First Swim of the Season

On Saturday we went to Jeanine and Michael's house in McKinney for a cocktail and a swim before we all went to dinner at Liberty Burger for dinner.  Ellie enjoyed the pool for quite a while - and you'll see she had so much fun!

Hard at work

For a project this week Ellie made two different Coke Cupcake recipes.  She makes about 4 dozen of them - we froze them until Friday morning until they were frosted!

New neighbors

You can see from this picture that we have a couple of new neighbors that have chosen to build a home nearby.  So close that they are literally at our front door!

Mourning doves!

Comes the Dawn

After awhile you learn ... is the first line of a poem I have loved for several decades.

Joe Maddon likes to remind us that he believes in the power of 24 hours.  I, too, believe that things always look better, clearer, calmer when the sun comes up the next day.

Here's a great shot out our backdoor of the sunrise.

Here's to another new beginning.  A new day.  Another twenty-four hours!

Morning Inspiration

Ellie left this for me next to morning coffee one morning this week.  She said when she saw it, she thought of me.  So instead of saying it, she cut it out so I could save it and remind myself of it.

She's incredibly thoughtful, kind, generous and SO WICKED SMART!

Big Week

It was a big week for Jake Arrieta.  A no-hitter, increased to 5-0 and NL Player of the week.  You may recall I've been following  him since last season when he had his first no-hitter.  His story was featured in the baseball pre-season Sports Illustrated issue.

He's a survivor.  He's not a quitter.  He works really hard and believes in himself.

And he credits pilates with his physical condition.

I love him for so many reasons. :-)

All-District Choir

My girl is a singer.  And a good one at that.

She loves to sing .. in the car, in the shower, in the house, outside the house, at school, when not at school.  Well, you get the picture.  She sure does love to sing!

She was selected as one of 14 in the entire elementary school to participate in All-District Choir.  She went through months of preparation, spent countless hours with Mrs. Soudress - an amazing, musical angel who inspires all these students ... and then Ellie was recognized for her participation and selection into this choir.

She sure wears a proud smile on her face!  And continues to carry a song in her heart!

Burgers!

Me and my girl at HopDoddy getting a burger!

That's the burger!

Yes, we still get our burgers.  But it feels like less often than we used to - that's for sure.  We've had our share of BBQ and of Tacos lately - so it was certainly a treat to go to Addison for a burger at HopDoddy!

Last Soccer Saturday

Ellie has made many friends over the past two years playing soccer for the Pink Sprinkles.  Here she sits with Katie, after their game was complete watching Katie's 4-year old sister, Sarah play soccer on her team.  Oh those adorable little girls running after the ball.

Today was harder than some games.  

We played the team we asked Ellie to be traded from a year and a half ago.  We didn't like the aggressive tendency of the coach, and how his teenaged sons made fun of the girls as they helped lead practice.  Ellie sensed it and said she didn't want to play soccer again, and I didn't like the vibe any more than she did.

So for the first time ever, I called the league and asked her to be traded.  And we moved from the Mighty Cupcakes team to the Pink Sprinkles.  We always considered that a step up, from the cake to the sprinkles on top!

We love our current team.  The girls are great - they work together, cheer each other on and care about one another.  And it should come as no surprise that we love the parents and Coach Mario too.  We optimize what a soccer family would look like.  Ellie is such good friends with so many of her teammates and that has made us happy.

Today we experienced a very rough game, coached by a very aggressive coach.  Ellie didn't get hurt, but she saw some of her teammates go down after being pushed or elbowed and that upset her.  At halftime she uncharacteristically came over to my chair and sat on my lap.  She cried a few tears and said they were mean.  

I reminded her how brave and strong she was.  And how her courage to play and finish strong would help support her teammates.  I encouraged her to keep playing her game, and not fall into the trap that the other team tried to set - of aggression and roughness.

The Pink Sprinkles lost.  4-1.  

But in the end they played tough, the girls kept one another strong.

And kept the parents so, so proud!

Jackie Robinson Day

What a wonderful quote, to remember a man who made baseball better.  Jackie Robinson #42 will live forever in our hearts, and on the field!

Hail, oh hail

close up of the hail outside the garage door

hail in the flower beds

We had another hail storm on the night we were at the claims adjuster finding out the estimate to repair our vehicles.  We drove home in it - separately of course because both cars needed to  be assessed for damage at the same time!

And we survived.

Another storm.  To see another day of Texas spring weather!  We didn't have any more damage to our house or to the cars.  Yet, many of our friends and neighbors cannot say the same thing.  This storm was more severe to them.  Causing broken windows, holes in roofs and damage to floors, furniture and carpet.

And we survived.  Everyone did.

And we were grateful.  That we were together.  And dry.  With no holes in our roof.

And then the rainbow came out.

Grateful once more.

Opening Day of Baseball 2016

As tradition would have it, we celebrated on Sunday of Opening Weekend even though the Yankees don't play until 12noon tomorrow!  We each had new t-shirts, Ball Park franks for dinner - complete with Cracker Jacks and apple pie!  Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and ..... OPENING DAY of BASEBALL!

Landscaping Nearly Complete!

BEFORE - Front of the house

AFTER - Front of the house 

A couple months ago a couple from south of Dallas moved to our neighborhood, directly across the street from us.  Jim and Frances have taken to making some improvements, and they began with their front yard.  I loved what they did with the stones and plant beds, so this inspired us to find a landscaper to do the same for our front yard!

You will see the difference in the front of the house be just doing the stones and mulch.  Really frames up the front yard nicely!

And we didn't stop there ...

BEFORE - tree in front of the house

AFTER - tree in front of the house

This shot with the tree close up really shows the difference in how the yard looks.  We just love to drive up to the house now to enjoy the view!  We'll save the flowers for the front door.  There are pots and plant stand from the fall that we'll turn into a spring display soon!

BEFORE - Backyard tree on the right side

AFTER - backyard tree on the right side

And while we were at it, we had them edge and mulch the two trees in the backyard as well.  It's our view from the kitchen and family room, so we might as well have it improved as well!  In fact the electrician is going to install outdoor ceiling fans on the patio so that we'll be able to enjoy that space, so this view really motivates us to get that done soon too!