See You in Omaha – Part IV

Tuesday we were still recovering from all of the excitement the night before. The Aggies played at 2pm, so we at breakfast, got ready and made our way to the stadium around lunch time. We got player tickets for the games, and got there early to stand in line so that we would get decent tickets. We also had some shopping to do that morning too. While waiting in line, an A&M celebrity walked thru the Will-Call line. R. Bowen Loftin, the President of Texas A&M, was attending the game, and went to pick up his tickets. We ran after him to grab a picture with him. I mean, you never know… a past president of A&M just retired as the US Secretary of Defense. We asked him why he didn't have his bowtie on and he said he had to change it up because he wore it for game one and we lost.

The game was another heart-breaker. The Aggies could never get their offense clicking. Although, Brandon went 2 for 4, and made a great catch in left field. But a few errors proved to be costly. As the game came to an end, the rain started falling. What a way to end our run in Omaha.

A little known fact to us newbie’s at the CWS… when your team loses and is out of the tournament, their gear goes on half-price at all the shopping tents. So, to drown our sorrows, we went on a small shopping spree. I can’t say we bought a ton because most of it was pretty much gone before the games. But we grasped the opportunity to buy up some Aggie gear at great prices. As we shopped, we ran into the South Carolina Cock... His name is Cocky.

We concluded the evening with a great chicken fried steak dinner and called it a night.

It was a bummer that the Ags went 2 and out, but it was our plan all along to head back home Wednesday morning. We just weren’t sure if all of us would be coming back. Our hope was that Mark and Peggy would stay in Omaha for more games. But it was not meant to be. Congratulations to the GameCocks. We hope to be back in Omaha next year. As Aggie pitcher Ross Stripling put it… #REDEMPTION!!!

A special thanks goes out to my sister and brother-in-law and my parents for watching my kids. They had a great time and even learned a few new vocabulary words along the way. :-)

See You in Omaha – Part III (AKA The Storm)

So as we wrapped up the day on Monday, we all gathered at the stadium and were about to go for a nice dinner. I say “about” because then the tornado siren started sounding. For a group of Texans, we all looked at each other and said “what do we do???” Well, we came up with a quick plan. Grandma, Popo, Brenda, Mark and Brandon stayed at the stadium while Kenny, Shari, Peggy and I went to get the cars. The sky got really dark as the storm clouds rolled in. Kenny asked a policeman directing traffic if a tornado had touched down. He said for now it was just a strong wind event, but they sounded the alarms to get people moving. Some people panicked, some were laid back (the locals) and then there was us.


We didn’t really know what to do or what to expect. As we got to the cars, the wind started really picking up. We got in to the car and a mom and two teenagers were banging on our windows to let them in. We had to get our family Kenny said, but after he looked up and saw about 5 port-o-potties sliding across the parking lot due to the high winds, we let them in. We dropped them off at a parking garage and told them to get inside.


We were off to get the rest of the family. The intersection to get to the stadium was barricaded and Kenny told the cop directing traffic that we had to go pick people up, he asked if we could jump the curb… UH, YEAH, that’s a no-brainer to a Houston driver! So we jumped the curb to get around the barricade only to have the phone ring with Brenda telling us to go back to somewhere safe because they were not going to let them out from under the stadium. Truthfully, they were way safer than we were. SO, we turned around yet again and made our way back to the parking lot where we were. We ran to the parking garage through CRAZY winds where we had dropped off the family just minutes before. We were finally in a somewhat dry place.


Kenny started talking to the family in Houston and determining what kind of storm we were dealing with. He also texted our location… what corner we were on and the color of the parking garage… just in case. UM, just in case WHAT! They had to come find our bodies?!?!?!?!? THAT freaked me out, and all I kept thinking about were my babies back in EC. Then Kenny decided that we weren’t in a safe enough place. So we decided to make a run for it to the Qwest Center. That is where all the people in the stadium were told to evacuate. So we make another run for it! Remember, the tornado siren is still blaring during this whole ordeal… and it was LOUD!

We make it to the Qwest Center and I finally felt safe. By this time we were pretty wet from all the running thru the rain. So we sat and waited and texted and talked to family, etc for the next hour or so. FINALLY we were given the all clear and told that we could leave. BUT, it was still pouring outside! We chose to hang out a bit more while the rain subsided. We got the cars and went to pick up the others.

After that ordeal, we were pretty hungry and in dire need of some adult beverages. So we found a sports bar and re-lived the disaster or lack there-of, THANK GOD!

See You in Omaha – Part II

Day 2 was an off day for the Aggies. So we decided to do a little sight-seeing in the morning. Those that have ever been on a vacation with Kenny know that he doesn’t sit still. He’s constantly on the go. While we weren’t quite sure of where we were going, we saw some cool stuff. Kenny draws a lot of inspiration for his job by viewing the different parks, roadways, and landscapes across the country. So when we saw this park through downtown Omaha, we had to explore. This depicts the settlers heading west on the Oregon Trail through Nebraska.








The people spooked the herd of buffalo which in turn spook the geese. The scene covers about three city blocks and is incorporated into the architecture. It was so well-designed and executed and so absolutely inspiring to see life depicted in such a way. This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. After a little more exploring, we happened to find the longest pedestrian bridge in the country. It spans the Missouri River and joins Nebraska and Iowa.



One part of the park where the bridge is at was closed due to flooding, but the bridge remained open. Of course we had to walk across. Now I can say that I’ve been in Iowa too!
All I can say is WOW about the river. It was moving soooo fast. This part of the park was closed. Notice how high the water is on the sculptures. Isn't that crazy???


