In the current economic climate, I know we are all looking to save a little here and there. So, I have compiled a short list of restaurants that let KIDS EAT FREE (or for really cheap). This list is not totally inclusive, so if you have a favorite that I have not mentioned (or find one that is no longer valid) please let me know and I will add (or remove) them:

Cici’s 972-727-2424
Where: 204 N Greenville Ave., Allen
What: Kids 3 and under eat free
When: Every Day! 

Dickey’s Barbeque Pit 214-495-8877
Where: 405 Central Expressway South, Allen
What: Get a free kids meal (12 & under) with the purchase of an adult’s meal
When: Every Day! 

Jason’s Deli 972-727-3440
Where: 906 W. McDermott
What: Kids 10 & under eat free
When: Tuesdays from 4pm-10pm

Texas Land & Cattle 972-578-8707
Where: 3945 Central Expwy., Plano
What: Free kids meal (12 & under) with the purchase of an adult’s meal
When: Every Saturday 

GattiTown 214-618-9800
Where: 3251 Preston Rd., Frisco
What: Free kid’s buffet (10 & under) with the purchase of a regular adult’s buffet
When: Every Wednesday 

Joe’s Crab Shack 972-423-2800
Where: 3320 Central Expwy., Plano
What: $2 kids meals (12 & under)
When: Every Tuesday 

NOTE: It's always a good idea to call ahead and verify that these offers are still valid as they could end at any time. If you have more to add, please send me the Name of the place plus the Where, What & When by clicking "Email Me" under "Links" to the right of this page. The same goes if you find that one or more of these are no longer valid; please let us know. Thanks!

Ryan Cave, The "Caveman"
Truth, Honor & Personal Integrity
214-789-9366
www.CaveRealty.com
 

This is an update to a previous post about Water Creek Big Screen on the Green found here.

If you enjoy classic movies and/or live music...
you'll love the latest FREE entertainment options in Allen, TX.

The Watters Creek development, at Bethany and Central/75, is showing Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory this Thursday (5/28/09) and E.T. The Extraterrestrial next week (6/4/09). Both will show for FREE on a "Big screen on the Green" at dusk (around 8pm). Future movies in their "Big Screen on the Green" series (every Thurs. at dusk) include Bee Movie (6/11/09) followed by Grease wrapping the series up on 6/18/09.

Then, there's the FREE music series entitled "L!VE on the Green" at Watters Creek. You can hear traditional Celtic and Bluegrass music from 5 Second Rule on Friday 5/29/09, and classic rock from the 60s/70s/80s from That 70's Band on Saturday 5/30/09. All shows in this series are presently set to begin at 6:30pm. Future Friday performers in their "L!VE on the Green" series include The Rob Holbet Group (6/5/09), Chris McGuire Group (6/12/09), and Brent Rozell and the Soulmates (6/19/09)... That 70's Band will play out the rest of the Saturdays in the series through 6/20/09.

So, come on out and shop some if you want, eat some if you please (there are some awesome retaurants/patios overlooking the green), but most importantly... have fun!

Ryan Cave, The "Caveman"
Truth, Honor & Personal Integrity
214-789-9366
www.CaveRealty.com
 

Just ran across this accouncement. Seems like a good time and a great cause as you get pancakes for a few bucks, and a free pic. of the kids with Santa, while supporting a good cause:
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Kiwanis Club of Allen, Texas 2008 PANCAKE BREAKFAST
ALLEN KIWANIS BREAKFAST WITH SANTA

For those that haven't checked out the "Street View" on Google maps, you have got to check out this cool, realatively new, feature. It allows you to see things from the street as though you were driving by. While recent years have brought satellite images of better quality, these don't really help when it comes to giving "landmark" style directions or checking out what an area really looks like as you drive through it. Well, leave it to Google to come up with a fantastic new feature that fixes this problem.

Satellite View - Cool and useful, but what does it look like if I'm trying to drive there?

 

Steet View - So that's what I'm looking for...

