Where does it end

The cost of communications these days seems to being going up and up and up. Conceivably, you could easily be paying for 3 internet services a month or more (home, phone, and iPad). Now, there are more and more "free" services starting to charge for content. Yes, I realize that each of these is a choice, but how much money are people really willing to shell out each month for all of these services? And does it make sense?

Cruising

We just returned from a wonderful cruise experience. Got kind of used to being able to indulge ourselves with "limitless" amounts of good food. The kids thought they must have been in heaven when they realized they could order 2 pizzas and a cheeseburger for dinner! And I could certainly get used to having prime rib AND lobster tail for dinner. Ah, but reality set in when we returned home and had spaghetti for dinner. It couldn't last forever! My wife's response... "Oh, I once was a queen!".

Vacation

I've been abusing my blog again. I'll blame it on using Facebook for all of life's little updates. Many of you know that Susan and I recently went on a trip to San Francisco. It was so wonderful! Not just for the fact that San Francisco is a beautiful place, but because I was able to just enjoy time with my wife, uninterrupted by kids or just the "stuff" of daily life. Since we don't often get to travel or have time without the children, it made us appreciate the experience that much more. We spent several days touring around the beautiful city of San Francisco (and enjoying the much cooler temperatures!). The highlights of the city had to be the beautiful architecture, neat diversity of cultures, Golden Gate Park, Fisherman's Wharf, and the food! After a few days in the city, we moved north of the bridge and aimed to spend a little more time doing outdoor activities. We drove up the seashore, up beautiful windy roads, for hours one afternoon. Every turn seemed to bring a new "ooooh, ahhh" moment. We had no destination in mind, just kept driving and enjoying the scenery. After finally deciding it was time to turn back, we found a cute little obscure restaurant and enjoyed a very nice meal. The following day, we enjoyed time in Sonoma visiting wineries and enjoying the very scenic countryside in that area. The next days were spent enjoying Muir Woods National Monument (seeing the majestic redwoods) and driving up/climbing up Mount Tamalpais. I could essentially finish each sentence with "the view was gorgeous", but I won't, you get the idea.

There is much more to tell, but this at least a snapshot. We were very blessed to have the opportunity to enjoy this vacation together.

Very refreshed, Bo

Summertime!

Summer is here! Yes, it will be and already is hot, but I love summertime. Baseball games, cooking out, kids at home, going swimming, etc. I may be yearning for 70 degree weather in another month, but for now I'm happy it's summer.

Ben vs. Food

Ben 0 New York Yankee 1

The boys are getting older and starting to eat us out of house and home. A fairly recent development, they no longer think it is adequate for them to order off of the kids menu when we go out. So, the other day we went to Jason's Deli. For those of you that need explanation of the above "score", the New York Yankee is about a 4 inch think sandwich at Jason's Deli filled with hot corned beef, pastrami, and swiss. I have to admit, it is my favorite and I am usually able to finish one off. So Ben decides that this is what he wants too! Tried to talk him out of it because I was quite sure he couldn't finish it off. I gave in and ordered it for him. He ate a little more than half off it. Still impressive since I was doubtful that he could even fit his mouth around it!

There's nothing like family

For the first time in ten years or so, all of my family is here in Texas. I had the opportunity this weekend to join my dad, brothers, and my dad's cousin at our farm in east Texas. We had a ball! We didn't exactly have a weekend full of activities. I'd say our primary activities were eating, cutting up, and laughing. We reminisced about everything under the sun and laughed about most of it. Good times!

Annual heartbreak

It's time for that annual rite known as getting excited about baseball. That would be Texas Rangers baseball. It tends to typically go like this: season starts, there are a few things about the team to be excited about, it's the beginning of the season, so theoretically anything is possible. You tell yourself, this will finally be the season! We'll call this Rangermania. A few months go by and maybe the team has shown some promise and given you reason to stay excited. So, with a few wins and things to be excited about, they string you along for a while.
Or maybe they are already tanking and way out of first place. Regardless, the outcome seems to always be the same. A period of hope and being excited followed by a realization that it will only end in heartbreak. We'll call the after effect Rangerburn.
Nevertheless, the season is now new, so I am once again hoping for a different result this year!
Go Rangers!