Trip to Ranch Memorial Day Weekend 2009

Snow Day in March

Fun in the Snow

Tax Loopholes?

For those that don’t know, Obama’s budget proposition includes a $30 billion revenue creation effort by closing the “loopholes” on oil and gas companies, namely through the elimination of the ability to expense drilling costs and removal of the depletion allowance. While this sounds great to many people – under the guise of let’s punish “Big Oil” – my personal opinion is that it will decimate the domestic natural gas and oil industry by restricting the ability to raise capital in a risky business where traditional financing is not available.

This whole issue is wildly complicated because it involves tax law and specifically the treatment of expenses/revenue (is it an expense versus a capital item? or is it revenue versus a capital gain?). Because of the complexity - it is too easy for the general public to boil this down to talking points that ignore the essential details of the proposal.

I thought this was a very good explanation of why this is a monumentally unfair proposition regardless of your politics.

Open Choke Blog

Ultimately, we need a energy policy that encourages investment in all forms of energy.

Halloween 2008

Landry had decided two months ago that she wanted to be Dorothy. I really don't know why she got that in her head. She has only seen about 10 minutes of the Wizard of Oz. But anyway by the time it was all done she had assigned out various parts that the family would be. We had a great time. The look on the folks faces when our whole family hit the door was classic.

From 2008-10 (Halloween)

Landry Dance Class

Landry is taking ballet class this fall. All of the practices have been closed session, but they finally had a parent observation class last week. It was super cute.

From 2008-10 (Oct) Landry Dance Class

Here is a video of their dance.

Trip to Dallas - Neil Diamond

We hooked up with our friends Nellson and Melissa Burns and went to the Neil Diamond concert. We had a great time and got to see one of the all time greats at American Airlines Center.

From 2008-10 (Oct) Dallas Trip

Our whole family then got to head to the Dallas Zoo. The kids had a great time. They have a great kids area that they had fun in.

From 2008-10 (Oct) Dallas Trip

From 2008-10 (Oct) Dallas Trip

Then we got to see my grandparents. It was their first time to meet Ian and it was great to see them!

From 2008-10 (Oct) Dallas Trip

Finally we got to catch up with the Slaughters and the Denisons. The kids had a big time in the bounce house. Landry was so excited that the big girls played with her. She got to wear one of Cleo's High School Musical outfits.

From 2008-10 (Oct) Dallas Trip

Tri-State Fair

Jason and I took Landry and Ian to the Tri-State Fair a few weeks ago. We met our friends the Gleasons and had a great time. Landry and Caroline had a blast riding all of the kiddie rides. Landry even rode the mini-roller coaster! We found out Ian loves pickles (especially fried ones) while we were there.

Ian's first birthday

Ian turned one on September 25th. I can't believe how fast the past year has gone. Poor Ian is the runt of the family. He barely weighs 17 1/2 pounds and he is definitely a shorty. He can still wear 6 month old clothes without a problem. His pediatrician says he takes after me....but I hope he goes through a growth spurt soon (for his daddy's sake!).

Trip to Kauai, Hawaii

We just got back last weekend from Hawaii. We went with our good friends Chris and Rebecca Gleason and had a great time. The weather was great while we were there as was all of the food.

A couple of highlights:
We stayed at the Grand Hyatt on the island which was absolutely gorgeous. They have some unbelievable manicured grounds with lagoons, pools, and some of the best restaurants on the island.

From 2008-09 (Hawaii) - Favorites

We went to a official laui at the hotel which was actually really good. I thought it would be cheesey, and it started out that way. But the food was great and they did a lot of traditional dances from the area - so we had a great time.

Next day we went on a snorkel, sunset dinner catamaran up the Na Pali coast. We got to see some great coastline - with some of the most dramatic coastline you will ever see. Downside - it was really choppy! So much so that we couldn't stop to snorkel - also there were some tiger sharks in the water, as evidenced by the sea turtles beaching. Jason was the only one that took full advantage of the all you can eat and drink option on the boat, as everyone else stayed near the back and close to the rail.

From 2008-09 (Hawaii) - Favorites

We spent at least of couple of days exploring the islands. We had a great hike to some waterfalls in Wiamea Canyon, drove around to the north side of the island and hit some beaches, and viewed the numerous waterfalls on the island.

