Parker's Portraits Are In!!!

Here is a sample of Parker's Christmas portraits, which will be sent out to all the family members for sure.

Took Kids to Trail of Lights

Cecile and I took Parker who is 1 year old now, Whitney, Taylor, and Derek to the Trail of Lights in the park. I was very upset that the size of this event is now soo small. The recession has really hit everything. The event was about 1/2 the size as it was two years ago but it was still fun none the less.

We had to walk a long way to get there from our car, so afterwards everyone went to Chuys and I just went and got the car due to the distance and the cold.

I cannot wait until Hunter gets in so he can hang out with all of us and I sure hope that Kristian stops by Christmas day for a bit.

Went to Natchitoches for Homecoming Game

Cecile, Nan, and I went to Natchitoches to help Nan with cleaning up her house that she purchased on Williams Ave (2 houses down from Dr. Kruz's house and real close to front street). Ran into a number of my old friends from high school (Buddy Wood, David Stamey, Clark Boydston) and college (Tony Hernandez, Lynn Kees, Mike Brown and others). The cool thing was that after the game we went to the home of one of the football coaches and had a few drinks. The coaches are very young and came from LSU so we hope that they will make NSU better.

Hoover Dam Bypass is Civil Engineering Wonder

Crossed the Hoover Dam on our trip back to Austin from San Jose, so I wanted to share just how cool this bridge is and just how massive it really is.

Creeping closer inch by inch, 900 feet above the mighty Colorado River, the two side of a
$160 million bridge at the Hoover Dam slowly takes shape. The bridge will carry a new section of US Route 93 past the bottleneck of the old road which can be twisting and winding around and across the dam itself.

When complete, it will provide a new link between the states of Nevada and Arizona . In an incredible feat of engineering, the road will be supported on the two massive concrete arches which jut out of the rock face.

The arches are made up of 53 individual sections each 24 feet long which have been cast on-site and are being lifted into place using an improvised high-wire crane strung between temporary steel pylons. The arches will eventually measure more than 1,000 feet across. At the moment, the structure looks like a traditional suspension bridge. But once the arches are complete, the suspending cables on each side will be removed. Extra vertical columns will then be installed on the arches to carry the road.

The bridge has become known as the Hoover Dam bypass, although it is officially called the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, after a former governor of Nevada and an American Football player from Arizona who joined the US Army and was killed in Afghanistan. Work on the bridge started in 2005 and should finish next year. An estimated 17,000 cars and trucks will cross it every day.

The dam was started in 1931 and used enough concrete to build a road from New York to San Francisco. The stretch of water it created, Lake Mead , is 110 miles long and took six years to fill. The original road was opened at the same time as the famous dam in 1936.

An extra note: The top of the white band of rock in Lake Mead is the old waterline prior to the drought and development in the Las Vegas area. It is over 100 feet above the current water level.

Wrecked the Nissan, Truly a Sad Day!

Well, I was in a hurry to get to work today and I pulled out into another turn lane and clipped a little old lady!! My fault. I have not had an accident since I do not know when. Nan and her team were quick to help out which is good.

Taylor is coming to stay with us over here little Fall break and it is Texas/OU weekend so I-35 will be very busy. I sure hope that Kristian is careful traveling around Dallas this weekend. He is going to help his Uncle Richard put in a wood floor should be fun to hear how that will go.

Went to Bark in the Park in San Jose Today

Today we took Hurley and Lacey's parents (Sandi and Gary) to the Bark in the Park today. The weather was great and the vendors passed out a ton of samples (treats and food..yummm). Some of the dogs had costumes, Hurley was wearing his UT jersey since UT was playing Texas Tech this afternoon.

After we left the park, we had lunch over at Yankee Clipper in Santana Row and then after that back to the apartment. I did speak with Kristian today and he is going through rush at North Texas and he and Kelli are enjoying themselves. He plays a lot of ping pong in the dorm/rec center and seems to be adjusting fine. He wants to pledge Delta Sigma Phi so I will have to do some research on them.

Changes at Work

Well we had a reorg yesterday and it looks like several of the VPs and Sr. Directors that I work with are moving into other areas. My QA team today found out that I was moving back to Austin to work in the development area and I will say that they were not very happy. I will have to reassure them that they are in good hands with Michael at the helm...Time will tell I guess.

BTW, tomorrow is Hurley's 2nd birthday...Happy Birthday little guy!!!

Happy Day for Me and KB Back in May

I went to Kristian's high school graduation back in May and it was in the UT Coliseum with a ton of folks there. This is a picture that Cecile took of me and Kristian outside after the ceremony. I am very proud of him and how he has managed to get all of his college stuff figured out. He is going to the University of North Texas and wants to major in Education with a minor in Music. I look forward to seeing him next month when we are moved back to Texas. I will be able to go up there and see him from time to time...on the way up to Denton, we could stop by and visit Taylor.

Hurley at Carmel Beach

Sometime ago when we first went to Carmel Beach on a windy and chilly day when Taylor was visiting over the Christmas break, Hurley decided that we needed to run on the beach and boy did we have a hard time keeping up with him. He just loves the beach and the surf...my kinda dawg....

Sausalito Art Festival was Great!!

