Padre Island Living

NAS Kingsville T-45 Simulator

2011-12-28T12:10:00.001-06:00

Maj Dave "Pops" Shipley and IC1 Jessie Booth sponsored our family to visit the NAS Kingsville pilot training facility. Wow, what an experience. Big thank you to "Pops" for taking time out of his day to spend with us in learning all that is entailed in training our fine Naval Pilots. Truly an awesome experience.

Above Patti and her two sons; John and Eric and I are standing in front of a T-45 trainer used to train our pilots at this facility. What an amazing aircraft.

Patti, Eric and John in front of the T-45 Simulator dome.

Instructor control panel for the simulator.

Maj Shipley giving John some pre-flight instruction while on the runway.

John sitting in the cockpit of the T-45 flying over Corpus Christi, Texas. John, a pilot himself, tried some touch and goes at the Corpus Christi airport.

Maneuvering some rollovers Maj Shipley gave him a storm to navigate through. John asked for an instrument landing and easily reduced his elevation to a soft landing while gliding through a thunder storm.

Eric trying out his pilot skills over Corpus Christi making barrel roll maneuvers.

Patti easily drops the throttle down and blasts her way up into the sky over Corpus from the NAS Kingville airfield.

My first time as a pilot was a great experience. Maj Shipley coaching me on the controls of the cockpit, I was able to easily take-off into the sky without any problems. Once in the air I headed up over Nueces Bay then down to Padre Island to fly over our home. Then for me the obvious choice was to fly over the Land Cut and Baffin Bay which are favorite fishing spots in our area. Maj Shipley gave me some ordinances to fire at my leisure. I fired them off in Baffin Bay as a new fishing technique.

Lake Livingston Campout

2011-10-05T12:21:00.000-05:00

Camping off a month of celebrating Patti's birthday we enjoyed a weekend camp-out at Lake Livingston, Texas State Park. This was a much needed restful time to enjoy the great outdoors.

Doris & Jazz haning out in the woods enjoying every minute!

Leaky Texas Cabin

2011-02-19T11:05:00.000-06:00

January 2011, Patti and I with kids and grand kids went to Leakey (Lakey) Texas to a cabin for a couple of nights. Patti won this trip at a American Heart Association auction and got a great price on our trip. What beautiful country this was to get away from the noise!

Grand kids really loved the simple pleasure of playing on a see saw... We did too!

We went to Garner State Park and had a great time hiking a trail up to a small cave and around down to the Frio River.

Evie throws out the first ball for the beginning of the Family Bacci Ball Tournament. Little did we know that this would go down in the family history books as the comeback of the century! Breyton & Amma fell behind Papa early in match. Papa owned a commanding lead that seem to be insurmountable by Bacci Ball Standards. However, Breyton with his unwillingness to give up and perserverance to continue his push to tie Papa and then beat him with the final through by 1 point. Final Score: 10-9. Below are some of the action shots taken by Sports Badger Illustrations, Jana

Breyton became the raining Family Champion of Bacci Ball

Breyton waits for he turn.

Consulting Amma during a time out.

Papa enjoying his early lead and taking a break with Evie.

This amazing Bacci Ball court will be in the history books as the place Breyton performed his skill and magic to beat Papa in an amazing come from behind victory!

The Frio River

Fall in New York, October 2010

2011-02-10T09:06:00.001-06:00

First week of October 2010 Patti & I traveled to Bronx New York to visit David, Jana, and our grand kids. What a wonderful time to visit. Since we visited most of Manhattan by subway last time, we decided to discover what New York has to offer in the great outdoors.

One of the highlights was camping in the Catskill Mountains. Jana once again performed her magic and reserved a beautiful spot next to a softly rolling creek. It was just beautiful and wonderful spot.

We enjoyed an awesome family hike up Kaaterskill Falls and created the following movie of our journey.

This was a lot of fun getting some exercise while enjoying the wonderful scenery. The grand kids did marvelously on this hike!

The boys had a great fishin trip planned on the Long Island Sound. We recruited Captain Rich Tenreiro and his first mate Natalie Roseberry to take Spencer Mangum, Roroy Sandberg, David Badger, and I out to catch some Blackfish. Rich Tenreiro interview available at JustGoFishin Tales and Reports Podcast Show. Video below shows the great time we had.

Left to Right: Spencer Mangum, Dave Alexander, David Badger, Roroy Sandberg

Just another awesome vacation in New York. I've miss placed some other pictures we took of the Bronx Zoo and Apple Picking. Both were a lot of fun.

Garden Whirligig On Padre Island

2010-04-03T17:06:00.011-05:00

My Brother Bryan Alexander made this cool garden whirligig for Patti & I. For those of you that know Bryan he builds things to last. Bryan is a talented ornamental iron worker and specializes in ornamental iron fencing. Bryan has his own machine shop with all the equipment he needs to create and build almost anything.

Bry made this garden whirligig out of stainless steel and the fan blades are made out of copper. The garden whirligig stands about 12 feet tall in total. 8 feet above ground and 4 feet underground. Digging a 4 foot hole was joyful. Then I pored 120 lbs of concrete ready mix to plant the whirligig for good. This has got to be the best ever of all garden whirligigs!

Thanks A Bunch Bob!

Puerto Rico Vacation

2010-03-12T09:59:00.009-06:00

February 7th to the 13th, 2010

Puerto Rico was a terrific place to visit for our vacation this year. We stayed in Fajardo at the Las Casitas Villas Resort and is was fabulous. During the week we journeyed to several parts of the Puerto Rico, mostly staying on the North side. Travel in Puerto Rico is very expensive. We were able to find Leslie Melendez to get us where we needed to go for the first couple of days. And he shared with us great places to eat and visit. We rented a car for remainder of week and it was much cheaper. (Though, Lesley gave us a good deal). We might not have learned much about the local cuisine had we not met Lesley.

So here we are at the Las Casitas Resort over looking this wonderful view of the ocean. In view is the Marine where you launch from to take shuttles to islands or diving and snorkeling trips.

Our first day there we just enjoyed the scenery and all the surroundings of Las Castas and start planning out our week. Check-out the hotel on the island in the background.

Just a beautiful view.

In-shore Tarpon fishing trip. We started out at the Marina at 7:00am then navigated over to an area of residential canals to use cast nets to capture our bait for the day. Bait wasn't that plentiful after an hour and half of casting our net. Fortunately, there was another boat with the same company that had bait to spare.

I interviewed Captain Jeff just after catching our Tarpon an published in our podcast.

We boated over and fished the first 2 Tarpon spot locationions marked on map and drift fished with live greeny's free-lining . Our only catch of day was in Tarpon Spot #3.

FISH ON!

Our only catch of the day was a nice Tarpon that shot up out of the water 3 time trying to shake free from the hook. After some time reeling him in and getting up next to the boat he was able to cut our leader with his sharp gills. Shuck, only "almost" landed catch of the day.

Old San Juan was enjoyable to walk the shops and eat. The brick stone street were very cool and certainly gave a feel that you stepped back in time.

