It’s been waaaaaay too long since I’ve updated the photos section of the site, or written about what has been posted…

Back in early November, Christine and I took Jack and Grayson to the OU game. We didn’t win (which was normal for the Aggies this year) but we had a blast.

Grayson got to see his first Aggie game. The boys loved the band, and we all had a great time… especially running down the ramps at the end of the game:

Not sure if we’ll get season tickets again next year…

Photos here.

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This video by Barry Tramel, a sportscaster for the Oklahoma is great. Dub sent it to me… Go watch it.

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You may be wondering if we’re still taking photos of Jack or Grayson, since we haven’t posted any since July.

The short answer is: yes, we’re taking photos and movies. In fact, here’s a list of galleries I’ve posted, but haven’t linked to yet:

  • Jack and Grayson – Just some random photos from October 8th.
  • Aggies vs. OSU – Christine, Jack and I drove down to watch A&M play Oklahoma State. It was a tough game, and Jack didn’t nap on the way to College Station. In fact, when Christine asked Jack if he would take a nap, he said “No, I can sleep at the Aggie game.” Little did we realize that he would fall asleep not too long after half-time, and remain asleep the entire 3rd and 4th quarters. Christine held him for the 3rd quarter, and I held him through the 4th and carried him all the way to the car.
  • The Morning – just some totally random photos of Jack, Grayson and Wesley the morning before we drove down to the Aggie vs. Oklahoma State game.
  • Popsicles! – This was a fun day. Jack and Grayson and I went outside with two fruit popsicles, and ate them as the sun set… it was pretty messy by the time we were done eating them.
  • Grayson’s Boob Tube – Grayson on his caterpillar chair, watching the TV.
  • Ella and Jack – in Bellville at Ella’s house.
  • BandAids – Jack loves to wear BandAids, and puts them where ever he has a “bo bo”
  • Jack at School – from Jack’s first day of school this year… outside with his backpack.

The long answer is: yes, we’re taking photos and movies, but because of all the stuff going on in our lives, we’re not taking time to look at them like we did three months ago, and finding time to actually post them online has proven difficult. Which is why I’m now posting this at 1:30 in the morning… had to find time to do it, and this is when I found it.

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So let’s see. I’m in trouble. I’m in trouble because I’ve been very delinquent in updating this website. For that I apologize.

That said, here’s what’s been going on since the last post:

On Thursday, Jack got up, and it happened to be his birthday. He turned two years old, officially.

We took him outside in the backyard and took some photos of him in his dad’s maroon t-shirt again:


Two Years Old


One Year Old

He had fun taking those photos… he didn’t need help standing up this time either 😉

We opened a few gifts from the family on Thursday, just so we didn’t have that many gifts to open at his birthday party we were having on Saturday… can you tell he liked the fire truck:

More photos from the gift opening on Thursday.

That afternoon, around 4:00 or 4:30, friends starting arriving. We were hosting Christine’s family, and Mike Elmquist and Bob Beuerlein for Thanksgiving dinner this year. Mike was in town for Aggie Yell Practice that night, and was a buddy of mine in the Aggie Band years ago. Bob got back in the U.S. after a year in Iraq on Monday, 11/20, and wasn’t very far away (at Ft. Hood.) so we asked him to come join us too.

Christine has prepared most of the side dishes, and Mary and Frank had cooked the turkeys. Mike and Steven brought the desserts.

As soon as we had the table set, I had every one get together so we could take a group photo:

Dinner was amazing. Everyone had a turkey hangover and was in bed by 9 p.m.

On Thursday night, Bob, Mike and I went to Yell Practice on the south lawn of the State Capitol. And cool enough, right before Yell, we were drinking a beer in the bar in my office building, and we ran into Rev, the A&M Mascot, and we got to take a picture of Bob with Rev. Pretty cool:

On Friday morning, 12/24, Greg and I took Patrick and Jack to the t.u. vs. Aggies football game.

Whoop, the Ags beat last year’s National Champs 12 to 7. Greg and Patrick weren’t real happy about the outcome, but we all had a good time going to the game together. Actually, Jack sort of wussed out before the game started (he’s two, what do you expect) and Bob got to go instead of Jack, but again, we all had fun.

Here are some photos from Yell Practice wth Bob and from the game with Greg and Patrick.

A few more random shots:

I have photos from Jack’s Birthday Party on Saturday that I’ll get posted soon, and some movies from the past week or two too… not enough time in the day folks!

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This past weekend marked the last home game of Jack’s first Aggie Football season. And it was a good season… not because of what happened on the field, but because of the joy I experienced taking my son to football games… the same football games I used to go to as a kid with my friends and family.

I really enjoyed the games this year, because I got to spend a good amount of time with two men in my life that mean a lot to me: Bussy and Jack.

We really had a good time, and I’m looking forward to doing it all again next year if we can.

This past weekend, we also got to see Will Ketchen, one of my buddies that recently got out of the Army and is now attending MBA school. Jack enjoyed hanging out with Will:

Jack also enjoyed hanging out with Bussy. There are a few more photos of them enjoying the day in this photo gallery from this past weekend.

