Travis in Taiwan

Much to our liking, but not surprise, Travis wanted to go with his church group to Taiwan. On June 1st, we sent our oldest (17 now) overseas for two weeks. He truly enjoyed the time and was not all too anxious to get back. Travis experienced many new relationships with other kids close to his age at a P.E. College (Physical Education...only sports and English at this institute.) The group of about 12 high school and college interns spent much time practicing English with over 400 students in Taichung. When they were not in a classroom working on English, they were SWEATING playing everything from basketball and badminton to tug-of-war and judo. Several opportunities were taken to visit Buddhist temples, funeral homes (the Taiwanese believe in after-life) and other ancestral temples.

Once he recovered from jetlag and our Florida vacation...more to come later...Travis got back to the real world working at our local grocery store, United, during the rest of the summer. Two-a-days starts on Aug. 4th for his last year of tackle football. Hopefully, a serious injury is not in Travis' future for this season. Being a Senior this year will hold some new challenges, I expect. Travis is looking into attending Amarillo College for two years. He is still liking the thought of nursing school...it will be exciting to see what God has in store for Travis.

Jacks Growing Up

Master Jack still loves the idea of becoming a pilot. When he was very young, like 4, he talked of becoming a pilot. At the young age of 5, is when he first mentioned to me "you know mom, that I will probably die at war." WHAT? What child thinks about that and then talks about it? War is all that Jack has know since he was only 2 when the twin towers attack occured. So now we talk about becoming a naval pilot to fly as a Blue Angel. He has some very thought provoking questions and comments.

When we are not talking of that, Jack is busy outdoors. He follows many of his daddy's footsteps in that he loves just about anything that has to do with camping, hunting, fishing, and nature. Jack has been making many trips to the ranch with his dad and Uncle Kyle to get their exotic hunting set-up going...more on that later...and treasures every moment. Jack received his very own 4 wheeler for Christmas and puts it to great use.

Jack is excited about starting 4th grade this year. It is kind of neat that he will have a distant cousin (Tracy's, mom's cousin) as his teacher at Heritage Classical Academy, Mrs. Srygley.

Kate Turns 3

Our sweet girl had a nice birthday party back in April. Several friends and moms came to celebrate, along with Mimi & Granddaddy, Aunt Steph & Uncle Kyle, and Dana Moore. They had a fun time playing the giant indoor play structure at our chuch.

To make matters quite memorable, Kate sprang her ankle only days prior while jumping on the trampoline with Jack. Being the sweet big brother that he can be, Jack was very disdressed and guilty feeling about hurting Kate. None the less, it did not slow her down one bit and she was back to normal in a matter of weeks.

Mimi and Graddaddy (my parents) stayed for a visit that weekend. We shared some good times simply relaxing. Mimi helped Kate put her new patio bench together and plant some tomato plants...one of Kate's favorites...for some fresh munchies later on in summer.

Getting Started

With as much time as I like to spend on the computer, sending pictures and trying to keep up with folks, I figured it was time to start a blog. Bare with me, please. I am learning this as I go. For now, just know that there is more to come.