David Ruppert

A couple of months ago Anne and I planned a weekend trip to San Antonio for poopies and giggles. More recently, those plans got harpooned by a workshop that Anne needed to attend in Austin on Thursday and Friday of that vacation weekend.

So, our first option was for me to take two full vacation days simply hanging out in the hotel room without a car. Meh . . I’ve got some vacation time, but that’s now how I’d imagined spending it.

The next option involved me driving down to Austin Friday night after work. That leaves us in Austin Friday night with two cars. Soooo . . do we drive separately to San Antonio . . and back home on Sunday? Do we leave one vehicle in Austin, a town neither one of us live in?

Do I fly down there Friday night, make her pick me up at the airport only to have to drive back by Love Field on the way home Sunday to pick up my truck?

You’re getting the picture. Solid beating.

So, the compromise? Thankfully my work is lenient enough to allow employees to work from home. So, whats the difference in working from a hotel room? Nothing . . that’s what.

So, here I am . . finishing up a productive work day in a downtown Austin hotel room.

My glamorous workspace:

My magnificent view of Darrell K Royal Stadium:

And last but not least, what better time to show off my pink bedazzled cat5 cable.

My buddy thought it would be hee-LARIOUS to bring me this cable when I called him asking for a favor. I needed a long cat5 cable this is what he produced.

You can pretend you’re not impressed, but I know better.

On the way home from a wedding in Pearsall, TX this past weekend, we stopped near Johnson City to visit the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park.

I snapped a few pictures while we were out there.

On the way into the ranch, there were whitetails roaming the property . . completely out in the open. We pulled right up, stopped and took a few pictures. It’s awesome to see these guys in this type of setting . . one where they’re not petrified of every noise, movement or scent.

The next stop is the show barn where President Johnson kept some of his prized animals. The park ranger told us that there was a calf in the barn that was just over a month old. This bugger looks a little big, but he’s the only calf in sight.

This hoss was in one of the holding pens by the barn.

At the end of the dirt road sat the last pen with this little fella.

As we walked through the barn, we noticed a sign asking visitors not to touch the animals. Anne did her best to follow directions, but she really can’t be trusted.

To be fair, the horse touched her first. But then she broke. She’s so predictable.

The last stop was the house itself. The house had previously been completely closed up while Lady Bird was living there. After her passing in July of 2007 they decided to begin opening portions of the house. In August of this year they opened the first room, the office.

The house itself sits on the banks of the Pedernales River. In front of the house sits the most awe-inspiring 400 year old live oak tree.

While driving out of the park, you pass right in front of the home.

Just a few shots from a July 4th party at my cousins house in Omaha, NE. We recently made a trip up to the great white north[ish] for a family reunion.

After that it was up to Sioux Falls, SD to stay with Anne’s family.

This is the power pole outside of her parents house. He’s taken all of these deer from the area. I’m jealous to say the least.

The ‘falls’ part of Sioux Falls. Honestly, I had no idea they existed, but I’m a bit of an idiot.

We spent this past weekend in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, just outside of Beavers Bend state park. We’ve spent a number of weekends in and around this park. It’s a beautiful area . . . tall trees, rolling hills, quick moving streams.

This weekend included the entire family . . . mom and dad, my brother and sister and their families. A total of 13 of us, including 5 young kids.

Our weekend wrapped up with some sandwiches for lunch, then some cleaning up and packing the cars for the trip home. The last order of duty was to zap the last ounce of energy out of these little ones before making the 3 hour trek home.

So . . . the torture of choice? Laps. That’s right Laps.

Borrowing the mentality of a high school football coach, we got these kids running laps around the cabin.

“Knees Up!”

“Just two more!”

“Feel the burn!”

First around one side of the cabin . . .

then looping around the other side . . .

read more »

We visited some friends on Richland Chambers lake this weekend. I shot a few pictures on my phone [forgot my other camera at home].

Activities included eating, pre-nap movie dozing, sitting, eating, full blown nap, eating, puzzle contemplation and eating. Oh yeah, and drinking . . . we drank too.

Good times.

Well, I’m finally getting around to uploading some pictures from our trip to Cozumel last fall with Anne, Josh and Kimberly. View the entire set on Flickr.