Introducing ... Sadie...and Belle...and Fitz

I don't recall how it began. At some point before we left Georgia, either Sydney had asked for a pet or her mom had decided that a dog would ease Sydney's transition to a new environment. All I know is that it happened. Not more than a month after moving into our new house last July, they decided to go out looking for a dog. "We're just going to look," they said. "We're going to spend a lot of time researching to see what type of dog would be best for us," they said. "Good! Because we're not ready for a new dog," I said. "We should wait until we get some furniture and get comfortable with the house, the neighborhood, the new life," I said.

After having that good talk as a family, they left. Three hours later, she showed up.

What? A leash? How dare you?!?

"Isn't she pretty?" Sydney asked. " I named her Sadie."

Sydney actually had spent quite a few weeks researching different breeds of dogs and had pointed out pictures of a bichon to me before. I just didn't think we would find one so quickly. Apparently, Sydney fell in love with the 3-month old puppy right away at the store and insisted on getting her. And so, we have our newest family member aboard.

That was 3 years ago. That was our first venture into the world of dog ownership as a family. It was fun and terrifying at the same time. Sadie was the cutest, sweetest little fur ball. I called her "Sweet Face" because of her adorable little face and the way she would look lovingly at us. We had the best time playing with her and pampering her. At the same time, we had no idea what we were doing. A few months into ownership, I walked her religiously twice a day to make sure she gets time outside to do her business. One afternoon, no sooner did I turn the corner of the block that I saw two large dogs turning the corner about 2 blocks away. They were not on a leash, and the owner was nowhere around. I hesitated to take another step with little Sadie. Then it happened. The dogs spotted her and made a bee-line for her at full sprint. They were on top of us in about 5 seconds. I yanked Sadie up by the leash, trying to cradle her in my arms. But the dogs had reached us. One went around me while the other came straight for Sadie. I managed to kick the first dog in the face but the one who went around me caught Sadie by the throat before I could fully get her into my arms. I thought she was a goner. I spun around and screamed while burying my foot into the second dog's ribs. Luckily, that got their attention, and the dogs stopped attacking. They took off while I hustled back into the house. Sadie was scared out of her mind but she was not hurt. Needless to say, I walked Sadie while carrying a big stick for a long, long time.

About a year later, Sydney became obsessed with having a second dog. She was determined to get a teacup chihuahua. A what? What the...? Honesty, the thought of owning a trembling, teary-eyed, rat never crossed my mind.

The Palo Duro Canyon Experience

Where to begin? It's been so long since I last updated this blog that it seems like it's been an eternity. I guess the first's are not so frequent anymore. Or is it that they are not as important to talk about here when there are many other social media avenues now, like Facebook, Twitter, GroupMe, etc.?

Maybe I'll just resume this blog with a trip we had during the summer. Sounds like a good place to start as any. So here we go...

Sydney is now 11 years old. It is hard to believe that it was THAT long ago I started this blog.  She has so many interests now. There is so much she wants to do...and see.  She even has an idea of where she wants to go to college when she's done with high school.  COLLEGE!! At 11 years old, I was trying to figure out where to find the next cardboard box to slide down a nice grassy hill on the island of Guam. I was not even thinking about the next day, much less where I would go to college 7years down the road. But this kid.... She is smart, and focused.

One of her favorite things to do is to go hiking.  This interest started at some point after we moved to Texas.  Of course she couldn't love hiking when we were in Georgia, where there were amazing waterfalls and trails around the Piedmont and Smoky Mountains in the Carolinas and Tennessee to explore.  Noooooooo. She just had to go hiking when the summer temperature hovers in the upper 90s under the blazing sun of Texas.

At this point, my weight is a bit of a concern.  With my small frame, being at 152 - 154 lbs puts me at the cusp of being overweight.  I should be more around 135 lbs.  And my cholesterol level is on the "You need to seriously consider changing your diet" side, according to the physician at the last couple of annual checkups. So I decided to drop 10 lbs and take up more activities. Going hiking with Sydney is the perfect solution.  It provides her with a companion for hiking and, for me, it seems like a good way to gauge how old my body is versus what my brain is deceiving me to believe.  Sometimes, it tells me that I am in my early 30's.  One day, I decided that it was a good idea to jump off the swing at its highest forward motion while I was at the park with Sydney.  Naturally, my brain said I was fit to jump far forward. My body said "I don't think so" and decided to ease itself off the swing.  My ring and pinky fingers got caught in the links of the chain as I lept off the swing. To this day, one of them remains crooked  from the ligament damage. That will teach me to try to keep up with Sydney!

Back to hiking. We started in the Spring of 2017.  We found hiking trails around the DFW area. Our first real attempt at hiking was at the Ft. Worth Nature Center and Refuge.  We found some trails with interesting terrain changes as Sydney absolutely hated flat, paved trails.  She wanted dirt and rocks and ups and downs. Our favorite was the Caprock Trail, which took us around the Visitors Center. It was short enough to navigate and had everything she wanted. That was a good start.  We then moved on to longer trails around the area.  Our new favorite local trail was the Dorba Trail in Cedar Hill State Park near Dallas.  Dorba had three loops: Short (2.5 Miles), Middle (7 Miles) and Outer (10+ miles). Sydney and I did the short trail and found it not challenging enough.  We did the middle distance a couple of time and found it satisfying  but thought we could do better. By this time, Tracie had decided to join in on the fun. She joined us for another crack at the middle length and took up the challenge to trudge through the outer trail.  That proved to be too much for Tracie but nonetheless, we did it.

