Back Talk Lake Highlands

Will Smith and Tony Romo: More on the slideshow

Thanks to Richardon ISD's communications director Liz Morse, I added a few more pics to the slideshow this morning, so you may want to take a look. (Everyone needs a Friday diversion, right?)

Speaking of slideshows, if you ever have photos of a neighborhood event, we'd love to create a slideshow of them on our multimedia page. Just let us know at blog@advocatemag.com. Or if you have general photos of your kids, pets or life in the neighborhood, upload them here, and we'll post them to the website.

Still on Cloud Nine from Romo and Smith's visit

     I couldn't sleep last night. Visions of Tony Romo and Will Smith were dancing in my head. I could hear the voices of LHHS students enjoying the day. "Oh my gosh, that was so cool!" said Sarah Thompson of the drill team. "Will Smith hugged me!" raved Caroline Snively of the volleyball team (thank you mom, Sid, for these great photos). "My friends and I watch Will Smith on Fresh Prince of Bel Air on reruns all the time. It was really nice of them to come out and help us get ready for the big game," said Travis Crawford, safety on the football team. "Everyone got loud when Will Smith was getting us pumped up, but we were all completely silent when he had something to say," remembered Austin Jones. "It was very exciting to meet them in person," cheerleader Eden Aune told me. "We got to touch them and ask them questions, and Tony said his pinkie would be 100% in two weeks."

"Tony Romo is my hero," said junior quarterback Ricky Zorn. "He never lets anything stop him - he always believes he can reach his goals." Paige Benton of the volleyball team agreed - "Will Smith was the nicest guy ever. He told us as a team to go after what we want fearlessly, which inspired us as the underdog team." Senior Andrew Atama was impressed - "Will Smith shared advice that Quincy Jones had given him. He said we need to be relentless to get where we want to go." What an amazing experience for these kids.

Will Smith and Tony Romo: The slideshow

Neighborhood bloggers Carol Toler and JJ Pair were both front and center today when Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and actor/musical artist Will Smith dropped in for a surprise visit at LHHS. You can read their takes on the hoopla here and here, and view a slideshow of their photos here.

Was that Will Smith and Tony Romo at LHHS today?!

It’s an exciting time for LHHS, what with the Football, Volleyball, Tennis and Cross Country teams all District champs.  Just in case that weren’t exciting enough for the kids - and the community at large — the Fresh Prince and Dallas’ own Tony Romo decided to drop by the school for a Pep Rally this afternoon. They showed up at LHHS at 2 pm to get the crowd rockin’ and rollin’ in The Pursuit of Happyness for a couple of big nights:  Friday in San Marcos (Lady Wildcats face Austin Westlake) and Saturday in Corsicana (Wildcats against Tyler John Tyler).  

By the way the crowd reacted,  you’d thought the gym was the Wild, Wild West.  These are a couple of Bad Boys that got the fans pumped.  Go Cats!

Tony Romo and Will Smith visit LHHS

Today, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and movie star Will Smith led a pep rally at Lake Highlands High School.

With the Lady Wildcat volleyball team headed to San Marcos for the state semi-finals and the football team going to Corsicana for the second round of playoffs, a pep rally seemed in order. But no one could have ever guessed that these two celebrities would attend, let alone linger and mix with the kids. In the band hall before the pep rally, at the request of Smith and Romo, they answered kids' questions and doled out hugs with no press permitted. Smith had advice for the students, and for the teams in particular - "Be fearless and be relentless." Romo told them from experience, "Every passing moment is an opportunity to turn things around."  Smith and Romo had only one demand - that the day be all about the kids. And the crowd went wild...

LHHS playoffs for volleyball AND football

  What's a good Lake Highlands family to do?!?  Friday night, November 21, the Lady Wildcat volleyball team will face powerhouse Austin Westlake at Texas State University's Strahan Coliseum in San Marcos at 7 pm. If they win, they'll meet the winner of Amarillo versus Clear Creek Saturday night at 5 pm at the same location for the state championship. But...

Saturday night at 6 pm, hundreds of miles away in Corsicana (take a virtual stadium tour), your Wildcat football team will kick off against Tyler John Tyler. (See this article in the Dallas Morning News documenting similarities between this year's journey and that of the 1997 team.)

Already, the playoffs have split LH families down the middle, as they did when the volleyball team played in Huntsville Friday night during the football playoff game in Plano, and some went north while others headed south to demonstrate their loyalty. This time, some neighborhood organizations are having to scramble to keep neighborhood events from conflicting. "We're adjusting the times of our "Disciple Now" program," said Melissa Alloway, who serves as a discussion leader for youth at LH United Methodist Church. "We scheduled this weekend event months ago, but we know the kids don't want to miss the games. We figure it's a great problem to have, so we are being flexible." Busy weekend ahead, go Cats!

This weekend in lake Highlands: football and scrap metal

Wildcat Football Breakfast Sat., Nov. 15 from 8:30-10 a.m. (come and go): In case you’ve been chillin’ under a rock the last couple weeks, you know the Lake Highlands High School football team is having a pretty great season — way to go District Champs (for the first time in 11 years)! Come out and show your support for the team before the playoffs at this family friendly breakfast in the high school cafeteria. You get to meet players and coaches and eat for just $4 per person. RSVP here. See the Cats' calendar here.

Lake Highlands Elementary Recycling Round-up Sat., Nov. 15 from 11 a.m.-5 p.m.:  Bring your plastics, electronics, aluminum cans, used books and toys, ink cartridges and scrap metal for recycling and be part of a city-wide solution to waste and big ugly carbon footprints. Organizers are making it as fun as a recycling party can possibly be — featuring food, demonstrations and pet adoptions to name a few. For more info, contact Cindy Engel.

For more events, or to post your own, check out Advocate HAPPENINGS.

Breakfast with district champion Wildcats

This Saturday, the District Champion Wildcat football team is hosting a Lake Highlands community breakfast in the LHHS cafeteria. All diehard fans are welcome, but their special push is to include neighborhood kids who have been attending the games and might like to meet The Boys, up close and personal.

The coaches will be shaking hands, the district championship trophy will be on display, and commemorative "DC '08" (district champs 2008) tee shirts will be for sale. (And, to the delight of my adorable three-year-old neighbor Ike, kids can walk through the inflatable Wildcat Head to their heart's content.) The $4 breakfast is served from 8:30 to 10 am, and participants are encouraged to email Byron McCoy to ensure enough food.

Happy birthday, Marines

Seldom do I get special requests from my dad (which is odd because I'm constantly requesting stuff from him), but last weekend we were visiting and he said to me, "next week on that blog (in a tone suggesting it's not in fact a real word) don't forget to wish all the Marines a 'happy birthday'".

Indeed, today is the 233rd anniversary of the birth of the United States Marine Corps. So, happy birthday and semper fidelis to my dad, my grandpa, the running club Marines I recently wrote about, and all the marines and marine families out there celebrating the day today.

Tomorrow, of course, is Veterans Day, and the big parade will get under way at 11 a.m. at Dallas City Hall.

LHHS volleyball playoffs tonight

The entire community is invited to attend the high school girls' volleyball regional quarterfinals tonight, Monday, at the Garland Special Events Center at 7 pm. The Lake Highlands Lady Wildcats will take on Sachse in their quest to win state.