Blackmans on the Web (log)

The 1994 Camry finally gave up the ghost. Power steering started failing and before we knew it we were looking at the possibility of $3500 in repairs. So Sam started scouring Craigslist for a deals. Didn’t take him long to find one! 1992 Mazda Miata with only 89,800 miles. New paint. Excellent interior. 

Needless to say – he can’t stop grinning. And who can blame him. 

Yes, I’m a little behind! Had some birthday and homecoming photos that I never got around to sharing.

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Scott and I are both making an effort to clean up and sort our many, many photos. These are both from May, 2002. My, how time flies!

We are very indebted to Rick and Penny McLeod, CGS ranch managers in the early 2000′s for their very BIG positive influence on both Alex and Sam. Here, left to right, is Sam, Rick and Alex after a big day of cleaning stables, giving hay rides and generally just hanging out with the horses.

As much as I didn’t want to admit it at the time, Meg was right: She sent the boys BLUE SPARKLY hair gel which they got into before I even knew it had arrived in the mail. I was not pleased! Meg’s comment to me was that it’s just hair and gently suggested I could save my bluster for bigger issues. While we have been very blessed to have the many, many positive influences and support systems we have, I’m just glad it’s now Meg’s turn to have tween-age boys!!!

Cali, Alex, Sam and Ann

Sam is hanging out with Alex this weekend at Tarleton. We met Alex in the Fort Worth Stockyards for dinner. He brought his friend Callie along. Callie is from Denton and her dad happens to work at Collin College in Frisco.

It was great to see Alex. Sounds like things are going great at Tarleton. He’s enjoying school, his new friends and his job with Kobie Wood. Kobie is a horseman in the Stephenville area. He’s letting Alex work at his ranch. Another great opportunity for Alex to learn from people in his field of interest.

Keep up the good work, Alex!

Spruce called on Wednesday with a little camp emergency. Seems they had a session scheduled for kids of military families but therewas a staffing mix up. Our guys got a call to see if they’d be interested in coming out and helping. So they’re off today for a week at CGS. Nice way to end the summer. I’m glad they’ll get to go hang out together for awhile before Alex leaves for Tarleton on the 22nd.

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UPDATE: For those if you having trouble seeing the video below, please try it on YouTube. Click on the YouTube logo on the to see the video.

Quality will be much lower but it may minimize any frustrations around having to install plug-ins. (Note: Installing the Quicktime plug-in for Windows will insure you’ll be able to see future videos.)

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The 2007/2008 Swimming and Diving season is behind us. Both Alex and Sam ended the season on a high note. Sam missed going to the State meet by only 11 points. Fantastic finish for a first year diver. Alex was able to get back to State again this year on a relay team (200 Freestyle Relay)I put together a little video with pictures and movies from the end of the season. Click the image below to open it up in a new window. (Note: it requires Quicktime to be install. QT is available for both Mac and Windows. It’s free and easy to install)

These are some photos of Sam and Alex at camp, summer 2007

These are some pics of Alex, Sam wakeboarding last summer…