A trip to Austin, Texas

I attended a management seminar with my boss, Maureen, in Austin from September 9th to the 11th (yup, I flew on September 11th). The seminar was good and I enjoyed the city. It was very hot the first few days with temps in the mid-90s and very humid. The hotel was right on the Colorado river in downtown Austin. The last night we were there we took a stroll down the river walk to visit the statue shown here. It's a memorial of one of my favorite guitarists ever – Stevie Ray Vaughan. I saw Stevie several times before he tragically died in a helicopter accident after leaving Alpine Valley back in 1989. The other pictures are from our hotel. The bridge on the right is famous for the bats that live under it. At dusk every night tourists line the bridge and wait in their boats for the swarms of many thousands to leave for the night hunt. Now that I think of it, I don't remember seeing a single mosquito the entire time I was there!

Happy 95th Birthday, Grandma!

Happy Birthday, grandma! On September 1st, 2007, grandma Soliday turned 95. What an amazing milestone! Wayne and Renee held a party at Luther Haven to celebrate this special occasion. The party goers included Pastor and Mrs. Fisher, Bob and Elaine, Bud and Evelyn, Glenn, Dale and Mariann, Wayne and Renee, and our family. Cocktails were followed by a wonderful steak dinner in the private dining room. The group itself then supplied the entertainment by reading their own special Ruth memories, all of which were saved on paper and given to grandma in a special birthday binder. What a great time we had! Happy Birthday, grandma! We love you!