3 of the Baird boys (Braden, Logan and Steve) entered a little contest...see entry below. :) It was sponsored by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. There was a writing contest and a social studies teacher of the year contest. If you can believe it, they all won! It was a Baird Trifecta! Braden won for fourth grade, Logan won for seventh grade and Steve won social studies teacher of the year! This was all for the San Jacinto Region. Those three winners were sent to the district level to compete. Unfortunately Braden and Logan did not win, but our very own Steve won district social studies teacher of the year! We are still waiting to hear if he won state. If he is the state social studies teacher of the year, we will get to go to a fancy Daughters of the Republic of Texas dinner in May in San Antonio! We will certainly keep you posted...we are so very proud! :) See the post below to read the stories...
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Texas History Contest
We really like Texas History in our house, and it is especially fun this year since both Braden and Logan are learning about it in 4th and 7th grade. Plus, Steve teaches it. Every year the Daughters of the Republic of Texas sponsor a writing contest and a Social Studies Teacher of the Year contest. The Baird boys are right in the middle of all the contests. The writing topic this year was The Alamo. Both Braden and Logan entered the contests, and Steve entered the Teacher of the Year contest. We are crossing our fingers that soon we will have some winners in our house! Here is a picture of Steve "drawing a line in the sand" and the stories that the boys' submitted. 
The Fall of the Alamo by Braden Baird
As I sit here today on this cool, crisp, March morning, I can hear the sounds of laughing children and vendors selling hot dogs. There are tourists passing by me, some reaching out to touch me as they enter the grounds. It wasn’t always like this. Let me take you back 175 years when the sounds were much different. Before I go on, I will introduce myself. My name is Wallie, one of the main walls of the old mission known as the Alamo. If walls could talk, my story might go a little something like this…
It was March 6, 1836. I was the Texians’ eyes and ears, and the Mexicans with their leader, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, were sneaking up on us. I wondered how I could wake up those Texians so they could defend the mission. I wiggled and jiggled because I felt a loose adobe brick. I started to push as hard as you would push if you were trying to move a mountain. The adobe brick fell which snapped a stick, making a crackling sound. The snap was loud enough to wake David Crockett with his raccoon skin cap and his rifle, Betsy, lying beside him.
David went out into the palisade and saw all 2,400 Mexican troops lined up. He yelled, “The Mexicans are upon us!” David’s strong voice was loud enough to wake up all the others. The Mexicans charged, and the Texians defended the mission. The Mexicans fired their cannons. Boom! They fired one of their cannons and the cannonball hit me hard. It really hurt. I was as shaken up as a tree after a Texas twister. As I recovered, I heard another Boom! I cried out in pain begging them to stop, but they continued to bombard me.
As I watched the commander of the Alamo, William B. Travis, get shot by one of Santa Anna’s men, my heart filled with sorrow. I started to lose hope. The Alamo defenders fought back at Santa Anna’s army as hard as they could, but Santa Anna could just not be stopped. He walked around like a strutting peacock, his medals covering his jacket. Suddenly I heard a thud. I looked to see where the sound came from, and I knew it was all over.
I felt the ladders being propped up against me. It was so horrifying that I just closed my eyes. As I heard the scream of the last Alamo defender, I knew that the battle was over. As I watched the cruel Santa Anna burn the bodies of the Alamo defenders, I felt hatred and revenge because he didn’t even give them a proper burial…the worst shame a fallen soldier could have. I knew they deserved so much more. The battle was over almost before it ever started.
A lot has changed over the past 175 years. I still remain, but many of my friends are gone, torn down in front of my very eyes. The sounds of firing guns have been replaced by the laughter of children. But one thing remains…I can still hear the screams of the Alamo defenders, and I will always remember their courage and bravery.
Fall of the Alamo: As Seen Through the Eyes of Davy Crockett
by Logan Baird
It was 5:00 am, March 6, 1836. We’d been holding these old walls for 12 days and I knew the Mexican soldiers would attack soon. That was when I heard a twig snap. I woke up, looked beyond the walls, and saw a never ending meadow of Mexican soldiers on their stomachs ready to attack at any moment. I saw the moonbeams glinting off their bayonets.
Suddenly, I heard one of them yell “Viva Santa Anna!” and then all hell broke loose as they started charging toward our garrison like a pack of wolves chasing their prey.
