Did I mention these guys were very, very muddy? And, since this was a spur-of-the-moment activity, they had no facilities for getting rinsed off before they got back into their cars to drive home. Last we saw, they were trouping down to the river to try to wash off. I'm sure the river water was very, very cold, and it was a long walk from their vehicles. They were in fine spirits, tho!

Sandy and I went for a drive today to enjoy all the sights and sounds of spring. We were delighted to come upon an extemporaneous game of "mud soccer" being enthusiastically played by a very wet, slippery, and happy group of university students.

Hello All!!

I don't have much new to report but I thought I'd check the waters and see who else checks in from time to time.

We have nearly finished another school year and are gearing up for Summer. Both the kids will be in the same daycare program this year. It is the afterschool program run by the school, they also do full days in the summer. Sunil made the age cut off by two whole days. There are at least five other Kindergarten age kids from our school registered. We may actually find neighborhood kids Sunil's age. Texas is big on privacy fences around the backyard. We can hear the neighbors but we rarely see them. It makes it hard to see how old the kids are (the yards with kids usually have a swing set).

I miss you all, Karin

Tennis

Well, at least I showed up for the Tennessee State Championships, Super Seniors. Although I did have time to wonder what in the world I thought I was doing there. Our team won NO matches. OK, we won a few games, and my teammates even took a couple of sets, but no matches. We received lots of compliments on our uniforms, though, and Lois and I were told that we were the "nicest" team our competitors had met on the courts. So, I guess that counts for something.

Life is tough in paradise!

Fall Break

The reward for starting school at the beginning of August is a week Fall Break in October. Since both the kids had their break the same week this year we actually took a trip. We drove down to Big Bend National Park in Southwest Texas. It's about a 10 hour drive from here and pretty barren. But the desert was striking and the trip wonderful. I'm glad we went.

I posted pictures to my Flickr account but I hit my free picture upload limit for the month so I either need to cough up for a paid subscription or wait until next month to get the rest out there.

Okay Smith Kith.......

Cathy asked about getting the round robin going around again. I voted against that because I felt like we could handle the technology and use this blog to keep each other up to date from time to time. My question is... will I be the only one throwing stuff out here? For that you could stop by my regular blog Life's Little Things and it doesn't get me caught up on you and yours. Shall we start the round robin again?

In the meantime.... School is well underway here. Sheela's teacher calls and/or emails four or five times a week. I'm in awe of how much communication there really is bettween the students, the teachers and the parents. It just doesn't seem like school the way that I remember it. Sunil is apparently focused on maps. He can find Texas, Asia and Europe on any map even if it's a map of New England. There may be some room for refinement of his technique. Our soccer season kicked off with a tournament last weekend. Sheela's team is undefeated, and Sunil's team is, er, defeated. It was the first time the boys had ever played and they had to play up a level. Sid is hosting his second wine dinner this evening and I have nothing new to say about me. I hope that you are all well (and that you'll tell us about it).

Yet more photos!

OK, as of August 26, there are even more photos on the Flickr.com Smithkith page. Today's are mine, but Kevin added a bunch recently, too. Give 'em a glance. Marilyn