We Won A Trip

REALLY?

It appears as if it for real. Though they haven't updated their official twitter feed yet, or put my name on the Winners List… I think that it is only because it is the weekend. I was in contact with them until 5pm Hawaii time last night. I sent an additiional simple follow-up question after writing back and forth a couple times a few minutes later, and they have yet to respond...so I'm guessing the travel/trip/prize office is closed for the weekend. Enough other communication had occured beforehand though that I'm feeling pretty confident that it isn't a scam.

HOW?

I entered through this: http://www.marriotthawaiitweets.com/

They are giving a total of 25 trips away, including 3 trips away a week, one on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday through Mid-October. In order to qualify you have to follow their twitter feed, and sign-up weekly to let them “tweet” in your name once each time.

After they pick a winner, the person has 48 hours to respond to the official email. Meanwhile Marriot dumps all of the other entries. Apparently they have tried to give away the Week 10 trip a several times so far, but none of the winners have responded in time! Meanwhile they have given away 3-5 other trips...but the trip #10 couldn't seem to find a permanent winner.

So on yesterday, Friday afternoon 9/25/09, they tweeted that they were going to have to do another attempt at giving away that particular prize. I remembered that they had dumped all previous entries, so I figured my odds were higher than normal if I re-entered, as it was the end of the week and fewer people than normal would have the chance to enter. As I run a small-non-profit, I don't even have an office. However... I do have an constantly use my iPhone...and this little tool helped me win!!!

I got the official email and direct message tweet later the same night about 7:30pm saying I was a winner if I would respond within 48 hours. It also included an official affidavit for me to sign and send back, saying I am who I say I am and we agree to do the trip before Dec. 20th or forfeit it.

I was driving down the road at the time, but an hour and half later I was able to respond officially with the affidavit signed and scanned, and they replied congrats. We wrote back and forth a couple times before I think their offices closed.

WHAT DID WE WIN?

◦ Coach roundtrip for two via Hawaiian Airlines from aWest Coast city

◦ Five consecutive nights of accommodations at Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa. LOOK AT THESE PICS!

◦ Six-day Hertz rental of a full-size car

◦ $100/day resort dining credit

◦ A variety of Island activities

WHEN ARE WE GOING?

We don’t know. My sister is getting married in Chicago in early November, and traveling is pretty tough on Marque's health, so she will need a break before/after that trip and doing this. Plus we need to find affordable airfare to get us to a West Coast city. We will probably shoot for mid-october (less likely) or late Nov or early Dec.

READ THIS PART!!!

I have been praying for over a year for God to provide some way to get Marque out of the Midwest on a “just us” trip, but finances have not made this possible. Our circumstances are pretty challenging too, as we live off partial support, and we have 6 mouths to feed.

Every time I started saving $ for a trip…something important came up that seemed too selfish to not use the cash for.

We celebrated our 15 year anniversary this past summer, but still haven’t been able to travel alone, unless you count getting her another MRI in Little Rock.

A huge desire of my heart has been to get Marque to somewhere warm and tropical. Her health has been so spotty over the past couple years…and the deluge of rain we have had so far in September has given her more migraines than normal lately.

As recently as last week I was still trying to figure out a way to get her somewhere on vacation where there is sun, sand, and no kids...but everything was too expensive. But hey...God had something else in mind...and I'm floored.

THIS IS A HUGE GIFT FROM GOD. WE ARE SO THANKFUL!!!

My bike rider

This May has been very special. Macye has earnestly sought me out regularly for a bike ride. She got her training wheels off a couple weeks ago, but more recently decided that it's time to ride and practice. Yesterday we rode over 2 miles together on Rogers Bicycle trail. She is getting really good!
Also she did a very good job in her school musical (she was probably the loudest and did all the moves in time with flair), and was gorgous in her big ballet recital. I love having a daughter....and Macye's personality is a joy. I love my girl!

