Ralston, OK

These pictures are from my Papa's grave in Ralston, Oklahoma. He passed away December 13, 2007. My Aunt Louise took these pictures and sent them to the family. Mema is going to Ralston for a family reunion and will get to see the headstone and bench in person for the first time over Labor Day weekend. We all helped her pick out the picture on the front; I think it looks awesome.

Cowtown

We visited my parents in Fort Worth this weekend. We hung out with family, some high school friends and ran around town. There's a lot more to Fort Worth than cows, but the Stockyards make for amusing pictures.

Twice a day everyday there is a cattle drive down the middle of the Stockyards.
Coolest government job in town

Longhorn

Cattle drive

Big cows on big steakhouses

THE boot shop

Welcome to the Stockyards

Campechana

We decided to see if we could make campechana like we love ordering at Goode Company Seafood. Shrimp, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, avocado and our version of some cocktail sauce. I think our version may have been better.

Only In Texas

Robin and I were passing through Schulenberg on the way to Hallettsville when this sign caught my eye. As if this isn't ridiculous enough they also offer a drive thru.

"Yeah um, gimme a couple sixers of MGD, a bottle of Jack and one of them there Smith & Wessons."

Fishing Tournament

Two weekeds ago Alex and I participated in the 6th annual Readin', Writin', and Reelin' Fishing Tournament in Port O'Connor. We fished with our friends Lauren and Chad from Houston. The tournament benefits my elementary school in Victoria, Nazareth Academy.

We ended up winning 1st place in the Sopt Pot by having a redfish with 11 spots. We also placed 5th in the combo stringer (5 trout and 2 reds) with a combined weight of 19.3 lbs. We had a really great time fishing and we made it all day with no illness! The last two fish we brought in were caught by Alex and me as we were racing to make the weigh in. There was much excitement!

My first catch, but out of order...Alex actually caught the first fish of the day, please see below. numero uno Fortunately, the next few were keepers.
Alex and I hooked up fish at the same time. It was really fun! We were racing to bring them in.
And here they are.

Oregon Part II

Mmmm......cheese.

Inside a shipwreck at appropriately named Shipwreck Beach.

Alex having fun off the trail.

The gang

Kennedy checking out the sights while hiking with Robin. Gayle, Shelly, Mema, Kennedy, Stacey, Robin, Sheryl
Having fun by the fire before roasting hot dogs.

Shelly and Robin

The beach at sunset.

If the airlines didn't have a 50 lb. weight limit this rock would've been mine. Talk about a bargain.

David, Gayle and Sheryl

Gayle, Ryan and David in the forest.

Stacey and Mema taking a break from hiking.

The ladies keeping warm on a cold July day at Cannon Beach.

The Haystack

Oregon Part I

In July we made a trip to the Pacific Northwest. The first part of our trip was spent with Alex's family, who were having a family reunion. They get together every other year, and this year's destination was Portland, OR. The trip worked out really well for my family too.

While with Alex's family we visited the falls along the Columbia River, Mt. Hood and scenic routes around the Columbia Gorge. On the final evening of the reunion days we all had dinner together at a microbrewery, McMinimans on the Columbia. It was nice to meet Alex's family- for both of us! Alex has not seen many of these relatives since he was very young.

After time with Alex's family and his dad we traveled to Seaside to meet up with my family at a beach house we rented for the week. Seaside is a cute little beach town just a few miles north of Cannon Beach. We went on a few hikes, had a camp fire/cookout at the beach, rode bikes, played games, watched movies, and just hung out together. We had a great time all week and were sad to leave. On the way back to Portland we stopped in Tillamook and went to the Tillamook Cheese Factory. The tour is really neat- you can watch the assembly line slicing, packaging and checking all of the cheese they produce. They also make ice cream and milk. The ice cream was awesome! Many of us took Stacey's suggestion and ordered marionberry pie ice cream. Marionberry is an Oregon favorite and the ice cream was so good. I was craving it the other day, but unfortunately it's not available in Texas (or maybe this is fortunate...). We'll add more pics, but this is Part I of our Oregon trip.

Some of Alex's relatives from the reunion.

Robin, her mom Shelly with baby Oliver and Stacey.

Overlooking Cannon Beach.

Alex and Kennedy on the long hike.

Robin and Stacey

Relaxing on the beach after our seven mile hike.

Cousin Stacey and Robin at Cannon Beach.

Those two little specks are Alex and Dad getting a closer look at Latourell Falls.

Mt. Hood in mid-July.

Alex and Dad at Multnomah Falls, the 2nd tallest waterfall in America.

Florida

Earlier this summer, we went to Florida for a few days. I had a conference on relational aggression ("girl bullying") in Orlando. Alex came along and on the days that I had afternoons free we went to the beach and to Epcot. We drove to Clearwater, which is on the Gulf side for our first afternoon trip. Then we went to Epcot the following afternoon and Cocoa Beach (Atlantic side) on the last day. This was Alex's first trip to Florida, and I think he liked it.

Clearwater Beach

The nice guy that took our pic the first time suggested that he take a second one from the waist up. Fat guy from Texas apparently needs to hit the gym before going back to Florida.

We're not in Texas anymore.

Honey I Shrunk the Kids Show at Epcot (in 3D)!

Who's a tourist?

My man Mickey is sort of shrimpy.

Alex, Goofy and Robin. Goofy is in the middle.