Shimmer Of Hope

As you know, we spent last weekend staying with our great friends Kenny and Hailey at their beach house in Galveston. It was a fantastic trip, and all of us are already stoked about a potential return trip in August. Our whole family just can't get enough of the ocean. As for Aidan and Christopher go, I find myself having to second check their feet to make sure they are not webbed. As much time as they spend in the water, one begins to wonder if somewhere down the line, there is some type of amphibian occupying a space in the family tree.

We left for the beach around 12:45pm on Thursday afternoon. I know what you are thinking...."Didn't Aidan have to miss school?" Well, yes....yes he did, and let me tell you, he was all broken up over it. Cried the whole way down. :-( Obviously, that is far from the truth, and in actuality Lori and I felt pretty guilty about his truancy. We just figured that he had only missed 1 day of school this year, and they were having the end of the year talent show on the day that he missed. Missing talent show = no big deal. He had perfect attendance for the first three, "nine week" sessions. Anyway, we made really good time with only one stop in Centerville on our way down. The good news was we made really good time getting to Houston. The bad new was, we hit downtown Houston at 4:45 in the afternoon. Uhhhhhh.....rush hour. All I have to say is their city engineer must have worked for Spiro Graph before being hired on by the city of Houston. You would not believe me if I tried to explain the complexity involved in finding and getting on the HOV route. That guy or girl should be fired on the spot.

Once we made it through the concrete maze in downtown, the traffic in the HOV lane was cruising south at a steady 70 mph. Wooo Hooo. We were passing some serious cars stuck in regular traffic, and suddenly the "labyrinth of frustration" did not seem so bad. We got to Kenny and Hailey's beach house in Sea Isle about 6:30pm. After unpacking the car, and getting our stuff upstairs, I made a trip to the closest grocery store, and bought a couple of frozen pizzas. We ate a quick dinner, hopped in Kenny and Hailey's ultra sweet jumbo monster mudd'in golf cart, and drove to the beach.

By the time we got there, the sun was just starting to go down. We did not have time to swim, but just being there and hearing the waves crashing and smelling that salty air made all of the anxiety of the trip instantly evaporate. We stayed for about 20 minutes, just enough time for Aidan to disobey our pleas to stay dry, so we headed home with one soaking wet boy. Hey, what are you going to do. Keeping a 6 year old out of the ocean while his dog is standing in butt deep water egging him on is practically impossible.

We got back to the beach house just in time to snap this:


Wow, just magnificent.

Kenny and Hailey got in town about 9:00pm, and after visiting for a while, we all made it to bed at a decent hour. We all knew the kids would be up an some ungodly hour in the morning repeating over and over....."when are we going to the beach"..."is it time yet"..."how much longer"....etc..

We got up early as expected, and Hailey made a scrumptious breakfast casserole. MmmmmmmMmmmmmm it was gooooooooooood! After digesting, Kenny and I headed out to purchase Friday night's steaks, and Saturday night's Shrimp. Lori and Hailey went to Wal-Mart to do some last minute grocery shopping. After everybody returned, we finally made it out to the beach.


Just seeing the look on Christopher face as he would run in and out of the water was simply intoxicating. He is such a little ham.


Aidan just flat out loves the water. 95% of the time we are at the beach, he is either submerged or riding his boogie board. Here he is making his way out of the water, with the ever protective and watchful Mystic not far behind.


She looks after those boys while they are in the water, like a Great Pyrenees watching his flock. We could not ask for a better companion for our children.

After we got back to the beach house, Kenny and I fired up the Charcoal and got ready for some serious steak grilling. Mmmmmm....Steak........
Lori and Kenny and Hailey went for the filets, while I stuck with my favorite...a delicious Rib-eye. Kenny cooked them to perfection, and with the addition of the roasted corn on the cob, salad, and sautéed mushrooms, we gorged ourselves. After dinner, while the kids were watching movies, I peeked over and noticed Aidan doing this,


while Christopher and Carley were doing this,


Yep, even the 4 year old, and the 21 month old stayed up longer than the uber tired 6year old.

