This week

We are just hanging around this week. Well, sort of...

Drew is at church camp for the first time. Rumor has it he is having a blast! Mark is at Youth camp.

Evan is going to Space Camp during the day. He went to the planetarium today. Favorite part: the laser show.

Lindsay is going to Vacation Bible School. Mom has a few hours of R and R (Rush and Run errands)

Due to the fact that it feels like it's 500 degrees outside, we have tried to stay indoors. I certainly don't remember summer being this HOT!!! Maybe there is something to that global warming thing!
Special Note to the public: When one of the employees/cooks is hauled away in an ambulance with cramps, fatigue and dizziness at a restaurant you just ate dinner at, it is not a good sign.

Update on Evan

I spoke with Evan's Pediatric Neurologist today. We've seen some problems lately. I hope that our erratic summer schedule is to blame. We have some decisions to make regarding Evan's care soon. We could surely use God's guidance in making the right decision. We want Evan to have fun and just be a kid but he also has to be sure to get adequate sleep and take his medicine in a timely manner. It stinks to have to deal with medicine when you are seven. He has a little pill box, very similar to my granddads, with an opening for every day of the week. I always assumed I'd have one of those things before any of my kids would. I know I shouldn't whine about it. There are many who have much more serious ailments. I've worked with diabetic children who have to inject themselves with insulin daily. One family I follow closely has a child with cancer who will very likely succumb to the disease. I feel fortunate that my kids are generally very healthy. I just can't help but ache when Evan is suffering inside.

On a lighter note: I thought I might need a prescription for a sedative by the time I got in touch with the doctor today. I can't stand their phone system. I spent the better part of the morning just trying to leave a message for the nurse to call me back. They must have 75 different options and you have to listen to every one of them before you can leave a message. They give you every bit of information you could ever want about the doctors, office policies, prescription refill protocol, etc. They insist you hang up if it is an emergency and call 911. I'd be dead if it were an emergency and I'd gotten that far in the message. They say if you need to speak with someone quickly, just dial "0" BUT ONLY IF YOU ARE A DOCTOR or HOSPITAL! {GROWL} I called last week but couldn't leave a message because they will not accept messages between 11-2. The voice on the line said "please TRY calling back at a later time." They must recognize the challenge.

A day at the ranch...

I love the area west of Austin, as you start getting into the hill country. The rolling hills, majestic oaks, and the laid-back true Texas atmosphere are great. Well, we got to spend a good part of Saturday on 2200 acres of beautiful Texas land. It was Griff's family's place. Regina and the kids (mainly Evan) will tell you about the bugs, cacti, and possibility of snakes, but if I had a couple of mil (or more?) to drop, this was the kind of place I would love to have.

Most of the day was spent at the small pond on the property. The water was too low to swim, but I think that probably made for better fishing. My boys (especiallly Drew) love to fish. I enjoy it, but didn't grow up doing it much, despite the fact that I grew up (literally) 2 blocks from Corpus Christi Bay. At this point, fishing consists mostly of baiting and casting for the boys, though they are surprisingly brave when it comes to dealing with the worms and minnows that Griff provided. They are getting better at casting, but they seem to need help getting untangled quite often. In other words, there wasn't much fishing for me, but I enjoyed watching and helping the boys.

Drew was the first one to get a hit. The boys (and Griff) were very excited....
















We couldn't get Drew to hold it, though he would touch it, so JB held it for him...



















Evan wouldn't get his lips any closer than this:
















Drew really wanted to show Mom and LIndsay, so we put the fish in a bucket and carried the fish the few hundred yards to the house. Everyone was very impressed. As I started to get the fish out of the bucket, Abby asked if it was still alive. With impeccable timing, the fish flopped out of my hands, right at Abby's feet. Her reaction made me partially deaf for a short time.

Bhood struck next. I wish I had had the video camera to get the whole episode. It would have made for great material. She had to put hers in a bucket to show everyone, too. Griff finally coaxed her into holding the fish. You can see that picture on her blog, but I really liked this one:





















After that it was Evan's turn. Look at that thing- it's almost as big as he is!




















Even Lindsay got in on the action, with Bobby Velazquez's help. He hooked 'em and then let her reel in a few. Bobby caught a ton, but threw them back before I could ever get a picture. A true fisherman! (Well, except for the one that he cooked. But he said that one was going to die anyway). Lindsay liked reeling it in, but wanted NOTHING to do with touching it:






















I did get to catch one. I would have kissed it for real, except that I wanted my wife to kiss me again within my lifetime:
















The boys caught several more, but we didn't take pictures of all of them and I wont' bore you with more fish. After the fishing, we did some four-wheelin'. Regina didn't want to drive, so I had to take everyone for a ride. Lindsay decided to let Regina and I go by ourselves when she found out that I was going to go fast. Drew and Evan also went with JB.







































We had a great day as a family! Thanks Griff for having us and thanks Jay for bringing the four-wheelers!

They're back!!!

The days of dining on octopus....over!
The days painting a hallway after church....over!
We are glad to be together as a family of five again. We were all happy to see each other. They were worn out but in good spirits. They have lots of stories to tell. Meme and Papaw are awesome (and probably VERY tired as well)
After much needed naps, we went to the Hood's for a July 4th celebration. Everyone had a blast! Fireworks were postponed until Friday night because of rain. We feel blessed to live in a free nation. We are blessed with a wonderful family, great friends and an AWESOME GOD!

Hairy Baboon misses children!

2/3 of my children want to come home. Mommy guilt has kicked in and I feel selfish for having this time away from my kids. Lindsay called last night. Her first question was "How many more days until camp is over?" She seemed to be fine as told me of all the fun she had during the day then suddenly there was silence...then she started crying. I know they are fine but my heart aches for them. I find it hard to comfort my kids. I don't know what to do for them when they are far away. I just want to hold them, comfort them then send them back on their way.

On a lighter note--Who in the world ever thought that hair removal for women was a good idea? I thought we were a high tech, highly intellegent society but I think not. Not after my first experience of "getting my brows and lip done." I know most women experience this earlier in life, but I never thought I needed anything done until recently. Well, I tell you what, Mark will just have to be married to a baboon because I don't think I can ever sit for that again. I went for a "sugaring" which is SUPPOSE to be gentler and last longer than waxing, plucking or whatever barbaric form of hair removal you choose. There was NOTHING gentle about it. Now I have giant whelps on my face in place of the very fine almost invisible hairs. I will keep my hair WHERE EVER it wants to grow, thank you very much. I thought of words I hadn't thought of in a very long time. So if you see me and I have a face full of hair, please just ignore it. That's what I have decided I am going to do!