Conrad Hilton, San Juan Puerto Rico

Freezes in the hammock.

Hamburgers for dinner at Buns Burger Shop.

Face painting

3 Macs in ORANGE on the beach

View behind the Conrad

Bounce house

Behind the Conrad

Happy 13th...Another teenager in the house

Look mom, I look like a bunny with all these missing teeth!

Birthday dinner at Cheesecake Factory

No matter how many birthdays come and go, you will always be our baby girl.

You are a precious gift that keeps bringing joy & happiness to our family.

You are truly a blessing.

Happy 13th Birthday! We LOVE you!!

GREETINGS FOR A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

I am writing this letter to say best wishes to everyone for the Christmas and New Year.

Ruff. Ruff. When I look back the one word we will use to describe 2011 is BUSY. That may have been the same word used to describe previous years, but you get the point. We’ve had a happy, busy year in the Mac House! Although, we’d love to call each and everyone of you personally to get your family updates and share ours, I realize busy schedules work against us so here is my best effort to bring you up to speed. You can also get updates at www.macgrandle.com . 2011 was the year of ball, hockey, Europe and ME for the MacGrandle family.

David spent over a year planning a 2 1/2 week family trip to Europe in June. They flew to London (bus tour, small hotel rooms, Les Mis, Wicked, Tube), took a train under the English Channel to Paris (smaller hotel rooms, Louvre, stolen iPhone, Disney Europe, Eiffel Tower, Seine boat tour, bus tour, Arch de Triomphe, Notre Dame, Paris Opera house, Metro ), took an overnight hotel train to Barcelona (Las Ramblas, Gaudi, Olympic stadium, rain) and then embarked on a 7 day Mediterranean cruise ( Nice, Toulon, Monte Carlo, Florence, Rome, Vatican City, Naples, Pompeii, Amalfi Coast, Flow Rider), and all returning safely back to Texas through London.

Alex completed her freshman year at Frisco High School with amazing academic and softball success. She earned Honorable Mention All District and All Academic All District playing varsity softball and received her varsity letter man jacket. She hit two over-the-fence home runs and enjoys the camaraderie with her team. Alex is now a sophomore and is active in many school clubs. She drives in 6 months. AHHHH!

Maddie is now a very busy 7 th grader. She too brings home all “A” report cards. She just finished playing volleyball, and is now playing basketball for school. She continues to play the flute and is in the 8th grade symphonic band. Maddie is still playing lots of softball (picking up on four different teams) and played in 24 weekend tournaments. She had to take a short break over the summer due to a back injury. She is now recovering from getting 2 teeth pulled at the dentist and a visit to the periodontist to pull 2 more baby teeth and expose 2 adult teeth in preparation for brace$.

Andrew continues to play select hockey and baseball. He is on the ice 4+ times a week. Dad wishes the coaching was a bit better. Andrew also played baseball on a couple different teams this past year. In late summer, he cracked the growth plate in his elbow and was told to rest. He missed a month of hockey and fall ball season. He is unable to play baseball again until spring. He is an active 5 th grader who rides his bike and rip stick, and to Dad’s disliking plays video games when the weather is bad. Dad really can’t complain as Andrew also maintains an “A” average in school.

Natalie is the family glue making sure the Mac household runs smoothly. She knows every ice rink and ball diamond in the DFW area and when/where every school activity is scheduled. She is also the taxi that gets everybody where they need to be. She is looking for a cook who enjoys preparing meals for a family of five. Ah heck...you might as well add someone that loves to do tons of laundry. All interested can apply by email.

ME, I joined the family in July. I was a birthday present to Mom. I enjoy chasing my best friend Coco and playing with the MacGrandles, my family. I have been enjoying the good life. I get treated like a TOTAL PRINCESS. I think Coco is a bit jealous of me.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,

Lola ( Dad calls me "Fluffy")

Where was I? World Series Game #7

Oct 28, 2011 - World Series Game 7 Tonight… baseball has been an important constant in my life. I enjoy the game… I have many fond childhood memories with friends, and my Dad (playing catch, going to the batting cage before games, allowing the AC to run in the car J… ) high school and college baseball was exciting, I wish I knew then what I know now about the game… I played on a Connie Mack team that won a national title (Farmington, New Mexico)… I played until 30 years old when the time commitment became too much…

I can remember going to many Rangers games at the old Arlington stadium… had season tickets at Skydome… I am blessed to have kids that enjoy playing the game… it has been a conduit to many life learning experiences that I have shared with them… it creates a reason to talk if ever silence…

I played Fantasy baseball for years… I can remember getting stats in the mail, and making trades before the midnight Sunday deadline… the draft was a blast… we went to Disney World the year I won both the AL and NL…

I love baseball movies, collect baseball memorabilia and enjoy the history of baseball as a backdrop against the history of the USA… Ken Burns is the man… it is odd that I don’t watch that many MLB baseball games, and would much prefer going to the Rough Riders… I don’t have a favorite team… My favorite player is Lou Gehrig followed closely by Derek Jeter…

I remember an early date with Natalie at the old Cleveland Municipal Stadium where she read a book while I watched the Indians… since then, our family has structured a vacation to California making sure we saw the stadiums for the Dodgers, Padres and Angels… my son and I have been in old Yankee Stadium by ourselves… we have been to Cooperstown… when we moved from DFW to Toronto I made sure we stayed over in St Louis, and then KC to see the stadiums… took the tour of Fenway… saw a Cubs game with my oldest… we once drove from the “long way” to Cleveland from Toronto in order to stop at the new Tiger’s stadium… I took my middle daughter to Camden Yards and RFK while at a baptism weekend… we have spent three spring breaks on both sides of Florida at spring training games… we saw a World Baseball Classic game in Miami…

I have watched most, if not all, of this year’s World Series games… I have had no real desire to go to a game… probably odd… I enjoyed our family watching game #6 until 11:30pm last night, a school night…

My son has a hockey game tonight at 6:30pm… same night as World Series Game 7... I’ll catch the end of the World Series Game… but won’t miss my son’s hockey game… or any of my kid’s activities… I will, however, remember where I was during Game 7 of the 2011 World Series…