Matt participated in his third Pinewood Derby with our local cub scout troop. We made it a boy’s project, and Mike and I also built cars for the races. Matt finished fourth in his category, and also won the coveted ‘Fastest Looking’ trophy. Mike and I finished last in our categories — 7th and 12th respectively. Ah, well, a good time was had by all.
Sharon and Ronald brought their jet ski for the Labor Day weekend in Proctor. Mike and Matt thought that was a great idea.
Video of Mike demonstrating his Rube-Goldberg science project contraption.
So today I told Ilse that she looked great at the office ’Vegas’ party in her strawberry colored wig, kinda like Julia Roberts. “You mean from ‘Pretty Woman’?” “Yeah, that’s right!” “The one where she played a hooker?” Silence.
A tradition we started with Susan’s family a couple of years ago is to combine our Thanksgiving and Christmas — Christgiving — in November, and spend Christmas with our extended families in December. This year we had quite the crowd at Proctor, not only for the holiday, but to help Enslie and Linda build a new addition to their house. They enclosed half their carport and are in the process of making a new sewing room/storage room. We got all the framing, wiring, exterior plywood, insluation, sheetrock, and a few windows in place. More to follow as we have time to go back and help out. And in between we enjoyed a nice holiday time with the family. As for me, I was ready to go back to my job and relax a little. See the photos
My Dad and Georgia drove in from New Mexico for a ‘holiday’ visit with the family. We made a quick trip downtown to see the Alamo and ride to the top of the newly renovated Tower of the Americas. See the photos.
Matt and I spent the weekend at a Boy Scout campout at Guadalupe State Park. This was our first official BSA function and our very first campout. Mike would have liked to come, but he was still recovering from a creeping crud that’s been going around this season.
Matt had an opportunity to work on a few more badge requirements, learn about first aid, fire safety, geocaching, and we both had the opportunity to share the camping experience. This was the first time I’ve pitched a tent as an adult, and I must admit that we had a great time.
After the official campout activities were over on Sunday, we took an optional hike along the Honey Creek trails, and actually saw the changing colors of fall. That’s something you don’t normally experience in San Antonio. And after everyone else left, we spent a little more time at the day use area just enjoying the serinity of the river. I might enjoy this camping thing after all. Maybe. See the photos.
Matt was selected to read the school lunch menu for FOX 29 on their morning news show.
What on earth is a “crispy cube” ?
Ever since my in-laws moved to their new house close to a lake, my boys have wanted to go fishing. So this Christmas we bought the boys their first rod and reels, some nice shiny Zebco spin casters. Of course, if I was going to teach them, I naturally needed a reel for myself, so I picked out a low end spinning reel and filled a tackle box for the three of us. Enslie received a new spinning reel for Christmas as well, so the four of us got together for the long MLK weekend and tried our luck at Lake Proctor. After an extensive safety briefing on how sharp the hooks are, I got the boys baited and cast their lines for them the first few times. It had been many years since Enslie and I had used a spinning reel, and both of us immediately got our lines in huge knots — not a pretty sight. After getting everything straightened out, we stayed tangle-free for the rest of the trip. We were fighting the wind the whole time, and the fish were not biting at all, but by the end of the trip both boys were casting like champs and talking about what a great time they had. Maybe next time we’ll actually catch a fish.