Ok, maybe you could figure out that you were at the Ballpark in Arlington without needing to see the street view, but you get the point. External, street-level views of houses, businesses, restaurants and more. You can even click on arrows to move up and down the street as though you were driving and pan 360 degrees around your location or look up or down! The only complaint I have is that much of Collin County is not available yet. Lets keep our fingers crossed that they're out taking photos on Collin County streets as I'm writing this.

Ryan Cave, The "Caveman"
Truth, Honor & Personal Integrity
214-789-9366
www.CaveRealty.com

Ok, a friend of mine (Chris O'Connor) was going on and on about the fact that the "best, most beautifully costumed Santa" that has been at the Stonebriar Center (mall) for the past several years, with a LONG line, is now in Allen (with almost no line). She said that she has waited in line for ages because pictures with him and the kids are so great... and he was at Marion Elementary today with almost nobody in line! He'll be there again tomorrow (11/18/08) doing pictures for students from 10am-2pm and again for anyone/everyone from 3:30pm-7:30pm.

Don't quote me on this, but I heard the picture packages are very reasonable... something like $20 for a 5x7 and four wallets, $25 for double the pics, $35 includes another 5x7 and two 3x5s, and $40 gets you a CD with the images and the copyright... so you can legally print as many copies as you want, email them to family, etc. That's right, if you don't have the copyright (permission to make copies), it's illegal to make copies of professional pictures or scan them and email to friends/family. You're actually stealing from the photographer if you do... but I digress.

After tomorrow at Marion, he'll be at the Village at Allen on the 22nd! That's right, it's rumored that the Village at Allen is getting the super-fabulous "Stonebriar Santa". He's apparently going to be the Santa mentioned in the schedule my previous post here: http://www.realtown.com/ryancave/blog/firstholidayvaa
However, I bet the lines are going to get long in a hurry... so be sure to tell your friends that you got in to see him early because you got the scoop right here on your favorite blog (then be nice enough to send them a link so they can start reading stuff here too). If you didn't hear about this in time, let me know and I'll subscribe you to my blog so you always get notified of the latest posts.

Ho, ho, ho... have a merry start to the Santa season in mid-November.

Ryan Cave, The "Caveman"
Truth, Honor & Personal Integrity
214-789-9366
www.CaveRealty.com

AllenOnline.com is Giving Away AHS Football Tickets!

That's right, FREE Allen High School football tickets... and there is still time to register for these FREE tickets to the remaining Allen Eagle home football games. To enter the drawing, and for complete details, you can visit the AllenOnline.com Community Forums and click the Allen Eagle logo on the right side of the page. Or you can click here to visit the Free AHS Tickets section in the Community Forums at AllenOnline.com.

Also, Allen Online has a Ticket Exchange section in the Classified Ads. You can click here to visit the Ticket Exchange section in the Classified Ads at AllenOnline.com.

Remaining AHS Home Games on the Schedule:
- October 10, 2008 vs McKinney Boyd (Homecoming)
- October 24, 2008 vs Jesuit
- November 7, 2008 vs Wylie (Senior Night)

Ryan Cave, The "Caveman"
Truth, Honor & Personal Integrity
214-789-9366
www.CaveRealty.com
 

Register to Vote by October 6th so that you can Vote in November's election.

Will it be President McCain or Obama? State Representative Ken Paxton or Challenger Robert Virasin? Who do you want to represent you at the county level - Joe Jaynes or Victor Manuel?

These important decision are yours come November 4th. Homwever, in order to be eligible to vote you must register by October 6th. It's easy to register. Visit www.txprosperity.com to download your registration form.

Ryan Cave, The "Caveman"
Truth, Honor & Personal Integrity
214-789-9366
www.CaveRealty.com

