Of watermelons and Fireworks
I love holidays!! I love knowing that my family can spend the day together and we get to do something fun, even if it is low-key. This year we decided to spend the afternoon at
Northern Hills Pool. Our kids were/are on their swim team, and we spend most days there. And seeing this has been a hot and dry summer we have been there almost every day!
This July 4th the pool had fun, games, a silent auction and a raffle. This was our first year participating and we had a blast! The kids took part in an egg toss, and then Teagan and I swam in a watermelon relay. Watermelons were greased up and you had to swim and push them from one side of the pool to the other. We came in third, but had fun doing it! By far the best contest was the watermelon eating one. Warrick took part in it, and won! Here he is enjoying a watermelon slice. All the contestants had to eat it with their hands behind their backs. Carson participated as well, but didn't win. He was a little bummed until he realised he was allowed to finish off his large watermelon slice.
Warrick and Carson - Carson is on the right hand side:
The finale for us was meeting up with some friends and then driving up to a little town in the Hill Country called
Kerrville to watch their fireworks. Our friends, Chris and Autumn have been making the drive for about four years and extolled the virtues of this particular fireworks display. Kerrville isn't a large town (it does have a good tourist trade), but their fireworks truly were magnificent. And the drive there was gorgeous too - they don't call this area of Texas Hill Country for nothing! The limestone hills are beautiful and in many cases the road is cut right into the hills.
Labels: Carson, fireworks, hill country, July 4th, Kerrville, Northern Hills, pool, swimming, Teagan, Warrick, watermelon
Pageant Weekend
Back in March (or April) we received a letter in the post inviting our girls to an open call for
National American Miss. I checked it out thoroughly before taking the girls to the first open call because the last thing I wanted was to spend money and feel we were gypped. Imagine my delight when I realised this is a great organization, with good morals, and they encourage girls to become the best they can be, without relying on looks. In fact, up until the Jr. Teen level (age 13 and up), the contestants are not allowed to wear make up.
The open call consisted of the girls undergoing a short one-on-one interview, and speaking in public to the people who were in attendance. We were informed that we would receive a call back letter if our girls were accepted. Part of me thought, "Yea right, everyone will receive a letter!" However, in looking at the number of girls who were in our open call, and knowing that two more were offered that same weekend in our location, as well as open calls in Houston, Austin and Dallas, I see now that to be chosen as one of the finalists was actually a great honor. If the same number of girls came to each open call, there were probably close to 900 girls in the South Texas area alone who attended open call. Only 140 made it to state finals, and our girls were two of them.
The weekend was an eye-opener for us. We opted to do just the basic pageant - personal introduction, one-on-one interview and formal wear. There is also a talent segment, an actress segment, a spokesperson segment, a modeling segment and a photogenic segment that are optional. It does not affect the judge's scoring if one participates in those optionals (they have different judges for the optional segments), but we noticed that those girls who were involved in the optional contests were also the ones who scored the highest with the pageant judges. I think the confidence the girls get from being so involved carried over to the pageant part.
Already the girls are talking about what they want to do for next year! Of course we have to go through the call backs again, but they should do just fine. And next year Terry and I will be better prepared - there are so many things we need to do as parents to prepare the girls too.
We had planned on doing on some sight-seeing this weekend. Now we know that it is impossible to do that! Once we were in the hotel our entire focus was pretty much on the pageant! Ah well - next time...
I am posting a couple of photos here, but here is a link to an album I created from the photos we took this weekend:
Smelker Girls.
Labels: Hayley, Houston, National American Miss, Pageant, Teagan, Terry, Warrick
Smelker Smalls Start School
Backpacks are packed, lunches made and kids sent off to school. I drove the three younger ones to school this morning, and unloaded their scooters from the van. This afternoon I will walk down to the school (with the dog) and fetch them. It's good excerise and we look forward to the walks home. I then returned and picked up Teagan for her first day. From tomorrow she will take the bus to school but for this first day we wanted to drive her, especially since she missed the orientation on Saturday because of Hayley's birthday party.
Carson came blearily downstairs this morning and whined, "But it's still night-time outside." No more sleeping in until 7:30 or 8:00 for this boy - 6:15 came all too soon for them. By the time they finished breakfast and brushed their teeth it was daylight outside though.
So begins another year of homework, plays, safety patrol duty (for Hayley) choir, parent-teacher conferences, school trips and volunteering (I am on the PTA this year, ostensibly just to do the newsletter, but we'll see how many more things I am 'volunteered' to do!) Each season is bitter-sweet; I have looked forward to having the house to myself again, to enjoy the solitude and silence, but I also miss the hurly-burly of my four, plus all the neighborhood kids.