Approaching Mid-life

I'm entering into a different season of life. I can sense it in so many ways. My oldest boy is about to enter middle school in the fall. We've actually lived in the same city for 6 years and don't intend to move soon (after a decidedly roaming existence during our first 9 years of marriage). I'm closer to 40 than 30, and love it...despite my knees not agreeing with my brain on whether I can still dunk a basketball or not. And my little Payton...ain't so little anymore. He's 5. He's big and bulky. And he is going to full-day Kindergarten in the fall. Yep...our last one to got to full-day school. Times are achangin'.
A new big season for me is that of peace in ministry. I love Youth Ministry. Always have. But never really imagined myself staying in it in this way, much less being thrilled to do it. I actually want to write and teach more, though I don't have the time to those things AND effectively do the things that I'm doing well with Exago currently. So if I'm really supposed to pursue those things, God's gonna need to show me a plan and/or open some doors. Not that Exago has arrived as a perfect thing...but it has reached such a good rhythm of growth and credibility. There is so much more I want to do, but it's nice to be able to see how this has grown from an impassioned idea God planted in my head, into something that legitimately ministers to leaders who are trying to survive. I got a few meaningful text messages and voice mails this week alone, from guys needing the ministry we provide. When I was talking with one of them later on, I let him know how important he is in helping kids find Jesus, and that I appreciate him being on the front lines of youth ministry. I could almost hear the tears in his eyes. He said, "You know...your the only one who thanks me." Yeah...I know. I've been there. It's tough. It's why we exist as a ministry. It's a passion I have.
Another full-circle is the oncoming train of boys and girls. John has suddenly turned into "Mr. It" in the eyes of some little 5th grade girls. These aggressive females call, email, and show up in our front yard trying to hang out with him. Let's just say we haven't dealt with this issue on this side of the equation before...but a plan is being formulated! And I can see it now when some poor twirp shows up on my door-step asking for my daughter. God help that child and hide my guns.
A weird thing for me is men...er....boys who go through mid-life crisis. I don't get it. My brother-in-law has completely flipped out. And I've known a couple others over the years that went buck stupid upon turning 40. Now I realize I only turn 37 this year, and I'm not immune to the effects of sin. However, why someone would turn their back on their wife or kids is just COMPLETELY beyond me. I love Marque and my kids more and more all the time. None of us are perfect, but I think life gets sweeter the longer we are together. I actually have an incredibly strong sense of blessing that my wife is even still alive. I just can't imagine turning my back on them, buying a sports car, and moving out. But I knew someone who pulled that crap. So I'm praying that God will protect me from going insane like that, and that instead I will be a man who has a family to love on and to be loved by for many years to come.
On a much lighter note, I really like baseball. Always have. My boys are all so good at it too. It's so fun to watch them work hard and have their own losses, victories, and all-around good lessons learned from that game. My Dad gave us a batting cage/machine/net he found used about a year and a 1/2 ago for Christmas. We all love it...but especially me. I love going out and tossing balls to our boys. I love seeing their smiles when they really smash a hard-liner that they know would go the distance if out on a real ball field. And to be able to do that in my own backyard? Simply wonderful. I told Marque when we met that I wanted 3 boys and a girl and a batting cage with a pitching machine. I have no idea how I knew that so specifically way back in 1992...but apparently I meant it. And Macye is perfect...because she has no use for baseball at all...so it keeps these boys a little balanced while enduring her ballet and her pink everything. We have more fun in our house!
Life isn't going to slow down. But it's interesting to see how it changing. I pray that God will really capture my kids hearts for Him in ways I can't even show them over these next few precious years I have left with them.

Back in the Day

A former youth group guy name Adam (that I youth pastored  in the mid/late 90's) wrote this on his Facebook. I'm referenced in it, and on the whole I thought it was good despite that fact.  :)

a driveway, a basketball hoop, and many memories

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by Adam Joseph Seguin (notes) Tuesday, June 24, 2008 at 8:29am

The driveway was once home for a boy to play basketball. Whenever the boy felt upset or sad or happy, the touch of the basketball against his hands and the sound of the ball hitting the pavement made everything seem alright. Now that boy is older and the driveway is still there, but the basketball hoop is not quite the same.

The rim is just hanging down on a 45 degree angle and it’s a surprise that it has not broken off. Also the height of the hoop can no longer be adjusted; it just stays at astounding six and a half feet. With the hoop on the break of destruction, he still goes out there and tries to shoot some hoops. It’s no where near the same, but he just like dribbling the ball and reacting the famous moments in basketball history. 

