Buggy Boo's Birthday Party

Klein High School Homecoming

Too beautiful for words

 

Thomas & Skye

 The proud parents

 The eager sisters

 Representing this year's mum...

 Michaela LOVES going to high school football games. We were wondering what part she loves the most...cheerleaders, standleaders, marching band, color guard, drill team, etc. Then she asked if she could play football. Ha! I like a girl who wants to be clapped for instead of being the clapper!

Papa & Tutu Come to Austin

Well, we didn't see any bats but we had a pretty good time anyway!

 

 Reiley can't start her day without a morning cup of joe!

 Papa, Tutu and the kids

 The Famdamily

Sweet, Sweaty September

 

Fall is all about running around here. The high school hosted it's 11th annual Bearkat Bash. Skye and I ran the 5k and Michaela ran the 1k. Michaela's was not a timed race, but she did very well and I believe would have won a medal for her age group if they kept time. Skye finished in 10th place for her age group of 14 with a time of 30:17 (9:31/Mile pace). I finished 7th out of 11 for my age group at 31:33 (9:55/Mile pace). I love running with my girls!

 

Post the 1k, Pre 5k...

 

First XC meet of the season, Friday Night Lights in The Woodlands. Skye's 2 mile time was 18:28

 Klein High's JV XC Team! Skye beat her best 2 mile time at this meet of 17:56. GO SKYE!

Maui Time!

Mike's B-Day

 

This is what Mike looked like when he opened a gift from his parents...

 

 So happy...

 This is what Mike looked like when he opened my gift...

 Which consisted of this...

Hard to tell which he liked better, huh? 

The First Day of School Has Arrived

The 411

It has been a craaaAAAzy few months. Here's what we've been up to since our last post...

I succumbed to motherhood and am now sporting one of these...*see picture below*. This is not my van. Mine's black. I had to at least retain some coolness. I do rather like the glamor shot of this van though. It makes me think of all I am now capable of doing with a minivan.

Skye went to the military ball with her bf, Chris, who was in JROTC this year. Ain't she purdy? We were so late getting her hair done that we only had time to snap this photo. Trust me, she was GORGEOUS. The dress was floor length and fit her like a glove.

Michaela joined the neighborhood swim team, the Sharks. We were told if you want your kids to learn how to swim make them join the swim team. I listened to sage advice and voila! She started at the end of April not even able to swim the length of the pool freestyle. Now she can do the breast stroke, back stroke, and butterfly! She loves earning ribbons at her swim meets (which consume every Saturday for 6+ hours).

Mike surprised the girls with a ginormous backyard play set. It completely eats up our entire backyard, but it's so worth it. Look at those smiles! 

I learned how to preserve eggs! After being slathered with mineral oil they can live on a shelf for 6-9 months. Um, awesome!



Meet Chloe. She's the newest member of our brood. She's a chocolate Miniature Pinscher, aka Min Pin. We love her and all but if she gnaws another pair of my shoes I'm going to mount her on the wall. Not really...look at that tiny little face! She was only 6 weeks when we adopted her and weighed less than 4 pounds. She has made significant progress in both weight and human interaction these last 2 weeks. 

Super Becky, my sister-in-law, made this divine german chocolate cake for my brother and me. Our birthdays are a day apart and we got to celebrate together this year. The girls and I played hooky from work & school and drove up to Dallas with mom to swim and hang out with Matt & Becky. Lots of fun and good memories made.

Me, Matt, and Mom. I made it to 32 and Matt to 35! 

Now this is something I cannot believe I did and will probably never do again. Rice University holds an All Comers track meet on Thursday nights in May & June. Skye's running team was going to run in it and I thought I'd join in for a little fun. As soon as I got there and saw all the beautiful bodies I regretted the decision. Unfortunately it was too late; I was already outfitted with my special race participant bracelet. I haven't run an actual race since middle school. No joke. Check out these results! The winner ran almost a mile in only 4 freaking minutes and 48 seconds. Whaaaat??! If this were any other race, I would have been estatic with the results. I usually jog a mile in about 9 1/2 minutes.

1500 – women

Name Distance

Rachel Tidwell 4:48.31

Amy guinn 4:54.69

Faith barba 5:24.12

Rebbeca marvel 5:44.91

Michaela leveret 5:53.12

Amanda Garza 6:11.66

Deborah Thomas 6:20.70

Rebecca Garza 6:22.36

Skye Brown 7:49.55

Robyn Brown 8:19.44

And now our dog. Really?