By the time summer break came around, we were ready.  Sydney had bought a pair of hiking shoes. I found a nice stick during one of the hikes for her to use as a makeshift walking stick.  Tracie was game for a real hike.  I Googled and found....wait for it....Palo Duro Canyon Park, just outside of Amarillo, TX.

Before venturing into the PDC State Park, we stopped at the zip line place just outside of the park.  Supposedly, they had a zip line that allowed us to soar over the canyon. I had read a little about it online, and it sounded amazing.  We booked the combo package that let us three do the tower zip line as well as the canyon zip line. Let me tell ya. It was LAAAAAAMMME!  The canyon zip line did not last that long. By the time I appreciated the view, it was time to brace for the stop on the other side.  We literally crossed over the shortest canyon walls for about 30 seconds. I was anticipating an amazing ride, soaring high above the canyon with the hawks and the wind rushing through my hair. But nonetheless, it was kinda fun.

Palo Duro Canyon was just amazing. We had never seen anything like it. They nicknamed it "Little Grand Canyon," and from I learned, it was the second largest canyon in North America.  We were giddy with anticipation as we inched our way towards to front gate to get our parking pass for the day.  I was crazy impatient from all of the cars ahead, each one stopping to ask questions of the park ranger issuing the passes.  They couldn't just pay the dang fee and move on to the Visitors' Center? Seriously? We finally got there, and I couldn't resist. "So....what trails do you recommend?" The little ol' lady at the date went into a 5-minute dissertation about which trails would be good for what. Oh...My....Gahhhh!!! I had to ask. Now I know why it was taking everyone so long to get through.

We settled on two trails for our first day.  The CCC Trail and the Lighthouse Trail were the winners.  The CCC Trail took us up and over the canyon at just about a 2-mile hike one-way.  We had the dirt and rocks and ups and downs, just like Sydney wanted.  We fell in love with the place right away.  The weather was a gorgeous 92-ish degrees with lots of sun and a little breeze.  We hiked and hiked our way to the end, which was at the Amphitheater.  By that time, it was pretty hot, and Tracie had decided that she had had enough fun for one day.  We made our way around the Amphitheater parking lot and found a shady place for her to rest why Sydney and I started back to the car.  We were going back to pick up Queen Tracie in our air-conditioned carriage. :-)

For Day 2, we went on the Lighthouse Trail.  Everyone that we crossed path with on our Day 1 hike told us it was worth a trip.

 

As it turned out, it really was worth the hike.  We had a blast, except for fighting off the multitude of biting horse flies along the way.  I was smart on this hike to bring along a golf umbrella to provide us with a little shade in this barren landscape.  But the flies!!!  There was no escaping the flies.  They were coming out in droves and attacking us from behind and all other directions. I had to walk behind the girls and did my best to swat tham away.  They were relentless.  They even bit me on the chest through my shirt and caused my man-boobs pain. Oh the agony!

Before the trip was over, Sydney and I made one last hike. We chose to seek out The Cave while Tracie went about her business in the car. We would rendezvous a couple of hours later at a designated spot.  We finally made it to The Cave, after some serious sweating and second-guessing if we had chosen the right trail to hike. And then there was finding the rendezvous point.  It looked easy enough on the map but we didn't see Tracie when we got there.  We were out of water; it was hot, and, frankly, I was nervous that we were seriously lost.  Sydney thought she had told Mom to meet us at Site Marker # 10 while I thought we agreed to Site Marker # 9. Site Marker # 10 was on the side of the canyon, by the river.  But as it turned out, Tracie finally found us wandering along the side of the road looking for shade.  All was well. Another adventure in the books.

We will definitely do PDC again. But next time, I think we will go during the months when it was not so darn hot and perhaps when the flies aren't as active. And...we have to find a place for Sydney to buy a collector's hat pin or we will never hear the end of it.

Texas Rangers game

I've come to realize that this blog is really about first's. Sydney attended her first Texas Rangers game last night. We're officially Rangers fans now that we've officially Texans once again after living in Georgia for 20 years. We bought a couple of tickets to the April 26 Rangers-Yankees game and could not wait to see what it was like at Globe Life Park for the first time. And, boy, was it a dandy!

We decked out in our Rangers gears and headed to the game in Arlington. We knew we were off to a good start when we got a complimentary ride on the back of a golf cart from the parking lot to the front gate. So it was not much to brag about but it was a first golf cart ride for Sydney. She was getting giddy. We were there an hour before the game so we had time to look around the concourse for a bit. We found our seats after visiting the pro shop. The seats were near the first base, just a little to the outfield (Section 36, Row 20, Seats 5 and 6). They were great seats with full view of every first base action. This was important since Sydney plays first base on her softball team so perhaps she could coach up the Rangers' first baseman from time to time? Perhaps.

Before the action got started, Sydney was thirsty so we went to find something to drink. We went back to the concourse and found an ice cream stand. Ice cream and baseball!!! What can beat that? Suddenly, this dude in a red Rangers shirt approached us as we were trying to decide on a flavor. It was all a blur so bear with me as I recount the harrowing details. He asked if we had heard of some footlong hotdog at Globe Life Park and blah, blah, blah. I eyed him suspiciously and pulled Sydney near me. Were we getting scammed to buy something for an arm and a leg? I muttered: "Well, yes, but we're not really interested. We've had dinner already." (or something like that). He grinned and say "Uh, no....it's a cart that we drive selected guests around the field before the game starts. Would you two like to be our guests?" My eyes got wide and I looked around a bit apprehensively. The concession stand workers were grinning and egging us to say yes. I asked Sydney if she would want to do it. She was also a bit skeptical but said: "Sure. Why not?" I eyeballed his badge a little, trying to memorize some information (in case we get kidnapped and held for ransom) and agreed to go with him, after promising the concession crew that we would be back for our ice cream. This could be it for us. No more Rangers games and no more blue sky ahead.

