Christmas Day in Carrollton

With the Chestnuts...

Christmas Eve

With the Trans...

Kyle Field Sunset

While Emma enjoyed her funnel cake prior to the LSU game on Thanksgiving, I caught this shot of sunset from our roost on the third deck of Kyle Field.

Another football season in the books. See you at Kyle Field next year.

High School Football

My friends Rhonda and Raul invited me the watch their son play football for Waller High School and were kind enough to get me an on-field pass to take photos. It was a total blast. And it's true what they say, the game is faster the closer you are.

And a special thank-you to David R. for letting me borrow his lens. Without it, none of these pictures would have been possible.

Some of my favorites from their game against Magnolia West. Waller is in the gray jerseys.

The rest of the photos are here.

They invited me back a couple weeks later for the game against Willis.

The rest of my photos from this game are here.

What a day!

Saturday found me once again on the campus of America's Finest University to watch our undefeated heroes take on the Volunteers from the great State of Tennessee.

The afternoon was bright and sunny, perfect weather for football. And the second largest crowd in history was on hand, over 106,000 strong.

This game seemed to last forever. We could never put them away. With three minutes left in the game, we score a touchdown to go up 14. Alas, we couldn't hold it. To overtime we go.

This photo is from the end of regulation. This place went from the loudest it's ever been to eerily quiet. But the sunset was pretty.

Finally, after two overtimes and 4 hours and 43 minutes of football, a last interception by Armani Watts ended it. Aggies 45 Volunteers 38.

This is how I felt when victory was secured.

On to Tuscaloosa.

Recovery

To assuage the trauma of the Moving Statues, the girls thought it best to break for chocolate and ice cream. Good idea.

Statues

Arriving at Disney World, we did not have park passes for the first day. Instead, we visited Disney Springs.

As we were checking the place out, we saw a crowd form around a couple of statues. Knowing Disney, we figured something was up and went to investigate.

Sure enough, with a little Disney magic, the statues move!

Cathy and Emma summoned up enough courage to have their picture taken with them. (You can click on the picture to embiggen.)

Heart of Darkness

Claire is on the bridge overlooking the Kali River Rapids ride in Animal Kingdom.

Don't be fooled by the sweet, smiling face. It hides a devious heart.

See her right hand and the finger on a button? Pressing that button activates a water spray that douses unsuspecting riders!

See the elephant on the left? Just when you think the ride is over and you're done getting wet, Claire sprays you with water. And then laughs at you in a most evil manner. (There's a separate control for the elephant on the right.)

Admittedly, I laugh with her. Every time we visit we show people how it works. They, after only one press, develop evil laughs, too.

Oh, and by the way, Claire rode this once and says she'll never ride it again. You do get drenched.

Epcot at Dusk

Caught this as Claire and I were leaving the park.

As many times as we've been to Epcot, we've never been inside to ride Spaceship Earth.

Dumbo

One I Like

From our vacation this summer...

Claire and The King

Our travels this summer found us once more in Mississippi. This time, Claire had an opportunity to meet a legend.

Growing Up, Moving On

Emma completed 8th grade this May and will be moving on to high school in the fall. She attended the same school since kindergarten.

Wow, nine years. 

Let's take a look back to the beginning.

The first day of kindergarten, all dressed and ready to go. The school required uniforms, but the shirts weren't in yet.

Need a backpack. This was the hot thing in 2007 (Claire's is on the left).

This may be the last time Claire hugged Emma. Thank goodness we captured the moment.

This was a big day, so dropping her off at school was a family event.

From kindergarten through third grade, I would read to her class every other Friday. This is from when Emma was in second grade.

That's Emma in the yellow shirt on the left. Must have been a free-dress day.

At the graduation ceremony, I was tasked with taking pictures. Emma shows off her Distinguished Student award.

Following the ceremony, I asked Emma to round up all the kids from her kindergarten class. 

I read so many books to these young people. I don't need to read to them anymore.

What a ride. Just think, in another nine years she'll be out of high school and graduated from college.

Science Olympiad State Tournament

Update: official results here

Emma and her Harmony Science Olympiad team competed at the Texas State Championship last weekend in College Station. Thirty-one teams were entered, including one from Mexico.

Emma was entered in two events - Triple E and Invasive Species.

The results - Emma won medals in both events - 2nd Place for Triple E and 4th for Invasive Species!

Overall, the team came in fourth, earning medals in 10 of their 23 events. I'll add a link to the official results once they're posted.

Congratulations!

Emma's Medals

Emma is captain of the Harmony Science Olympiad team. For the past three years, she's dedicated three days a week, including Saturday mornings, to studying and practicing to try to win the State Championship.

To get there, you have to win a Regional competition. Harmony has never won a Regional, so to prepare, the team competed in a number of invitational events.

As you can see, Emma was very successful this year.

Emma's two main events are Triple E and Bridge Building. But depending on the event schedule, she fills in for other team members. This year she added Invasive Species and Fossils.

Triple E - teams are asked about Texas endangered and extinct species, including reasons for their status. Teams are also asked about Texas exotic (non-native) species, including their mode of introduction and their impact on biodiversity.

Bridge Building - teams design and build the lightest bridge with the highest structural efficiency that can span a given opening.

Invasive Species - teams are tested on invasive species in local and national ecosystems.

Fossils - teams demonstrate their knowledge of ancient life by identifying fossils and answering questions about classification, habitat, ecologic relationships and behaviors.

The Invitationals

Cy-Falls High School - Emma placed third in Fossils, but alas missed the award presentation and didn't receive her medal.

Anthony Middle School - Emma placed first in Triple E - the first first-place finish in her school's history! The medal is on the bottom row with the blue ribbon.

Langham Creek High School - Emma again won first place for Triple E and added a third place finish (white ribbon) in Invasive Species. 

Sartartia High School - Emma finished fourth in Triple E (yellow ribbon) and third in Bridge Building (white ribbon).

The team was now ready for the Regional Finals. There are several to choose from around the State. Emma and her fellow captains selected Galveston.

The team added another day of practice each week leading up to the competition. Would it be enough?

Emma had an outstanding day, pacing the team with a first place finish in Triple E (the round medal with the blue ribbon) and second in Bridge Building (the red ribbon).

As the results for the events were announced, Harmony came in first in six events and second in six more. 

All the hard work, the studying, the weekends...

The final announcement - Harmony won Regional!

Now Emma and her team are on to the State Finals!