Raices Restaurant, Old San Juan Puerto Rico

I had a Large Pork Chop and Patti had Mofongo. Mofongo is eggplant.

Juan Ponce De Leon who was in seach of the Fountain of Youth. In 1521 Ponch De Leon sailed to West Florida with 200 men when they were attacked by Native Americans with arrows. Ponch was severely wounded and died soon after that. He was buried here at this church in Old San Juan. 1460 - 1521

El Morrow Fortress

Arecibo Observatory

Do you remember the movie "Contact" with Jody Foster? parts of the movie were filmed here at Arecibo radio telescope.

Camuy Caves

Isabela Beach

Offshore Fishing Trip
Patti & I went of a all day offshore fishing trip. We went a a 40 foot Hatteras which made it nice to enjoy the cabin while we trolled for whatever we could catch. While starting to prepare lunch we had a "FISH ON" experience. A Dorado Dolphin take the bait and run. It was a lot of fun reeling in this bull using every muscle in my body to get him close to the boat.

As we got him close to the boat our deck hand tried to hook him with the gaffe hook. The Dorado made one last attempt to jump in the air to free himself and was successful. Shucks, we lost another one and we wouldn't have another bite the rest of day.

This was a great place to enjoy breakfast in the morning. Breakfast was only about $10 and the food was great! Our resort charged $60 for breakfast so we made a clean break from that to avoid those kind of charges.

Snorkeling was a lot of fun to swim and see that marine life. We took a boat out to one of the islands where we anchored up for a few hours. The water was very nice.

That was our vacation this year to celebrate our anniversary! We certainly enjoyed the whole week and feel like we saw and did a lot. Just Awesome.

Christmas in New York

2009-12-28T01:17:00.006-06:00

What a terrific time we had in New York for Christmas this year. Many, many, many thanks to Jana Badger for being the family's personal tour guide of New York. Because of her pre-planning and knowledge of the area we were able to visit many locations on the Manhattan Island. Using the MTA New York City Subway she was able to get us close to every venue. If you want to see New York... forget the car, take Jana! She will save you lots of time & money!

This year Christmas was in the Bronx at Einstein University where David is attending medical school. Patti, Caylah & I flew into LaGuardia Airport from Corpus Christi, TX on Sunday the 20th, John & Danika Flew into JFK from SLC, UT. Eric was able to fly in from Phoenix, AZ to JFK Christmas morning.

We traveled on the the subway and bus from the Bronx into Manhattan each day to our various destinations.

Monday the 21st we all went to Manhattan including the Grand kids, Breyton & Evie. Our first stop was FAO Schwartz toy store. We enjoyed walking through the many toy displays on hand. Then we walked through Central Park and enjoyed this oasis inside New York City.

Caylah standing on top of a snow hill in Central Park.

John and Danika at Central Park

Paparazzi at work.

Breyton is saying Calgon take me away.

John and Danika practicing parental responsibilities.
In the background you can see Jana, Patti and Breyton.

Caylah contemplating a big snowball for her Dad.

At Big Nicks the menu is a 23 page book!
This was a terrific place to eat. Great Hamburgers and Pizza along with many other choices. There's something to eat for everyone!

Standing room only on the sub ride home.
The MTA NY Subway was a real experience. Often times it was standing room only. Then it would thin out and we would be able to sit. Occasionally there would be pan handlers asking for donations. Some people would hop on and play their guitar and sing a song then continue on to the next car while traveling 40 miles an hour or more. On one occasion an author jump on board offering to sell a book he wrote.
Patti was always generous and we gave her some singles $ so she could hand-out on behalf of all of us.

Intruder alert! She just had to jump into our picture...which one doesn't belong here, which one is not like the others.

City lights are too bright for Caylah.
You can see the Time Square ball at the top of picture.

Chocolate any one?
This was one of the places Danika wanted to visit... I'm sure glad we did. They handed out Chocolate Kisses at the door and had what you would expect... Lots of Chocolate.

Time Square complete with the New Years Ball.

Pedaling to power the New Years Ball. Seriously, we generated power that would contribute to the New Year's celebration of lights and the fall of the ball. AND we were paid in batteries for our efforts!

Dave's Rocky pose. I think he was carrying the back pack so long that he thought he earned the title of Rocky Balboa.

Caylah's favorite man in her life.

Does it look like we're cold? WE ARE!
Radio City Music Hall in the background famous for the Christmas Spectacular and the Rockettes.

Rockefeller Center and lovin' it!
What an awesome place to visit at Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

The full view of the Christmas Tree!

A winter wonderland right next to the tree.

More of the Rockefeller square hustle and bustle.

Take a good look at this picture. John and Danika emulated a great pose in our family shot on the beam. Way to go guys!

At 70 floors up you see a 360 degree view. Even though this was a commercial picture, you will see one just like it that Dave took during the night.

John is asking his sweetheart for a date.

City lights of Manhattan.

Just to the "center/right" you can see a green light with a orange dot above it. The orange dot is Time Square's ball.

To the roof babe.

Caylah on top of the rock.

Breyton is convinced that being up so high might not be a good idea.

John can sleep any where, any how. Grand Central Station.

A laser light show on the ceiling we happened to be there at just the right time to see it.

John checking out the laser show.

Grand Central Station 360

Did I tell you about our new dog we got?

These aren't pictures they are stuffed animals at the Museum of Natural History.

Ok Caylah, just pretend there isn't a bear behind us.

China Town

The best place to eat in China Town thanks to the best tour guide!
The Excellent Dumpling House. Delicious Chinese food and outstanding service.

Calling Pa Pa to see Breyton's Christmas toy, a swimming frog.

They shopped til they dropped.

Breyton held on to his red baby car the whole time and decided to take it out for a re-evaluation.

While on the sub we spotted these two carrying a loaded camera.

In the financial district we took a stroll down Wall Street. Notice it is closed off to traffic since 911.

The back door to the New York Stock exchange.

Now the front door.

Federal Hall. Wow this was a new piece of history that I learned. George Washington took his oath in this building as our first president.

John measures up quite nicely as his beautiful bride takes his picture next to the statue.

Jana carrying Evie all over Manhattan. Not one complaint and keeping a nice pace ahead of the rest of us so we didn't miss the Circle Line tour.

Trinity Church for all you National Treasure fans.

New York Stock exchange

Oh! This really cool deli in the financial district where we got to hob nob with a couple of traders.

Breyton was only in it for the juice.
We stopped here and picked up deli sandwiches and drinks and loaded up the backpack to eat later on the boat.

I think if I rub his head three times the market will come back. Only if you wear the UT hat though. Hook 'em horns!

Ground Zero

Circle Line tour was a fabulous way to see the whole Manhattan Island while sitting in the comfort of a heated cabin. Little Evie got so warm and so comfortable that she relaxed on Pa Pa's lap and left him an early Christmas present that he will never forget. He tried to pull it off as mustard that must have dripped from his hot dog, but everyone knows he doesn't eat mustard. Euwwww.
Jana found some coupons that gave us half off the purchase price.