Gig ‘Em Aggies! (Yes, Jack knows how to say that and much more)

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So, I’ve postd a video every day this week, and I figured I should treat you all to something really special today.

Here are five photo galleries I haven’t linked to yet:

  • Jack Playing – photos from this week, of Jack and his mom playing (they were “camping” in Jack’s room in a home-made fort, and then Jack was “taking photos” with his camera, and then playing with cars).
  • Furniture by Stan – Cyndi’s uncle refinished some antique furniture that my mom gave us a while ago. The furniture looks awesome now, and all the drawers work perfectly now mom! Now our guests (and the new baby) will have a place to put their clothes when they come visit.
  • Aggie Jack – the photos from our weekend Aggieland trip.
  • Jack by Erin – Erin took some photos of Jack with her mom, sister, Chrstine and I after church on 8/27. Too fun!
  • In the Sandbox – just some photos of Jack in the sandbox one afternoon.
  • Ben and Jack at Serranos – After church one day, we met Murphy and Amanda at Serranos by accident. We ate inside while Murphy and Amanda (and their guests) watched Jack and Ben, then we came outside and watched the boys while they ate. The boys had sooo much fun playing together.
  • Levy Party – Lori and Herbert threw a party for the kids one weekend afternoon. Lots of water splashing and playing outside.
  • Lakehouse Swimming – We went to visit Debbie and Raymond on August 19th, and I took these photos outside around the pool. Jack just loved swimming this summer!

And, here’s the double whammy… another video for today:

Have a good weekend folks! (We’ll be nesting!)

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Christine, Jack and I drove down to College Station on Saturday, to take Jack to his first Aggie game!

Long story short: The Ags won, and Jack had a GREAT time!!!

We got to town around 4:00, picked up Bussy at the mall, and drove to the reserved parking that Bussy has (he didn’t want Christine to have to walk too far, since she’s 8 months pregnant). After parking, we walked over to the quad, saw a few old BQ buddies, and waited for the band to step off.

He didn’t quite know what to do when the band marched by, but he loved every minute of it, even if the drums were a little loud for his taste. (He’ll get used to that).

Then we walked over to the Corps Center to watch the band march by again. Then on to the MSC to get Jack a good Aggie shirt (they’re hard to find in Austin folks). We ended up buying him a regulation 12th man jersey for $40. Why we spent $40 on a size 2T jersey when the shirt I was wearing probably cost $5, I can’t explain…

After cooling off a bit, we went to the car to change diapers and put away the stroller, then on to the game.

After huffing and puffing up two levels, we climbed about twenty steps to get to our seats in row 27 on the second deck on the parents side of Kyle Field. The seats are great! They’re on about the north 35 yard line, two rows down from the sky boxes, and look like they’re always in the shade.

We said “Hi” to Norma and Jake, and then Andy Kollman and one of the Luedke boys showed up to sit in front of us (they’re all from Bellville).

I could just tell Jack was impressed with everything that was going on. About 10 minutes before the game started, I went and bought us all hotdogs and water, and a pretzel. Jack ate a whole hotdog (sans bun) before the game really got started.

We sang “Spirit of Aggieland” with the band, and the National Anthem, and Texas Our Texas, and watched four F-16’s fly over before the game… then it was time for kickoff.

About half-way through the 2nd half, we said our good-byes, and headed towards the car, but we met Mike Elmquist (one of my buddies from the band) at the Reveille graves on the way out. Man it was good to see Mike!

Jack passed out once we got on the road, before we even got out of Bryan. The trip home was uneventful, but, we did get to hear the last few minutes of the Ohio State v. Texas game on the radio once we found the station. In lieu of the radio, Mike Kamp (Chrsitine’s brother) was giving us the play-by-play of the game via text messages on my cell phone (thanks Mike!).

There’s a video from the day if you want to see how much fun Jack had. It’s a big file (about 60MB, so it might take a while to download, but it’s worth it if you want to see his face when the drums marched by, heh!):

Gig ‘Em!

(oh, and by the way, since Texas lost to Ohio State, I’m thinking Thanksgiving will be a fun game this year)

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On Sunday, the house woke up, and Phill went to Los Altos to buy breakfast tacos… which were much better than Mi Madre’s tacos… will definitely have to buy our there from now on (they’re much cheaper too).

After hanging out in the house for the better part of the morning, we all (James and Janice, Chase, Phill, Melissa, Steve and Abigail, Christine, Jack and I) all got ready and left Austin for the wedding in New Braunsfels at 3:00. The wedding started at 4:00, so we figured an hour was plenty of time to get there.

We were wrong.

Two things contributed to our long trip to the church:

1. It was raining.
2. The construction all the way from Austin to the church really made traffic suck bad.

Long story short, even with driving on the shoulder, trying to cut through town, and cutting it close with a couple of lights, we arrived at the wedding right as the church let out. Crap!

Chase flew down from New York and Phill flew down from Pennsylvania and I couldn’t get them to the wedding on time. Blimey!

We followed the pack from the church to the reception at Saengerhalle, and packed into the hall for a party. And boy, were we treated to one.