He asked us to follow him to the elevators and explained the process a bit to us while getting our names and where we were from. He was charged with finding last-minute guests as the regular guests failed to show apparently. We were it, randomly chosen out of the crowd. We would get to go behind the scene, along the corridors under the stadium and past the players' locker room and front offices. How cool was that? As we climbed into the hot dog cart, our host explained that our names would be announced to the crowd around 6:30 and we would be driven around the stadium. We would wave to the crowd during our 2 minutes on fame as our aces are shown on the Jumbotron. No way!!! I texted Tracie to tell her what was happening, in case she could catch us on live TV on the Fox Sports channel. Alas, pre-game activities were not shown on TV.

I wasn't sure who was grinning wider and geeking out while we were being driven slowly around the field - me or Sydney. I caught a couple of glimpses of us on the Jumbotron as we made our way around. I was all teeth! We drove past Brian McCann, the ex-Braves catcher who was playing for the Yankees. Too bad he was too busy talking to wave to us. I would have geeked out even worse as I was a huge McCann fan when he was with Atlanta as part of the "baby-Braves." And when it was over, we stopped an had our picture taken in front of the Rangers logo just outside of the main office before heading back up to our seats.

 

What a fantastic start to our ballgame experience! We headed back to the concession stand and got our drink and ice cream. Would it count as a first to say that we had our first ice cream cone and our first Sprite at Globe Life Park? Nahh, I'll let that one go. Anyway, we settled down to watch the Rangers trounce the hated Yankees 10-1 before it was all over although we did beeline for the car before the 8th inning was over, trying to get home before the nasty thunderstorm come rolling through. We got to see a bit of everything we were hoping to see, though. We saw a bunch of hits - singles and doubles. We even saw a 436-foot home run by Ian Desmond. We saw the Rangers turn a couple of double plays. We saw the starting pitcher - A.J. Griffin - striking out a couple of batters. It was sweeeeeeet! Too bad we didn't catch a foul ball as none came close enough to us. Sydney also didn't get to coach the Rangers first baseman in exchange for a game ball as I was hoping. Next time.

I don't think Sydney or I will forget this experience. She could not wait to tell her friends about it. It was too bad none of her friends went to the game for Keller ISD night. But I think she will be a Rangers fan for life.

Softball Girl

I have been quite pleasantly surprised at how much Sydney is enjoying playing softball. I mean, she is a bit of a girly girl. She likes fashion designing and dressing up. I didn't think she would enjoy spending her days running around the bases and trying to smack a softball around. But I am glad she's taking an interest in sports to keep from spending all of her time indoor.

Sydney took up softball in the Spring of 2014 with a team in Woodstock, GA called Lumber Queens. She had enough of gymnastics and wanted to try something else. Between soccer and softball, she wanted to give softball a try although most of her friends opted for soccer. Her choice surprised me.

As a beginner, she was not very good but she worked hard and tried to keep up with the more experienced players. Some of the girls had been playing since they were 6 or even younger. But overall, they were sooooo cute. They were just little babies running around the field after the ball since most of them could not throw or catch very well. It was absolutely adorable to watch. She enjoyed playing so much that we eventually dropped her out of ballet as well to give her time to rest and practice more.

Then we moved to Texas in the summer, to a small town in the suburbs south of Houston. Sydney wanted to continue softball so we went for it in the fall. She ended up on a team called Creepers, named after the Minecraft characters. This was a regular league team. Being in the regular league is required before she could participate in the tournament league. The teams in the city's tournament league are called the Fusion teams. There were the Blue team and the Green team. Sydney made the roster for the Blue team, which consists of slightly older and more experienced players than the Green team.

The Fusion team was pretty good but it could not compete with other teams from around the league. Many or most of these other teams were Select teams, consisting of even better players specifically selected and trained intensely by the coaches for 2 -3 days a week versus the once a week practices for the Fusion teams. So... we started signing Sydney up for lessons. She had to figure out how to properly swing the bat and fielding/throwing the ball. We were getting serious!! We got a better bat and bigger glove. We noticed that some of the other girls were using huge gloves, so we made Sydney do the same in order to be able to keep up.

Now we're in the Spring 2015 season. She joined the regular Spring league and was drafted by a team called Wonderbolts, which was coached by her coach from the Fall. As one of the more experienced and skilled players on the Wonderbolts, she was playing 1st base and pitcher mostly. My sweet girl is growing up and blossoming as an athlete and a scholar (just had to throw that in because we were also making sure she was making A's in school while doing all of these other extracurricular activities). Sydney slapped her first in-the-park home run this Spring, partially due to good hitting and partially due to some bad throws by the other team to let her keep running. I'll take it!!! She also made some outstanding fielding that earned her some stickers from the coach for her batting helmet.

 

Last but not least, I'm happy to say that she has also tried out and made the roster on the All-Star Fire (8U) team. They will start practicing soon and will start competing around the region. They will also compete in the District and State tournament. I can't wait. Next up, Sydney will be taking pitching lessons. She's been asking for a chance for a little while now. Let's see how she will do.

The Ski Bunny

Now that Sydney is almost 8 years old, we decided to let her try skiing. Tracie planned a weekend trip to Gatlinburg, TN in January. The idea was to stay in a log cabin near the slopes and go snow tubing for a bit. If Sydney was up to it, we would try to ski a few times. Sydney got a brand new ski jacket, ski bib, gloves and even a new pair of snow boots. She was ready and willing.

