Catcher Remy

2-hour baseball scrimmage today...

and I managed to burn.

Yes, I'm that pale.

Time to break out the sunscreen!

On the other hand, my Remy played catcher!

 

Law & Order

I think this guy might have something to say about the life he's lived and the things he's seen...

But, I also have a feeling that he's a man of few words.

Even The Cows Are Hot

Texas gets hot.

H-O-T   HOT!

In fact, you know it's super hot when the cows start looking for shade.

Storm Drain Sal & the Cell Phone Shuffle

My 13 year old son has bad phone karma.

This year he has dropped his cell phone in the toilet...and in a storm drain.

The most recent folly was the storm drain last weekend.

His cell phone was in his pocket...and as he got into the car, it slipped out and fell onto the street and into the storm drain.

The look on his face was tragic.

Then the desperation kicked in.  We attempted to retrieve the phone with a golf-ball grabber thingy, a rake, and we even considered holding my 8 yr old upside down and lowering him into the sewer...

but, no phone was retrieved.

The last act of desperation was a call to the City of McKinney the next morning.

And lo and behold, the city send out...Storm Drain Sal.

A petite man who slid into the storm drain man hole and saved the phone...which still worked, amazingly.

Wonder what else he's saved out of our city sewers?

Photo Texas

You know you're in Texas when you see big barns like this...

and this...
and lots of these creatures...

and miles of this...
and yet even more of these creatures...
and random sightings of these...
and lots of fields of like these...

Aren't you glad we had this talk? Now you'll know when you're in Texas.

Houston, we have some audio confirmation of a Texas accent...or do we?

Ok, I sound totally stupid, hadn't planned on sharing this, but VBF wants to hear if I have a Texas accent. I don't! At least, I don't think it's very strong compared to others I know...but surely, having been born and raised in the Lone Star State, I have some accent...you be the judge!

Donny is my older son talking, and Remy is the six year helplessly giggling like a maniac throughout the entire clip. This is from our outing last weekend where Annie went diving for sticks...before she went for the really big ones. lol

Enjoy! This is my first video upload...so be gentle. :o)

It's a Texas thang.

Texas has an attitude, and it started way back. We were an independent nation for nine years, and that gave us a big head...and, yes, big hair, big belt buckles and big trucks are all common sites here in the Lone Star State.

If you were born in Texas, then you have an internal GPS unit that automatically points you to San Antonio and The Alamo. Yep, we all have 'em. Have you heard the phrase, "Remember the Alamo!" before? We're partial to it, because Texans feel that the battle for the Alamo symbolized a heroic struggle against impossible odds — a place where men made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. (Remember my post yesterday about needing room to roam?)

This is the Alamo, a place all Texans should visit...more than once.

One of our mottos here in Texas is that "Bigger is Better." We proudly state this for all to see with our state capitol building. It's a replica of the U.S. capitol building in Washington D.C....only it's bigger...and better (made out of pink granite). You sense a common theme here?

Our capitol building is in Austin, where I lived for nineteen years. I miss you, Austin!

Our state animal is the Longhorn. It's one of the biggest state animals out there (of course). Have you seen the size of it's horns? Bigger is better...

Our state flower is the Bluebonnet. They are planted along our state highways due to Lady Bird Johnson, the late President Johnson's wife. They bloom every spring and thousands of Texans make their kids squat in the midst of them for pictures. It's a tradition 'round here.


We all have a tendency to exaggerate some, and the tall tale gene is rampant among native Texans. We're the biggest state (well, Alaska is bigger, but we're better). Did you know that Dr Pepper was invented in Texas? Texas has been under six flags; Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederate States and the United States.

The word Texas comes from a Caddo Indian word Tejas, which means friends. We here in Texas are friendly...and bigger and better.