. So last night, the kids celebrated early with their gifts of homemade bracelets, decorated cups, payday candy bars and you guessed it, a new pair of sunglasses. Dustin wanted to make sure Keith had them to wear all day on his birthday and likewise, Dustin got his back. I have a wonderful weekend planned for this weekend with Keith for our celebration. We will be having dinner at Gumbo's on Friday night in Austin. After that we will attend the theater performance of "Love, Janis" at Zachary Scott Theatre. Saturday we are playing golf at an unidentified location. It's a surprise!

Apparently, the girls in Keith's office are getting to know him pretty well. They got him a gift card at the Sunglasses Shop! They also treated him to Macaroni Grill for lunch. Boy, am I jealous now.

Dale's

Saturday night Phil Hanusch and his family joined us at the house for a quick tour and then we were on our way to Walburg. Phil and Laura attend church in Cypress with a friend who is the lead singer for the Slick Hiway band. They were playing at Dale's Biergarten, so we joined them for the night out. They are a very good band and sound awesome. While there, the band wanted to take a picture of all the kids that were there since this was a family establishment, much like Oscar Store. They plan to post it on their website www.slickhiway.com. There were tons of kids. They had a playground and a basketball court for them to entertain themselves while they weren't running around on the dance floor. Phil's mom, Lillian and Robert along with Keith's dad, Ken and Judy also met us out there along with Robert's son, Shane and his family and his daughter, Michelle and her family. It was a good time had by all. The food was good too!

Visit from the Janaks

We were surprised by a visit on Saturday by Sara, Travis and Elizabeth. We got to show them around the new house and the kids had a blast walking Elizabeth around, I mean carrying! I'm not sure how much her feet actually hit the floor. We enjoyed hearing about their remodeling efforts too. Thanks for stopping by!

State Champs!

What a thrilling week we had taking Courtney and the Pixie Styx to Clifton to compete in the Texas Teenage Softball Association's t-ball state tourament. I coached the girls to an undefeated season in league, district and finally state. We run-ruled every team we played. By far, we had the best defense and offense of all the teams in the association. It worried me at first because we were not having any close games and thought we would meet our match at some point. Well, the girls were just that good! Nobody ever came close and it was such a sweet victory. Truly, a once in a life-time feeling.

We celebrated after the final game on Friday night at Clifton's Bunkhouse BBQ restaurant. Thomas Maddux arranged for them to stay open late just for us and we had the place packed with parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins... you name it, they were there. Everyone enjoyed the meal sponsored in part by the RYBSA league, Andel Financial and Oscar Store. We also received enough sponsorship money from the RYBSA to buy each of the girls on the team a t-shirt from the state tournament. Thank you so much sponsors! We love you!

Happy 9th Birthday Rachel!

Rachel's softball team sponsor, Kacir Construction, held a swim and pizza party for her team at Walker pool. They provided everything for the girls and their families to have a good time. Coincidentally, it is also Rachel's birthday so it was fun for her to be able to enjoy the party with her friends on her birthday, even though the party was not for "her". Thank you Carla and Kyle!

After the party, we went home to have our own little celebration where Angela, Dustin and Courtney had decorated her bedroom door earlier in the day and we had her gifts waiting for her when she arrived. She also got a razor scooter plus some blendy pens and other girly things. She loved it all. Happy Birthday Rachel!

SPJST Summer Camp

After church on Sunday, we rushed home to get the girls packed for summer camp. I had prepared most of their take-along things earlier in the week, so we really just had to pick out the clothes and throw it all in the suit cases. We loaded up the car and headed to Brownwood to the Woodmen of the World camp grounds. We met the Vaniceks in Goldthwaite to pick up Sam and Stephanie to go the rest of the way with us. They had been to a wedding in Ballinger and were headed back home so it was a good place to do the exchange and Brian and Joan needed to get to Austin for another event.

Four days of camp chocked full of swimming, crafts, and sleeping in the air conditioned cabins. Now, they weren't air conditioned when I went as a chaperone a couple of years ago or when Keith went as a child, so they were in hog heaven. Plus, we didn't have to send fans!

Tuesday around lunch time I received a call from Dustin. He was crying hysterically telling me how much he missed me and wanted to come home. Poor guy! I wanted to drop everything and go get him right that minute. I arranged with Keith so that we would leave as soon as he made it home from work. I met him in Temple and we drove and met my sister, Tammy, in Plano for supper at Boudreaux's and retrieved our precious son. He was in much better spirits and talked non-stop until he finally crashed in the seat and fell asleep. We made it back home just before midnight. Thankfully, we did not have to drive the entire trip to Caddo, OK to get him. That was very nice of Tammy to meet us part way.

