Christmas 2009

This year our family traveled over 2,400 miles during the Christmas Holiday. We are so grateful for the family and friends we saw along the way and were blessed by the conversations, the meals, the activities and the fun throughout our 10 day vacation.

Our trip began on Friday, December 18th. We left Houston at 10:30 am after Jack's last final exam for this semester. We headed north to St. Louis for the funeral of my 92 year Grandmother, Trudy Bouzek. It was an emotional start to the Christmas break as we buried her next to my Grandpa who died when I was twelve. My Uncle Les and my mom, Dianne, shared some great stories about Grandma and I cried and I smiled as the memories were revealed. I was grateful for the beautiful day we had. The snow had just fallen and the trees were coated with white. It was a winter wonderland. I saw cousins from all over the states that I hadn't seen in many years. Catching up was fun as we shared lunch together after the service. I know that Grandma loved seeing us all together.

Early Sunday morning, we headed to Tennessee to see Bill's Grandmother Smith, Uncle Arnie, Aunt Becky, Aunt Kathy and cousins Emily Kate and Andrew. We arrived just in time for a scrumptious dinner of pot roast and vegetables. It was amazing and perfect for such a cold winter evening. We truly enjoyed our visit as we explored different parts of the Chattanooga area. One day we spent driving through the country seeing where Grandmother and Granddaddy Smith grew up in Sail Creek and Bakewell, Tennessee. The hills and trees were so beautiful and we enjoyed hearing the stories from the past and will cherish that time together. We spent another day touring downtown Chattanooga and the festive window displays in the office buildings. We walked along the riverfront and admired the architecture. We ate at Cheeburger Cheeburger where Matt joined the kids wall of fame by eating a 1/2 pound burger. His picture is proudly displayed for all to see :) After lunch we went to "Look Out Hill" and slid down the grassy hill on cardboard boxes. This was so much fun! We stayed there quite a long time. We had many nice meals together and celebrated Christmas on Tuesday evening with everyone together. Presents were exchanged and pictures taken. It was a wonderful time in Tennessee and we already miss our family there!

Our final stop was Huntsville, Alabama, where we visited my mom, step-dad, my two brothers and their families. We really enjoyed the relaxing days we had as we made final preparations for Christmas and ran those last minute errands and cooked and baked and ate and ate and ate! We had a wonderful Christmas day with all the family at my mom's house. We went go-karting and putt putting and bowling and shopping and then more shopping. We played games and watched television (all those fun HGTV shows that I can't see at home!) The entire time was fun and relaxing and we had a fantastic time. But, like all fun, it must come to an end. We headed back home early Monday morning and arrive after dinner to a chilly Houston and our street lit up with Christmas lights. We have a few days here at the house before heading back to work and school, which is really nice, too. We hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas and that your new year is full of hope and peace.

Cookie Time!

Growing up, my mom had a holiday tradition - a cookie exchange. Bake a bunch of cookies, come together with friends, and exchange them. I continued this tradition as a grown-up and this morning was my 10th Annual Cookie Exchange. It's a great way to spend a Saturday morning - meet together, catch up, drink hot cocoa, swap stories (and cookies), then head back home to finish up all the holiday details that need to be done. My cookie exchange is done a little differently then others that I know of. We have 10 people attend. Each person bakes 10 dozen cookies of the same kind. We package them up in cute containers with 1 dozen each. We bring our 10 containers of cookies and set them on the table and we each go home with 10 different dozen cookies and 10 different containers. It seems like a lot of work to bake 10 dozen cookies - but honestly, it really isn't - it's like tripling one recipe. But in the end - you end up with all sorts of different cookies and it looks like you baked for days.

Above is a group picture with all the cookies displayed on the table. The 2nd pic is what 1 person brought home. You might ask "who's the man in the picture?" Well, my friend Dee baked all her cookies, then this morning woke up not feeling well at all. Her husband, Tim, delivered the cookies and staying to exchange and take a photo. Also...I usually take 2 spots in the exchange (yes...that's 20 dozen cookies). But, Matt really wanted to make cookies, so he had a spot in the exchange. He picked the recipe and we all helped him prepare his "Melt in your mouth Christmas Marble" cookies. They are excellent.

