Summer's Last Hurrah

I had a couple of photos from the tail end of the summer that I wanted to share...
These photos are all from a special event that was at the community center. I will not lie. When we first showed up and took a look at the guy that was running this, I thought the guy was crazy. Just look at him. He is standing next to Grace in this next picture. He had on eye liner and looked very much like a Jack Sparrow want-to-be. But, I have to admit, his program was excellent. Out of all the special events that were scheduled this summer, I think that this one was the kids' favorite. When we first got there, he had pirate music playing and all the kids got tattoos and a costume. He then gave everyone parts and they proceeded to act out a story.
After the story, there was a scavenger hunt with treasure prizes, a treasure dig in the sand (and they got to take home bits of gold), and then free play on the ship and in the treasure box. My kids loved every minute of it.
I still think that Jack Sparrow was a little nuts, but he had a great program.
My sisters, Esther and Bekah, and Graham, Bekah's boyfriend, got to come and visit us for a weekend. We had a blast! It was great to see them and we had plenty of water fun.
There was plenty of swimming at our house. Poor Graham had everyone in the pool jumping from his shoulders.
Shane was gone for the weekend, but we were a happy bunch.
We headed straight for the beach and our favorite spot. No one was there and we had a huge section of the beach all to ourselves. Graham showed the kids his expertise at making sand castles and they had a pretty big one going.
We three sisters were hanging out in the water.
The kids were all over the girls and Graham.

It was a beautiful day and we had a wonderful time.

A Little Russian

I was in the middle of teaching a lesson to a bunch of 4th graders. We were talking about Italy and music related subjects. One cute little smarty pants boy had answered every question correctly and was looking very proud of himself. The kid next to him drawled with a huge Texas accent, "Well, my dad is Italian, but I can only say 'pizza'." My cutie pie re-raised his hand and said loud and proud, "Mrs. Mize, I can speak a little bit of Russian." Since he had so far answered everything else correctly, I was ready to hear anything else that he had to offer, so I said, "Alright! Let's hear it."
He puffed up, seemed to think for a minute (meanwhile I'm thinking that he is about to bust out a full Russian phrase) and then says very proudly, as he looks around the room, "Vodka! It means 'a little water.'" The other kids looked like they were ready to break into applause. The little Italian boy looked at him in admiration, "Really! I never knew that!" I had to turn around and erase the board before I busted out laughing.

Because I am a proud wife.

This was a recent release that went out to the city and elsewhere about Shane and his new programming with Missouri City. I am very proud of him and all that he is doing. Just thought that I would post this for our friends and family that otherwise wouldn't see this.

Photo courtesy of Missouri City

Shane Mize, Missouri City’s new Recreation Superintendent, teaches a young girl the art of Archery as part of the City’s Recreation Roadshow Program. Mize is the proud winner of the 2011 Texas Recreation & Parks Society Young Professional Award.

MEDIA NEWS RELEASE

www.missouricitytx.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Aug. 5, 2011

CONTACT: Andrea Guy — 281-403-8534

[email protected]

Missouri City’s New Recreation Superintendent

Earns Prestigious State Parks Award

Meet Shane Mize : Missouri City ’s new Recreation Superintendent is the proud winner of the 2011 Texas Recreation & Parks Society Young Professional Award for his exceptional achievements in the profession. The coveted prize is given to one young professional 35 years old or younger who is actively involved in TRAPS through leadership roles and the promotion of parks and recreation in published articles and research projects.

Mize joined Missouri City in January 2011. He holds a B.B.S. in Sports, Fitness and Leisure Management from Hardin-Simmons and has a M.S. in Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration from Western Illinois University .

Mize currently serves on the NRPA Program Committee and as the Chair-Elect of NRPA’s Young Professional Network; he was featured in the May 2010 NRPA Parks and Recreation Magazine as a “Future Leader in our Field”.

“We feel very fortunate to have Shane on staff to head the Recreation Division,” said Missouri City Parks & Recreation Director Larry Foos . “Shane has a diverse background in providing recreation programs and we appreciate his efforts, work ethic and enthusiasm in providing quality programs and events for our citizens.”