The weekend came. We loaded up the SUV and made our 4 hour drive to the rental cabin after I got off work. The place was nice but the bedroom was on the lower floor and it was freezing cold. The thermostat was on the main floor which made the main floor unbearably hot if we were to turn the heater up while the bedroom was still about 60 degrees. We ended up sleeping in several layers of clothes. Not off to a good start already.

The next morning, we found our way to the ski resort called Ober Gatlinburg. It was so exciting. The lodge had an indoor ice skating rink. The snow tubing area was a 7-track hill complete with a conveyor belt to ferry us and the snow tubes back to the top. We paid $25/person for the 1:00pm session which lasted 90 minutes. It was GREAT FUN! I gave Sydney a push each time and with each time down the track, she went farther and faster. Not a bad start to the day. After lunch, we rented a helmet and skis for  Sydney and set off to sign her up for ski lesson. Luckily, the class was full of adults. When they formed groups of students, she was left alone with her own instructor. Her very own private lesson. How about that? He took her through the process, opting to skip the ski poles as they were deemed a distraction to beginners. After an hour, he took her to the bunny slope and let her try it out. She fell a few times but she was starting to get the hang of it. After the lesson, I let her practice a few more rounds on the bunny slope. Then we were ready to get on the lift to our very first run down the green slope. Sydney was nervous but very excited. We had no problem getting on or off the lift, much to my delight. And....she was off. She snow plowed her way down the slope and making her turns like a pro. She was hooked!

Oh, man. I was loving it. We must have gone down the slope a dozen times before we called it a night around 6:30. It was already dark. Not only did Sydney get to ski for the first time that day, she got to do night skiing on her first time out. If we had allowed it, she would have skied a few more times that night. I had to promise that we would go again another time.

So....3 weeks later, we made another trip to Tennessee. This time, we stayed in Pigeon Forge so Tracie could hang out at the hotel and go shopping at the outlet mall nearby while Sydney and I hit the slopes. Unfortunately, the temperature was around 65 degrees so the slopes were pretty much slush for the most part. It was rough going for Sydney. She fell several times her first few times down but she made the most out of it. I was able to capture a run while skiing behind her. The video was shaky since I was moving. We skied for almost 8 hours and sneaking in a session of snow tubing before heading back to the hotel.

Gee, I wonder when we get to hit the slopes again? Not too long, I hope. But at least we got another "first" in the books. Way to go, Sydney!

The Move: Part 1 - U-Haul Acrobats

After 21 years in Atlanta, I guess it was finally time to admit that no one in my family would ever join us to live in Georgia. It was time to move home. Sydney, now 8 years old, had been isolated long enough from her relatives. I didn't want her to grow up not having family around and to be estranged from her grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins. Tracie and I mulled our options over the last 6 months and decided to pull the trigger. We fixed up the house - had the exterior doors and some of the windows replaced, hired painters to give the exterior a new coat, upgraded the shower door and other fixtures around the house - and put it up for sale. We announced our intention to move back to Houston to my family over the Memorial Day weekend. It was met with loud cheers. After around 30 days on the market, we had a good offer and sealed the deal. We then rented a 2BR/2BA apartment in Friendswood (southeast side of Houston) near one of my brothers until we could figure out what our future would hold and where we should settle more permanently. They could help with taking care of Sydney if we should need help.

Then came the dreaded next phase: THE MOVE!!

Our plan of attack was a two-stage move to try to manage the cost. First, we would rent a 17-ft U-Haul to move during the weekend of July 4, to take advantage of the long weekend. We would take half the stuff, mainly the essentials and anything else we could fit into the U-Haul so that we could limit how much we would be charged by the movers. I would drive the U-Haul to TX with Sydney and Tracie following the truck in Tracie's SUV. The second stage would be to have professional movers come to pack up the piano and other items remaining in the house.

My brother, Kenny, flew in from TX on July 1 to help. Kenny came prepared. He brought a small bag of clothes and stuff, enough to spend a few days in Atlanta to help pack boxes, load and drive the U-Haul. I was impressed when he whipped out a back brace and heavy-duty leather work gloves. The man was serious about making the most of his trip. I was only armed with Tracie's yard working gloves and sheer determination that my back would be OK. Kenny was restless, always looking for things to do to make sure we were on task. He couldn't wait to get the U-Haul loaded and go. He was always asking about things to pack. At one point, he took down the bathroom mirror and tried to pack it. Tracie made him put it back. He even gave us advice on how to color-code the boxes so we would know which room they belong to when we were ready to unload the truck.

July 3 came around. It was time to pick up the U-Haul while the house was getting an inspection and appraisal. Kenny and I went for the truck while Tracie and Sydney went for some last minute shopping, picking up the color stickers for the boxes. We were regrouping around 3:00 when the inspection should be over. We were giddy. Tension and anticipation were running high as we put on our game faces and get ready to rumble. We would soon find ourselves rallying around the battle cries of "OHHHHH CRAP!!!" and "YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!!!"

