What a Father's Day

Cassie couldn't wait to give it to me, and asked throughout dinner if I was ready for my present. I wasn't because I was so enjoying the dinner that Angie and her mom cooked for me (fried chicken cutlets, mash potatoes, green beans, salad). Ultimately, however, Cassie's enthusiasm became infectious, so I told her I was ready.

She told me to close my eyes - and BANG, it was right in front of me! I had finally gotten my bass boat. It is absolutely amazing - a two seater with two raised fishing chairs, a live well, a trawling motor, fishing pole, and net. There's nothing that it doesn't have. Funny thing is, that Angie didn't even give it to me, her mother did. What's that say?

Ok - now that I "hooked" you in - here's the deal. My boat isn't 14 feet long, it's 14 inches. It's a toy boat from Bass Pro - and it just may be the closest thing I get to ever owning my own. Maybe, but then again, maybe not.

I'm going to play in the tub!



SL

Technology - The Good...

Sometimes I am in awe of technology. I think it is just absolutely amazing how connected we are and how fast it has happened. I remember a world with no Internet. I remember a world with Bulletin Boards (BBS) on 2400 baud modems. I remember the familiar chime of a dial up connection (and having two phone lines in our home to allow me to work and talk). I remember broadband on wired connections only. I now have broadband over wireless in the home. I have a PDA that allows me to access the Internet anywhere I am at any time.

I am, by no means, a techo-junkie. In fact, I adopt new technology pretty slowly because it is too expensive. I don't have all the toys. But I do have a healthy admiration for how connected we are and how small the world has become. For instance, I am sitting in my hotel room in Ottawa, chatting with someone in India, while watching a baseball game on the Internet from Los Angeles and working on some school work with fellow students in Dallas. It doesn't matter where I am, my virtual office is in the form of an IBM/Lenovo T60 Laptop.

Another good example happened while at the airport in Chicago today. While waiting during a layover, I decided to pull out my iPod Nano and listen to a couple of podcasts. Approximately 1 in every 10 times I start it, it locks up. You can't do anything. I'm sitting there racking my brain on how to do a soft reset. I can't remember, so I pull out my Treo and browse to Google. I search for "ipod + soft reset", and voila, the instructions.

It is just so awesome being connected.

SL

Shakes On A Plane

I had given up all hope, and resigned myself to the fact that my plane was going down.

Since I'm typing this entry, I was obviously wrong, but yesterday, I did have perhaps the worst flight ever. There were several factors in the making of this story. First, I was on a very small plane, an ERJ-145 that had 50 seats. Second, there was some severe weather between Rochester and Chicago (directly in our way). Third, and most importantly, I wasn't supposed to be on that flight. I had put myself on a earlier flight as my day in New York finished up early. I am a big believer that when you change your travel arrangements, you are just asking for trouble.

You would think that as much as I fly that I wouldn't mind it, but the fact is that I am completely afraid of being in the air. I do not enjoy flying at all. As our plane bounced, rumbled, dropped and shuddered, I was miserable. Looking around, everyone else seemed fine, but I was grabbing the arms of my seat with white knuckled death grips. At one point I was convinced we were going down.

Twenty five minutes later we were out of the storm and flying smoothly. I prayed in gratitude and on let go of the arms of my seat. Ultimately, I arrived home about 15 minutes earlier than scheduled on my original itinerary, but my original itinerary didn’t arrive in Dallas until the next morning, so twenty five minutes of terror got me home about 12 hours earlier. I’ll take that trade.

SL

What is a Canuck, anyway?

I am in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and it is a very interesting place. For one, it is exceedingly beautiful - like to great northwest (Portland, Seattle) but even nicer. I can't get over how green everything is and how mild the temperature.

I wish I had some time to go sightseeing and perhaps some fishing (there's halibut and salmon here, among others), but I don't. Perhaps I'll have reason to return.

