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This year, instead of going diving we decided to fly back to Texas to see Tate’s family for our anniversary.  The photo above is of Roxie who was not too happy about us leaving her for five days.  We flew out on Monday and arrived in Dallas at 6:00pm.  Time enough to get dinner and head to Graham which is about 2 hrs north west of Dallas.  Tuesday, we hung out at his parents house and did some shooting out on the property.  Since I am learning to shoot shotguns, I mostly shot the 20 gauge and had them throw some prickly pear cactus in the air.  I missed most of them.  Later in the evening, we went into town to visit with Tate’s brother Ty and his family.  While there, his dad drove into Wal-Mart and decided to buy a trap shooter and some clays. 

Wednesday, we woke up to rain and hung out until the showers stopped and went out to shoot at those clays.  We had a great time and everyone shot pretty well.  I didn’t shoot so well in the beginning but eventually, I got it together and was able to hit most of my final few rounds.  Later, Ty and his family came over to have dinner to celebrate his 40th birthday.

Thursday, we headed into Dallas where we went to the West End and walked around to see the place where JFK was shot.  We ran into a tour guide who showed us around and gave us great details.  We saw the book depository and the grassy knoll as well as the two “X”‘s in the road where the President was when the shots came.  It was very interesting to actually see this historic location.  To see the rest of the pics from this spot, click here.

After our historic tour, we walked to Hoffbrau Steakhouse for some dinner where I had the BEST filet mignon I had ever eaten. It was so tender and juicy that I barely needed my knife. I’m just sad that this restaurant is only in Texas. 

After dinner, we took Tate’s parents to see Neil Diamond.  It was supposed to have been a surprise for Tate’s mom, but as most of you know, the Viehmann family can’t keep a secret to save their lives.  The concert was great!  For as old as Neil is, he certainly sounds and looks 20 years younger.  I was able to briefly pull out my camera to video a portion of one of the songs.  After that, the ushers were hunting for the source of the light and I had to put it away.  Here it is, the song is Love on the Rocks from the movie The Jazz Singer.

 

Neil Diamond takes me back to my childhood when my dad used to play his music all the time, mostly the soundtrack to The Jazz Singer.  During the concert, I was reminded of this time and wished my dad was there to share it with me.  Tate has similar memories of spending time with his mom and hearing her sing along to the songs while she was vacuuming.

In other news, Roxie and I are finally back in field training.  Things are going really well so far.  I am planning to take the hunter’s safety course next month so I can take Roxie hunting for real this season.  Also, I just purchased my very own shotgun.  A Browning BPS Hunter, 20ga.  I am currently on day five of my ten day waiting period.

 

The house continues to be worked on little by little.  Right now, we are preparing for our annual Halloween Party.  If you are in the Sacramento area, and would like to come, let me know and I will send you in evite.

Well, that’s all for now.  Have a great weekend everyone!