Last trip to Sea World - San Antonio

This is the last of my catch-up posts at least for now, until I get behind again. So I can assure you it will not happen until the next time.

In August we went to Sea World San Antonio during the regular (and very hot) season and even braved the crowds on a Saturday. We stayed with our friends, the Andersons, and they were even willing to go in the heat to Sea World with us. The first day we spent most of the day at the water park portion of Sea World because we had never been there when it was warm enough. I do not have pictures of that because I was not carrying the camera with my as we were swimming and doing the water slides. It was a nice break to get out of the heat but it was so crowded we could hardly move. As a result we did not get the chance to do many of the slides.

We went to church on Sunday with the Andersons and then spent the day with them. The kids really enjoyed playing with Sarah. Lynn and I talked about going to see some of the old Missions in San Antonio but we could not get everyone to agree and get mobilized before it got too dark, so that is something we are going to have to go back and do. We have been to the Alamo a few times but not any of the other missions.

On Monday morning we woke-up to a shock. The neighbors backed into our mini-van in the morning and dented the driver's side front panel. Fortunately, the van was drivable and we went to Sea World anyway. That was a bummer but in the end it all worked out fine and we were able to get our car repaired. It was very good of the neighbors to own-up to the accident even though nobody was there to witness it and we got our car repaired without any problems.

This is Lori, Jared, Ryan and I on the newest Sea World San Antonio ride, Journey to Atlantis. Ryan was just big enough. Brett went with Lynn and Sarah on the Great White, which is a ride that Jared and Ryan are not tall enough to go on and Lori is too scared to ride, so it is not one for the whole family.

Here we are at Sea World looking at some birds. Ryan is wet because we rode the Journey to Atlantis Ride first and he got soaked.

Jared, Brett, Sarah and Lynn feeding the ducks.

Jared, Ryan, Brett and Sarah with the Flamingos.

Jared holding out a fish for the Seals and Sea Lions.

Brett Holding a fish for the Seals and Sea Lions.

Jared feeding a seal.

Brett feeding a seal.

This is a seal begging to be fed.

Sarah, Jared and Brett at the Seal and Sea Lion feeding area.

Brett and I helping Ryan feed the seals. Ryan was not sure he really wanted to touch the stinky fish.

We all went into a bird feeding area and fed some of the birds. Here is a family picture of us feeding one of the birds. It made Ryan and Jared a little nervous.

Brett and Jared contemplating whether or not they want one of the birds crawling on them.

Brett got brave and was able to hold one. We tried to get him to smile but he seemed a little stressed out.

Jared tried to coax one of the birds down but in the end having the bird sit on his arm freaked him out too much and it scared the bird away.

Brett and Jared getting an up-close look at one of the birds.

Brett holding another bird. He is trying his best to smile for the camera but he is not sure it is worth smiling over.

Greatwood Packers Football - Brett Game 4

Brett's team won their first game! Go Packers! We were really excited to finally come away with a win after a couple of hard fought battles only to come-up short. The Greatwood Packers Sophomore Team beat the Lamar Hornets 7-0. The Packers did a great job this game just moving the ball. There were not the break-away plays but they did an excellent job steadily moving the ball down the field and they were able to get the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. It was exciting!

This is the pre-game hype as the Packers come running out on the field after bursting through a banner.

Brett (#73) with his teammates taking a break on the bench.

The Packers in the huddle getting ready for some serious football.
Some action on offense. As I look at the picture I think they fumbled the ball on this play. The good news is Brett is making a great block.

Some more hard charging action with Brett doing some hard hitting.

Here we have the Hornet back on their heels. The Packers line did a good job of consistently pushing them back and picking-up yards consistently. Consistently doing the job is not as flashy as the big plays, but that is good football.

Here some more action with Brett making his block.

The Packers moving the ball up field.

Brett making a block. It is a good thing we got the telephoto zoom lens for the camera or we would not be able to get these shots. I still have to crop quite a bit to zoom-up. I thought that lens would be all we would ever need, but even now we could use more telephoto for the football games.
Brett holding his ground.

Packers moving the ball down the field.

Packers celebrating their win. Winning is not everything, but it certainly beats losing.

Brett celebrating his first victory. Winning is great, but it was especially nice to win the homecoming game.