The truck was a bit bigger than I had imagined but I was glad we got the 17-footer. We briefly thought about getting a smaller truck based on the estimate by the moving company of what we needed to move our first wave of stuff. I backed the U-Haul into the driveway. We were ready to load. Imagine if you will a long U-Haul backed up to the house on a driveway sloped toward the house at about a 30 degree angle. The cab was looking at the rooftop of the house across the street and the tail end of the truck was about a foot off the ground. Ruh roh! Loading was not going to be a smooth affair. If we were to stack the boxes too high without support, they would surely topple over - might even topple over on us while we're loading. We needed a strategy! We needed project managers! Kenny was an IT project manager, I had led projects many times before and Tracie, well, she was the boss. And so...we strategized. We were Patton and McArthur and Napoleon and Picasso and Eiffel all rolled into one. We planned out what would stay and what would go, what and where similar sized boxes would be grouped and when/how odd sized boxes would be loaded, how high to stack each layer and how/when to secure it all. We had zones in the garage for items for the U-Haul and items for the movers. We had zones inside the house for grouping the color-coded boxes. It was a magnificent plan. It was functional, practical, artful, and solid.

The inspection at the house took a little longer than was expected. The planning of the truck loading took a little longer than expected. Now it was time to execute the plan as time was running short and we were losing daylight. We started loading fast and furious style. I was bringing stuff out and Kenny was packing the truck pronto. Not a word was spoken as we were intent on the task at hand. After about 30 minutes of delivering boxes to the driveway, I sneaked a peek at the truck. Kenny had loaded three layers high and two layers deep of boxes on the floor neatly and compactly against the back wall. It looked quite good, but I did not see a single item in the Mom's Attic (the extra storage space U-Haul trucks provide directly above the cab). Hmmmmm. We failed to discuss THAT part of the plan. Kenny's idea was to load this space with light items, knick knacks if you will, so that even if they topple over no harm would be done. That makes sense. I, on the other hand, had envisioned 2x2x3 layering of small boxes perfectly into that space and securing them with straps. That would take care of every inch of that extra space and 12 boxes right there. We strategized some more and decided to try it my way. The knick knacks could simply be tossed into the remaining available space once the truck was completed loaded. The question was how do we get the boxes up into Mom's Attic without having to clear a path through the layers that Kenny's had laid down. We came up with an amendment to The Plan. We would reach over the layers to get a little bit of each box onto the ledge of Mom's Attic and then use something to push them into place. In hindsight, clearing a path would have been much simpler but then again, it would have been too simple of a solution.

After much manipulating and about a gallon of sweat, we got the boxes into Mom's Attic, nice and tight. It was just a matter of securing them with straps to keep them from sliding off. I had bought these straps with wenches (no, not ugly, barmaids but the type with gears and fasteners - ratchets, actually) with hooks at the ends to do the job. With Kenny holding one end to loop the strap to one wall of the U-Haul and me holding the other end for the other wall, we proceed to scale the barrier of boxes. It was like playing Twister with the mat pinned to a wall instead of being on the floor. The incline of the truck kept making me fall backward. I was trying to hand on for dear life with one hand, trying to loop the hook under and over the railing of the wall with the other hand, straining to get footing without crushing the boxes on the floor and falling into my brother at the same time. He was doing his best to help support me without breaking his own back. We were performing U-Haul acrobatics. I wonder now if anyone should have filmed this feat for future generations to behold. After several Ohhhhhh Crap's and re-scaling of the barrier, we did it. Mom's Attic was conquered and secured.

We took a few minutes to catch our breaths and started again. We finished the layers that Kenny started all the way to the ceiling. It looked like things were going swimmingly finally. We loaded the couch, ottoman and chair next. We had the idea of laying the queen-size mattress, bed boards and box spring on top of the living room set and then add boxes on top. That didn't go so well. There were hardly anything that we could put on there that would stay put. We had to unload and decided to put the box springs and mattress on their sides against the wall and against the couch instead. That looked OK. We then went to load the heavy 50" plasma TV between the box spring and mattress. The night before, we had taken the time to wrap the TV in a comforter and stuffed it securely inside a large box that we found at the U-Haul store which was made to pack TV's or large paintings. Yay, us! We lugged that sucker dutifully outside and slid it between the mattress and the box spring. Another job well done! As we leapt joyfully off the back off the truck, I heard a thunderous crash. We had forgotten to strap down the boxes that we had completed since we were so busy trying to get the living room and bedroom set loaded. To my horror, the boxes had toppled over the box spring, sending it toppling over the TV which is now wedged at about a 45 degree angle against the flimsy mattress. The box for the TV looked bent and distorted. The thought of a shattered screen danced across my mind cruelly. I felt a wave of defeat washing over me as I scrambled back into the truck, shouting "You've gotta be kidding meeeee!!" We furiously pulled the boxes off of the TV and box spring trying desperately to straighten up the TV with the slimmest of hope of salvaging the TV. Kenny thought he heard a loud crack when the TV fell over. I was praying that the noise he heard was simply tape ripping off the cardboard when the box became grotesquely distorted like my little finger (did I mention that I tore the ligaments on the right pinky a few weeks ago? That's another story altogether).

When we got everything straightened up and the boxes loaded back up, we took another shot at the circus act to secure these boxes this time. I tried to bravely wipe the thought of my TV out of my mind. C'est la vie, right? Que sera, sera. Whatever will be, will be. I was furious at my stupidity and carelessness. Oh, my beloved plasma TV! What will I do if it is indeed broken and shattered? Where would be an appropriate place to lay such a treasure as its final resting place? Ok, I'm being melodramatic. Actually, it wasn't that bad. I was more curious about the TV than upset. So I scaled the mountain again. This time, it was one toe on the edge of the couch with the shoes off, of course, to keep from soiling the couch and the other foot on top of the box spring. I was doing a serious split that would make Mary Lou Retton proud. Kenny was doing his version of Stretch Armstrong (the younger generations probably can't relate to this 1970's toy reference), trying to reach over the couch and loop the strap to his side of the U-Haul. We finally got the top and bottom layer secured and strap the two straps closer together with a third strap. All was well again. We decided to slide the TV between these boxes and the arm of the couch instead. It was much safer for the TV, for what it was worth.