The girls got to ride a charted bus home from camp on Wednesday and they were quite surprised to see Dustin was with me when we picked them up from the Supreme Lodge. They were all happy to see each other once again and had plenty to talk about with their respective trips.

Fundraiser

While us girls were at VBS, Keith was helping me with the bake sale we scheduled to help raise money for the trip to Clifton for the state t-ball tournament. We made 18 pints of hot salsa and I don't know how many dozen cookies. Thomas Maddux has a daughter on the team so he graciously offered to let us set up shop at his Oscar Store. They were having a birthday party at the facility with a live band and it was a great opportunity to draw in some business for our efforts. Besides having the party, the store was packed all night long with some hungry folks waiting to try out the meal at the restaurant. Thomas had just had the grand opening the weekend before, so people are still swarming to check it out. We fared well with our earnings there but still had lots of desserts leftover when we shut down business at 10pm. We took the remainder to church Sunday morning and nearly sold the rest. All total, we made $800 at the sale plus another $300 of business donations. With 12 families traveling to Clifton on a daily basis during the tournament (as long as we continue to win), this is going to help out tremendously with gas and food.

We couldn't have done it without the help of our friends and family bringing their baked goods for us to sell. I want to thank everyone that contributed either by baking or donations and Thomas for giving us the use of his store front. We appreciate you SO MUCH!!!

Vacation Bible School

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Rachel, Courtney and I spent the day at Vacation Bible School at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Cyclone (our home church). Once again, I took on the role of photographer capturing every smiling face I possibly could. This year's theme was Crocodile Dock and I tell you the teachers that volunteer their time to plan, prepare and decorate are doing a fantastic job. They transform the hall into a moment in time that corresponds with the theme and I never thought I would see a fishing boat and dock inside the hall, but indeed I did. The kids have so much fun going between music, outdoor activities, story telling, crafts and snacks with each station providing a message about God. I have to also brag on the wonderful cooks slaving over the hot stoves in the kitchen preparing the perfect meal for the occasion. The fried frog legs were out of this world and most of the kids agreed they tasted like "chicken".

After a long day in the hall, we ended the day with mass and a family supper which the cooks also prepared. During the supper is where my job comes in setting up the slideshow of all the kids pictures that I took all day on the big screen TV for all to oooh and ahhh after. This is such a great way to get the families together and let the parents see what their children were up to all day. It makes for a long day, but it is very rewarding for all.

Dustin is still in Oklahoma and we miss him!

District Playoffs

Last week was a whirl-wind of fun. Both Rachel and Courtney's teams made it to the playoffs in softball this year.

Rachel's district tournament was in Troy. She played on Monday and Tuesday and lost both games. The team had nothing to be ashamed of though. Half the team consisted of young 8 and 9 year olds that decided to move up into the 11 and under league a year early. Rachel was one of them. She played first base and did a great job.

Courtney's district tournament was in Rogers. She played on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday going undefeated after four games to win first place. Courtney (3rd base), Meghan Malcik (2nd base) and Aayliah Montalbo (1st base) made the all-tournament team along with two girls from Belton. Courtney, a.k.a. "Slugger" led the tournament with a mere 7 home runs for the week. She is so small and puts everything she has into hitting that little yellow ball.

We are now preparing Courtney's team for the TTAS State Tournament to be held in Clifton beginning on July 20th. I have taken vacation time again since I am her coach and will need to be available for scouting the other teams and getting everything ready to go to give it all we got. Wish us luck and come out and watch a game if you can. I will have the first game schedule this upcoming Sunday evening.

Congratulations Pixie Styx!

Oscar Jam

Thomas Maddux has been working over the past couple of years to rebuild the Oscar Store and had it ready for its grand opening this past weekend to help celebrate the 4th of July. On Saturday, the events started early with activies for the kids, horse shoes and several live bands. We attended later in the evening and had dinner at the store. The steaks had really good flavor and the hamburgers must have been good too. The girls split one and both finished it all which rarely ever happens. After supper, we went outside into the yard where T.C. Taylor band was playing followed by Wild Horses. Thomas had a circle dance floor made out of concrete and Keith and I tried it out a few times. Keith was in heaven. He got to dance and wear shorts and sandals. While listening to the music, most people brought lawn chairs and Thomas also had some bench seats and swings and some real tailgates cut off the backend of some old pickups. It was really a neat setup. Amazingly, there were no mosquitos out either and the heat wasn't so bad after the sun went down. We plan to go back for dinner again soon.

