Kevin and Julie raft the Arkansas River

Last week, we rafted the Brown's Canyon section of the Arkansas River near Buena Vista, Colorado. We had a tremendous time and highly recommend this trip and the American Adventure Tours who provided the gear and guide. For you experienced paddlers, the runs were anywhere from Class 1 to Class 3 the day we went. The water temperature was about 51 degrees! It was so nice to spend a few days out of Texas during this epically brutal summer. Julie and I are the first two on the left or port side of the raft.

Kevin

ARF Success!!!

The Animal Reading Friends (ARF) program began in September 2010 at Travis Elementary School in San Marcos, Texas. This school-year long program attempted to improve the reading skills of seven second and third graders who were reading below grade level when they began in the ARF program. Each student would read to a pet partner team for 20 minute intervals on Fridays. The idea behind reading to the pet partner team had to do with 1) practicing reading aloud, 2) gaining confidence in reading and 3) instilling a feeling of enjoyment in reading. Quantitative measures highlight the success of this program. On average, our second graders improved 3.75 reading levels meaning that most of the participants are now reading above grade level. Even greater success was shown by the third graders. On average, these students improved 4.66 reading grade levels and each third grader began reading below grade level and ended the program reading above grade level. In addition, all ARF student participants improved their correct words per minute ability as well as reading accuracy. While these numeric measures certainly underscore the success of the program, intangible benefits such as improved attendance, gaining comfort interacting with animals, and having a positive mentor involved in their lives clearly show value in programs such as ARF. Please join us and become a positive agent for change in the lives of a local student!

2011 Michigan Road Trip

This summer, the Romig Pack decided to rent a cabin on a lake in Michigan for their vacation. The drive was long, but we got to do some fun things along the way. Two fun things we did were visit Vandalia, Illinois where Abe Lincoln served in the Illinois legislature. Lazarus Lincoln Romig and Dad took their picture with a sculpture of a young Lincoln. On the way home, we stopped in Cairo, Illinois where the three explored the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers off-leash. Magellan had a great time there. In Michigan we used the opportunity to recreate in Lake Allegan and Lake Michigan. Magellan and Dad are in Lake Michigan and Lazarus and Mom are in Lake Allegan. The whole trip was pretty relaxing though like a vacation is supposed to be-- see Magellan and Moses napping on Mom in the cabin. We had a great time and hope to go back again!

Kevin

Memphis Trip, 2011

We decided to take a trip to Memphis and meet up with Kevin's mother there. She had never been to Memphis and it was a chance to visit a city with which we all have an affinity. Our biggest outing was to Graceland. This time, we took a tour of Elvis' planes and some of his automobiles. We also visited the Rock and Soul Museum, the Cotton Exchange Museum, the Civil Rights Museum, and Sun Studios. Along with all that, we had time to drop in for a set at B.B. King's Club on Beale Street and heard a 90 year old blues man play his guitar. In Memphis, another great pastime is eating. We ate at two of Elvis Presley's faves being the Arcade and Coletta's. We also hit up Jim Neely's Interstate BBQ, Gus' Famous Fried Chicken, Rendezvous, Corky's, and Uncle Lou's. It was very hot while we were there, but we had a great time. Magellan really enjoyed the ribs from Corky's that we brought home on the plane.

Kevin

Photos: Kevin's Mom in the Lisa Marie, Presley's jumbo jet.
The entertainment room in Graceland with 3 tv's because Elvis wanted to be like President Johnson.
Blues group at BB Kings in Memphis.

Trip to New York City

To celebrate our upcoming 10th Wedding Anniversary, Julie and I took a trip to New York last week. Our first evening in the city, we got half priced tickets to see the Broadway Show, Memphis. It was a nice show and very different from most typical Broadway musicals. On that day, we also took in the sights and sounds of Times Square. The next day, we decided to try to get tickets for the Late Show with David Letterman. I wanted to go because Kelly Ripa was a scheduled guest, and Julie wanted to go because she had never been in the live studio audience for a tv show before. While we waited to see if we would get tickets, we traveled to the Macy's store in Herald Square. It was overwhelming for us, but while at Macy's, we learned that we got tickets to the Late Show. On our way to the show, we popped into Lindy's on Sixth Ave to have a bite of cheesecake. This restaurant is where Chuck Berry treated Buddy Holly to cheesecake back in the 1950s. We saw the taping of the show and had a good time. The next day, we took the ferry out to Liberty Island. As you can see in the photo, it was raining, but it was well worth it. In the afternoon, Julie got her hair cut and styled at Arrojo Studio by Nick Arrojo in SoHo. We later went by Chinatown and had really good cheeseteaks for dinner in Murray Hill. Our final day began by renting bicycles and touring through Central Park, The Upper East and West Side, Harlem, and Morningside Heights. We found Grant's Tomb and used a lot of the really nice bike lanes in New York. That afternoon, we attended a street fair in Greenwich Village. Later we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and ate Gramaldi's Pizza under the Brooklyn Bridge as the sun set across Manhattan. It was a busy but very enjoyable trip.

