The Correct Way to Weigh

I posted this for many of you, who like me, have been doing it wrong all these years.
Thank you to Deborah Brown for passing along this important medical information.

Pride Is Assumed When You Say You're a Texan

Have you ever looked at a map of the world?

Look at Texas with me just for a second.

That picture, with the Panhandle and the Gulf Coast, and the Red River and the Rio Grande is as much a part of you as anything ever will be. As soon as anyone anywhere in the world looks at it they know what it is. It's Texas. Pick any kid off the street in Japan and draw him a picture of Texas in the dirt and he'll know what it is. What happens if I show you a picture of any other state? You might get it maybe after a second or two, but who else would? And even if you do, does it ever stir any feelings in you?

In every man, woman and child on this planet, there is a person who wishes just once he could be a real live Texan and get up on a horse or ride off in a pickup. There is a little bit of Texas in everyone.

Did you ever hear anyone in a bar go, 'Wow...so you're from Iowa ? Cool, tell me about it?' Do you know why? Because no one cares about Iowa.

Texas is the Alamo. Texas is 183 men standing in a church, facing thousands of Mexican nationals, fighting for freedom, who had the chance to walk out and save themselves, but stayed instead to fight and die for the cause of freedom.

We send our kids to schools named William B. Travis and James Bowie and Crockett, and do you know why? Because those men saw a line in the sand and they decided to cross it and be heroes.

John Wayne paid to do the movie himself. That is the Spirit of Texas.

Texas is Sam Houston capturing Santa Anna at San Jacinto.

Texas is huge forests of Piney Woods like the Davy Crockett National Forest.

Texas is breathtaking mountains in the Big Bend.

Texas is the unparalleled beauty of bluebonnet fields in the Texas Hill Country.

Texas is the beautiful, warm beaches of the Gulf Coast of South Texas.

Texas is the shiny skyscrapers in Houston and Dallas.

Texas is world record bass from places like Lake Fork.

Texas is Mexican food like nowhere else, not even Mexico.

Texas is the Fort Worth Stockyards, Bass Hall, the Ballpark in Arlington and
the Astrodome. (guess now the Reliant Stadium too)

Texas is larger-than-life legends like Michael DeBakey, Denton Cooley, Willie Nelson, Buddy Holly, Gene Autry, Audie Murphy, Tommy Lee Jones, Waylon Jennings, Janis Joplin, Kris Kristofferson, Tom Landry, Darrell Royal, ZZ Top, Eric Dickerson, Earl Campbell, Nolan Ryan, Sam Rayburn, Howard Hughes, George H. W.Bush, Lyndon B. Johnson, and George W. Bush. and let's not forget GEORGE STRAIT

Texas is great companies like Dell Computer, Texas Instruments and Compaq, Bell Helicopter And LOCKHEED MARTIN AEROSPACE, Home of the F-16 Jet Fighter and the JSF Fighter.

Texas is NASA.

Texas is huge herds of cattle and miles of crops.

Texas is home to the most amazing sunsets of gold over an empty field.

Texans have pride like no others.

Texas is hundreds of deer running around neighborhoods and fields.

Texas is skies blackened with doves, and fields full of deer.

Texas is a place where towns and cities shut down to watch the local high school football game on Friday nights, and for a Night In Old San Antonio River Parade in San Antonio.

To drive across Texas is to drive 1/4 the way across the United States.

Texas is ocean beaches, deserts, lakes and rivers, mountains and prairies, and modern cities.

Everything's bigger in Texas !

No one does anything bigger or better than it's done in Texas.

By federal law, Texas is the only state in the U.S. that can fly its flag at the same height as the U.S. flag. Think about that for a second. You fly the Stars and Stripes at 20 feet in Maryland, California, or Maine , and your state flag, whatever it is, goes at 17 feet. You fly the Stars and Stripes in front of the high school or anyplace else at 20 feet, the Lone Star flies at the same height - 20 feet. Do you know why? Because it is the only state that was a Republic before it became a state.

