June 19, 2010 by Tim
After the Love-Eades Family Reunion and swinging by the fountains in Richardson, we headed out of Dallas to visit with my dad’s side of the family at their place on Lake Whitney. My cousin came up as well, so we also got so see her and her oldest two kids. All of the kids clicked really well (Alana didn’t have anyone of her gender or age range, but she had a doting great-aunt, first-cousin-once-removed, and grandmother, so she made out all right!).
The second cousins briefly pause for a group photo (Benton, Carson, Nathan, TJ, Alana):
The highlight of the day there was taking out Uncle Garry’s pontoon boat and introducing the kids to tubing and kneeboarding. Nathan and TJ are old hands at both, and they coached and instructed Benton and Carson along the way.
Carson and TJ
Nathan and Benton
Carson on the Kneeboard
Benton on the Kneeboard
Alana and Boppa (thumbs-up means “go faster”)
Alana and Julie
J and Alana Swimming off the Boat
And, as usual, I have another dozen or so pictures from that leg of the trip posted in a photo set on Flickr.
Posted in Alana, Benton, Carson, Julie 
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June 17, 2010 by Tim
After the Love-Eades Family Reunion, we headed over to Richardson (Texas) to meet up with Julie’s godparents, Bruce and Cheryl Bone, at some fountains there that have become a tradition for us to visit when in town. Fountains + Kids + a Good Camera = some pretty fun shots.
And, if that’s not enough, there are twice as many of these (and THOSE were drastically culled down — I suck at winnowing) over on Flickr.
Posted in Alana, Benton, Carson No Comments »
June 16, 2010 by Tim
(See the end of this post for links to more pictures from this event.)
We just got back from a trip to Dallas that started with a reunion of the Loves (and Eades) families. It was, ostensibly, timed around the 90th birthdays of my great-uncle, Bill Love, and great-aunt, Jane (Eades) Love.
All of my cousins (and their spouses), second cousins, and their kids on that side of the family made it, which made for 17 kids, of which Benton was the oldest and only one of 4 boys. The kids who hadn’t met each other before clicked immediately, and those of us who hadn’t seen each other in years re-clicked(?) as well.
Friday night included dinner…and a piñata that the honorees took the first whacks at:
Saturday included a tour of the new (Dallas) Cowboys Stadium:
And, following Love Family Reunion tradition, the final evening included a talent show (unjudged). And, also following tradition, the younger set was pressed into a coordinated display of talent:
A handful of other pictures from the event:
I took a lot of pictures over the course of the weekend, but did my best to cull them down to something reasonable. I failed. But, if you’re interested in more pictures (meaning…you’re family, probably):
Posted in Miscellaneous 4 Comments »
June 5, 2010 by Tim
With two older brothers playing baseball, and one of them having played baseball consistently for several years, Alana jumped at the chance to try whiffle ball this year. So far, they’ve just had a couple of practices.
The team holds real promise. I mean, they’ve got a kid who actually has baseball pants AND cleats (that kid not being my daughter):
Alana’s already hard at work on her secret weapon: charm the pitcher with adorableness:
We’ve still got some work to do on the fundamentals — little things like: when batting, keep your eyes open:
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June 4, 2010 by Tim
Today is a landmark day in the Wilson household, as today is the day that Benton graduates. From elementary school. Why, it seems like just five or six years ago that he was graduating from daycare. Or maybe that was Carson. Either way, I was traumatized by the experience of a South Austin hippie-run daycare graduation that included packing a bunch of parents and kids into a very small room with very limited egress and then having a “crossing over” ceremony that involved each kid carrying a (very real and very lit) candle across a small bridge in the middle of the room.
One of my prouder moments of a parent occurred yesterday as I drove Benton back from baseball practice and he groused about having to suffer through the 5th grade graduation ceremony today, already predicting that it would be mind-numbingly tedious. That’s my boy!
Now, in all seriousness (and by “in all seriousness” I mean, of course, “in utter mockery), Benton is growing up. He’s beginning to ask questions. Questions like, “If my dad is constantly posting updates to a family blog, should I be regularly checking to see what he’s writing to make sure he isn’t embarrassing me?” He hasn’t asked that question yet, but I know the days when I can freely publish Benton cute-isms are numbered. With that in mind, I have transcribed Benton’s page in the Glacier Ridge Elementary 5th Grade Memory Book:
My 5th Grade Memories 2009-2010
Name: Benton Wilson
Nickname: <blank>
Parents: Tim and Julie
Siblings: Carson and Alana
Pets: Molly (Dog)
A Few of My Favorite Things
Food: Cherry Pie
Color: Midnight Blue
School Subject: Math
Game: Guitar Hero
T.V. Show: <blank>
Book: The Gray Ghost (Ed. Note: This is a book that was published in 1926 and that, like his dad, Benton dug out of a box of books that was floating around as a hand-me-down from a prior generation. The editor thinks he may need to give it another read, and also sort of wonders if his mother will chime in with additional reader lineage details.)
