Essence of Andy

As you can see, Andy is having a great time visiting us

Teressa's brother Andy is here again visiting us for Thanksgiving. The kids love having Andy here, and he seems to enjoy being around them, too. And if we get overwhelming, Andy just heads outside for a smoke, a swing and his own personal concert (as seen in the photo above). Even Sam loves having his uncle here, though he has taken to calling him "Uncle Rooster," much to Andy's chagrin. Cock-a-doodle-doo.

Lights, camera, action!

Sam does his best impression of 'Blue Steel' here in this promotional photo

It's the time of year again for us to put on our Halloween costumes and make our family holiday video. This year, we decided to call in some help, so we could get the filming done in record time. So we called Lindsay Mullen. Lindsay shoots more video and makes more films than anyone else we know, so we knew she would do a great job with the filming. After the production was over, she stayed to play with the boys and help Teressa out around the house. The boys always love to be around Lindsay (as you can see from the photos below).


When we say "fight like lions," I didn't think they would take it literally


Lindsay and Mason pose for the paparazzi


Spencer was sharing his pretzels with Lindsay

Party time

One party activity required the kids to decorate a cake in a pioneer style, then transport it to another house in the neighborhood


Unfortunately for the boys' team, their cake didn't survive the trek.

The year is drawing to a close, so Teressa decided to hold a party for her Primary class. They came over to our house, enjoyed some breakfast and then split up into teams to participate in a series of challenges. Her challenges included decorating a pioneer-themed cake and then transporting it to another house in the neighborhood, a wheelbarrow relay race, an object search and a tent building contest. Overall, the girls won, but everyone seemed to have a pretty good time. First prize was the opportunity to choose a breakfast treat for church on Sunday. The girls selected donuts and bacon. Interesting combination.

Better than ultrasound

My siblings are going through a bit of a baby boom. One sister and both of my brothers are expecting children, all within a few months of each other. One night I was talking with my mother on the phone when the subject of all these babies came up. She mentioned what gender several of them were predicting for these babies.

"No," I said, "this is how it's going to be. Jon and Annie will have a girl; Andrea and Seth will have a girl; and Tyson and McKall will have a boy."

Now, this may sound like I was going out on a limb, but I knew what I was doing. (Boy, did I know what I was doing.) Sure enough, the first ultrasound comes back and Jon and Annie are having a girl. Then the second ultrasound comes back and Tyson and McKall are having a boy. Then, finally, Andrea calls this week and tells me they are having a girl. In case anyone was counting, that makes three-for-three. Boo yeah. If anyone is interested in my methods of deduction, you can send a self-addressed stamped envelope with a check for $49.95. I'll see what I can get back to you.

Leafy greens

We made a nice salad from our garden veggies


Our beans have started to blossom, as have our peas

Growing up back in Idaho, we used to plant our garden after Memorial Day because that's about the time it would stop freezing at nights. Then we could expect to get veggies until about September when the frosts would start. Here in Texas, the growing season seems upside down. I just barely planted beans and peas back in the first of October and now they are starting to bloom. It just doesn't seem right, but the fact is that there have been no frosts yet this year (we haven't even been close), and there are no frosts forecast for the near future. So hopefully we will get some more good vegetables out of our garden yet this year.

Sam's big haircut

Is it just me, or does Sam look a little older now?

Sam's hair has been getting pretty long lately. So long, in fact, that is was sometimes having trouble standing on end. Recently we've been hearing some disgruntled words from people at church, wondering when we were going to get Sam a haircut so his hair would stand up again. To all you people I can only say, today is the day. Sam has been shorn (as you can see from the photo above). It took some coaxing, but we convinced him (with the liberal use of Smarties) to hold still long enough to give him a quick trim. To see the before view, check here.

Staff 3, Residents 1

Here at our anesthesiology training program in San Antonio, we have traditionally spent Veterans Day having a sporting contest between the staff and residents. The last five years or so, we have been playing soccer. In the first year of my residency, I debated about not going to the soccer game. I had never played competitive soccer. (Or really any soccer at all for that matter.) But I figured that I was a fairly athletic sort of guy, and besides, how many people my age or older had really played soccer, anyway. The residents had never lost one of these games before, so I figured I could waltz in, run around the field a little bit and I could bask in the glory of another easy win. Of course, that's not how things turned out. The staff team that year had some very good players. I didn't have a clue what I was doing and so even though I attempted to play defense, the staff scored multiple goals and made me look silly in the process. It was not a fun game.

Fast forward three years. We're playing soccer again, only this time, I am on the staff team. I am a competitive sort of guy, and I don't want to lose again. And more than anything, I don't want to look ridiculous. At least this time, I have been coaching Spencer's soccer team. And I've been helping them through some of their drills.And I've been playing with both Mason and Spencer at home. Of course, I'm not sure how working with a U5 team is going to translate to adult competition, but at least I understand how the game is supposed to be played.

We start off the game on the attack. We score a quick goal. Soon we're pushing the ball up the field again. I find myself in front of the goal with the ball right at my feet and nothing but the goalie in front of me. I punch it in with my left foot. Left foot? That's crazy. I can hardly kick with my left foot. But the ball goes straight and true, right to the left corner of the net, out of reach of the goalie. We start whooping and hollering like we just won the World Cup. Not too much later we add another goal for good measure.

Now, there are many more residents who are there at the game then staff. This means that they can substitute at will and wear us down. Right before half, they score their first goal. In the second half they keep trying to attack, but we push them back, and every shot they attempt goes wide. Final score Staff 3, Residents 1.

Perhaps it's a bit over the top, but yes, I am a little excited that we won this game. I'm even more excited that we won this game and that I played well. I will definitely say that I had a better time this year than I did three years ago.

Teeth jewelry

Sam has a hankering for braces

Sam has been fascinated with Teressa's braces ever since she got them. I'm not quite sure if he understands their true purpose, though. He seems to think they are just for decoration, at least that's the impression I get from the name he gave them. Evidently Sam has been chased out of Teressa's jewelry drawer enough times that he knows what jewelry is. So same dubbed Teressa's braces "teeth jewelry." The name stuck. He kept asking to see the teeth jewelry so much that Teressa finally bought him some bling.

Would you say I have a plethora?

Here is the whole cast in their Halloween costumes

Teressa decided that everyone in the family should keep with the same theme for their Halloween costumes this year. So Teressa dressed up as Carmen, the senorita who convinces the Three Amigos to come to her village, and I dressed up as El Guapo, the villain. I make a rather handsome El Guapo, if I do say so myself.