King of Western Swing

Welcome to Turkey, Texas. Home of Bob Wills, "King of Western Swing"

It was the tradition to attend the event each April while I was still living in Quitaque, and even a few times while I was at college. But it had been some time since the last time at Bob Wills' Day. This year being a very special year (my dad's 60th birthday) we decided to get the whole family together to celebrate the birthday, and go back to Bob Wills' Day.


Watching the Parade

The scene has changed over the years from partying and camping to crafts and RV-ing, but the small town atmosphere remains the same. It was great to be back at the parade where anything goes. There is never a theme, just bring out anything you think others might want to see. Let's see...we had some horses, 4-wheelers, Shriner go carts, Harley Davidson's performing as go-carts, some local HS cheerleaders, JH cheerleaders, Girl Scouts, a firetruck, ambulance, RVs, lawn mowers, old timer tractors, Texas playboys (Bob Wills former band members), some miniature horses, donkeys, and one last police car. And let's not forget all the candy and the Bob Wills' Day Queen!

We didn't come home with much else then candy, but did find some grand homemade ice cream, hot dogs, and a signature Bob Wills T-shirt to show off and wear around China. Mother actually bought a cool 1927 schoolhouse window (complete with certificate of authenticity) but where it goes or what to do with it no one knows. It is pretty cool to look at.


Old Phillips 66 Gas Station

If you are ever in town, or even in the neighborhood, drive on to Turkey, Texas on the last Saturday in April and see for yourself what Bob Wills' Day is all about.

Midland Rockhounds

Spring has arrived! It is nice to be in "the tropics" (aka West Texas) during the early spring because it brings much warmer temps much earlier in the year. And as much as I love to wear shorts, this weather is great.

To celebrate the spring, we went to watch some of the great American Pastime. Not that we care too much for baseball, but it is a sport and it involves being outside. It was sad to realize that Kanyon now has been to a baseball game before he has gone to a football game. (And to compound the matter, it will be some time before he ever gets to watch football since we'll be in China ever football season.) It was great to watch the game, even if the home team didn't win (what a shame). We do plan to get out and watch more baseball before the year is up. We have to take in as many "American" things as we can before we head east.


Watching the Rockhounds in action.

You know you are in West Texas when the football stadium next door is 3x as large as the professional baseball team (it is Double A nonetheless). Capacity to watch high school football, 18,000. Capacity to watch pro baseball, 6,000. I am already missing my Friday night football, but for now baseball will do.

12:2 Times April 2008

Happy Birthday to All

Within one month we celebrate 2 birthdays! On March 4th we celebrated M’Lynn’s birthday and then on April 5th we get to celebrate Jeremy’s birthday. While the cake is always incredible, I think we can do without so much for a little time now. But there is no rest for the weary as we celebrate another 3 birthdays in April.

M’Lynn’s birthday was low key. Just the two of us on a Tuesday. Her gift arrived in the mail just in time. I ordered it online on Monday, and received a free upgrade to overnight shipping. The package arrived at lunch and was wrapped by the time M’Lynn came home.


Birthday Cake Number Three

M’Lynn went all out celebrating my birthday with two surprise parties and even more cake. It all started on Friday, April 4 with a surprise lunch party at work (of course there was cake there too). Then on April 5, I decided to make a chocolate cake to celebrate (and I had never made one before). Little did I know there was more cake ahead. On Sunday, April 6 as we were meeting together with our LifeGroup I opened the snack box to discover another cake! M’Lynn had planned this one for a while, but didn’t want to stop me from making the cake for myself. All in all, three cakes in three days.

Celebrating Easter

We gathered in Big Spring to celebrate Easter with our family. We had a great time visiting and showing off Kanyon for the first time to some of my cousins. As is custom, we made several trips to Wal-Mart to get more goodies. My brother even purchased all the Cadbury cream eggs from the store, 28 boxes in all!

And what’s Easter without cake! We had cake to celebrate birthdays each day. On Friday, the cake was for M’Lynn and I, on Saturday, the cookie cake was for my cousin, and on Sunday, the cake was for Easter.

China Update

A GIANT thank you to all who have partnered together with us to reach the first goal of 50% before April 15. As of April 9th, we have received 52.5% of the total needed. Thank You all!

We continue to learn about the pre-field training. Training will be held in Palm Springs, CA beginning on August 29th and ending when we depart for China on Sept. 22. In order to earn the TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) Certificate required to teach in China, I have been given a stack of book to read. In addition to reading the books, additional papers and other assignments are due by the time we arrive at training. The assignment design provides a better understanding of the Chinese culture and an in-depth look into the role of a foreign language teacher.

Visa application and documents continue to be completed and appointments continue to line up. We have scheduled dentist, optometrists, and doctor’s appointment in preparation for departure. (Plus, a medical exam is required to be able to live in China). All forms and documents are due by May 8th.

Little Man Update

Kanyon continues to grow up smiling all the time. At the last weigh-in (aka doctor’s appointment), he weighed 16.5 lbs. He was in the 95th percentile in both length and weight and was in the 97th percentile in head size.

We have not yet seen him roll over, but he awakes most morning on his stomach so we know he can do it. He is almost laughing and I tickle him every day knowing that one day he’ll burst out laughing.

He enjoyed his first taste of real food and ate less than was on his bib. I think he is ready to be a man and eat some steak, but M’Lynn insists he wait.

He really enjoyed the NCAA March madness and watching basketball each weekend for a month. Maybe it reminds him of his first days over Thanksgiving when all we watched was football. FYI: M’Lynn picked Kansas to win it all in her bracket. Next year for a pool, I just have to put money on her selections.