Thursday, July 5, 2012

Texas Resolutions

And finally on the resolutions front, a recap of my Texas bucket list. At least when it comes to this list I don't have to have everything accomplished by the end of the year, since my deadline is "if/when we leave Texas".

Attend a professional baseball game.
Nope. If we'd checked the Detroit Tigers' (our team) schedule a little earlier in the year we'd have noticed that they play two series, both in Dallas, against the Texas Rangers. And while the Rangers' stadium isn't exactly right next door, it's an easily drivable distance for our seasoned road-tripping family. Next year.

Buy myself a pair of cowboy boots.
Sure did. And they're fabulous.

Visit the (inside of the) new Dallas Cowboys stadium.
Nope again. And this one probably won't happen this year either. You see, I can't stand the Dallas Cowboys (sorry, Texas peeps), so the only time I watch them play is when they're getting their butts kicked by my Green Bay Packers. From what I can tell, these two teams don't play each other this year, at least during the regular season.

Swim in the Gulf of Mexico.
I wish. Especially today, when the temperatures have surpassed 100 degrees and the only place available to take my kids to burn off steam is the McDonald's indoor Playplace.

Watch a football game at Kyle Field (the TAMU football stadium).
Not yet. Tickets are going to be even harder to come by this year than they've been in previous years because of TAMU's recent move to the SEC. But we're going to put our feelers out there this fall, in hopes that we might stumble upon an engineering graduate student or professor who bought season tickets but then realized that he/she actually hates football and wants to sell a couple of them to us. (I know lots of engineers who love football, Tom being one of them. But from what I understand, there are quite a few engineering graduate students and professors for whom attending a football game is about as appealing as a root canal. These people are our targets.)

Watch the TAMU Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band perform.
Tickets to a football game at Kyle Field = an opportunity to watch the band perform. Come on, engineers - sell me your tickets!

Spend the day playing in the wave pools and riding the water slides at Schlitterbahn Water Park, otherwise known as the “Hottest, Coolest Time in Texas”, in Galveston.
We had plans to visit Schlitterbahn with my sister, brother-in-law, and niece in June, but after looking at the drive, the price, and the ages of our kids (mine are five and three and my niece is 18 months) we decided it wasn't worth the stress. I'd actually love it if Tom and I could take just Will (Hallie's not a big fan of water, so perhaps we'd leave her with a babysitter or a friend), maybe for his birthday in October...

Attend a rodeo.
It was even better this year.

Learn what chaps are.
Is this what chaps actually look like? If so, I think it's safe to say that I will never, ever wear a pair. I'm not sure a more unflattering article of clothing (can you even call them clothing?!) exists.

Visit the Riverwalk and the Alamo in San Antonio.
Not yet, though we're planning a trip to San Antonio in January. The Newman Singers - the choir in which Tom and I met - are giving a concert at a church in San Antonio, so we're thinking we'll head south for a weekend and try to take in a few of the sights (the zoo, Sea World, the Riverwalk, the Alamo) as well as their concert. Any Newman Singer alumni want to join us?

Take a frame-able/frame-worthy photo of either Bluebonnets or Indian Paint Brushes.
I've taken a few pictures of individual Bluebonnet and Indian Paint Brush flowers, but I've yet to find a location where the flowers sprawl across the countryside. Texans, where - within driving distance from College Station - can I find such beauty?

Visit a Texas zoo and aquarium.
Hopefully one of these will be on our agenda in San Antonio. The other will be on my agenda for next year!

That wraps up this mid-year review...all in all, my progress hasn't been great, but it hasn't been terrible either. I'm looking forward to cramming in as much fun as I can in the second half of the 2012!

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