Summer Soccer Camp

As baseball comes to end, soccer starts to begin.  We "kicked" off this preseason with Keith Barrow's Soccer Camp.  It was from 9 a.m. until 11:30 a.m., and boy was it hot.  Luckily, everyday after the camp we all got to go swimming at Dornbos to cool off.  Ava did a great job at camp.  Coach Keith said she was one step ahead of all the other girls her age.  She did a great job.

This picture is showing when Ava scored a goal.  You can see the ball going toward the goal.  

Ava had a great time hanging out with new friends.

I also really enjoyed soccer camp.  Mom kept trying to take pictures of me in the middle of a game.  I kept telling her to wait until we were finished!

I did play in goal some, even though mom doesn't really want me to be a goalie.

Soccer camp was hot, but we had a "ball"!  We even made cleaning up the equipment fun.

It was a good time with good friends.

 By:  Evan

Flip Flop

Ava has been trying to get her flip flop since she was five years old.  She has worked so hard to reach her goal of doing her flip flop by herself.  After almost three years of hard practice, she did her flip flop all by herself today.  Mom almost started crying tears of joy.  She told Ava that she is so proud of her not only because she got her flip flop, but because she has worked so hard and never gave up.  I am also proud of her.  Doing a flip flop is such a big accomplishment for her.  Dad couldn't believe his eyes when Ava showed him the video of her doing the flip flop.  He gave her a big congratulations hug.

After Ava gets her flip flop perfect, she will begin working on two in a row.  I know this is just the beginning of her tumbling career!

By:  Evan

Getting Bigger

Ava has hit a growth spurt!  We ride our bikes everyday to summer recreation, and she is way too big for her little bike.  Mom and Dad decided to go buy Ava a new bike as an early birthday present for her.  Ava got to pick out which one she liked best.  I knew it would be blue and green.  Those are her favorite colors.  When we got it home, I helped Dad fill the tires up with air.  

Alley thought Ava's bike looked cool!

Ava was so excited about her new bike.  She couldn't wait to ride it.

Once we were done filling the tires, Ava took off down the driveway.

Alley and I weren't far behind.  We raced down the driveway to catch up with Ava's new fast bike!!!

Mom went out with her friends that night to the Miranda Lambert Concert.

Ava, Alley, and I got to ride our bikes all evening while Dad watched us.  We missed Mom, but it was a fun day.


By:  Evan

We Love Our Dad

We woke up at the hotel on Sunday morning and wished Dad a Happy Father's Day.  We had already given him his real gift on Friday, but we still gave him great big hugs and told him how much we love him.

We made it home from the tournament just in time to celebrate Father's Day at Paw Paw and Grandmother's house.  Uncle Jeff had grilled us some delicious steaks and Uncle Jimbo made his famous potato salad.  I think it wore Uncle Jimbo out.  He tried to take a nap on my lap!

We also got to spend some time with Pop Pop.  I know he had to be a wonderful dad to my dad.  He is a super grandfather to me and Evan.

Dad also got to see his Grandfather.  He is a very special person in dad's life and in ours.  We love him very much.

After our visit on Dad's side of the family, we headed over to Oma and Opa's house.  Evan had made a special gift for Opa.  He had written a story about shooting his first deer with Opa.  Opa said he would treasure it forever!

Mom loves her dad so much.  She said that he is always there for her.  She says a girl can always depend on her dad.  Evan and I know we can always depend on him too.

We are so thankful for having such a wonderful dad, Grandfathers, and a Great-Grandfather.  We learn so much from all of them.  They teach us, guide us, and always support us.  We love them all dearly.

By:  Ava

Rain Rain Go Away

Evan, Mom, and Dad headed to League City for the USSSA State Tournament Friday after lunch.  Evan couldn't wait to play ball.  I went to Jack and Rider's house in League City on Friday with Oma, Opa, and Emma.  Oma needed my help to babysit baby Jack and baby Rider so Tante and Joe could go on a date.  I love those two boys so much that I didn't mind missing the first night at the hotel. I had a blast with my cousins.  We swam, ordered pizza (that ended up being the wrong kind), and played all night.  

When Evan, Mom, and Dad got to the hotel, they hit the pool right away.  Evan's other Rough Rider friends were already there.  