Also, being a Texan is as high as being an American down here. Our capitol is the only one in the country that is taller than the capitol building in Washington, D.C. and we can divide our state into five states at any time if we wanted to! We included these things as part of the deal when we came on. That's the best part, right there.

Texas even has its own power grid!! ... Did I mention Live music capitol of the world?

If it isn't in Texas, you probably don't need it.

Day One

Well, the Fam left for Alabama today. I am VERY PROUD of my wife...she's been invited to do the children's portion of Hartselle Camp Meeting this year. She and Amanda left on a plane today, a bit late, but they finally got off. They were supposed to be at the airport for an 11:30am flight. Due to the weird storm we had blow in, they didn't get to leave until 2:45pm! But they are there now and I am home...alone!

So tonight I had two options: sit around and mope, or find something fun to do. I chose the latter, grabbed my GPS and Pocket PC, hopped on the motorcycle and went geocaching at a local preserve. The storm thing today (that's what I call it...it was really odd) cooled things off a bit, so I thought it would be a good night to try and find the 10 geoaches hidden in the preserve. I found nine of them but ran out of sunlight before I could find #10...very frustrating!

Here's a few pictures from my adventures this evening:

Can you see something inside that little tube? It's a geocache!

And here it is in my had. It is a pill bottle glued into that tube. Can you see the lid at the top of the container?

This is one of the most clever hides I have seen in a while. The name of the cache was "Flat Tired". I looked and looked through all the trash dumped in this area, all the while thinking the about the name of the cache. Just when I was about to give up (after looking over all three tires in this trash pile), I looked at this one once more. Do you see anything out of place? How about the valve stem coming out of the tire? Yep, the log you sign is inside that. It was a little harder to find though because it was dark. The flash on my camera makes it a little easier to see. Very clever!

I Might Help Set a World Record Today

If you use Firefox browser, you can download version 3 today after 10am PT and be a part of Firefox's attempt to set a Guinness Book of World Records attempt for the most downloads in a 24 hour period (click the picture above for all the details). I'm one of 1.5 million people who have signed up saying they would download today. Come join us!

Here is the download link. Right now, it is still for version 2, but I believe they will change it after 10am PT...if not, you will be able to find the link from here.

A Great Father's Day

My wife and daughter made me feel very special today and I had a great Father's Day. Amanda got me a card that read, "Dad, it's Father's Day and you deserve the best the world has to offer... (open card) That's why you have me! Happy Father's Day from your daughter." Along with that came a sun catcher car that she made during VBS this week AND the children's church craft from today.

Sometime this week, Brooke and Amanda went shopping and bought me a black t-shirt that says, Born to Ride, Forced to Work with a motorcycle on the front. They also found the sound track to Dan in Real Life which I have been wanting. And then Brooke just happened to find a new Chris Botti CD which she calls romantic music (woo hoo!).

After church, we went to Cedar Hill state park where my parents are camping and wished my Dad a Happy Father's Day. While we were there, Dad took a picture of me with my best friend.



Earlier this week, one of the guys from church said something about going on a motorcycle ride today. I didn't hear back from anybody, so I figured Father's Day nixed those plans. But hey, we're fathers, right? It is our day. The four of us pictured here ended up spending time with our families this afternoon and then went for an evening ride (read "man time"). It was a lot of fun. (By the way, if you're wondering what I would look like if I were totally bald, the shadow cast by the sun here gives you a glimpse!)

I am thankful to have a wife and daughter who take such good care of me, put up with me and work so hard to make me feel special. I had a great day. Thank you Brooke and Amanda!

Prepare Thyself, Amateur

So I turn on my cell phone this morning (true story). I immediately hear the tones that tell me I have two text messages. I open the first one, from one of the youth workers at our church, and it says:

prepare for the worst

Well, one of our church youth has been telling me all week that he is going to "get me" at VBS today (water balloons, hose or something along those lines). I figured he had enlisted this youth worker's help to harass me. I thought the other text was going to be from youth member saying the same thing.