Hobbies: Lasers and fire making (Ed. Note: That’s not what it sounds like.)
Candy: <blank>
Movie: <blank>
Sport: <blank>
Other Activites: <blank> (Ed. Note: These last four items were all in a second column, and it is the editor’s opinion that Benton was exhibiting his characteristic attention to detail — and lack thereof — when faced with a task in which he had little interest and simply missed the entire column.)
Family Vacation: When we went to Colorado (Ed. Note: this was in the summer of 2006 — family vacations apparently have been downhill ever since for him. See photo at the end of this post.)
The best thing about 5th grade: Getting more privileges.
My favorite Glacier Ridge Memory: When the bridge on Mrs. Bordon’s violin snapped.
What I am looking forward to about Middle School: Having multiple teachers and getting home a lot earlier
When I grow up, I want to be: an electrical engineer
My goals for the future: To be a lot more organized
I’ll always remember: MY FRIENDS
Ed. Note: It seemed worth digging up a picture of Benton from that family vacation to Colorado. The picture below was actually taken in New Mexico en route to Colorado, but it’s the same trip:
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June 2, 2010 by Tim
Two Fridays ago, we wound up with an afternoon of Cooperating Kids in our basement — Alana and Carson from our house, Alex from across the cul de sac, and Delaney from down the street. The cooperative play lasted for hours and hours and on into the night, so Julie (who had been up until 2:00 in the morning on Friday morning with a gang from the PTO) made the snap decision to suggest a sleepover. Four sleeping bags, some popcorn, and a movie, and all went well!
They got up the next morning and played for the entire morning before dispersing and, by all accounts, collapsing from exhaustion.
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June 1, 2010 by Tim
Benton’s baseball season officially got under way last weekend. The team has been practicing for a couple of months, and the first scheduled games of the season got rained out. Benton told me on the ride home that he officially has four different pitches he now throws effectively (none of them are risky arm-wise — just varying speeds and release points). I don’t know if they all include the same fierce grimace:
Benton pitched 3.0 innings in the first game and then briefly came in in relief in the second game for 0.2 innings. To date, he’s sitting on a 0.00 ERA, but it’s a bit early in the season to get too excited about that! He caught a pop-up while he was pitcher for one putout, and, in the second game, he caught a fly ball to deep center field. By his own description, he’s seen better days offensively, but it was still respectable: 4 official at bats that include 1 strikeout and 1 hit (a single), 3 walks, and he scored 2 runs. So, he’s started off the season batting .250 but with a .571 on-base percentage (but who’s counting?).
Unfortunately, the Dublin Dodgers dropped the first game 9-5 and fought to a 9-9 tie in the second game. But, the team has clearly improved over the past few seasons, and is starting to have some consistent hitters who regularly hit for power. In other words, the games are just that much more fun to watch!
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May 31, 2010 by Tim
A few shots from around the University of Michigan campus — near proximity to the Stephen M. Ross School of Business.
The business school itself — the new building completed in January 2009:
Future MBAs?
A tree in the Cook Law Quad:
A sampling of the gargoyles that adorn the windows and doorways of the law school buildings:
I have no idea how this sign could have sustained this damage:
Posted in Miscellaneous 1 Comment »
May 30, 2010 by Tim
Squeezed into an absolutely insane week for me travel-wise, I managed to walk around the University of Michigan campus for a half hour and take some pictures. It’s a really nice campus, and, being a lush spring day, the fox squirrels were out in full force.
This little fella’ was taking a drink from a pipe that was drilled deep into a massive tree in the Cook Law Quad:
Another squirrel was munching on a nut of some sort that he’d found:
One squirrel actually deigned to pause his explorations to check me out:
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May 29, 2010 by Tim
Soccer season for Benton ended last weekend. He had an end-of-season tournament, where his team was expected to play two games before being knocked out (which they were), followed by the first baseball games of the season as a doubleheader. As it turned out, the baseball games got cancelled at the last minute due to the weather.
Benton’s friend, Josh, is a teammate, which has made the season all that more enjoyable.
The team that knocked Benton’s team out of the tournament included his friend Nick (Benton’s watching Nick rather than the ball in the picture below), who is also a baseball teammate.
Benton enjoyed the season throughout, so it looks like he’s officially back to being a two-sport kid.
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