Stretching our minds, pushing our bodies to the limit and reaching new heights of spirituality are not exactly the ways most of us envision spending our time as we get older. We might think maybe it’s time to learn how to knit or take a few wood-working classes.

But for many, aging is really about beginning anew. Recharging their batteries …

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Let’s kick things around with some of the best in high school soccer, including another outstanding season for the Bellaire Cardinals girls soccer team. The Cardinals won their district championship for the third year in a row with a 17-1 record. For the season, Bellaire won 20 of its 23 games before falling to Katy in the second round of …

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Las Vegas isn’t just a destination for gamblers looking to hit the jackpot. The city that never sleeps has something fun to offer couples, singles, and every member of the family.

Relaxing and luxurious
Brandye Drager and husband B.J. travel to Las Vegas each year for the NASCAR race week. The couple’s favorite hotel is the luxurious, all-suite THEHotel at …

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There’s no shortage of mother-in-law jokes out there. Even the award winning Everybody Loves Raymond owes its success to the quintessential mother-in-law on speed, Marie Barone. Yet although Marie relentlessly criticizes Debra’s cooking and child rearing, later episodes reveal the attachment and loyalty that Debra felt for Marie. Here are some local mother-in-law stories shared by women who’ve come to …

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Swimmers, take your mark! The whistle blow isn’t the only reason to plunge into the refreshing water. The thrill of the race and hearing the encouraging cheers as they touch the other side of the pool keep kids coming back year after year to their neighborhood swim teams.

The Bellaire Barracudas and West U Piranhas have been around so long …

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I’m helping to make the world a better place

I am in the fifth grade at The Shlenker School, and each month we go to Seven Acres for my grade’s mitzvah project. Mitzvah is the Hebrew word for a good or praiseworthy deed. While it is nice to perform a mitzvah, it is also a commandment of the Jewish law.…

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Chelsea, age 7
Apso mix
Annapolis Street

Howdy to my wonderful neighbors! My name is Chelsea, also known as “Chi-Chi Boom-Boom.” My mommy and daddy urged me to write in and tell West U all about myself! They think I was meant for stardom, and so do I. Just look at my super model eyelashes. My brother Levi thinks he’s …

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Let’s play ball!
Roberts Elementary fourth-grader Phoenix Guerrero couldn’t believe it when his dad told him he’d won four tickets to see the Astros play the Florida Marlins. But that was just the windup. Phoenix had also won the chance to announce the opening pitch at Minute Maid Park. Not long after, he was standing at home base before the …

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High School can be a lonely place without friends. For students with special needs, making just one friend is often a struggle.

“I think some of the regular education students are intimidated by some of these disabilities and not knowing what to expect,” says Barbara Hale, mother to Brian, a special needs student at Lamar. “You’ve got to get over …

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You know those moms who complain about driving to all their kid’s sports activities, the ones who go on about how their tyke needs to be ferried to soccer, basketball, baseball, swim team, and so on?

They sigh. But look closer. Underneath their burdened expression lurks the barely contained satisfaction of a proud mama.

We see it. We—the moms of …

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Every morning after walking my kids into their classrooms at elementary school, something happens that never fails to astonish me in some small way.

The children cross their hearts and pledge allegiance to Texas: “Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible.”

In all my years growing up, my classmates …

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