Hightower Football Week 6

Another one in the "W" column. Last night the Hurricanes took out the Kempner Cougars. Final score 35-17.

Hightower Football Week 5

Well this week's game wasn't pretty, but it was another mark in the "W" column. Final score against George Bush High School was 33-7.

Let The Countdown Begin!

Six weeks to go... let the countdown begin! Jay will be one year old, and I can't wait. Sure, I'm ready for him to start drinking whole milk. That $40/week currently used to buy formula will be put to good use elsewhere. But I'm most excited about the big day - the day we get rid of the big hair!

Oh, but as the day inches closer, part of me feels like the crazy hair has become his trademark. Maybe I should keep it. Ya know, I've kinda gotten used to random strangers in the grocery store saying "hey that kid is trying to bring the afro back". Maybe I should just have Uncle Juan shape it up a bit and let it grow and grow and grow until he really looks like Kid of the old rap duo Kid 'n Play.

Or maybe a mohawk is the way to go?

I sense that you're not feeling either. So, let the countdown to the haircut begin!

Friday Night Lights

Hurricane Football, Week 4: On Friday, Hightower took the field against Clements High School. Let's cut to the chase - it was yet another Hurricane Beat Down. Final score: 40-7! And this time, it was the defense (not the Special Teams) that gave up a touchdown. Oh... you should've been there. James was maaaaaaad. Giving up a touchdown is just unimaginable, unthinkable... I mean, you just don't do that! Here's a shot of a half-smiling Coach J-Dub as the team leaves the field after their extended "ya gotta be perfect" post-game circle time. Bottom line is that the team is 4-0. Looks pretty perfect to me so far. Whatta ya say? Way to go 'Canes!

Big Guy

I took Jay in today for his 9-month well baby visit. Nope... you're not slow, I am! He's 10.5 months now. His original appointment was scheduled right before Labor Day when we were out of town. This was the first time I could get. So, as Janai would say, he got too punches - a flu shot, and blood drawn for lead testing.

But here's the news.

Weight: 22 pounds, 4 ounces
Height: 30 inches

90th percentile all around! You didn't know I could make 'em so big, huh? Well, Jay is a big guy indeed. And as mama and 'em used to say, he is eating me out of house and home. He wants nothing to do with baby food. Last week, when I got his report from daycare, it said that he had eaten "lasagna, tossed salad, and garlic bread" for lunch. What in the world! This past weekend, he was putting down meatloaf and mashed potatoes like it was nothing. Can someone slow this kid down? And... yeah... let's talk about the milk. The doctor almost fell out of chair this morning when I told her that he drinks 35 oz of milk per day. Ladies and gentlemen... to all who are unaware... that means $5.81 in milk per day! Now that is just PREDICULOUS.

Hightower Football Week 3

James' team is holding its own with a record of 3-0. Last week, they played Austin High School. The final score was 45-7... yes, another Hightower Hurricane Beatdown. Check out Jay as he is completely focused on the little girl (not shown) in the bleachers to his left and completely uninterested in daddy's game.

Now, you'd think that James would be pretty proud of this game's score. But, nooooooooo. As Defensive Coordinator, he is focused on shutting teams out completely. Notice that didn't happen this time (ahem, the other team actually scored a touchdown)? Say it ain't so, Joe! Now, gosh darnit, it's ok give up one score, isn't it? (Sorry... too much political news).


Back to my point. Actually, it was Special Teams that gave up the touchdown. Kickoff return: the Austin player receives the kick-off, begins to run it back at full speed. He gets clobbered by a Hightower player. I mean, the hit was so hard, the crowd went crazy. Well, apparently when the Austin player went down, he landed on top of his own guy, and never hit the turf. So while the Hightower guys (James' team) were celebrating and dapping the hard hitter up, the Austin player gets up and takes the ball into the end zone for an Austin TOUCHDOWN! Everyone knows James as the nice guy, but it was great to see him peeved!

Icky Icky Ike

Things are finally getting back to normal. So I thought I'd try to post. Here are a few shots taken from the cell phone (pardon the quality) from Hurricane Ike.

As we evacuated Pearland to the north side of Houston, we noticed this caravan of buses carrying residents away from Galveston Island. As you may have heard, Galveston (and the Bolivar Peninsula in particular) suffered the greatest devastation. Our complaints of power outages, food shortage, and home damage are miniscule compared to what those people faced. There are still a several hundred people missing. Many people lost all of their worldly goods. Let's all continue to pray for them that God would help them to restore, rebuild, and renew.

I spent the last year leading the team that plans the BEST Symposium for Dow. It was scheduled for the Monday right after Ike hit. Obviously, the company jet was cancelled and no commercial flights were going out of Houston. Sherrika and I opted to take a commercial flight out of Dallas (300 miles away). We left Houston on a half tank of gas and a prayer. We finally found this station in Huntsville, TX. Check out the line (and the price/gallon missing).

This next picture is characteristic of what Ike did to the inland locations - lots of roof damage, and fences down.

We lost all of our food due to the 7-day power outage. This picture was taken one week after Ike hit. I was excited about restocking the refridgerator and freezer. I pushed my empty cart into Super Wal-Mart only to find empty shelves. The only thing in the cold/frozen food section was milk and frozen pizza.

All in all, Ike had us down, but not out. Thanks again for all of your calls, text messages, and prayers. It is great to have friends and family like you!

Obama '08

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/29/21040/3558/576/577074