A couple of things I will do should I have a chance, in addition to fishing:

1) Whale watching - they have all types of whales including Killer Whales (Orcas) here. Taking a three hour tour into the bay seems to be a great way to see them.

Sea Breeze Adventures

2) Whistler - skiing Whistler seems to be a must do. Never heard of Whistler? No matter, you will - just say 2010 Winter Olympics from Vancouver.

Whistler Blackcomb

3) Train Ride - they have several scenic trains available, including a three hour to Whistler. Seems like it would be a beautiful ride.

4) Float Plane Ride - like number three, but in a small plane that lands on water.

West Coast Air

5) The city has a very strong international feel...not only American and Canadian, but European in many ways. Additionally, there is a very strong Asian influence here, as Vancouver is considered the gateway to Asia.

Perhaps we'll have a chance to come back. There's a direct flight from DFW.

SL

Blog Bytes

Formerly known as "Quick Takes"...

Not anything major going on, so I thought some updates were in order.

1) Summer has begun. The kids are apparently already bored and are taking it out on Angie and I. That's really an exaggeration, but the summer presents an interesting challege. How do you keep the kids from becoming idle? Angie and I are going to try to keep the kids more organized with respect to activity this summer, including regular chores, intellectual time, down time, etc. They are harping against the plan now, but hopefully they'll come to appreciate some structure.

2) In the same vein, Cassie started swimming lessons today at our neighborhood water park. The good - she loved it and can't wait to go back tomorrow. The bad - it's at 8:00-8:30AM. Thank God that Angie will be taking her most of the time.

3) I leave for Vancouver tomorrow. I built in some travel days, so I will have a complete afternoon and evening in Vancouver. Might take in some sightseeing. Friday I'll be in Rochester, NY.

4) School is a challenge this semester, particularly in light of number 3 above. I was up till midnight last night getting some homework done.

5) Trip to NY. We're still trying to get something going for a couple days in NY. It's not working out real well, particularly in light of all the other travel I'm doing. Perhaps a trip in August for AMA's birthday.

That's about it.

SL

Lots of travel

I spent this last week on the road, totaling six flights and three different cities. The good thing about the travel was that these were three cities I've never been to (Orlando, San Antonio, and Sioux City - I have been to Orlando, but never venturing off the Magic Kingdom might not count). The bad news was that it was work with little down time.

This week of travel starts four weeks where I will be on the road except for the weekends. A total of 21 flights and 9 different cities will be covered. Again, most will be new cities, but all will be work.

When I travel a lot like this, I am typically more mindful of my time with the kids and more open to some of Angie's ideas around family outings - today is a good example. We were supposed to be camping at Lake Whitney State Park, but the threat of severe thunderstorms kept us away. (I don't believe it actually ever rained - it's been rather pleasant, instead). Since we didn't camp, we decided to do a little outdoor activities. Angie suggested we go sit outside at the restaurant at Bass Pro (right on the lake) and have desert for dinner. We did and ate brownie sundaes and chocolate chip cookie sundaes. The kids washed them down with Shirley Temples. We had lots of fun and it was very pleasant. We then went to a park right on the shores of Lake Ray Hubbard and fished, sat and talked, threw around the football and had fun. Cassie and her friend Grant played together while Marissa, Dylan and I fished. Angie shared time with both sets of kids. Marissa caught a large snapping turtle and Dylan caught a small catfish. We had a great time. Cassie even fished a little, so we think we might have to go get some kiddie poles.

All in all, we had a great time spending some time with the kids. Considering I won't be seeing much of them over the course of June, I better make every moment count.

SL

Beyond Birthday Boat Blog

Now that my birthday is over, I've begun working on Angie for a fishing boat. Nothing too extravagant, just something that would allow me to get onto the lake and get beyond the frustration of not catching anything from the shore and the added frustration of losing tackle in the grass that surrounds the shore.