At times he goes through withdrawals of playing basketball in the driveway and the excitement of making a 20 foot jumper nothing but net. He misses the sweat dripping down his face, by playing basketball games with his buddies for hours in the heat of the burning sun. Especially the times on an idle Friday night after the usual pizza dinner, when there seems like nothing to do, shooting jump shots in driveway would always seem like an “Einstein like” idea.

That driveway and that hoop provided a lot of cherished memories for the boy who now in his early twenties. He remembers the days practicing dribbling the ball in between and around his legs. The first time perfecting the cross over, around the back, between the legs, and all other dribbles the basketball players keep in their back pocket for any moment to beat their opponent in a game. 
On that very driveway the little boy taught himself how to make a left handed lay-up. That took a 100 percent effort on his part, because he is right hand is his strong hand. He also taught himself how to shoot left handed as well, but his left handed shots are no where near as good as his right handed. This boy is a pure jump shooter and there was a moment in that driveway that could prove it to be true. It was one Friday night when this boy was around the age of 13, with God as he witness, made 119 consecutive 17 ft jump shots. He doesn’t accept anyone to believe him, but he knows it’s true.

Around that same age this boy made a huge upset that was one for the record books. His youth pastor at that time stop by his house to hang out. His youth pastor was young man, in his late twenties, with some athletic abilities and he like playing basketball too. The boy beat his youth pastor 18-17. For his youth pastor sake, the actual score was 6-17; the boy’s baskets count as three points and the pastor’s baskets counted as 1. 

These are the memories the young man misses and longs to make more. The young man has been talking to his dad about buying a new hoop and it’s looking good that it will happen. So he can’t wait to get back out there and shoot hoops in that famous driveway. 

25 Random Things About Me

1. I love Jesus. Really. And on a huge sidenote: that whole making disciples thing…yeah He meant that. But have you ever sat down and researched a good working Biblical Definition of a Disciple? I think we would have more actual disciples if people/churches actually defined what that looks like without strict legalism, and began to seek that instead of their current programming.

2. I love my wife, and then our 4 kids, in that order. Marque is wonderful, and my kids are amazing. I REALLY had/have a great family I grew up in too.

3. A huge focus of mine in High School was to become a good enough basketball player to play in college, to the point that it was not a real healthy obsession. Once I was at college I had very successful tryout (went 7-9 from the 3 point line and torched the school’s starting PG)…but then I didn’t accept the offer to be "a walk-on for the first year, and partial scholarship the 2nd year." I turned it down partially because I was offended they didn’t offer me an immediate scholarship (though they did to an obviously less-athletic kid who was 7 inches taller than me), yet the MAIN reason was because I was also being offered a job as a Youth Director at a church. One of the toughest decisions I ever made.

4. I have to be warmed up, but I can still barely dunk a basketball on a legit goal. But my legs are fading fast…I’m 5”11 and 36 years old so my goal of dunking on my 40th birthday is looking less logical.

5. I’m not scared of the things that most people freak out about. I have NO fear of public speaking. Last year I surfed off the coast of South Africa in an area known for random shark attacks. I’m not sure if this is because I love life, or have the “eternal security” thing so down pat that I’m not scared of dying. Or maybe I’m just stupid. I am scared of NOT living my life to it’s fullest though.

4. My higher education degrees and primary focal point over my career have been in Youth Ministry. I still love it.

5. We moved from Chicago back to Arkansas in 2003 because of God’s urging to go and serve at Restoration Village temporarily, and because we were sensing that God was telling us that he was going to “show us what was next.” We LOVED Chicago, but it seemed like that was one of those non-negotiable things God was telling us to do. Not long after the move I was invited to help plant a church and separate was asked to be an Adjunct Professor teaching ministry at JBU…both of which were God things that prepared me a TON for starting Exago.

6. I am a licensed Private Investigator in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and shortly will be in Arkansas too. My Dad taught me well, and it’s a great side-job that keeps food on the table even though my main time and passions center around ministry to youth leaders. I work on Surveillance related cases approximately 3 days per month.

7. I want to pull all my kids out of school and move the family overseas for a year on a short term sabbatical/missions experience. Cape Town is my first choice, but this can’t/won’t happen unless we sense God’s peace about the timing of it all in relation to my normal ministry.