At that moment, gunfire erupted signaling that the other Alamo defenders were awake. Almeron shouted orders to his men, and I could faintly hear Travis’s voice shouting, “The Mexicans are upon us men, Liberty or Death!” Ducking behind the sticks and mud we called the south wall, I thought of Bowie lying in his hospital bed.
As I loaded my gun ‘Ol’ Betsy, everything was chaos. Mexicans stampeded and shot one another in the confusion. I poked my gun through the sticks towards my running enemies and squeezed the trigger. Ol Betsy jumped in my hand as a musket ball flew out of the barrel. Darkness enveloped me making it impossible to see if I found my mark, but I felt confident in my accuracy.
My shot was not wasted; there were so many targets. I dumped another charge down the barrel and rammed the bullet home into another advancing enemy. The Mexicans battle cries rose like a howling wind from a spring Thunderstorm. The 18 pounder roared as a cannon ball exploded into dozens of soldiers carrying scaling ladders. Above it all, Santa Anna’s band triumphantly played the “Deguallo,” meaning slit throat. I fired again and this time the bullet hit an officer with his sword raised in one hand and a pistol in the other. His body remained entwined among the jagged sticks of the palisade.
Beyond the walls was confusion. The casualties were far greater than they expected, so the enemy retreated and regrouped. The Texians began to cheer behind the walls as the remaining scattered like a field of mice. The cheers reminded me of the crowds that welcomed me as my fame was growing in Washington.
There was a trace of dawn in the sky as the second wave of Mexican soldiers attacked. All the cannons on the south wall fired at the same time toward the dark shadows that were charging towards us. A hail of musket fire followed, and the attack began to falter. I saw soldiers heading towards the North wall to help reinforce the attack there. “Let’s give Colonel Travis some help,” I shouted and half my men started to follow me. While we were running to the North wall I heard several of the men shout “Don Benito,” my Spanish nickname. I had to get the men fired up so I ran up and down the line shouting words of encouragement. Suddenly, a head of a soldier appeared on a ladder. I swung my rifle with all my might. WHACK!!! The stock hit him right in the left temple. With a grunt, the man fell backwards and onto the soldiers below. One by one the Mexican soldiers were killed as they reached the top of their ladders.
As my breath quickened, I soon was gasping for breath. One, two, three….more ladders continued appearing along the wall. As quickly as possible we pushed them back onto the waiting soldiers below. I cheered with the rest of the Texians so they wouldn’t see my ever increasing doubts. Deep inside I knew the battle was far from won. One more time, I told myself. We stand a chance if we can hold them just one more time.
As I turned back towards the palisade I saw Travis standing proud against the surging tide. Then he fell backward dead from a single musket ball. I didn’t have time to grieve because Mexican soldiers were pouring through the breach in the north wall. I felt the ghostly fingers of a fired ball graze past my cheek and felt it strike Micajah behind me.
I fired one shot and quickly dumped more powder into my rifle. My last shot took the life of a screaming officer who had been running towards me with his bayonet. My friends were dying all around me. Some were old friends who had fought the Creek Indians with me and others had hunted the Tennessee woods. I swung my rifle like a club but I was quickly surrounded by the angry hordes. I felt pain ripple up my left arm as I saw soldiers pouring over every wall. Our flag, flying proudly just a second ago was now gone.
The smoke from the cannons and muskets made it hard to breathe. The light of the suns first rays reflected off the bright helmets and lances of the Mexican Calvary as they hurdled over the palisade. The sun had barely risen as I kneeled in the dirt. I was blackened from powder smoke and grim. My clothes were torn and stained with blood. I had a gash on my forehead from the soldier who bashed me with his rifle. General Cos had given me his word that I would not be killed. As I stared into Santa Anna’s cruel eyes, I heard him say, “Kill Him!” The last thing I saw was my reflection off of the soldiers’ bayonets as they charged me.
It was 5:00 am, March 6, 1836. We’d been holding these old walls for 12 days and I knew the Mexican soldiers would attack soon. That was when I heard a twig snap. I woke up, looked beyond the walls, and saw a never ending meadow of Mexican soldiers on their stomachs ready to attack at any moment. I saw the moonbeams glinting off their bayonets.
Suddenly, I heard one of them yell “Viva Santa Anna!” and then all hell broke loose as they started charging toward our garrison like a pack of wolves chasing their prey.