I think I may finally have her leaning in my direction, too. You see, the kids gave me a deep fryer for my birthday. Dylan had interpreted my comments one day at Bass Pro about wanting to deep fry a future wild turkey kill as my wanted a fryer. Not only was I touched regarding his thoughtfulness, I though the small fryer was a good present. We can fry up chicken wings, shrimp, you name it.

Yesterday, Angie and I decided to do just that...we fried up the catfish from my fishing expedition with Dylan and his dad. We had maybe 4 or 5 good filets and several smaller nugget size pieces. Angie bought a corn meal fish batter mix, and we were off. She made hush puppies, and I fried up the catfish.

Now, I am not a huge fan of catfish. Restaurant catfish is typically farm raised and not nearly as "gamey" as their wild counterparts. For this reason, I was real reluctant to eat my fried fish. In fact, I told Angie if I didn't like it I might give up on fishing altogether.

We'll we fried it up, and frankly, it was excellent. Not gamey or fishy at all. In fact, we thought that the batter mix was a little bland if anything. We are definitely looking forward to my success with the rod and reel to eat some more.

Since Angie loves catfish and I think that this is a viable meal for us going forward, I think she's "on board" with the boat idea (pun intended). In fact, I caught her looking for boats online yesterday.

SL

Special Time

For the last several days I have spent a significant amount of time with Cassie. This has been "forced" on me, as Angie chaperoned Marissa on her school camp trip this week. They come home today, but I'm surprised in that I'm not totally looking forward to their arrival. I mean - I'm not at a point of pulling my hair anxiously awaiting Angie's return because I can't take anymore of Cassie. She's been a real joy and I am finding myself amazed by that.

Cassie isn't your normal five year old - at least I don't think she is. She's funny, she's smart, she can hold a conversation and she is, for the most part, very pleasant - even when she doesn't get her way. I know I am biased, but given the fact that I completely enjoyed the time I spent with her these last couple of days AND the fact that I miss her today (she's with a friend today so I could get some work done).

Some really amazing things over the last couple of days:

1) She told me that when she gets in trouble and sent to her room, she often prays to God to be better (eg., for help in not lying, etc.). I love that. I fear that she may develop a guilt issue, but I love the fact that she is being raised to have a relationship with God.

2) Related to number 1 - As I prayed last night (a special treat for her is to sleep with daddy when mommy is gone - and likewise, to sleep with mom when I'm on the road) she had a HUGE smile. I asked her why she smiled, and she said it made her feel happy that daddy prayed for her. I informed her that I prayed for her more than me.

3) She is quickly learning to read phonetically and it excites her. Besides reading, she is just so smart. We've watched discovery channel and animal planet a lot the last couple of days, and she asks me questions that show a logical progression of thought. Angie commmented recently that not only is she smart, but she has common sense - and we all know that common sense ain't so common.

4) She is really well behaved. She told to get dressed, brush her teeth, pick up some toys, whatever, she really does it. Yeah, she's five and can whine with the best of them, but when it is just us, she really doesn't do it much.

5) She's affectionate. She is always hugging and kissing me - and better yet, asking me to hug and kiss her. Imagine how awesome it is when a child wakes up in the morning and says, "come here and snuggle with me!!!". It melts my heart. I told her that I can understand a little bit how God loves us by how much I love her. She had no clue what I was saying.

Remember, she's only five.

SL

Special Day - May 19

May 19 has always been a special day for me. That fact makes sense, especially since I was born on the day 38 years ago. Below are some events that have occured on May 19 throughout history - at least according to Wikipedia.

I especially like that Star Wars one at the bottom. Angie took me to see it, on my birthday, no less.

