My 30th Birthday

Saturday was my 30th birthday. I feel so old saying I am 30 years old, but I know 30 is still pretty young. My weight gain and increase in gray hair is actually more troubling than turning 30. I had a great day Saturday! Jenn and I and the girls woke up and drove to Wichita Falls in time for my fantasy football draft at noon. It was another fun and successful draft. I've played in this same league since 1993, but I'm the only one who remains from back in the day, besides my good friend Wendell, who joined the league in 1995. However, over the past 4 years or so, we've had a good return of the same guys each year, and now we finally have a core group of 8 guys (thanks to our addition of Jeff Trimble this year!) who play year after year. This is great because we are building a history and legacy, and lots of fierce rivalries! To those who have never played, you make think it sounds silly, but it's a lot of fun! At the draft, Wendell brought a birthday cake and party blowers and a HUGE party hat for me to wear. It was a fun time!

After the draft, we went to Brian/Kay Chance's house to see them and the Hitchcock's. Dean & Tanya finally came back to the US (now in St. Louis) after being in Turkey for 2 years. It was great to see them and spend some time visiting with them. It was nice to catch up with the Chance's too. I had hoped that Marina and Lucas would have come with them, but they stayed in St. Louis. I was really wanting to hug Marina's neck, after her very scary "bleeding on the brain" incident last year. I guess we'll just have to visit them in St. Louis soon! Tanya put forth a very thoughtful effort in picking out an NFL baby outfit for our son. I guess the more traditional thing would be to pick out a team that you think the recipient supports, but Tanya bought a St. Louis outfit. HA! We razzed her a little, but in all seriousness, I love it! When our son wears his St. Louis Rams outfit, we will think of the Hitchcock's! Really, it means much more than if it were just some Dallas Cowboys outfit or even a Brett Favre outfit! Thanks Tanya (and Dean)!!

We ditched the kids and the 6 of us went to Texas Roadhouse for a nice dinner. I had never eaten there before -it was good! Brian went to the "bathroom", and then coincidentally, about 5 minutes later, about 7-8 servers walk up to our table and bring a saddle on a stand for the birthday to sit on. I tried to refuse, but you never win in those situations, so I played along and sat on the saddle. Of course, I look around and see the very crowded place looking at me as it is being announced that I just turned 30, and lo and behold, there are 2 people I know sitting at the table right next to us, and someone else on the other side of us. Somewhat embarassing, but it was fun.

We went back to the Chance's house and played Scene It the TV version. How Tanya could look at a big pink blog (literally) and know that was Tom Hanks is still a mystery. It was a fun game! Afterwards, the guys watched the TIVO'd A&M game, and with 2 seconds left, and the game on the line, with Clemson lining up for a potential game winning field goal...the recorded program STOPS!! HA! Brian had planned for the possibility though, so we were able to see A&M lose on another recording. Very good game though! I'm sorry for Brian, but I bet a guy at work $25 that UT would beat A&M at the end of the season...so it's fun in that respect to see A&M lose. Anyway, I had a great birthday and have my wife, the Chance's, Hitchcock's, and the OFFL to thank! THANKS!!

Sunday we had a family party for myself and my cousin, Paige, who turned 23 on Sunday. My uncle cooked some VERY GOOD filet mignons. Then today, I went and drolled in Circuit City for an hour, and when I returned, Jenn and the girls had decorated our dining room for a Happy Unbirthday party for me!! It was a very nice surprise!! Since we were busy with other stuff on Saturday, I didn't really get to see the kiddos much on my birthday, so itwas fun to have a little party today. Thanks!!

Probably one day this week I will be using my birthday money to help purchase a new TV. I would love to get the 52" widescreen that is onsale for $900, but I'd rather not go into debt, so I think I will get the 36" RCA. It will be a huge jump up from our current 25" that we've had for almost 10 years! I should have it in time for the first week of NFL football!!

We're starting to get more and more excited about the arrival of our son. Last week, we decided to name him Zachary Alexander, but now we've decided on Colin Michael. Next week, it could be something completely different. I think we got so burned out trying to think of names, that now it's hard to latch on to something we like. Maybe we'll go to the hospital with a few in mind, and when we see him we'll know what his name should be. We're crossing our fingers for next Thursday as the "induction day". If not then, it will be the 20th...unless he comes sooner on his own. Well this was quite a long post...