Josh and Lindsey

Marriage Retreat

2008-05-19T19:44:00.000-07:00

Even though it's not official, the summer season has started. Lindsey and I have sun burns to prove it! This weekend we got to go the Community Bible Church marriage retreat at the beautiful MO Ranch outside of Kerrville, TX (www.moranch.com).

We arrived early on Friday to help set up the rooms and practice because I was in the worship band. Originally there was supposed to be a bonfire for smores but there was a burn ban in effect. Ironically the forcast for Saturday was a bright sunshiny day but of course it turned out to be overcast with slight drizzle. In betweeen the drizzle Lindsey and I made new friends with other young couples from our church. We hiked, played tennis, canoed, and hunted for snacks.

It wasn't until Sunday where Lindsey and I got to swim in the river. The weather was much better for swimming and there was an awesome metal slide that I had been dying to ride. It was at least two stories high and probably built almost forty years ago. It was worth the wait because it skimmed me cross the surface of the icy cold water at least fifteen to twenty feet!

Overall the weekend retreat was exactly what we had needed. The guest speaker was great, the socializing was great, and of course the ranch was very beautiful.

Winter Trip

2008-01-12T15:49:00.000-08:00

We spent many hours on the road this past week (12 & 1/2 hours and 701 miles round trip to be exact thanks to my new GPS!) to visit family and friends. It made a long seven days but it was very nice to finally get out of town and explore around.

We started in Dallas to visit my grandmother, uncle and some cousins. Our first day included a trip to the luxurious Gaylord Texan resort to see ICE!, which is a huge ice sculpture display. The display room was a frigid 9 degrees F! The next couple of days were spent shopping and laying low at my grandmother's house. Lindsey was also able to see college friends who live in the area.

Our next stop was Chandler, TX were Lindsey grew up. Lindsey's entire family lives in the area and so we spent a lot of time visiting friends, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and a great-grandmother! We got to spend a lot of quality time with Lindsey's parents at their house. I even got to spend some quality time with Lindsey's dad learning how to saw off cow horns. I have a feeling that I'll be thinking about that for a while every time I sing the Aggie War Hymn!

Update from the New Place

2007-10-31T11:16:00.000-07:00

So far Lindsey and I are really enjoying the new place. Besides the shooting at the old place, we're still thinking that we made the right choice! Lindsey mentioned, because we're so much closer to work and school, that she's only had to fill up once on gas all month! That's amazing! As for me, I've filled up maybe once but I've also been able to ride my bike to work on Saturdays. The guard at the front of the USAA complex didn't know what to think of me at first when I pulled up on bike...

Crazy News

2007-10-16T15:49:00.000-07:00

I realize that it's been a while since I've entered in my last post, but that's what happens when Lindsey starts school. With just one working computer she's always using it for school.

So Lindsey woke me up early yesterday morning wanting me to take a look on what was on the news... I went ahead and cut and copied the story straight from the KSAT website.

SAN ANTONIO -- A 29-year-old man was shot five times at an apartment complex Sunday night on the city's Northwest Side.Police said that the victim and a 27-year-old man were arguing inside a unit at the Fifth Avenue Apartments in the 11500 block of Vance Jackson Road at 11 p.m. when the younger man opened fire.The victim was transported to University Hospital, where he underwent surgery.

The other man was arrested by police a few blocks from the scene. He faces a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.Police have not said what the men were fighting about or what their relationship was.

Cowboys Training Camp

2007-08-01T09:58:00.000-07:00

Normally I like to sleep in till 9 or 10am, but today was a little different because I had the chance to go to the Dallas Cowboys training camp. I had to wake up early and get there by 8:30am if I wanted good seats. I got to see all the major players like Tony Romo, Julius Jones, and Roy Williams. Terrell Owens wasn't at practice because of tired legs. I took some pictures but since some of them were taken from 20+ yards away my camera took the shots kinda blurry...

Frio River

2007-07-17T09:26:00.000-07:00

It's actually been a couple weeks since Lindsey and I went to the Frio River, but I wanted to wait to blog anything so I could get some pictures. The river was so pretty and clean. Our trip started on Saturday, while some friends of ours from church traveled up the night before. The plan was to meet up with our friends at the cabin. The problem was we never found the cabin... It wasn't till later that day by a stroke of luck we ran into our friends while driving on a common road. It was a good thing that they found us because they're the ones that had the food and we were the ones that had the charcoal to cook the food! Once we made it to the river we just swam and soaked in the water. Overall the trip was a great success.

USAA today

2007-06-26T07:19:00.000-07:00

Work has been going pretty well lately especially since I've achieved my lending authority. It's great having this new found power. I lended out close to $100,000 dollars the other day without even flinching... If only that money was really my money to lend out...
On a side note I just found out that Josh Kerr, a church buddy of mine, just started employment at USAA with our IT department. I think I'm starting a small movement because since I've moved to USAA I've known of at least three other people that joined up. All three were coworkers of mine back at Randolph-Brooks...

It's Finally Here

2007-06-08T09:16:00.000-07:00

After much anticipation, my acceptance into the Aggie cult has been finalized. They mailed me a token of proof, my Century Club plaque, earlier this week in the mail. Acceptance in this club is contingent upon a friendly annual donation. Giving these donations are definitely a new option for me and Lindsey now that we're actually making money! It's certainly a great feeling being able to give back. This will be the first time we've signed up for a donation where we intend to renew our contributions (other than tithes of course). I can't however get over the feeling that I just signed up for some pyramid scheme! haha

Elasticity Is Magic

2007-06-06T09:03:00.000-07:00

I'd have to say that one of the new up and coming highlights of my week would be the nighttime basketball games at work. So far my gang of coworkers have agreed to play at least once a week to keep in shape. I have a slight advantage, as they often point out, being already in peak physical shape and a lot more limber. With my extra boost of energy and speed I feel like the resident pro athlete. At this point I'm not quite sure if I ever want to go back to playing with people at my same condition! I did however crack my big toe in half by the constant high-speed start and stops that my body now hates me for! I guess all good things have their limitations...

This isn't the most flattering picture (or even highest quality) but this the battle scar from last night. You can faintly see the crack coming from the left to the center of the toe. The life lesson in this story is always replace your tennis shoes after a couple years. I know it's hard for guys to let go of shoes after many miles of walking and playing basketball, but at some point you just have to let them go. They can't provide the same support they could like when they were new. If you must keep them, simply retire them for lawn mowing duties. It's easier that way for you and your beloved shoe.

First is the Worst

2007-06-03T17:51:00.000-07:00

I've always wanted to enter the world of blogging. It seems like the hip thing to do whenever you want to inform people of your simple daily chores. It's fun, it kills bunches of time, and it's completely free so there's absolutely no harm in trying it.

The first thing worth mentioning is the fact that I am the only one at home for the entire week! Lindsey decided to spend her second week of summer working as an arts and crafts coordinator for MDA (muscular dystrophy association) camp. I'm so glad for her because I know that it is an incredible experience. For me however, this can be viewed as a good or bad thing. Good because it allows me the ability to watch all the action movies and sporting events I've been craving to watch for a long time. Bad because after I'm completely wiped out on those activities, I'm still left with a lot of free time on my hands and it's only day two of her departure! So far the only good that's come from this is that now our apartment is completely clean, I've become good friends with Tobey (our dog), and I've created this wonderful blog.