I Yam What I Yam

For those of you unfamiliar with Milina's roots, she is from a little community (not big enough to be a town) in East Texas named Kelsey. Now Kelsey has population of o' say 150, and that is when the neighbors are throwing a big party. She actually tells people she is from Gilmer which in it own right is not a big town but it is the biggest town for 20 miles and it does have a Walmart. Gilmer just happens to be the Yam capital of Texas, yes yams, you know a sweet potato.
Every 3rd weekend in October Gilmer worships the yams by throwing the yearly Yamboree, cute huh. It is a spectale to see including a parade that features none other than the Yam Queen (see pics) in all her royalty. There are lesser celebrities from every little town within a 30-50 mile radius including princesses, dutchesses, homecoming sweethearts, mother's of the year, and lest we forget Yambo, Ree and Tater the clowns (see pics).
Some of my personal favorite events are the Saturday night street dance in the town square, the yam decorating contest (see pics they are hilarious), and the livestock auction where everything you thought you knew about the price of a rabbit, chicken, goat, pig, steer and cow will be challenged. Apparently the going rate for three bunnies is $2300, a goat $800, a chicken $1000, pig $600-900, a steer and or milk cow $1800-3000. It is of course for a good cause, so that an FFA student can go to A&M and study to be a vet.
The most memorable moments in Yamboree history are as follows. When Bobby, aka Billy Bob Joe Frank (as we like to call him) informed us he just aint' been the same since he got' blowed up. I would hate to see what he was like before. Every time we stop by the shoot the star out and the mini billiard table to see another person shell out who knows how much money only to be outsmarted by the Carnies, dang those carnies they'll get you every time.
So if you are ever in the area of Gilmer the 3rd weekend in October stop on by the bandstand and you will see Milina and I two-steppin' to the local country band. It truly is a nice weekend to go for a change of pace, to relax, enjoy the beautiful countryside, and of course eat some fine fair food.

Saga of the Coffee Table

The coffee table saga has come to a close. We have been using the same particle board coffee table for 8 1/2 years now. Over that time frame it has been subjected to every inhumanity possible. I told Milina instead of buying one I would take 1-2 months and build one. I think that last real wood project I undertook was the birdhouse in cub scouts when you build that little birdhouse out of the precut sections. Then 60 min and several bruised digits later you had a birdhouse only a mother could love and if there was a housing authority to protect birds you would be considered a slum lord and the place would be condemed. It is now at least 7-8 months later and the coffee table is complete. It often became the subject of discussion at church and even the focus of one of my talks in church as the "Parable of the Coffee Table", ask me about it sometime. I must say considering there were no plans other than in my head it looks better than I ever imagined. The only screws are to hold several pieces of trim onto the main body other than that it is only joints and glue. The real test will be when we move it upstairs and start using it to see if it falls apart when you put anything on it. I will be posting pics soon.

Toyota US Open Triathlon

This weekend is the Toyota US Open Triathlon. It is an Olympic Distance Triathlon (1.5K swim, 40K bike and 10K run) and the culmination of the Lifetime Triathlon Series which includes race in Minneapolis, New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and finally Dallas. Patrick, Kati, Fred and I have been training for months including Sprint to Olympic distance races from the DFW metroplex to Boerne, Tx (NW San Antonio). This is the first Olympic Distance Triathlon we competed in last year and we all hope to better our previous year's times. I finished last year with a time of 3:08 and hope to finish this year in 3:00 even or under.

Some of the most notable pro level athletes include:

Greg Bennett - current leader who stands to make over 100K if he finishes in the top 3 and wins the series as a whole and last year's triathlete of the year.

Hunter Kemper - 2008 Bejing Olympic USA Team member who finished with his and the USA's best Olympic placing of 9th.

Aaron Scheidies - First blind triathlete to break the 2:00hr mark in an Olympic Distance Triathlon (which occurred at last year's Toyota US Open Triathlon in Dallas). He is considered the best visually impaired triathlete in the world finishing only minutes behind the other pro athletes.

COMING THIS SPRING!!!!!!

Finally we know the gender of the Min Twins (what I have been calling them since they are miniature twins and were yet unnamed)!!
For those of you that want a bit of a challenge you can watch the ultrasound video below and try to guess that they are. You will have to watch toward the end and try to catch it before the Dr adds the text into the screen. For those of you who do not trust your baby anatomy detective skills you can skip below and read below what they are.
The doctor told us they are healthy, growing at an appropriate and comparable rate, all parts are where they should be and all is completely normal. Milina is feeling great with minimal discomfort and is excited about starting to get a preggo pudge. She is also very excited about being able to continue with decorating the baby room and picking out baby things.
We are as always grateful for everybody's thought and prayers for us and the twins and have not been happier over the past 4-5 months.

We are expecting 1 beautiful girl and 1 handsome boy (a little presumptuous but what do you expect).