September 28, 2008
Fun With Scott at Longhorn vs. Arkansas Game
With Deb and the girls at the Austin Tennis Academy getting ready for the annual scholarship shootout, Scott and I headed to the Longhorn game. The traffic was crazy with the Austin City Limit (ACL) music festival going on, so we weren't able to hookup with Pat and Donna for their pre-game tailgate, but did see them at the game.
Instead we headed to the Goal Post tailgate. The had a stage set up with RockBand. Scott's eyes lit up when he saw he had a chance to jam before a live tailgate audience. Here he is with other kids in a surprisingly good rendition of Mountain's Mississippi Queen:
The game itself was a yawner with Texas pile-driving Arkansas. It's a strange season so far... three home games all won by identical scores of 52-10. Here's a quick video of some scores on our side of the field:
Scott and I caught up with Deb and the girls after the game at the shootout. Deb organized a fantastic event that help raise funds for their players on scholarship.
Posted by Jim at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments ()
September 27, 2008
Claire Wins Open / Meg's Band Performs at Game
Claire entered and won last week's Spenco Open here in Austin, competing in the Girls 18 bracket. Kate also competed and work on shaking off the cobwebs in her game after a long time off healing from the stress fracture. Here's the Austin Tennis Academy news account.
Also, the girls are at the big scholarship shootout function today and tomorrow and will report back to you the total sum raised by your generous contributions along with all the matching funds that were added to the total of all contributions raised.
Last night at the Lake Travis / Killeen game, Meg's middle school band performed along with the other middle school and Lake Travis High School band before the game. Can you spot her?
Also, future Longhorn QB, Garrett Gilbert has a pretty good night, although he did not have to throw much since Killeen could not stop the Lake Travis running attack. Lake Travis won easily, 50-9. He's a few Gilbert highlights:
Now, Scott and I are headed to the Longhorn game today... Hook 'em!
Posted by Jim at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments ()
September 13, 2008
Playing With Flip Video Camera at Lake Travis Football Game
We have some Flip Video cameras for an upcoming customer event. I tried one of them out by taking it to the Lake Travis football game last night. They are the top ranked team in the area even though they are a 4A school. They played the 4th-ranked 5A power Cedar Park.
Lake Travis won 35-21. Here's a YouTube highlight real of the Lake Travis offense, powered by future Texas Longhorn quarterback, Garrett Gilbert. The quality of the video is not too great. I discovered what went wrong and hopefully future ones will be a little better.
Posted by Jim at 1:25 PM | Permalink | Comments ()
September 5, 2008
Thanks for Supporting Kate and Claire's Efforts!
I wanted to thank everyone who has supported Kate and Claire's efforts so far in their fund raising efforts. If you haven't yet, I wanted to give a little more background to this effort.
A Glimmer of Hope is inextricably tied to the Austin Tennis Academy. Their founders, Donna and Philip Berber supported the start up of the ATA with investment capital and with their children who've attended over the years. Coach Jack Newman, has pledged to raise a million dollars in donations over twenty years. This is part of the mission of the Austin Tennis Academy and part of the mission to develop life skills in those who attend.
Check out some of the photos I've uploaded on some wells already drilled in prior years.
100% of your donations will go to school construction or to new water wells since the Foundation established by Philip and Donna Berber cover all of their operational expenses.
Thanks again for your support!
Posted by Jim at 6:53 PM | Permalink | Comments ()
August 23, 2008
Play Tennis. Save Lives.
As many of you know, our family is quite involved with the Austin Tennis Academy. Part of the mission of the Austin Tennis Academy is to help junior tennis players reach their full potential as tennis players and human beings. It is the goal of the Austin Tennis Academy to develop citizens of significance, not only of success.
As part of this mission, here's a letter that Claire and Kate have been sending to family and friends:
Kate and I are currently involved in a charity project raising money for A Glimmer Of Hope, an organization which helps provide water and other necessities to areas in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, and one of our tennis academies major sponsors. A Glimmer of Hope also does work in London as well as locally in Austin helping underprivileged kids. The Austin Tennis Academy, which you all know Kate and I spend most of our life at, has a goal of $150,000 for this year which will provide a school with 2 classroom buildings, a health post, and 8 water wells in Ethiopia. This project will benefit 3600 people from the health post, 560 primary school students, and 4710 beneficiaries of clean water.
The project was started by one of our teammates Josh Hagar who is only 13 years old. It is called Playing for Glimmer. Last year we were able to raise $40,000 and through this and other donations the Austin Tennis Academy has already built 28 operational wells, but have set our goal much higher for this year. The way it works is sort of like a Bike-a-thon, we are asking for donations per game that we play in a tournament with a maximum of 100 games. For example if you were to donate $1 per game that would be a pledge of $100. To try are reach our goal of $150,000 the academy students are split into 10 groups of 10 players each player trying to raise $1000. (A private donor promised a $50,000 matching donation which is how we plan to reach $150,000) Kate and I are team leaders of each of our groups and we have set our goal at $1000 each.
