Zion Storm Morgan

On November 16, 2007 Mr. Zion Storm Morgan, our newest nephew was born to my sister Tara and husband Byron. He is a cute bug! We love him!

Grandpa Steve and Grandma Gwen

We had some other special visitors recently. Grandpa Steve (Josh's Dad) and Grandma Gwen came to visit. They went to Cabela's with Xander and Josh, Christmas shopped with Natalie and Benson, we all enjoyed some yummy TexMex at Chuy's and of course BarBQ at Rudy's. They got to see Benson play Basketball and of course brought the kids their Christmas Advent Calendars they give them every year! It was great to see them. Ironically they came the same time Brandi and Eric came so we were sharing our time between them, but we had a great time none the less.

Visitors From Seattle

My sister Brandi and her family (husband Eric, kids Amara, Sullivan and Finnigan) came for

2 1/2 weeks. It was amazing! I stayed up later than usual and we talked and talked. The kids wore out the trampoline. The cousins absolutely loved each other. Fun was had by all. Enjoy some of my pictures from this FANTASTIC visit! In the beginning my sister Jeni was here too. What a blast!

District Champs Again!!

Once again Benson's football team went undeafeted this year and have been crowned District Champs!! It has been so fun to watch him play (#65 left side front row) and see them all improve. They were good last year, but they improved so much. My prediction is that in about three years when these guys are juniors in High School we will be traveling to state tournaments. Way to go Jags!!

Halloween

Xander's favorite holiday is Halloween. Infact he loves it so much he couldn't decide what to be. For the church party he was Harry Potter, for the library party he was a witch and for the actual Trick-or-Treating he was Obi won Kinobe (not sure if I spelled that correctly) with his cousin Phoenix as Superman. Madison chose to go as a black cat. Natalie was Tracey from the movie Hairspray. Benson dressed as Roger Clemens as an Houston Astro. Way too much candy came home! But fun was had by all!

My Little Ladies

So this year Natalie and Madi have been playing Volley Ball. This is actually Natalie's 2nd time and Madi's First. They are both doing great. They both have fantastic coaches and are both making great friends on their respective teams.

Here she is in back row... waiting for the ball to get there.

Taking her turn sitting on the bench. The league every one plays the same amount.

Madi and a friend after the game eating a treat. She has gotten very good also. It is amazing to me how fast all these kids learn so fast and improve weekly. (sorry there aren't more Madi photos, its a little dark in the gym and its hard to get a good shot...

I know that this was supposed to be about the girls but one of the parents from Benson's football team posts highlights here these are great, follow the video link at the top of the page. Enjoy, its from the whole year and the last game of the season last year. B is number 65, watch for him.

http://theosports.com/

Texas State Fair

Last week end Chrissta and I needed a break. We have both been very busy with all the various activities we are involved with. (To be honest, I just work, Chrissta has a lot more to do than I.) May I just say that I am so proud of her and all that she is active with. Most days she is out the door to the gym or to a run by 5:30 AM then home by 7:00 to make sure everyone is dressed, eating breakfast, has a lunch, all the school stuff is ready then drives them to school.

Then she usually has some PTA, Camp or some other committee she is serving on or other folks in the community and the church she is serving, meeting emails to read, send and respond to. (Not to mention all the folks she corresponds with and all the forwards she needs to manage.) Then there is Xander duty. He is not into getting into stuff but he is very creative and like to do art projects and go on adventures. It keep Chrissta busy with all his stuff, besides all the errands she has to keep the family going. Did I mentions every couple of weeks she teaches the co-op preschool Xander is a part of?

Then there is what I call the bewitching hours - the time between the kids getting home from school, and dinner. There is 4th, 6th and 8th grade homework, and getting dinner ready and preparing for all the activities we have during the week. Football games, volley ball practices, activity days, mutual, ladies nights, and whatever else there is.

She does this with out complaint or pay or much help from me. I am at work and I work too late and do have some travel. I love this girl... What an ultimate example to our kids. I am often "Oh you must be Chrissta's Husband" and I am fine with that...

Any way back to the original reason for my post... We decided that we would go to Fort Worth on Thursday afternoon, the Utes were playing TCU and it was the final week of the Texas state fair. So off we went to re-live some of the things we enjoyed when we were a few years younger and things were a little less complicated. (We left the kids with friends and family - thanks to all who helped out!)

The weekend started out great, the Utes won.. we loved sitting with our fellow red clad brothers and sisters cheering on our beloved Utes. We got a room in Fort Worth thanks to a friend in the hotel business. The next day we got up and went to the Texas State Fair in Dallas. I think it was more for me than for Chrissta. I wanted to go and see all the cool stuff and try some of world famous corn dogs and other fried delicious foods. We had original Fletchers Corny Dogs, fried cookie dough, fried pickles, and onion slices. Not to mention swollen fingers and the need for lots of water. What a great time. Not so much the fair, we decided that fairs haven't changed that much since 1982... People selling the same stuff, the same things on the midway. Only prices changed - 14.00 to get in 4.00 per Corny dog well you get it... We did get some photos of Big Tex and one of the many Fletchers....

We did have fun together and that is what counts. The time we spent together taking time for ourselves as a couple was great, and refreshing. Again. I LOVE THIS GIRL!