Mark & Terri

Greetings family!

Hope all is well with y’all.  Spring has sprung, Fall has fell, Summer is here and it’s hotter than…Usual!  We are on our 63rd day over 100 deg. We are ready for some cool.  Terri and I just got back from a trip to the Northwest to visit Michelle.  She has been back in Oregon working for a branch of the Forest Service where she works in the wilderness 8 days hiking and checking stream status then has 6 days off.  We flew to Portland, where Michelle picked us up. We drove through Washington stopping in Tacoma, Seattle, and Bellingham, ending up in Vancouver.   We spent a day there then went up to Whistler where Michelle and I got to experience some downhill mountain biking off the ski runs.  That was definitely an adrenaline rush.  We finished off the trip back with a stop at Mount St. Helens.  We had great weather during the trek with highs in the upper 70s.  I even had to put a sweatshirt on in Whistler. It was great to see Michelle.  She finishes up in late September then she plans to come home to prepare for her trip to South America to go WOOFing. (World Organization of Organic Farming).  She and her boyfriend are planning a trip to work on self sustained farms as they tour thru Peru and Ecuador. 

Earlier in the summer Terri and I went to DC.  For an early birthday present, Terri gave me tickets to the Manchester United vs. Barcelona soccer match at Fedex field in Maryland.  It was a great time that included a packed Metro trip.  We toured the Capital where it was a record 104 deg.  We thought we were getting out of the heat. HAH!  We just ran from museum to museum to get in the AC.

We also managed a trip to College Station to see Rachael.  She had spent the summer in Houston working an internship for Spectra; a natural gas pipeline company.  She was back to take a class in Business Management.  We towed the SeaDoo and made it down to Lake Somerville.  We had spent many weekends there when we lived in Houston.  We had a chance to meet her boyfriend John Ryan.  He is also a mechanical engineer student.

In mid-July, the girls came to Midland and joined us for a fund raising bike ride, The MS 150.  We rode 150 miles in 2 days in temps up to 105 deg.  We were joined by Terri’s dad and nephew along with our friends, the Boudreaux’s.  Terri’s dad inspired us all at age 73.  Our team managed to raise over $20,000.

No big plans for the fall until Thanksgiving when we plan to go to the Texas A&M vs Texas game.  We are planning a big tailgate Thanksgiving dinner.  This will be Rachael’s last season there and A&M’s last game in the Big 12.  BTHO Texas!! A!!

Love to All.  Vaya con Dios.