I just got this great email from my uncle Chris and thought I'd share it:
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Friends
I am teching a show in Washington DC, for Deloitte ( an Audit, Tax, Consulting & Financial Advisory Services firm) with Alan Greenspan (former chief of the federal reserve under Reagan, Clinton, and both Bush’s) and some of his top associates, talking about the financial turmoil that is happening right now. I am, by no means an expert on any of these issues, so here are some notes and quotes that I just typed as it was going on, FYI: 
*WAMU (Washington Mutual Banks) was taken over by JP Morgan last night. WAMU doesn’t exist anymore.
*There are no more investment banks in New York, any more.
*The 700 billion $$ that the Govt. is asking for can be used to buy bad mortgages, “or ANYTHING ELSE deemed necessary at the time”.
*All current investment and deposit (what you have in the bank today) are protected by the FDIC up to $100,000, but it is not clear yet, that any future deposits (what you put in tomorrow) and investments will be insured AT ALL.
*This industry is going to come under massive govt. regulation.
*SOME GOOD NEWS AND ADVICE: Look into the Treasury Bond market, it has the best Yield curve in the market and is a great indicator for when we are in recovery. The curve is very steep and getting steeper, which signals a potential for mid to long term recovery.
*Even though the rest of the developed world is in a recession, the U.S. Export growth in August was 20%. A good sign.
*”Neither of the present presidential candidates seem to have a very good understanding of Economics!. Obama has flip-flopped on increasing taxes, saying that might be a very bad thing in a recession. That is a good sign that he may be finally getting it.”
*This is more of a capital crisis than a liquidity crisis. Not many more banks will go under.
*The Total hole (losses) caused by this recent wave of failures is between 1 & 2 TRILLION Dollars in losses!!!
*Car loans, credit card limits, consumer credit , basic loans are being pulled back, they will be harder to get with this slow down in lending, which could cause a domino effect in more bank closures. Luckily, our banks have been well funded going into this crisis.
* Don’t be surprised if we see another Fed rate cut.
* Bottom line, Credit will get more expensive over the next year.
*These guys think that the “Polson” plan will calm the markets, but won’t really solve the bigger issues of insolvency in capital. That can only come with time.
* These guy’s personal investment strategies are to invest in many diverse investments: i.e. large cap, small cap, equity and bond, overseas. Don’t focus on the current swings in the market. Stay invested for the long term.
*THE biggest point made was: “ If the $700 billion bail-out plan is not defined by 10 pm Sunday night ( When the Japanese stock market opens) trading and money markets, auction rate securities ARS, commercial paper, short term funding, etc. will most likely be thrown into a major turmoil.” BE AWARE and keep your eye on the financial news!!!! The outlook isn’t that gloomy if our Govt. can come up with a plan BEFORE Monday Morning! “Congress cannot go home until this credit issue is resolved.”
*This crisis will end when the prices of homes stabilizes.
* Greenspan says that the Bailout is a BAD idea, but he believes an intervention needs to be put forth, to solve this credit crisis, and being a "freemarket conservative" he says that when this crisis is over, things will pretty much shake out to normal only with a lot more regulation and much higher credit rates.
* Ultimately his message ws vey positive, that we will get through this in the short term, and that the long term looks as good, if not better, that it ever has! (THANK YOU!!!)

I hope this gives you a little more insight into the current financial wrangling of our Gubberment, at least, according to these guys! Take it all with a  grain of salt and do your own fact checking before making any rash moves with your money or investments!!!

 Christopher
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Thanks Chris! That's great stuff!

Ryan Cave, The "Caveman"
Truth, Honor & Personal Integrity
214-789-9366
www.CaveRealty.com
 

Keep fit with a bike tour, help fight breast cancer with "Pilates for Pink" or just relax at a dive-in movie. There's something in the coming weeks for everyone in Allen...

Don Rodenbaugh Natatorium - Natatorium Bike Tour
Starting September 29 the DRN Bike Tour takes off!  By taking any Natatorium cycling classes you will ride from Allen, TX to Sacramento, CA, a total of 1,736 miles.  You will have eight weeks to complete the challenge and with each class you will earn miles towards the destination while burning calories along the way.
Class # 23630, Mon-Thu, 09/29-11/19, Check schedule for class times, DRN, $45(members); $55(non-members)
All participants must register in advance by September 24th

Don Rodenbaugh Natatorium - Dive-In Movie
On Saturday, September 27, grab your swim suit and towel and head to Don Rodenbaugh Natatorium from 6:30-9 p.m. for a featured presentation of Enchanted. Tubes, noodles and concessions available. Advance registration preferred. Call 214-509-4770 to learn more.
   Where:
Don Rodenbaugh Natatorium - 214.509.4775
110 E. Rivercrest
Allen, TX  75002