Mize’s experience and expertise has resulted in the introduction of many new programs for residents, including these:

• Fun Fridays
• Special Population Programming—fitness activities for youths and adults
• Rock Your Park Month (July)
• Free Fishing Day
• Texas Nature Challenge
• A blog on the Parks & Recreation web page

The blog will include information and updates on recreation programs and activities and will feature follow-up pictures and reports. The goal is to provide an interactive communications tool to receive feedback from citizens.

Trip to the farm

Midway through the summer, we headed out to Cisco to spend some time with my mom and dad, aka Grandma and Grandpa, on the farm. It was hot, and we hibernated in the house during the hot afternoon, but it wasn't too bad in the morning. We hung out on the porch, explored the pastures, played in the sprinkler and enjoyed our time. We also got to see Ben, Dan, and Naomi while we were there, but I was busy visiting and didn't take any pictures.
My two oldest hanging out in the swing. (I was wishing that we had a swing.)
Gib, of course, renewed friendships with all the farm dogs and animals.
Grace and I were swinging. (This was my favorite spot.)
We took off with Grandma to the back 40. (Literally, it is the back 40 acres of the property.) It was really dry. I don't remember seeing everything so dry in years.
I was getting sentimental. I remember digging whatever makes these little holes by the hour when I was a kid.
This is actually the tank (or pond). It normally has water, but is completely dried up.
Mom and Dad made some great food while we were there. We had hamburgers, ice cream, french fries and cinnamon rolls.
Of course the little guys terrorized Aunt Judith. She was a good sport.
Lucy (the dog) had fun hanging out with the kids. Landry insisted that it was way too hot and she was inside. We enjoyed our visit.

Water Fights

With our big move, one of our main goals for our family has been to slow down and enjoy each other. For far too long, our schedules have been so crazy and packed that we have run our kids ragged and seem to catch each other coming and going. This summer, we made big efforts to clear the schedule and allow for spontaneous, relaxed fun. At first, the kids were reluctant, but who can resist a water balloon fight?!
Landry and Hayden were there mainly for moral support. Gib and Grace filled and tied off a LARGE number of balloons. The rules for the fight were that the older two had no safe zones. The two littles could hit anyone at anytime, but the two older ones could not hit the littles if they were in their safe zone. I only have pictures of the prep, because the actual fight was no-holds-barred. Shane and I were in the middle of it handing out balloons, pelting a few kids ourselves, and getting hit with lots of water. I was a little busy. ;)
Hayden was ready for the action to start. He was getting hot. See his red cheeks?
Gibson was in charge of tying off the balloons. I was impressed with his tying ability.
Landry was mischievous the whole time. She was picking up balloons prematurely and chucking them at everyone. It was a nice way to cool off.

My new lightbox

I am so proud of myself I can hardly stand it. Get ready, because I am about to toot my own horn a smidge.

For a little while, I have struggled with photographing my cards for my website and for publication submissions. I have felt for awhile that the quality of the pictures has been holding me back. I could never seem to get the lighting just right. I would photograph outside on a tv tray and backdrop the cards with white paper, or the garage door. The problem with outside photography (in my expert opinion, ha!) is waiting for the right light, or light period if I was making something at night, and dealing with the wind blowing everything over. Very frustrating. Anyway, I had looked at other people's stuff and finally realized that they were using a light box. Genius. I priced a couple of them and they were around $100. Not so genius. Then I googled lightboxes and realized they are actually really easy to make. I found instructions for one, put it on my pinterest site, and last night, put it together. I used a flashlight as my light source and the kids as my light holders. Wonders never cease...IT WORKED! I have a great light box for FREE! :) (Excuse last night's dinner in the back corner.)
I know, I know... looks great, right?! ;)
Here is the difference that light box makes. I didn't even change exposure, contrast, anything! And I can easily change out backgrounds without trying to time the wind.
I'm a little excited! :)