This would have been a view of the twin towers of the world trade center behind the center sky scrapers.

New Jersey

Water side view of the Empire State building.

Tip of Manhattan

Ellis Island
This is where the early emigrants were processed. Names of millions of emigrants are written on its walls. What a neat way to search for ancestors!

Only 10 people a day are allowed into the crown of the statue of Liberty since 911. They use a lottery to select visitors that can climb the stairs to the crown.

Statue of Liberty

Much prettier to look at than the statue!

Caylah winding down. If you only knew all the things we fit into this day!

A better shot of the Empire State Building.

The Empire State Building on your left, the Chrysler building on your right. The Empire State building was lit up red and green for Christmas. Visit the Chrysler site to see how sneaky they were.

Oh man...captured by Amah again.

Yankee Stadium s side by side the most visible (right) is the old one to be torn down.

Waiting for our sub while watching others passing each other on both sides.

Breyton didn't quite make it home before crashing.

He barely made it home before Santa came. This was his favorite toy, the racing cars that you shake for the best performance.

Opening stockings.

A stethoscope that Breyton won't get in trouble for handling. He removed it from the box with the greatest of care while gasping with delight. A chip off the old block.

Breyton taking pictures of everyone with his very own digital camera.

Giving Caylah a shove. She discovered later that her jacket was a better sled.

Breyton making a snow ball to throw at Uncle Eric.

Jana and Breyton on a wipe-out.

Uncle Eric lending his assistance.

This is how you do it guys!

Caylah contemplating the launch, gloves-check scarf-check, now if only I can clear that tree.

This is the only time Jana will be able to push her big brother around.

Eric... "where's the steering wheel to this newfangled contraption."

One of Breyton's first attempts. You will see in the following video, that he discovered his snow suit made a better, faster sled.

Breyton sledding

Eric giving us a push. We just had the funnest time EVER. We laughed til our sides hurt.
Jacobi Hospital is seen in the background where David walks to clinicals.

Right before we played Mafia late into the night, Jana and David looking at a childhood picture of Jana while Eric does his family duties of making sure our electronics are optimized.

Wow, what a Christmas! It was a none stop week to get all our stops completed in 4 days and enjoy Christmas together as a family. We traveled by bus, subway, and walked in 15 degree wind chill all week. Jana and Mom cooked a nice pot roast Christmas dinner while we talked about the fast paced week we all had. Just awesome!

Thank you to All our family that made this week a memorable one for years to come.
Special thanks to Jana & David for hosting this Christmas event in their 2 bedroom 1 bath apartment on the Einstein Campus Dorms.

Costa Rica

2009-02-22T21:08:00.005-06:00

Dave and I just got back from the vacation of a life time. Jana and David Badger suggested we go to Costa Rica for some canopy tours and hikes in the tundra. Since Jana and David are never wrong, we took their advice and went to La Fortuna and Monte Verde.

Before we left I felt impressed to purchase a couple of backpacks the night before. Dave felt impressed to call the bus that was picking us up at 3:00 "from the restaurant across the street from the airport." Well the backpacks were exactly what we needed as the transportation system would have been difficult at best with our traditional suitcases. The restaurant across the street, on the other hand, turned out to be a 15min taxi ride. Needless to say, we missed the bus in pouring down rain and had to make taxi arrangements to La Fortuna. Eric, Jana and John can appreciate this picture: Their language inept mother trying to explain our plight and get help making those arrangements under a tin roof in a down-pour.

After arriving in Tabacon Springs we wanted to kiss the ground. Our driver was a 26yo with way way too much bravado or maybe a former Indy 500 race car champion. Either would be fine on US roads but imagine only 2-way highways with a steep canyon on one side and random lanes that had been washed away by a former land slide.

Our first morning began with a fishing trip on Lake Aernal at 5:30 am.

As you can see I won the tournament. Dave didn't want to take pictures of my other catches. That smoking mountain you see is a real live volcano which we will feature later on this blog when we got a spectacular two thumbs up view of it on the other side at night.

So.... on to the canopy tour after the fishing trip. This was a process of a hike, then a zip across a huge gorge through the trees, towards a water fall and then more hiking and more zip lines (10 lines all together). At the end we rode skinny horses back to the stables. Take note of Dave's extra harness they put on him for spinning out of control. Also notice the hard stop where my knee swung up and hit the cable....not funny... still have the bruise...but lots of fun...would do it again.

We decided to sleep in til 7:00am catch a quick breakfast and transportation to the river for some white water rafting. This was the absolute coolest adventure we have ever experienced. Our guide had it in for Dave for the whole trip. He yelled FORWARD which meant put your whole body and sole into the stroke. You will see by the pictures that the timing was perfect for the next rapid to wash Dave over. We almost lost him twice. The guide apologetically said "sorry I didn't see that rock, Dave". Our team was so good that we did donuts and bounced our raft off trees while others just survived the trip going forward. I'm the special one with the blue helmet.

The night after rafting we decided to take a trip around the other side of the volcano to view all the action. Since EVERYONE had made a big deal about seeing the top of it the whole time we were there. We got a few shots but like this one best.

Our last day in La Fortuna was spent enjoying the hot springs produced by that volcano.

Wow Jana, you were right about the fireworks!

The next afternoon we caught the jeep boat jeep to Monte Verde which turned out to be van, boat, van, another van. We met some really neat people whom we bonded with out of shear terror. There were 2 dentists, 1 vet, a teacher and her husband who did AC jobs in Canada and us cramped up with all our back packs in a small minivan. The driver spoke only Spanish. After crossing Lake Arenal, the road to Monte Verde was treacherous at best. David Badger mentioned how he hated it. While telling Dave about this, one of the dentists turned around in his seat and said"You mean you know someone who did this road?" When I explained my association to Jana and David, the vet behind us said "I guess your daughter and son-in-law are the benefactors of your life insurance?" Shortly after this conversation we started back sliding on the gravel-dirt road backwards while smelling this hot acrid smell. The driver was persistent in flooring the gas pedal while everyone was pleading to stop and let us out in any desperate form of Spanish they knew. We jumped from the van all the while he protested. Soon after, it stalled never to start again. The sun was setting and we grabbed our packs and began listing our supplies for food and shelter. The vet said she would work on capturing a small animal for diner since she was up to date on her rabies vaccine. About an hour and a half later, another van rescued us.

Arising the next morning at Monte Verde we decided to take the hanging bridges tour. We were disappointed that we didn't see more critters with our guide, but appreciated his expertise on plants and pointing out a sleeping owl, a lizard, and his sharing information on the ficus trees which you will see us climbing up the middle of.

We just knew that if we went to the Monte Verde Cloud Forest Reserve we would see the birds and the animals we missed on the hanging bridges tour. So we ate lunch and set out for another hike. Thinking that we would go on a night hike the next night we decided to save a little money by not hiring a tour guide. I think the park ranger didn't approve so to get revenge, he pulled up an older map and quickly drew a yellow line indicating a 2 hr tour that would allow just enough time to call a taxi at closing. About an hr. into the hike we came across a trail closure so we took the only trail that was accessible which put us on broken bridges covered with chicken wire that some poor hiker before us stepped through. As the sun was setting we pushed on through steep and muddy "GUCK"(as Dave calls it) that went on for miles. We laughed joking about the search and rescue team that never cared about our absence. With mud between our toes and fingers we called it a day.....but oh! Lets walk over there and see the humming birds before the taxi comes!

