Opening Day 2009

Pregame Festivities

Balloons Released Around Noon


Rosters and Alumni


The Biggest Flag Ever


President Bush (43), Nolan Ryan, and owner Tom Hicks on the mound


View During the Game



My Dad and I During the 7th Inning Stretch



Thoughts from the Game

• If traffic was that bad for a Rangers game, I do not want to be out there within a week of a Cowboys game
• Ian Kinsler is hitting the ball very well. Everything was solid contact
• Michael Young is a very good defensive 3rd baseman
• Josh Hamilton has not found his groove yet, but his Willie Mays catch in center was great
• Nelson Cruz looked off on every play in right field, not a good sign
• Hank's Homies should be excited, he seems motivated this year
• Marlon Byrd continues to be too productive to ignore
• Chris Davis looked silly at the plate
• Salty showed why his bat earned the starting job
• Andrus was nimble and efficient, exactly what we want
• Millwood was fooling hitter all day, lots of sky high pop ups
• Grady Sizemore is fast... beat out a for sure double play by making it to 2nd
• Nothing like a packed house to fire up the troops
• Note to the home crowd, our pitchers throw worse when you get rowdy
• Opening Day is much better than Monday at the Office

Ice Cream Festival

Now that is what I call advertising. There is no way that you could ever pass that up. And my family certainly did not consider letting this gem slip by. Kimberlee, my dad, my mom, and our dog Mollee made the 1 1/2 hour trek to Sulphur Springs and Hopkins County Dairy Festival. This was certainly not limited to the ice cream, but that is the highlight for us.

They always have a Corvette show at the festival. The dairy theme shines through though...


The interior of this 1960 white Corvette was amazing. They don't make cars like that anymore.


They also have a contest to determine the festival queen every year. This for some reason involves a milking contest. This consists of both the contestant and her parents milking for 2 minutes apiece to determine a winner.


Of course, we came here for the main event, which of course is the ice cream.


I personally tried 7 flavors of ice cream in the following order. Honey, Chocolate Chip, Caramel Peanut Butter, Chocolate, Peanut Butter Cup, Vanilla, and Butter Pecan. #41 - Caramel Peanut Butter was by far my favorite. My mom preferred the Peanut Butter Cup. Kimberlee preferred Peach. My dad claims that he preferred Blackberry, although he only ate 2 cups compared to 3 of Peach.


Mollee attempted to steal the show today by grabbing the attention of every kid out there. This little guy apparently liked her so much that he kissed her on the mouth.


This was our 2nd year to attend the festival and we definitely plan on attending a 3rd. This is a first rate family weekend excursion that is extremely affordable.

An Alternative Choice

This week has been a hard week for Dallas. Our Cowboys, who we hoped in the summer would make the playoffs, did not win the Super Bowl. In fact, they didn't even win a single playoff game. For most of my life, football has been 3rd on list of sports to follow. For professional teams it always was ordered Texas Rangers, Dallas Mavericks, and then the Dallas Cowboys. The Dallas Stars made a brief run up the charts in 99 and 2000, but that was short lived. This year I got caught up in Cowboys mania and they hopped over the disappointing Mavericks. Now though, they are back down to their normal third.

I say all of that to set up the fact that I did not watch the playoff game last Sunday. In fact, I didn't listen to much of it. Now most of the city was enthralled with the game. I was in fact curious. However, it was the weekend and my wife was craving my attention. This is a dilemma for men everywhere, and one that I think we too often choose incorrectly. I decided for one day, to give up my sports and spend time with her. I could have done this bitterly and with many snide comments, but I think I kept them to a minimum. Our afternoon involved the oh so exciting grocery shopping and other errands. In between shops I caught snippets of the game. While we were driving to get some chips and salsa for dinner, I decided to turn off the radio for a bit and just drive. We drove in silence for probably 10 minutes holding hands and it was pleasant to say the least. When I got to the restaurant and the nostril-clearing salsa, I saw on the television that the Cowboys were about to throw away the game in the 4th quarter. On my way back to the car I had an epiphany that I was so glad that I had not stressed about the game, but rather enjoyed so much just sitting in silence with her. Coincidentally, the next morning I flipped to I John and read chapter 2 verses 15-17

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

I think for once I chose the right thing, and I am really happy that it was the Cowboys and not the Rangers in the playoffs. I needed a warm up round.