A few items from the last month. School started on July 9; we tracked out for our summer break on July 27; Candy turned 40 on July 28; we spent one week at the beach; we went boating at Lake Jordan; and we have had the construction finished on the house and have begun the excruciatingly painful chores of moving into the new rooms. Here are some updates on the family:

Caroline: Caroline started her 8th grade year at Lufkin. She is a terrific student and is well organized when it comes to her schoolwork. She will do great this year because I have come to find out that she knows just about everything. At the beach she went skating on two of the nights and showed that she can stay up on them for long periods of time. She also went to the movies with some friends from school and saw "Hairspray". She stated "That was a great movie and John Travolta is really dreamy." Right now she is attempting to cram a lifes worth of "stuff" into her new bedroom which is painted pink and green. She finally realizes that she has truly been blessed.


Jessica: Jessica started 6th grade at Lufkin. Her favorite teachers are her language arts teacher and her math teacher (I never get tired of hearing how great her math teacher is). She scored a 100 on her first science project and has kept up in all of her classes. She likes to keep her locker ajar because it "takes to long to open." This girl flat out likes to swim and dive. Of course on land she does all these gymnastical moves that we are looking at enrolling her in the gym for real training. The picture at the right was taken at the roller rink. She was pretty good at getting around the place and fell hardly at all. At the lake she enjoyed riding the inner tube and doing flips off the boat.

Jordan: Jordan has had the busiest summer so far. He spent one week at boy scout camp, he has been camping on 2 other weekends and has been advancing through the ranks at a brisk pace, as well as all the other trips to the beach and lake. He started Lufkin this year is grade 6 so he has the same teachers as Jessica. Once again he just raves about his math teacher. This guy must be really great. Jordan tried to skate and lasted approximately 30 seconds before realizing he was not made for walking on wheels. Jordan helped to paint his new room in orange and his furniture is all black. He calls it the "tiger" room. He has also been doing Networks (basketball) on Wednesdays and Thursdays. He is getting some skills.

Heather: One morning Ashton came running into the house shouting that there was "a huge snake at Uncle Todd's house." I love snakes so I went to get my shoes on and go on over and look. I stepped out the front door and there was Heather holding the thing with it wrapped around her body. Heather loves animals/reptiles. We let the snake go but she still takes care of her bearded dragon, Tinkerbelle, as well as walks and plays with the many dogs on the street. She has been a huge help in the reorganization of the house as she assisted in the painting of 2 bedrooms, assembling the bunkbed in Ashton's room, disassembling and then reassembling the bunk in Jordan's room, putting together the entertainment table for Jordan's room, and assembling her own bed. She is the self-proclaimed "drill girl"! Heather is now in the fourth grade and can't wait to have the math teacher that her sister and brother say such terrific things about.

Ashton: Ashton started grade 2 at Olive Chapel Elementary. He is not a big fan of doing homework and we typically have to wait for him to calm down and then he does quite well. He has improved so much in his swimming. He goes so often that I guess that was bound to happen but he does seem to pick up on things rather quickly. At roller skating he fell and fell and fell. By the end of the night he was falling a lot less and then he won the elimination game. His prize was a free night of skating which is why we went back 2 nights later. He improved quite a lot and now he is talking of playing roller hockey. Who knew? Ashton bought a spider man fishing pole with his allowance and when we took the boat out on the lake he spent a good portion fishing. He learned to cast that line out there a good ways too!

Parents: The parents are coming up on 15 years of marriage (August 22) and although these last few months may have been the toughest they have been some of the best. The house is finally completed. All the kids have their own rooms. We have a giant new family room and we are all on vacation together now at the same time. This is the first time we have the same school/vacation schedule in the last 7 years. Candy turned 40 but seems no worse for the wear. She also has lost 70 pounds and has decided that she can now inner tube. She is also telling me that we are snow skiing in the winter. Me? Just give me my one night of poker a week and I am happy. Fantasy football is coming so that also brings a smile to my face.