It took us a good 3 more hours to finish loading the truck. We were definitely not professional movers. What became of our  strategy? I think it went to hell. The zones that Tracie had laid out in the garage got, shall we say, blurred. Kenny and I grabbed whatever we could that would help us match the layers up to similar sized boxes to minimize the gaps. We no longer cared about what was essential and what was not. It was battle of the fittest. Whichever item fit the space the best won. Tracie could only look on what a look of disgust and resignation. We weren't even sure about the color dots that she had placed on the boxes. I think we managed to group about 3 boxes with the same color dot together and that was about it. We threw in Sydney's bike, hoolahoop and scooter and my yard items packed in a make-shift box (not sure why other than it was a fit for the space at the time) for good measures. We strapped the very last boxes on top of the dresser one last time. We were out of breath, tired and sore. But the truck was loaded and locked. It was 10 o'clock and time to call it a night. We had done enough acrobatics for one evening, perhaps for one lifetime. Good night and good luck.

Our 2012 Christmas

On the first day of Christmas, Santa brought to Sydney... a big ol' box in blue wrapping.

Somehow, he managed to sneak it into my home office and frantically wrapped it before Sydney got home from gymnastics. I closed the door just as she was coming upstairs and intercepted her with some lame distraction to get her re-routed to her room to change out of her leotard. A few hours later, she wandered into my office and let out a "HOLY SMOKE!" I pretended not to notice the box and said: "What? What's the matter?" She excited asked: "LOOK AT THAT! WAS SANTA HERE?" I was "quite startled" at the sight of the large present in the office and wandered out loud how it got there. It must have been Santa but how did her get into the room without a chimney? He probably squeezed through the air vent.

We dragged the present downstairs to set it by the Christmas tree. It was juuuuuuust a little too big to fit under the tree. "What could it be?" Sydney wondered. "I bet it's a doll house." And she couldn't wait to find out.

On the second day of Christmas, Santa brought to Sydney a Monster High High School set ... play thingy. I'm not exactly sure what it is. It's a play set for her dolls, I suppose. Who knew she was into such ghoulish things.

All and all, she had a bunch of presents. Santa treated very well. She was such a happy girl when it was all set and done. As it turned out, what was in the giant box was not a doll house but rather...

a kitchen. She was thrilled. But that was not even the best part. Unbeknownst to me, she had asked her mom for a certain kind of doll. Her friend, Emma, has one and Sydney sure wanted one as well. She had left at least 2 notes to Santa asking for it. I guess Santa heard her and decided that she was so high on the nice list that she deserved it.

Sydney got her American Girl doll. Man, oh, man. I've been complaining about how ridiculously expensive those things are and how glad I was she was not into them. I guess I was wrong.

Did anyone notice the glasses? Yup, Sydney got her glasses a few weeks ago and was trying to get used to wearing them. Needless to say her doll, promptly named Emily, came with glasses and some other accessories. Poor house, here we come.

There has been no mention of presents for Tracie or me. Not so fast, Tracie did not have a present under the tree but it was coming. She ruined the surprise by asking me outright to get an iPhone 5. It was arriving the day after Christmas. I didn't want to lie so I glared at her and said yes, it was on its way. Oh well.

As for me, Tracie got me some of the coolest stuff. I got a new Baylor phone case, a new pair of suede shoes and some new winter clothes. Love it!

I must say that we are very fortunate. It was a great Christmas. We all got what we wanted and, for once, we didn't go anywhere and spent time at home. We got our first chance to put up the Christmas tree and decorations in 3 years. And for once, we had a family photo at home in front of our own tree.

Merry Christmas to all. Hope everyone had a safe and lovely time as we did.

I'm a Little Gymnast, Short and Stout

I'm bad. I know it. Uh huh! Uh huh!

Sydney was very hesitant when we told her last May that we were signing her up for the competition level 3 team at the recommendation of her instructor. She was worried that she would not enjoy having to practice hard and taking gymnastics more seriously. In a way, she was right. She really didn't have as much fun as she did last year. But she was learning new skills. And that was important to us. She was having to train for 2.5 hours every Tuesday and Thursday as opposed to just 1 hour for two days. And she was going to learn to be part of a team. Gasp!

And then came time for her mock meet in December. She was not so sure she was ready. She was getting burnt out. She wasn't doing an hour of handstands every night and cartwheels all over the bedroom like she was before moving to Level 3. We ordered her team leotard and uniform. They finally arrived the week before the meet. Once she put them on, she was golden. She loved having the uniform and looking rather official.

It was hard to see in the picture but the back of her jacket said WORLD in glitter, which was the name of her gym.

She had to slick her hair back into a tight ponytail so that she could do her tumbling and flips without her hair exploding all over. She was ready!

If nothing else, Sydney was looking good! Let's see how she does in the coming months of competition. I got my fingers crossed. No matter what, I was so, so proud of my little gymnast.

And This Was Panama City Beach

Three days of pure bliss and enjoyment. We drove down Thursday night to Panama City Beach near the end of September. We had a 3-night reservation at a condo unit beachfront. We arrived almost at midnight, not knowing what to expect as this was a new rental for us from a friend of Tracie. Much to our delight, the place was FANTASTIC. It was a spacious 3br/3ba unit on the 6th floor right on the beach and tastefully decorated. We were off to a great start.