We had a great variety of cookies this year (our only rule is no chocolate chip). What do I do with all these cookies? good question...we will package a variety together and give away to teachers, to neighbors, co-workers, even the mailman. What's left, we eat! The cookies were really yummy and the fellowship with friends was even better. Happy Holidays!

Matt's First Band Concert

Last Thursday was the Cornerstone Winter Concert. One never knows what entertainment is in store - but I have to say - I think this was my favorite one so far. First, the band started the evening off with 3 songs: "You are the Sunshine of my Life", "Jingle Bell Rock" and the most famous Christmas song ever, "Billy Jean" by Michael Jackson (insert sarcastic tone). But...all 3 songs were fantastic and for a bunch of kids who had never picked up an instrument before September, they sounded really good. The players all donned white glittery gloves during their tribute to Michael Jackson. The band director even did the moon walk. It was really fun. The theater kids followed with 5 songs they performed "choir" style and they were amazing. And to wrap up the night, the dance class dazzled us with 4 separate routines that were well choreographed. Matt doesn't think he will pursue the trumpet past this one semester, but he did give it a try and enjoyed his time learning something new. We are grateful we were in the audience for his first and his last band concert. I'll post the video of "Billy Jean" just as soon as I pull it off the camera.

It's a Christmas Miracle...

Not sure what is going on...but believe it or not...Houston had a SNOW DAY! The weatherman had been predicting it all week - chance of Flurries on Friday. Of course, we didn't believe any of them. The weather had been perfect all week - 50s and 60s - wear a sweater and all was good. But this morning, we woke up to some pretty cold rain and as I drove to work, the raindrops hit the windshield just a little more "solidly". By 9:00, that rain resembled flurries and by 10:30, those flurries were full-fledged flakes - and big ones at that. Early dismissal from school was announced and we were able to leave once all the students were safely home. I went to my car and actually had to scrape the inch thick snow off my van. As I drove home, the wipers were on almost full speed to keep the snow off and it built up around the edges of my windows. Enjoy the photos from our afternoon. It snowed continuously until 5:00 pm. The snow is slowly melting as the temperature dropped all day. It's supposed to be in the twenties all night long and the roads should be iced over in the morning. By the afternoon, it will be in the 50s again and all we'll have are the pictures. It was truly a really fun day!

Saved By the Bell...Dancing With the Stars...Extra

How do you know Mario Lopez? I remember him as "Slater" from Saved By the Bell - that TV sitcom back in the 80's and ending in 1994. Matt recognizes him as the host of Animal Planet's "Pet Star". But now, he'll be known as a children's author. Mario and his sister, Marissa, have written a book entitled, "Mud Tacos". They were at Discovery Green park yesterday to read the story and to sign copies of their book. Of course, we had to go. Matt talked about it all week. The crowd was pretty large, in spite of the threat of rain. There were tables set up with all the "ingredients" to make your own mud taco. Matt posed with his taco. Anyway...just wanted to share how we spent part of our Thanksgiving Saturday.

Winning is Fun!

Matt entered a contest at school called "Reflections". It's a national PTA contest to encourage the arts in school aged kids. At Cornersone, they were offering an incentive for kids to submit their entries. The winner would receive a brand new Flip Ultra Video Camera. Matt was so excited yesterday when they drew his name out of the "hat". The funny thing is...we got Matt a Flip Mino Video Camera for his birthday last June. So...now he has two! He's going to let Bill use it for skating - you know like - skate cam from the helmet. That would be fun.

Houston Skate Marathon - Bill Beats Personal Record

Today was the perfect weather for an inline skate marathon. It's Bill's "official" 4th Marathon (2 in Houston and 2 in Austin). Bill skated a personal best of 1 hour and 43 minutes and placed 3rd in his age bracket. It must be those new Bont Skates he just got!! We all went out to cheer him on and ring the cow bells as he crossed the finish line. We are proud of you, Bill!!

Have You Met My Son - The Mouse?

