Monday, April 28, 2008

My annual wildflower picture




This year, the wildflowers in Texas were not so good. There were hardly any bluebonnets, which makes my annual picture of Laz in the bluebonnets difficult. I did my best with what Mother Nature gave us this year. Finally, I went to our neighbor and asked if I could take a picture with her flowers.

-Julie

AWARE - Always Wanted a Riding Experience


This Spring, Kevin and I volunteered at AWARE, a ranch that offers classes for horseback riding to improve muscle tone, balance, posture, coordination, and motor-development as well as emotional well being in children and adults.

Kevin and I worked with Gage, a super sweet 3 year old. He was a blast to hang out with, and his smile can just light up any room.

Pictured here is Tracey, the instructor, Ashley and myself (sidewalkers), Gage (rider) and of course, Casey the horse.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Lazarus at ThunderPaws Canine Solutions



Lazarus and Moses have been going to training at Thunderpaws Canine Solutions. Lazie is learning new skills for his Therapy Dog training, and Moses is brushing up on some general training and obedience. Lazarus is attending a Canine Good Citizen class and is hoping to earn his certificate deeming him a "good citizen," although we already know what a good boy he is. He loves his class, and especially his teacher Hepzibah. He has reviewed sit, down, stay, stay while down, staying while standing, staying with distractions, loose leash walking, heeling, wait, park it and more! Kevin and I are VERY proud of him. He is also enjoying our walks even more now as I am bringing treats along to reward his good behavior.

We are still trying to find a treat that really interests Moses and gets his attention for training. Moses has perfected "settle" because he was heavily rewarded for it at his session last week. (It helped that he was "dog" tired from tons of play the night before).

This is a picture of Kevin and Laz in the "training room" at ThunderPaws.

Julie

Time to go home!



This is a picture from the airplane just as we were taking off from Oklahoma City. It was a clear day, and I got some good pictures, and some not so good ones! I was glad to get home to see my boys.

Julie

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Cattlemen's Cafe


One of the very best places to eat in Oklahoma City is Cattleman's Cafe. My coworkers and I went there for dinner on Friday night. Pictured are Kelly, Dan, me and Dave. It was good, but it is pretty hard to impress a bunch of Texans! YUMMY!

Monday, April 21, 2008

Julie to Oklahoma City






For a meeting, I traveled to Oklahoma City with my coworkers in Kaare's plane. It is a Cesna Caravan. I believe it seats 8-10, and it rode quite nicely. We even needed oxygen once we got over around 10,000 ft. We got to wear noise canceling headphones that were very relaxing. Once I turned on the noise attenuation, I felt very relaxed. The flight from San Marcos to Oklahoma City Wiley Post Airport took about an hour and 45 minutes. It was my first trip with our crew on a work excursion.

Julie

Friday, April 18, 2008

Boston Trip





I got back from my trip to Boston yesterday. I was in Boston for the Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers. I also got to go to Maine which is the 48th United State I have been to which leaves only Idaho and Alaska as states I have yet to visit. The trip was short but nice, but Lazie was especially happy to see me-- and it helped that I brought home a bag full of Black's BBQ that I picked up on my way home from Austin Airport. The photos are of Kinnebunkport, Maine; Boston Common; and an aerial photo of Boston that I took from the plane on my way home.


Kevin

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Testing out Kayaks



On Sunday, Julie and I decided to test out some different kayaks at a local store's Open House. It was a lot of fun, and we both did really well with maneuvering and getting into and out of a number of different kayaks. We mainly tried single person sit on-top-models, but I did try one inflatable model which was very nice, but not for me. We also tried a two person kayak for a short time period, but Julie complained nearly the whole time about the possibility of tipping. While we were able to paddle very fast, the front-seat griping was not worth it. Anyway, here is a photo of us trying out different models.

Kevin

Monday, April 07, 2008

Laz at School with Dad



Hi everybody!
Now that I am in training to be a Canine Good Citizen and Delta Dog, I have been getting more rewards like coming into school today! I love walking around campus meeting people and sniffing things. I even got to watch Dad sign off on somebody's thesis-- whatever that is? Mostly, I have just been hanging out with Dad in his office, but we did meet Mom for lunch and I got to go swimming at Rio Vista Park.

Your pal,

Lazie