Any little bit helps us reach our goal to help provide a better life for children less fortunate than we are.
And remember, your donations are tax deductible.
For more on this project, check out this Youtube video:
Leave a comment or send me an email if you want to contribute to this cause.
Play Tennis. Save Lives.
Update: I didn't realize until this past weekend, that 100% of donations go to the intended recipients in Ethiopia. All operating expenses are paid by by the founders of A Glimmer of Hope though an endowment they've established.
Posted by Jim at 2:19 PM | Permalink | Comments ()
August 4, 2008
Claire Qualifies for USTA National Championships
Just a couple days ago we got the word that Claire qualified for the USTA National Championships. For the 16s girls, it is being held in San Diego. Deb flew out with her bright and early this morning.
Here's her path in the main draw in a field of 256:
Cheer real loud and I'll update this post as I hear results!
Update and bump: Claire just finished her first singles match. Deb said she played and the scores don't reflect Claire's high level of play, 6-2, 6-1. She'll now be competing in the back draw. Go Claire!
Update 2: Deb found out Claire's first opponent reached the quarterfinals of clay court nationals. Today she played well but fell 6-2, 6-2. Welcome to a new latter to climb! Deb also mentioned that 2 two division 1 coaches watched some of the match. Claire was showing off a very strong serve.
Posted by Jim at 12:52 PM | Permalink | Comments ()
Claire Qualifies for USTA National Championships
Just a couple days ago we got the word that Claire qualified for the USTA National Championships. For the 16s girls, it is being held in San Diego. Deb flew out with her bright and early this morning.
Here's her path in the main draw in a field of 256:
Cheer real loud and I'll update this post as I hear results!
Update and bump: Claire just finished her first singles match. Deb said she played and the scores don't reflect Claire's high level of play, 6-2, 6-1. She'll now be competing in the back draw. Go Claire!
Update 2: Deb found out Claire's first opponent reached the quarterfinals of clay court nationals. Today she played well but fell 6-2, 6-2. Welcome to a new latter to climb! Deb also mentioned that 2 two division 1 coaches watched some of the match. Claire was showing off a very strong serve.
Posted by Jim at 12:52 PM | Permalink | Comments ()
August 3, 2008
Front Yard Camping Action
With Claire and Deb in San Diego, Scott and I decided to do some front yard camping. We pitched a tent in the front yard in the grass field, one of the few areas with any soil to drive the tent stakes into.
Here's Scott enjoying the fruits of his labor with a cold Dr. Pepper in hand:
At Camp Longhorn, Scott learned how to make a Dakota Hole, where you dig two holes and connect them with a tunnel. This provides oxygen to the hole with the fire through the other hole and tunnel. Here's Scott and the finished Dakota Hole:
First order of business, cooking the burgers:
After dinner, it was time to get some coals going for the s'mores. We found some Like Oak branches, and built up the camp fire:
At last, time to enjoy the s'mores:
Posted by Jim at 4:43 PM | Permalink | Comments ()
June 2, 2008
Huge Results at Spenco Open in Austin
It was truly a treat to watch both Claire and Kate playing in the finals of the Spenco Open this past weekend in Austin.
Kate was playing her first tournament in over a month. After shaking off a rusty start and dropping her first match, she advanced in the consolation bracket to the finals. Although she did not prevail in the finals, these competitive matches definitely help get her back as she prepares for the big Summer Grand Slam (a.k.a. Sectionals) tournament next weekend in College Station.
Claire had perhaps her best tournament to date. She and her partner, Brooke, won the doubles title. In singles, Claire won each round convincingly and lost only six games in four matches. Here's a picture of Claire with more hardware for her collection:
Congratulations and good luck in your preparations for Sectionals!
Posted by Jim at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments ()
June 1, 2008
Lake House Fun Over Memorial Day Weekend
We had a great time over Memorial Day weekend at Tommy & Julie's Lake LBJ lake house. Unfortunately Kate was recuperating from having her wisdom teeth removed so you won't see her in any of these pictures.
Posted by Jim at 8:18 AM | Permalink | Comments ()
Tuscany or Texas?
The sunflowers have made their grand entrance to our front yard. It takes us back to the fields of sunflowers Deb and I saw when we were in Tuscany a few years ago. Perhaps it's time to get the Sangiovese grapes planted to get the Chianti wine production going...
Posted by Jim at 7:54 AM | Permalink | Comments ()
May 31, 2008
Opposite Ends of the Musical Spectrum
I thought I'd share two musical performances which could possibly be at the opposite ends of the musical spectrum.
The first is a performance by Meg and the Hudson Bend Middle School Symphonic band at their spring concert earlier this week.
Part 1:
Part 2:
The second is a performance by Meg and Scott playing the song Helicopter on Guitar Hero 3. But, they raised the degree of difficulty by performing it watching the TV upside down... such talent!