Events
1535 - French explorer Jacques Cartier sets sail on his second voyage to North America with three ships, 110 men, and Chief Donnacona's two sons (whom Cartier kidnapped during his first voyage).
1536 - Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII of England, is beheaded for adultery.
1568 - Queen Elizabeth I of England has Mary Queen of Scots arrested.
1604 - The town of Montreal is founded.
1643 - Thirty Years' War: French forces under the duc d'Enghien decisively defeat Spanish forces at the Battle of Rocroi, marking the symbolic end of Spain as a dominant land power.
1649 - An Act declaring England a Commonwealth is passed by the Long Parliament. England would be a republic for the next eleven years.
1749 - King George II of Great Britain grants the Ohio Company a charter of land around the forks of the Ohio River.
1780 - New England's Dark Day: never-explained complete darkness falls on Eastern Canada and the New England area of the United States at 2 pm.
1802 - The Légion d'Honneur is founded by Napoleon Bonaparte.
1828 - U.S. President John Quincy Adams signs the Tariff of 1828 into law, protecting wool manufacturers in the United States.
1848 - Mexican-American War: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo – Mexico ratifies the treaty thus ending the war and ceding California, Nevada, Utah and parts of five other modern-day U.S. states to the USA for USD $15 million.
1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Spotsylvania Court House ends.
1897 - Oscar Wilde is released from Reading Gaol.
1919 - In Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk moves to Samsun from Istanbul with a few followers, to oppose the Ottoman government, which eventually leads to the Turkish War of Independence.
1921 - The Emergency Quota Act passes the U.S. Congress establishing national quotas on immigration
1922 - Young Pioneer organization of the Soviet Union is established.
1943 - World War II: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt set Monday, May 1, 1944 as the date for the cross-English Channel landing (D-Day would later be delayed over a month due to bad weather).
1961 - Venera program: Venera 1 becomes the first man-made object to fly-by another planet by passing Venus (the probe had lost contact with Earth a month earlier and did not send back data).
1962 - A birthday salute to U.S. President John F. Kennedy takes place at Madison Square Garden, New York. The highlight is Marilyn Monroe's infamous rendition of Happy Birthday.
1971 - Mars probe program: Mars 2 is launched by the Soviet Union.
1992 - In a speech to the Commonwealth Club of California, Vice President Dan Quayle criticizes television character Murphy Brown for ignoring the importance of fathers and bearing a child alone.
2005 - The final Star Wars film and third episode in the series, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, debuted on this day. It broke current box office records, earning over $50 million on opening day.

Beautiful Backdrop

As I've previously posted, I'm in Sunnyvale, California this week for work. I don't particularly like California except for San Francisco and San Diego. I don't know why, I just never really enjoyed coming out here, even though I've done it maybe a hundred times, or so.

I have to admit, the weather and the environment in California is amazing. It is stunningly beautiful here with mountains and ocean only a stones throw away. Yesterday, I had an opportunity to enjoy the mountain backdrop while participating in a favorite pastime of mine - shotgun shooting.

A colleague took me to the Coyote Valley Sporting Clays in Morgan Hill, CA. The place is nestled at the base of the mountains, and has 16 stations of sporting clays. Basically, you carry your gun and ammo, walk to each station, put your counter on the computer box, say "pull" and start shooting. It was great fun, and helped convince me that my shot isn't as good as I thought. Some of the overhead stuff I would hit 9 of 10. However, some of the crossing doubles would cause me to miss 7 of 10. They had a rabbit target that bounced across the ground - I hit 7 of 10. My take away - more practice needed.

Ultimately, we did probably 5 or 6 stations and had a great time in a beautiful setting.

Interesting note: as we were walking back from the course, we passed a covey of quail. You'd think they'd be in danger living so close to so many men with shotguns. Guess not.

SL

Quick Takes...

I'm in Sunnyvale, California for this week for some training and internal meetings so I thought some quick takes might be in order...

1) Mother's Day was pretty nice for Angie. After church we went to FishMongers in Plano. Had oysters and tilapia...yummy. Angie had her shrimp. She wanted to do some bowling with the kids - so we went to Richardson AMF lanes for some late night fun. I opened with STRIKE, STRIKE, SPARE, STRIKE, STRIKE and then fell apart.

2) Angie's car died while leaving the bowling alley. Angie's mom was with us with her car, so we weren't completely stranded. I replaced her battery the next day. All seems ok.