After they swam, the team decided to go to the Kemah Boardwalk and grab a bite to eat a T-Bone Tom's.  Thankfully, they didn't have to wait long.  I think Bailey and Camryn were missing me.

After their dinner, it was time for bed to get a good night sleep before the big tournament.  In the morning, Evan, Mom, and Dad all came by Tante and Joe's house to pick me up for the game.  Rider showed Evan some team spirit and put on Evan's Rough Rider hat and his sunglasses.  

Emma, Jack, and I were all still in our pajamas.  We were having a lazy morning. 

I decided to stay with the boys and go to Evan's second game.  I just love them so much and wanted to spend more time with them.

Evan, Mom, and Dad headed out to the game.  We all wished him good luck.  When they got to the park, the other teams were finishing up their game.  The Rough Riders scouted the other teams as they played.

All of a sudden, rain came pouring down from the dark clouds.  Thunder and lightning were on top of the Rough Riders.  They had to make a fast dash for the batting cages. (An open building with a metal roof)  Lightning was flashing everywhere.  Thankfully, Coach Clint took the boys minds off things by doing some fielding drills.  I was thankful that I decided to stay with Oma and Opa! 

The Rough Riders rode out the storm.  Unfortunately, the tournament was cancelled.  They would not be able to play in the USSSA State Tournament.  Evan said he was disappointed because he knew his team would have won.  I believe him!

When it was safe to leave, all the Rough Riders headed to the Cadillac Bar and Grill on the Kemah Boardwalk.  The boys weren't too disappointed, but I think Evan would have rather been playing baseball.  Mom said he was grumpy at the restaurant!

Mom and Dad came and picked me up from Tante and Joe's house.  We were going back to the hotel to swim and hang out with my Rough Rider sister friends.  They were so excited to see me.  We had a great time swimming all evening and eating pizza by the pool.  (we had to hide it from the security guard)

The boys played king of the step.  I am not sure what is so fun about this game, but they played it for hours until mom got nervous and asked them to stop before someone got hurt.

Daddy and I did cheerleader stunts with Chad and Alexis.  We were great cheerleaders!

This is my favorite stunt.

The boys decided that they could try some stunts out.  They didn't do as well as Daddy.

When the pool bar closed all the boys decided to take a seat at the bar.  They were acting silly.

No one could ever act as silly as Daddy!!!!  He pulled his pants way up high and strutted around the pool.  A lady even video taped him.  I think he is going to be a YouTube star now!!!  We were all laughing so hard. Mom laughed so much that she had tears coming out of her eyes.

Even though the Rough Riders didn't get to play in the tournament, we all had a great time!  I look forward to the next out of town tournament.

By:  Ava

HOMERUN!!!!!

When Evan came home from practice today, I had never seen him smile like this before.  He was grinning from ear to ear, and his eyes were sparkling!  Dad had the same look on his face.  Mom asked Evan why he was so happy.  He shouted with delight that he had hit his first ever out of the park home run!!!!  Mom and I were so excited for him.  It was a big accomplishment.  You could tell by all the dirt on his face and clothes that he worked really hard at practice.  He wrote on the home run ball "Evan's first home run ball 6-11-12.  It is a day that Evan will never forget.

By:  Ava

School's Out For the Summer!!!!

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!  It is finally here.  The end of they year parties were a blast.  Ava's party was an Olympic theme party.  They did all kinds of competitions. 

Ava enjoyed doing the limbo.

She also enjoyed just hanging out with her friends.

I think her favorite part was when the all girl team beat the all boy team in tug of war!!!!!

She also performed in the school talent show with the first graders and sang a song.

My class party was a luau party.  It was the best party of the year.  We had a hola hop contest.  Our class didn't win though.

As the party went on, we got hot so we hung out in the shade for a while.

Up next was our water gun and water balloon fight.  It was awesome!!!!

Another one of my favorite parts of the party were the snow cones.  I think I even got two!

Mrs. Robin really knows how to throw a good end of the year party!

It was a great way to end our 3rd and 1st grade years.  Mom can't believe I will be in my last year of Elementary School next year and that Ava will be a big second grader.  Mom thinks time is going by too fast!!!!

By:  Evan