So, I replied appropriately:

Prepare Thyself, Amateur

After sending that text, I opened the other one that came in. Come to find out, this one was from the youth worker, too. This one said:

I know u r sleeping, but please pray for us. Our dog has been sick and is probably going to die. We will probably have to... (and the text cut off there)

It only took a second or two to realize what the ... at the end meant. This text was too long to come in one message, so it was continued as a second message. The entire message would have read:

I know u r sleeping, but please pray for us. Our dog has been sick and is probably going to die. We will probably have to prepare for the worst.

To which, I had already replied, "Prepare Thyself, Amateur"

So of course I had to text her and explain my moronic reply.

Just call me Mr. Sensitive.

I Remember June 12, 1993 Like It Was Yesterday

Solution to the Oil Crisis

OPEC sells oil for $128.00 a barrel.

OPEC nations buy U.S. grain at $7.00 a bushel.

Solution: Sell grain for $128.00 a bushel.

Send Your Friends a Post-Rapture Email!

I saw the headline for this as I was browsing through Google Reader tonight. Somehow I'm thinking Jesus expects a little more of us than this. How can we expect the lost not to laugh at us? I did when I read this.

A new Web site is offering a miraculous service — e-mails sent to loved ones left behind on Earth after you've been swept up to heaven in the Rapture...

Final e-mails from vanished subscribers will be triggered when three of the site's five Christian staffers fail to log in for six days in a row.

Brought to you by "YouveBeenLeftBehind.com" (seriously!)

Read the entire Fox News story here.

Not a Sound

Every once-in-a-while I will see a small owl sitting on our back yard fence when I let the dogs out at night. Tonight I saw two of them sitting on the sidewalk/ramp rail at church when I was doing my security walk. When I saw them, I stopped to watch them and they seemed to watch me, too. Finally I walked up for a closer view and one of them let me get within 6 feet before he took off. It wasn't until a few seconds later that I noticed what I had just missed...sound. When they flew, there was absolutely no sound, and one of them flew just 3-4 feet over my head.

I checked another couple doors and then walked back under the tree where I thought one of them had landed. Sure enough, there he was looking at me again. We watched each other for a while, me staring up, him making little triangle movements with his head staring down at me. To my surprise, he jumped/flew to a branch closer to me, and finally made his way to a branch straight over my head. He was definitely a very curious little owl.

Finally he hopped to another branch and looked out toward the playground area where the second owl had flown. When I stepped around to get a better view, he took off for the trees in the playground and was gone. Again, not a sound.

See, I'm Not The Only One

Here's a few quotes from a Yahoo Tech article. See, I'm not the only one who is an unhappy Sprint customer.

"Chatters are growing happier with their overall wireless service, according to a new survey, with Verizon Wireless taking top honors and Sprint slipping into last place among the four big carriers."

"Verizon Wireless scored a 72 in the survey, giving it top marks among the four big wireless carriers. AT&T and T-Mobile both tied at 71, with AT&T gaining the most ground thanks to its four-percent spike since 2007 (thanks, in part, to the iPhone, according to ACSI researchers)."

"Meanwhile, Sprint's ACSI rating fell to just 56, an 8 percent drop from last year. "

"Just for comparison's sake, the spiraling airline industry got an ACSI score of 62 (tumbling almost 14 percent from 1994), the U.S. Postal Service got a 74 (up from a score of 61 in 1994), FedEx scored an 85, and both McDonald's and Microsoft made do with a middling 69."

Geocaching Pictures

Amanda and I did some geocaching last Saturday. Here are some pictures.

This one was hidden the the "Y" between branches of a tree. Amanda knew where to look, but I had to give her a boost to check it out.

Cachers sometimes hide their geocaches in 35mm film canisters. Amanda found a new use for the lid. Ahoy Matey!

Sign here, please.

We didn't know what kind of flower this was, but we thought it was pretty.

These flowers were in front of a park in Richardson.

The only way to make the flowers any more beautiful!

The Bird Lady?

Brooke grabbed a loaf of bread and we hopped on the motorcycle and rode over to Lake Arlington yesterday. There was a duck near the motorcycle, so as I tried to coax him to come eat out of my hand, Brooke went and sat on this park bench. My duck saw she was throwing her food to the ducks, so he flew over to where she was. This picture doesn't really do justice to all of the ducks that swarmed Brooke, but you get the idea.

