98 Ball Rally...

Elijah had been taking a sabbatical from tennis for a few weeks but made a heroic comeback on May 14th with a 98 ball rally under the lights around 10 PM at Columbia High School.

We celebrated with an Icee and returned to the courts for a photo opportunity.   Nice milestone for an 8 year old.  Elijah's Daddy didn't even have a 100 ball rally until he was an adult...!

We are looking forward to hitting the 100 ball mark next time we get together...!

I cherish our one on one moments the likes of which we are highlighting here.   These are precious, priceless memories.

Love you, Elijah. 

Dad

Lego World

This photo was saved in my blackberry photo gallery from 2012 or 2013, I am not certain which. But this is just a small glimpse into Elijah's massive Lego collection that continues to grow each month.

Yes, Legos are a major source of enjoyment for Elijah.  In fact, at 8 and a half years old Elijah has decided he will be a Lego Master Builder when he grows up and he plans to design new Legos for kids to enjoy.  He's well on his way with the 'field research' he's conducting in this photo above.

I love that Elijah has passions like this.   It is such a joy watching him grow up.  It's very hard to believe he will be nine years old this summer...!   Oh how the years go by.

I sure Love you Elijah,

~Daddy

Knight Rider

Dear Elijah,

Just wanted to post some of your favorite tv shows...  We all enjoy to watch Night Rider on Netflix.   This was a popular television show in the 1980's.  There are lots of other old television shows we enjoy, too.  I will post more in the near future!  

Love, Dad

Elijah Oct 2011

Found this photo on my cell phone.  It was taken Oct 2011 in Nassau Bay.  Nice follow through for a 6 and a half year old...  Great memories. 

Fun Family Evening

We had a wonderful time last night enjoying to watch a Mens college tennis match between Rice University and the University of Texas.  Afterwards we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Katz's Restaurant.

Right as I was about to take a fun photo of Elijah and Monica she kissed him.  The look of surprise on his face is priceless.   ~ Good Memories...!

Camping with the Puppy

Elijah, Daddy, and Goliath enjoyed a fun camp night Saturday Night.  Daddy blogged about it in Coach Sam's Life.  Here are a few unpublished photos from the camp out evening activity:  In the photo above Elijah and Goliath are inside the tent watching an episode of Ultra Man.     It was Goliath's first camp out and he seemed right at home, very relaxed in the tent.

Most of the mom's are going to hate this photo but the bottle of milk was almost empty and I told Elijah that since it was just he and I and the dog, that I was fine with him drinking straight from the bottle.

My rationalization on this decision:  We are saving mom from having to wash a dirty glass. That means less water consumption to rinse and wash the dirty glass, and less soap to clean the glass.  We are doing mom and the environment a BIG favor, right?

Well my apologies if you disagree with my philosophy behind drinking straight from the bottle but I love my wife and care about our Eco-system, and that's why I do it.    I am just a patriotic, red blooded, God fearing, milk drinking American.  ~Daddy

Angry Pig

Yesterday was a particularly cold day so I bought Elijah a new warm cap for his ears.  It's an Angry Pig cap from the Angry Birds series.  This is a nice hat because it has ear flaps that can wrap around the face and neck .   They also have mittens at the very bottom of each ear flap so you can also keep your hands warm at the same time..   Nice design.   ~posted by dad

New Puppy

We added a new family member on New Year's Day.  Elijah named him Goliath.  He is a very sweet little puppy.  The entire family has enjoyed Goliath's presence, but we have made it clear that the bulk of caring fro Goliath will be Elijah's responsibility. 

After only 48 hours I can see a wonderful change in Elijah.  He is smiling all the time and has not spent anytime watching television or asking to play a video game.  He has been outside more and we are all enjoying to go on walks with Goliath.

Elijah picked out Goliath's name from the old 1960's cartoon Davy and Goliath, one of daddy's favorite childhood shows.

You will be seeing many more photos of Goliath in the days and weeks to come as we assimilate into our new lifestyle as 'dog owners'.   So far, so good...!  (except that all our cats are a little ticked off at us right now...)

~Daddy