Halftime! 

My first football

Yesterday I played in my first , well actually it was a scrimmage, but it was a whole lot like a real . We ended up playing sixty plays in all. That and the 100 degree weather made it pretty hot and sweaty. I got a pretty bad cut on my left hand so I had to wipe the off the entire .

I ended up having to play tight end and noseguard most of the , which was fine for me; I don't quarterback as much as I thought I would. All the pressure is on you and it's so easy to mess up or fumble or something.

After the , I was hurting so bad. My left wrist and forearm is still hurting; no bruises or anything though. Our first real is next Saturday against the state champions! If we're losing by more than 45 points at the half, the over; so our goal is to just make it past the half.

My daily 'Hmm...' moment

Hmm... Seems like Mel Gibson and Arnold Swartsneggar(however you spell his name) are the only conservatives in Hollywood. And Arnold isn't even that conservative.

This is our team. I'm #15. The guy second from left is our coach. If we look tired, it's because we had been tackling people for two hours in 100 degree weather. lol

Our football game. I'm the closest one in the blue. There wasn't enough room to show all of the players. 

I'm Driving!

I got my permit a week ago, and I'm driving to Tyler(40 minutes) and back almost every day. My Dad is only letting me go 65 mph right now, but soon he'll let me go 70 mph. I have to wait six months from the time I get my permit to get my drivers' liscence, so I'll get my liscence on Feb. 8 next year. I can't wait!

What were they expecting?

I don't understand why everyone thinks that President Bush is just sending the young men to their in Iraq and Afghanistan. When they signed up for the military, they knew that there was a chance that they would be in a war and possible die. What do you think our Army is for? It's about protecting our country. Whether you agree or not with the war is a different thing.

If there were a draft, it would be a diffent thing. But these guys signed up. They didn't sign up for free tuition, they signed up to serve our nation. Some people just don't understand that.

I think that hippie lady that kept on hanging around George Bush's house finally got the point that Bush wasn't going to meet her. I can understand her being upset about her son's , but if George Bush talked to her, he would have to talk to every family who lost someone in Iraq.

Bush finally starts Creation in Schools Debate.

Considering that George W. Bush is an outspoken Christian and revolves a large part of his job around God, it is suprising that he is just now rekindling the debate over whether Creation should be taught in schools. Shouldn't that be the most one of the most important topics for a Christian? He's been in office for four and a half years but hasn't even touched the subject. I hope he presses hard on the subject for the rest of his term.

My California Vacation, Stage 1

Man, sorry it's taken so long to post something new, I have been so busy. Math, Spanish, tennis, golf, and so much more has really been bogging me down. Any way, here's stage 1 of my vacation!

I get up at 4:30 to the sound of my Dad telling me to get dressed and finish my packing. We leave the house at 5:30 to make our 8 'o clock flight. We arrive in Long Beach around 11 'o clock Pacific time. We check in at our awsome Residence Inn hotel in Anaheim, and after contemplating snorkeling, decide to spend the rest of the day at the famous Newport Beach. My favorite beach of the trip, it had the best combination of temperature, sand quality, and wave heighth. I was while boogey boarding that I was rudely re-awakened to the horrible taste of salt water!

The next day we arrive at Disney Land at 9 'oclock to begin our two day visit at the theme park. And just to clear everything up, Disney Land is in California; Disney World is in Florida. Arriving at the park, we were treated to futuristic 3D rides, rollercoasters, and the like. My favorite part was the presentation of Asimo, the world's most advanced robot, put out by Honda. Day two of the Disneyland visit was partly spent in California Adventure, a Disney theme park right next to Disney Land. I don't have enought time to tell you about all of the rides, but I will tell that if you are planning a trip to Disney Land and California Adventure, be sure to go on Soarin California, the California Scream, and the Tower of . On the eve of the second day, we arrived at the central square of Disney Land to watch the firework show to find that it was totally packed; we had to watch the show with a tree in the way of view, but it was still awsome, the best firework show I have ever seen! Overall, I thought Disney Land was awsome. I went into it thinking it was just going to be Mickey Mouse and Cinderella greeting you to the park, and afterwards going on the teacups. But it was so much better than that! And no, I didn't get a mickey mouse hat. I got a Star Wars poster! lol.

The last day of Stage 1 was spent at Universal Studios in Hollywood. For a little extra money, we got a ride pass; so while everyone else was waiting in line, we walked right past them. You could just read their minds think, Hey, that's not fair! It was hilarious. They had to wait an average of 45 for a ride while we got on it within five! Definately made for the older tourist, Rachel spent most of the day waiting on us to go on rides such as the Mummy and Jurassic Park. There was a really neat tour of the sets from like 'War of the Worlds,' 'Godzilla,' and 'Jurassic Park.'

After an awsome four days, we set out from Anaheim to the great outdoors of stage 2: the great outdoors of Sequoia National Park and Yosemite.

Being my favorite part of vacation, there is so much that I wasn't able to talk about. If you have any please, comment and I'll be more than happy to answer your questions.

-Bendak