8. I have a Seminary degree already, but then was invited to do my Ph.D. in Leadership a couple years ago. I turned down that amazing opportunity because I DIDN’T have God’s peace. Not long later, Marque started getting ridiculously sick…and I understood better. Very thankful I’m not in that program or I would have been terribly distracted and failed at either it or at loving my family. Whew!

9. Perfect meal: Gino’s East Sausage Pizza with Mt. Dew, French Silk pie with milk.

10. On the DISC personality scale, I’m a High D and a High I. Therefore I apologize in advance for when I offend you. It’s not a matter of IF, it’s when…and I really am sorry. Really.

11. It fascinates me how wonderful Marque is, as we really are wired differently. Marrying her was the best decision of my life (other than following Jesus).

12. I’m told that my grandfather used to go to meetings in the same building where Jimmy Hoffa held his Teamsters get togethers, though we aren’t sure how involved Grandpa was or wasnt. Meanwhile his older brother was somewhat involved with Al Capone as a possible leg-breaker. I’ve never done the research to connect or directly confirm all of this, but I really don’t doubt it. There is more to this family history stuff that is not appropriate to share here.

13. I really really liked a rough movie called “A History of Violence.” It’s not for the faint of heart, so don’t run out and rent it. I connected with it because the primary character is capable of SO MUCH sin, but he chose a better life. As a Christian I feel that with my sin nature, I’m not that different from him (minus the killing/maiming/etc). Most people though DO NOT GET that connection, and are very unhappy with me for recommending this movie. You’ve been warned.

14. I still don’t need a lot of sleep, though more then when I was young. 6 1/4 hours a night on a good routine is perfect. If I get 8 hours more then a few nights in a row, I start to get headaches. I like video games, so late night Xbox is a great chill time in leiu of sleep.

15. I love watching my boys play sports, and get a kick out of their athletic accomplishments. They are both pretty good studs at all they do (Marque was a great athlete growing up), so I push them if THEY decide they want to commit to getting better at something

16. I started the para-church ministry I work for, but I still believe that the local church is the hope of the world in being Jesus.

17. I am equally disturbed by the right’s vilification and the left’s idolization of President Obama. He is neither the messiah nor the anti-Christ. Now leave it alone and see how it plays out. (totally stole that from my sister).

18. For the first time in my life I am anti-capital punishment (something I gave pro speeches on in college) and anti-torture. Not sure how this gels with how much I love Jack Bauer on 24, because the character seems to make choices I agree with as well. 

16. I’m a terrible cook. Again, again…thank God for my awesome wife or we might all starve or spend too much time at McDonalds.

17. Having a daughter mixed in with 3 boys was an incredible blessing. Nice to have her delicateness, though she has a STRONG take no crap personality while wearing her pink and drawing her pictures.

18. My best friends with only 1 exception are or have been in full-time ministry of various degrees. Particularly Worship related.

19. I didn’t like most of the people I knew who were in full-time ministry when I was growing up, because they seemed judgemental and unapproachable. They usually were "above" me, even though I loved Jesus and could have used more encouragement.

20. I have an unhealthy obsession with all things Chicago, especially the sports.

21. I root for the White Sox and the Cubs. Go ahead, bring it…I can take it. In a World Series though I would ALWAYS choose the Sox.

22. My office is a new macbook and my iPhone…and wherever I am. Simple, elegant, efficient. Yes, it’s good.

23. Given the opportunity to live anywhere with my family (without regard to price or to current ministry calling), I would be torn between something tropical and a large condo off Lake Michigan in Downtown Chicago. I love the people and culture of Chicago. It’s…just…me.

24. I’m allergic to Chicken. Yes, it totally blows…and so do I if I consume some. Yes, I’m sure. Yes, even soup. No, not eggs. Chicken. My stomach refuses to accept it, I might as well eat aluminum. 

25. I don’t mind losing, but I WILL compete with passion. Therefore I am a very competitive person, but really don’t care if I (or my kids) lose at something as long as HUSTLE and ATTITUDE are done right. It kind of freaks people out that I can be so passionate and disconnected about the final outcome at the same time. In the here and now it’s nice to compete so do your best, but in the eternal big picture…it’s just a game.

