Update

Sheesh, it has been a busy month. In March we sold our home of almost 15 years and moved into the long awaited 'dream' home. We had been moving over boxes, etc, for the past 2 months and did the 'official move' in early March. Below are a couple pics of the new abode.
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Front view above, rear view below.
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Shortly after moving in we finally came to the stark reality that our beloved dog Shep's time had come. He hung around for the move, but he could not enjoy the property like he could in his heyday. He will be missed. He was a great dog.

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During spring break, Mikel's friend Lisa visited with her two kiddos. Below is Sarah and her 'brother' Dylan having fun in our creek.

FanFest 2009

Enjoying baseball related activities in 30 degree weather is not so fun. However, Sarah is a little trooper and she had a good time; as long as daddy was bribing her with gummies occasionally.

FanFest is sponsored by the Texas Rangers, the local big league team in the area, for those not from these parts. It is primarily devised to get folks out to the park and buy season tickets. Many of the ballplayers are available for autographs. That is, if you don't mind standing in line for an hour or two in freezing temperature. We had none of that.

Sarah hit the various scavenger hunt tables and when that was complete, we headed to the Diamond club to collect her prize and warm up.


Above are a couple of Rangers' emissaries who took a liking to Sarah.

The Rangers let the kids run the bases. Above is our little girl standing on second base, in the middle of it all.

The Dallas Cowboys are building their massive stadium nearby. Here is Sarah in the Rangers' parking lot with the nearly complete structure in the background. IT IS HUGE!

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Hey Jayne, wish you and Emma were there with us.

Go Roadrunners

This past Monday, Sarah and her parents ventured to Moody Coliseum, on the campus of SMU. Sarah's cousin Kyle is the Team Operations Coordinator for the Men's basketball team at the University of Texas, San Antonio. Those versed in Sarah lore will remember Kyle and wife Danielle enjoying water sports with us on Lake Travis back in August.

Kyle was nice enough to leave us tickets, and upon entering, Sarah became enchanted by the cheerleaders. Below is a covey of SMU's cutest, huddled around a future cheerleader.
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One gal was nice enough to let Sarah try out her pom poms.

Below is Coach Kyle cheering on the team during pre-game festivities.

We left at halftime, as it was past Sarah's bedtime and she had school the next day. UTSA upset SMU by the score of 80-75.

Christmas

We usually try not to bore you with the 'average' stuff. But since some of the pics are just so dang cute, we must share.

The picture below reminds me of something a Chinese business man said in the elevator of our hotel in Changsha, China, a day or so after we were united with Sarah. He thought that we Americans were adopting Chinese kids to take them back and make them do our housework. I suppose the picture below proves his point.
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Sarah loved her ironing board and iron. Now we just have to train her to iron daddy's slacks. Shortly thereafter, Sarah received a princess dress from Santa and had to try it on immediately.
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Sarah received the below gift from her Aunt who lives in North Mesquite, or is it West Mesquite?

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Can't Win 'em All

Kinda wish grandpa took a picture of daddy in front of a Nixon-Agnew sign back in '68. The election did not go as Sarah wished, though there was never a canidate of Reaganese stature, so you go with who you think will do the least damage. Sarah was saying the other day how Obama is an elite empty-suit with not a touch of experience. Besides, Sarah likes Sarah.
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Ask Sarah who her favorite president is and she will reply . . . . . . NIXON!

Redneck Sarah

We wanted to prove to Rep. Jack Murtha that Western Pennsylvania is not the only place gun loving rednecks exist. Below is our bundle of joy, ready to pop the first income distributor who may venture on our land.

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For those ready to call CPS; relax, it is an unloaded pellet gun. When she is older, we'll take her to the range so she can learn how to properly use assault weapons.

State Fair of Texas - 2

Earlier in the month, Sarah's parents attended their 19th State Fair of Texas together, and the second one for Sarah. Since we have seen just about every attraction dozens of times, we have geared the activities towards Sarah. Below, Sarah is learning how to plant seeds.

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Sarah enjoyed the petting zoo, puppet show (though she would not get near a puppet) and other attractions, but let's face it, she digs the rides. Below, Sarah is on a swing that goes around, and around, and around.

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In the car pavilion, Sarah 'test drove' numerous show cars. The gals at the Hyundai and Nissan booths were totally enamored by her. So of course, when she got a chance to do some 'real' driving, she was ready. It took her some time to get a feel of the wheel, but she was soon bashing into unsuspecting motorists.

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Kinda driving, but Sarah was digging the ride nonetheless.