House of Loca: 2006

Friday, December 15, 2006

Christmas Picture 2006

Pictured above is the Clark Family Christmas Portrait for 2006. This is the picture that we used to print our Christmas cards this year. What makes this unusual for me is that the time needed to take the picture, have cards printed, and place the cards in the mail was less than 24 hours.

Amanda McCormick took the picture, we uploaded the picture to Costco.com, selected our design, and had the cards delivered to our local store. We picked them up the next day and they were out. Truly amazing.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Austin's Chorus Concert

Tonight we attended young Austin's 6th grade Chorus Concert. This was a big deal for Austin because he had to dress up for the occasion. The school took this seriously because we saw them ask 2 boys to leave the stage because they were not wearing a tie. The picture below was taken just before we left for the concert. Austin is wearing the shirt, tie and pants that were purchased just for this occasion. This marks the first time since Preschool that I have seen him don any sort of neckwear. Once we got to the school, it was little strange to see all of the kids due to perform that night sporting dresses, shirts and ties.

Here Tracy and Kara pose for another shot.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Sick

Last week Tracy was under the weather, then over the weekend I felt ill. Today, the entire House of Loca is under the weather. All three of the Clark kids are home from school today. Tracy is none too happy about having to take care of three sick kids, but as I see it, she started it, so it's her fault.

Kellie has a staph infection on her thumb, Kara has Pink Eye, and Austin just doesn't feel well. On top of that, Tracy still hasn't recovered from the bug she caught last week. She has my sympathy.

Kellie has a Chorus concert tonight, but she may not make it. It seems that she really doesn't want to attend. She proved that point last night. When told that Kara had Pink Eye, Kellie rubbed her finger on Kara's eye, then proceeded to rub her on eye with the same hand, in a blatant attempt to contract it as well. We'll know today if she succeeded.

Monday, December 11, 2006

Redskins Game

Austin and I were invited to attend the Redskin game on Sunday to see them host the Philadelphia Eagles. Going to FedEx Field is an all day affair as we departed for the stadium at 10:00AM and arrived home shortly after 6:00PM. As guests of Jimmy Gallant, we were able to gain access to the Redskins Radio VIP Hospitality Tent for free food and drink before the game. We sat in Section 231 in the South End Zone Lower Level right in front of the Jumbotron. Austin was able to see what a very large television screen looked like up close. The screen pixels are so large, you really can't tell what you are looking at. The seats were superb and Austin was able to see an NFL game at a new angle.

As it turned out, the Redskins continued their dismal season, allowing to the Eagles to win a game in which they were statistically beaten. The Redskins running back Ladell Betts ran for 170 yards and the team still lost! That's not supposed to happen and doesn't happen to a good team. The highlight of the game was watching the stadium police forcibly remove two unruly drunkards from the end zone stands below us.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Elbow Dragging

It's been a bit of busy week for me. Last weekend, Suzuki called me up to ask me to ride their new 800cc MotoGP bike in Jerez Spain. Here is a shot of me riding on Sunday. The test went well and I was able to point them in the right direction. The only problem I had was scuffing up the elbows on my new leathers.

2006-2007 GDBA Basketball Season

The new GDBA basketball season is still young, with Austin having just completed his third practice of the year. The team will practice a few more times before the Christmas break and his games will begin next month. The first practices have gone well, and just last night Austin was named the backup point guard, which is a tremendous improvement from last year. He is much more confident handling the ball and is clearly one of the better ball handlers on his team. He has taken a big step in improving his game and his learning to take advantage of his small size. In an after-practice scrimmage last night, he was repeatedly fouled as some of the taller players attempted to steal the ball. In frustration, several of the opposing players simply try to push him out of the way to get the ball. Although not quite Rodman-like he had perfected the art of Hollywooding the foul, making it look like his was fouled much harder than he really was. Given his size, this is very believable and he will make good use of it this year. His playing time is sure to increase this year because he has also improved his shot and is much more aggressive in taking a shot. Last night he broke off the ball, got the pass and buried a jumper, making one of the few shots for his team. He is clearly learning to move without the ball. This looks like a good year.

This is also his first year playing on a 10-foot goal and using a regulation size basketball (29.5", Size 7). Last year he was shooting on a 9-foot rim and using a youth (28.5" ball, Size 6, also the same size ball used by collegiate and professional women).

2006 Winter Chorus Concert

Last night Tracy and I attended the 2006 3rd Grade Winter Chorus Presentation. The theme for Kara and her classmates this year was Dinosaurs. The program was centered around Dinosaur songs and skits.