Ramblings about a couple of winners that I get to call "son"

Last Fall John and Reagan transitioned to public school.  John is in 5th and Reagan is in 4th.  I am truly amazed at how well they have done.  Here is a short list at SOME of the things that have gone very well on top of good grades:

• Both boys have won multiple awards for "Reader of the Month," and other things like that.  With those awards come gift-certificates to local restuarants and a certificate of accomplishment...which makes it really fun.  Seems like we get to go out every few weeks because of them!
• Both boys finished in the top fastest 1 milers in races at school, and got to represent their school in a city-wide cross -country race featuring the Top 5 from each school (I think there are like 14 total elementary schools).  Reagan finished in the top 10 in the main race, and John WON the main race, so together they helped their school (Reagan Elementary) win the race in total points.
• A couple weeks ago, there was an in-school spelling bee featuring the Top Spellers in grades 4 and 5.  Both boys made it to the finals...and then they placed 1st and 2nd overall!  As a result, Reagan represents the school in the county-wide spelling bee, and John is the 1st alternate should Reagan be sick!  When Reagan beat John...I was humbled and most proud of how John cheered and encouraged Reagan instead of being jealous.  I will never get that picture out of my mind.  Tears in my eyes as I remember it even now.
• Today Reagan won the city-wide free throw competition sponsored by the Elks Club.  He had to beat all the other 8-9 year old boys in his school to go up against 13 others from other schools.  John took 2nd in his age group (10-11s) at school, so he didn't get to compete at the city-wide competition (which was kind of surprising because he is a very good shooter), but he was still excited for Reagan. Now Reagan is supposed to go to "State" in Hot Springs to go up against the other best Free-Throw shooters!  They will even give us $50 to offset our gas if we will take him there!

Needless to say...it has been a whirlwind of activity and success.  On one hand I want to encourage them to do their best still, but on the other hand I don't want them to think that life will always be as easy and victorious as the past 4 months.  Meanwhile I've also been glad that they have not been prideful or jerks about all this winning as far as I can tell.  They seem like genuinely good kids, despite their sometimes mouthy father.

This is all great, and fun...yadda yadda yadda.  But what I REALLY TRULY REALY TRULY REALLY TRULY want for them is to love and glorify God with all of their hearts and minds.  Sometimes I wonder if I talk about that enough, or whether I actually talk about it too much.  Hopefully I model it and not just talk about it...because I'm convinced that loving God and contemplating God's love are a couple of the main challenges and primary focal points in life.

One of the ways I OFTEN try and underline this is in my attempts in talking about our love before a big competition of some sort. I look them in the eye and say, "Hey.  I love you as much as I possibly can right now.  After this thing is over, I won't love you less if you lose.  And I won't love you more if you win.  I don't love you because of this stuff.  I love you because you are my son, and I'm proud of you regardless of what happens here today." I think that it has sunk in that I really mean this, but I keep saying it because I never want them to think that I love them any less if they go through periods in life where there are more losses than wins.  And I want them to get that God's love works like this too, though on a far more unfathomable and wonderful level.

Currently though...wins are often the norm.  I'm not overstating it at all in saying that our family trophy count has overwhelmed our places to put them on or around their desks.  It's a high water mark time for winning and success around here.  I hope though that what I'm mostly developing are young men who will love God.  I've been thinking a lot about the following verse....so it is where I will end this update:

Titus 2:6-8 (English Standard Version)...urge the younger men to be self-controlled. 7 Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, 8 and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.

Post-Election Prayers...and Racism

Posted much of the following comment area on a friends blog earlier today, and decided to pull it over here and elaborate too. It's not brilliant, but it's a good random summary of my sense of some things race related. By no means is it an exhaustive commentary, because it doesn't fully address the topic. But from where I stand in my tiny corner of the world, it's how I often see things.

I actually felt a bit Switzerland-like in this recent Presidential election. Both primary candidates had obvious (to me) strengths and weaknesses, thus I didn't make my final decision for whom I would vote for until the final days leading up to the vote. I am both excited and a bit skeptical of Obama's new station (he is not Christ after all, despite the adulation some have heaped on him), but I will happily be praying for the man and his family, his staff, and his decisions. Some great things could happen in his Presidency, despite or perhaps because of the challenges we face as a nation. It would be failure to not give him a fair shake or our prayers as individuals and as a nation. Even if you didn't vote for him, you have to hope and pray that he succeeds in helping our nation prosper while not ignoring the plight of the poor or leading us towards intrusive government. Tough job!