At that moment, gunfire erupted signaling that the other Alamo defenders were awake. Almeron shouted orders to his men, and I could faintly hear Travis’s voice shouting, “The Mexicans are upon us men, Liberty or Death!” Ducking behind the sticks and mud we called the south wall, I thought of Bowie lying in his hospital bed.
As I loaded my gun ‘Ol’ Betsy, everything was chaos. Mexicans stampeded and shot one another in the confusion. I poked my gun through the sticks towards my running enemies and squeezed the trigger. Ol Betsy jumped in my hand as a musket ball flew out of the barrel. Darkness enveloped me making it impossible to see if I found my mark, but I felt confident in my accuracy.
My shot was not wasted; there were so many targets. I dumped another charge down the barrel and rammed the bullet home into another advancing enemy. The Mexicans battle cries rose like a howling wind from a spring Thunderstorm. The 18 pounder roared as a cannon ball exploded into dozens of soldiers carrying scaling ladders. Above it all, Santa Anna’s band triumphantly played the “Deguallo,” meaning slit throat. I fired again and this time the bullet hit an officer with his sword raised in one hand and a pistol in the other. His body remained entwined among the jagged sticks of the palisade.
Beyond the walls was confusion. The casualties were far greater than they expected, so the enemy retreated and regrouped. The Texians began to cheer behind the walls as the remaining scattered like a field of mice. The cheers reminded me of the crowds that welcomed me as my fame was growing in Washington.
There was a trace of dawn in the sky as the second wave of Mexican soldiers attacked. All the cannons on the south wall fired at the same time toward the dark shadows that were charging towards us. A hail of musket fire followed, and the attack began to falter. I saw soldiers heading towards the North wall to help reinforce the attack there. “Let’s give Colonel Travis some help,” I shouted and half my men started to follow me. While we were running to the North wall I heard several of the men shout “Don Benito,” my Spanish nickname. I had to get the men fired up so I ran up and down the line shouting words of encouragement. Suddenly, a head of a soldier appeared on a ladder. I swung my rifle with all my might. WHACK!!! The stock hit him right in the left temple. With a grunt, the man fell backwards and onto the soldiers below. One by one the Mexican soldiers were killed as they reached the top of their ladders.
As my breath quickened, I soon was gasping for breath. One, two, three….more ladders continued appearing along the wall. As quickly as possible we pushed them back onto the waiting soldiers below. I cheered with the rest of the Texians so they wouldn’t see my ever increasing doubts. Deep inside I knew the battle was far from won. One more time, I told myself. We stand a chance if we can hold them just one more time.
As I turned back towards the palisade I saw Travis standing proud against the surging tide. Then he fell backward dead from a single musket ball. I didn’t have time to grieve because Mexican soldiers were pouring through the breach in the north wall. I felt the ghostly fingers of a fired ball graze past my cheek and felt it strike Micajah behind me.
I fired one shot and quickly dumped more powder into my rifle. My last shot took the life of a screaming officer who had been running towards me with his bayonet. My friends were dying all around me. Some were old friends who had fought the Creek Indians with me and others had hunted the Tennessee woods. I swung my rifle like a club but I was quickly surrounded by the angry hordes. I felt pain ripple up my left arm as I saw soldiers pouring over every wall. Our flag, flying proudly just a second ago was now gone.
The smoke from the cannons and muskets made it hard to breathe. The light of the suns first rays reflected off the bright helmets and lances of the Mexican Calvary as they hurdled over the palisade. The sun had barely risen as I kneeled in the dirt. I was blackened from powder smoke and grim. My clothes were torn and stained with blood. I had a gash on my forehead from the soldier who bashed me with his rifle. General Cos had given me his word that I would not be killed. As I stared into Santa Anna’s cruel eyes, I heard him say, “Kill Him!” The last thing I saw was my reflection off of the soldiers’ bayonets as they charged me.
Monday, March 21, 2011
The Rest of Spring Break
The rest of Spring Break was spent having a garage sale to make money for the wedding. We had a good time and sold a lot of junk. We made enough money to pay for the cake and the flowers. We were so excited! We plan to have another in July or August after we get married to continue to sell some things that we will no longer need. We also played a game of Electronic Monopoly which by the way is one of the best inventions ever. There is no paper money...instead there are electronic debit cards...way cool. We also enjoyed dinner and game nights with friends as well as some trips to get frozen yogurt. All in all, our staycation was perfect. It sure does make us all ready for summer though!