After getting the kids to bed, Lori and Hailey and Kenny and I made our way downstairs, and played darts, drank, laughed, and smoked cigars into the wee hours of the morning. Good times. Our good friend Kirk drove in from Houston and got there a little after midnight, and it was certainly enjoyable seeing him again. We finally got to bed about 2:00am, as visions of the much anticipated annual Memorial Day Weekend horseshoe tournament danced in my head. Oh yeah, in a few short hours, it would be, once again, time for the "King of the Beach" to make his appearance. I'm sure most of the other entrants laid awake most of the night shivering in fear. Ok, maybe not....hell to tell you the truth, most of them had probably actually thrown a horseshoe in the last 365 days, unlike the current "King of the Beach"

Saturday morning started out beautiful, but as the morning wore on, an ominous dark presence was rolling in. Thunder clouds, with malice on their minds, slowly engulfed the blue sky. By the time the tournament started at "high noon" the question was not if it would rain, but when. That question was answered during the very first set of games. It rained hard on and off for about 2 hours, but that did not keep the 12 two man teams from competing. Some competed more than others, and it makes me sad to say, my partner and I were eliminated in the quarter finals. My "King of the Beach" title and trophy are now only distant memories. Vengeance will be mine.......next year! Here is a shot of the loser (me) getting ready to pitch some shoes.


While I was playing shoes, Lori had her hands full with the little Rooster boy. Luckily there were quite a few toys to capture his very short attention span, and he even had a little 3 year old girl playing companion to pass the time with.


Here is a picture of Aidan sitting on the back of Ken and Hailey's golf cart looking mirthful.


We stayed at the beach until late afternoon, and then headed back to the beach house about 5:30pm. We needed to start working on the shrimp, and dinner was to be followed with cupcakes that Lori made for Hailey's birthday. The 7 pounds of cream chess jalapeno stuffed shrimp we cooked turned out just as mouthwatering as it sounds. Lord they were delicious. After the feast, everybody went outside on the upstairs deck, and sang Happy Birthday for Hailey. Here she is blowing out the candles with eager children surrounding her.


Speaking of eager children, here is a shot of the children surrounding the cupcake dish.


It reminded me of watching the discover channel as the lion pride encircles the local watering hole. You just know that carnage is soon to follow, and follow it did.

After getting the kids to bed, we once again went downstairs, and celebrated life and friendship. Our friends are really quite something. You can not see each other for 6 months, and as soon as you are in each other's presence, the comfort level is immediate, and conversations flow like water. How great is that.

Sunday morning we woke to more dark clouds. There was a neighborhood crawfish boil scheduled on the agenda for the day, and showers would not be appreciated. 110 pounds of crawl daddy's were purchased and cooked, along with bags and bags of potatoes and corn. Yummy. The rains eventually did come, so after eating, we retired to the beach house and set up a water slide for the kids. As you can see from the following pictures, the kids had an absolute blast on the slide.


After getting out of the water slide, Christopher challenged Lori to a lightsaber (noodle) duel. On Guard!


We all were wiped out on Sunday night, but that did not stop us from have a great game of Texas hold'em. Hailey, Kirk, Kenny and Lori and I stayed up for hours playing. It was great, and for it being Lori's first time to play, she did remarkably well. It's a good thing that Aidan was already in bed, or he would have probably cleaned us all out. That boy is a card playing fool.

We got up Monday morning early knowing it was our last day. We set out for the beach at 9:00am in the morning. The weather was gorgeous, and the water was still. Lori snapped this picture of the boys right after we got there, and I thought it turned out fantastic. (click to enlarge) I call it "Shimmer of Hope".


Here is one of Lori, Aidan, Christopher, and the ever protective Mystic enjoying family time.


You know, the island has done a pretty remarkable job of cleaning up most of the debris left from the devastation left by hurricane Ike. Some stretches of the beach you would never even know that there was such a violent storm less than a year ago.


While others like this one are still waiting for repairs.


With the water so calm, Kenny broke out one of his rod and reels, and did his best to hook a lunker.


Aidan and I were content floating on our boogie boards and soaking up the sun.


In the mean time, Carley and Christopher we soaking up some Zzzzzz's in the back of the CX-9.


We stayed at the beach until a little before noon, and then made the sad journey back to the beach house. I started packing up our things, and after showering and having lunch, we started our journey home about 2:00. Just before we left, we shot a few parting pictures. Kirk and Christopher.