Joe Farmer Recreation Center - Pilates for Pink
Support the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.  Workout to help fight breast cancer by bringing a $10 donation to our special Pilates for Pink Class!  Please bring your personal check, money order or receipt for online donation of $10 or more to the class.  Make checks payable to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation or donate online at www.bcrfcure.org
Class #  23637, Sat, 10/18, 8:30AM-9:30AM, Lakeside Club House
Class #  23638, Sat, 10/25, 8:30AM-9:30AM, Lakeside Club House
   Where:
Joe Farmer Recreation Center - 214.509.4750
1201 E. Bethany
Allen, TX  75002
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Ryan Cave, The "Caveman"
Truth, Honor & Personal Integrity
214-789-9366
www.CaveRealty.com
 

I was looking over the September Newsletter for the McKinney Convention and Visitor's Buearu (MCVB) and I noticed that there was an event for just about everyone in McKinney this month. They have everything from a festival, to a concert, and even a movie in the park! Below is the info. from their Sept. newsletter:

Neighborhood Night at the Movies (Fridays)
The city's Parks & Recreation Department is taking the fun to city parks, featuring Pixar’s “Ratatouille” on a large inflatable screen at a different park each Friday night. And it’s FREE!

- Sept. 5—Aviator Park, 1201 Monticello Dr.
- Sept. 12—Finch Park, 302 W. Standifer
- Sept. 19—Horizon Park, 401 Flatrock Drive
- Sept. 26—Serenity Park, 6701 Berkshire Road
 
John Tesh Concert (Sept. 11)
Musician John Tesh (heard locally on KLAK 97.5 FM) performs at McKinney Fellowship Bible Church, 2801 Orchid Dr., at 7 p.m. in a concert brought to McKinney by KLAK Radio. For info, call 972-542-9755, or see the “Things to Do” page at www.VisitMcKinney.com.

Collin County History Comes Alive! (Sept. 13)
County and city founding father Collin McKinney comes to life in this joint event from the North Texas History Center and Chestnut Square Historic Village. The show is on stage at the McKinney Performing Arts Center, 111 N. Tennessee. For ticket information, call 972-544-4630.

Oktoberfest (Sept. 27)
Celebrate German culture on McKinney’s newly-renovated downtown square. Family fun as well as food vendors and beer tastings. 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Call 972-547-2660 or visit www.downtownmckinney.com.

Also on September's Calendar
Check the full calendar & "Things to Do" page at www.VisitMcKinney.com
- Dinosaurs Alive!- Now Through Dec. 31
- Farmers Market: Saturday mornings
- Collin County Farm Museum Grand Re-Opening: Sept. 6
- Second Saturday on the Downtown Square: Sept.13
- Third Monday Trade Days: Sept. 12-14

Save The Date! Roundup on the Range, Oct. 18
Authentic chuckwagon food and Old West music and entertainment. Check the next MCVB newsletter for details or visit www.roundupontherange.com.

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Ryan Cave, The "Caveman"
Truth, Honor & Personal Integrity
214-789-9366
www.CaveRealty.com

The third and final in this series of "Cool" places to be this summer is below. Be sure to check out number one and two in related articles.

Number three: The Don Rodenbaugh Natatorium. The natatorium is an awesome, affordable place for year-round aquatic fun, fitness and more. Here you'll find both land and aquatic fitness classes, open swim times for the general public, small class size swim instruction, Red Cross certification classes for Lifeguard and Water Safety Instructor, room rental for hosting birthday parties, and an indoor rock climbing wall for all ages. Because the pools are indoors, even cold or rainy weather won't ruin your outing.

Don Rodenbaugh Natatorium contains 7,000 square feet of leisure waters, a 25-yard by 25-meter competition pool, 5,000 square feet fitness facility, an aerobics room, a climbing wall, and related support facilities. One of the two pools is a competitive pool with two 1-meter diving boards and the other is a leisure pool featuring a flume slide, interactive water play elements (spray ground), and a lazy river. The leisure pool also has three 25-yard fitness lanes, a heated spa and a large outdoor deck.

