Matt hit the quarter century mark on Tuesday and we celebrated like any proper residents of the Lone Star State should - by castrating some calves. Okay, this wasn't actually Matt's preferred birthday activity, but Mom and Dad needed our help with the seven bull calves. So we trucked up to the ranch. Mike Shannon and Claude Locke were also wrangling with us. Mom and Dad had already trapped the boys in the barn, so we had part of our work done for us. We had to catch each calf with a rope around their neck, the men tackled the poor little boy, spread their back legs apart, and Dad popped an industrial-strength rubber band around their balls. The end. Those pesky things should just drop off eventually. It sounds pretty horrific but it is a lot less painful and more sanitary than cutting things.
After the castration, we helped Claude play with his dock (work temporarily halted when he dropped his wrench into the lake...oops). Then we messed around for a while. Matt and I are going with Mike and his daughter to a Tool concert next month, so we exposed the 'rents to their music before dinner. Mom made us an awesome birthday dinner - Cornish game hen, wild rice, fresh green beans, with pineapple upside down cake for dessert. Mike stuck around for both dinner and the requisite bonfire afterwards, which was really fun. Overnight we had a gnarly storm - mostly LOUD wind and rain at the ranch, but it spawned tornadoes in both the Metroplex and College Station. The morning dawned clear though, enabling us to do some chainsawing and burning of another dead tree, and Mom and I sprayed the cows for black flies.
Matt and I went on to Dallas on Wednesday so we could have birthday celebration #2. Matt bowled with Dad and Jerry that afternoon, and then we went to California Pizza Kitchen for dinner with John and Susie, had angel food cake with pink icing (a Matt tradition) for dessert, and watched the last two episodes of Planet Earth on the Roberts' HD. Then we came on back to College Station yesterday.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Whirlwind!
It has been a whirlwind couple weeks. Since my last post, I have had quite a time!
On Saturday 3/31 I drove down to Killeen, TX, for an impromptu World of Warcraft guild party in honor of our friend Bissic's divorce...okay, not really in honor of his divorce, but he was driving through Texas on his way from Arizona to Alabama, and was spending a couple nights with our pal Nikon, and it was a Saturday night...so...party! I got to meet quite a few guild people, including Bissic, Nikon, Tempestt & Hellhawk (our old guild's leaders), Eatmorchikn, Fastattack, Backstaberr, Rezthis, Firestirike, and Cypher. Three of the people I met down in College Station last fall - Doune, Istavon, and Atsukana - were also there. We decided early on that there was no way we were all going to remember people's faces, character names, and real names, so game names were the way we went. Anyway, we all met up at Nikon's house we just hung out in the nice weather (it was gorgeous) and talked (and for most people, drank copious amounts of beer...I brought my own Dr. Pepper). Also, Nikon grilled for us. So I was there from about 2-8:15 and then I had to hit the road to get back to Dallas (took me little over 2 hours to get back). It was really cool to meet people. They are pretty much what I pictured from their voices, and all very laid back and fun people to be around. And it was nice to be there and offer some support to Bissic (Jack) as he was going through such a crappy time.
The next day my friend Brian flew into town. It was really too bad he came in a day after the guild all got together, but he still got to meet a few guild people. We drove down to Temple on Monday and he met his good friend Mark (aka Furoc, level 70 orc rogue) and his wife Joanna (aka Veyola, troll mage). We went bowling (new all-time score for me: 76). Furoc is in a league and was really good - he bowled a 227 his first game. Nikon met us there and then we all went for a late lunch. We ended up talking for hours between the restaurant and back at Mark's apartment. It was a lot of fun.
Other fun stuff we did when Brian was here...
Matt actually got last weekend off so we were able to spend some time with each other. He was forced to be mostly absent during Brian's visit because of work. But he was able to recharge his batteries over Easter weekend (slept until 11 on Saturday). On Easter we had brunch at noon with Mom, Dad, Carolyn, J & Stephanie, and Mike & Eve at the Park Cities Hilton. Then we drove north to Matt's aunt & uncle's house for their Easter thing. And then we did what every lucky soul with HD does on Sunday evenings these days - watched Planet Earth. I think the best episode so far is the mountain one. It was a good thing Matt got some sleep this weekend because this week has been brutal. He hasn't gotten home before midnight yet, and he wakes up at 6am. Because the 15th falls on a Sunday and there's some stupid holiday in Washington DC on Monday, their deadline isn't until April 17. I really hope they get it all done by Friday (which is what they are shooting for) because he really needs some sleep.
Luke got Super Paper Mario for the Wii on Tuesday and I've really been enjoying watching him play it. The game is very cool. I still need to beat God of War myself...sometime this week I'll jump back into it. I put my progress on pause for Brian's visit. FYI: If you were thinking about reading Sam Harris' Letter to a Christian Nation but didn't want to spend $16 on it, it is only roughly 75 pages long. I read it in its entirety at Borders yesterday. It covers basically the same points as The End of Faith but in less detail and from a different angle. Definitely interesting. The next book on my list to read is way different than my last few. After watching Eragon with Brian, I want to read the books, so I checked out the sequel to the book the movie was based on from the UP Library (Eldest by Christopher Paolini). I would've checked out Eragon first but it wasn't in =P I like the library.
