Weekend with the Fam

**I had a great weekend at my folks' house with my parents, my brother C, and my oldest nephew W. C and W drove to my parent's house Thursday afternoon and I flew in Thursday evening. My mom told me at the end of March that W would be playing in a tennis tournament in Amarillo this weekend. So I booked a flight on Southwest ($49 fare each way - you gotta love that) so I could watch him play. I hadn't ever seen him play tennis before much less play in a tournament. W is only 11 and you can see in the this picture is almost as tall as me and my mom.

**Friday morning we played golf at a par 3 course. Even though I took a few golf lessons a couple of summers ago, I have never actually played golf. This was my first 18 holes to play. For me it was nice to play on a par 3 course just so I could learn what I was supposed to do. I think it was a bit short for my brother. We played a scramble - I was on a team with my brother and W and my mom were on a team. We beat them by 5 strokes I think. We all had a really good time. My dad stayed in the shade and watched us some. He also took this picture of us. (We're wearing jackets because it was windy and in the 40s. It turned out to be a beautiful afternoon though.)

**Saturday was W's tennis tournament. I was very impressed with his ability, his effort, and his attitude. There were kids there (11 to 12 year olds) that already had some bad tempers. It's not going to be pretty when they are a little older. W didn't win his matches, but he played really well. I think each time he plays in a tournament his confidence is boosted a bit. I sure hope so. After his second match, my brother passed the mother of the boy W had played. She stopped and told W that she hoped her son learned something from him. In that boy's first match, he gave up after he lost the first set. She was very impressed that W continued to work hard even when he was behind. I was very proud of him. I took about 150 pictures of him playing. That's what I do.

**That afternoon my parents' Sunday school class had an event at a park near their church. They invited the community to come for hot dogs and games. There were some of the air castles for kids to play in, the high school band from their church, food, and some other games. The pastor gave each Sunday school class money to do some sort of outreach event to reach the community outside the church walls. It was a neat event. No one knows for sure how many people came, but a family from the community who had been at the event came to church the next morning.

**My mom bought a Wii a while ago so we played that this weekend as well. W and I played baseball, golf, and tennis on it. That's a pretty fun setup.

**I don't get to see my brother's family often. And even though I didn't get to see his wife or his youngest son R, it was a great weekend. I really enjoyed spending time with them. I am hoping they will come visit us this summer.

**By the way, R is about to turn 7 in a couple of weeks. He started playing baseball this spring/summer. This is his first year to play baseball, and he loves it. So far he is 12 for 12 in hits. His first game he threw a kid out at first base. He is a huge UT fan, but his team is the Aggies. He was not excited about that, but he is really enjoying himself. He was not able to come this weekend because he had 2 baseball games. I hope to watch him play baseball sometime. My brother gave me one of R's baseball cards over the weekend. He has the most serious look on his face. And when he signed the back of it, he wrote really fast like the guys who give you their autograph.

**They are cute kids! I wish I could see them more often. Maybe one day that will be possible. Until then, I treasure the time I do get to spend with them.