Exhausted we finished off the day with a sunset from our room. Our travel to Corpus Christi the next day was no small feat. The plan was to do the jeep, boat, jeep in reverse, catch a taxi to the La Fortuna air strip, fly a King Air to the air strip in San Jose, pick up a taxi to the international airport, get through customs and security to board our flight to Houston then to Corpus. Imagine our surprise when the same driver that broke down is inviting us to get in for our first leg of the jeep-boat-jeep trip!

The ground is so fertile in Costa Rica that you can see that when they plant stumps for fence posts, they grow! Also take note of the small volcano we flew over on our way home.

Sure hope you enjoyed the sights as much as we did! Patti

Fun Day of Sea Dooing

2008-11-20T08:00:00.000-06:00

Kit Kat

2008-11-19T08:00:00.000-06:00

Kit Kat has been known to catch a few birds in our backyard. I was working in the yard and was able to see her start stocking this Egret hanging out and enjoying the morning. I was wondering if she would actually jump across the decks for a great prize :0/. But not this time.

The Many Faces of Breyton

2008-11-18T08:00:00.002-06:00

We've had the pleasure to enjoy a surprise visit from Jana & Breyton for a few days. Just really fun to have our Grandson here and seeing him grow so fast.
Daddy taught me this one.

I learned this _I'm sooo smart look from Mom.

I'm just too sexy for these glasses.

They think I don't know they are looking at me.

I don't have it, I didn't do it, and you can't prove anything.

This is the smile that will get all the babes.

And if that doesn't work....

Look at this, the more I sleep, the younger I get.

Before my first haircut

Hi Dad!

I know what you are thinking..."what an adorable child" I am.

There you go sneekin again.

Like my ride? How 'bout Friday night say around 7:00?

Pausing for another stock trade.

I know, my eyes are upstaging the pool.

Where's Dad when I need him?

I am jusssst that hot! Oh yeah.

Joan and Doyle

2008-11-17T08:00:00.001-06:00

I found this picture in my archives recently. Thought you all might enjoy this. This is Mom & Dad in 1976, Mexico. Check out Doyle's fashion statement. I love those socks!

4 Generations

2008-11-16T08:00:00.001-06:00

Above: Vivian, Dorothy, Marie, Ruth

The Best Stake Dance Ever!

2008-11-15T08:00:00.002-06:00

Horseback Riding

2008-11-14T08:00:00.004-06:00

Sally & Caylah enjoyed an afternoon of horseback riding on Padre Island.

Caylah (Shake a Bake a Cake)

Sally

Halloween Party

2008-11-13T08:00:00.006-06:00

Marsha Byrd planned out a Institute Halloween party at our home. We were happy to accommodate this fun event. Marsha and her mom came over a couple days early to decorate and make preparations for making this the best ever Halloween party.

Halloween... The party begins!

Hot Dogs and many other deserts and refreshments began the night while guests arrived. Soon the Best Costume contest had begun. Bob Bolster & Maxine Sturges were key judges for the evening.

The Hollywood Red Carpet Walk Began....

Bob Bolster & Maxine Sturgis, MC & Judges

And The Finalist Are.......

The Winner!
Does Marsha know how to plan a party or what! Great Job. I think everyone had a great time.

New Ocean Blue Deck

2008-11-12T08:33:00.015-06:00

Patti and I decided it was time to replace an old blue deck in the backyard. The old deck was smaller and very weather beaten. We choose to expand the deck to allow for more living area to enjoy. We knew who we had to contact to get this job done. SAM REED.

Sam Reed with NPI Construction Installed our new blue deck. We were very happy with how it all turned out. Our deck was built with treated pine. Arbor was build with Ceder. Columns built by Tucasa. Spot lights and other electrical was installed by Gabe Oliva. We also installed misting fans to keep living area cooler in the summer time.

Thanks to all involved:

Sam Reed, North Padre Island Construction
Gabe Oliva, Electrical
Tucasa, Columns
Cool-Off, Misting Fans

BEST EVER Stake YM/YW Dance Tonight!

2008-11-08T11:08:00.005-06:00

I'm On My Way To The Stake Dance...
I heard it was the BEST EVER!

Yep, That right. We'll have the last event of the year at the Stake Center tonight from 6pm to 10:30pm.

Best Ever Sloppy Joes: 6:00pm
Best Ever Dance: 7:00pm

Dance Contests w/cameo judge appearances.
BIG Screen Recording Studio's providing the special effect electronics.

Don't miss this years BIG "Best Ever" YM/YW Stake Dance.

Mormon Helping Hands

2008-11-08T10:00:00.004-06:00

Early October our Stake was ask to send 100 brethren to Galveston to help with the clean-up. So we all organized and went Galveston to meet at our Galveston church building. This is the first time I've had an assignment like this one. But I have to say that this was very well organized and executed.

Mike King, Ed Ehlers, Steve Scott and the Lopez's and I drove up together. We met at Stake Center about 4:30am then drive to Galveston. This was about a 4 hour trip.

Once we arrived and reported in at our church building in Galveston we were given our clean-up assignment. Everyone received a Yellow Mormon Helping Hands T-shirt so that we could all recognize each other.

We did some clean-up at a home that was right on the shoreline. Just amazing the amount of destruction that had taken place. These are a few pictures I took while on this Mormon Helping Hands assignment. We were all glad to be there in these Galveston residents time of need.

Gary Boucher saving an air conditioner.

Our next assignment was at a home further into the city. This whole neighborhood was under water from the storm surge 5 feet. This home had to have the whole interior gutted out. We had to peel off the chalk board throughout the house and wheel barrow it to the street for pick-up. This was a dirty job. The older lady that we were helping out really was filled with much gratitude. We were all glad to help.

The garbage pick-up arrived just at the perfect time. We just completed the job at 3:30pm and was able to check-out at our church building and head home.

The drive back is another story... 5 hours of pure laughter with some great friends! We were so exhausted/fatigued and just had a funny bone going that wouldn't stop.

BLOG Slacker

2008-11-08T09:15:00.001-06:00

Sorry I've been a blog slacker and haven't placed any new updates. We do have a lot of material to catch-up on. I'll get these topics posted soon:

Mormon Helping Hands in Galveston
Our New Deck
Institute Halloween Party to name a few

Hang on... these blogs will come rapid fire!

Cousin John

2008-10-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

It was wonderful to meet my Cousin John Alexander for the first time ever. Seems unusual to have a cousin that I've never met but as we know that Uncle Albert & Aunt Thelma lived there several years while Albert worked for Bank of America as VP over his division.