That being said, I was actually pretty offended how quickly the news (we just happened to turn on NBC) turned the win into a race issue. I'm not an expert, nor am I surrounded by racism daily (or even often)...but why did they have to go there? My understanding is that CNN soft-peddeled the idea that Obama didn't win the South probably because of race (going so far as to refer to the South as the old confederate states)!? Why was it not more "here is a guy whose fresh ideas are inspiring people," instead of more "here is a guy who is black!" ? I was disgusted at the coverage because I really don't care what color he is...nor that he happened to be technically representing a particular voting party. He won. Celebrate that, and leave it at that!

I had an older caucasian relative that (when he was alive) was overtly racist. I often avoided him, partially because of this. He would root for a particular ball team, but then call a player a derogatory racist name if he committed an error. It was sad, and ignorant of him. He had already passed away by the time I was old enough to have the understanding and gall to explain to him that Jesus probably wasn't a blue-eyed gentlemen of European descent.

One semester of college I attended a campus where I was obviously a minority when compared to the skin tone of my peers, and there were a few ignorant racists among those peers that thought it was appropriate to label me as "whitey" or "honkey" too.  Of course I would have been in danger had I pointed out the derogatory nicknames for their race, but I digress.

Though I've been able to dunk a basketball for most of my life, and have always been a very fast runner...people of different races have inquired as to whether I am truly caucasian (innuendo being that only people with dark skin should have actual athletic abilities). Sometimes I knew they were joking. Sometimes...not. Crazy? YES. But even still, my sense is that in this day and age in the U.S.....ignorant and/or racist people are the minority.  Perhaps not internationally as much, but again, I'm speaking primarily of the U.S.

I no longer know anyone overtly racist. Thus, I've had this type of discussion more than a couple of times with a close friend of mine who is not caucasian. He was raised in Brooklyn and has lived in the South too. We both reached the conclusion that NOT ALWAYS, but far too often....race is an issue primarily because people make it an issue, even when it obviously isn't. Yet somehow even that line of logic is attacked by those who would accuse us of sugar coating everything in our racism. Seems like lose-lose sometimes, no matter the intention of your heart and mind. It's almost like it's not politically correct to be a complete non-racist. Our media/culture seems to tacitly teach a gospel of structured racism. I can't stand it.

An important caveat in this, is my strong stand that ALL of life is about God, and Jesus died for people regardless of their race. See Revelation 5:9  And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God, from every tribe and language and people and nation.  

I'm not saying let's pretend racism doesn't exist. It does exist, and in more than one form, and it's evil.

What I am saying, is that I hope that we will stop turning non-race related things into politically correct racism. It helps no one, and creates if not encourages and furthers a "we vs. them" mentality. The "WE" should be all of us in our humanity, not people group vs. people group.

I will be praying for President-Elect Obama. That has nothing to do with his skin color, or the fact that he is a White Sox fan (Thank God)!

Big Trip with In-Laws

We have been planning for a long time to travel with family to San Antonio. Marque’s parents are gracious and help us with the finances, otherwise I don’t think we would/could do it with 6 of us.

We all try and do a vacation of some sort together every couple/few years, and as there are 25 in-laws altogether, it is always a fun/interesting/challenging experience.

It gives the kids a chance to spend extra time with cousins and aunts/uncles too, so it’s really become a nice little tradition over our first 14 years of our marriage.

Historically we have vacationed as in-laws to:

Albequerque

Orlando

Colorado

Branson

Honolulu

And this summer was San Antonio

Maybe Chicago will be in our future?

Details about my family’s activities from this year's San Antonio trip:

Day 1 of our vacation was pretty uneventful, but still quite nice. We cleaned the house, packed up some stuff, and basically got around to eventually leaving for Oklahoma City after a delayed lunch.

It took about 3 ½ hours to drive there, and after checking in to our budget motel we grabbed dinner at Shorty Smalls. We “thought” this was going to be a great budget choice because the sign on the window said “Kids Eat Free.” Unfortunately, the small tiny letters you couldn’t see from the road said “on Mondays.” As this was a Wednesday, dinner was 2x more expensive then we had hoped for. Oh well.

A little blessing was that Macye’s kids dinner was unexpectedly HUGE…lots of leftover chicken and French fries. As we got back to our hotel there was a homeless guy dumpster diving for food, so we were able to pass along the blessing as we had got a to-go box.