Posted by Jim at 9:20 AM | Permalink | Comments ()
April 6, 2008
A Tour of the Yard
Here's a slideshow of pictures of the wildflowers taken today in our yard:
Posted by Jim at 7:25 PM | Permalink | Comments ()
April 5, 2008
Added new Comment Spam filter
I know adding comments to this blog has been tough. I've added a new comment challenge called reCaptcha. It looks like this:
If the words are too difficult to read, hit the top refresh button on the three-stacked buttons to the right.
If you correctly get the two words, your comment will be published immediately. I'll have to see if the bad guys can get through.
Also, you're doing something productive:
...reCAPTCHA improves the process of digitizing books by sending words that cannot be read by computers to the Web in the form of CAPTCHAs for humans to decipher. More specifically, each word that cannot be read correctly by OCR is placed on an image and used as a CAPTCHA.
So comment away and help in the process of digitizing the world's knowledge.
Update: I scrapped CAPTCHA and am now using the Disqus commenting system. Let's see how that works!
Posted by Jim at 1:33 PM | Permalink | Comments ()
It's Great Sharing Austin!
It was great hosting Pat's triumphant return to Austin last weekend with a party and UT Football scrimmage and Suzy, Colleen and Megan this weekend on their whirlwind trip to see the Destination Imagination finals here in Austin (how's this for an extremely long run-on sentence!!!)
For those less fortunate souls not coming to visit in this Spring wildflower season, here's what you're missing from our front yard:
And of course, the fog over Lake Austin taken about a week ago is also a sight to see:
Happy Spring!
Posted by Jim at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments ()
April 2, 2008
Scott Rips Reptilia on Guitar Hero
Without further adieu, here's Scott!
Can Through the Fire and Flames be far behind?
Posted by Jim at 6:19 PM | Permalink | Comments ()
March 28, 2008
Email Going around the Lake Travis School District this Week
Meg was recognized this week for her outstanding performance at a MathCounts competition. Here's a picture of a snippet of the email which went out around the Lake Travis School District this week:
Congratulations, Meg!
Posted by Jim at 12:47 PM | Permalink | Comments ()
March 9, 2008
Fun with Mentos
We've heard about it and seen the videos out on You Tube. It was time for Scott, Deb and I to see the Mentos reaction in action. Armed with our Mentos and two three-liter bottles of Dr. Pepper we took to the front yard to see it in action.
Enjoy!
Posted by Jim at 1:32 PM | Permalink | Comments ()
Sweet 16 Brunch
To celebrate Kate and Claire's recent 16th birthday, Deb and I took them down to the Four Season's on Town Lake for a Sunday brunch a few weeks ago.
The food was fabulous as was the great time we had sharing this beautiful day. Here's a few pictures:
And the girls were kind enough to photograph Deb and me on dock beside the lake with the Congress Avenue bridge (home to the world's largest urban bat colony) in the background:
Posted by Jim at 12:17 PM | Permalink | Comments ()
January 13, 2008
A Day Around Bangkok
It does appear that this blog is turning into a travel log... today's stop on the global tour is Bangkok. I arrived in the wee hours, 1 a.m. local Bangkok time on Sunday morning. After a few hours sleep I headed out Sunday morning to see some of the sites of Bangkok. I was a day ahead of most the other folks coming from Austin, so I flew solo.
First stop was the Grand Palace and Buddhist temple Wat Pho.
Here's the "reclining Bhudda" from Wat Pho:
In the same area, the ministry of defense looked well fortified with cannons:
The markets were filled with the smell of Thai spices, outdoor cooking, and orange-robed Bhuddist monks taking a walk about. Here's a few pictures:
The Chao Phraya river flows right through the heart of the city. Here's a few from my hotel, the Shangri-la, from the restaurant deck:
Now that it's Monday, it's time to switch gears and get some work done!
Posted by Jim at 6:54 PM | Permalink | Comments ()
January 5, 2008
Time for a Parade
With the kids back in school this week, it was time to celebrate the Lake Travis 4A state football championship. I took Claire and Scott over to the Hill Country Galleria where a parade was put together to honor the accomplishment of the team.
It was perfect parade weather--beautiful blue-sky with temperatures in the 70s.
Here's a video of some clips and pictures strung together from the parade:
And here's Scott and Claire with KISS FM radio personality, Lunchbox, after the parade:
Posted by Jim at 8:40 PM | Permalink | Comments ()
December 23, 2007
Lake Travis HS 4A State Football Champions
Yesterday Claire, Kate, Scott and I headed to Waco to see the state 4A Division II state final between the Lake Travis football team and Dallas' Highland Park high school. The game was played at Baylor University's Floyd Casey Stadium.
The wind was howling 30-40 MPH which made for difficult playing conditions and difficulty in trying to stay warm. But like the football team, we persevered and watched a classic. Lake Travis prevailed 36-34 in a game filled with big plays. This video captures the final play and the fans, led by Kate and Claire, storming on the field.
Scoreboard!
Posted by Jim at 2:01 PM | Permalink | Comments ()
December 15, 2007
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Meg's Hudson Bend Middle School Symphonic Band performed earlier this week.
Here's a rough capture of the band performing, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.