What's Different?

Do you like those puzzles they put in magazines where you have to identify nine differences between pictures. You know...the ones where you can find 6 of them right off, but the other three take you 20 minutes? I don't like them, but if you do here's one for you. Hint: Don't try to find nine differences...I don't think you will find them.




This is really just a photo I doctored with Photo Impact so I can use it on my Facebook profile later. The touch up was more impressive before the photo was cropped. But now I'm thinking it might be fun to doctor some photos and make some of my own "find the differences" games.

Praying Mantis

I have always thought these things were creepy looking! Amanda saw this thing on one of the picnic tables at church this morning. In real life, he wasn't more than an inch long.

Here's a Question For You

Book I Will Be Reading Next

"It seems as if every week I receive an opportunity by e-mail to boycott this, petition that, sign a covenant, or let a business know my Christian beliefs about its product. Honestly, these types of activities make me sick. Those businesses and organizations we want to boycott are being run and led by people-human beings-with families and kids and lives and choices. We may as well say to them, "Go to hell because I don't give a rip about your eternity. Just stay away from me and my family and out of our picket-fence -protected homes." Our actions are perceived as holier than thou, and they put us in the category of "all Christians are the same."

When did we decide the church should dictate, control, or mandate the direction of our culture? Isn't culture just a reflection of who we are as a society? Why are we focused on the fruit rather than the root? It would be like smashing all the apples from a tree in anger because they aren't big enough or tasty enough rather than considering the soil, sunlight, and environmental conditions; getting mad at the food when we should really be talking to the cook; or blaming the kids when we should talk to the parents."

Pop Goes the Culture: Should The Church Engage Pop Culture
by Tim Stevens

Memorial Day - God Bless America!!

Now THAT'S how you sing our National Anthem!
The Cactus Cuties

So Much For Making Your Point

QUOTE

"If at first you don't succeed... so much for skydiving."

Henry Youngman

QUOTE

The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress.

Charles Kettering

GUESS-the-GOOGLE

One of the blogs I follow is Download Squad, and one of my favorite posts there is "Today's Time Waster". The time waster for today is a game called "Guess the Google". Twenty pictures are put on the screen and you have to guess word was Googled to get those results. Click on the picture above to give it a try. Feel free to leave your score in the comments section. I only got 168 my first try. If you beat me, I'm gonna stick with the "Well, your words were easier" excuse!

It's Like Golden Corral for Turtles

(click to enlarge)

A New School

Amanda started a new school this week. They wear uniforms which Amanda did not think she was going to like at first, but it looks like she has decided they are not so bad. Here she is in two of the uniform options. The one on the right is not her "peace" uniform...it's the one she wore on her second day at her new school.

We have been pleased with the education Amanda has received at her public school, but some of the things she was starting to bring home (mostly from 'friends') had us praying a lot. We have talked about private schools in the past, but we want Amanda to learn to stand up for what she believes and learn how to do it in the 'real world'. Brooke found out about a charter school opening down the street from us, so we went to check it out. We were originally looking into Amanda starting there next year, but when we went, with Amanda, to check it out, we changed our minds. First of all, Brooke, Amanda and I were impressed with what we saw and had a peace about Amanda attending there. Secondly, like most charter schools, they are filling up fast. If Amanda waited until next year, the school would probably be running at capacity and would have to implement a lottery system for allowing new students. We prayed about it and all three of us felt a peace about Amanda starting this year.

Amanda was blessed with her mother's personality and never meets a stranger. She is already making friends at her new school and loves it.

Sweaty Jesus

Amanda and I rode the motorcycle to the park tonight. We were fixing one of our hidden geocaches that needed some attention, and of course we had to play tag on the playground. We were the only two there for just a few minutes when a little boy asked me, "Are you playing 'Tag, You're It'?" I told him we were and he asked, "Can we play"? I told him they could, so Amanda and I played tag with two six year old boys for about 30 minutes.

