Special Events: Our Horses • House Addition • Mustangs 2008/09 • Mustangs 2007/08 • Mustangs 2006/07 • Summer Vacation 2011 • Family Traditions

So we took a drive after dinner to the outskirts of Canton out past the old city lake. Theres a gentleman out there that has his property and I believe the property next to him covered with a lights display. On some nights, he will dress up in full Grinch gear and come out and take pictures with the kids and families stopping by to see. He wasn't out this evening unfortunately given it was in the middle of the week (I guess even the Grinch has to get up for work during the week!). We walked Mia around to see all the different Disney characters, different santa lights, snow man lights and other animals. Mia wasn't too sure about the snowman that was shaking because he was so cold (brrrr! pictures). This display is for a good cause though and I applaud the family for doing it - there's a donation bucket in the front of the yard to help a young girl in Canton who suffers from cancer. I hope all the visitors honor this request - a lot of work went into putting this up and its a small thank you to bring holiday cheer to the community for a good cause.

Lily continues to grow this month and all the dogs continue to bond and play together. Huck and Daisy come over 4 nights a week usually with the kids. Its been rainy a lot this month so they haven't been able to play outside as much as they're used to. Lily and Huck have started digging in the backyard which is killing any reminents of our summer grass. I'm going to need to fence off half the yard and plant more winter rye to see if I can get something to take hold and then seed with Bermuda grass when its gets warmer. 4 dogs are tough on a lawn.

Tonight was Senior Night for the Storm, these events are always special. The team played a pretty good game although they almost let the Eagles get back in the game before finally stretching the lead enough to a comfortable margin. After the game they did the traditional acknowledgments of the seniors, with Coach Ronnie praising each about their special talents. As always, the seniors were presented with gifts to say thank you and even the parents received goodies . It was a fun night, one I hope Haley remembers for a long time!

Good game tonight for the Storm - they played a very consistent game and rolled over ETCA pretty convincingly. Haley had a good game running the offense and scoring. Their team got out to an early lead and never looked back. The Storm look like they are going to win the district so I think they are going to be playoff bound - hoping they can keep up the consistent play.

ACPA played the Longview Eagles tonight and it was a tough game. Charlie's team struggled to gain rhythm and consistency making several unforced turnovers. The ended up losing the game and Charlie twisted his ankle near the end of the game - nothing serious thank goodness but it hurt. Coach George had to carry him off the court :-).

The Sharks only had one all-star this year - Tomas Hertl was selected. But - he made the most of the opportunity scoring 5 goals and helping the Pacific Team win the 1 million dollar prize money. Unfortunately he didn't get the MVP vote, but he should have. This guy has been a solid performer for the past several seasons for the Sharks - glad to see him get the opportunity to shine on the national stage...

Violet is very taken with Elsa and Anna from Frozen - she loves to dress up and be the Snow Queen. She also likes to play with Play Do and do lots of arts and crafts. Her school is very big on this and does quite a few art projects. Rick and Kelly encourage this at home as well - maybe one of these days she'll be an artist? I should let it go...

Sean, Kalyn and Mia went to the Fort Worth Stock show this month - this was her first time I believe. The big deal was the "cowboy hat". Kalyn ordered her one so she could be a cowboy for the rodeo. I think she likes Sean's hat better.

Charlie's team had a game vs. ETCA this week, my first time getting to see him play this year. My what a difference. The team overall has come a long way from last year, much more organized and disciplined. They have some set plays they run, and the boys are now looking for good opportunities to share the ball and not playing as individuals, more as a team. Last year I thought I was always watching a pickup game at the park. This year, they have some structure and composure. Charlie handles the ball quite a bit and has really improved his dribbling and ball handling in general. Better passing, and looking for the open man. In this game he ran the offense some of the time and made several shots - even a 3 pointer. Having the team work together with the Varsity team seems to paying off.

We went up and spent the night at Kalyn's on Saturday to play with Mia. She showed us her kitchen and made blended drinks. Taylor stopped by to drop off a late Christmas present for Mia and she was pretty excited about it. We went to dinner at the Pho place next to central market afterwards - shopping with Mia is hilarious. Melody tried to get her to pick out a desert - at the bakery - so much fun. We went to breakfast at iHop and got my car cleaned out while we were there and then did some shopping at the container store. Mia is getting really big and so talkative - a little polly parrot!

