The Culpepper family includes five members:  Clint, Shea, Will, Kate, and Lucy, our Morkie.  That’s right.  After a lifetime of swearing I’d never own a dog, I own a dog.  Half Maltese and half Yorkie, Lucy joined us last summer.  Although I was reluctant to enter the world of dog-ownership, or ownership of any pet for that matter, and although I insisted that this was going to be Will and Kate’s dog, it turns out I’m totally in love with her.  I’ve made it clear that if the house catches on fire, I’m grabbing Lucy and the rest of them are on their own.  Now before anyone calls Child Protective Services, that’s a joke.  Of course I’d help my children out of a burning house.  After I made sure Lucy was safe.

Anyway, Clint works in medical sales, which takes him around Texas and the neighboring six states.  When he’s not traveling for work (and sometimes when he is traveling for work), he likes to golf and play Call of Duty.  He’s also an excellent cook and we’d probably all starve without him.  Not because I can’t cook.  I just don’t like to.

I’m Shea, and after working for five years as an Elementary Math Coordinator in a large school district, I’ve recently moved back into the university setting as a Visiting Assistant Professor at UH.  I’m a voracious reader, a non-practicing knitter, and a champion Sudoku puzzle solver.  So, I’m a nerd.  I also, despite my dislike for cooking actual meals, am an excellent dessert-maker.

Will, once my sweet little pleaser, has entered early the world of surly teenager.  If we let him, he’d play video games all day.  And he’s not picky about the platform, really.  Wii, Nintendo DS, PC, or the neighbor’s Xbox 360 are all fair game.  My only consolation is that he also seems to have found a love of reading.  But still, none of these are activities that get the heart pumping.  The truth is, he’s my kid through and through.  I absolutely hate any form of exercise or engaging in any activity that might lead me to be out of breath.  When I told him he HAD to choose a sport to participate in, he chose guitar lessons.  I let that go for awhile because it’s just so cool that he wanted to do that, and because he’s pretty good.  But I finally forced him against his will to join swim team.  He just finished the season and did a great job.  Still, he’s more likely to invent something amazing when he grows up than to be famous for his athletic prowess.

Kate has always been an interesting combination of tomboy and pure girl.  Athletic and often filthy, she’s enjoying more “girly” pursuits of late.  She recently joined a competitive cheer team, and while it is going to give me an ulcer, she seems to really love it.  What’s not to love about cheer if you’re Kate?  It’s a sport that totally capitalizes on her loud, energetic, and fearless personality.  Kate’s primary ambition in life is to set the world on fire.

So that’s our family.  We live in Sugar Land, Texas.  All of us are native Texans except Will, who was born in Philly during the six years Clint and I lived there.  This “Yankee birth” is a point of pride for Will.