Kevin

Look what I found

It's spring in Texas which means changeable weather and lots of wind. Last night, we had strong winds that likely knocked this "friend" out of a nest and onto my territory in the back yard. Mom and Dad were ready for bed and I brought in this bird alive to the bedroom! What a great bird dog, right? Well, when I softened my mouth grip and showed my new "friend" to my Mom, the bird took the opportunity to scoot under their bed. For some reason, Mom left the room with Laz. Moses, Dad, and I needed to do something. Dad lifted up the bed and I grasped the bird in my mouth and took it to our bed in the family room to show Mom and Lazarus. We were playing together and having fun until the bird just stopped moving. I tried to nudge it, but it had fallen asleep. Dad took my photo with the bird, and then he traded me some jerky for the bird. He went outside with it and I didn't see it again. Anyway, it was a fun night.

Keep exploring,

Magellan

Kevin's Trip to Seattle

Kevin traveled to Seattle, Washington last week to attend the annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers. I presented a paper on his current research regarding the grass-fed beef industry in the Beef Belt of the United States. It was nice to catch up with some friends from Arizona State and North Dakota. The weather was gloomy and cold, but it did not matter too much because summer in Texas will be plenty warm enough. Here are a couple of photos from my ferry trip to Bainbridge Island which is across Puget Sound from Seattle. You can see the Seattle Skyline, the ferry arriving on Bainbridge, and the farmer's market where he scored some liver jerky for his three adoring furry friends.

Kevin

Trip to Mississippi State

Julie and I were fortunate to take a trip to Starkville, MS at the end of last week. Our primary purpose was to see a photo of Magellan on campus. We traveled as guests of Hunter Henry who is an alumnus and on the Foundation Board. Magellan's photo is in a case that discusses Mr. Henry's life story in the Alumni Center. Secondarily, I gave a talk in the Geosciences Department about grass-fed beef. Kevin has a colleague in that department that he met while a PhD student at Arizona State. In addition, we also visited the Waverly Plantation which dates back to 1852 along the banks of the Tombigbee River in Mississippi. Julie also got to go into a Piggly Wiggly grocery store for the first time. We brought an individual peach pie home for Laz, some crawtator chips for Moses, and some butter cookies for Gelli from Piggly Wiggly.

Kevin

Continuing with pet therapy

Moses, Lazarus, and Magellan have been continuing their work as pet partners. Magellan and Moses go to Travis Elementary School every Friday to help with a reading program. Each of their reading friends have improved their reading abilities this year while practicing with the dogs. Lazarus has been going to the school on Thursdays to work with children in the special education program. The students are mostly dealing with some form of autism and like the routine of having a visit from Laz. The three have also visited the local domestic abuse shelter for a special program. Lazarus continues his work on alternate Fridays with the elderly at the Texan Nursing Home. He loves the attention and seeing his friends who are residents as well as staff and visiting family members. The volunteer work keeps us busy, but it is a good kind of busy because -- A tired puppy is a good puppy.

The Deck - finally done

Well... here is the finished product...

Well, Peggy Sue got adopted! So, we are very happy for her.

So, we decided to wash and stain our deck. We wanted to document it so, the first picture is a "before" picture and the next two show some of our power washing progress...
~Julie

Introducing Peggy Sue

Meet Peggy Sue, our latest foster. She is a 7 month old GSP/Lab mix and she is very sweet. We are enjoying her very much.



Also, here are some pictures of Magellan, Lazarus and Moses having winter fun.

Magellan LOVES Christmas... especially the tree.

Magellan is FASCINATED with our Christmas Tree. He stares into it, hoping a bird will fly out, or a squirrel will show himself. He is CONVINCED there is something in there. It is a tree after all.

There is really nothing to say, except, "Where am I going to sleep?"

-Julie

Finally... Visible Results

Kevin has worked tirelessly recovering the yard (left in horrible condition by the past owners), and we are finally starting to see the fruits of his labor. We had beautiful color this fall on our Crape Myrtles.