Cost: Anywhere between FREE and $5, depending on your age. Memberships are available to save money for frequent visitors. For more information including hours, go here: http://www.cityofallen.org/departments/parks_recreation/recreation/don_rodenbaugh.htm

Ryan Cave, The "Caveman"
Truth, Honor & Personal Integrity
214-789-9366
www.CaveRealty.com

Tax free weekend is coming soon: August 15-17, 2008. I just found this great info. about it on a state website (courtesy of my friend Tracey Cline who helps keep me in the loop). I hope it helps you save money:

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The second of three cool places to be this summer is below. Be sure you check out the other two in related articles.

Number two: Ford Pool at Ford Park. This is your traditional "City pool" with specials on Friday Family Nights (Fridays from 6-8pm kids 17 and under get in FREE with their parent or legal guardian). You also get in free with a Don Rodenbaugh Nautatoriam or Ford Pool Pass (but since you paid for the passes, it's not really free, just even more affordable for those who visit such facilities often). Ford Pool is also available to rent for parties most Saturday and Sunday mornings from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and evenings from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. during June, July and August. The pool is available to rent for ALLEN RESIDENTS ONLY and must be reserved at least one week in advance. Cost: $1.75 (if you can't take advantage of the free admission mentioned above).
More info. here: http://www.cityofallen.org/departments/parks_recreation/recreation/ford_pool.htm

Ryan Cave, The "Caveman"
Truth, Honor & Personal Integrity
214-789-9366
www.CaveRealty.com

If you're looking to cool off this summer, Allen, TX offers thee wonderful options that are innexpensive (or free) and not far from home. Here's the first of three cool places to be this summer:

First up: The "Spray ground" at Celebration Park (701 Angel Parkway) opens annually in May and operates from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. except Wednesdays. The sprayground is closed for weekly maintenance every Wednesday. This is a great place for kids to enjoy cooling off while running around and playing. It's right next to a regular (I use the term losely, it's a very neat and large) playground. Many kids like alternating between the playground and the sprayground; running and climbing all over the playground equipment can be hot and tiring... so they enjoy running right next door to the sprayground and cooling off. Parents often bring a blanket or towel and sit in the grass nearby to watch their kids (though many also get wet and keep cool). Cost: $0.00 (that's right, it's free).
More info. here: http://www.cityofallen.org/departments/parks_recreation/parks/celebration_rules_and_hours.html

Ryan Cave, The "Caveman"
Truth, Honor & Personal Integrity
214-789-9366
www.CaveRealty.com

I found a recent article in Money magazine very interesting as it ranked the 100 "Best places to live" for 2008. The list of the "Best" small U.S. cities was compiled based on those with the best blend of desirable characteristics like good jobs, low crime, quality schools, lots of green space, reasonable home prices, local attractions, with populations between 50,000 and 300,000. What was so interesting was the stream of Texas cities I saw (many of which were here in my main sales area). While there were also several cities (nine to be exact) listed for both New Jersey and Minnesota, Texas ranked number one in terms of the total number of "Best places to live" with 13 cities on the list! Many of these cities will be recognizable to DFW residents, so here are the first few for Texas with their national "Best places to live" rank (out of the top 100):

• McKinney, TX - 14th
• Carrollton, TX - 15th
• Richardson, TX - 18th
• Allen, TX - 20th
• Euless, TX - 34th
• Frisco, TX - 38th

To see the whole list of "Best places to live" for 2008, go here: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2008/top100/

I mean, I knew Texas was full of great places to live... it's just nice to see others recognize it as well.  :-)

Ryan Cave, The "Caveman"
Truth, Honor & Personal Integrity
214-789-9366
www.CaveRealty.com