Merry Christmas to all!
Posted by Jim at 10:18 AM | Permalink | Comments ()
November 20, 2007
A Day Around Rome
I recently had the chance to go to Rome for a sales meeting with our Europe, Middle East and African sales force. My flight landed Sunday morning so I had one "power day" to see Rome. I hooked up with a group of marketing folks and we set out about the historic areas of the city.
Since it was Sunday, we went over to the Vatican where we had a chance to see Pope Benedict address the crowd in St. Peter's Square. Here's a brief snippet of his address in English that I caught with the digital camera:
Here's a photo looking up from the square and the crowds below:
Some of the other sites we saw included the Pantheon:
and Trevi Fountain:
and the Victor Emmanuel II monument:
After the long flight without a whole lot of sleep I ran out of steam before I could see and get pictures of the the Roman Colosseum.
Overall it was a great meeting and sales folks are fired up to keep pounding the bad guys.
Ciao!
Posted by Jim at 2:32 PM | Permalink | Comments ()
October 28, 2007
Fall Saturdays in Austin, Texas
The fall is a great time of year, especially when we get the first cool wave from the North. It means that a chilly morning will produce a layer of fog over Lake Austin and Lake Travis.
Here's a look at a burnt orange sunrise with the fog over the lakes:
It also sometimes means a home game for the Longhorns which this particular Saturday was. In this case, we had Nebraska coming in to Austin.
Deb was with the girls at a Saturday tennis workout, so Scott and I headed down to the game. We started by hitting the Goal Post Club tailgate party where Scott took advantage of the moon bouncer:
The Horns were rather lethargic for three quarters of the game but finally came alive in the fourth quarter, with Jamaal Charles putting on a show with three touchdowns and over 200 yards of rushing in the fourth quarter alone.
It was Mack Brown's 100th win as coach of the Longhorns, which we celebrated after escaping with a victory that should have been easier.
Scott kept his string alive in only witnessing victories when he goes to games. We'll need him for K-State next time!
Posted by Jim at 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments ()
October 27, 2007
Friday Night Lights Pregame Entertainment
On Friday night, we took in another Lake Travis High School football game. All of the middle schools had a chance to participate with the Lake Travis HS band and play for the crowd during the pregame festivities.
Meg had a chance to get a field-level view of what it's like to play before a big Lake Travis crowd.
Here she is in her first big show biz break:
Oh yes, the game was exciting too! Lake Travis jumped out to a quick 24-0 lead by early second quarter and it appeared it would be yet another blowout. Connally fought back in a major way in the second half, yet LT ultimately prevailed 31-28.
It's great seeing a winning program, something that I did not get to enjoy in my high school days!
Posted by Jim at 10:33 AM | Permalink | Comments ()
October 14, 2007
Friday Night Lights
We're in that swing of catching occasional Lake Travis High School football games. This week was homecoming week against Lampasas. Lake Travis crushed them, scoring 28 first quarter points. The whole family went with Kate and Claire meeting up with their friends, Meg with her friends, and Deb and me watching and meeting some of families we know through the Austin Tennis Academy.
The big news was that Scott asked one of the girls at his school out to the game. Actually, it was to meet at the stadium. Some of the players on his football team also asked girls to the game. His "date" showed up a little late. I whispered in his ear that he'll have to learn to get used to this!
For the first half, they hung out in the end zone area behind one of the goal posts with all the other kids their age. She, her mom and her sister were ready to leave and took off at half time.
No worries though--his football buddies were there and Scott even caught an extra point on one of the numerous Lake Travis touchdowns.
I asked Scott to sum up the evening to which he replied, "Good." There you have it!
Posted by Jim at 10:36 AM | Permalink | Comments ()
October 10, 2007
Working on the Chain Gang
"That's the sound of men working on the chain gan -ay ang" - Sam Cooke.
This past weekend I had the opportunity to work the chains at Scott's football game. It gives you quite a view of the game since at most you are right there at the sidelines within 10 yards plus the distance between the players on the field and the sideline.
Scott's team rolled to an impressive 26-0 victory. I tried to take credit due to my exceptional placement of one the sticks and tautness of the chain. Scott would have none of it. It's a good thing we raise such bright children.
In the gazillions of football games I've seen over the years, I've never paid much attention to the guys working the chains. It's really quite an inexact science, especially when one considers how games can be decided by mere inches. The side judge estimates where he wants the pole measuring the spot of the football to be placed, and one of the poles with the ten yard chain is place at this spot. The other end is placed by pulling the chain tight. At least at the junior pee wee level, this is nothing more than a rough guess on the placement. At that point it becomes gospel.
We never had the opportunity to trot on to the field for a close measurement. I think in large part it was because this was the refs fourth game of the day and they were tired. On anything close, they had us "move the chains" to signal a fresh set of downs. More importantly to them, it kept the game clock running.
I'm hoping to parley this experience into a gig at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium for the Horns games. The effort is not too great, the view of the game is nice, and price of the ticket is avoided... heck I'd probably even make some cash in the deal. The downside is of course getting creamed by some linebacker or safety as they make a tackle on the sideline.
