Our little citizen

I just wanted to take like 5 minutes and briefly speak boastfully of my little boy. I apologize, but we're so proud of him!!
Earlier this week, his school had their first *huddle* (a huddle is like a little awards assembly). Wilson received the GOOD CITIZENSHIP AWARD at the huddle! They gave him a crown and he got his picture taken that will go up on the cafeteria wall. My understanding is that they give this award to students who show they have taken initiative to be a good student and help those around them.

There's a funny story that goes along with this award. Being a first time kindergartner's parent, I did not know what the students did at a *huddle.* I did not even know that Wilson was receiving an award. When I picked up Wil that day from school, he told me he got a crown at the huddle and it was really exciting. Then he said his "friend" Tyler asked if he could have his crown. Wil said he gave it to Tyler, but then Tyler forgot to give it back to him. Wilson seemed really sad about losing his crown, so I told him to ask Tyler to give it back to him tomorrow at school. That seemed to make him feel better.

The story doesn't end there. Once we got home and settled in, Brett called us from his classroom. He said he had just talked to Ms. Merchant, Wilson's teacher. She explained about how Wilson had received this citizenship award and that he very much deserved it. Apparently, Tyler had told Wilson that if he didn't give him the crown, he wouldn't be his friend any more. So, Wil gave him the crown. When Tyler was picked up from school by his mother, she noticed the crown and asked him where he got it. She knew it wasn't his (probably because she is an informed mother and was at the huddle, unlike myself). Poor little Tyler started to cry. He felt very bad. He confessed to his mother. His mother made him go back to school and give the crown to Ms. Merchant. So then, Ms. Merchant was letting us know that she now had the crown and would give it back to Wilson the next day.

I was glowing with pride and yet I also found the situation a little amusing. I wasn't sure how to approach Wilson about what had happened. Of course we want Wilson to learn to stand up for himself, but I couldn't help but smile at the thought that he had so willingly given up his award at the request of a friend. I suppose he truly does deserve the GOOD CITIZENSHIP AWARD!
Wilson loves being a Melissa Ridge Elementary School Cardinal! Along with his crown he also gets a free dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse. We'll probably make an appearance there tonight. Keep up the good work and I love you, Wilson!

Rise and Shout!

The timing was perfect for the BYU vs TU football game. It came 2 days after Brett's birthday. Brett was happy to celebrate his birthday with his heart and soul--the BYU Cougars...that is until they LOST!
The atmosphere in the Tulsa Golden Hurricane stadium started out jitterey and exciting. Loyal fans came from all over the area to see this game. We talked with people from Arkansas, Texas, and Missouri. It's always entertaining to see the displays of school spirit by the Cougar fans.
Here is my brother Cameron, pom-pom in hand, ready to shout hurrah for the enemy. It is perceivable that he would root for Tulsa University because he does attend their Law School. He was *OH SO* generous around the 3rd quarter when he finally gave BYU his blessing to win if they could pull it off (after all, he did get his undergrad degree from BYU and has rooted for them his whole life).
Here are two blissful fans! They were few and far between by the end of the game. Pam and Aaron--what an inspiration!
The game did not end until around 12:30 in the MORNING! Let's just say that I was living vicariously through these sleeping juveniles, wishing I was at home in my own bed.
At least there were a couple of smiling fans after the defeat. This is Kressyda (my sister-in-law) and me. One of the highlights of the game for me was having the opportunity to teach her the BYU Cougars fight song. I figured that we taught Wilson, so why not his aunt too! She did great and we had many chances to practice. When it was all said and done it was a fun night. I'm not going to mention the score because, well, it's not worth mentioning. Let's just put this behind us. Ohhhhh Rise and Shout...the Cougars are out!

*A special thanks to Grammy for watching the children so we could have a fabulous time. It was a HUGE sacrifice, I know ;p

Happy Birthday Brett!

Well, it's that time of year again...time to celebrate a most unique person.
I wanted to share an embarrassing experience of Brett's, but as I thought about it I could not really pin point one colossal moment. You see, Brett is the kind of person that doesn't really have *embarrassing moments.* Oh, he certainly does embarrassing things! But because of his charismatic nature and fun heart--he usually passes these fleeting incidents off as simply humorous.
But, what the heck! I can't help myself. I'll share one of our favorite stories about Brett. This happened back when we were first married. We were visiting my brother in California and we were sharing a hotel room with my sister and her husband. Brett has a tendency to forget things when he travels. On this particular trip, he had forgotten his pajamas. But, of course, he did not want me to know. So, while I was in the bathroom, he told my sister and her husband not to look while he quickly undressed and got under the covers. When I came out he had the covers pulled all the way up to his chin. I thought it was a little odd, but I just got in bed. I noticed the light was on so I asked Brett if he would get up and turn it off.

"Oh boy! I don't think I can. I'm too tired," he replied.

"I'll turn it off," my sister chimed in.

"Wait a second!!" I exclaimed. "No one move. You forgot your pajamas, DIDN'T YOU!"

So there we were...Brett with no pajamas.
Brett, I LOVE YOU! You definitely spice up my life. Thank you for everything you do. Happy Birthday!

*If any of you out there would like to share a special embarrassing memory which involves Brett--please feel free.