So LSU is playing in the National Championship this year and given that Haley is a LSU fan and is looking to go to a college in their system (LSUA), we had to celebrate. The championship game was being played at the Superdome in New Orleans, so we went with a Mardigras theme (which happens to be LSU colors as well). The game was pretty good and the cake Melody bought was really good as well. I only made it through the 3rd quarter (why did they start this so late?) but LSU beat up Clemson pretty well. I was really happy for their coach - Orgeron has not gotten the credit he deserves both here at LSU and previously at USC - he's a good coach and fits the LSU family well. Congrats LSU!

This morning was a test - I was supposed to drive with Haley on the freeway to get her some experience so we planned to head to Lindale and go to Cracker Barrel for breakfast, Haley did fine driving on the interstate so I think it will build her confidence more. It was a cold night with some dew so the cars were a little iced when we headed out. Breakfast was the usual - I just wish they'd sat us nearer the fireplace, would have enjoyed that more!

Sometimes when we're grocery shopping I like to take pictures of some of the more colorful items in the store - could be the fruits and vegetables, could be the meat counter, could be the hot sauce isle. No telling. Well today we were in the Brookshires in Tyler and their fruit and vegetable section was really enticing for the eyes. I saw some really neat colors and took these shots. Their cake section was also top notch with one of the bakers working on a cake right there. I know this is a weird vice but I like the colors of all the different fruits and veggies - kinda cool.

I got introduced to Rush in early 80's with their Moving Pictures album. It got a lot of air play and I found their sound to be something I liked and could relate to. I was always drawn to their music and fascinated with how the drums were such an integral part of their music (its a 3 piece band). Over the years I learned more about the band and the fact that Neil Peart wrote all the lyrics for their songs. This made him even more intriguing - man of mystery. Their songs had a different tone to them vs. other bands over the years and I found that many of the songs/lyrics I could really relate to in my own life. I went to probably 13-14 of their concerts over the decades, it became like a pilgrimage to see them with every new album. I really enjoyed those concerts and one of the main things to see was Neil banging on the drums. He passed away this year of a brain tumor. There was no news that he was sick (he was very private) and this hit me pretty hard. I knew someday one of them would pass but didn't anticipate it would be now. I had somewhat hoped that maybe one day they might play together one more time but its not meant to be. Neil Peart has been a hero to me so to speak, I've admired his accomplishments and from interviews, the way he chose to live his life. He and Rush in general will always have a special place in my memories . It was a headlong flight - I wish that I could live it all again.

We celebrated Charlie's 14th Birthday at home this week. The kids and Jacquelyn are on such a busy schedule, its hard to fit these events in. He asked for a cookie cake so Grandma got one for him. He is now as tall as I am or possibly taller (I'm shrinking) and he's getting very athletic between soccer and basketball. Hard to believe he'll be in high school next year - where has the time gone?

All the kids showed up in the morning for Late Christmas - this has become our tradition to wait until after the 25th of December so all the kids get time with their own families and we then can get everyone together after the day - less stress and running around for everyone. Violet and Mia kinda get the whole present thing and seem to enjoy opening them. Having the two of them try and help pass out the gifts was hilarious - they really got into the swing of it. I think everyone made out well and got what they wanted (?). We had an early afternoon dinner so everyone could head home early. Poor Jacquelyn had just come off work this morning and was up till afternoon. Think we'll continue this pattern again next year,

We got everything wrapped, and ready for Santa to come by - as always the room is covered in gifts! Its always fun to see how we can arrange the packages and goodies. Now off to bed before Santa gets here!

Its become our regular tradition now that we celebrate our Christmas with the family late every year - and this year was no different. Mom and Melody made cookies for the event and we all decorated some of them. We made some back in December for when Santa paid a visit so I asked if we could have more for when the kids came over. This year we used specific frosting for cookies and they seemed to turn out better (at least I thought so). Its always fun to see what creativity we all come up with when decorating - its a good tradition!

Haley got the dogs all riled up tonight and it was like romper room - tugging and pulling, barking and growling. All the dogs play pretty well together and it really wears them all out. Fun times!

After the trip to Taos to end 2019, it was nice to spend a quiet New Years at home watching the Rose Parade and football as most families do. The parade had some really good floats and the football games were entertaining - no blow outs so they matched up the opponents well this year. We had the traditional black eyed peas and ham for dinner to ensure we have prosperity and good luck this year. We'll see if it pans out or not.