Blackmans on the Web (log)

Photos by Scott. Thought (below) by Ann.

Reside: To be inherently present; exist

… An aha! moment in Santa Fe: That where you reside and where you live don’t always share the same address.

Whew! Great day. As always. Food was terrific (turkey was especially good this year). Bill and Lorette were here for the first time in a long time. New babies: Anthony and Allison. Great to have the boys home too.

FR: Sam, Sarah, Amber, Oliva, Peter, Allison, Amy SR: LeAnne, Jacob, Lorette, Bill BR: Pat, Diana, Joe, Anthony, MariFe, Matt, Alex, Shelby, Ann, Scott

..and present. And boy have they grown. The photo on the left was taken when the boys were in elementary school at Smith Elementary. Ashlee Verbruggen and Sam were in the same class together. Ashlee’s dad, Hans, suggested Sam and Alex go to a dance recital with him. He took this picture. Ashlee ended up going to a different middle school and they lost touch a bit. Then, back in High School Ashlee is a Sweetheart. Sam’s girlfriend Sarah is a Sweetheart. Sarah introduces Sam to her friend Ashlee and – shazam – the friendship is rekindled. This weekend we went to the State Fair. Big group of us. And there were Alex, Ashlee and Sam and that picture popped into my head. Sure glad I got it!

More photos from the 2009 Texas State Fair HERE

Tarleton State University football:

Standing the ENTIRE game. Choice of footwear …. flipflops or cowboy boots.

Sam & Sarah

With 5 high schools now in Frisco and each school with their own weekend of festivities, homecoming came early for Centennial High School this year. Even with record-breaking rain, the weekend appeared to turn out to be well worth the trip home for Sam. It was pretty much the same ‘ol gang as last year. That means a great bunch of kids … and then some fun parents to hang around with after the teens take off to the dance! Click on the photo of Sam and Sarah on the right to see more photos.

A Word About Mums: Thank goodness for Texas-born friends! Jennifer took both Sam and I by the hand last year to make sure that Sam’s design plans for a mum were successful. This year, it was Amy and myself wielding the hot glue gun and mini stapler while Scott sent photos of the mum-in-progress to Sam in his dorm room for creative direction.

Confused about the mum tradition? Here some info …
http://www.starling-travel.com/2006/10/11/san-antonio-texas-high-school-homecoming-mums/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homecoming#Mums

Sarah's mum

Detail: Disco Ball!

The countdown began for Sam’s last week at home with a nice evening with friends at Billy Bob’s. Billy Bob’s is in the Stockyards in Fort Worth and is billed as “The World’s Largest Honky Tonk”. Wouldn’t argue with that. Six of Sam’s friends and several parents went along for some two-steppin’ and knee slappin’. Great time was had by all. Even Alex and Shelby came up from Stephenville and showed us all how to REALLY two-step. Wow, somebody is going to throw their back out doing that, for sure. Click on the photo to see the fun.

Independence Day 2009

Hope everyone had a nice Independence Day. Another scorcher in the heart of Texas. 101 I think.