Bruceville

Blog

  • Boomerangs Are Coming Back

    Or maybe I should say: We’re coming back to boomerangs. I have purchased the airline tickets and I’ve reserved the room, so it is official: Ace and I are attending the 2006 US Boomerang National Championships and Exposition in Conyers, GA.

    It’s been 3 years since we attended our first-ever boomerang tournament: The 2003 Nationals in Houston. You may recall that in that tournament, Ace collected so many medals around his neck that he could barely stand up straight. I was even able to score a few medals myself. This year, Ace will have his work cut out for him as he is moving up from the Novice division to the Intermediate division. This means he and I will actually be competing against each other. Vegas is split on whether the young lion can take down his dad, but I have a feeling that if Ace can deal with the pressure, he’ll make quite a good showing for himself.

    We’ve got about a month until the trip and we’ve got lots to do. I hope to find time to make some boomerangs to enter in the craftsmanship contests, and I still need to produce or procure some particular event-specific boomerangs so Ace and I don’t have to share all the time.

  • Another Indoor Soccer Season for Holly

    Holly’s soccer team, “The Strykers”, has started the summer indoor season. I was stuck in the office on the north side of the Metroplex and was unable to make it to the opening game, and it sounds like I missed a good one. Several team members were out of town, so all the girls there had to play the entire game with no substitutions. Also because of the shortage, Holly played part of the game in the Forward position and scored 2 of her team’s 5 goals! Macie scored the other 3, but it wasn’t enough for the win, because their opponents scored in the last minutes of the game to tie it up 5-5. Michelle described the game as “a real nail biter”.

  • Last Minute Fireworks Show

    Independence Day Fireworks 2006Ellis 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.

  • Holly’s Spring 2006 Dance Recital

    Click below for a photo album of Holly’s latest dance recital.

    Spring 2006 Recital

  • Mr. FSMS

    Mr. FSMSThe 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.

  • Holly and Macie Workin’ at the Car Wash

    Workin' at the Car WashHolly 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.

  • Strikers Take First

    Holly’s soccer team just finished a fantastic season in the Waxahachie YMCA league. They really improved since the indoor season. As a matter of fact they took first place, only losing a single game the whole season. Congratulations Holly and all the Strikers!

  • Giant Bubble Blowin’

    Bubbles 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.
    IMG 6783  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.

  • Happy Easter

    Easter 2006This was our second Easter in the new house. Since we had just completed our new landscaping, we had folks over to show that off, as well as to share food, fun, eggs, and candy. Because we didn’t have lemon juice or vinegar to add to our egg coloring dye, our egg decorating was the worst we’ve ever done. The dyes were so poor that I resorted to spray painting a few eggs to make sure we had something vibrant. (See the silver, metallic blue, and day-glow orange eggs in the photo.)

    The first time we've filled our new table to capacityMichelle and Lisa had cooked a brisket overnight and other people brought side dishes for a proper holiday dinner. This was also the first time we’ve filled our new dining room table to capacity. As we enjoyed the outdoors in the evening, a hummingbird showed up to sample Michelle’s new flowers, and I was able to snap a decent photo of it.

  • The Fruits of our Labor

    2006 LandscapingWe 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.

    Once we get a real lawn, this house will have curb appeal The entrance has really been brightened up The second newest landscaped area, along with Michelle's two new Bald Cypress trees