Spring Break Day 5: Treadway Farm
Day 5 was by far the best day of Spring Break. The Treadways invited us to their farm/ranch up in Normangee. We spent the day outside and had a blast. We got to ride 4 wheelers and the boys learned how to skip rocks and split logs. Jim and Nolan became best buds. Nolan followed him around like a puppy dog. We played washers and catch and cooked out on the grill. It was the best day ever! Thank you so much Sherri and Jim for having us out to your ranch. We had a great time and can't wait to come back. I think the pictures say it all...enjoy!
Skipping Rocks
Playing Baseball
Having Lunch
Splitting Logs
Playing Washers
Playing the DS in peace
Riding 4 Wheelers...they were ADDICTED!
Nolan loved hanging out with Mr. Jim...
Brotherly Love
Spring Break Day 4: Brenham
On Tuesday, we got up and headed to Brenham. The plan was to eat at Must Be Heaven and then head over to Bluebell Creamery to take a tour and eat some ice cream. Well, our day didn't exactly go according to plan. We ate at Must Be Heaven and it was pretty yummy, but when we arrived at Bluebell Creamery, it was pretty apparant that we wouldn't be touring. There were signs stating "All Tours Sold Out" and there were more people there than I have ever seen before. An hour and a half for lunch was kind of silly so we changed plans and decided to go to Washington on the Brazos instead. This is the place where the Texas Declaration of Independence was signed on March 2, 1836 by Sam Houston. We only ran around on the grounnds, but it was such a beautiful day that it was great to be outside. We stopped at a sketchy gas station to get small containers of bluebell ice cream on the way home. It was a fun day!
Practicing with the quill pen...
The following two pictures are just proof that Boys Will Be Boys...both Braden and Nolan "shoot" things no matter where they go. This was a perfect place for them to perfect their skills :)
Doing a little dance "on stage"
Monday, March 14, 2011
Spring Break Day 3: Strange Lizard
We went to the Houston Museum of Natural Science today to see the Texas exhibit and on our way out, one of the workers had this orange iguana outside to enjoy the sunshine. Apparantly he normally lives in the butterfly museum but he got to escape for a little bit this afternoon. He was a strange little fellow and was really enjoying the sunshine. Nolan (as you can tell by the look on his face...) wasn't sure what to think of him, but of course we had to photograph the moment. :)
By the way, the Texas exhibit is really cool. Lots of cool Texas memorabilia including the actual "come and take it" cannon all in one place. It is here in Houston until September....if you are looking for something to do, head on out to museum and take a look. Make sure you look closely at the artifacts from the La Belle shipwreck. Steve actually discovered many of those artifacts when he was an archaeologist. Pretty cool, huh? Bet you didn't know that I am marrying a celebrity!! :)
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Spring Break Day 2: St. Patty's Day Parade
We took the boys to the 1960 St. Patrick's Day Parade today....Braden told me it was the first parade they have ever been to. Not sure if that is exactly true, but regardless we had a great time catching beads and candy and watching all of the cool floats. Logan was a little moody at first because he didn't get what he wanted. So in typical Logan fashion, he wouldn't let himself have fun for about the first half hour of the parade. When he realized we were going to have fun without him whether he chose to participate or not, he quickly decided that it would be much more fun to join in with us. Ahh, the joys of having teenagers...although I don't think I realized that teenage boys are moody too.....I definitely thought wrong!
While at the parade, we had an interesting man wearing a kilt come up to Nolan and tried to get him to dance. Nolan wasn't having anything of it. He kept looking at me like "what in the world is he doing?" Finally the kilt wearing man put a necklace on Nolan's neck and moved on. I had to explain to Nolan that people wanted to see you dancing and having a good time so they could throw you beads and candy and they weren't trying to do anything weird. After that, there was no stopping him. :)
After the parade, we had some yummy frozen yogurt at Tutti Frutti's, one of our favorite treats. :) While sitting at the table with Nolan, he propped his elbows on the table and said "So, guys....what are we going to talk about?" That boy has some personality!! He just cracks us up...
Currently, Nolan and Braden BOTH have a loose tooth so I have a feeling the tooth fairy will be making a visit to our house soon. We'll post pictures after they lose their teeth.
It's Spring Break in the Baird household and since we are all either teachers or students that means that we are all celebrating!! We don't have any big travel plans but we do have some small day trips planned and are all looking forward to some R&R.
Happy St. Patrick's Day....Steve's FAVORITE holiday!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)