Leslie comes into town today for a weekend of wedding prep. Exciting times. The wedding is just around the corner!
Calf count: 8
Zora - only girl, out of Zelda (and named by me!); RT (named for "Round Top"), from Nameless; 42, from Domino; Linus & Pigpen, from Peanut; Socks, from Mamacita; Panda, from JoBob; and Ricky, from Lucy (list in no particular order)
On Saturday 3/31 I drove down to Killeen, TX, for an impromptu World of Warcraft guild party in honor of our friend Bissic's divorce...okay, not really in honor of his divorce, but he was driving through Texas on his way from Arizona to Alabama, and was spending a couple nights with our pal Nikon, and it was a Saturday night...so...party! I got to meet quite a few guild people, including Bissic, Nikon, Tempestt & Hellhawk (our old guild's leaders), Eatmorchikn, Fastattack, Backstaberr, Rezthis, Firestirike, and Cypher. Three of the people I met down in College Station last fall - Doune, Istavon, and Atsukana - were also there. We decided early on that there was no way we were all going to remember people's faces, character names, and real names, so game names were the way we went. Anyway, we all met up at Nikon's house we just hung out in the nice weather (it was gorgeous) and talked (and for most people, drank copious amounts of beer...I brought my own Dr. Pepper). Also, Nikon grilled for us. So I was there from about 2-8:15 and then I had to hit the road to get back to Dallas (took me little over 2 hours to get back). It was really cool to meet people. They are pretty much what I pictured from their voices, and all very laid back and fun people to be around. And it was nice to be there and offer some support to Bissic (Jack) as he was going through such a crappy time.
The next day my friend Brian flew into town. It was really too bad he came in a day after the guild all got together, but he still got to meet a few guild people. We drove down to Temple on Monday and he met his good friend Mark (aka Furoc, level 70 orc rogue) and his wife Joanna (aka Veyola, troll mage). We went bowling (new all-time score for me: 76). Furoc is in a league and was really good - he bowled a 227 his first game. Nikon met us there and then we all went for a late lunch. We ended up talking for hours between the restaurant and back at Mark's apartment. It was a lot of fun.
Other fun stuff we did when Brian was here...
- walk through Lakeside Park
- dinner at Celebration with the Roberts
- Dallas Arboretum
- Harley Davidson stores in Temple ("Horny Toad Harley Davidson) and Dallas
- Wild About Harry's custard
- Peggy Sue, Cisco, and Amore meals
- trip to the ranch
- lunch with Carolyn at El Fenix
- Original Pancake House
- watched Eragon
- walked around North Park Mall
- took the Dart light rail downtown, visited Pioneer Park, and walked through downtown
Matt actually got last weekend off so we were able to spend some time with each other. He was forced to be mostly absent during Brian's visit because of work. But he was able to recharge his batteries over Easter weekend (slept until 11 on Saturday). On Easter we had brunch at noon with Mom, Dad, Carolyn, J & Stephanie, and Mike & Eve at the Park Cities Hilton. Then we drove north to Matt's aunt & uncle's house for their Easter thing. And then we did what every lucky soul with HD does on Sunday evenings these days - watched Planet Earth. I think the best episode so far is the mountain one. It was a good thing Matt got some sleep this weekend because this week has been brutal. He hasn't gotten home before midnight yet, and he wakes up at 6am. Because the 15th falls on a Sunday and there's some stupid holiday in Washington DC on Monday, their deadline isn't until April 17. I really hope they get it all done by Friday (which is what they are shooting for) because he really needs some sleep.
Luke got Super Paper Mario for the Wii on Tuesday and I've really been enjoying watching him play it. The game is very cool. I still need to beat God of War myself...sometime this week I'll jump back into it. I put my progress on pause for Brian's visit. FYI: If you were thinking about reading Sam Harris' Letter to a Christian Nation but didn't want to spend $16 on it, it is only roughly 75 pages long. I read it in its entirety at Borders yesterday. It covers basically the same points as The End of Faith but in less detail and from a different angle. Definitely interesting. The next book on my list to read is way different than my last few. After watching Eragon with Brian, I want to read the books, so I checked out the sequel to the book the movie was based on from the UP Library (Eldest by Christopher Paolini). I would've checked out Eragon first but it wasn't in =P I like the library.
Leslie comes into town today for a weekend of wedding prep. Exciting times. The wedding is just around the corner!
Calf count: 8
Zora - only girl, out of Zelda (and named by me!); RT (named for "Round Top"), from Nameless; 42, from Domino; Linus & Pigpen, from Peanut; Socks, from Mamacita; Panda, from JoBob; and Ricky, from Lucy (list in no particular order)
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