Until that big-time stint happens, I'll keep taking those opportunities to work the junior pee wee chain gan-ay-ang!
Posted by Jim at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments ()
September 15, 2007
Battle of the Lakes, Part II
One of the emerging rivalries of the Central Texas area is Lake Travis agains Westlake. This year both teams were ranked in the top ten, but Westlake prevailed 28-21 a week ago.
Scott's Pop Warner team had a chance to avenge the loss, and boy did they. Scott paved the way opening some holes on some long touchdown runs.
Final score:
Scoreboard!
Posted by Jim at 8:25 PM | Permalink | Comments ()
September 9, 2007
Nice Win for Longhorns Over TCU
The Longhorns looked much better last night than they did at last week's opener against Arkansas State.
I was sitting with Scott and Kate, Claire, Meg, and a friend of Kate and Claire's had some primo seats on the 40 yard line, upper deck 8th row. Deb had gotten the tickets from ATA but wanted to rest after a very busy week.
Here's the look from our new seats of a scramble by Colt McCoy to the three yard line. They scored two plays later on their way to a 34-13 win.
Hook 'em!
Posted by Jim at 1:47 PM | Permalink | Comments ()
September 8, 2007
Live from East Austin
I'm sitting in the stands of East Austin's Yellow Jacket stadium getting ready to root on Scott and the Lake Travis junior Pee Wee Pop Warner football team. They won their opener in impressive fashion 22-0 last week.
Since I'm entering this post with my thumbs on my smartphone, I'll keep this brief.
Go LT! I'll post results later...
Update: Too much speed and size for our Wildcats... Final 31-0.
Posted by Jim at 11:03 AM | Permalink | Comments ()
Live from East Austin
I'm sitting in the stands of East Austin's Yellow Jacket stadium getting ready to root on Scott and the Lake Travis junior Pee Wee Pop Warner football team. They won their opener in impressive fashion 22-0 last week.
Since I'm entering this post with my thumbs on my smartphone, I'll keep this brief.
Go LT! I'll post results later...
Update: Too much speed and size for our Wildcats... Final 31-0.
Posted by Jim at 11:03 AM | Permalink | Comments ()
July 15, 2007
Summer Flower Season
The normal spring flower season has extended into July with all the rains we've had. I thought I'd capture some shots of the yard before the heat finally drives them away for the year.
Also, it was a tennis weekend with Kate, Claire, and Meg competing here locally. Claire won the 16s consolation bracket.
On Friday, we managed to get out of the heat with a trip to Schlitterbahn with Bunkus Rex and the kids before they headed back to Colorado.
Posted by Jim at 2:19 PM | Permalink | Comments ()
June 27, 2007
Wow! 3 months. 44 feet.
Somebody forgot to tell me that Seattle was relocated to Austin. It's been a long, long time since I've seen this much rain, so often, for a 3 month stretch.
Lake Travis is now 9 feet above full at 690 feet above sea level. It's historic high is 710 feet. At 714 feet it spills over the spillway uncontrollably into Lake Austin. I used to think that would be nearly impossible given how low it was, but 44 feet in three months makes me wonder...
UPDATE: Here's some pictures we took this evening.
Four floodgates open creating major whitewater at the head of Lake Austin:
Our picnic area in Mansfield Dam park above the beach area is now under water. So is the boat ramp which is the highest level of any of the Lake Travis boat ramps:
Here's a view of the main basin from our deck. Note that the usual ring of limestone rock around the water's edge in almost gone:
More heavy rains forecasted for overnight and into the weekend...
Posted by Jim at 1:27 PM | Permalink | Comments ()
May 26, 2007
Lake Travis Nearly Full
Given our proximity to Lake Travis, we've chronicled the rising and falling lake level over time. Lake Travis serves as the largest flood control reservoir on the chain of lakes along the lower Colorado river.
In a little over two months, the water level has risen 35 feet. Here's the latest from the LCRA website:
Our nice sandy beach discovered about a year ago is now about 20 feet under water!
Here are some pictures that we captured a little while ago:
The "Sometimes Islands" are now also a thing of the past, at least for a while. Here's the view from our deck:
If the rains continue, we may soon hear the roar of the floodgates at Mansfield dam emptying floodwaters into Lake Austin!
Posted by Jim at 10:33 AM | Permalink | Comments ()
May 9, 2007
Things to Brag About
Ok, get ready...
<Shameless Bragging>
Claire re-superqualifies in her 16s age group.
Claire wins Capital Area Tennis Association MVP USA Junior Team Tennis Award.
Kate continues her single-digit class ranking among Lake Travis High School freshmen.
Meg wins Hudson Bend Middle School Academic Achievement Award.
Meg wins Outstanding 6th Grade Clarinet Musician.
Scott earns his first straight-A report card.
</Shameless Bragging>
That was fun!