Our gracious host Kenny and Hailey with a portion of their sweet golf cart showing in the background.


And finally....the gang.


We got home a little over 5 hours later, and all of us were left longing. We can't wait to go back.

Once again Kenny and Hailey, thanks for having us down. It was awesome.

William

Ocean Bound

Out of the Rolling Ocean, the Crowd.
by Walt Whitman

OUT of the rolling ocean, the crowd, came a drop gently to me,
Whispering, I love you, before long I die,
I have travel’d a long way, merely to look on you, to touch you,
For I could not die till I once look’d on you,
For I fear’d I might afterward lose you.

(Now we have met, we have look’d, we are safe;
Return in peace to the ocean, my love;
I too am part of that ocean, my love—we are not so much separated;
Behold the great rondure—the cohesion of all, how perfect!
But as for me, for you, the irresistible sea is to separate us,
As for an hour, carrying us diverse—yet cannot carry us diverse for ever;
Be not impatient—a little space—Know you, I salute the air, the ocean and the
land,
Every day, at sundown, for your dear sake, my love.)


Today's the day. Lots of pictures and stories when we get home. Everybody have a safe and wonderful Memorial Day Weekend.

William

High Expectations

I know that I tend to go overboard when I start talking about Aidan playing baseball. I just can't help myself. He just looks like a ball player when he is on the field, and he has great fundamentals for a 6 year old.

Last week, during his game, there was a professional photographer on the field snapping photos of Aidan's game. I was lucky enough to get a few of those pictures today and I thought I would share them with all of you.

This first set consist of a three picture sequence of one of Aidan's plate appearances. Check out his concentration and form. (click on the picture to enlarge)


Now check out this picture of Aidan making a play in the field, and throwing the runner out at 1st base.


Now you can see why I say that Aidan looks the part. See the bat back and elbows up? See the rotation of the hips in his swing? See his weight transfer?(Right heel up, left toe down) See the wrist turning over to complete his swing? See him stepping toward his target on his throw, and his follow through? Those are all fundamentals that normally take a long time to learn. He's definitely a quick learner.

I can't wait to see what kind of player he develops into as he gets older.

William

Mother's Day Fun

This past weekend we loaded up the boys and drove down to visit my mother and my brother for Mother's Day weekend. I am ashamed to say that it has been far too long since we have seen Grandma and Uncle Jim, but with Aidan's baseball and soccer games every weekend, combined with Lori's weekend call and various other commitments, it's just been hard to get away. Still, there is really no excuse good enough to justify the amount of time since our last visit, and it won't happen again.

We were able to get away pretty early on Friday afternoon, and left about 4:20pm. Traffic stunk in downtown Dallas, but other than the 30 minutes it took to go 1/2 a mile in downtown, we made really good time. We arrived at Grandma's house a little after 7:00pm, and we were greeting with a big smile, big hugs, and lots of yummy food. The boys made a bee line to Grandma's backyard while Lori and I unpacked, and got dinner plates ready for the boys. After eating, we visited for a while, and finally put Christopher down about 8:30pm. Aidan followed Christopher's lead, and got in his bed about an hour later. Lori and I were pretty beat, and we too went to bed pretty early.

Saturday morning came bright and early as usual, and I got up and made delicious pancakes. Mmmmmmm......pancakes......... After breakfast, we took advantage of the beautiful weather. I washed mom's convertible, while Aidan and Christopher and Lori played outside in the backyard. Like I said in the past, Grandma's backyard is really big with lush St. Augustine grass. The boys love running around shoeless, chasing Mystic around the yard, swinging, and playing ball. Here is a picture of Aidan and Christopher goofing off on Grandma's swing.


After they played in the back for a while, and after I finished washing the car, Aidan and I decided to take Grandma's little convertible for a spin. Wow, I cannot begin to tell you how much fun her MX-5 Miata hardtop convertible is. It drives like it is connected to rails, and you cannot help but smile the whole time you are behind the wheel. The car really is amazing. If anyone is ever looking for a serious mood enhancer, get you one of these cars. There is no way to get out of that car after driving it without feeling better.

While Aidan and I were out and about, I got a call telling me that uncle Jim had made it over to the house. We drove home right away. It did not take long before we were all in the backyard playing baseball. Here is a short video of Aidan taking a swing at one of my pitches. Take a look at his technique.


