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!

Technology Confusion

What is one to do with all of the technology that is out there today? That is, all the various ways to communicate and keep in touch with people. Do you really have to do ALL of it? I have finally succumbed to the whole Facebook thing and signed up for it. Still trying to figure out exactly where it fits in as to what to do with it. Obviously, I have a blog. I am on LinkedIn. A friend of mine asked me to "join" Plaxo, so I did, but really haven't ever done anything with it. Twitter seems totally pointless to me if I am also doing a blog, Facebook, etc. etc. Seems to me that Twitter would be a way that EVERYONE can see my every "text message worthy" thought. Still a holdout on Twitter. Does there come a point where no one feels the need to pick up the phone and call a friend, send a note/e-mail to someone, send a random text message, just because they are doing it all on the aforementioned websites? I'm not quite ready for that.
Anyone have any insight on this dilemma?

Living well

We shared a very special time with our church family at Pantego last night. We were remembering the life of our dear friend and worship pastor Kevin Walker. Kevin went to be with the Lord a week or so ago after a battle with cancer. It was both a sad time and a happy time to reflect on his life and how he had affected so many of us. Kevin was always a man that lived with joy that came from his relationship with Jesus Christ. This joy was contagious when you were around him. He was always happy, always having fun, always interested in others, sharing God's Word with others, and he truly left his mark on many people.
The main thing that I left with after last night's memorial was how will I be remembered one day and what impression am I making on others. I hope that I can strive to live well as Kevin did and that people could one day remember me for having a positive impact on their lives and a positive impact for God's kingdom. The other side to living well is dying well, and I am confident that that is what Kevin did.