On a more positive note...

Man, I was reading thru some of our more recent blogs, and what "downers" we are!! I am sorry that all we seem to post are these really melancholy and dreary notes about our sad lives.

On the flip side of that, what an amazing last few weekends we've had with friends and family!!! It is so great to be able to fellowship with folks we haven't seen in a long time, and be able to enjoy their company for a few days at a time.
Two weekends ago we went out to the Austin area to spend some time with one of Kelli's family friends...Brian and Suzanne Black. Suzanne's parents (George and Peggy Wacha) work out of the same shop that Kel's parents do, so they've been friends for some time now, which has allowed Kel and I a chance to get to know them, and their daughter's family. Suzanne and Brian have the most precious little boy...Hart. While in Austin the girls went to Hart's soccer game, while the boys went and played golf. While at the driving range, warming up for our round, Brian got a call from Suzanne, so we continued warming up while he took the call. When he came back he stated, "I am the worst father in the world." Wouldn't you know that the one game Brian doesn't make it to, Hart scores his first goal!!! The girls were so proud, and so was Brian, although a little "Hart"broken that he didn't get to witness the event. Needless to say, the boys trudged on and played a wonderful game of golf, at one of the most beautiful courses I've ever played. (Now, I've only probably played about 15 or 20 courses in my life, so that may not be saying much - but it was gorgeous none the less). The girls finished up the soccer game and went shopping - surprise, surprise!! Afterwards, everyone met back at the Black's home to enjoy some steak that would make you want to slap your Pappy. We watched some of the Final Four Basketball games, and enjoyed our day to the fullest with friends and family.

Then this past weekend we traveled out to the Mountain Home area of Texas to the Morriss Ranch, which has been in my father-in-law's family for many many years. They have 9500ish acres out there, and we spent most of our time trying to cover those 9500 acres on FOUR WHEELERS!!! What a blast! We went out there with Kelli's family, and met another family related to Andrew - Jim and Lucy Dingel, and their son Grant. The Dingel's were the ones who provided the Overton/Dowdney's with the 4-wheelers and we had a blast roaming the ranch on those things - sunburns and all! As my sister-in-law, Kaysi, would tell you - we ran across several "critters" while on the ranch, to include: a skunk, armadillo, axis and white tail deer, rattle snake, and cattle. When not out roaming the ranch, we were playing the Nintendo Wii, which Kel and I received from Ebay the Thursday we left town to go to the ranch. We enjoyed that on our down time, as did Grant, who is very skilled in the art of Wii. In all honesty, we really enjoyed our time with the Dingel's and hope to get together with them again soon, as they live just down the road from us in Addison, not even 10 minutes away. We've made a deal to get them out on our boat as a repayment for the fun times we had using their four wheelers.

I must say that ever since I married Kelli, family has become one the most important things to me. Not that it wasn't important before, but I don't come from a really big family, and the family I do have, we just don't see each other as often as we should. Kelli has a very large family on both sides, and they do an amazing job of making sure they get together as many times throughout the year as possible. This has allowed me to cherish the times I am able to spend time with my family. I think it has also allowed me to cherish the times we are able to be with friends as well. Kelli and I have some of the most wonderful friends anyone could ask for, and I wish to thank each of them for standing by us thru thick and thin. That shows the character of a true friend. We love you all, and we hope to continue to see as many of you as we can. Sorry for the long post, but thought we needed to put a feel good post on the board for a change. --DD