Saengerhalle is probably one of the coolest dancehalls in Texas. It’s rich in history and speaks Texas Country to you as you walk in the doors… if those walls could only talk…

Anyways, back to the wedding:

Before the bride and groom arrived, we all got to meet up with old friends, and family. My ol’ lady, Chip, and his wife and daughter were at the reception, and it was really, really good to see them, and to finally meet Carly Rae. She was just adorable. All of my other buddies from the band were there too, except for Rodney Kelley and Chris Morgan. Rodney is in Iraq with the Marines, and Chris is in Special Forces pilot training with the Army, learning to fly Chinooks. We really missed seeing them.

Michael Medford, Dub’s ol’ lady when Dub was on Band staff, was also there, and Greg Holland drove up from Houston. Good to see them both as well.

Stanley and Emmy Jo Miller (Dub’s parents) looked fantastic, and are now living in Pontotoc full time, ranching in their retirement (heh, ranchers don’t retire Stanley informed me). Kelly Jo and her husband were at the wedding too… Kelly Jo looked fantastic as expected, and her beau was really nice… she done good, as the saying goes.

Marci and Dub arrived to a standing ovation, the hall was packed with people… lots of friends and family, and lots of musicians to boot… They made the rounds a few times, and when they finally danced their first dance, it was a picture perfect moment:

Christine, Jack and I left a little early, as the wedding was on a Sunday, and Jack had a little fever (turns out he has a mild ear infection)… so we drove home in the rain, after a full day, and a full weekend.

Right before we left, Dub broke away during the bride/father dance, so we could snap a few “buddy photos”:

We both wish we could have stayed longer, but we had a good time, and we are really happy for Dub and Marci.

All of our photos from the wedding day are here.

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On Friday night (ok, I guess it was technically Sunday morning) Chase Brown flew in from Rochester, New York. I picked him up at the airport. Funnily, I also ran into Jason and Leah Eggenburger (two of our fish from A&M) while waiting for Chase at the airport.

James Rodriguez and his girlfriend Janice drove up from Houston, and got here about the same time Chase did.

We rendezvoused at the house, I let them in, we drank a beer on the back porch, and we went to bed.

We were all planning to hit the Guadalupe river on Saturday, but the weather was horrible… it’d been raining for 3 days, and when we woke up on Saturday, it was pouring. Dub called me around 8:15 and said the river trip was off, so we should just meet him at the River Road Ice House.

Saturday morning, we had breakfast tacos from Mi Madres, then Rudy Gaytan and Will Ketchen showed up, and we all hung out, catching up with each other, meeting Jack, and having a good time. Then we headed to New Braunsfels to meet up with Dub and his Fiancee, Marci.

Phill Becker beat us to New Braunsfels (he was coming from State College, PA, by way of San Antonio). We got to New Braunsfels around 1:45 or so, and met up with Jen and Mack Avery in the parking lot before heading into the RRIH. Scott Wideman showed up not long after us. Last to arrive was Mike Elmquist and his wife Carol.

Around 3:00, Dub decided it was safe to float the river, so we hit it, and boy did we. I haven’t hit the river like that since our old trips to the Guadalupe in college.

Let’s see. We lost about a case of beer on the river, I gashed my hand open really good. Dub tackled Phil and scraped up his back real good. Marci (Dub’s financee at the time) fell off the truck that took us back to the parking lot from the river (not good when you’re getting married the next day). Phill bruised his foot. James whined about being sore the next day… all in all, a good trip (and yes, someone almost got arrested, but I won’t say who here publicly).

After the river, Dub took care of his ailing fiancee, and the rest of us headed to the New Braunsfels Smokehouse to eat. And eat did we, and catch up with each other. Scott’s girlfriend Sarah met us there, and we tried to meet up with Chip and Cristy there, but it was 9:00pm and they’d taken their kiddo back to the hotel to sleep.

Steve Wiley, his wife and daughter – Melissa and Abigail, and Phill came back to our house in Austin after dinner, and we all tried to get to sleep without waking Jack. Steve, James and Phill stayed out on the front porch talking all night, while I went to bed.

On Sunday we got up to head to the wedding, which I’ll write more about in the next update.

More photos of Saturday here.

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Chip and Christi had their baby last Friday (February 20, 2004) at 6 p.m at 6 lbs. 10oz and 19.5″long. I talked to Chip today, and he sounds like ‘the proud papa’ that I know he is. Mom is doing well, and Grandma and Grandpa were in town for the festivities.

Chip sent two pictures and a movie for all to enjoy…. update Chip sent along a second movie, this one taken 5 minutes after the first.

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I suppose that it’s all for the best, but it seems that A&M has decided not to have a bonfire this fall. God Bless those 12 Aggies that lost their lives on November 18, 1999.

Gig ‘Em…

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A few weeks ago Christine and I were asked to complete a survey about Aggie Bonfire 2002. If you didn’t know, I was heavily involved with Bonfire when I was a student, even though I was a BQ. The interesting part of this survey is that the “student” part of the survey is already complete, while the former student section is taking longer to get results I suppose. If you’e like to read the results of the student’s survey, click here [PDF].

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