2015 Tree

Santa 2015

Xmas Program

Sunset walk

December soccer?

Friday night, we got a Facebook message asking if Emilio would be willing to participate in coaching clinic on Saturday afternoon, starting at 1:30. He was. And so, from 1:30-4:30 on Saturday, he was one of a half-dozen kids on the field with 18(!) coaches seeking an upgrade in their coaching license to level "E." Of the 18, only a handful were from Ada. Some came from out of state. The supervising coach was from Manchester.

Emilio jumped at the chance to come back for day two from 1:30-5:00, even though it meant missing "NFL Redzone," which he loves watching.

Keeping the participants active was a point of emphasis, but when I came to observe the last hour on both days, Emilio's energy level showed no signs of flagging. On Sunday, he begged to stay later to play in the Boys and Girl club gym.

In addition to getting lots of exercise and valuable instruction, he got to play with some of the coaches, who participated in the drills and were often very talented players. Wish we could do this every weekend!

I included this one because of the hair.

Norah and Emi are Uno Buddies

2015 Thanks

Emi Portrait: Ten

An Extended Birthday

Ten Years Old

Eats: Asian buffet featuring yellow rice, honeydew melon and cantaloupe. With me and Mari.
Dinner: a pan pizza (cheese) from Pizza Hut.

Plays: Best 2 out of 3 3-point contest vs. me in the driveway; an Xbox 360 Madden Super Bowl match up of the Falcons (Emi--who loves Devin Hester on kick returns) vs. the Bengals (I play Andy Dalton at QB). Won by the Falcons in a blow out.

Treasures:
A Caravan from Hindustan: The Complete Birbal Tales from the Oral Traditions of India by James Moseley (he'd already read volume one), You Rule!: A Practical Guide to Creating Your Own Kingdom (Lonely Planet),  The Ruins of Gorlan (The Rangers Apprentice, Book One), a new indoor basketball goal, the complete Harry Potter DVD series, a TCU sweater/jacket, a Longhorns t-shirt, a boomerang, a juggling kit, a nerf Vortex football, and a board game we already own but have never played (oops).

Talks:
This conversation about Emilio's first decade:
Me: So how has this first decade been?
Emi: Some good, some bad.
Me: What was the good?
Emi: Playing XBox 360.
Me: What was the bad?
Emi:  Getting in trouble at school.
Me: What did you get in trouble for?
Emi:  Talking.
Me: Anything else good?
Emi: Family vacations.
Me: Which one was your favorite?
Emi: This last year's [New Orleans, Mississippi, and Memphis with los abuelos--ed.].
Me: What was your favorite part of that vacation?
Emi: The swamp tour.
Me:  What was your greatest accomplishment?
Emi:  Scoring my first goal.
Me: That took about ten seconds.
Emi: No, I mean in the U-12 league.
Me: I thought you might say playing Winthrop in "The Music Man."
Emi:  Or Chip in "Beauty and the Beast."
Me: That, too.  What's your favorite food?
Emi:  Rice crackers.
Me: What was your favorite movie?
Emi: Big Hero Six.
Me: What about Lord of the Rings?
Emi:  Oh, yeah: Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King.
Me:  What was your favorite book that you read?
Emi:  Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
Me: What was your favorite game?
Emi: Clue.
Me:  What was your favorite sports moment?
Emi: Odell Beckham's one-handed catch.
Me: That was against the Cowboys!
Emi:  It doesn't matter. It was awesome!
Me:  What was the most important real-world news event of the decade?
Emi: Gay marriage.
Me: Give me one word to describe . . . Nina.
Emi: Singer.
Me: Pablo?
Emi: Imagination.
Me: Mommy?
Emi: Magnificent.
Me: Daddy?
Emi:  Funny.
Me: Emi?
Emi: Awesome.

Birthday Pool Hoops

Game Five: Now playing center mid

In the second half, when Andrew went down with a foot injury, Emilio moved to left forward.

That's some size differential . . .

We lost to the Thunder 5-7 in the first game of the season in Ada, but in Ardmore the Green Energy pulls off the upset: 3-1!

Count Emula

Game Four: Now playing center back . . .