Thought for the Day:

Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race. - Calvin Coolidge

Greatwood Packers Football - Jared Game 4

Last week was homecoming and as such there was quite a bit of hype as part of it. The kids were in the Fort Bend County Parade on Friday. On Saturday the kids were introduced and there were the "mums" for the girls and "garters" for the boys. It was exciting and all the hype seemed to pay-off during the games. Jared's team beat the Lamar Hornets 12 to 6. It was a hard-fought battle and we were very glad when they came out on top. The Hornets had some very big, tough players and an exceptional running back. There were some heart-stopping moments in an exciting game and we were very happy when the Packers came out on top. The Freshman team is now 2-2 at the midpoint of the season.

Jared is still on the injured reserve with his broken collarbone. Here he is on the sideline with his team.

This is some defensive action against the Hornets.

Packer offense surging.

The Packers trying to get to the outside and pick-up some yardage.

The Packer's sideline with Jared getting comfortable.

One of the Hornets is trying to keep low in this picture.

Jared is so excited he can hardly seem to contain himself.

Thought for the Day (or post, as the case may be):

The trouble with so many of us is that we underestimate the power of simplicity. We have a tendency it seems to over complicate our lives and forget what's important and what's not. We tend to mistake movement for achievement. We tend to focus on activities instead of results. And as the pace of life continues to race along in the outside world, we forget that we have the power to control our lives regardless of what's going on outside.
- Robert Stuberg

Homecoming and Mums

On Saturday the kids had their football games and it was Homecoming. The kids made posters to decorate and before the game each kid was introduced with their families. They had a photographer there taking pictures of each kid and his escorts. We will need to buy the pictures since we were not available to take our own and post them when we get them. They selected a Homecoming Queen/Princess for each group from the cheerleaders and a King from the football players. It was a random drawing rather than voting. Brett would have liked to be the King but neither Brett nor Jared was drawn. It was fun and possibly a little over-done for the kids. They did not seem to care that much but the parents seemed to be into it. Although I do think all the excitement charged the kids up to play better football. At least the results this week were better than in the past 3 games.

One part of the Homecoming festivities that was new to us was the “mums”. We learned a little bit about this tradition when we lived in Fritch and went to the Fritch High School Homecoming Game with the Shepherds. I do not think we would have gone on our own accord. The name “mum” comes from chrysanthemum, which I guess was the original concept of having a chrysanthemum corsage for homecoming. Since that time the tradition has grown and the boys have garters and the girls make elaborate corsages with long ribbons and wear them to the Homecoming game and dance. I am guessing that the largest “mum” wins the award, or at least bragging rights at a minimum. Lori made garter “mums” for Brett, Jared and Ryan but she did not follow the tradition and make one for herself. Ryan thinks he is big now and he was not going to be left out of the action just because adults have some misconception that he is too little to play football. I suppose Lori could have been a double mum mom because she had two boys playing football. But, given that we are new to this tradition and find it a little strange, Lori opted out and was a no mum mom on Saturday. Possibly in the future we will learn more about the local customs and be more fully able to participate.

This is the Flag Football Homecoming Princess. She is a cutie and her "mum" is about as big as she is.

This is a picture of Ryan at the Homecoming game in wearing his "mum garter". Unfortunately, we do not have a picture of Brett and Jared in their garters yet. We will have to wait to get the pictures from the professional photographer for me to post the complete "mum" pictures.

Here we have two of the Freshman Cheerleaders with their "mums". I understand bigger is better.

Is that a rat coming out of this cheerleaders mum? It is a very nice mum indeed.

Even with the big mum with the rat this young lady can kick above her head. Impressive!

This is a picture of a single mum mom. She is also my dentist. That reminds me, I am way overdue for my check-up!

This is a picture of a double mum mom.

Here we have the entire Freshman cheerleaders during halftime with their mums and pom-poms.

This is a picture of one of the Sophomore cheerleaders. I was very impressed with the size of her mum. I think it was the biggest one I saw at least on the cheerleaders. I think that would make her the winner.

Fort Bend County Parade

Last Friday the kids had the day off from school for the Fort Bend County Parade and Fair. Unfortunately, I did not have the day off from work so I was not able to participate in the festivities. The Greatwood Packers had a couple of floats in the parade for the football teams so Brett and Jared were able to participate in their 2nd parade of the year.

Jared is with the other players getting the trailer ready for the parade.

Ryan was there showing his Packer Pride even though he was not able to ride on the float. Somebody had to watch the parade and collect the goodies that were thrown.

Brett doing his part to prepare for the parade.

Brett with his team getting ready for the parade.

Another picture of Brett with his team before they parade.

Jared with his team getting ready to go.

Brett and his team are now ready to start the parade.

Ryan the spectator waving his flag at the parade.

The Freshman and Sophomore float in the parade. Jared is easy to spot because he is the one with his arm in a sling.

Arrogance