Tom's

Friday started early with our 8:30 tee time at Sammons Golf Course in Temple. I used to love playing that course. Although there is a lot of water and trees to get around, it is a fairly short course to the advantage of the red tee box. We were quite surprised and disappointed that the greens were in horrible shape. The fairways were in pretty good shape though as usual. Despite the greens, we played fairly well. Some shots better than others. We ended up only playing 9 holes and between the two of us had 5 pars. Yes, I had one of them!

We ended golf early because I had an appt I could not get out of right before lunch. So we went to the appt and then had lunch at Luby's. We were looking for some healthy food for a change and we found it. The talapia was very good. While having lunch, my sister, Tammy, called to change our plans for the rest of the day. She had decided to come to get Dustin a day early to take him to Oklahoma for a few weeks. But don't worry, there was no panic to get him packed. Dustin had been packed for at least two weeks now, anticipating the big day.

Our original plans for the evening were to have a night out with Dustin to celebrate his birthday since he would be gone on his actual birthday, July 10th. Dustin had been nagging all week to let him go to Academy so he could buy a skateboard with his own money, but I would not let him. Yet he continued to nag. I got the hint that he really wanted that skateboard. So, after lunch Keith and I went to Academy and bought the skateboard and a razor scooter and brought it back home for a quick celebration of gifts before we loaded up and headed to Gatesville.

We met Tammy at Aubrey's parents house in Gatesville to make the delivery. While we went inside to visit briefly, Dustin was outside loading his suitcase, skateboard and scooter into Tammy's truck. He was ready to go. We gave our hugs and kisses and the usual respect speech along with the "you know right from wrong and don't let your friends influence you to do wrong" speech and then they were on their merry way. We are going to miss you, Dustin!

Rachel had earned through her grades a go-cart and since we saw a Tractor Supply on the way to Gatesville, she wanted to stop and "look". We stopped but they didn't have any worth "looking" at so we went on home. When we got there, we had the usual chore of feeding the dogs. Courtney was so cute hand feeding Rowdy. For some reason, he would not eat out of the bowl and Courtney was happy to help. She didn't like the slobbers on her hand so much, but she was very patient and immediately went to wash her hands when he finished.

Keith and I tried to get in a quick nap before getting ready to go out to Tom Sefcik's Hall. Our nephew Matthew Jahns and his friend Bret Marek were playing and singing for the night. Matthew played the bass guitar while Bret sang. Occasionally Bret's Dad, Glen, would take over the bass when they played some of the "older" songs. In his younger years, Glen played with the Vrazels. They sounded really good together and we were so proud to be able to attend. Ken and Judy came out for the entertainment too and then later in the evening Kelli and John came out. There were a lot of people there and everyone was having a good time. Rachel and Courtney played pool and then Keith and I joined them for a game. After that, the competition was on. Keith beat me two out of three and I am anxious for a rematch. Ken also took a stab at it after not playing for what, at least 50 years?

Happy 11th Birthday Dustin!

Dustin had planned a trip to visit his cousins in Caddo, Oklahoma. My sister, Tammy, was going to be in Gatesville on July 3rd to pick him up and take him home with her for the "summer". Since Dustin would be gone during his birthday, we had a quick celebration before we loaded up to take him to Gatesville. He couldn't wait for his cousins to see his new razor scooter and skateboard. He plans to stay for several weeks, but my money is on either he or I giving in way before that! We are going to miss you, Dustin. Happy Birthday and have fun!

Hot Dogs and Ice Cream

The kids had their SPJST Youth Club July meeting at Flag Hall tonight. Everyone met to make sure all of the necessary paperwork was completed for summer camp. Rachel and Courtney will be going, but Dustin will be going to spend a few weeks in Oklahoma instead. Afterwards, they enjoyed hot dogs and ice cream. Looks like they were good!

Just Golfin' Around

Keith and I are both going to be off on Friday for the 4th of July holiday. We decided it would be fun to play golf again although it has been a LONG time. To get ready for the big day, we went to the driving range last night with all three kids. We were both hitting as if we hadn't missed a beat. That's usually not a good sign for the next outing! The kids had a blast too. In between shots and sometimes during shots, we would hear "Mommy, Daddy, watch me" and sometimes in unison between the three of them. They were so proud to be able to connect with the ball and they actually had a few good shots. It was fun to get out and do a family activity.