Posted by Jim at 4:57 PM | Permalink | Comments ()
April 3, 2007
Recapping a Busy Weekend
Now that it's Tuesday, I thought I better recap all the successes of last weekend before I forgot about it.
Claire and Kate kicked things off by going to a high school tennis tournament in Rockport. They represented the Austin Tennis Academy. Claire won a gold medal for the top girls singles player. Kate and Claire took home gold medals for the top girls doubles team. ATA won the overall competition.
Next, Kate took to the roads for her first student driving lesson with yours truly. She only caused a few new gray hairs to sprout as we practiced at the local mall.
Sean, Scott, and I went and saw the Longhorn Spring football scrimmage and saw a dominant performance from the offense. The defense has a lot of work to do to get ready for next season.
Sean came over to celebrate his birthday and take in the final four action. It was great to break him away from all his studying for tests this week.
In team tennis, Claire's and Meg's team each won, with Meg's doubles team winning to seal the overall victory.
Scott's Lacrosse team capped off the weekend with a dominating 10-1 victory. Scott blocked the opposing team's goalie toss, something akin to blocking a goal kick in soccer (without being whistled for it!) He also nearly scored on a rebound in front of the goal. It's amazing to see their team's improvement week to week.
Finally, what would a blog post be without a lake level update? Lake Travis is up over 20 feet for the month of March, and now within 14 feet of being full. Scott and I took a quick trip over to Mansfield Dam park and could not believe how our favorite beach area had shrunk. Another five-foot rise and the entire peninsula will be underwater.
Update: I'd be remiss in not mentioning an adult tennis mixer that Deb organized for Friday night which was a great success. The Austin Tennis Academy also kicked off a Lake Travis area "Scoop it Up" league for tennis beginners on Saturday. They had 175 kids and their parents out. CEO and Head Coach Jack Newman gave a great account of this along with Kate and Claire's Rockport performance.
Posted by Jim at 11:54 AM | Permalink | Comments ()
March 27, 2007
Disappearing Sometimes Islands
OK just so this is not Lake Travis water levels all the time... Scott won in Lacrosse, Kate and Claire competed well in an Open Competition here in Austin, Scott and me took in an Austin Wranglers arena football game, and other assorted weekend fun.
Now on to the lake... more heavy rains has Lake Travis rising an estimated 10-13 feet over the next few days.
Here's a picture showing the disappearing "Sometimes Islands" that are part of the main basin area.
Yee ha!
Posted by Jim at 6:15 PM | Permalink | Comments ()
March 12, 2007
I Like this Trend
Given the trends in some of the financial indices over the past few weeks, I finally found a trend I like.
We had a real "gully washer" come through the upper Colorado river watershed including the Austin area late last night and it lasted throughout the wee hours.
Here's a snapshot of the water level trend on Lake Travis.
Now if we can get six to eight more of these we'll have it filled up again... half that and those pesky Sometimes Islands may finally disappear!
Posted by Jim at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack
March 4, 2007
Meg Champ Qualifies!
Meg just won her semi-final match 6-3, 6-1 to join the ranks of the Champ quailified players. Whoo hoo!
Her finals match is at 12:30.
Go Meg!!!
Posted by Jim at 12:12 PM | Permalink | Comments ()
March 3, 2007
Cross Your Fingers
Kate, Claire and Meg were all in tennis tournament action this weekend. I went with Meg to San Antonio while Deb was with Kate and Claire (and Scott) in Georgetown.
Each of them won all their matches today. So the the Cahill girls are 6-0 heading to tomorrow's main draw semi-final (Meg) and quarter-final (Kate and Claire) matches. All matches were won in convincing fashion.
Keep your fingers crossed!
Posted by Jim at 10:19 PM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack
February 25, 2007
Team Tennis for Kate, Claire, and Meg
We were treated to another beautiful Sunday here in Austin. All the kids we in action with Kate, Claire, and Meg at team tennis and Scott at Lacrosse practice.
The team tennis is a chance to get in singles and doubles matches in weeks where there are no tournaments scheduled. The girls play for the Austin Tennis Academy team with Kate and Claire playing for the "Old Gold" which is 18 and under highest level. Meg is on the 14 and under "Comp 1" team.
Here's a couple of pictures from the cell phone of Claire and Kate serving.
Claire:
Kate:
Posted by Jim at 8:29 PM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack
Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day at UT
Last year I chronicled the great fun Meg and me had at the University of Texas' "Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day".
They had again this year, and we were both excited to go back. After all we had bragging rights building the tallest tower our newspaper.
They had lots of different activities in the various engineering buildings from trying to float as many coins as possible on an boat designed of aluminum foil, to wind tunnels, to lego robotics, to egg bungie cord competions and much more.
In the same room where we built the tower the challenge was to build a chair out of newspaper stong enough to sit on without collapsing.
Many tried designs which featured more tape than newspaper. Meg decided the geodesic dome design was the way to go. We started rolling tubes of newspapers and the engineering students kept coming by to check on what we were doing.
It started taking shape and Meg even incorporated a star design for the seat. After one try, it needed a few more braces and it was set. It held Meg as she sat and posed with the engineering students. She received raving WOWs! for her design.