Here's to a great year for all my friends and kids!
Labels: Carson, Garrick, Hayley, PTA, school, Teagan
Two Events Today
Teagan's braces came off today! She has had them on since April 2006 and it is amazing to see the difference in her teeth. She got her retainer, and has to wear it except when eating. She was so excited to get them removed. Of course she is not done yet - this was just Phase 1 of what will likely be a staple in her life for the next few years. She will have to start Phase 2 in about 12-18 months (once all her baby teeth fall out).
The other event was the swim banquet that heralded the end of the official swim season for the team. It was a good season for our team - as mentioned earlier in the blog, we won Divisionals - first time in 20 years. Then several of the kids went on to swim at All Stars where our team shone. Here are the girls displaying their trophies. Teagan is also displaying brace-free teeth!
And just so that the boys don't get forgotten I pulled this photo of the 4 kids from our time spent at Disney World in May. From left to right it is Hayley, Carson, Garrick and Teagan.
Labels: braces, swim, Teagan
Divisionals last Saturday
Our little swimming team received this email from the secretary of the swimming club last night:
"For those of you who haven't heard, the Nadadores won the divisonal meet yesterday. Girls finished in 1st place and boys in 4th for an overall 1st place finish. Mr. Dewlen tells us that he thinks it's been 20 years since the Nadadores took divisionals. Way to go!"
I am so proud of our team. We only lost to one team during the regular season and that was mostly due to the size of the other team - they had over 130 swimmers to our 80, which makes a difference when 1st through 6th places are scored for points.
Neither of my girls placed first in their races, although Hayley did take third in her freestyle and fourth in breast stroke, so I am very proud of her. I was a timer for the races, and was in the lane next to her when she was swimming her freestlye - I even had her timer cheering for her, although the timer was from another team! We swam at the brand-new facility and the best part of it is the walls come up and allow for great cross breezes, so even though it was a hot day, the heat was never unbearable inside.
Now for the rest of the summer we will sleep in (something we haven't been able to do with the swim practices) and hang out at the pool and the park. A friend of mine is moving at the end of the month and she very kindly gave me her season pass to the Majik Theater - a children's theater here in town, so we will be able to watch two different plays before the season ends. I am looking forward to that as well.
Labels: divisionals, Hayley, swim, Teagan
Possibly the Wettest Summer?
I suppose I shouldn't be complaining about all the rain we've received so far this summer since last year the summer was so dry we had watering bans - but I have to cut my grass once a week at the moment! Last year if we mowed three times the entire summer that was a lot, this summer already I have mowed more times than I can count. And it takes me 90 minutes just to mow, and I haven't even started edging yet!
The rain has sometimes put a crimp in the family activities - there have been a couple of times I've loaded the kids up for the pool and then the deluge starts. And here in San Antonio that's what we get, a deluge. The Weather Channel has issued several flash flood warnings for San Antonio. We have learnt to take those seriously. Every year the news reports of some unfortunate soul who disregarded the warnings, attempts to ford a road (either on foot or in their car) and they get whisked away by the water. Invariably the story does not have a happy ending.
On a happier note though, the girls are almost done with the summer league swim team. This weekend marks the final meet. If either girl places in the top 5 of their division then they go onto a regional event, but frankly at this point I am not sure either one will place in the top 5. Competition has been stiff this year and with Hayley not competing for one school year she lost some ground. Next year I think she will fare better.
And just because I didn't want a text-only blog, here is a photo of the two newest members of the feline family - Drake and Puma relaxing together.
Labels: Drake, Hayley, Puma, Rain, Teagan
They're Paid For!!!
On Monday morning I wrote the last check for Teagan's braces! That check cleared our account yesterday, so I can officially say that Teagan's teeth belong to us again.
Of course this is only stage one in a treatment series that will take several more years, and who knows how much more money. But when I look at the difference that a year makes I am amazed and absolutely sure that every penny we spent on these braces, the monthy visits, the daily battle to keep the headgear on, is worth it. Last April Teagan could not even close her mouth over her top teeth, and in fact the orthodontist was concerned that her top lip was shortening because it could not stretch the way it was meant to. Her teeth were affecting even her breathing patterns as a result. Today she can close her lips over her beautiful straight teeth.
In May or June her braces will be removed for approximately a year while her adult teeth grow in, and then we will move onto stage two.
Of course, just when we think we see the light at the end of the tunnel, we have Garrick following in her footsteps and I am sure we'll be going through the same saga with him!!