The boys were polite and mannerly and it really was not a chore to let them play. They had a lot of fun laughing, running and chasing this over-weight adult who was willing to play tag with them. It was sorta one of those "you can't say no" situations, but I also thought about that phrase "Jesus with skin on". I wanted to show them God's love and let them know that somebody thought they were valuable. By the time we were done, I think I looked more like "sweaty Jesus" than "Jesus with skin on", but I hope I made an impression on them.

As we were leaving, one boy came running up and acted like he wanted to give me a hug. Realizing where we were and how somebody might mistake it, I acted like I didn't see him and walked on by (what if his parents saw him hugging some strange man?). But then he came running up and said, "hug, hug, hug". I gave him the 'side hug' we were taught in Bible college and left feeling like I at least got to be "sweaty Jesus" to two little boys. If the one boy was comfortable hugging adults, I'm guessing his home life is not too horrible, but I was still glad he got to see some adult thought he was worth the time to play tag. I also got to talk to Amanda about why we let them play and how it was something Jesus would have done.

Often times I know I miss the boat and do not give a witness for the Lord when I have the chance. Tonight, I didn't miss the chance...and it felt good.

Domesticated Jesus

"The people who hanged Christ never, to do them justice, accused Him of being a bore - on the contrary; they thought Him too dynamic to be safe. It has been left for the later generations to muffle up that shattering personality and surround him with an atmosphere of tedium. We have very efficiently pared the claws of the Lion of Judah, certified Him "meek and mild," and recommended Him as a fitting household pet for pale curates and pious old ladies."

Dorothy Sayers
The Greatest Drama Ever Staged, Letters to a Diminished Church

Geocachingmobile

Amanda and I went to a geocaching breakfast in Grand Prairie Saturday morning. Afterwards, we we out with a new geocaching buddy and found 11 caches. Here's a picture of us on our geocachingmobile for the day.

Happy Mother's Day...Early

When the missionaries were in town for the Missions Conference, the church staff took them to Alley Cats for some bowling and video games. That is where Brooke fell in love with Dance Dance Revolution. I found out they had it for the Wii, so I ordered it (along with two deluxe dance pads) for Mother's Day. Brooke always out-does me on the gift giving (she always finds better gifts), so I was excited when I found this for her because I knew she'd love it. I guess I got too excited...I couldn't wait another month to give it to her. So Happy Mother's Day a month early, baby. We love you!

Why I'm a Dog Person

2-3-4 Formula

I looked at the trees in my back yard and noticed they needed some trimming. Since I have access to a chain saw, it didn't seem like that big a deal. At the completion of my job today, I thought I should write down what I learned. I made it into a simple formula I call the "2-3-4 Formula".

Take the number of times you think you will fill up the pick up with your brush. Multiply that number by TWO. This is how many loads you will actually take!

Take the number of hours you think you will need to complete the tree trimming project. Multiply that number by THREE. This is how many hours you will actually need!

Estimate how tired you will be when you are done. Multiply that number by FOUR. This is how tired you will actually be when you are done.

Toilet Prank

Just for Laughs

Doin' It Right

This weekend, I had the privilege of visiting my friend Stan who is the pastor of Impact Cowboy Church of Nacogdoches. Stan has found his niche and is leading his cowboy church in reaching out and sharing the Gospel with those who would not step foot in a church..I was blown away. Brooke, Amanda and I had a blast and were well taken care of by Stan and his family. Here's a video with some of the highlights of our weekend.

I Was a Spy Tonight

I was given privileged access to the "Spy Kids Tree House" tonight. If you are wondering, it has nothing to do with the movie...it's where "kid spies" go to hang out.

As I said, I was given privileged access, so I cannot tell you where the tree is or anything like that...I can only share these few pictures.

Thank you to the master spy kid herself for making me an honorary spy tonight, for the invitation and for these photos.

This is the Truth

Created by Granger Community Church

Back From Camping

Tomorrow "real life" starts again. During Spring Break we went camping in my parents camper and had a great time together as a family. The only real "downer" was the fact that I could not get internet at the campground! I did some off-line blogging during the week and will post the blogs (and pictures) here.

