Lost Maples

We had a anniversary/birthday, romantic, hill country, get-away weekend a few weeks ago. We went to Austin, San Marcos, Boerne, and Kendalia. The purpose of the trip was to attend Kim and Ryan's wedding reception at Kendalia Halle. Max Stallings performed and we had a blast. While we were in the area, we took a day trip over to Lost Maples State Natural Area. Lost Maples is a real jewel of the State of Texas. The park gets its name from the stand of Bigtooth Maples that inhabit the area and attract thousands of visitors each year to view the fall foliage. If you are ever in the area, we highly recommend you make a visit. We've posted a few pics below.

Jennifer taking a break during our hike to check her pulse.

View from the top.

Preggers

For those who haven't heard, Jennifer is pregnant and we are SO excited! The ultrasound below was taken at 12 weeks. Jennifer is 14.5 weeks now and is due on May 9. We'll keep you updated.
(click on the image below to enlarge)

Job News

For those we haven't talked to in a while.......Jennifer works for a pharmaceutical company called Schering-Plough who is in the process of making major cutbacks to their workforce. Today was the day that all the field reps received a phone call informing them of whether or not they still had a job. Praise God, Jennifer still has her job. We are thankful!

Eggs a la Jennifer

So, I never blog because I either can't seem to find anything to blog about, I can't seem to find the time to actually write a blog, or I really just don't want to. Nonetheless, I have now found something to blog about and I have the time to do so......so here goes.
The other day I watched the Martha Stewart show and was quite intrigued by a meal that a chef cooked on her show. The chef was a mother of three boys and did not have anything planned for dinner one night, so she came up with something. It looked very simple to make (unlike most things on her show), so I decided to try it out myself....and it came out great!! Scott and I both enjoyed it and it will definitely go on our "things we make for dinner" list. Below is the recipe and pictures.

Ingredients:
olive oil
2 cloves garlic
pinch of red pepper
1 can whole tomatoes
6-8 eggs
bread of choice (we used sourdough)
Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Pour olive oil in saucepan. Pulse tomatoes and pour into saucepan. Add garlic and red pepper. Cook for about 20 minutes. Crack eggs and drop them in tomato mixture. Simmer COVERED for about 5 minutes (until eggs are white). Meanwhile toast bread. Scoop out eggs and place on bread. Serve with side of steamed fresh spinach.....YUM!




FYI...this is the only place you can get this recipe (besides Martha Stewart's website) because it is unpublished! I highly recommend that you try it.

A Biter

So we took Blue and Sarah to the vet yesterday to get their annual shots and to get their heartworm and flea preventative. Besides the vet bill coming in at $585 (ouch!), we also had a unique experience with Blue. For those who haven't met Blue, he is a 6-yr old Weimaraner and quite possible the biggest softy you'll ever meet. He is a tall, athletic dog (weighs 70 lbs) but has never had the capacity to hurt anything, even a flea. Which brings us to the episode at the vet.

While they were getting a fecal sample, one nurse was holding Blue down by the head while the other inserted a plastic swab into his anus. Not very enjoyable for Blue as you might guess, but he has endured such many times before. The nurse must have poked him because all of a sudden he was trying to get loose to see what was going on near his rear end. Because the nurse was holding him by the head, he growled/barked trying to get free. She immediately jumped up and said, "He bit me!" We of course apologized all over ourselves, but it was too late. She ran out of the room and alerted the whole office that a "biter" was on the premise. Even more, they stamped his chart in bright red in 4 places reading "Muzzle Needed/Bites." Our Blue, who would never hurt a flea, is now labeled as a biter. So, when the vet came in to do his exam, first he put Blue in a muzzle, and then he whisked him away to a "bigger table" in the back, which I'm sure was equipped with straps to restrain an uncooperative dog. I understand that the vet office probably has standard protocol for such situations, but I'm not so sure that Blue ever bit the nurse. I think that maybe his mouth came open while he was trying to get out of the headlock she had him in because I've literally never seem him bite anything except for our other dog Sarah while they are playing. The other complication to the situation is that we happen to be friends with the vet and go to church with him, so I hated to do anything to insult him. Either way, we couldn't do much about it, so I guess we'll just have to live with a "biter" from now on. The bottom line here, beware visitors to our home, a biter lives here (so says the vet).

Grand Teton National Park

A few weeks ago I got the chance to have a weekend in the mountains with my good friends Nate Clements and Jason Harp. We all went to high school and college together, so it was a nice reunion. It was a quick weekend trip, so we packed as much as possible into it. I took a flight from DFW to Jackson Hole on Friday morning, and we hit the trail pretty much right when I got off the plane. We were completelly exhausted by Sunday. I was extremely grateful for the opportunity to be out in God's creation for a few days with some good friends. I've included some pictures below for your viewing pleasure.

Nashville

We had a great time in Nashville earlier this month. Anne got to meet several stars, and we got a full dose of country music. Some of the acts we saw include: Alan Jackson, Faith Hill, Dwight Yoakum, Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Josh Turner, Rascal Flatts, Taylor Swift, and more. I've included some pictures below.

Tracy Byrd

Will and "Abe"

Taylor Swift