Connor and I went to the Las Vegas Bowl tonight, or at least most of the first half. We had a good time, but he's still just turned five, and his attention span on a sporting event is still small, but growing.
He wanted to get home to see his Nanna and Pawpaw who flew in from Texas. We went to the game with Steve and Andrew Henness- it was fun. That's Connor with the UCLA Cheerleaders and Bruins mascots.


This last photo is of the familia at the Bellagio Friday, where we went to win some money for gifts. Just kidding!- we went to see the Christmas display, which was beautiful. Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to you and yours... enjoy our family video 2007!
Dave, Annette, Connor, Chloe & Caleb

Our choir sang at the Henderson WinterFest a week ago last Sunday afternoon. It was a lot of fun, we well received, and afterwards, got to enjoy the activities. Dovie and Sam Spear took Connor on a little train ride, and bought him some very messy Indian fry bread- no it was a Funnel Cake. Same thing. They are on his "pretty cool people list," for sure. Afterwards, I took Connor on another four or five train rides, and as we were leaving, we saw Santa. A photog from the RJ came by, snapped this photo, and Connor got his picture in the Las Vegas Review Journal last Sunday. Big thanks to Edna Harris and Sadie Polish for informing me! We don't currently take the RJ, and I didn't know it was in there. That reminds me-I need to find the copy of the picture that was on the front page of the Yuma Daily Sun of my little sister Lisa with Santa, circa 1969 0r '70!

Last night was night Two of three Living Nativity presentations out in front of the church. We've had several hundred the last two nights, and expect a few hundred more tonight. It's pretty neat. Last night our friend April Harris and her foster child DeMille were Mary and baby Jesus. I took Chloe to see April (Mary), and she just had to upstage Jesus- she climbed into the manger herself! She is a character! Afterwards we went to the petting zoo and she got to chase the ducks, rabbits, sheep and goats.
We've been busier at church than any Christmas ever, and I am looking forward to a day off. We haven't been able to do all the things we like to at Christmastime here, but we'll make up for it. I'm taking Connor to see UCLA play BYU Saturday in the Las Vegas Bowl, and I think we'll go to the Bellagio tomorrow to see the decorations. We're also going to a terrific Christmas dinner at Lawry's tomorrow, and since I've lost about 15 pounds the last month and a half, I won't feel guilty to indulge a little. ;)
I'll be posting my annual Christmas video today or tomorrow- stay tuned!

Connor sang his very first solo in church last Saturday night, and it was memorable. You gotta see it- only Connor has this kind of introduction!
Annette led the preschool choir this year, and did a great job. I played the guitar (it was slightly out of tune- sorry!), and she and I were both blessed by having one of our own singing God's praises in His house. It was a great night...

From 2004... Feliz Navidad!

Ocean's 13.
Okay, the DVD's out, so if you want to see my only appearance (to date) in a major motion picture, go to the end of the film. The last scene has Damon, Clooney, and Pitt seated in the airport. It's the picture above. If that picture had continued to the left past Matt Damon another inch or so, that's where I was. Anyway back to the movie. Matt Damon leaves. George Clooney leaves. The next shot is Brad Pitt getting up to leave. I am on the extreme far right side, blue shirt with a computer bag over my shoulder, standing still, then walking towards and behind Brad Pitt. If you blink, you miss it!
I've only seen the film once, last summer in Philly. My great friend Stan Teeple, who owns two theatres there, shut down one of them one night for a private showing for me and Rick Strasser. (Stan was merely a very very good friend up until that point, but when someone shuts down a theatre just for you, they bump up.) I am going to get the DVD tonight, so after I view the scene a few times I will give you a critique of my work if it really stands out.
I haven't gotten to work on any other films, but you just never know. My goal is to one day have a part in a picture, or maybe even just a line, but at this rate, it might be a while. Meanwhile, enjoy my brief cameo in this star-studded film...

Connor and I went to his first college basketball game, UNLV vs. UNR (Reno). UNLV won, and we had a great time. I loved teaching Connor all the little aspects of a game (the scoreboard, the cheers, booing), and I just kinda skipped over the part where the fans were cheering to the "Hey!" song (that's all I know it as), and the students would cheer, Hey! You suck!

