Thanksgiving

Happy Belated Thanksgiving to everyone!
We shocked ourselves and did not travel for Thanksgiving this year. While we were sad not to spend it with our loved ones, we had a nice Thanksgiving day ourselves. Tom's sister, Jenna, joined us which made it even more special. I was ready to have turkey sandwiches but since I'm married to a pretty classy chef, we had a bit more traditional meal.

Thanksgiving was not without it's seemingly annual illness. Last year Brock spent Thanksgiving at my dad's house with a bad stomach bug. This year, Aubree had the strangest rash I've ever seen. It covered the right side of her body, under her arm. It never really spread so I didn't worry too much about it. It did however, follow (probably unrelated) with a terribly runny nose, cough and mild fever. The poor baby was coughing so much she made herself throw up.
We made it through, and manged to decorate the house in the process. I look back and think about the past year. I'm so thankful for two (most of the time) healthy kids. A WONDERFUL husband who I love very much, and so much family that we can't even make all the rounds for the thanksgiving holidays!

Thanksgiving Naps...the funny thing here is Brock is sleeping on me...who is also sleeping on the couch! Tom was the one taking these pictures...and normally HE is the one napping!

Thanksgiving Pool

And Thanksgiving Beer. Um, you noticed something wrong here, didn't you? Well, one of Aubree's newest tricks is sneaking into the pantry, opening the lid on the garbage can...and picking out an item! Ewww, right? Well, sometime on Thanksgiving day, she went in, grabbed this beer bottle, and walked all the way back to the kids' little table to begin "drinking" it. It was quite funny!

Bonfire 1999

It's been TEN YEARS. TEN YEARS. I was so looking forward to Bonfire '99! Tom and I met BONFIRE NIGHT in 1998! We were about to celebrate one of the most widely known, and favorite Aggie traditions on the first anniversary of when we had met. The morning started much earlier than planned as I was woken up by the phone...parents who had heard before me that the beloved Fightin' Texas Aggie Bonfire had fallen. My first reaction was one of "it's fallen before...we'll just re-build it!" It was going to be tight on time, but I knew we could do it. It was only a matter of minutes that I learned this was nothing we could "rebuild". Lives had been lost. Many were missing or trapped in the stack. Rescue workers were relentlessly working to save as many people as possible. Since I did not live on campus at the time (this was my Junior Year at A&M), I couldn't break away from the TV coverage to head to the bonfire site. I don't believe I've ever been as glued to the television as I was that day. Looking back, it's still a bit surreal. We lost 12 members of the Aggie Family in that fall. A bit ironic since another widely known symbol of Texas A&M is it's 12th man.
Today I couldn't help but think about these 12 young (very young) men and women who lost their life that day. They were all very close in age to me. I think of myself...married, a successful job, and two precious kids. I wonder where they would be today. If they would have families of their own. Then I realize that they are in a lot of places today. They are in the minds and hearts of thousands of Aggies. And they will live there forever.

To you 12 Aggies who died doing something you loved, you will forever be remembered. My biggest hope today is that the current and future Aggies know and understand just how deeply you loved the Bonfire tradition and Texas A&M University. You are my Aggie Brothers and Sisters, and you are missed.

• Miranda Denise Adams ‘02
• Christopher D. Breen ‘96
• Michael Stephen Ebanks ‘03
• Jeremy Richard Frampton ‘99
• Jamie Lynn Hand ‘03
• Christopher Lee Heard ‘03
• Timothy Doran Kerlee, Jr ‘03
• Lucas John Kimmel ‘03
• Bryan A. McClain ‘02
• Chad A. Powell ‘03
• Jerry Don Self ‘01
• Nathan Scott West ‘02

Non-Stop

That sums up our lives right now! NON-STOP! I'm thankful for each of the activities that keep us zooming from one thing to another, but I'd also be thankful for a bit of downtime! Let's take last weekend as an example. It's probably an extreme example, but an example no less.

It's November which means one big thing in the Benich house. HUNTING SEASON!! Tom was out of town beginning Friday morning which left me with some crazy single mom duties. (I've said it before, I'll say it again...the admiration I have for all those single moms with husbands deployed is more than I can say.)
Anyways...Saturday morning starts with both kids up by 6:15. I started some laundry, made beds, cooked breakfast, cleaned the kitchen and it was time to run out for Brock's last soccer game!

We went straight from the soccer game to my Aunt Angela's new house. She just closed on the house and was moving in. We took the opportunity to not only see the house, but to see some relatives in town as well. After visiting a bit and having a quick bite to eat, we were off again.

(Eydie, Grandma, Kristen, Dede, Angela, Jayme, John)

(you can tell the kids were a LOT of HELP, can't you?!?!)

We headed home to see my cousins who were stopping by as part of a quick trip to San Antonio. We arrived at the house and just 30 minutes later we were out again so the house could be shown!
After a very quick Hi, How are you, and Goodbye, I had Brock changed and we were off to one of his teammate's birthday party. The party wrapped up a couple hours later and then it was straight to the end-of-year soccer party!

(The Shooting Stars and their awesome coaches!)

I was fortunate enough that through most of this, my dad had kept Aubree at my aunt's house. After the party finished, she joined us again and we made a trip into Target for last-minute outfits. Sometime during this crazy Saturday, I confirmed with my friend John we would take family pictures Sunday morning. I hadn't a clue what to wear! I figured buying a few tops would beat searching through our wardrobes for coordinating outfits! I think we got home right before 9pm...just as Tom was pulling into the driveway. It was exhausting, but truly a GOOD day!

I think I'm running on empty these days. I'm doing everything I can to cherish all my blessings, but life in general does wear me down. I think that was evident last night when I went to bed at 8:30!!!!! Seriously...need to figure out how to not work...it just takes 10+ hours of my day I don't have time to give away! ;-)

Fall Festivities

I didn't realize just how few entries I posted in October! I'd like to say the month was busier than others, but in reality, it was probably just as busy! The days, weeks and months continue to fly by. We're slowly making Christmas plans (which if you are familiar with our holiday schedules, you know is no easy chore!) and getting some shopping done. We pulled our house off the market for a bit and will be re-listing it tomorrow. I'm finishing my soccer team mom duties this weekend with our end-of-season party. And last, but certainly not least, deer season has officially kicked off! To say I'm worn out is an understatement, but I do my best, and TRY to forget the rest!

We had a couple trips to the pumpkin patch this year. Pumpkin patch pictures are always my favorite! They always turn out SO good!

Brock thoroughly enjoyed Halloween, though he was more eager to get out and trick-or-treat than he was to take pictures...we never got a decent one! Aubree REALLY liked getting after all that candy! Mean ol' mom & dad never let her have anything though...and she told us about it!

And now...it's time to get my little skeletons in bed!