Xmas Lights

I just spent the weekend decorating the exterior of the house. The job remains a work in progress as the results are just not "Griswald" enough for Tracy. As it stands I have what I feel is an amazing number of items plugged into the 2 outside outlets at the front of the house. To date, I have used every extension cord I own as well as 6 outlet multipliers. I have 23 lighted items plugged into the outlets and haven't blown a fuse yet. I will try and put some pictures up later this week.

Sunday, November 26, 2006

2006 1st Quarter Report Cards

The 2006 First Quarter Reports are out. Overall they are pretty good. This is Kara's first year with letter grades and she has adjusted well. Austin has made the transition to Middle School better than expected, and Kellie continues to shine.

Kara

Course	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
Reading	B
Writing	B
Mathematics	B
Social Studies	A
Science	B
Physical Education	A
Chorus	A

Austin

Course	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
Social Studies	B
Math	C
Science	C+
Language Arts	B
Art	B
Physical Education	A
Chorus	B

Kellie

Course	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
Pre-Algebra	A
Spanish	B
Science	B
Language Arts	B
World History	B+
Physical Education	A
Advanced Chorus	A

Friday, November 24, 2006

Black Friday

This year marks the first time that I have participated in that most American of traditions, Black Friday. Attracted by the low price offered by our local Target for one of the gifts we had decided to buy for the kids, Tracy and I decided to go shopping. Accompanying us on this expedition was our friend Donna. Thanksgiving night, we heard news of 300 people waiting outside the local CompUSA to be first in line once the store opened the next morning. It seems that the flame that attracted these moths was a $99 laptop computer. I don't know how many of the units they had in stock, but I am sure that there were not enough to go around. I later found out that a neighbor of mine parked himself in line at 6:00PM last night in order to get one of these low-priced units. He made the cut. I read the ad and I wonder how many of the prospective buyers realized that included in the price was a required 12-month subscription to Vonage priced at $300?

I did not expect to see anyone outside the Target, but after we arrived at 5:30AM this morning, there was, indeed, a snaking line of people outside desperate to feed their hard-earned money into the coffers within. So, after privately ridiculing my Brother in his failed overnight attempt to give the local Wal-Mart an absurd amount of money for a Sony PS3, here I stood at O dark thirty outside a retailer, trying to get in to drop my own cash. Ironic, isn't it.

Tracy, Donna, and I stood outside for 30 minutes watching the line triple in size. We were about 70 people back in line and I don't know how long some of these people were queued up. Promptly at 6:00AM, the doors opened and the crowd streamed in desperate to grab the $4 DVDs, the $180 LCD TVs, and assorted other items of interest. To make matters worse, I found myself sprinting to the section of the store that held the items I wanted to get. I had scouted the store Wednesday night, so I knew where everything would be. Tracy grabbed a cart, and obviously not trusting my ability to pick up the items of most interest, grabbed the two units we were looking for herself.

The reason for all this was news outside the store that Target only had 21 of the sub-$100 items we were looking for. It turns out they had more, and we got what we wanted. Most everything we went to buy was sold out in less than 15 minutes, so the day was a success.

Kara Clark - 9 Years Old!!

Kara turns 9 today! The baby of the Clark Clan is 9! Shocking, but true. While I struggle with the obvious signs that I am getting older and older every year, it still surprises me that the youngest of my children is 9. I can't possibly be this old can I? A question for another day.

Kara had her birthday party last Saturday at the Clay Time Cafe. She invited 11 of her closest friends. People that know her, and know how personable she is, won't be surprised that the list of 11 was hard to get to. If I could afford it, she could have had 25 people at the party. A party at Clay Time Cafe consists of painting a clay figurine and the store will glaze and fire it for you later. As the birthday girl, Kara will also receive a plate painted and designed by her friends. Kara selected a small jewelry box with a Sun lid, and I am sure that she can be persuaded to show it to all interested parties. We will be picking up the creations tomorrow.

Continuing a tradition among our circle of friends, we are all going out for a celebratory birthday dinner at a location selected by the guest of honor. Tonight, Kara has selected Famous Dave's in Chantilly, VA.

Thanksgiving 2006

Tracy had an unavoidable medical procedure the day before Thanksgiving and given her condition our options for travel were somewhat limited. In the continuing saga of her kidney problems, young Tracy had a Lithotripsy done on Wednesday. It was an outpatient procedure, but we couldn't travel because if a stone was to be passed or dislodged it would be within a few days. Relief came in the form of our good friend Molly who was kind enough to invite us into her home for Thanksgiving dinner. Speaking for myself, I had a great time. Molly is consistently good company and on top of that proved to be an outstanding cook.