Here's some photos from my brothers house last Wednesday.

Chloe was in love with her cousin Raider.

Kyrstin loved holding and playing with her cousin Caleb.

Connor got to see his cousin Morgan for the first time in a while. Morgan is a sophomore at Arizona Western College, where she plays softball for the Lady Matadors.

Kylee & Alexis.

Caleb hung out with Uncle Eddie.

Here's a photo of a lot of cousins; Connor, Morgan & Alexis (two of my sister Mona's three girls); Raider, Kyrstin and Kylee (Eddie's kids) holding Chloe and Caleb.

We had a great thanksgiving dinner at Mona's house, with lots of family and friends. We had lunch with my sister Jeanette twice, visited a lot with Mona and Duane, and went to Eddie's house twice. We also went to El Charro with Jerry and Dixie Power, and although Dixie is not feeling great, she looks really good, and is always in good spirits. We came back ro Vegas Friday night.

My little sister Lisa and her family live in Decatur, Illinois, and go to a really great church, Glad Tidings Assembly of God. Last night Mandisa was in concert at the church, and they were there, front and center. Lisa said she was fantastic, which I have no doubt- we have her current CD and think it's great.
This is my nephew Max with Mandisa. Lisa said Max also got his picture on the front page of the Decatur paper- When I get it, I will post it (of course)...
We're travelling to Yuma for Thanksgiving tomorrow, and my kids are so excited to see all their relatives (my brother Eddie and his family; my sister Mona and her family; and my sister Jeanette and her family).

I had these taken on Chloe's second birthday. She's a little fairy!

We returned Friday from a five day fall vacation to Prescott, Arizona. Annette and I, and the kids, and Annette's mom Anita, stayed in a cabin in the woods, and had a great time.

We went to the historic County Courthouse Square, on Whisky Row, and I tired out my wife and her mother with my limited knowlege of movies that were made there. ("Did you know that the movie 'Billy Jack' was filmed here, and this was the exact spot where Billy kicked some butt defending the hippies?")

Annette and I took Connor trick-or-treating on Mount Vernon Avenue on a tree-lined, idealic neighborhood in Prescott, and I guess the word got out that we were coming, because they blocked off the roads, and over 2000 kids marched up and down the street demanding candy. It was pretty impressive. It's my hope to have a little video of our time in Prescott on this blog soon...

It's Chloe's birthday today! Yesterday we had a little party at Silversprings Park, near our home. Chloe played on the Jungle Gym all morning, and that's why she's perspiring! Guests were Dave and Jewell Wilms, Lee and Sharion Morris, Dick and Judy Steenhoek, and Nanna, as well as Chloe's family. She's my little princess...

Last August I got a call from Denver and the Mile High Orchestra, a band that had played at our church twice previous, and who are friends of ours. They were in Vegas, and needed a place to practice, and a ride to the church, so I went and picked them up, and they rehearsed. Denver couldn't tell me why they were in town, but now we know- they had a big-time audition for a TV show. They have been selected as one of the bands for FOX's new show, "The Next Great American Band." (Fridays @ 8PM PST) We watched last night, and they were terrific. If you watch, vote DMHO, and pass the word.
PS- Connor loved meeting Denver, and talked his ear off. So what else is new...!

Back in 2002, when Connor was a couple months old, I stayed home one work day because I was sick. I couldn't have been that sick, because I had an idea for a picture, the one above. I took a photo of Connor laying on a piece of Chroma green fabric I had, then I went in the back yard and took a photo of the trampoline beside the pool. Put it together, hahaha, funny photo, right?...
A few years later I was surfing the net, and found a website, Museum of Hoaxes (www.museumofhoaxes.com). On a whim, I sent the photo of Connor to the webmaster, and in a few minutes he posted it on his site. People wrote in, claiming it real, claiming it fraud, accusing me of child abuse- it was pretty cool. Alex Boese, the webmaster, liked it so much, he included it in a book he wrote last year, Hippo vs. Dwarf (you can look it up). I thought you'd enjoy seeing Connor in all his athletic glory...
http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/weblog/comments/2694

Since my little sister Lisa married and moved to Illinois from Arizona years ago, she gets to do all kinds of stuff that we couldn't do growing up in Yuma. Like taking the kids to the pumpkin patch! Here's my nephews, Gage and Max, with superdog Hickory, picking out the pumpkins.
On the flip side, she also has to deal with occasional ice storms, tornadoes, and bugs, so it kinda evens out a little.
I will try to get to posting the video of Hickory when he was on the Planet's Funniest Animals a few years back...