Just letting you know in case you want to scroll down to SUNDAY and read from the beginning.

Brooke and the Doggies - Worn Out After Unpacking

FRIDAY

Once again the dogs woke us up this morning, and once again, it took a good 20 minute walk before Sully would do his "business". You've heard of having the poo scared out of you? Sully has it scared INTO him! Anything little thing scares him and he cannot concentrate on the business at hand. Yes, you are welcome for sharing.

So after our morning walk, we fixed sausage and egg sandwiches with hash browns for breakfast. It was then time for our last trip to the store. This time, we tried to avoid Wal-Mart because they do not carry the special heavy-duty paper plates we were trying to replace (the ones we "borrowed" which were left over in the camper). Brooke could not find the exact plates but found something that would work. As I was cooking the sausage this morning and trying to flatten out the patties I broke one of my Mom's spatulas. The only thing similar they had at Kroger was a $7 pack, so it was off to Wal-Mart again.

Off for a Bike Ride to the Marina

Amanda saw the marina convenience store when we were on our walk last night and thought it looked like a light house. Of course, this meant it needed investigating, so we rode our bikes to the marina after breakfast. On the bike ride there, a little dog ran along side our bike barking. I knew the dog would freak out Amadna and I was very proud of her for not crashing her bike in fear! Once we got past the dog, I saw that she was crying. I don't know what it is about little dogs, but they scare her more than big ones! At the marina, we some scary ducks, too. Amanda was chased by a goose once, and now all ducks are scary up close. Anyway, we took pictures of the ducks and then walked out onto the pier. Amanda thought it would be fun to walk out onto one of the boat landings until she discovered that they merely floated on Styrofoam and were not very steady. But we couldn't stay there too long until she wanted to go explore the building she thought looked like a light house. I imagine she was pretty disappointed to discover it looked pretty much like any other bait/tackle/convenience store. We bought an ice cream bar and an ice cream cookie, sat on the deck and looked out over the lake while talking about the ducks, the joys of camping and "that scary dog" that we might have to face on the ride back to the camper.

The Scary Duck

Later in the day, Mr. Barker invited Amanda to do fishing with him and Brian. I didn't expect them to catch anything, but Amanda insisted on taking the digital camera so somebody could get a picture of her with the fish that she caught. Brooke went for a walk and then hung out with Jan (Barker) while I finished book #2 (Mutant by Peter Clement) this week. Just as I finished my book Mr. Barker drove up with Amanda and Brian who quickly jumped out of the car and came running, each with a bag full water with a fish in it! I'm not a fisherman, but I think they caught a perch. I'll have a picuture in here. so somebody can correct me if I'm wrong, but whatever it was, it sure made Amadna proud! Of course I had to grab the new video camera and shoot some video, too.

The Fish That Was Caught By the Child With No Head

The Proud Fisherman

Two Proud Fishermen

Kiss the Fish!

What a shame that it's Friday already. I feel like I just started relaxing yesterday, and Dad will be here in the morning to hook up the trailer and allow us to re-enter the real world. Oh well. It's 6:20pm. Guess I need to shut this down and see what the plans are for dinner.

Ta Da!

THURSDAY

Yep, it's the dogs. Up at 7:40am this morning. Everybody is just getting back from the shower house, so our camper smells like Pine Sol. It's warmed up enough to open all the windows in the camper, so it should air out soon. Don't know what the plans are for day, but they don't include going into the office and that is good enough for me. If I could just check my email, that would make me really happy!

We've quickly figured out that you can't camp without Wal-Mart, and we stopped by again today to buy the rest of our food for the week. During breakfast we watched home movies on the DVD player and decided they were priceless...so we stopped by Circuit City and bought a cheap video camera. Definitely an impulse buy, but the more home videos we watch from years ago, the better I feel about it. I'm still taking hundreds of pictures with my digital camera but there's just too many "precious moments" not to have a video camera as Amanda is growing up.