It's great that UT puts these programs on and it's even better that the students who volunteer their time share their enthusiam for engineering. What fun!
Posted by Jim at 4:45 PM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack
February 18, 2007
Scott at Lacrosse Practice
It's quite a sight to see all the kids decked out in full body armor, but that's Lacrosse.
I'm posting this blog post from my camera phone so I'll keep the words brief, since I don't type too well with my thumbs...
It's a beautiful Sunday in Austin... Enjoy!
Posted by Jim at 6:47 PM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack
February 17, 2007
Tight Game at Half, but Cavs Fall
Scott's team battled the top seeded team tough through haftime down only 12-11, but a 19-2 third quarter run did the Cavaliers in.
A fourth quarter rally narrowed the gap, but the final score was 40-31.
Great season, Scott!
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It's Basketball Playoff Time for Scott
Here's a camera phone picture of Scott before his first playoff game. His basketball team won 34-20 and have reached the quarterfinals.
Scott played great defense constantly staying between his man and the goal. He dished out a few assists as well. Must have studying the game film on UT's D.J. Augustine!
It's up against the one seed this afternoon. Go Cavaliers!
Posted by Jim at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack
February 6, 2007
Today's WSJ
Of course every blogger secretly wishes to be quoted in the Wall Street Journal for the pearls of wisdom they share through their blog.
Posted by Jim at 6:18 AM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack
February 5, 2007
The SemiFinalists
It was a big weekend of tennis here with Kate and Claire competing in Houston and Meg competing here in Austin. By the end of day Saturday all three were semi-finalists in the main draw of their respective brackets.
When Deb shared this news with Jack Newman the CEO and head coach of the Austin Tennis Academy, he said this was a first in his career to have three siblings in the main draw semi-finals at the same time. Nice job, girls!
In the end, Claire made it to the finals before dropping the match in close heartbreaker.
Onward and upward to the March madness tournaments!
Posted by Jim at 6:20 PM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack
January 16, 2007
Iced In!
The promised ice has come. I went out early this morning to check the driveway and it's a sheet of ice all the way to the street. The street was also glazed over. The forecast is for freezing rain thoughout the day turning to snow this evening.
We have a big hill which dumps into RR620 so the whole neighborhood is pretty much iced in.
Here's some pictures.
Driveway:
Backyard:
Icicles on the roofline:
The kids are fired up that there is no school today, and I, like many others, am working remotely.
Posted by Jim at 8:12 AM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack
January 14, 2007
And then Came the Rains
It's been quite the rainy, dreary weekend outside.
The plans for the weekend was a tennis tournament for Kate up in Waco. She and Claire are aging up next month competing with the 15 and 16 year olds. Kate was getting a jump by starting in January.
I received a call Friday evening from a tournament director telling me that Claire had made a SuperExcellence tournament in Houston. This is an invitation tournament featuring the top-level SuperChamp players in the state. She had been a 5th alternate so we were not expecting this.
Deb and Claire hopped in the car and headed to Houston to stay with Kiki and Papa. Claire ended up played a great, highly-competitive match on Saturday, but did not prevail.
The rains cancelled play for Kate in Waco on Saturday. This was fortunate since Scott had a basketball game, and trying to be two places at once always proves to be a challenge. Scott's team played extremely well and Scott was picked as one of the two players of the game by his coach for his stellar defense.
There's a chance of ice storms tonight. If so, we'll get the camera busy and post the results. Now, back to the NFL playoffs...
Posted by Jim at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack
January 1, 2007
Happy New Year, Captain Jack Sparrow
Scott had a chance to celebrate the new year by meeting Captain Jack Sparrow.
Actually, it's our neighbor Chris dressed up for the New Year's eve party they threw last night. We thought Scott would get a kick out of seeing Captain Jack. We walked over to our house, and Scott was definitely surprised as I announced the arrival of his favorite pirate.
Happy New Year to you and yours!
Posted by Jim at 9:22 AM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack
December 29, 2006
Merry Christmas to All!
The Christmas season of 2006 was great time with family, friends, and neighbors.
It began with the annual progressive dinner party which we held here at the house. We had six couples over to celebrate the Christmas season and to catch up. The food was absolutely fabulous featuring recipes from Hudson's on the Bend. We'll be hard pressed to top this in the future.
Then just a few days later we had an open house for the neighborhood to meet all our new neighbors. It was great meeting everyone and learning all the ins and outs of the neighborhood intrigue!
Deb's sister, brother-in-law, nephew, and family came in to celebrate Christmas with us. With the rainy weather outside, we had a chance to visit and pull out the old toys for Kai and Mia to play with. Deb's nephew Orion was recently featured in Scientific American magazine and may soon has one of his papers published in the prestigious Nature magazine.
Unfortunately Deb and the girls came down with the stomach flu which came with a vengeance. Scott and I somehow managed to avoid it's ravages and we headed to the Woodlands to celebrate Christmas with my family.