3) Angie wanted an updated poster size portrait of the kids. Getting them together to do it was my present to her. This photo was uploaded to winkflash.com and will be printed and sent to us.

4) We are confirmed for 3 camping weekends over the summer and are planning several days camping in San Antonio with good friends.

5) Diet, smoking and working out are all going very well. On target and haven't had another cigarette. I feel great about that.

6) As mentioned, I am in CA this week at our corporate headquarters. I am doing a bit of team building and going through some new hire training. I am convinced more now that ever that a move to NetApp was the right decision. The executive management team basically gives up a day every month to spend time with the new hires and talk about the company. Really awesome leadership. I even learned what our logo is supposed to be...any guesses?

SL

Getting Under Control

I've had a very hard time starting this blog entry. I've started it several times over the last couple of days, but have never really gotten anywhere with it - ultimately, I've decided to just type what comes to my mind, and not worry about whether it makes sense or is "good" writing. All I've had is the title, so I'll try from there.

Have you noticed that things in life are cyclical? Do (or don't do) one thing and it leads to another and another. If you are paying attention, you can look at item 10 and work it all the way back to number 1. And at some point, you might end up at number 1 again. Bear with me, and I'll try to explain what the heck I'm talking about.

A couple of entries ago, I spoke about how I was going on a spiritual journey. That our church was beginning a capital campaign to build a larger worship space and that I saw this as an opportunity for spiritual growth, not to make a financial decision. I continued to feel this way, and looking back, I can see that I was right. This is my Number 1....a spiritual journey to try to learn how to trust God more.

This has led to my #2...spending more time in scripture, prayer and contemplation. I've done this daily for a couple of weeks now, and have learned a great deal about myself, the Lord, and my relationship with Him.

#3 - I've come to the conclusion that it is time for me to quit smoking...ok, how did I get from daily time with God to quitting smoking? We are in a capital campaign, and I've come to the conclusion that the money I spent on smoking would be better spent on helping more people come to know Christ. Therefore, $20 twice a month, has been earmarked as part of our giving. I haven't purchased cigarettes in a week, and have only had two in that time...this week, my goal is zero.

#4 - knowing full well that I will get EVEN FATTER now that I've quit smoking if nothing else changes, I've decided to begin my diet again - and have begun working out. I did 30 minutes on the elliptical this morning at the gym, and started tracking my diet on SparkPeople.com.

#5 - I feel so good about myself, where I'm going, my relationship with God, with Angie and the kids, etc. This has had the effect of wanting MORE OF IT...and this means continued time with God - as in numbers 1 and 2 above.

That's the cycle I am in right now - and I sure would like it to continued. Ask me how I'm doing...

SL

It's a Keeper

If you track my blog, you are aware of my frustration from not catching a fish in Lake Ray Hubbard (or any lake in Texas, for that matter.) We live near the above named lake, and I often go to the banks at Lakeside Park to cast my line. Typically, I go for catfish, as you can basically cast, relax and wait, and hopefully pull in the big one when you get a bite. However, my experience has previously just ended at "wait".

All that ended this weekend, when Dylan and his dad invited me to do some late night fishing from their boat. Dylan's dad has a small bass boat, and he is a very good angler, typically catching several fish on his outings. Dylan shares stories of their success and I had wanted to try my luck with them for some time.

Some may think that it is weird that I can hang out with my wife's ex-husband - we've gone hunting several times together, as well. I think it is good for Dylan, and the truth is that Dan and I get along fine. As we fished we talked about work, the kids, etc...he even made fun of my lack of success with the rod and reel. It was a good night.

My frustration continued however. As Dan pulled in several catfish, and a very large drum fish, I got nothing - until I reeled in a 8 inch stripe bass. That's way to small to keep, but I finally actually caught a fish. After good natured ribbing about the size of my fish, and about a 3 and a half hour wait, I finally had another bite. I reeled in and had my first keeper - a 14 inch channel catfish. We threw it in the live tank and continued for a couple of more hours.