Well...Jack is officially a High School Actor. It's been 10 weeks of school and his theater troupe has performed two shows. The first was Roald Dahl's "James and the Giant Peach". Jack played Mr. Trotter (James' father) and he was killed by a wild rhinocerus. 3 1/2 weeks later (and 15 rehearsals), they performed Roald Dahl's "The Witches". Jack played "Boy" who became an orphan in the first few lines and went to live with his Grandmother. She told him stories of witches - real witches - and how they lived like ordinary women. As the story goes on, poor "Boy" is turned into a mouse. Tonight was their 3rd performance. I saw this one (was manning the concession and ticket table for the first two shows)...but tonight was the best performance so far. The entire show was amazing and funny and I just loved watching Jack on stage. Above are a few pics (keep in mind the theater was dark and I didn't use a flash - so they are a little blurry). But, nonetheless, it was a fantastic event. Jack is loving theater and enjoying his new friends. They start rehearsing on Tuesday for their really big show...Roald Dahl's "Willy Wonka" (have you seen a pattern yet?)

Zombie Prom

Tonight was Matt's first Middle School Dance - Zombie Prom. The kids could come dressed as anything, but Matt has planned his Zombie costume for weeks. First we went to the thrift store - he wanted a grey hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans. He then ripped off the sleeves and made random rips in the jeans. He made water with red food coloring and made "blood" spots on the jacket. Then, here's the good part, he actually buried the clothes in the ground outside in the backyard. He meant to dig them up the same evening, but forgot. A huge rainstorm came through that night and the clothes were so muddy - it was gross. The red food coloring washed off. Bill hung the clothes with a big fan underneath to dry and they were perfectly "dirty". We painted his face and gelled his hair to finish the "just came out of the earth" look. He had fun at the dance and his favorite part was when the whole school danced to "Thriller". He's been practicing that for weeks too. Aah...to be 11 again! Have a Happy Halloween

The Next Food Network Star

They should really have a competition for kids. Matt should have his own show! He made these cookies the other evening. He found the recipe (Hot Chocolate Cookies) in a new cookbook that I recently bought. He literally did everything for these cookies from measuring to icing to decorating. All I did was take the cookie sheet out of the oven for him. And yes...they were really really really good!

Fall is in the Air!

It's nearing the end of October and the weather actually turned cool for a brief time over the weekend. I believe the low on Saturday was 52 and we were loving it. Our neighbors, Matt, Carrie and Avie, Rennee and Matthew, and family, Beth, Joel and Joshua, came over for some yummy homemade tortilla soup and pumpkin carving time. We gobbled up 2 recipes of halloween rice krispy treats, too. It was so nice to sit outside and enjoy the crisp air and swat mosquitos! The pumpkins turned out great. Matt carved the pirate ship, I made the window scene and Jack carved the spider. Bill took the photo - he did an awesome job. Sunday afternoon, I made a batch of candy corn kiss chocolate cookies. These are a spin off of the peanut butter cookies with hershey kisses. I got the idea from one of my favorite sites - The Idea Room. Check out her blog - I go there almost everyday.

This week will be quite busy. Jack has his upcoming performance of Roald Dahl's, The Witches, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. He has the lead male role. I'm nervous - but he says they are totally ready. I can't wait for the show. Jack got his haircut this afternoon - it's nice to see his eyes again :) Matt has his first middle school dance on Friday night - Zombie Prom. How fun is that? We are starting the 10th week of school and Thanksgiving will be here before we know it. Bill has the Houston Skate Marathon this Sunday morning. He's been training hard. We'll let you know his time after the race. Hope you all have a fantastic week!

Five Weeks Later...

I'm not sure where time goes, but it seems as though I blinked and here we are. It's been 5 weeks of school already. No wonder those last 9 years of school went by so fast! I thought it was time for a little update of what's been going on.

Bill's job has been busy as ever - there are always new projects that come up and he's right there to tackle them head on. They've had a recent batch of new hires that "graduated" from their program this past week. Training them in the different departments of ConocoPhillips fills up his days, now he can work on some other projects that have been put on the back burner. Bill also got some new skates - Bonts. He is so excited. He kept checking the Fed Ex website to see where they were and when we weren't home to sign for them, he drove to their facility to pick them up. He's even in Austin today for an informal marathon. I bet he skates his best time ever!