We were treated to 3 days of sun and warmth. We couldn't have asked for more, although we were a little worried that it might start to get a little cool being so close to October. But nope, we were wrong. Thank goodness.

And so...the next morning started with lounging on the beach. We had 2 chairs reserved. Sydney was off to explore sandcastle building and ended up creating a hermit crab zoo. The place was crawling with hermit crabs in shells of all shapes and sizes. Other kids joined in to coral as many crabs as they could find to place in Sydney's zoo and also to start their own copycat zoo. One kid even found a real, honest to goodness, blue crab and placed in in Sydney's zoo. After a few hours, we decided to let the crab go. It was cruel to leave it in the hot sun. So we took it out in a pail and chucked it into the surf.

It was nothing but fun in the sun. It was spectacular weather, to say the least. Sydney loved the sand and the surf. We swam in the salty water for hours. We even tried to snorkel a few times but Sydney found nothing good to keep, except for an eensy, beensy tiny sand dollar. She was ecstatic to have found the sand dollar. But unfortunately, she broke it when she tried to dry it with a beach towel. She was so very sad. We ended up going to the surf shop and bought a sand dollar for a souvenir.

At the end of the day, we retired to the condo and watched the sun set from our balcony. Ahhhhh, now this is the life! We are definitely doing this again! (tomorrow)

Weekend Getaway, Part 2

We went for a walk before dinner to gather woods for the fire. We trudged through the woods around the cabin down to the ravine looking for anything we could use for the fire while looking our nervously for poison oak and poison ivy... and, of course, snakes hiding under logs and leaves. But in the end, we collected a nice armload of wood and headed back to the cabin, and no one was bitten or poisoned. We saw no ferocious wild life in the process.

Night came. Dinner was done. Sydney asked incessantly all through dinner whether it was time for the firepit and was worried that we were too full to eat smores. After reassuring her that our evening plan was intact, I headed outside to start up the fire. Despite having the porch lights on, it was pitch black outside such that I had to shine the SUV's headlights from the driveway to see where we were going. Everyone pitched in to add kindling, dry leaves and anything else that we thought would burn on top of the existing log in the raised fire pit. We were truly city slickers, huffing and puffing trying to get the fire started. A few kindling and leaves caught on fire but the flame was short-lived. Sydney was getting very anxious. I was getting irritated. Tracie rushed inside and came back with and handful of paper towels. We shoved the paper towels under some twigs and stared them down, quietly cursing the wood to bend to our will. Apparently, it worked. I shoved the lighter into the paper towels and flicked my Bic. The paper towels caught on fire and the magic began. The leaves caught on fire and a flame roared to life. We had a serious fire going before long.

The marshmallows came out. We stuck one on the end of three little sticks that we broke off some poor tree. We roasted the marshmallows and made some smores. They were delicious!! But we soon got tired of the smores. We were never sweet eaters in the first place. But at least we tried them and could check them off our bucket lists.

Sydney marveled at the fire and asked why the sparks flew up high into the night sky like little fireflies. We had impromptu science lessons right then and there. We scoured the grounds to find more twigs and branches to add to the fire. It was fun while it lasted. About an hour later, just as quickly as it started. it was over. The fascination over the fire was gone. Sydney asked to go back inside the cabin. Tracie followed and I was left all alone tending to the dying flame. Geeze. After a few minutes of sitting there listening to the night sounds, it got rather creepy. Periodic rustling sounds in the woods nearby and sitting all alone in near perfect darkness was a bit much for a city slicker to take. I admit it. I was quickly becoming a scaredy cat. I got up and headed inside to get water to squelch the fire. Sydney even offered to help. After three cups of water on the fire, it was out. I placed the cover back on the fire pit and called it a night.

Sunday morning brought us a brand new day. It was time to pack up and check out of the cabin. Luckily, we got an extra hour due to daylight savings time coming to an end. It was time to head to Ana Ruby Falls to check it out anyway. We found our way to the fall and looked around. I can't say I was not a bit disappointed. We mistakenly thought that Ana Ruby Falls was the same fall as Ruby Falls in Tennessee. Ruby Falls was an underground falls, and I was excited to show Sydney how cool it was. Unfortunately, we were several hundred miles off. Duh! But we walked up to see the falls anyway. If nothing else, it was a photo opportunity.

Similar to other tourists to make the visit a bit more interesting, we invented a game to try to catch the falling leaves before they hit the ground. It was much harder than it looked, having little room to dash around to catch the leaves. We made our way back down and called it a day.

We'll go to the right falls next time. What mattered was that our Sydney-boo had a fantastic weekend and had already declared that she would love to come back to Helen for another weekend getaway.  She asked if we could go back in two weeks, while she was out of school for Thanksgiving. Well, perhaps next autumn.

Weekend Getaway, Part 1

What do all these things have in common: a log cabin, horseback riding, a fire pit, Ana Ruby Falls, smores and Cabbage Patch Kids? These were all the things that Sydney experienced for the first time this weekend.

What a glorious weekend it was. Tracie wanted us to go to the mountains and relax so she booked a couple of nights at a log cabin in Helen, which was in the North Georgia mountains. We'd never been there before and had no idea what to expect. But Tracie had a few things in mind for things to do. We drove up Friday night, right after I got off work. It was a rough, rough week. The getaway was a welcomed relief, and I couldn't wait to get there. Helen was about 2 hours away from Atlanta, heading north on I-985. We arrived at the gated community and found our way deep to the cul-de-sac where the cabin was. It was already pitch black and there were only two other cabins near us. It was a nice, secluded area, just the way I liked it.