Restaurant Review: Cafe Malaga

We have discovered a treasure of a restaurant! I have a feeling that this cozy little cafe has been frequented by many of you; however for those of you who have not visited this Mediterranean Tapas Bar, you must give it a try.
Sorry this picture is a little blurry. We can attribute the blurriness to Wilson because he was taking the picture. I like this picture, though, because it displays the fun and authentic cafe atmosphere.
Another thing I love about this eatery(besides the food of course) is the service. Everyone is SO nice! Each time I have been here the servers and hosts have always been very accommodating. This makes a customer very happy to be there enjoying their food.
If you have never been to a Tapas Bar, it's such a unique and exciting experience (at least that is how I felt) because you can dine simply or elaborately and at your leisure. According to its website, Cafe Malaga uses fresh Mediterranean ingredients such as tomatoes, olives, lemons, and garlic. But this clever cafe has an emphasis on Andalucian tapas which broadens its flavors to include spices such as saffron and foods like apricots and avocados. This is the grilled shrimp as you can see. For those of you that know this about me: shrimp has never been my favorite food item. I do better with it now and will sometimes try it--especially if it is drenched in butter, olive oil, and delicious herbs.
But one of my personal favorites is the hummus with fresh pita bread. YUM-O to quote my mother. Seriously, the pita bread came out hot from the oven. I had to blow on it for Maisy.
My health conscious Dad ordered the Greek Salad of course. I didn't even have to ask him if he liked it because he basically inhaled it. I looked over and he was wiping the plate clean with a piece of pita bread. So, it must have been good.
This was Wilson's favorite dish and probably everyone else's too. THE BACON WRAPPED DATES! I know... it sounds funky. I would never have ordered these, but I came here with a group of girlfriends one night and someone ordered them. I was totally addicted after that. They are warm, sweet, savory, and juicy all in one taste. Ahhhh.....
Finally we ordered a wood-fired pizza. It takes a little longer for the pizzas to come out, but the wait is SOOO worth it. This delectable little dish was topped with fresh spinach, sweet Italian sausage, and mozzarella cheese. Instead of your average pizza sauce, it was spread with a garlic and bean pesto. Let's just say, we were ranting and raving about this pizza all day. Scrumptious!
What are tapas? you might be asking yourself. Well, tapas are individual portions of hot or cold food. It's really fun to go with friends because then you can order a lot of items and just sample from each others' servings.
If a "tapas" serving is simply not a big enough portion for you than you can order an appetizer serving which is a double portion. That is what we had to do with the hummus and the dates. As you can see, we finished everything off--both tapas portions and appetizer portions.

Cafe Malaga is located in Downtown Historic McKinney. So come on down and we'll enjoy tapas together!

GO CARDINALS!

Last Friday was the Melissa Cardinals first home football game. Wilson was insistent that we go. In fact the night of the game, he was hurrying us all along out the door saying, "We can't miss the kickoff!" Now that's some Cardinal School Spirit! And when we arrived we really were submersed in a little small town Friday night school spirit. I think the whole town was there and they were all dressed in RED and BLACK!We haven't lived in Melissa very long, so we were very surprised to know so many people sitting around us. There were neighbors, teachers, ward members, and we met a lot of parents in Wilson kindergarten class. Those sitting by us that we didn't know--well, by the end of the game we were good buddies. It felt very much like HOME to us.
The stadium was packed and energy was high in the Cardinal stands. One could not quite say the same for the visiting side. A little sparse over there.
Wilson and Maisy loved the band. Oh! and I think Maisy may have found a new obsession. Step aside Deuce...hello Cardinal! When she would see the Cardinal mascot she would stand up on her stadium seat and shout:

"Hey Cardinal! I'm right here! It's me Maisy!"

The highlight of the evening for her was when she gave him a Hi-5. The Cardinals played a great game and the night ended in a shut out--49 to 0. GO CARDINALS!

Last weekend we enjoyed a extravagant visit from Grammy and Grandpa. One could compare our weekend to a *last hurrah* before school started. We certainly packed a lot of activities into the weekend.
Wilson has been dying to take Grandpa to a Frisco Rough Riders game. So on Friday night we went to cheer them on right along side one of our favorite mascots--Deuce.
Apparently the Rough Riders hadn't lost a Friday night game yet this season...that is until we showed up. It was a shutout loss of 9-0. Oh well, we still got to see the Friday night fireworks show and it was pretty spectacular. You know how I LOVE fireworks and they are even better when put to the Star Wars theme song.
On Saturday we ventured over the the annual Killis Melton Ice Cream Crank-off in historic downtown McKinney. We had an outstanding time at the all-day event. Wilson and Maisy elevated themselves in the bounce house until they were red in the face.
Maisy took some time to relax in style. Notice the female "girl power" action figures.
Wilson was transformed into his favorite superhero, the Caped Crusader.
Maisy, of course, opted for the princess look. When I tried to give her a kiss, she exclaimed, "Don't kiss my princess!"

Watch out for the Bat-laser! Holy flashlights!
We sampled a variety of homemade ice cream flavors at the crank-off ranging from familiar to exotic. There were approximately 30 flavors. Brett's favorite was the white chocolate cheesecake. I fancied the chocolate-covered strawberry flavor. Grammy appreciated the apple pie ice cream, noting that the walnuts gave it a nice crunch. Nobody really liked the french fry flavor. It actually contained real french fry chunks! We decided not to try the wine cooler ice cream--mainly because the line was too long!!

It was a sweet, creamy, enjoyable day for everyone. I think we might make this a tradition. Who's in for next year?