Thrilled to have an opportunity to have him stay in our home. He made terrific Grandma Alma's Taco's for dinner one night and as usual they were a big hit. He even made left overs and they only lasted till the next night and they were gone! Caylah even like them! (I think that I'm mostly to blame fior eating all the taco's)

John is Albert's youngest son and almost completed with medical school. His final rotation is in Florida. We certainly wish him and his family all the best. We sure hope to meet his whole family sometime soon.

September came very fast with 2 Hurricane scares. That was certainly enough for us! Hopefully we can all get back to normal for a while.

Kerrville Vacation

2008-09-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

Patti & I enjoyed a wonderful vacation to Kerrville. A very nice getaway from everything and recharge our batteries. We hike around Enchanted Rock and enjoyed the scenery this time of year.

We enjoyed reading to each other over several days. And just spending our time together while we traveled around to Fredericksburg & Medina/Bandera areas. Below is Medina Lake where we spent some time reading.

This was at the city Park of Bandera

Raz got a little help from her mom in climbing the tree. Not sure if she enjoyed this adventure very muchWonderful time together!

Hurricane Ike

2008-09-29T16:59:00.007-05:00

You can see the tide surge that came up over our deck as hurricane Ike made land fall in Galveston. You can see the water level across the canal close to the top of the bulk heads. Our prayers go out to those up North who didn't fare out so well.

My Cousin John Alexander was staying with us during his Medical Education rotation here in Corpus Christi. He evacuated to Idaho Falls as a precaution.

He was able to come back and finish his rotation a few days later.

Gustav

2008-08-30T19:39:00.004-05:00

Wow, what a storm headed to the Gulf of Mexico! This just has destruction written all over it. This has us all concerned about where it's heading. We'll have a better idea tomorrow.

Matagorda Bay Road Trip

2008-08-24T20:30:00.003-05:00

Patti & I went on a road trip North along the coast to Matagorda Bay. It's a small fishin' community that was very nice. We enjoyed the trip and each others company stopping off a few small towns along the way.

Sunday School Class Party

2008-08-13T21:09:00.003-05:00

Patti invited her Sunday school class she teaches over for a swim party on Saturday the 9th of August. She teaches the 16-17 year old youth. These kids are just amazing students. We all had a lot of fun having them over. We hope they also enjoyed the time together swimming, BBQ, Wii games and deck jumping. Later on watching a movie. Very nice to have these great youth over at the house for some fun!

We love the Sisters & Elders

2008-08-11T08:00:00.016-05:00

Elder Pena & Elder Kriztler on the left side of Table. Patti, Jana & Grandson Breyton on the right side of table. It's always a pleasure to have the company of the Elders. We really appreciate the work they do for all of us. Elder Pena is from El Salvador & Elder Kriztler is from Hurricane, Utah. His parents have since move to Washington and will be returning home to new surroundings.

Anyone remember these Sisters & Elders?

Alexander Family Missionaries

2008-08-09T08:00:00.008-05:00

Let me share with you briefly how my Grandfather joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

In Tennessee (1925) some LDS missionaries had stopped by the home of Miss Ora Webb. She was a close friend of the family. She thought that the church was true but her husband wouldn’t let her join. After giving the Book of Mormon to my Grandfather, William McKinley Alexander, he read it and requested to be Baptized. Grandpa worked as a share cropper and soon moved to Southern California to work in the orange groves. A few years later, his wife joined the church and was sealed to her husband and children in the Mesa, Az Temple in 1929. (There were only 4 Temples dedicated at that time. Today there are 124)

William Mckinley Alexander Joined the Church in 1925
Missionaries in family:

Son, Albert Alexander,

Argentina

Grandson, Albert Alexander Jr, Anaheim California (Spanish Mission)
Grandson, John Alexander,

Bolivia

La Paz

Grandson, Steven Alexander, Sidney Australia
Great Granddaughter, Jessie Ann Keller, Washington DC
Great Grandson, Sherman Alexander, Fresno California
Great Grandson, Steve Alexander,

Brazil

Great Grandson, Scott Alexander, West Virginia
Great Grandson, Spencer Alexander,

Philippines

Grandson, Bryan Alexander, Nashville Tennesse
Great Grandson, Travis Alexander, NY NY
Great Grandson, Mike Alexander, Charlotte North Carolina (Just Returned August 8th, 2008) See BLOG

The people in picture are from left to right: Aunt Ora Dee, grandmother Alma Alexander, grandfather William Alexander (holding Uncle Albert), Uncle Nelvice and Dad (Doyle).

Uncle Albert & Aunt Thelma

2008-08-07T08:00:00.002-05:00

I was great to here from Uncle Albert. Albert is our dad's younger brother. Certainly appreciate sharing several photos with us. Recently he sent some old photos of the Alexanders. You can see these on my nieces blog.

I contacted Albert because I was doing some research for a talk I was giving in church and wanted to know how many missionaries our family had sent out since Grandpa's conversion.

I learned that he & Thelma had sent 2 missionaries out to the mission field. Albert Jr went to California Anaheim (Spanish). And John went to Bolivia La Paz mission.

Uncle Albert & Aunt Thelma are pictured with their new grandson.

About 3 years ago as I was returning to church from inactivity I asked many family members what their favorite scripture was through email to help me progress. Uncle Albert replied back with his & Thelma's favorite: Joshua 1:6,7,9

Thank you for your thoughts of sharing at a time that certainly helped me progress.
Dave

Youth Conference 2008

2008-08-04T08:00:00.007-05:00

Steadfast and Immovable
Youth Conference 2008
San Antonio, Texas

Pictures by Candice Collins, San Antonio

Mosiah 5:15
Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works, that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal you his, that you may be brought to heaven, That ye may have everlasting salvation and eternal life, through the wisdom, and power, and justice of him who created all things, in heaven and in earth, who is God above all. Amen.

What a great experience for our youth in both Stakes. Big thanks to all of the volunteers that made this Youth Conference successful. Special thanks to our speakers & workshop instructors! They were all great.

Keynote Speaker: Brother Clark Anderson
Education Workshop: Brother Alan Hansen
Etiquette Workshop: Sister Melissa Jones
Highly Effective Teens Workshop: Sister Patti Alexander, Sister Jana Badger
Fireside Speakers: President & Sister Lundeen
Testimony Meeting Speaker: President Arch Ratliff

LDSjournal.com provided Journals for all the youth. Thank You!
Thanks to all the Youth. Just a tremendous time together.

Happy Birthday Sydnie

2008-08-01T10:58:00.007-05:00

Kennedy and the Mormons

2008-07-13T21:00:00.002-05:00

Fun on the 4th of July

2008-07-12T09:00:00.003-05:00

We enjoyed a very nice day on the 4th with family.

3 Ways to Lower Gas Prices

2008-07-02T14:13:00.001-05:00

Girls Camp, June 2008

2008-06-30T09:42:00.008-05:00

Patti & Caylah enjoyed a week at Girls Camp. Patti gave 2 classes; one to educate young women about proper dating, and the other "making soap" workshop. Here are a few pictures from camp where they had many activities through-out the week.

