We had a bit of an ice storm in the middle of January. Click here for more photos.
Category: Photos
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Merry Christmas!
We’ve got Christmas photos from several different locations. We spent Christmas Eve at Michelle’s parents’ house. We had Christmas morning and Christmas dinner at our house. We went to the Kowal’s home to exchange gifts before finally heading up to Oklahoma. We stayed at my sister Jamie’s house, and so did my Mom.
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Butterfly Garden
In the Fall, butterflies really started enjoying the flower garden in the front of our house. There weren’t so many that it was scary, but it was close. I took several shots to for my Creature Photography album. Check them out here.
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Last Minute Fireworks Show
Ellis County had been hurting for rain all Spring and early Summer, to the point that an official burn-ban was announced. This sure put a damper on our plans for a second annual “Big Fireworks Show”. I had actually told my North-side pals that no fireworks party would be happening at all. It turned out though, that we got a little rain on the 3rd, and an absolute drenching on the 4th. I quickly hustled up some fireworks money from the neighbors and houseguests, and we bought a decent supply of fireworks and planned a gathering at my house for the evening. Of course the amount of fireworks couldn’t compare to last year’s extravaganza, but we still had lots of fun, and some neighbors got to know each other a little better. Check out the photo album here. -
Mr. FSMS
The title of first-ever “Mr. FSMS (Frank Seale Middle School)” was up for grabs tonight, and Andrew was one of the contestants. This was a fund-raising event for the Drama Club and the Cheerleaders. I would describe it as a cross between the Mr. Universe Contest and the Miss America Pageant. Several school groups picked boys to represent their group in the competition. The “Drama Cubs” picked Ace and he represented them well, taking Second Runner Up. So if Mr. FSMS and the First Runner Up are unable to perform their duties, Ace will have to step up and do whatever it is Mr. FSMS is supposed to do.The event was a way bigger deal than I had anticipated. The judges were the current Miss Ellis County, Miss El Paso, and Miss Teen Texas. All the teenage girls at school knew where the “cute guys” were going to be on a stage, and they showed up in droves, making for a large and rowdy crowd. Click here for the full photo album.
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Holly and Macie Workin’ at the Car Wash
Holly and Macie danced to “Car Wash” in the Mountain Peak Elementary Talent Show. They worked really hard in coming up with their own routine and practiced til they could do it in their sleep. When the big moment came, the crowd was really into it, clapping loudly to the song. Both girls did great and had a wonderful time on the stage.I don’t think either of them can stand the song anymore now.
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Giant Bubble Blowin’
One of our purchases from the craftsmen at the 55th Annual Ennis Bluebonnet Trails Festival was a giant bubble wand. When we got home, we mixed up some bubble juice and started making giant bubbles. Here are the results. 
05/07/06 Update: Now we have a bigger, better bubble wand from a Klutz book on Bubble Making and now we can make bigger, better bubbles. -
The Fruits of our Labor
We finally completed this phase of the landscaping project that we started during Spring Break. We created a border around all the landscaped areas with some stone that we’d had sitting on palettes since we first moved in. We also finished planting, and put down 5 cubic yards of red mulch. This was the easy part compared to the tilling, digging, raking, hoeing, and hauling that we did previously. At some point I’ll take some photos from duplicate points of view as some shots I took when we first moved in. This will really show the difference and how much work we’ve done. There are a few photos right here, and a few more if you go to the gallery.
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Indoor Soccer is Over
Holly’s indoor soccer team ended the season on a high note, beating the first place team 5-2. The Lady Strikers all played great, and it was definitely Holly’s personal best game yet. I told her to “leave it all on the field”, and she definitely did that. She was thoroughly exhausted after the game.Overall, the indoor season was a success. As expected, the team improved rapidly, and at one point put together a 3-game win streak. All I’ve got to offer photos-wise is some before- and after-game shots. I wish I could have taken some proper “action” photos, but the plexiglass around the field prevented that, so I eventually quit bringing my camera.
Now that the indoor season is over, the girls have to make the transition to outdoor soccer, which starts in just a couple of weeks. As spectators, Michelle and I will miss the climate-controlled comfort of the indoor facility.