Here is a BEFORE Photo:
And here is a DURING Photo:
Labels: braces, Teagan
The Countdown Is Almost Done
The Smelker Seven are getting ready to go somewhere we haven't been in almost 9 years. And that somewhere is
Walt Disney World, the Wonderful House of Mouse, and as far as Terry is concerned, the
only place on earth to vacation.
According to the calendar we have upstairs in the game room we have 20 days until we pack up the conversion van and make the 16 hour drive to Florida. Thank God for a third driver (Warrick). The kids are excited although really the four little ones have nothing to compare it to; the last time we went Teagan was two and a half and Hayley only 11 months old. I was 7 months pregnant with Garrick and Carson was not even a glimmer in anyone's eye.
The vacation is already paid for, completely paid in cash so all we had to do was save for gas, food and souvenirs, and even that has been done. All that's left is to wait, patiently, (hard for Terry) and plan our days at the parks to maximize our time there.
Labels: Carson, Disney, Garrick, Hayley, Teagan, Warrick
Safari Park Antics
So the girls have been having a blast since they arrived in Europe. They spent three days in Paris, one morning at a local elementary school, an afternoon at
Bedford Oasis Pool, an indoor water playground. The piece de la resistance so far has been the day they spent with my brother and his wife Jenny and our nephew Michael at
Woburn Safari Park.Here you drive your car through the grounds and see lion, bears, zebras, hippos, giraffe and other wildlife in a fairly natural setting, but the best part (according to my girls) is when you get out of the car and get to interact with the monkeys and lemurs, wallabys and other small mammals. As you can see from the photos, great fun was had by all!
Teagan meets a monkey
Jenny and Michael with the lemurs
Hayley befriends a wallaby
Labels: Hayley, Safari Park, Teagan, UK
Empty Nest?
On Wednesday March 7th Teagan and Hayley flew into
Gatwick Airport to spend two weeks with my parents.
This past weekend they took the
Chunnel to
Paris, for a visit of all the famous sites.
They will also tour parts of
London, including a personal tour of
The Houses of Parliament. They will spend some time in a local school and all in all just have a great time.
The girls are also getting to meet my side of the family for the first time. My sister in law, Jenny, took the girls along with her son Michael to a local Mickey D's where they enjoyed ice cream. As you can see, Michael loves his!
On Friday night, March 9th my mother-in-law, Star, drove in from
Carrollton, to take the little boys to spend a week with her and Richard. On Saturday they spent some time at a
PT Cruiser show. They have a busy week ahead of them as well.
This leaves the house empty all day until Terry and Warrick return in the evening from their respective jobs. I believe this is the first time in almost three years that we have had this amount of time away from the kids! Yesterday after church Terry and I went out for lunch and our bill was tiny in comparison to what it would normally be!
i guess in a way this is a harbinger of days yet to come when all the kids move out. Feels weird, but it was nice to have Terry all to myself again - even if it is just for a few days.
Labels: Carson, Garrick, Hayley, Teagan, Warrick
How Did It Happen So Fast?
Eleven years ago, at 12:10pm (Eastern Time), on her due date, Teagan Faye Smelker made her appearance into the world. The smallest of all my babies, she weighed in at a tiny 7lbs, and was 21 inches long. Personally I think 2 of those inches was her hair - the girl was born with a shock of black, mohawk-like hair.
Today Teagan happily went off to school - to her final year in elementary school. As I woke her up this morning I reflected that it really does seem like yesterday that I called her Dad at work and told him to come home because it was time. I can clearly picture the moment she 'captured his heart.' The nurses gave Teagan to Terry first, and as she lay quietly in his arms, he tentatively touched her with one finger. She reached out with one hand, grasped his finger firmly and opened her impossibly blue eyes and stared right into his. She has had his heart ever since.
Teagan is our ray of sunshine - bubbly, happy-go-lucky and outgoing. Her smile is contagious, and her big eyes see the world through the wonder of an almost teenager.
We love you Teagan - you have brought your own unique personality and spirit into the Smelker family.
Labels: birth, Teagan
We Have A Tiger In The House
Back in 1993 Terry introduced me to what I think are some of the best cartoon strips since "Peanuts" and that is the genius of Watterson's character Calvin and his sidekick Hobbes. Initially Warrick fell in love with Calvin & Hobbes and read all of the books that we bought or borrowed. Then for a while I was the only one who really read the books.