We talked to a couple on the bridge and she said that her mother lived downstream and they had to evacuate her from her house. There was so much devastation due to the flooding around us that we always had that in the back of our minds while we were having such a good time.
We concluded our morning of exploring and went to join up with the baseball team for a lunch honoring the team and the families. We ate some yummy Omaha steaks and enjoyed spending time with the other families.

Brandon had the rest of the afternoon off, so he joined us for some shopping and other “excitement” the rest of the evening. We went to Rosenblatt to check it out and then explored downtown some more.



We took some pics in front of the historic statue that came from Roseblatt. This is the only thing that came over from the other stadium.




You’ll see why I put excitement in quotes in the next post.

See You in Omaha – Part I

On our trip back from Baton Rouge, we listened to the Aggies win the Super Regional baseball game by beating Florida State in Tallahassee. What an exciting drive as the Aggies won 11-2 and secured their spot in Omaha for the College World Series. The exciting phone calls and texts were all we needed to keep us awake on the drive home. We knew the Aggies had a great team this year, and with Kenny’s nephew Brandon on the team, we vowed that if they made it to Omaha, WE WERE GOING! I mean, how often do you have a family member playing in the College World Series??? So the planning began…


There were 8 of us driving up there in two cars. We planned to drive thru the night on Saturday due to prior obligations. We left our house about 8pm and were off on our adventure. We each had a 4-6 hour shift. Someone stayed up with the driver and the rest slept. For the most part, it really wasn’t that bad. We rolled into Omaha around noon ate some lunch and checked into our hotel. We freshened up a bit and then it was time to head to td Ameritrade Park.




All I can say about the park is WOW. It was really cool. There is a concourse all the way around and not a bad seat in the house. All the seats felt so close to the field.

Brandon hit a 3-run triple in the first inning to secure 3 of the 4 Aggie runs, but the Aggies lost in a heartbreaker to South Carolina 5-4.


Apparently we were on TV a few times too. I think the cameras zeroed in on the big grouping of maroon, and the Texas and A&M flags that were next to us, and we just happened to be in the shot. By the end of the game, we were all pretty tired. So after a quick bite to eat, we crashed at the hotel.

Spring Break 2011

Better late than never is what I always say!!! This blog post is about a month late, but I had to document the fun we had!

Spring break started out with Tara and Mike's wedding. The ceremony was beautiful as was the bride. And what a great party! The kids pooped out on chairs later into the night. Wish I had a picture.



The day after the wedding, we drove to College Station to watch the Aggie baseball team play FIU. Brandon had a great game and even hit a triple! The Ags got the win, and the kids ran the bases after the game. Waiting to go...


Look at him go!!!

Tuesday night, we went back to College Station to watch the Aggies. They played a big game against Cal-State Fullerton. And since it was spring break and not a school night, we thought, why not?!?! The Aggies won again and played a great game!

Jackson and Jordan spent Wednesday in EC with Kenny. They played with their cousins and spent time with their grandparents. They had a great time.

By the time the weekend hit, the kids were already tired. So we spent the weekend at home working in the yard. I'm so excited that the backyard is finally into shape. Now I don't feel so bad when the kids go back there to play.

So that was our week in a nutshell. Sorry for the long post!

TCL Championship

We went to see our favorite East Texas Pump Jack on Saturday. The team played in the Texas Collegiate League Championship. They came up short and ended up losing, but overall they had a great year.

Brandon, we're very proud of you! Can't wait to see you play at Olsen Field again next year!!!

What a Weekend!

First of all, we just want to tip our hats to the Aggie men and womens basketball teams. Even though they both gave us heart failure, it was one heck of a ride!!!

So now onto the next sport... Aggie Baseball. Friday night, we headed to College Station to watch our favorite Aggie baseball player. Brandon started in right field for the game against Texas Tech. Before the game, each player is announced and they run to their position, and they are joined by a little kid for the National Anthem. We signed up Jackson and Jordan to run onto the field, and explained that they were Brandon's cousins, so they got to stand with him. Sawing them off! Jackson and Jordan running out into right field.
Here they are with Brandon. He was telling Jack to take his hat off.
Here's Jack and Brandon during the National Anthem. Isn't that a neat picture?
How special is that for Brandon's cousins to be able to be out there with him. We were so proud. Brandon had a great game, and the Ags won the series.

Saturday, the cold front blew in... and boy did it BLOW in. During the day, we went to the children's museum in Bryan to break up the day a little bit. They had lots of different activities for the kids. Outside of the museum, there were these miniature trains. Many of you know that there are a huge number of trains that go thru B-CS everyday, so the mini-trains were fitting. Jackson loved them, and wanted to take a picture with every one we saw.


Let's just say that Daddy influenced this picture.

My cousin kept the kids Saturday night and we went to the game and braved the cold with Kenny's sister and brother-in-law. Olsen Field is always colder than any other part of campus. And the wind was brutal. It was another great game and the Aggies won. Sunday we decided to forgo the wind and cold and head back home.

Sunday was also Kenny's birthday. YAY! We went to lunch after Church and then headed back home. I had a cookie order to get out, so I baked and Kenny relaxed watching basketball. Well, watching the Aggies wasn't really relaxing. Let's just say he was sitting... most of the time. Since we didn't do much celebrating on Sunday, we had cake after dinner Monday night. Happy Birthday Daddy!!! We love you so much!!!