Night at the Races

Last Saturday night found us and some friends enjoying a hot summer night at Houston Motorsports Park. With all the rain we've had recently, the track doubled up on the races to make up for several cancelled events.

You need few things for a successful night at the races. Number one - a big American flag.

Number two - cheap concessions:

(Since this was a special night for some reason, they also offered $1 hot dogs and $1 draft beer.)

Next is ear protection. With the classic Houston summer weather, a fan is a nice option. Claire rocks both as the sun began to set prior to the racing action.

There are several classes of vehicles, with drivers as young as 8. The track is a 3/8-mile, high-banked, asphalt-paved oval. The races last between 15 and 40 laps.

The first race of the night was the Bandoleros:

Then the Legends:

The NASCAR Stock Cars:

The NASCAR BWFS 360 Trucks:

The Ecostocks:

And finally the NASCAR Fiesta Modifieds:

And if you like wrecks, there are plenty of them. Here's one with the added bonus of fire:

I have more photos here.

Emma's Spring Piano Recital

Angry Birds? Angry Stomach!

A beautiful spring day found our Dragons facing two tough opponents - the Angry Birds and an angry stomach.

The Angry Birds played tough in the first half, holding us without a goal for the first ten minutes. Once again our offense controlled the tempo, but the shots wouldn't fall.

Emma dominated on defense, playing so well this poor child was afraid to look.

Just before halftime, the Dragons scored twice. It seems we had control of the match.

Until one of our top scorers discovered that the contents of his stomach preferred to be outside rather than inside. As the halftime whistle blew, legions of Dragon fans hoped the team had time to regroup.

The Angry Birds took advantage of our shortened roster to score their first goal  at the start of the second half, cutting the lead to 2-1. Luckily, young people have fast recovery times, and our full complement of players was soon back in action.

During the third rotation of the half, all of our scorers were on offense and completely dominated the Birds. In those five minutes, the Dragons scored five times and cruised to a 7-1 victory.

I'll spare you the picture of a bored Emma tending goal. But you can view that and the rest of the photos here.

And no, I don't have any pictures of Ralph and Earl. You're welcome.

Toughest One Yet

Saturday found our Dragons in their toughest game yet. The Vipers, our worthy opponent, scored their first goal within seconds of the opening kickoff. The rest of the first half was a scoring frenzy for both squads.

The game turned our way after halftime. With tenacious defense and a balanced offense, the Dragons secured the victory.

Emma dazzled the Vipers with her handling of the rock. While the ball never found the net off her foot, she controlled the tempo and kept the Vipers on defense most of the second half.

Looking back through the days pictures, there weren't too many where Emma wasn't drawing a crowd. Which meant lots of open shots for her teammates.

A hard fought game and well deserved win. Way to go, Dragons!

Go here for the rest of the day's photos.

Win Streak Continues

After taking a week off for a Girl Scout event, Emma returned the the pitch on a warm spring morning and helped her team to another victory.

With the team missing a couple of players, Emma really had to shine on defense - and, boy, did she!

Here are a couple of examples of her work. First, she breaks up an attack at mid field.

And in what may have been the play of the day, she stopped this attack late in the game to preserve the victory.

More pictures here.

Emma and the Astros

So last Sunday found Emma and me at beautiful Minute Maid Park, home of our very own Houston Astros. For those of you who've never been to Houston, it looks like this just about every day of the year, with the temperature in the upper 70s and a slight breeze. Every day.

For those of you from Houston, well, the reality will just be our little secret.

For Emma to enjoy the day, she needed three things - new duds, Blue Bell ice cream, and an Astros win. And just because she could, she included cotton candy - in both blue and pink.

After searching the entire Astros team store, this is the outfit she picked. The shirt had the added bonus of matching the hat.

And the final score? The hometown nine decimated the Los Angeles Dodgers, 12-0. We even hit a grand slam homer!

Emma (and I) can't wait to go back.

This Week in Dragon Lore

Another dominating performance by the Dragons this week, winning 7-1, on a windy day. The lone opposition tally was scored by one of Emma's teammates, kicking the ball in the wrong goal. Oh, well.

Most of the Dragon action occurred on the offensive end. This picture sums up Emma's five minutes as goal keeper.

Exciting soccer makes for compelling pictures.

The coach makes them tuck in their jerseys. Look good play good, I guess.

In her time as defender, she did get to kick the ball a couple of times. Here's one sequence:

Emma didn't take many shots on goal. She spent most of her time setting up others for their goals. Leading the charge down field -

The rest of the day's photos are here. Enjoy.