Big Bend Trial Run

Tomorrow morning, we will leave for a week's vacation in the Big Bend National Park. It will be a week full of hiking, good conversations and lots of beautiful scenery. Big Bend Chisos Basin where we will be staying has wonderful weather. The highs for the daytime temperature is in the lower 80's and the lows are around 65.

Even with these great temps, it's still best to wake up early in the morning and get an early start on your hike. In that regard, we thought we'd do a trial run this morning -- that is, we'd get everyone up early to practice getting an early start in the Big Bend.

Needless to say, Joshua didn't make it. He does like his sleep.

Ya'll enjoy the 100+ degree temps here in Abilene this week! ;-)

Boys Night Out

I took the boys up to ACU to run some energy off. They got thirsty and needed a drink so we stopped by the office breakroom and swilled water.

The Bird House in Cedar Gap. Flower on walking trail.

I always enjoy taking pictures of flowers when we go on hikes. I don't know what this one is called but I thought it was pretty.

Two Reasons I Don't Want to Move to DFW

Hey Brenda, This One's For You

James, Katrina and Kaylen Orend came to Abilene for a visit over the 4th of July weekend. Here's a video of a small part of the visit.

Josh Says "Hello" to His Friend in Japan

Joshua has a friend that used to live in here in Abilene for a period of time and has returned to Japan, his homeland. This friend, David T, sent Josh a letter a few months back. Josh decided he wanted to say "Hi" to David T so I suggested a video greeting. Here is that greeting.



By the way, a big "Howdy" from the entire Gibson family to the Tsuneki's!

Indian Jones Movie

I took the boys to the new Indiana Jones movie today, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The highlight of the movie for me was watching the boys eat popcorn that was absolutely drenched in a "butter-like substance" and swill cokes. They were in heaven.

I'd give the movie 2.5 out of 5 stars. It followed the same trend I see in other action-adventure movies these days: trying to explain the great mysteries of life through the Roswell, NM incident in the 1950's. Yep, it all comes down to a bunch of long-headed, big-eyed, no-chested aliens. Its a theme I see again and again in movies these days. It would be nice to have a script that dared to do something different. Besides the recurring theme, there was the usual amount of excessive gore: big red ants crawling in a man's mouth to devour him. I never have gotten used to that kind of stuff. 'Bought scared Jon to death.

I think why I give it 2.5 stars and not less is that in the end its still kind of fun to watch, except the gore and the aliens.

My advice: wait for the DVD. It will be cheaper. And you can use the money to see something a little more interesting or original.

Parents of the Year Award - NOT!

The life of a parent is filled with ups and downs. Those "ups" are times when you have the patience of Job. The "down" times are when you don't. As parents, its hard to remember what its like to be a child and to overlook the things that caused our parents to call us out. In the end, you spend your quiet time wondering if you are doing the right things: balancing the memories of how a child feels with the reality that you have to create some sense of self-discipline in your child.

The other day, I had to drop by my oldest son's classroom at school to give him two bucks for an outing this coming week. On the way across the elementary campus, I saw my three sons' PE teacher and decided to walk over, say "Hi" and remind her that she only had to teach 500 kids for four more days. We had a nice conversation and I decided I had better move on and not distract her from her job any longer. As I turned to walk away, she called me back and said:

"I just want you to know that you have three of the best children I have ever taught. If all my students were as well behaved, I could teach all year long."

I was proud of my kids but had to confess to her that I feel like I've been to hard on them at times. She replied, "Well, you're doing something right. They always listen. They do what they're asked to do. They always show respect to me and the other kids."

I thanked her for the kind words and walked away right in the middle of one of those moments when a parent feels really proud.

I couldn't wait to tell Karen that evening. I knew she would be proud also. While we sat down for dinner, I told Karen about my conversation with the teacher. Jon-Jon listened, as did the other two. I hoped it would make them feel good about their own behavior and encourage them to continue. I finished talking. Jon-Jon looked around the table and added, "Well, I guess all that yelling works."

We all had a good laugh. I was a little embarassed. I guess this means the struggle as a parent will continue. I will continue to struggle with the "downs" and look for those little "ups." And maybe next time I am frustrated or surprised that my children are doing that thing that my parents finally "helped" me to stop doing, I'll remember that they are only children and that they really are good.

A Bit of Bad News For Us

We received a note from the school nurse a few weeks ago that she was concerned about Jason showing signs of Scoliosis, a curvature of the spine. She suggested we have him checked by his pediatrician.

We took Jason to Dr. Wiley's office yesterday. Dr. Wiley looked at him and had us go to Radiology for an x-ray. Dr. Wiley called us back today to inform us that Jason's spine is curved at 14 degrees. Anything at or above 10 degrees is considered problematic. He suggested we get Jason to Scottish Rite Children's Hospital in Dallas as soon as possible. Dr. Wiley's office is setting up the appointment for us today.

The good news in all of this is that it is better to find this issue earlier in a child's life and apparently before puberty. Having found it now in Jason gives us some less stringent therapies and may allow us to get his Scoliosis under control before it gets worse.

This is heart breaking for Karen and me. We're probably taking it worse that Jason will. The hard part for Jason is that it means more trips to more doctors and more medical things to do. Its hard for a 10-year-old boy to deal with everything he is dealing with.

My hope is that there is nothing here that will prevent him from doing some of the things he wants to do this summer, which includes playing soccer in the late Summer and early Fall.

Keep Jason in your thoughts and prayers in the coming days, weeks and months.

I'll add more to this story as things unfold.

Hamburger Anyone?

This is our first vegetable from our garden, an onion. It may be small but I'm hoping it will taste good on a hamburger.