However about 6 months ago the younger 4 kids discovered the wonders of Calvin and his tiger, Hobbes and since then the comic books have become even more dog-eared, and I ordered some new ones when the elementary school held one of their fundraisers. Just last week at the library I found a 600-page hardcover copy of several of the books compiled into one copy. I have to admit to sitting on the couch for 2 hours last night reading cartoons that are brand-new to me. And the kids all fight about whose turn it is to read the book next - gotta love something that will get the kids reading.
I understand why Watterson stopped drawing his cartoons, all good things must come to an end; but he really did capture the essence of a six-year old boy and his imagination.
If I was a poet I would write an ode to Watterson, but seeing I am not, I will just give my heartfelt thanks for bringing so many hours of entertainment into the Smelker household.
Labels: Calvin, Carson, Garrick, Hayley, Hobbes, Teagan
They Call It Puppy Love
Just a couple of photos of my dog and one cat - a love-love relationship
And tonight, Dad and Teagan decided to enjoy some time on the floor together - it was not long before Josh and Serena decided they needed company!
Labels: Joshua, Serena, Teagan, Terry
New Vaccine
As I am sure anyone who has a TV, or who reads/watches the news has seen, there is now a vaccine available that could prevent cervical cancer in girls. One of my friends took her five year old daughter for a check up today and they were encouraging her to give this vaccine to her daughter! I had seen the commericals promoting the vaccine on TV, so decided to research it a bit.
All the ads refer to the virus as HPV, or human papillomavirus; but actually its full title is genital human papillomavirus and is generally ONLY transmitted through sexual activity. So, a doctor wants to immunize a five year old for a sexual disease?? Does anyone else see something wrong with this picture?
Teagan and Hayley are up to date on all their shots and as a result haven't seen their doctor lately; but I am sure when I next take them in I will be told that they should have the vaccine. The Washington Post ran a story on the vaccine back in October 2005, and this is a quote:
""I would like to see it that if you don't have your HPV vaccine, you can't start high school," said Juan Carlos Felix of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, who leads the National Cervical Cancer Coalition's medical advisory panel."
Do I really want my high school dictating what I do and don't inject into my children? CNN ran a story on this yesterday, and read excerpts from letters from listeners. One person said they were thrilled with the vaccine while yet another parent said they were disgusted with it, and the only way to avoid HPV was to abstain from pre-marital sex. What was so sad is that I was in the lunch room at my workplace when I saw this; and a gal, maybe in her 20's said, "I think it's a great ideaa. I mean you're going to have sex anyway, so let's get protected. What do you think?" I gave her my opinion and I think she was surprised. But I have run into this lassitude before, with parents. They say, "Oh well, they're gonna do it anyway..." and basically fling their hands up in the air. HELLO - all people (well not all) eventually learn to drive, but do we hand them the keys to the car when they're 12, because, "they're gonna do it anyway?" Why are we stricter on our kids about things like driving, and yet let them give their bodies away like yesterday's trash because they are supposedly protected?
And for the first time here is a great reason for the schools to promote abstinence instead of protection, something that is non-religious. Will they? I bet not! The school districts (for the most part) are more interested in keeping the peace than in promoting a life of self control. They will preach protection, when it is apparent that most teens, who think they are immortal and invincible anyway don't give a hoot about protecting themselves when engaging in sexual activities.
I am also concerned that at some point in the near future this is going to become a standard vaccine, like the chicken pox vaccine has become in the last decade. And when it becomes standard it gets harder to get your kids into school. I know that we refused the chicken pox vaccine and got all kinds of flak from the school about it.
What is this world coming to when a vaccine for sexually transmitted disease is offered? I certainly hope all parents research this carefully and don't feel pressured by health officials and schools to give their daughters something that can be fully prevented with abstinence.
Labels: Hayley, HPV, Teagan
Back to School 2006
As is our custom, we took a photo of the kids as they prepared for their first day of school. Although we bought them new clothes, they really can't wear a lot of them right now, today's high was 101 before the heat index was added! Carson was most upset that he couldn't wear his new two piece 'Cars' outfit.
Today was a great success, and all the kids say they like their teachers, we'll see whether they still say that in a couple of weeks. Hayley got Teagan's teacher from last year, so I know she will have a great year with her!
Labels: Carson, Hayley, Longs Creek, Teagan
New Addition to the house
We have a new addition to the family – Teagan has wanted to get a hamster for a while now. We had one a few years back, Elephant was its name. It died in 2001 and since then she has asked every few months for one. Well, a girl friend of mine had a garage sale a couple of weeks ago and wanted to sell her hamster stuff. It didn’t sell, so she offered it to me – she thought we would keep Monty’s mouse in it until I explained we don’t keep the mouse, the mouse comes into the house specifically to be consumed. We thought about it for a day or so, and contacted her saying we would get the stuff from her and surprise the kids with a hamster. We got the hamster this afternoon – the kids are so excited. We will keep it in the game room, so it won’t keep anyone awake with the wheel! We had to name the darn thing, so we put names in a hat and I chose. Here are the nominations:
Fluffy (Terry)
Chewbacca (me – I think it is the BEST name!)
