powerful pictures

Some really powerful pictures to see in MSNBC's 2005 Year in Pictures

Merry Christmas!

what a day... can you smell the roses?

Talk about a wild 24 hours!


My brother Ken calls me up late yesterday afternoon to tell me he's gotten his hands on two tickets to the Big 12 Championship through some connections at work (can you say free?), and wants to know if I'm interested. Hmmm... this is tricky. I'm really busy at work, possibly needing to work some on Saturday, and Kristen and I already have plans that night to attend our Sunday School class Christmas party. But... this is the Big 12 Championship and I have a free ticket. Hmmm. Kristen INSISTS I go. Now... whether she really meant it or was just being a saint, who knows... but from there, the logistics planning went into overdrive!

I work late to get my tasks done then rather than having to work Saturday. My dad graciously offers to fly up in his home-built kit airplane (an impressive story deserving of its own blog some day), and he picks me up in north Dallas at 9am on Saturday morning (I think he just wants an excuse to go flying!) It's a bit bumpy in patches due to some strong winds, but nothing a retired airline pilot can't handle, so we make it to the West Houston Airport, where Ken picks me up. Dad flies back to Conroe. Ken drives us to Reliant Stadium and we sit down in our seats with about 10 minutes to spare before kickoff. We're in the sunny side of the stadium, but our seats are perfectly located just under the overhang for the next level up. Shade! The game quickly spins out of control (for Colorado). Early in the 3rd they've already pulled Vince Young and most of the starters (by then UT's in the 50s!) Ken and I decide to head out early. Looks like I'll be able to make our church Christmas party after all! We meet dad halfway to Conroe. I jump into his car and he drives us back to his airport and then we fly back to Dallas where he drops me off and heads back home. Meanwhile, I drive home, pick up Kristen and we head to our party... and arrive right on time. Fun stuff! And what a great story it makes. Thanks Ken and dad (and Kristen)!!!

One month until the Rose Bowl!

insane Christmas light display

Here's a video clip on Google video of Christmas lights that is making the internet email rounds. It is well worth a peek. Seeing this makes me so NOT motivated to put up our rather basic lighting!!!