I've been trying to make sure I get lots of good video of Caleb- you know, the third child doesn't get near as much video as the first- which is true- except that no child should have as much as Connor. Chloe and Caleb are getting their share. Anyway, as I was taping in the back yard tonight, I got some classic vidoe of Chloe. You've got to see it!

My dad's sister, Reba Reeves, passed away this weekend. She was a beautiful, classy lady, and lived a long life and has wonderful children and grandchildren. She was a nurse, and it wasn't until the last few years that I found out that my dad was helping put her through nursing school with his money as a GI in WWII.
It's hard to see your relatives pass on, but she loved the Lord, and is in a better place...

I found this the other night on YouTube...
This is a video of our friends Tim and Melody Davis, singing "The Prayer" at the Crystal Cathedral. This is taken from the Heritage Singers 30th Anniversary Concert. Annette sang with Tim and Melody, and many of the others still in the group, for five years. (Tim was my roommate in college at NAU). I love Tim and Melody's rendition of "The Prayer" better than any I've ever heard- hope you enjoy...

I love Chloe! She's my precious little baby girl. I will keep trying to get a better video- whenever I get the camera out, she either becomes mute, wants to leave, or wants to look in the camera viewfinder. I am trying to get her and Connor to do "Rocka My Soul." She is my darling.
I gave permission to the TV show "The Planet's Funniest Animals" to use a clip from our family vacation to the Central California coast last year, that I sent to them last month. I think it will be on TV sometime this fall, so I will post when they tell me it's gonna be on......

A couple of new photos...
Here's a recent photo of my baby boy, Caleb. He is handsome! He has a smile for me every time I see him- he is really great. I can't wait to see him grow and learn.
The other photo is of my sister Lisa's sons, my nephews Gage David and Max. Gage (my namesake) is going into the 7th grade- I can't believe how the time flies. Max is a fourth grader, and they live in Decatur, IL. We haven't seen them in a while, but hopefully, we will soon.

I have Fridays off, so today after spending the morning with all three kiddoes. Connor and I went to the Forum Shops at Ceasars Palace. We go once or twice a year to look around, and Connor gets to go to FAO Schwartz. They have an oversize piano keyboard, like on the movie Big, and he was getting rather creative.
On the way back to the 215 we drove down Las Vegas Blvd., and I took the photo of him by the sign.
The photo of Chloe is perfect- she's mimicking her brother with the hat, and has a tear in her eye for some unknown reason. She is my drama queen, and I am steadily falling more in love with her every day. She's a daddy's girl!

Here's a video of Annette singing with the church choir in Alabama, circa 2002. It was a Christmas musical, "Hope Has Come," and the song is called "Sing."

I went through some of my old videos this weekend, and uploaded a few songs to my YouTube site.
Here's a video from a live concert I directed at North Phoenix Baptist Church of the Heritage Singers. This was the final song of their 1989 concert, sung by Chris Willis.

Here are some more images from Connor's birthday... A photo with the church staff kids at the pool; a picture of Connor with pastor Rob; Connor enjoying his cupcakes; and our three kids, Connor, Chloe, and baby Caleb. It was a great day!

Connor's birthday today- five years old. I can't even begin to tell you how I feel about our son- we love him so much. Mom took him to a special birthday breakfast, and he got the present he really wanted- Aqua dots. Then this afternoon we went to a Pastoral staff swim party, and had cake and Ice cream for Connor. I'll post some more photos soon...

Connor and I went to see the 51's play Tucson tonight, and he got to see his favorite 51, their mascot, Cosmo. The mayor of las Vegas, Oscar Goodman, threw out the first pitch. He was escorted by two showgirls, and had to have one hold his coat, and the other hold his oversized martini glass. Only in Vegas...