I only caught the one, but I had a great time, and learned a little more about fishing. Dan instructed me on how to clean it, and we'll eat it someday soon. How did I know which one in the live tank was mine, I asked Dan, and he said "it's the small one!"

At least there was one in there that was mine.

SL

Another Year Already...

Today Angie and I celebrate our sixth anniversary.

I just finished reading my blog entry from a year ago today, and it is amazing how God has been working in our lives this past year. Angie and I are more in love today than we were when we got married. We've both been reflecting on the people we were and the relationship we had back then, and the incredible healing we've been going through - a healing that, ultimately, has made our relationship that much better. But, truth be told, we both have a way to go. I'll focus on mine, since that is the only one I have control over anyway.

Control - interesting word choice above. I am coming to the conclusion that my desire for control over things is what gets me in trouble. Although it may be a virtue at work, my efforts to control where God should be in control are my problem. I try to control my environment at home (and end up "parenting Angie" or continuing to nag the kids). I try to control my finances, instead of giving freely to those less fortunate and trusting that God will provide. I try to control God, asking Him to bless what I want instead of asking Him how I can fit into what He wants.

As our church begins a capital campaign, I've been undergoing a spiritual journey that has nothing to do with money - it has to do with trust. If I said I trusted in Him for my salvation or for love, no one would question that. If I said I trust Him with my finances, my marriage, my life...I might get some raised eyebrows. It seems like a conceivable idea that the creator of the universe, the knower of ALL things, should be trusted in all worldly things and that ultimately, they all seem somewhat insignificant.

It's hard to give up control, and that's my struggle. It will ultimately be my greatest achievement.

Happy Anniversary, sweetheart. I'm glad I have you to do this walk with me.

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us" (Ephesians 3:20)

SL

Rusk SP - 1 Down, 112 To Go

This weekend Angie, Cassie and I went camping for the first time with the camper. We went to Rusk State Park in East Texas (about 130 miles South East of Dallas). Texas has 113 state parks and we're going to try to do as many as we can.

The ride was pleasant, with rolling hills, green pastures and ultimately tall, mature pine trees (the region is called, cleverly enough, Piney Hills).

The park was pleasant, but had we had Marissa and Dylan with us, they would have been bored. The lake is small and difficult to fish from the banks. The boat rental that was listed has since been closed, and the swimming area is a disaster. Had Cassie wanted to swim, I wouldn't have let her in. Other than some friends that she made, and the playground, she wouldn't have been too happy with the weekend.

We went to look at some land available for sale. Since our trip to Goliad, Angie has acquiesced to my desire to purchase land for hunting, camping, and perhaps retirement. We drove around Palestine for the most part, and found a couple of the areas that she had listing for. All of it was pretty, and my understanding is that the deer and hog hunting is excellent, but we probably won't purchase there. We've decided that we are going to look in all regions.

The camper worked well - electrical, water, propane, A/C all checked out - and it was an excellent opportunity to shake down the camper and learn more about the things we need to bring when we camp. We slept reasonably comfortably, but will be crowded when all 5 of us go. Now that we've used it in a real camping environment, we are real pleased with the purchase, and are already looking forward to a larger 5th wheel or rigid camper.

SL

Reason To Be Scared

Here is an update to my last post...apparently I had reason to be scared.

Frightening 30 minutes for Rowlett as Tornado circled above city

The location in the article is about a mile away from the house. Next time those sirens go off, we're headed for the pantry. I don't care who is home.

SL

"Imminent Rue-age"

The title of this entry is from a very cool movie, "Twister". However, when it's happening to you, or the threat of a tornado is happening to you, it isn't all that cool.

Last night, we have very severe thunderstorms move in to our area. I've blogged about the spring thunderstorms in North Texas before, but last night was a little different. I was watching TV, when the program I was watching was interrupted by a Tornado Warning. I heard the thunder and saw the lightening outside but didn't think to much of it. However, as I went to the front door to look outside, three things happened that raised the hair on my neck.

