Pearl and Picasso

As the cats get acclimated to the new house and dogs, I thought I could post some pictures so Mom can show off her cats to her friends and at work. All parties (the dogs vs. the cats) are still a little feisty.

Mom wanted me to hold the two cats for a picture. I agreed until I remembered that Pearl hisses at Picasso and I didn't care to have a cat fight in my arms. So this is as close to the picture as we could get.

This is Picasso's first step out of the safety zone.

The dogs were also outside, so he was safe this time...

Here are some better close-ups of the two

Grilled Graham and Cheese...

Grammers, Graham cracker, G-Unit, Grahamburger...we could keep going or just post the pictures of the cutest 4 month old I know. He looks very digified in this one:

I think he is checking out the two teeth that only 7 month olds are supposed to have, right Michele...

This one is to show a cute kid in big shoes and also to show off how big Thomas' feet are and how bad his tan lines have gotten on his feet. Cute kids!

The Daniel's New Cats

My Mom has been wanting a Siamese cat for years. She always welcomed an assortment of tabby cats, black and white cats, calico cats. Well, she got her cats today! Meet, for the first time on the world wide web, Picasso and Pearl (formerly known as Prada):

Picasso is 4 months old and sure acts like it too.

He is a lot of fun to play with but we didn't realize

they taught boxing at the shelter.

Pearl, Picasso's mom, is the Siamese cat my Mom has been wanting forever. She's a real pretty cat but has had a rough 48 hours. She was neutered yesterday evening and then brought to a new house with strange people and dogs. She tried hanging out in the bathtub as much as she could. The pictures are blurry, I'll try to get more up soon.

Mom, this one is for you. You said to be fair I should put one of the dogs up too. I think this one works!

2-a-day wrap-up

Well 2-a-days is now over. I gotta tell you it was kinda warm out there this week. On Thursday it was 110 in Gatesville. That is the actual temperature and not the heat index. The coaching staff decided that the only good thing about it being 110 is that it made 98 feel a lot better. On Friday we finally got to strap the pads on and go hit each other(the kids not the coaches). There is only so much you can do in the four days that the UIL says you have to go without pads. Thankfully we didn't have any concussions. Everyone is pretty excited about our varsity this year. We return 10 starters on offense and 6 starters on defense. The one new starter on offense is an inside slot receiver who runs a legit 4.38. He went to state in the 100. After a couple year playoff drought, Gatesville should make it to the post-season this year. We will just have to wait and see how well the junior high "C" team is going to be.

D.C. on the 4th, Hot, tired but having fun. 

Our Summer

As Thomas begins his 3rd football season at Gatesville and I enjoy a couple last weeks of summer before I finish nursing school, I would like to recap our summer:

• We got some home improvements done: new shades in the living/dining room, the kitchen cabinet doors are up, outdoor speakers and a new light installed on the back porch and rearranged furniture.
• Thomas watched and refereed some summer league basketball, making it seem like basketball is year-round.
• We determined that fishing is relaxing and fun. We fished some at Belton Lake but actually caught fish at Jason and Bethany's "farm" tanks.

• We visited Michele and Graham (we're sorry we missed Grady!). In one week we traveled to Atlantic City, Gettysburg, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. all with a 3 month-old in tow. We all learn a lot about hot summers and car time with the little one and had a really good time. This is a picture of us at Little Roundtop in Gettysburg.
• Thomas had a bone spur removed from his elbow and is recovering very well. So far he thinks he will be able to throw a football or a basketball without pain when he's back to full strength.
• I worked as a nurse tech and learned that as a tech, I enjoy working the 3-11 shift much better than the 7-3. I also confirmed that working with kids is what I want to do!
• Tom Daniel left for Siping, China at the end of July to study Kung Fu for 4 months. He has emailed a couple times and is really enjoying it. I found the website for the Shao lin Martial Arts Academy. He will be back around Thanksgiving and we can't wait to see the pictures and hear the stories. Siping is a smaller Chinese town of 3 million. It is in the province of Jilin (one of the orange ones), in northeast China. Here's a map of China to help see where he is:

It's been a good summer. We've had some good times with our friends and family! I will leave you with some really cute deer we saw walking around the neighborhood at Morgan's Point.

Texas High School Football

Well it is that exciting time of year again. Football season is here. This is a good thing(Fightin' Texas Aggie Football) and a bad thing(2-a-days start tomorrow morning at 6 am). I guess you have to take that good with the bad. At least I get to get back in the classroom!

PS- This is Thomas writing until we can figure out how to change the name.

What a huge fish.