We're certainly glad that we had an opportunity to send Caylah to Girls Camp. She had a lot of fun and made some lots of new friends.

Thank you for your comments

2008-06-25T09:00:00.005-05:00

This has really been a new experience for me and really appreciate the many phone calls, emails or support comments on this blog. I had one negative comment from someone unknown. This person must not be educated or understand much of our court system. But neither did I.

Our Judges are Elected Officials and are accountable for their actions. We have a duty to stand up for what is easily discerned wrong in our community.

Some emails I received:

Dave, Just read what the Judge said.... That is typical liberal judge. I wonder if he was prejudiced be the FLDS crap that is going on there. Like you said you have done all you can do... This is but a dot in compared to eternity. Also remember you and Patti have our full and everlasting support. Your a great father and Patti is a great mother and the Lord knows it.

______________________

Hi Dave,

I hope your blog does some good by influencing the people who are instrumental in helping that judge acquire the wherewithal to put him in power.

I took a copy of it to share with my tablemates. The woman who has cancer (and is a strong catholic) was the most verbal against this judge's ruling. I also forwarded your blog to my two sisters who have & use their computers. We'll see what they say.

I think it is too bad we have such corruption, and I'm kind of wondering if the judge was mostly against your religion? Did you get a hint of that?

I only hope kayla can cope with her step-dad's drinking and not acquire the habit or something worse. I know this doesn't relieve your mind as you've probably worried about this too. I think telling it like it happened to as many people as possible will help you cope. I applaud you for writing it all down.

______________________

Dave, It is great to hear from you, although I wish the news were happier. I'm so sorry about the judge's ruling. Are you planning to appeal?

______________________

Hate to hear that Dave, Seems like the American Male has been reduced to the status of a sperm donor with a check book. As long as you are an upstanding pillar of the community, ie. steady "TAXABLE" income, morally logical, and can be counted on, you will be footing the bill for those who aren't. Someone has to pay!! Wish you well in your endeavor, Keep your head up,- and remember Misery loves company (Don't fall into the pit!)

______________________

Dave, my heart goes out to you. My nephew and his wife have spent over $100 thousand dollars trying to keep the adopted son that was given to them when he was only a few months old. The mother has children and then sells them to the highest bidder. She has since decided that she wants the child that they have raised for 4 years back. Their is so many twists and turns to this story it has been on the news and in the paper a few times. My nephew and his wife....have been stopped at every turn. Anthonys biological mother has complete disregard for anything or anyone. I could go on for hours about the case but due to the interest of time. My heart goes out to you and your beautiful new wife. Seeing how your children are going to be raised and by whom is the scariest thing ever. I have first hand knowledge of taking over and trying to raise a child with responsibility, spirituality and morality. Their are so many facets to raising a child it is not only to make sure that they are clean and fed. Our society is so out of sinc. The adversary knows exactly what he is doing and we are going to heck in a hen basket. Did not want to say (hell) ooops!!!!! Well take care and keep us updated on what happens okay.

______________________

It does make you wonder what goes through the thoughts of some people, doesn't it.? My opinion is that there may be a severe prejudice against the Mormon religion in particular. However, judges have repeatedly returned children to homes where they have been abused, even sexually, so maybe it's plain ignor-ance of their duties. Also, many judges give the mothers precedence because of past roles in the home. I'm so sorry for that little girl.

______________________

Dave, What a travesty!! Its amazing how in today's world evil is called good and good is called evil. I hope in the long run things can work out for the best with you and your girls.

______________________

Dave & Patti, Sorry to hear about the court stuff, you can’t control others, just yourself – so your kids will figure it out for themselves especially when they see you live a clean and undisfunctional life. You are the best Dave – and you are right, you can only do what you can do, when you do what’s right it will come out right.

_______________________

Dave,

I am responding to your email to Guy Williams who is a candidate for Judge in the 214th District Court. The reason that I asked Guy to let me respond is because I have had some similar experiences in the Nueces County court system.
I read your blog and am saddened by your experience.

I have been divorced since 1996 and endured 3 custody battles over the course of about nine years. My children's father bankrupted me - a single mom. In August of 2005, he was arrested for sexual assault of a child (not my child) after having a 2 year relationship with a teenager (one of my daughter's friends) - which started when she was 15 years old (he was 44). My ex (who only spent 6 months in jail because he was released on a plea agreement) immediately began filing motions to have overnight visits with my teenage children (one girl and one boy). I met Guy Williams in 2006 and when I told him about my case, he immediately jumped in with both feet. I was out of money and desperate to protect my children. Although my ex still owes me thousands of dollars, Guy Williams was able to protect my children from being victimized by their father. Guy has never asked me to pay him a penny for the countless hours he has spent on my case - he did what he did for my children because he cares. He saw my pain and felt compelled to make this situation right. Guy came to my home to meet my children and even took my 16 year old son outside to talk with him and get to know him on a personal level. He wanted to get a feel for what my children really wanted with regard to their relationship with their father - I wanted him to hear it directly from them as well.

As far as family values are concerned, Guy Williams will always stand up for what is right - I have seen him in action. I became a part of Guy's campaign team because I feel so grateful for what he has done for the protection of my children. My children also go door-to-door for Guy in an effort to get him elected as judge and to show their appreciation for what he has done for them. They affectionately refer to him as "my attorney".

When no one else noticed what was happening in the courts, when no one else cared about what really mattered - the well being of my 2 precious children, when others only marked what happened in court with pen, paper and a rubber stamp, ignoring the feelings and faces of the children who are the true victims, Guy Williams stood up for the welfare of my family. Guy Williams took a stand for the core values of my family. Guy Williams protected my children and for that I am forever grateful to him.

I hope that this email erases any questions about Guy Williams and his desire to promote family values and protect the moral character of the children in the community. My experience with Guy has been a great impact in the lives of my children and myself. Guy Williams is a candidate for judge, but first and foremost he is a great person of high moral character and I feel honored to have the privilege of calling him my friend.

I apologize for the length of this email, but it is hard to sum up in just a few words, the tremendous amount of respect that I have for Guy Williams.

______________________

Well I read your latest entries and all I can say is that your faith will make sure everything works out for you and your family. I had to work very hard to get custody of Louis and Joey and I finally did back in Aug of 2000. They have been with me since then and they are really great guys now. Just remember that these liberal judges have no common sense and they would just as soon ruin our “Families” then to do the right thing. It gives them more people to keep in the system and to control. Eventually things will change for the decent men who want to take care of their families.

______________________

Judge Slams the Alexanders!

2008-06-19T20:20:00.009-05:00

(June 18th, 2008) Yesterday in court Judge Manual Banales threw us out of court. Shot me in the kneecaps & then cut my legs off. He could have just run me down since he has practice at it.

No Kidding, here a recent headline just a couple of weeks ago:
Judge's car slams into transportation worker

Many of you know that I was seeking custody of my children because Caylah wanted to live with me. Also there were several visitation violations concerning my oldest daughter.

This court made a MOCKERY of my faith. Calling me a religious zealot. All because I go to church each week and require my children to attend with us. Mr. Frank Garza & Judge Banales enjoyed making comments about my religion.