From 2008-09 (Hawaii) - Favorites

The girls took a whole day and hit the spa toward the end of the week and Chris and I played golf on a great course at Poipu.

From 2008-09 (Hawaii) - Favorites

Of course, we spent alot of time hanging at the pools, sleeping on the hammocks, reading and relaxing. The hotel even had a great waterslide that we probably collectively hit about 78 times.

From 2008-09 (Hawaii) - Favorites

Here is a slide show of some of my favorite pictures:

Landry "bouncing" Ian - literally

This one just makes me laugh.

Nothing new just some pics

I haven't posted in a while so here is a slideshow of some recent pics . . .

PPROA Inaguration

In May I was selected as the new Panhandle Producers and Royalty Owner Association (PPROA) president. They just issued a nice newsletter that highlights it all. Also, a nice picture of the family on the first page.

Artist -> Princess

Landry told us today (while outside painting with Mommy) that God had made her into an artist. We agreed that God had, in fact, made her quite artistic. She then told us, "Yeah, but pretty soon God will make me back into a princess." Also true.

Cow Creek Adventure 2008

Our entire family went up to Cow Creek this past weekend and spent time fly fishing, horseback riding, shooting skeet, and telling stories around the campfire. It was a great time - and a great chance to spend time together. Cow Creek is in New Mexico just north of Santa Fe near the Pecos Wilderness.

Instead of posting pictures, I will post this videa that my brother David put together. He did a great job editing on this one . . . you can check out the link to his blog here .

Landry's 3rd Brithday Party

Landry had her 3rd brithday on May 25th. We had a big party at our house.

Link-to-Cell Bluetooth Phone System

I bought this set sweet phone set for the house. I am super impressed by the panasonic KX-TH1211. Here is the review I wrote up for Amazon . . .

The KX-TH1212 is a great product. As far as phone features it has everything that I was looking for and needed:
1.) DECT 6.0 - my previous 2.8 gHz was interfering with the baby monitor and wi-fi.
2.) Call Waiting, Caller ID, Phone book, Intercoms
3.) Speakerphone
4.) Expandable (we needed 4 handsets for the house)
5.) Phones just need a plug

We did not need or want an answering machine. We use the Call Notes feature on our phone so an answering machine was unnecessary and bulky.

I LOVE the cell phone feature. I always leave my cell phone (usually by accident) on vibrate or in my jean pocket, or placed in the bathroom etc. Now once I am home, the home phone rings when I get a call on my cell. I set it up for a different ring tone so that I know it is coming from my cell.

The other bonus I hadn't thought about when I bought this is that the base unit can sit on its own. All of the handsets are independent. So I actually stuck the base unit in my computer area plugged into the land line. The phone units are spread around the house with only their charger nearby.

This is perfect to use at the ranch because we don't have a landline there, only cell service.

Very powerful service

This was from a service at our church a few weeks ago. Choked me up when I saw it live and did it agin when I watched this back.

Color of Ian's Eyes

Hmmm. After much debate over the little man's 7 months of life, We still don't really know. Sometimes they are green, sometimes hazel, sometimes grey. You be the judge!

Landry's Imaginary Friend

Landry's imagination is kicking into high gear. She now has an imaginary friend named Kurla. (this is spelled with a "K" as I was told very emphatically by my daughter).

We continue to find out more and more things about Kurla:
- She has pink hair (which is Landry's favorite color)
- She is Landry's sister, but they do not have have the same Mommy or Daddy
- She has a baby brother
- She likes to swing and go down the slide
- She has a doggy that has been sick lately

Landry's New Swingset

Landry's birthday present came a little early. I somehow conned my Dad into helping put together the Trailblazer Adventure Playset that we bought at Walmart for $299. Overall, I am very happy with it. The wood is good quality and the instructions were very detailed. Overall, it took us about 8 hours to put it all together with a couple of breaks for lunch, etc. The holes were all in place and the parts seemed to all be there. The overall swingset is very sturdy once you put the anchors in the ground.

And, as you can see, Landry is thrilled with the swingset. She keeps telling us how much she "Loves" her playground. She will literally swing for a hour straight if you let her.