We had microwave TV dinners for dinner, and then Amanda and I went for a walk. We were walking near the lake in a flooded area when Amanda said, "Daddy, there's an aligator!" I knew there was no aligator, but I was surprised that she did indeed see something...a beaver. We watched the alligator/beaver swim until something scared it, it made a big splash with it's tail and then disappeared under water.

Brooke drove the car to pick us up down by the lake so we could watch LOST. While I was watching LOST, Brooke hid some glow in the dark Easter eggs she picked up (at Wal-Mart, where else?). Amanda and Brian had a blast finding all but the last, elusive egg. Brooke joined them in the hunt and, as of yet, it is still missing!

Glow-in-the-Dark Easter Egg Hunt

All was going fine until Amanda stepped on a thorn tht went into her shoe and broke off in her foot. We borrowed tweasers and a needle from the Barkers and went to work on Amanda's foot. It did not take long for Amanda to scream in agony (she is such a drama queen!!!) and she finally took the needle and dug the thing out herself.

The Thorn

That was about all the excitement we could handle for the night. Amanda went to bed, Brooke said up a little longer doing word search puzzles and I turned in a while after that trying to finish off book #2 for the week.

WEDNESDAY

OK, maybe it's the dogs more than camping that keeps me from sleeping in. We slept until almost 9am again this morning, but even though we miss the extra sleep, we miss the doggies more. Another bacon and eggs breakfast, some reading and then we went to pick up the dogs. Might as well grab a shower at Mom and Dad's (although how can you feel any more clean than when you are in a shower house that reeks of Pine Sol!). We grabbed a shower, grabbed the dogs and then came back to the campground.

Mmmm...sausage, eggs, toast and hash browns

We knew our friends the Barkers were going to be moving their camper, so we stopped by to see what Brian was doing. While his parents moved the camper, we took Brian with us to McDonalds for lunch.

Sully the Pirate
(everybody had to try on the "pirate hat" that came in the McDonalds Happy Meal.

Boo the Pirate

Brooke the Unhappy Pirate

Brooke the Happy Pirate

After lunch, Rob, Amanda and Brian went for a bike ride down by the lake to play at the playground. We were just thinking about coming back when we heard this "pssssssssssss" and Brian's front bike tire went flat for no appearant reason. Fortunately Brooke and the car were just a phone call away so Brian, Amanda, Brooke and the two bikes came back to the campground in the car. I (tried to) ride up the HUGE hill on my bike and arrived a short time after the car, greatly out of breath.

Amanda and Brian. We stopped by the lake on our bike ride.

Amanda and Brian played for the rest of the afternoon. Brooke talked with Jan and read. I took a short nap and read a bit. After supper we took the dogs on a LONG walk (mostly because EVERYTHING distracts Sully from doing his business), came back tot he camper, watched some TV, read some more and went to bed.

TUESDAY

Slept until almost 9am this morning...no hungry dogs to wake us up at the first sign of movement. The rain started, but nothing seriously stormy like the weather people said we could get. Had cereal for breakfast, watched a movie and then decided to head back to Arlington to run a few errands since it was supposed to rain all day. We ran by the house real quick so we could grab a real shower. While there, I had to call Sprint and reactivate my old phone. The used one I bought just six weeks ago konked out on me. Will NOT be getting any more "free" phones from Sprint that extend my already-too-long contract. They reset my "rebate" on my phone. Every 22 months you can get a $150 rebate from Sprint for a new phone. Because I had to go back to my old phone, they reset my 22 months even though the phone was not new. I'm just getting fed up with Sprint not taking good care of me as a customer. I guess they figure they have enough people that they don't have to worry about little guys like me. That was frustrating enough, but now I can't access my email from this old phone (it does not get as strong a signal at the campground). I am not a happy camper with Sprint or my phone.

Anyway, after a shower and frustrating phone conversation with Sprint, we ran by the library to pick up a book or two for all of us. After that, it was off to David's BBQ for lunch. Man, they serve some good food! We ran by Wal-Mart again and then came back to the camper. With it raining ALL DAY, I was glad not to have to take the dogs outside, but I sure miss them! Family camping is not the same without the doggies.