I reminded the court that my court ordered decree states that I have the right to give my children moral and religious direction.

I was challenged by Frank Garza (Diana's Attorney) about taking the children to church. I simply told him it was my right as a parent to do so.

By contrast Judge Banales did not allow testimony or consider evidence of Paul, My Ex's choice for husband.

Paul owes his ex-wife in Canada over $35,000 in back child support. Certainly has no care for his own kids welfare.
Paul came to our country illegally. Only claiming to have filed recently for residency.
Paul didn't finish drug rehab in Canada.
Admitted Alcoholic. (My daughter told me that they have given them vodka. Smirnoff to be exact.)
Is driving without a drivers license. His Canadian drivers license is suspended.
His physical education teachers license is suspended in Canada.
Paul doesn't pay taxes on any income he earns. He work under the table (Cash Only) has no bank accounts in his name, has no possessions of any kind in his name. This keeps his ex-wife from attaching his pay checks. Avoids his responsibilities.
Known to leave suicide notes.
Clinically diagnosed with manic depression.

Judge Banales wanted to know what the relevance of all the above was? (Man, did this guy hit his head a little to hard in his car accident?)

This is the role model in the household my children live in. This court allowed Diana & Paul to make me out as a religious fanatic that makes his children go to church.

This is what is wrong in our courts today. The "Adversary" knows how to attack the family unit and cause more contention. Courts no longer are concerned about the best interest of the children.

Judge Manaul Banales basically gave Diana a free pass at ignoring the court ordered decree.

It's ok to not allow visitation.
It's ok to make fun of one's faith.
It's ok to disobey authority figure.
It's ok to engage in immoral behavior.
It's ok to not live by the laws of the land. In fact, you get rewarded.

What Judge Banales did was make me an insignificant person in my children's lives and rewarded Diana & Paul with a free pass to whatever they choose in raising my children.

I will move on knowing that I have done everything within my power to provide the very best for my children. I will always continue to do so... realizing my limited influence.

Mr Frank Garza & Judge Manual Banales certainly didn't serve there own faith very well this day. We all lose in our community when we make decisions against the family unit. I'm saddened by their conduct in allowing this to happen.

Answer to Soaring Gas Prices

2008-06-10T15:10:00.006-05:00

I just have to sound off on the price of gas. This is just ridiculous that the price of fuel has gone up as much as it has this year. Our County needs to make a stand an pursue alternative fuel opportunities to reduce demand for fossil fuel. There are lots of companies that are making great strides in this.

I found a company called Hybrid Technologies That has made such strides and are producing automobiles powered on lithium batteries. Check-out what these cars can do!

Speed: 75+ mph
Acceleration: 0-60 mph in 12 seconds
Range: Up to 120 miles
Charge Time: 6-8 hours (220-240 VAC) for full charge
Cycle Life: 1500+ full charges
LCD Touch Screen: Vehicle operations monitor - miles remaining, power consumption, each cell's level of charge, battery temperature, drive time, distance traveled, and average speed.
Cost to charge these batteries up is estimated at about $2.80. That's a huge savings in your pocket book.

You still have to consider the price of these vehicles today compared to gas powered. However, the technology is there today to benefit each of us. Imagine going from 0-60mph in 12 seconds? That's just too cool!

Mass produce these cars and thats a REAL Dent in gasoline consumption.

You can also find a few great links on how you can save on gas in your area today!

Post Birthday Party

2008-06-02T18:34:00.003-05:00

The Tennis Match is On!

Wow, what a birthday party! we all are exhausted from the fun activities of the weekend. Here it is a lazy Sunday afternoon too pooped to clean-up. So we just played balloon tennis in the front room.

Caylah's 13th Birthday

2008-06-02T16:36:00.005-05:00

Happy Birthday!
Girls had a great time celebrating Caylah's Birthday with us. Everyone enjoyed swimming, hamburgers and hot dogs and opening gifts.
A really big thank you to Caylah's friends for visiting her on her special day.

Outdoor Kitchen Duty.....

The Mullet

2008-06-02T16:23:00.002-05:00

Caylah & Sam caught a few Mullet on the back dock scooping them up with a net! Sweet, I'm going to need there help when I go fishin to catch my bait!

Party Prep for Caylah

2008-05-30T18:43:00.002-05:00

Caylah & I getting ready for her 13th Birthday party. I can't believe how fast she's growing. So we had a little fun while blowing up balloons!

OK, It looked like a lot of fun so Caylah talked me in to it!

Wait till Saturday comes around when the fun really begins. I'm Worried!!!

Cake & Razz

2008-05-28T19:04:00.002-05:00

Lazy afternoon hanging out with the puppy, Razz. Razz just got back from the cleaners.

Hanging Out With Friends

2008-05-28T18:53:00.005-05:00

Top Picture is Caylah & Kristin. Next Picture is Caylah & Sam. Both friends of Caylah's that enjoyed a sleep over at the Alexander's. They just had a great time swimming & Kayaking.

Happy Mothers Day

2008-05-12T10:49:00.003-05:00

Bob, Warren and my Wife Patti got this outdoor swing for their mother. After a nice dinner Patti & I put the swing together for we hope many more years of use. We finished the day off with a Seafood BBQ.

Patti & I grilled up some trout & redfish we had caught earlier and it was delicious! Her mother, Marie, brought a friend, Pat, over for a very nice afternoon-evening & BBQ.

Hope y'all had a great Mother's Day.

Mothers Day Weekend

2008-05-12T10:43:00.003-05:00

Thursday, Caylah made the "Best Spaghetti Dinner Ever" for Patti for Mothers Day. I have to tell you that it was GREAT. The food channel is Caylah's favorite program to watch. She's a lot of fun to watch in the kitchen.

Razz Goes for a Swim

2008-05-01T20:43:00.004-05:00

Razz (Our Puppy) got a little more than she bargained for when she barked at us while swimming... She got to come swimming with us! Razz does not like to be in the water.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2008-05-01T20:23:00.003-05:00

Chocolate Chip Cookies are for desert.... I think I see a little cookie dough on Caylah's lip?

Caylah's Frog

2008-05-01T20:18:00.003-05:00

Caylah keeps finding these frogs in our backyard in our ski boat. Some how she's able to make friends with these frogs and there willing to sit on her hand. I think she's found about three frogs now.

JustGoFishin.com

2008-04-11T08:15:00.006-05:00

Were just about ready! JustGoFishin.com was created to provide a Search Engine & Directory for the Texas Coastal Bend Fishin industry. We started our marketing online this week, and as of today April 11th, we have received over 5,000 new visitors since Tuesday the 8th. Were building up to about 5,000 new visitors per day so that our sponsors & subscribers can enjoy the benefits of getting there business found on the web.

Our goal is for JustGoFishin.com to become the premier online resource for fishin here in the Texas Coastal Bend.