Pat and Donna hosted a present opening and lasagna dinner which was awesome. Unfortunately Pat and I had to serve the spoils of the lost margarita bet to our Dan and Mark who were celebrating the aggie victory at Thanksgiving. Scott had several Madden 2007 football battles with his cousins' Sean and Andrew on Sean's new XBOX 360.
We brought back the presents for Deb and the girls who had recovered from their flu bout. Here's a montage of their present opening party.
Merry Christmas to all!
Posted by Jim at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack
November 28, 2006
Back in the Saddle
OK, OK, I know. It's been quiet here on the Austin Cahills blog. I just have a mental block about dialup service blogging!
A lot has happened since the last post. We've moved into the house. And we just had a great time hosting the family. It was a feverish pace getting ready, but it was great (all except that little football game on Friday.)
With the high-speed and wireless network now in place, and a wireless signal which reaches all areas of the house, we look forward to sharing more of the fun and excitement as it comes and as we get settled.
Now on to the holiday season!
Posted by Jim at 6:37 PM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack
October 21, 2006
Progress on the Inside
Well the Friday night lights beckoned as we watched Lake Travis dismantle Dripping Springs (a.k.a. "the Drip"), so yesterday's pictures are posted below. Inside we're down to some final missing pieces which are coming in, touchup painting, hooking up the gas appliances, and finishing the landscaping work. We should be complete by next Friday.
Here's some inside pictures...
Powder Room Sink, Mirror, and Lights:
Master Bathroom Tub:
2nd Floor Carpeting:
Kitchen Cooktop:
Garage Apartment Flooring:
Emerson Thermostat:
Next week, the final push!
Posted by Jim at 9:03 AM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack
October 19, 2006
Fast and Furious- Electricity, Driveway, Front Porch Stairs, Carpeting
Amazing progress this week as we wind on down to the end. We've had enough good weather in between storms to get the driveway concrete poured and the landscaping work to begin. It features steps up to the porch, a crushed granite walkway, and rock walls for the beds.
And inside all the electrical hookups could be tested now that electricity is flowing. Carpeting has been put in place on the stairs and 2nd floor, and the flooring for the garage apartment is being finished.
Here's today's batch of photos. Unfortunately I was so excited with the outside progress I don't have good indoor shots. I save that for tomorrow.
Driveway:
Front Porch Steps / Rock Wall Beds:
Crushed Granite Walking Path:
Working Front Porch Lights!
Garage Door Openers
Inside photos tomorrow...
Posted by Jim at 5:31 PM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack
October 16, 2006
Wood Flooring Now Installed
Well the rain today prevented the driveway concrete from being poured, but they were busy on the inside installing wood flooring. Check it out...
Posted by Jim at 7:33 PM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack
October 15, 2006
Driveway Preparation, Plumbing, Propane Tank
We went out to the house yesterday and took a new batch of photos. The plumbers made great progress as they put the faucet and tub fittings around the house. We now have flowing water from the faucets! Also the driveway is being prepared for the concrete pour which will happen tomorrow weather permitting. And the Propane tank has been delivered and will be plumbed this week.
Flowing Water at Kitchen Sink:
Installed Kitchen Appliances:
Preparing the Driveway for Concrete:
First Floor Stairway Railing:
Utility Room Sink:
3rd Floor Bar Area:
Propane Tank:
A big push will happen this week as the wood flooring and perhaps carpeting will go in.
Posted by Jim at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack
September 30, 2006
Saturday Morning at Bull Creek Park
Meg, Scott, and I took advantage of a brilliant blue sky, cool fall day to go over to Bull Creek Park. This is a park that Bob and Tara's dog, Blackjack would love. The dogs run wild, splashing and fetching in the cool creek.
The park also has nice climbing rocks and trails. Here's some shots of Scott and Meg climbing away.
And a bonus turtle!
Posted by Jim at 3:10 PM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack
Stair Railing, Mirrors, Painted Columns
We did an assessment with the builder of what's left, and it looks like the end of October is more realistic that we'll be complete. This was the original estimate when we started building back in March.
Here's the pictures taken yesterday which include the stair railing, bathroom mirrors, and the painted outside columns.
The main electrical line is getting hooked up over the weekend, so much of the electrical work can be finalized.
Posted by Jim at 2:44 PM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack
September 20, 2006
Appliances, Lighting, and Speakers
The large appliances arrived this week, and the electricians were busy putting them all in place. Also, the rest of the lighting came in for the kitchen island and stairwell to the garage apartment. The speakers, Ethernet, and phone plugs were wired. And finally, some tile work is finishing up in the master bath and third floor bar.
Here's this week's batch of photos...
Kitchen lighting and appliances:
Garage apartment entry and appliance:
Second deck speakers and lighting:
Master bath:
Third floor bar area:
Posted by Jim at 5:50 PM | Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack
September 10, 2006
Interior Lighting, Ceiling Fans, Tile, Outdoor Railing
More great progress this past week. The work is moving to interior electrical work as l