1) Hail was coming down quite strong. The hail was approximately marble size, and it was really slamming down.

2) The TV went out as I went to the door. If you've seen "Twister" then you know in one scene that the TV goes out right before one of the bigger tornado hits.

3) The tornado siren in Rowlett began to go off. As the siren went off, I decided to run for the pantry (it is the only interior "room" in our house. I've only heard a tornado siren once before, and it really makes you feel scared. I thought that the siren meant a tornado was on the ground, but apparently that's not the case.

However, Justin arrived home at the same time. Since he was home, I couldn't very well go scurrying into the pantry. Justin is a old hand at tornadoes, and isn't intimated by them - like I am.

As he played on the computer upstairs, I watched out the window and the weather map on TV. The sirens went off a total of two more times, but no tornado appeared. Some close towns were not spared so well, as a minimum of two tornadoes are believed to have hit last night.

I'm just glad that everyone is safe and I didn't rue the day I didn't hide in the pantry.

SL

Turkey For Easter?!?!

We've just arrived home from the long 6+ hour trek from Goliad, TX. We've unpacked the car and the camper and are now winding down from a long day and an incredible holiday weekend. Not only did we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior today with family, but we also enjoyed His wonderful creation all weekend.

People who live in the country in Texas, and I'd imagine everywhere, seem to enjoy the wonderful outdoors and nature that goes along with it. We've experienced that to the hilt this weekend with Angie's cousin's in south Texas. Although one of the main goals of our trip was the turkey hunt, we enjoyed the company of Angie's cousins so much. They are so hospitable and friendly, it felt like we were at home. It was wonderful spending time with the kids outdoors, as well. We hope to do that more now that we have the camper.

Angie's cousins work and live at the South Texas Children's Home* in Goliad. They have access to the immense land that the home owns (700 acres that we hiked on Saturday), and their own 25 acres near by. They are also avid hunters and we went down there with the plan to hunt some wild turkey and hogs.

I'll skip right to the turkey hunt, since that was really the highlight. We walked to Steve's spot and he called using his turkey call. He didn't see any and was a bit pessimistic about our chances in that location. He told us that we were going to go to a different spot, so we all started using our turkey calls. We were just messing around really, as we had given up on that location when Steve's son, Trent, hushed us up pretty quick. Two toms had walked out from the woods into the field in front of us. We were so unprepared, but were unable to move. Dylan didn't even have his face mask on yet. We stood frozen for what felt like an eternity. My gun got heavier and heavier, but we watched as these two turkeys walk from right to left in front of us about 100-150 yards out.

At one point, their field of vision was blocked as a couple of palms were in their way. Steve instructed us to drop to the ground and sit when it was safe. Dylan put his mask on and I flicked off the safety of my shotgun. The turkeys continued to walk to our left, but now that Steve was in a position to do so, he called like a madman, and that man can call a turkey. The second he started scratching, the turkeys turned right for us. Now they are walking right to us from about 75 yards out. He called whenever it looked like they were losing interest and they continued to come in. It was the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. The were shooting their tail feathers in the fan that they do trying to impress the hen that they thought Steve was and kept walking towards us. They came within 10-15 yards or so and Steve whispered to Dylan and I to shoot whenever we were ready. Dylan was to take the one on the left and me the one on the right.

As they moved into range, my heart beat faster and faster. I tried to control my breathing to steady my aim and raised my gun. Dylan shot first and his bird fell straight away. Mine had attempted to fly away at the sound of Dylan's gun, but it was too late - I had it lined up and hit it out of the air (it had gotten to about 5 feet).

We had our turkeys and it was the most incredible experience. Dylan scored a tom with a 10 inch beard and 1.5 inch spurs (probably close to 30 pounds). Mine had a 9 inch beard and 1 inch spurs - another great bird.