BISHOP BEAR BROWN

July 26, 2002- May 1, 2012

Bishop was the greatest boxer that ever lived. He was strong, playful, handsome and smart. He was great with children and loved nothing more than to be around his family. He would let babies crawl over him, steal his toys, and take away his food. He lived to protect his family and would never let anyone hurt them. Bishop enjoyed running, playing tug-of-war, cuddling, and riding in cars. He will be missed dearly by those who loved him.

Dad's Obituary

ANSEL "ROCKY" PACKER

| PACKER
ANSEL E. "ROCKY"
62, of Moon Township, formerly of Marysville, Kansas, was taken from us unexpectedly on April 23, 2012. Born July 30, 1949, in Wellington, Kansas, he was the only child of the late Loyal and Evelyn (Wasserman) Packer. Ansel graduated from Marysville High School, where he played a variety of sports, and still held a fond place in his heart for his home town. While playing high school football, he earned the nickname "Rocky" from the coach who couldn't remember his unique first name. After graduation from Fort Hays Kansas State University in 1971, with a degree in Political Science, he left the Midwest to move to Washington, DC, where he began his 33-year career as a Special Agent with the FBI. He was always proud of the fact he began his career under the leadership of J. Edgar Hoover. For three years, he was assigned exclusively to Capitol Hill as a liaison agent with daily responsibilities to interview U.S. Congressmen, Senators, Supreme Court Justices, and various other staff members. Additionally, in 1974, he earned his Master of Arts Degree in Forensic Science from George Washington University. In 1984, he was re-assigned to the Pittsburgh FBI office where he worked in the areas of international terrorism, was the Division's Drug Demand Reduction Coordinator, conducted civil right investigations, health care fraud investigations, and was the Sr. Resident Agent for the North Pittsburgh FBI office when he retired in 2005. In 1991, he was presented with the Outstanding Youth Service Award by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Pennsylvania. In 1997, he was presented a Certificate of Appreciation from the U.S. Department of Justice for meritorious service. Ansel was an avid reader, a history buff, and enjoyed genealogy, watching old time movies, golfing, gardening, traveling, and cleaning. Even though he lived on the East coast for over 40 years, he truly missed the wide open spaces of the Midwest. After moving to Pittsburgh, he became an avid fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He will be missed immensely by his wife of 25 years, Judy (Franc) Packer; four children, Matt (Becky) Packer of Copper Canyon, TX, Robyn (Mike) Brown of Spring, TX, Nicole (Jason) Fowkes, of Cranberry Twp, PA, Sean Packer (Lauren Price), of Moon, PA; four grandchildren: Skye, Michaela and Reiley Brown and Carson Fowkes; father and mother-in-law (John and Martha Franc); numerous brothers and sisters-in-laws; and nieces and nephews. Ansel was one of the nicest people you would ever meet. He was known for his loyalty, kindness, and dedication to his family and friends – especially the love he had for his family. Friends will be received on Thursday, April 26 from 2-8 p.m. in the HUNTSMAN FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION SERVICES OF MOON TWP. (1522 Coraopolis Hts. Rd.). Where friends will also be received from 9 a.m. until time of funeral service at 10 a.m. on Friday. Interment will follow in Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Hopewell Twp. In lieu of flowers, the family wishes memorial contributions be made to the West Hills Food Bank or the Boys and Girls Clubs of Western PA.
www.huntsmanfuneralhomes.com
Send condolences at post-gazette.com/gb

Published in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from April 25 to April 26, 2012

The Results Are In...

Skye & Michaela ran the Blue Bell Run Run this morning! After they ran they got to eat all the ice cream they wanted! Results are...

MICHAELA ran the 1 Mile race...

Total time: 9:02/mi.
Overall Place: 69 out of 386
Gender Place: 26/207
Age Place: 16/64

SKYE ran her first 10k (6.22 miles)...

Total Time: 1:14:28
Total Pace: 11:50/mile
Overall Place: 872/1184
Gender Place: 485/720
Age Place: 8/14

The girls did *A*W*E*S*SO*M*E*!!!

Westward Ho!

In memory of the courageous and faithful Mormon pioneers, the youth in our stake are doing a trek this weekend in the Sam Houston National Park. They've been preparing for months...sewing skirts and bonnets, physical training, and most importantly family history research. While they will not have to endure the trials that the original pioneers did, they'll still be tested. They'll be hiking 20-30 miles in 2 days wearing pioneer clothing. They'll be pushing and pulling handcarts and carrying their personal belongings in 5-gallon buckets. Skye was excited to leave this afternoon. We'll see how it really went when I pick her up on Saturday night :)

Oh YES you CAN

Can butter!

You can also make delicious spring rolls, but canNOT can them.

Family Pictures!