Riding with the window down…

The girls went to see “Letters to Juliet,” and rather than sit through the chick flick, the guys felt it was time to go do something involving sweat, simulated murder, and just general mayhem. Paintball was the obvious choice.

We had a blast from the moment we “woke up” our host for the afternoon. I forget the dude’s name, but he was very cool and really dug explaining things to the boys while telling all his tales of the world of paintball.

Once we went over all the safety information, we were ready to get going.

Outfitted with our “killin’ gear” we headed out to the combat arena.

We had an absolute blast despite the sweltering heat. In the first match, it was Logan and Dallin teamed up against me. Later we went “every man for himself.” We even did a couple matches where it was just Dallin vs Logan. Logan shot me in the head a couple times - I shot him in the head once and the chest another - Logan also shot Dallin during a time-out.

The dude that ran it was super friendly and gave us a ton more paint than we paid for. I think he was happy to see someone there and I helped him jump start his truck that was dead too. Overall, it was a fun outing and despite the fact that I think I would have liked Letters to Juliet, there is no doubt this was better!

It is time to bring RWTWD back from the dead - okay, the ‘mostly’ dead. Included in this episode:

Changes to my life
Career changes
The charmed life continues
Lone Star Gridiron
Making Memories of Us - Keith Urban
Fresh Media Works
This Week in Wimberley
Katherine Anne Porter School
Making Me Nervous - Brad Sucks
Facebook

(Time: 18:36)

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Today was a fun break from the routine as I got to spend the morning at Texan Stadium where the students at Jacob’s Well Elementary competed in their annual Field Day. Logan and Dallin got three first place finishes and three seconds between them.

If you click on the photo, it will take you to the Flickr set I created.

Overall, it was a lot of fun and I am real proud of the boys for not only doing great, but doing so with class and style.

“If you want to go quickly - go alone. If you want to go far - go together.”

– African proverb

Chris flips the Blackberry on for a quick video update on a beautiful drive through the Texas Hill Country.

The weather the past few weekends has been amazing. That, combined with the Spring flowers, prompted me to grab the camera. Here are just a few of the recent shots.

Weathered Beauty

Sleeping Beauty

Lone Star Beauty

Anyone who tells you that life isn’t good - just isn’t looking.

I went with the boys to Camp Ben McCullough today so for a scouting activity. The setup was that each boy had the opportunity to earn five belt loops by participating in various activities. Logan and Dallin both earned the same five belt loops Soccer, Kickball, Hiking, Marbles and Baseball. There were several other options like Geology, Art, Maps etc.

It was a blast and I got to take pics throughout each of the events except for soccer (because I was running that event.) We snapped this picture while on the hike.

Click on the photo to check out all the shots from the event.

Good times!

Upon discovering a scorpion in the bathtub of our new house this morning, I was reminded of a poem that absolutely enthralled me as a child of about 7 or 8. The piece, called “Hell in Texas” was in a book of poetry that my mom kept around the house and has stuck with me to this day.

We had recently moved to Texas from Minnesota and for a wide-eyed kid to find himself smack dab in the middle on the biggest of the big places in the world - Texas, was amazing. I instantly fell in love with the larger-than-life characters of Texas history as well as the rugged, individualistic swagger that said (without a word) - Texan!

When I discovered the poem, I read it over and over until I had it memorized. This is the only poem in my life I have ever memorized. It just meant that much to me. Without further prefacing, let me post it:

Hell in Texas

The Devil, we’re told, in hell was chained,
and a thousand years he there remained,
and he never complained, nor did he groan,
but determined to start a Hell of his own
where he could torment the souls of men
without being chained to a prison pen.

So he asked the Lord if he had on hand
anything left when he made the land.
The Lord said, “yes, i had plenty on hand,
but i left it down on the Rio Grande.
The fact is, old boy, the stuff is so poor,
i don’t think you can use it in Hell anymore.”

But the Devil went down to look at the truck,
and said if it came as a gift, he was stuck;
for after examining it careful and well
he concluded the place was too dry for hell.
So in order to get it off his hands
God promised the Devil to water the lands.

For he had some water, or rather some dregs,
a regular cathartic that smelt like bad eggs.
Hence the deal was closed and the deed was given,
and the Lord went back to his place in Heaven,
and the Devil said, “I have all that is needed
to make a good Hell.” And thus he succeeded.

He began to put thorns on all the trees,
and he mixed the sand with millions of fleas,
he scattered tarantulas along all the roads,
put thorns on the cacti and horns on the toads;
he lengthened the horns of the Texas steers
and put an addition on jack rabbit’s ears.

He put little devils in the bronco steed
and poisoned the feet of the centipede.
The rattlesnake bites you, the scorpion stings,
the mosquito delights you by buzzing his wings.
The sand burrs prevail, so do the ants,
and those that sit down need half soles on their pants.

The Devil then said that throughout the land
he’d manage to keep up the Devil’s own brand,
and all would be mavericks unless they bore
the marks and scratches and bites by the score.
The heat in the summer is a hundred and ten,
too hot for the devil and too hot for men.

The wild boar roams through the black chaparral,
it’s a Hell of a place he has for Hell;
the red pepper grows by the bank of the brook,
the Mexicans use it in all that they cook.
Just dine with a greaser and then you will shout,
“I’ve a Hell on the inside as well as without.”

Thank you Mom for having the book in the first place and for instilling in me a love of reading, thank you Dawn for the conversation this morning that reminded me of this lost gem, and thank you Hap for doing the legwork to track it down and send it to me.

Most of all - thank YOU for reading.

Chris finally lays down some video at the new homestead and reminds you to pay special attention to the “little things.”

Chris takes a minute during a bike ride with the boys to shoot a little video.