I recently ran across a VERY cool financial planning/budgeting tool and thought I would share it with you. It paints a very clear picture of your finances and the best part is that it is FREE and online! There's nothing to download, update, etc. and your data is available anywhere with internet! I've been playing with it for several days now and, basically, it goes out whenever you log-in and pulls data from your checking and savings accounts, your credit cards, your investment accounts and more. Then, it makes the data all easy to see, either as individual accounts or combining all of your accounts/transactions into one view. It further breaks all of the transactions down into categories and even charts your spending! Have you ever wondered how much you spend at coffee shops or on gas? How about on fast food or shopping? This tool will tell you... Have you ever wondered if there were better credit cards with better interest rates and/or reawrds? This tool will tell you that too... Have you ever wondered if there were checking or savings accounts where you could make more interest on your money? This tool will tell you!!! Then it gets even cooler... you can see how your spending in any of the categories compares, on average, to other users in most major cities. You just pick the city and the spending category and it shows your spending in that category versus the selected city's average for that category (completely anomously). I can't say enough about this tool, it actually made starting a budget easy! In fact, it set-up a budget automatically based on my spending habits, income, or some magic formula. I just entered a few bits of account info, and presto... my transactions were imported and my budger created. Now all I have to do is monitor my budget over the next few weeks and months and adjust. It couldn't be easier; check it out at www.Mint.com. You won't be sorry...

Ryan Cave, The "Caveman"
Truth, Honor & Personal Integrity
214-789-9366
www.CaveRealty.com 

This handy little list will give you a good idea about the number of years you can typically expect various appliances, systems and constructions in/around your home to last. The data was compiled by a comprehensive survey of manufacturers, trade associations and researchers. Of course, life expectancy of any of these items will vary greatly depending on quality of materials, installation, maintenance, environmental factors and use.

   Appliances/Systems - Years
Gas furnace - 12-15
Heat pump - 12-15
Central air conditioning - 12-15
Pumps, sumps and well - 10
Dishwashers - 10
Microwave - 11
Gas range - 12-15
Electric range - 12-15
Garage Door Opener - 10
Electric water heater - 8-10
Gas water heater - 8-10
Washer - 10-12
Dryer - 10-12
Refrigerator - 12-15

   Construction - Years
Waterproofing sealer - 1-5
Waterproofing silicone - 1-5
Waterproofing waxes - 1-5
Wall and trim paint - 5-10
Exterior paint - 7-10
Wallpaper - 7
Carpet - 11
Plastic ducts - 15
Wood decks - 15
Swimming pool - 18
Gravel walk - 4
Concrete walk - 24
Asphalt shingle roof - 15-30
Shake roof - 15-30
Slate roof - 50-100
Gutters - 30
Vinyl siding - 50
Aluminum siding - 20-50
Woodsiding - 10-100
Drywall - 30-70
Concrete block foundation - 100
Poured concrete foundation - 200
Fiberglass tub - 10-15
Ceramic tile countertop - 10-15
Laminated countertop - 10-15
Galvanized ducts - 30

Ryan Cave, The "Caveman"
Truth, Honor & Personal Integrity
214-789-9366
www.CaveRealty.com 

I hope that helps save a few foundations...

I got this email from a builder (Grand Homes) because of my industry involvement (seems like I'm on just about every builder's email list). I'm not endorsing this "sale" as I don't know what it will really be like. However, I thought many of my readers might like to know about it just the same... Please post a comment (below) to let us know about your experience if you have been to one of these in the past, or if you go to this one (i.e. What was it like? Were there deals or was it junk? Was it Grand Homes or another builder? Etc.).
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Grand Homes Model Home Furniture and Accessory Sale!

Ever wanted your home to look like a Model Home? Here's your chance...

Special pre-sale date for Realtors + your clients, friends and family!
Thursday, May 15, 9am til 5pm

Open to the Public. Next weekend only! Furniture, rugs, bedroom sets, pool tables, art, tapestries, breakfast and dining tables, lots of chairs, large glass tables with pedestals and accessories up to 75% off. Cash and Carry Only - All Sales Final! Open to the public:
Friday, May 16 from 9am til 6pm  
Saturday May 17 from 9am til 6pm  
Sunday May 18 from 10am til 3pm

Location: 2801 Technology Dr., Suite 101, Plano, TX 75074
Driving Directions: Take George Bush (190) to Jupiter (1 exit east of 75). North on Jupiter, Right on Technology, Left at Suite 101.

Invite your Friends and Family!
**Arrive early! There will be a line to get in.
Cash and Carry, All sales final! No refunds, returns or exchanges.
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Ryan Cave, The "Caveman"
Truth, Honor & Personal Integrity
214-789-9366
www.CaveRealty.com