It was cool and rainy this afternoon, so I got in a GOOD nap. I love to sleep when it is raining! After that we fixed dinner and then went to get Brian so he and Amanda could watch a movie over here tonight. When the movie was over, we went into town (Cedar Hill) to gas up the car and grab a McDonald's ice cream for everybody. We dropped off Brian, Brooke watched Dancing with the Stars and then watched Jericho with me.

When Brooke went to bed, I spent 40 minutes trying to log into my email or Twitter on my old phone...to no avail. I finally gave up in frustration and decided to blog about the day. Frustrating day with Sprint and the phone, but fun day with the family. Definitely thankful we are camping in a trailer and not in a tent, and definitely ready for the rain to stop now. It is supposed to rain most of the night and then begin clearing up tomorrow. Amanda wants to go to the beach (if there's any left after the lake's rising due to all of the rain!), we'll do some more bike riding and hopefully pick up or doggies for the rest of the week.

MONDAY

I woke up around 7:30am. For some reason, I cannot sleep in very well when camping (I can nap all afternoon, but I can't sleep late in the morning). We are not usually big breakfast eaters, but when we camp, we usually cook up some bacon, eggs, hash browns and toast and that is what we did today.

Our camp site is right near a playground area which Amanda noticed right away last night, so we headed over there for a while this morning. After that, we went for a family walk/bike ride. Amanda rode her bike (first time since the "elbow incident"), I rode my bike and walked the two dogs and Brooke walked. This wore us out enough that we all (that is Rob, Brooke and the two dogs) needed a nap after lunch.

We had visitors after lunch. The Barkers are friends of the family since the days Brooke worked at Grace Prep, and they live here at the State Park. Amanda has not seen Brian (Barker's son who is her same age) in a couple years, so she was thrilled to see them! Brooke is out talking with her friend Jan right now while Amanda is out bike riding with Brian now.

Amanda and Brian

I am "blogging" while Brooke and Amanda are visiting with the Barkers. I have my laptop but no internet access, so I'm writing now so I'll have something to post when I get back. I HATE not having internet! I have been surviving on my cell phone. I can check my email, but I've been cut off twice (and lost everything I typyed in using the number pad!) so long replies to email do not work very well. I was updating my Facebook status, but the typing with my phone keypad is too much of a hassle. I would gladly trade our TV for internet, but I guess you're supposed to "rough it" when camping, right?!

Amanda went over to the Barkers camper to watch a movie with Brian tonight. Brooke and I ran to Wal-Mart for a few things. Storms are moving in and we are supposed to have (possibly severe) rain and wind all day Tuesday. My Mom offered for her and Dad to keep the dogs for a day so we wouldn't have to take them out in the rain. (I suspect Mom also did not want them tracking mud in the camper!). Brooke and I ran the dogs over to their house after Wal-Mart, picked up Amadnda and came back to the camper for the night. We'll see what the weather brings tonight/in the morning.

SUNDAY

This has been a crazy weekend. Brooke has been at a conference Friday and Saturday and I have been getting ready to preach today. In the midst of all of that, we were trying to pack for a week of camping. The service went well today. We prayed for Pastor David in Delaware. We prayed for him because he and Mrs. Debi were doing their marriage teaching for the church there, but we also prayed for them figuring anybody who left the great state of Texas for Delaware needed prayer anyway! After the service, we went out to eat with my parents and then headed back to our house to hook up the camper (my parents' camper) and then to Cedar Hill State Park. Dad helped us hook up the camper and then he and Mom headed home.

Lazy Day!

Brooke and Amanda's Favorite Activities for the Week...Nintendo DS and Word Search Puzzles

Nothing too exciting for the rest of the day. Brooke and I took a short nap while Amanda played on her Nintendo DS then Brooke went grocery shopping for the first part of the week. Amanda and I continued our Sunday evening tradition and watched America's Funniest Videos. Man, you know you are roughing it camping when you watch TV without the DVR! We actually had to wait for the commercials to clean up from dinner because we couldn't pause the show!! Brooke and I read some more, Amanda played some more DS and that was about it for our first day.