We returned home and the ladies couldn't believe we got them so fast. All I know is that as they were walking in that field, time seemed to stop. We skinned and cleaned the birds and placed them in the cooler on ice. We decided to eat mine for dinner the next evening and had chicken fried turkey. It tasted like....well, turkey. It was delicious.

We truly had an amazing weekend with family. Whether hunting or not, we are already planning our next trip with the camper.

SL

* The South Texas Children's Home helps children and families in need. It is staffed by very special individuals and the kids their could use any help that we can provide. To learn more about the home, or to make a donation, please visit the website by clicking here.

Hope Springs Eternal

It's that time of year again. Amid the spring thunderstorms, flower planting, mowing of lawns...baseball is back. This time of year is, to me, the most anticipated of all seasons. The Mets play ball and I get to root for them. After getting so close last year, this off season was particularly long.

The Mets opened the 2007 season in St Louis against the Cardinals - which just happens to be the same team that knocked them out of the playoffs and ended up winning the world series. The Cardinals had their trophy ceremony before the game and I think that was a big mistake, because the Mets players had to watch and I would have thought they would want to let that sleeping dog lie.

If the game last night is any indication of things to come, the Mets are going to have an excellent season. The slammed the ball with their bats for a total of 12 hits and 6 runs. What was even more promising, however, is that they played great defense turning several excellent double plays and even threw out a runner at the plate. Lastly, the biggest question mark for the team is pitching, and 41-year old Glavine pitched terrific.

All I know is that it is fun to have a team to root for again.

Play ball!

SL

I Don't Shop, But This is Where I'll Be!

I think I'm a typical guy in that I hate to shop. There is nothing worse that taking on crowds at the mall or even a quick run up to Wal-Mart to get something. I hate parking, I hate walking in the heat, I hate looking for an item, I hate waiting on line to pay, et cetera, et cetera.

In fact, one of the few things that I'll do related to shopping is take Angie on occasion. Some women like to get taken out dancing, some women like to get taken out to a show - and, although Angie enjoys all of these things, Angie most appreciates when I take her shopping. I think she knows how much I dislike going, so it is really meaningful to her when I do it.

I even dislike shopping for myself. Clothes shopping is nothing less than a beat down for me. And I typically don't do any other type of shopping. Angie handles the rest, even holiday shopping. It works for us. I hate it, and she likes it, so our arrangement is mutually beneficial.

That being said, there are a couple of places that I do like to go. The top of my list is Bass Pro Shops. They recently opened a new one pretty close to the house, and there is nothing like it. You can go and just browse, or mess around. Even the kids like to go. In fact, it is now a destination for when anyone from NY comes down. We took my sister there and she very much enjoyed it. We haven't tried the restaurant yet, but Angie keeps bugging me to do it, so we'll try it soon. In fact, we'll need to pick up a couple of things for our hunting trip next week, so we'll probably try it this weekend. (If we do, I'll let you know how it is).

The store is just amazing. Two stories of hunting, camping, fishing equipment and apparel. It has regular clothes, food, toys, furniture, outdoor stuff and boats. It's got a huge tank of local fish (the store itself it right on the shores of Lake Ray Hubbard), which includes the largest catfish you'll ever see. It has stuffed game throughout (the brown bear on the lower floor is over 8 ft. tall). It's got a shootout arcade and boats that you can walk through as you look at them. Angie said it even has like a play area outside, but I haven't been that far. I typically don't get past the hunting equipment. I've joined their loyalty program, so I'm hooked.

Some of the other stores I don't mind going to (too much).
1) Bass Pro Shops
2) Super Target (the store is just nice...like Wal-Mart, but less scummy)
3) Home Depot/Lowes (a man's toy store, but try to find someone for help)
4) Wal-mart (if I can't find something, I try Wal-mart - they will have it)
5) Tom Thumb (talk about a grocery store - unfortunately, too expensive to go to regularly)

Do you have a top 5? Let me know and I'll see you at the store.

SL