Megan is joining our family!
Matthew met Megan through the Baptist Student Ministry at the University of Texas. He proposed to her on July 4th, while watching fireworks over Lake Austin, and they will be getting married on March 12th, 2017. We are excited for them and looking forward to have Megan as our daughter-in-law.

Matthew & Megan

The University of Texas Longhorn Football Team
Matthew joined the UT football team in 2013. No, not as a player - he's a bit too small for that - but as an equipment manager. I was concerned at first that working for the football team would be detrimental to his academic studies - after all, he is a student at UT (one of the finest academic institutions in the country!) to get an education. But, every kid needs to spread his/her own wings and find his/her own path in life, so why not give it a try?

If you follow Matthew on Facebook you know that he thoroughly enjoyed his job during the 2013 football season. The fans and boosters may not have been thrilled with the team's 8-4 won-loss record but Matthew had a great time seeing the behind-the-scene activities associated with one of the largest athletic programs in the country. He got to travel out of state to games against BYU (Provo, UT), Iowa State (Ames, IA) and WVU (Morgantown, WV). He also got to see UT beat OU, which is always a fun day, whether one is watching from the sidelines, in the bleachers or at home on TV!

Oh, I almost forgot - there was one other benefit to Matthew's job. Mom and Dad got tickets to all of the games. For the home games, we sat on Row 14 on the 50-yard line! Thank you, Matthew! Now go study.

TEXAS CREW
TEXAS CREW is the rowing club at The University of Texas. Matthew joined the TEXAS CREW shortly after arriving on campus as a freshman. To date he has raced in the Pumpkin Head regatta in Austin, TX, and the Head of the Hooch regatta in Chattanooga, TN.

Matthew is strapping his feet in for the 4-man novice race
at the Pumpkin Head regatta in Austin, TX.

Preparing to launch as part of an 8-man crew in Chattanooga,
Matthew is the farthest to the right, wearing the black hat with white glasses on top.

Matthew sells SKH PART GOLD
A big THANK YOU to Carla Jo Payne, Flying CP Longhorns of Slidell, TX, for purchasing SKH PART GOLD from Matthew at the Senior Select Heifer Sale at the TLBAA World Expo. The proceeds from this sale, along with other scholarships that Matthew was awarded during the TLBAA World Expo will help him achieve his educational goals.

Matthew will attend the University of Texas in August where he will major in religious studies. After graduating from UT, Matthew's future plans include obtaining a graduate degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and ultimately becoming a minister.

SKH PART GOLD is out of a straight Butler cow, PARTLOW SNOW, and is from a very successful, multi-time Grand Champion bull, LSL GOLD RUSH, a grandson of the great Emperor.

Angleton High School Senior!
Many of you have known Matthew since he first started showing Texas Longhorn cattle in 1999. He was six (6) years old and in Kindergarten. Matthew is now a senior in high school and approaching graduation soon. My, how time flies! Matthew has grown into a fine young gentleman, as you can see in these photos.

	A Pair of Champions Matthew and his steer, Pinky BCB, have won Grand Champion at numerous shows. This particular photo was taken after winning Grand Champion at the 2010 Texas Rice Festival in Winnie, TX.

Matthew is an active member of PALs at Angleton High School. PALs is Peer-Assisted Leadership, a group of students that mentor younger students within the school district. Matthew was selected as the Homecoming King candidate for the PALs organization.

Matthew and his doubles partner, Timothy Phillips, were named 1st Team All-District for the 2010 Team Tennis season. Way to go, guys! Matthew also was named to the Academic All-District Team.

The Angleton High School tennis team placed 2nd in district in the Fall, 2010, season. They advanced to the regional tournament where they won the first round, beating xxxx. The team fell to xxxx in the second round of the tournament.

At the 2010 AHS Fall Sports Banquet, Matthew was awarded the HEART award for the tennis team. This is three consecutive years that Matthew won the "Heart" award.

All Around Exhibitor - At the 2010 Autobahn Super Stakes show in Fort Worth, TX, Matthew won the prestigous All Around Exhibitor award. This award goes to the exhibitor that earned the most points in all of the Autobahn events for the season. In addition to showing cattle, the Autobahn

Golf?.....GOLF!

One of Matthew's new interests is golf. He seems to have picked it up rather easily and isn't bad at it. If he had the opportunity to play more often, I think he could be fairly good at it. He did get the opportunity to play a few tournaments with the Angleton High School Varsity team last spring and we hope that he gets to play even more this year.

Matthew, The Rookie
TLBGCA Brenham Show, 1999

Matthew, The Veteran
TLBGCA Brenham Show, 2007

Matthew's first Texas Longhorn Show (left) was at the TLBGCA Spring Show in Brenham in 1999. He was 6 years old and in Kindergarten. Matthew & his heifer, Amber Jack, placed 6th in a class of 9 animals. In 2007, Matthew showed in his ninth consecutive TLBGCA show. His steer, Pinky BCB, won Grand Champion.

At the TLBT shows, the kids work hard & play hard. If they sit still for a little while, it's not unusual for them to "crash". If you have teenagers, then you know that they can sleep anywhere at anytime!

This photo was snapped during the 2007 Houston Livestock Show.

8th Grade Tennis - Angleton Intermediate School

Matthew played doubles in the 2007 spring tennis season. His partner for most of the season was Austin Bluejacket. The district tournmanet was held on Tuesday, April 24th. Matthew and Austin placed 2nd in district, losing a very close set, 6-5, to the team from Lake Jackson.

Matthew is looking forward to playing tennis in high school and we look forward to watching him improve his game.

8th Grade Football - Angleton Intermediate School

The 2006 football season started for the Angleton Intermediate School on Tuesday, September 5th. The Wildcats traveled to Alvin to play the Alvin Jr. High Mustangs. Matthew was the starting defensive left tackle. He also was the deep-snapper for punts and the one extra point attempt. In this picture, Matthew is lining up to deep-snap for a punt. The Wildcats won the game, 8 - 0. (In Jr. High football, kicking an extra point after a touchdown is worth 2 points rather than 1 point.)

Angleton 8 - Alvin 0
Angleton 8 - Galveston Central 14
Angleton 18 - Lake Jackson 12
Angleton 14 - La Marque 13
Angleton 14 - Harby 8
Angleton 30 - Manvel 6

Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do

Tae Kwon Do is a Korean martial art. Loosely interpretted, it is "a punching and kicking way of life". To earn a black belt, a student must advance through 12 skill levels, each represented by a different belt color. On May 20th, 2006, Matthew and fifteen other students (adults and kids) received their Black Belts from the U.S.K. Tae Kwon Do academy.

In the black belt testing session, each student had to demonstrate proper forms, self-defense techniques, break numerous boards and answer questions from the master about the art of Tae Kwon Do.

Matthew has been studying at U.S.K Tae Kwon Do academy for nearly three years. He and the other fifteen students in his class are the first group from this academy to reach the Black Belt level.

Congratulations, Matthew!


Receiving His Black Belt	New Black Belts and The Masters

7th Grade Tennis

Matthew is following in Kathryn's footsteps. In the spring fo 2006 Matthew played on the Angleton Intermediate School 7th grade tennis team. At the district tournament, Matthew and his partner, Andre Trottier, won third place in doubles.

7th Grade Football

Matthew played center on the Angleton Intermediate School 7th grade football team. The team didn't have a winning record, but Matthew did a good job of protecting the quarterback.