Cecile and I are getting close to heading back to Austin after being in the bay area for just over a year. We had not been to Sausalito which is right across the Golden Gate Bridge across the bay from San Francisco in a cove right on the bay. The art festival is a very big event with high-end artists. Funny thing we saw as a painting that someone was trying to sell or 14,000 dollars!!! Weather and food was outstanding as you can see from the pics.

Let's go see the Saints play the Raider Nation

A few Sunday's back, Cecile and I heard that the Saints were playing a football game against the Oakland Raiders and let me tell you the game was a trip. Great weather...just a bit hot. Insane Saints and Raiders fans cracked us up. Oakland's stadium is really old and in a very sketchy part of Oakland but it is part of the the NFL lore for sure.

Taylor Vistiing Standford

Today Cecile and I took Taylor to the Stanford campus and we visited the bookstore, the shopping center, and we ate at a great bar and grill called "The Creamery". The girls got several things while shopping: Makeup, shoes, and cooking stuff. Spoke with Derek on the phone this afternoon and he had a camp out this weekend and it did rain so they got pretty wet. Derek has a facebook page now and loves to play the game, "Farm Town"...he can chat with us online and can even help us harvest our crops. He likes it when we send him gifts like trees and animals in the Farm Town game.

Kristian is still trying to figure out why his car is running hot...down to the radiator fans not coming on when the car is idling or something in the radiator itself. Sure hope he figures it out quickly since he is leaving for college in just a week or so.

Hurley at my Office

Hurley decided to stop by my office on Friday and I was happy for him to be in charge. I would let him make a lot of decisions for me today if I think it would work :) Looks like we will have a hot weekend by California standards this weekend. We have some quests in our apartment this weekend...Lacey (the cute white dog in the picture of Taylor) and Pasha (a huge yellow Lab)...we will be babysitting them all weekend for their human family members.

Hangin with Friends

We got up early and went to the gym and worked out for a bit. Felt good to be back in the gym after all this time, however, I realized just how out of shape I really am now. I need to get it back together for sure.

Tonight we marinaded some steaks, baked some potatoes, and went over to Sandie and Gary's place and had a wonderful dinner, drinks, and conversation. Good friends indeed.

TGIF!!! Livin for the Weekend

Had a rough week at work...lots of meetings and changes to existing plans...frustrating for sure. Came home and glad it is the weekend!!! Went to the park and snapped a pic of Taylor with Hurley and his friend Lacey. Got a workout in this afternoon and will take Cecile and Taylor somewhere to eat later.

In only a few weeks Taylor will be moving back into the dorms at Baylor starting her Sophomore year and Kristian will be starting his Freshman year at North Texas...Damn I am old. I am looking to relax and recharge my mental and physical batteries for sure!!!

My Boys are Back In Austin

Well, I had Derek with me for 6 weeks and Kristian for several weeks as well this summer in San Jose. On our last weekend we just hung out at the pool, cooked ribs, and it was really fun. We did have a few issues with Derek's behavior over the course of the summer and what he really needs to do is understand that he does have some issues but to not use them as a crutch to not take challenges head on. Cecile did a great job of taking care of Derek and did try and keep him entertained. Hurley helped too!!!

Kristian is doing good and worked over the summer to save some money for college in August. OMG, he has grown up very fast and it good to see that he has gotten back on track after expressing himself in his mid-teens if you know what I mean.

Google Voice Rocks

I got my invite to use Google Voice today and let me tell you that it ROCKS!! Will only need one phone number forever now. Derek hung out with Taylor and Cecile today and at the end of the day he got a Lego set and spent a few hours putting it together.

Cecile is getting quite good at Facebook FarmTown and I think I will have to arrange for a trip to the Facebook office so she can tell the developers on what to change.

Pool Day for Derek Today

Derek woke up pretty early and he we quite a handful for Cecile and Taylor since I had to go to work. The day went better and they all went to the pool for a few hours. Cecile taught Derek how to interact wtih kids his age without pissing or freaking them out.

Today was a very busy day at work but I did find a way to get home somewhat early. Have a very busy day tomorrow...

Garlic Festival Whoo Hooo

Cecile, Derek, and I went to Gilroy, California...the Garlic capital of the world for the Garlic Festival. This festival was huge!! Tons of food that had garlic in it..even ice cream!! They had some of Top Chefs from the TV series there and Cecile got her picture made with one of them...Fabio Vininani...she was very happy.

Derek had fun playing with a Chinese umbrella that I bought for him. He wanted a hermit crab but I had to say No!!

It was very hot by California standards...98 degrees with no breeze....we left around 5PM and fought traffic all the way back to San Jose but it was fun.

Good Family Weekend

Woke up this morning in sunny San Jose where Cecile and I have been living for about 1 year since I was transferred here by 2Wire. Derek has been spending the summer with us and it has been fun most of the time but there are some days that are more challenging.

Taylor is also spending the summer break from Baylor with us and she has been having fun and hanging out at the gym working out and shooting hoops or playing volleyball. She is now 19 and has adjusted to college life very well.

Well, we are off to Half Moon Bay today (we have not been there yet) and taking Derek and Hurley to the beach.

Later... Steve