Our current target is to establish our sponsors for banner ads & listings. Our unique approach to our launch offers our sponsors incredible value in marketing their company. Here are some of the value added items to our first 25 sponsors:

When sponsors join our fishin community their getting noticed! Since we are already getting traffic to our site through-out the U.S. Soon we'll be launching a world wide online campaign.
New sponsors get 2 sponsor banner placement in different categories that link back to there web site for an entire YEAR!
New sponsors get an entry listing in our search engine & directory. Key words that target there company for our key word search feature. Also in our directory they get their company title with short description linking back to their company web site for an entire YEAR!
We're printing 500 sponsor t-shirts. Our sponsor's company logo's will appear on this t-shirt. (This will only be a once a year event.)

The first 25 sponsors will get a tremendous discount as we build our database of experts on fishin in the Texas Coastal Bend.

Email dave@justgofishin.com with any questions you may have.

Which fish is best for grillin?

2008-04-09T17:03:00.000-05:00

Thanks for taking our survey on which is the best fish for grillin? Speckled Sea Trout, Red Fish, or Black Drum. All three are great for grillin. However, Red Fish is the fish of choice for tast in my book. I'll eat all three species with Blacked/Cajun powder & butter and wrapped in tin foil to hold juices in while cooking. Hmmm, Hmmm, Hmmm.

Here's a recipe we received from Patti's brother, Warren:

Red Fish

Ingredients
1 Tsp. white pepper
1 Tsp. black pepper
3/4 Tsp. Dried Thyme Leaves
1/2 Tsp. Dried Oregano Leaves
1 1/4 Tbs. Paprika
2 3/4 Tsp. Salt
1 1/4 Tsp. Onion Powder
1 1/4 Tsp. Ground Cayenne Pepper
3 Sticks of Butter, melted in skillet
6 (6-10 oz) Red fish fillets, cut cut about 1/2 inch thick.
Preparation
Heat a large cast iron skillet over high heat (about 10 mins),
until you see white ash in bottom of skillet.
In a small bowl, thoroughly combine seasoning mix ingredients.
Dip each fillet in melted butter so that both sides are well coated;
then generously sprinkle seasoning mix evenly over both sides of
fillets, pressing it in by hand.
Place in hot skillet & poor 1 Tbs. melted butter over the fillet.
Cook uncovered, in hot skillet for about 2 minutes, or until the fillet looks
charred on the bottom (time will vary according to thickness of fillet).
Turn fillet over and repeat above instructions.
Continue with remaining fillets. Serve fillets while still piping hot.
To serve, place each fillet on a heated plate with a side of melted butter.

Patti & Dave at the Cut

2008-03-27T19:12:00.000-05:00

Patti & I with Raz our puppy, enjoyed today going down to the Land Cut. It was a very beautiful day but windy. Fishing was slow at first until we found the spot. We pulled in these nice Speckled Sea Trout the last hour an half before coming home. Really enjoyed a nice day together!

Lake Corpus Christi

2008-03-23T20:22:00.001-05:00

Easter weekend we went to Lake Corpus Christi for our ward camp out. Everyone seemed to have a great time. Friday night (March 21st) everyone stayed up late while the youth hung out in different tents telling stories. Caylah & I got to bed about 12:30am Saturday morning. About 2:00am Caylah wakes me up in a very worried voice that she hears something in our camp munching on something. I think its a javelina outside. She said, "Dad... Don't go to sleep you might SNORE had bring the Pig over to our tent". (In other words my snoring sounded like a PIG). Anyway... I looked out the window of tent and saw a big Javelina eating some marshmallows out of bag. Then the Pig went over to bench and started in on the Fritos. That's where I drew the line. I got out of tent and scared him off. I wished I'd caught that on tape.

Johnny Finns, Lake Travis, TX

2008-03-23T20:05:00.000-05:00

Patti, Caylah & I enjoying a dinner on the dock of "Johnny Finns" at Lake Travis in Austin, Texas. After dinner we just enjoyed the sunset while feeding the fish & ducks. The Catfish were huge and fun to feed.

The Big Match Up

2008-03-08T15:02:00.001-06:00

The time has come for The Big Match Up! Cake and here team mates are getting ready to swim in the 100 meter Free Style Relay. Cake is up first in lane 5.

As she dives into the water making every stroke count... She's shaking then she's baking slicing through the water like a graceful dolphin have fun while competing. Shake a Bake a Cake all the way to tag her teammate.

YES! YES! YES! They slam home with a 2nd place finish! That was awesome. They were swimmin like no tomorrow. Once again the warm-up makes a big difference.

The Warm Up

2008-03-08T14:38:00.000-06:00

Here it is Saturday Morning in a middle school key swimmin meet. Cake (Caylah) was recruited by Coach Bob of the Flour Bluff Hornets because she shows a great developing talent. Cake has been preparing to get deeply focused and concentrate on achieving her goals and objectives; To beat the other kids in a strategic mid year swim off! I've uploaded a clip so that you can see just what it takes to get ready before a swim meet. (Please don't share this with other swimmers... we don't want them to learn Cakes technique.)

Another interesting note that shouldn't be overlooked in a warm-up. Notice the Large pull over sweat shirt with a hoodie. Thanks to Uncle Steve & Aunt Susan Cake is READY with great equipment to maximize her results at the swimmin meet!

Sandy Day

2008-03-07T17:53:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we had a few hours on the Beach! Caylah (Cake). As you can see we covered up Cake and had some fun on the beach.

Fishin with the CES Team

2008-02-28T21:29:00.000-06:00

Had the pleasure of going fishin with our CES Directors. David (Middle) was down from Dallas traveling with Mike (Right). We had a fun day at the Land Cut. Pulled in some nice Red fish, Drum, and Speckled Trout.

Mike is a great friend who lives here in Corpus Christi. It was a real pleasure to meet David. We had a great time on the water.

CES stands for Church Education System. They teach Gospel Doctrine for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to young adults from 18 to 30 years old & 31 and older.

Steve's Red Fish

2008-02-28T21:19:00.001-06:00

My Older Brother visiting from Grand Junction CO, caught this 23" Red fish on a trip to the Land Cut. Weather was windy and cold but that didn't stop Steve from landing his catch. We had this one for dinner recently and it was delicious!

My wife Patti Dressed it with a Blacken/Cajun powder and 10-15 minutes on the Grill and it was awesome.

Fishin at the Land Cut 2

2008-02-28T21:14:00.001-06:00

Just after Christmas we took the boys down to the Land Cut and came back with these nice Drum and Speckled Trout.

It was really great having our family here this year. David (Left) came all the way from Bronx, NY where he's studying to be a Doctor. John (Right) came down from Provo, UT where he's studying to become an Airline Pilot. Currently a flight instructor.

Fishin at The Land Cut

2008-02-28T21:08:00.000-06:00

Curtis, Josh and I went down to the Land Cut in the lower Laguna Madre and caught some nice Speckled Trout, Drum and Red fish.

These are some great friends that live here on Padre Island. Curtis (Right) is an environmental engineer and Josh (Middle) is a police officer.

It seemed as the minute we anchored up in the Land Cut we were getting hits and catches like crazy! We would have limited out easily if we stayed all day.