Cindy (Teagan)
Clever (Hayley)
Hamster Boy (Garrick – superheroes on the brain!)
Junior (Carson – not sure where he got the idea from)
The name selected was Junior, so Junior, reluctantly, it is. It is a little golden hamster, with white underbelly, and a dark sport on the head. The pet store said for us not to handle it for 2 or 3 days until it gets settled into its cage. I hope it lives a good long while – actually Elephant lived about 3 years, so about average for a hamster I think.
Although this is not a photo of our hamster, this is a pretty good likeness (although really, one hamster looks like another in my opinion!)
Labels: hamster, Teagan
"Brace Face"
Teagan is now officially 'brace face'! Yesterday she visited the orthodontist (nervously clutching two stuffed animals for moral support) and bravely opened her mouth for him to place bands in the back and caps in the front.
She was allowed to choose the colour of the rubber bands they use to go over the caps on the front of the teeth and this month she chose purple. Each month when she returns they will remove those bands and she can choose a different colour. She is extremely proud of these braces, and spent a good long time tonight cleaning her teeth (wonder how long that will last? Before long I am sure I will have to prod and poke her to brush them!)
So for the next 12 months we have to watch what Teagan eats and we know that when those braces come off her teeth will look marvellous!
Labels: braces, Teagan
Back To School
Spring Break is over and it ended with a BANG - literally. Last night San Antonio was placed under a tornado watch and we had severe thunderstorms, and boy, that thunder was loud! The kids mostly slept through it, although Teagan crept into Hayley's bed where we found them both this morning.
Today is the first day at Longs Creek Elementary for Teagan, Hayley, Garrick and Carson. Warrick stayed at Marshall because he will graduate from there in about 10 weeks so it was pointless moving him over to Madison. The 4 younger kids were excited, although apprehensive, about starting a new school. We had made the move as easy as possible though. Terry and I went in two weeks ago with all the paper work and the prinicipal assigned teachers ahead of time so the teachers were already prepared for the Smelker invasion! The elementary school is relatively new, built in 1997 and has over 900 students, one of the largest schools our kids have ever attended, but knowing our kids they will stand out even in a big school!
Another plus is because we moved to a sub-division close to the church, there are other families from the church whose kids attend the same school. In fact, while we waited in the halls this morning Teagan and Hayley recognised two or three kids from church and the neighborhood.
Labels: Carson, Garrick, Hayley, Longs Creek, Marshall, Teagan, Turnstone Lane House, Warrick
Teagan is 10
Last night at dinner (spaghetti, the birthday girl's choice) Terry and I reminisced about the day Teagan was born. She arrived at 12:10pm after a six hour (drug free) labour, weighing in at a tiny 7lbs. With a shock of black hair, and tiny features she was so different from her big brother, Warrick who was born with blond/reddish hair.
I remember as though it were yesterday, the nurse handing a neatly wrapped Teagan to her Daddy and watching the tears of joy and pride trickle down his cheeks. There is no better sight in the world than to watch a father connect with his child for the first time. It was love at first sight for him.
And so our lives with Teagan (an old Irish name that means Beautiful One) begun. She has brought great joy to our lives and as we watch her grow we are amazed at the wonderful gift she is to us and to our family.
We love you Teagan!
Labels: birth, Birthday, God, Teagan, Terry
Slumber party
Well we survived the slumber party! The girls finally went to sleep at about midnight and were up bright and early on Saturday morning. You can always gauge the success of a sleepover by how tired the kids are, and Teagan was still tired today! Thank goodness they can sleep in tomorrow morning.
Teagan had a great time, even though the weather was not terribly cooperative. Like the rest of the USA, we have been hit by a cold front and although we cannot measure up to (or is that down to?) the -20 or greater temperatures that the northern states have experienced, we hit 26 on Friday night. Driving to church this morning was an adventure - the temperature was 30 and it was raining. Plenty of accidents on the freeway as less experienced drivers (well less experienced in freezing temperatures) tried to maintain their normal speeds and then found themselves colliding with each other. And Texas uses sand/grit which really does not do much in helping with the freezing conditions. We should be warming up some though.
Next - our wedding anniversary coming up this weekend!
Labels: Christian Family Church, Teagan