Pretty darn good for a 6 year old. Christopher wanted his turn, but he had to settle for wearing the batting helmet, and holding the miniature wooden baseball bat.


If he is anything like his brother, it won't be long until he is hitting off a tee. Man, I can't wait!

We played outside for the majority of Saturday, and we were all pretty worn out. Grandma made some delicious ribs for dinner, and we all feasted like there was no tomorrow. Mmmmmm.....ribs.......... The boys got to bed at a decent hour, and Grandma and Lori followed soon after. Jim and I stayed up visiting and watching movies until 2:30am Sunday morning, when I finally had to throw in the towel and hit the sack. I was really tired, and the 4 hours of sleep that I got felt like minutes. Oh the joys of children...........

Sunday was Mother's Day, and we started it off by giving Grandma and Lori their gifts. They loved their cards and gifts, and we are lucky to have such wonderful women in our lives. The rest of the day was spent like Saturday, spending most of the time playing outside and visiting with Grandma and Uncle Jim. After eating a wonderful afternoon dinner of Spaghetti, we said our goodbyes and headed home about 6:00pm.

We got home about 8:30, and all of us were really tired. We all went to bed early.

We had a great time at Grandma's house, and I can assure you it will not be very long before we go back. Thanks Grandma and Uncle Jim for always being such wonderful host. We love you both very much.

William

All Ahead Full Throttle

I know.....it's been a while since I have written. Well at least this time I have a good excuse. Three weeks ago I had surgery, and I am finally starting to feel better. I certainly have not felt well enough to type out a witty blog.......or even a dull boring pointless one either. That has now changed, and I am ready to roll......so let get going.

Aidan had another baseball game last night. I get such a rush watching my little ball player take the field. It makes me feel young again, and always makes me swell with pride. He is learning more each game, and starting to figure out the nuances of the game. Baseball is pretty complicated, and to be played correctly requires a player to run through many progressions before making a play. Are there runners on base? How many outs? If it hit to the right side of the field, who is covering second? Is it a force play or do I need to tag the runner? Questions like that are simple for people that have grown up playing baseball, but downright knotty for a 6 year old. He made some awesome plays at pitcher last night, and fielded his position like a young Greg Maddox. He is still swinging the bat well, and working on his timing. Timing is the hardest thing to judge for a hitter. That is why major league hitters have such a hard time with the change up pitch. Once Aidan gets his timing down, his hard hit ground balls are going to turn into monster line drives. I can't wait.

Christopher is.....well.....difficult. I do not ever remember Aidan being so hard to control. He is non stop action, and you cannot take your eyes off of him for one minute. If you do, there is no telling what he will be doing or getting into. Some might think that I am exaggerating, but I am far from it. As a matter of fact, after reading to sentence above I might actually be sugar coating it. He is a little outlaw, and one tough little devil. Just yesterday at school, while coming inside from the playground he ran into another student. He hit the other student's head with his nose, and the head won. Christopher's nose starting bleeding like a stuck pig. Do you:

A) Think he started to cry?
B) Screamed for his momma?
C) Went about his business and when the teacher came over with a rag to stop the bleeding, pushed it away and asked for a drink of water?

If you guess C you are correct. The teachers could not believe that he did not cry. The other kids cried when they saw the blood, but Christopher took it like a man. They finally were able to wipe away the blood from his face, but he would not let them apply an ice pack. Nope, he wanted to play. Like I said, tough as nails.

Two weeks from tomorrow we will be heading to the beach to visit or great friends in Galveston. We are all very excited about the trip. Aidan cannot stop talking about it, and well....I am down right giddy myself. The only thing that I am a little upset about is the fact that I have not been able to exercise one bit since my surgery. I had been going to the gym 3-4 days a week and could see a difference. Well, that flew out the window over the last few weeks. I guess doing nothing but sitting on one's butt and eating will do that to a person. Oh well, I'm not going to let it get me down. My doctor cleared me yesterday to start exercising again, so I am going to make the best of these next two weeks. Since this will be over Memorial Day Weekend, I will be trying to defend my crown. What crown you ask? Well just go back to last May's blog and read all about it. KING OF THE BEACH baby!

Until next time,

William