Sam learns to tie his shoes!

We worked on it during the Thanksgiving break and after 2 days, he got it!!! Even a double knot!

Turkey Trot 2011

We celebrated Thanksgiving with a Turkey Trot. The boys ran a 100 yd dash and a 1/4 mile kids fun run and then Sam decided to just up and run the entire 4 mile race with me. What a great running parter! Not even a complaint or a need to stop and walk once! He was so proud of himself and loved getting all of the cheers from the spectators on the side lines. But the following morning, he was a bit stiff and certainly less active.

The Cake

Christina got a beautiful cake for Mike's party to celebrate his running prowess. He is really in the best shape of his life at his ripe age of 40!

More Birthday Party Pictures

Mike's Birthday Party

We had a very low key birthday lunch for Mike after the marathon today. We had about 35 people (including the little people) come enjoy hamburgers at Bigz. Mike was so pleased and very relaxed and I have to say it took very little organization on my part and was a lot of fun for everyone.

San Antonio Half Marathon

Mike and I completed the half marathon this morning! It was less than ideal conditions, sunny and about 75 degrees by 9 AM! Mike was so nice to stick with me the entire race. And I was glad that I was able to finish despite a poor training effort (just decided to run about 1 month ago) and a torn meniscus on the left knee (my good one). But the knees felt fine, it was just the 3 lb t-shirt due to sweat accumulation by the end of the race. We ran a bit with my friends, Lisa and Rachel, but really finished the race with my friend, Jen. Not sure I am rushing to do that again, but I am looking forward to being a spectator to Mike's Austin Marathon run in February.

Fun at HEB and Shabbat

I took Tyler and Sam out for breakfast the other morning, well I took Sam and Batman, and then they enjoyed some time at HEB, Batman was a big hit! Here are Tyler's good buddies from school, Zachary is on the right and Roger is on the left.

Patriotic Tyler

Here is Tyler practicing his pledge of allegiance while sitting on a firetruck. Last week, Sam told me he knew the "pledge of Texas", what are they teaching these kids?

Sam's New Buddies

Here is Sam standing next to Ian (in the green shirt) and Sophia (in the striped shirt), two of his good friends from his class. He was playing tag with them during the party and all I could here was "Ven aqui" and "Muy Rapido" as Sam and Tyler ran around the playground!

Pinata at Ian's Party

Now that Sam (a.k.a Samuel, pronounced in Spanish, Sam-Well) is in a Spanish immersion program, he is beginning to speak only Spanish with his Spanish speaking friends. He was invited to a 6th birthday party and spoke Spanish the entire time, with Tyler trying to do the same. They fit right into the pinata breaking, even singing the traditional Spanish pinata song.

Snake in the Box

Tyler is really the happiest when he is singing, dancing, performing or anywhere near a microphone!

Mr. Alligator

More music class with Tyler!

Soup, Soup

Here is Tyler in his music class, his favorite class!

Halloween 2011

Tyler decided to be a blue, friendly monster and Sam was Ironman. And everyone stayed up too late (I even allowed it!) and ate too much candy (which Mike allowed!). They had a great time, I think the most fun was giving out candy to all of our neighbors. Onto next year's costumes....

First Real Sleepover

Sam had his friend, Owen, sleep over the other night. We have had 'sleepovers' before but it was when the friend's parents were travelling from a distance and came in to visit, so not a "REAL" sleepover, as Sam told me. Here are the boys, all wearing their Yarmulkas (at Owen's request), after a delicious shabbat meal.

More Soccer Shots

Here are some more shots of the winning game. I was glad to see Sam playing more offensively as he is often more of a defensive sweeper. Way to go Sam!

Sam's Soccer Game

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Well, guess who got roped into coaching again. To be fair, I actually volunteered to coach the team, but Sam was a bit reluctant to have a "girl coach". Since Mike has never played the actual sport before and since I was a Newton Tigers soccer star, prior to my high school and college field hockey career, I probably would have been a good choice. But no, Mike won out and he is now seriously the best coach out on the field. He puts so much time and effort into planning each practice and really takes pride in what he is doing. And Sam is thriving and loving being with his Papa.

Kayaking in Austin

The four of us took a little day trip up to Austin last week and enjoyed some kayaking on Town Lake where we saw fish and lots of turtles sunning on a nearby rock. We then went to the Austin Nature and Science Center where we saw lots of animals indigenous to Texas, which of course, included REPTILES! Just can't seem to get away from them!

Beat Boys!

Here are the Piesman brothers reeking havoc on the escalators at the airport!!! Look at those faces!

Rosh Hashanah

It is so rare that these boys actually get dressed up, I tend to see them in mesh shorts and t-shirts all day. So it was so nice to see them dressing up for the holidays...what cuties!

Team Effort

Albino Snake and Emerald Tree Boa

It took almost all of the kids at the party to lift up this snake. Sam asked if we could get one of these at our home, thankfully I convinced him that our home was too small...it worked, for now.

Pythons

Sam enjoyed wearing 3 pythons around his neck and was even asking the Reptile Man if he had a fourth! This boy is not frightened of anything slimy or slithery, that is for sure!


Here is Sam showing his friends how brave he can be!