Busy-ness as Usual

As the kids get older, our schedule seems to get more and more cluttered and complicated.  We can't even imagine what it will be like in another five years when all three of them are running around doing sports and after school activities.  Hopefully by then we'll at least have a second car to make things at least a little easier, logistically speaking.  But as we get into the full swing of fall 2014, we're running from school to practice to scout meetings, and getting homework done, housework done, and actual work done.  The days fly by, which I'm not sure is a good thing, but at least they're good days.  Here's what's been happening:

Paul caught the first catfish of the day at the family day event they were having in Robstown.

Then he learned the Cub Scout salute and motto...

And ran with the Fire Cheetahs... kicking shins and chasing soccer balls.

Came out with a victory!

Yeah, Nolan's been real busy... 

It's still warm, so there's still time to splash in the cool water.

Got some free tickets to the Corpus Christi Ice Rays!

Went with Paul's friend Dean and his family.  Saw some guys slap a hockey puck and each other around...

 Started Fall T-Ball!

Star right fielder!  The assistant coach lady called him... "Little Adam."  Though he's not so little to us anymore.

A Different Port

I guess it makes sense (since we live on the coast) that there would be a lot of places around here called "ports."  A lot of ships come and go dropping off one thing or another and then picking up something or another.  Here in South Texas we have Portland, Port Aransas, the Port of Corpus Christi, Rockport, and even a bunch of port-a-potties.  But a couple of weeks ago we went up the road to another one called Port Lavaca.  Actually, we were coming back from a short trip to Victoria, just because it was somewhere else to go for a change, and we swung down through Port Lavaca on the way back.  There's really not a whole lot there, but there was a nice park along the water where you could park for $3 and enjoy a small sandy beach area, a long half-circle boardwalk, a new playground, and even a little splash park.  So we checked out all of the aforementioned things, and otherwise just enjoyed the surprisingly cool weather.  Here are a few pictures, though some are low quality due to my phone's reverse camera being... well, of poor quality. 

Looking for gators... there may be some here...

Run, Seed! Run!!

It was windy.  But then, it's always windy.  Must be a port thing.

From Under the Bridge

On the walls in my office building there are some old black and white photos of what the city and the people who lived here used to look like.  Before we know it, a few of these pictures below may be historic images from a long lost time in Corpus Christi.  We went down to take a few photos of the boys with the Harbor Bridge, as it slowly draws nearer to it's end.  The bridge is one of the main symbols of the city, as the gateway to the port, with neon lights that illuminate the night, and it's been the only way to go straight north over the water since 1959.  But it's metal structure doesn't hold up well with the salty sea air anymore, and it's not quite tall enough to allow for the massive ships that need to come in these days.  So over the next couple of years it will get to watch as the state spends $700 million to build its replacement just a little ways inland.  It's a pretty impressive structure, as far as bridges go, and I guess it served it's purpose for more than half a century.  The boys don't think about these things too much now, but maybe someday they'll look back at these old photos and have a glimpse into what this place used to look like.    

So if this post ends up in a book I make for their mother - like most of the posts that have come before this - then maybe someday these boys will look back at what the city used to be, and what they used to look like when we were all younger.

Seven and in Second

The school year is upon us again.  Ok, we're already two weeks into it.  We're sure second grade is going to fly by as fast as first grade seemed to, but we'll do our best to slow things down as much as possible. He's already seven years old, and was excited to get back into the swing of things... so with his backpack loaded, here he was before he headed off!

No matter how old he gets, he still gets annoyed at his mother's constant picture taking of him... get used to it, Paul, you've got a lot of first days of school left!

At least we still have the heat...

The summer is basically over.  School is two weeks in, Labor Day is gone, and the fall sports seasons are starting up.  The weather, of course, will be staying the same down here for at least another month or so.  So I guess we still have that.  But the boys had a great summer this year, got to travel to a variety of states and see a variety of people, and spent plenty of time in the water.  Here's a few of the things they did, courtesy of the iPhone.

 Took a few trips, stayed in a few hotels with swimming pools.

Stopped in Oklahoma City for the first time.

Watched the fireworks on a hot July day in Dallas.

Very patriotic.

Played a little too hard in the sun.

Rode a Komodo Dragon? What?!?

Hung out at the zoo, like a bunch of animals.

Spent whole days in pajamas.

Enjoyed the finer things, like ice cream.

Maybe a little too much.

Acted like lunatics.

Dove into the deep end.

Got bigger.

Took flight.

Visited the families.

Explored the parks.

Cousined it up.

And enjoyed a family tradition.

Thanks for the memories, Summer 2014.  Until the next one comes along...