Afterwards the kids swam really hard for about an hour as the sun went down, and then crashed in our room. Payton was very proud to sleep on the floor, since his big brother John was as well. Very cute!

Day 2 was unique to say the least! We arrived at the Amtrak terminal by 7am, and were on our way soon after. We choo-chooed all the way to Fort Worth, TX, where we had a 2 hour layover. This took much longer than expected. But we hung out, played games, and just had a good time.

Unfortunately, Amtrak was wayyyyy late, so we were very hungry once we got the station. Fortunately there was a Subway nearby, so we invaded it as a group. Once again, when we got done eating…Macye and Payton combined had a ton of left overs ( I promise we weren’t over-ordering!). And once again, when we went outside, there were people who probably hadn’t eaten much that day. This time there was a lady with 2 little girls on leashes, and she happily took the food. Let’s just say this continued to be a theme on our trip. Very sad.

Much later in the evening (7:15pm) Amtrak had promised to feed us dinner, but cancelled on us 15 minutes before our reservation in the dining car. This was not a pleasant discovery, and even the conductor came back to personally apologize as he disagreed with the decision and thought we should request a full refund due to the terrible customer service.

Thankfully we were able to get some hot dogs from the ala carte type area just before it closed. We were on the train late into the evening, but on the whole we really enjoyed it!

Day 3 We took in the Alamo, took big naps, and a had nice dinner at a Mexican restaurant overlooking the Riverwalk in San Antonio. Not too stressful of day, though very hot! San Antonio really is a unique city, and even though we didn’t, I certainly recommend anyone visiting there to get a hotel that is located right on the River Walk. There is much to see and do in that area!

Day 4 was a colossal disappointment. I had been looking so forward to Schlitterbahn as it is so well regarded as the World’s Greatest Water Park. Unfortunately it felt like they allowed 20,000 people into the park. Seriously. And the park felt big enough for maybe 10% of that. In the 8+ hours we were there, we managed to ride 4 rides. That’s it. The lines were atrocious, and it was cruel to be able to SEE many cool rides that you had no hope of ever getting on. Terrible park management to say the least. And the prices are terrible. :( Very sad.

Day 5 was very similar to Day 3 for our family, except that Marque, Macye, and Payton started to get fevers. Fortunately John and Reagan still got to go to Sea World with some cousins, so they weren’t as stranded around sick people. The rest of us laid pretty low on the whole, although we had wonderful little lunch by the Riverwalk by the mall. Later in the evening I went to the late show of DARK KNIGHT with a bunch of in-laws. What a movie! Afterwards I had the most bizarre parking garage experience...that might earn it's own blog if I have time someday. Crazy.

Day 6 we all went to Sea World….and WOW…IT WAS GREAT! I truly thought it was just fish with a ride or two. Wrong. There was a waterpark for swimming and fun, multiple rollercoaster rides (that were great), and of course good shows and yes…fish. I was blown away at how much fun there is to be had there, and wished I had another day to go back and do more. Definitely worth the price of admission! The park staff was professional, and there was space to move around. Even when you had to stand in line for something, it was a short line, and shaded or air conditioned. What a great place! Unfortunately Marque and the shorties were still not feeling great, so I had to run them home mid-day. But me and the older boys stayed until almost closing later on, and really took in a lot. Sharks are cool!

Day 7 was another travel day. Amtrak could be a GREAT way to travel, but unfortunately their staff lacks professionalism. We were on the train @ 7am, and they didn’t start serving any coffee or anything else until after 11:30am. I have many more examples than that, but won’t digress. However, an interesting development was that there was a stock car derailment down the line, so at one point they traveled us BACKWARDS 2 hours, and then stuck us on busses. By the time we got to Oklahoma City, it was 1:30am that night! Of course, then we drove home where we arrived @ 5am. So it was a huge traveling marathon…but since I enjoy travel…I really wasn’t too bothered personally. Our kids had great attitudes throughout, as they could play with cousins, draw, play gameboys, etc. Despite the challenges, I liked taking the Amtrak!

Summary:
Great fun. If I did it again I would spend more time at Sea World, not even try Schlitterbahn, and make sure to stay at a hotel directly connected to the Riverwalk.