The first time we laid eyes on the cabin, we KNEW we were in for a good time. It was a beautiful log cabin with 2 bedrooms. There was a wraparound porch, a balcony with rocking chairs and gliders, an outdoor hot tub situated in a raised deck high over the hillside.

The interior was also gorgeous. We felt comfortable right away. Sydney explored each room. We even got up the courage to go down into the dark, unfinished basement to check it out. If only we had money to buy such a cabin for a vacation home.

A firepit next to the cabin was just begging for a roaring fire and some marshmallows to be roasted. It was too dark and too late for us to tackle the firepit by the time we arrived so it had to wait until Saturday night. We settled in for the night. Sydney couldn't wait until morning. I noticed a small plaque on a wall that read: "Welcome to Camp Run-A-Muk." Oh yeah!

Saturday morning arrived with birds chirping and beautiful blue sky. The forecast calls for 73 degree weather. Let the FUN BEGIN!

We had breakfast and went for a short walk to explore the area. Then, it was time for the first destination on the agenda. Just outside of Helen, there was a place called Babyland, the Cabbage Patch General Hospital. We were about to visit where Cabbage Patch Kids were adopted by the thousands every year. Were we about to adopt one? I was about to find out.

Much to my surprise, the place was rather cool to visit. The staff were dressed in hospital scrubs and we were greeted by a receptionist dressed as a nurse. Hundreds of dolls were laid out in cribs, in nurseries, on shelves, under trees, and even in isolettes throughout the "hospital." All were were available for "adoption" with fees from $49.99 to $15,000.00 (yes, $15,000 for collector dolls). We even witnessed a Cabbage Patch baby being born by a mother cabbage. We spent a couple of hours checking everything out.

And just as I was dreading, Sydney went ga-ga over the dolls. Who knew! She found one to adopt names Cecilia. We paid the adoption fee, we signed the adoption certificate, and Sydney took the oath to be a good mother.

And so, Sydney became a mother, officially. She grinned from ear to ear for a very long time. She happily posed in front of the hospital's entrance to commemorate the occasion.

We bought some new clothes for Cecilia and took her with us to partake in the remainder of the weekend getaway. Sydney was so excited to have found a cute black-haired baby of her very own.

We headed to town to look around. Tracie wanted to explore downtown Helen, famous for its Octoberfest celebration. Helen was very picturesque with many of the buildings designed in the Bavarian style. We grabbed some Garlic Wurst for a taste of German food at a local restaurant. Cecilia sat in a chair next to Sydney as she enjoyed some delicious chicken fingers. Sydney was a proud new mother and ate all the chicken fingers quite contently as tourists admired and complimented her new baby.

Two o'clock came and it was time for more Sydney fun. We headed to a nearby stable to sign up for horseback riding. Sydney was nervous but excited. We got reservation for a 3:15 slot. We saw that the previous group had a girl about Sydney's size riding together with an adult. It looked rather safe.

When our turn came, we were in for a surprise. A beautiful white horse named Pocahontas was brought out first. Sydney was called over and was instructed to mount her... alone. Another horse named Stonewall was brought out. I was to ride him behind Pocahontas. Sydney was on her own.

She looked around nervously but replied that she was OK and ready when I called out to her. After a long wait for the rest of the 3:15 group, we were off. Pocanhontas pretty much was self-managing. She simply followed the ranchhand on the lead horse. Now and then, the group stopped for the horses to "do their thing." Sydney also let loose the reign to allow Pocahontas to graze on some grass.

Sydney was beside herself with excitement. She kept reaching down to pat the horse's neck. We rode slowly next to the Chattahoochee River and stopped a few times for some history lessons. Sydney listened intently to learn that this river was used to float moonshine for delivery downstream and for the filming of the movie Deliverance some 15 minutes away from where we were a couple of decades ago. By the time we got back to the farm, Sydney was a pro. She even kicked the horse a couple of times to go faster. We trotted a few seconds at a time. Giddy yup, horsey!!

After dismounting and meeting Tracie at the stable, she said gleefully: "I want to go riding again next year." SOMEONE is hooked! But the day was only half over. There was more. She couldn't wait to get back to the cabin to go hot tubbing and start up the fire pit. We hopped into the hot tub as soon as we got back. What a great way to relax after getting my rear end "massaged" by the saddle.

I needed that! Everyone got in some relaxation and agreed we had a GREAT time so far. Stay tuned!

Mystery photo

I have no idea how long ago they took this picture but I came across this picture yesterday and absolutely fell in love with it. What sweet faces!!

I guess what people say is true. Enjoy the moment while it is with you. At a blink of an eye, the moment is gone and you're already months or years into the future.

The Ballerina

Today, Sydney performed in her second Spring Dance Recital. What a pretty ballerina she is!

Sydney performed to Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star with five of her classmates. She was flawless. Neither Tracie or I could tell how the other kids in her ballet class did because we did not take our eyes off our daughter. We were in the front row and beaming with pride. Sydney has really taken her ballet training seriously. She practiced hard at home, paying attention to every little detail from the flick of her fingers to the bend of her wrist to hold the pose. Oh how I remembered her first year of ballet classes and the first recital to Frosty The Snowman (see post First Dance Recital, January 31, 2010). It wasn't pretty but she was a real trooper then, especially with the hat being too big and sliding down over her eyes each time she hopped.

Sydney has once said that she enjoys gymnastics much more and wishes to stop taking ballet classes, I sure hope she keeps dancing. She tried out last weekend for the advanced class, which was by invitation only. I am waiting for the invitation to come and will try to convince Sydney to go for it. What parent would not be proud to have such an angel fluttering around?