Jack is loving high school. I must say that I have been so nervous about him going into high school - so many kids, so many pressures, so many everything! But Jack has proven everyday that he is up to the task of being a successful high school student. He has goals and that has made all the difference in the world. He is taking all Pre AP/GT classes and making all A's so far. He's completely involved with the theater department - the Spring Woods Safari Players. They are doing Roald Dahl shows this school year. The first show, James and the Giant Peach, is scheduled to perform next Thursday through Saturday and is being considered by the Texas Thespian Committee to come to their State Convention in November to perform there. In October, they are performing The Witches over Halloween weekend. Jack has the lead "boy" role in that show. Then in January, they are doing Willy Wonka! This show will be entered in the Tommy Tune awards. These are the "Oscars" for Houston high schools. Spring Woods has always had great success in receiving Tommy Tune awards. Jack is also busy playing basketball. His coach says he's doing very well. Jack hopes to make the freshman A team - they will find out in October or November. And lastly, Jack is so involved with the teen ministry at church. He is trying so hard to make great choices based on the Bible. His attitude has been so enjoyable and he wants to be at every event that the teens have. He began studying the Bible with one of the teen helpers to learn more about having a real relationship with God. So...so far high school has been so great for Jack.

Matt is loving middle school! I knew he would. He actually goes to bed on his own at night so he'll be able to get up "awake" in the morning. He's going to Cornerstone Academy, which is a charter middle school in our district. At first, he thought he was only going to know a few kids from elementary, but once he got there, he realized he had friends from all over - baseball teams, soccer teams, SPIRAL, etc. He has fabulous teachers and his favorite subject is LASS (language arts/social studies). Matt is realizing that middle school subjects are a great challenge and he's been enjoying that. Matt is also playing trumpet in the beginning stage band. He loves it! He has band first period and they began having after school practices for their upcoming winter concert in December. They are playing "Billy Jean" by Michael Jackson. He thinks that is pretty cool! Matt is not playing sports this fall - which is fine with us. It was his decision - but I think it is really good since adjusting to middle school can be challenging and not being so busy every evening the first couple months would make the transition a bit easier. He looks forward to basketball in November - so the "busy"ness will begin then for him.

I am loving my job. I signed a contract with our school district and am no longer subbing. My official title is "Technology and Intervention Specialist". I spend my day with small groups of kids supporting what they are learning in the classroom and trying to fill some gaps that they've missed along the way. The technology side is very exciting. I've created a tech blog for our school and post various technology ideas that the teachers can use in their classroom to support their curriculum. I'm also using technology with my small groups to see if learning a new way will help. I'm also teaching large group technology lessons with kinder and 1st to help better equip them in computer skills to help them the rest of their school career. It's fun and I'm grateful to have this opportunity.

Other than the above, we've been busy enjoying friends and family. We've had a couple of really nice, cool days in Houston and it gives us hope that fall weather is right around the corner. We "celebrated" the one year anniversary of Hurricane Ike and was grateful we had electricity this year. We hope that life is treating you well. Enjoy every day!

First Day of School - Updated!

I thought it would be fun to show the progression of the boys over the years. Every year on the first day of school, I take their picture in front of the front door. I couldn't find every one of those pictures (but I will definitely dig through my stacks of photos to locate them all). But...I did want to post the 4 pics that I did find.

Edited to add: Yeah!! I found more pics of the first day of school. These were from waaay back and I had to scan them in. I'm still looking for the missing 4 pics - but I'm so happy nonetheless....

Here's Jack on his first day of Kindergarten. He looked so handsome!

Here's 1st grade. Now...what a charmer! Spiked hair and sunglasses. He still has those tall socks!

Now, this is sweet. Matt's first day of Pre K and Jack heading out the door to 2nd grade. Matt sure did have a lot of spiderman stuff!

Above is the day that Matt went to Kinder and Jack was in 3rd grade. I need to remind him of his "tall sock" phase. He wouldn't be caught dead in socks that went above the ankle now. Also...notice the progression of the door mats and the floor. I thought that was pretty interesting too.

Fast forward two years...here's Matt going into 2nd grade and Jack going into 5th grade. Jack didn't wear shorts that whole year - didn't like his legs showing. And that hair on both of them - so 1970s!
This picture shows Matt going into 5th grade and Jack going into 8th grade. I like to see how they compare to the top of the door. They are growing like weeds.

Our final picture was taken yesterday - the first day of school 2009! Matt's first day of middle school and Jack's first day of High School. Yes I cried the night before. I realized that the first day of kindergarten is nothing compared to this high school thing...and before I know it...4 years will go by and we'll be moving Jack into his UT dorm.

I love these boys! They make me so proud!