Cowboy Boots, Giant Tubs and The Gaylord Texan!

Again, way too long since our last post. Here is a little catch up with our lives recently...

These boots officially have nothing to do with anything, but we saw them while walking around at a market and I had to take a quick photo since Texans love boots and they like to make a statement with them. Thought all my California friends would like these.

We were able to go to National Youth Workers Conference (NYWC) in Hot Springs, AR at Bro. Capaci's place this past month. The Theme was "Are You Thirsty?" It was a great meeting with Bro. Reno Likins, Bro. Jack Schaap and of course Bro. Eric Capaci.

It was great to have some time to play with the Fredericks. Their kids have really grown up since they left North Valley. It was incredibly fun to be with their family for the couple of days and see how they work together. My personal favorite was to wake up early and go to their family devotions after breakfast. Bro. Fred is a piece of work, but the thoughts he pulled from Scripture were amazing.

We had a little free time one of the mornings so Steph and I decided to visit some of the "hot springs" here in the area. While we didn't go in the tubs/springs, we went in an old museum type bath house, much like a modern day spa. Here is a picture of the shower systems in one of the rooms.

Here is one of the tubs they would fill with water from the springs...

And yes, this is a picture of the large nogin of Tommy.... I was in one of Bro. Fred's classes on youth work and he came and sat down in front of me. I was shocked to see him as I forgot he was attending school here... He hasn't changed at all.

Steph and I also shared our anniversary of our first date this past week. We decided to go out to BJ's Pizzeria and get a Pizzookie (pictured below) just like we did on our first date.

Manna!!!

The last portion of our recent happenings is when Austin, a young man in our church took us to his work... THE GAYLORD TEXAN! He is a sous chief for the pastry kitchen. He took us on the behind the scenes tour of the hotel, kitchens, dining areas, and so much more. This place is awesome. It is so big, I had to take a few pictures of the quantities they had (everything's bigger in Texas)

Here is a small section of their plates...

other "small" sections of items...

And, my post would not be complete until I found an item that is customized for the great state of Texas.... These people sure enjoy their state. This was my personal favorite part of the tour... the behind the scenes golf cart that they fabricated for this hotel.

Orchestra, Food and Fun

So, I feel like I need post today being that it is 09-09-09 and I want to remember this joyous date. Here is what we have been up to recently. Enjoy.

We were able to go to the Dallas Symphony recently (Thank you Groupon.com - greatest thing to happen since sliced bread, visit it if you live in a major city) for a discounted price. We had excellent seats and for only a fraction of the price. Here is the view we had...After we finished listening to the wonderful songs by the orchestra, we just weren't quite ready for bed, so we had to stop at Yogi-licious in Dallas (The second greatest thing since sliced bread) and got some frozen yogurt.
A week or so later, I had to get a little "guy time" in so I went fishing with my dad and Warren Whittall (International Baptist Missions Director) on Lake Ray Hubbard. Here is my trophy catfish, well, at least the biggest I've ever caught.
Finally, one night not long ago, we decided that we weren't going to order pizza, but wanted to have a little more fun than that, so we made our own pizza. What a time we had. My wife is literally the best pizza maker on the planet. This was the best flavor I have ever experienced. (She is also the best omelet cooker in the whole universe, but that is another day, another blog post.)
Our next post will be all about our fall decor, so don't miss it, there will be pictures of all the deals we have found and all the "cute" stuff we have purchased. It's going to be great.