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.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
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.
(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! ;-)
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!
(Eydie, Grandma, Kristen, Dede, Angela, Jayme, John)
(you can tell the kids were a LOT of HELP, can't you?!?!)
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! ;-)
Sunday, November 8, 2009
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!
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!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Happy Birthday Loni!
I haven't been good at posting lately. I'll try harder! But, as I was uploading birthday pics to facebook, I thought I'd tell the blogging world hello and wish my very wonderful friend, Loni, a happy birthday!!
Last weekend we went out in Austin for her birthday. We had an amazing time! I paid for it dearly, for well...I'm still paying for it. I'm not as young as I used to be! :) Today is Loni's actual birthday. I love you Loni! I don't know what I'd do without you! (probably not go to as many happy hours!!)
Last weekend we went out in Austin for her birthday. We had an amazing time! I paid for it dearly, for well...I'm still paying for it. I'm not as young as I used to be! :) Today is Loni's actual birthday. I love you Loni! I don't know what I'd do without you! (probably not go to as many happy hours!!)
Tom, Lori, Ellen, Louis, Rose Mary, Loni and Carlos
The Loni and Lori duo!
The Loni and Lori duo!
Loni and Carlos
Love you Tom!
Love you Tom!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Baby Steps
Our baby girl took her first real steps last weekend. As much as we wanted to "help her along", her first steps were taken after standing up against a door at Nana's house. She just decided to walk about 5 steps and then fell down. She hadn't done much this week in terms of walking, but this weekend she decided it was time to try again! She took SEVERAL steps on Saturday, and today ventured half way down the hall on a few occasions. I haven't managed to get great video just yet, but here is one video of some of her first few, and very precious, baby steps! Oh my sweet baby girl, I'm so proud of you!Sunday, October 11, 2009
A Full and Blessed Weekend
We had quite a weekend full of family, fun and blessings!
This weekend was the annual Cuero Turkeyfest! A must-see for anyone...at least once in your life.
Turkeyfest kicks off with a parade Saturday morning. Our favorite part of the parade is of course our beloved (Aunt) Meredith leading her team of trotters!
Cute little kiddos!
Conner & Nana / Aubree & PawPaw
Silly little kiddos!
Bundled up and enjoying the parade!
Fell asleep at the end!
Saturday afternoon, Tom and I had the pleasure of being our nephew, Conner's, godparents!
The Benich Family
(do you just love Brock's pose?!?)
Turkeyfest finishes up with the concert. Bands are playing all day but the best ones are always last. We got there in time for Jason Bolland and Roger Creager. Staying up for Roger was another story! ;-)
By the way...can anyone tell me WHEN my brother went into super gigantic tall mode?
(Tom, Christa, Jeff & Lori)
(today was mostly pictures, but I'm sleepy...and I don't think yall mind!)
Sunday, October 4, 2009
These are the days of our lives...
It's been a week since my last post and boy what a week it was!
Monday - I went home sick from work. I think something was in the air.
Wednesday - daycare called, trip to the doctor says: Aubree has pink eye
Thursday - still banned from daycare (24 hrs after starting meds) We brought daddy lunch and met some teachers, so that was pretty fun.
Friday it was back to work for me.
In the meantime, our house is still on the market. We had been talking about different possibilities to increase our chances of a sale. First on the list was to make the kids bathroom look just a tad bit spiffier!
SO, Friday afternoon while Tom took Brock to soccer practice and Aubree was taking a nap, I began to disassemble the bathroom. I had bought a nicer mirror and clock to "complete" the room. I had everything done and was ready to take the existing mirror down when I ran into a roadblock. It was GLUED to the wall! So, hair dryer in hand, and fishing line to "saw" through the glue, I'm going at it in the bathroom. Midway through (I thought), Tom calls to let me know someone wants to look at the house the next morning! OF COURSE THEY DO! Well, that pretty much sealed the deal that we HAD to finish the bathroom that night. We managed to complete the project by 10pm. Just about 4 hours to replace a mirror! In my head, that was a 30 minute project!
(here is where I would talk about the A&M game with Loni & Carlos, but if you know how the game went...you'll know why I am skipping the re-cap)
This brings us to Sunday. Another very rainy night (yay rain!) and an under-the-weather mommy, made for a lazy morning. I actually fell asleep on the couch for a bit. This is VERY unusual for me, which goes to show I'm not exactly 100%. I awake from my nap to a phone call. MORE lookers. They want to show the house from 2:30 to 4:30. We looked at the clock and it was 2:30 right then! We were able to get out relatively quickly and headed to the pumpkin patch.
When we listed our house in February, ours was between 2 others like our floor plan in terms of price. The two others must have gotten desperate and drastically lowered their prices. They have both sold. There is one house like ours which just went on the market, but it's priced 10K higher than ours at the moment. This makes ours the cheapest of our floor plan in the neighborhood. This could be the reason for a sudden increase in showings. We'll see. All I know is I'm SOOOO ready for the home selling business to be over. It's very hard keeping this house clean! ;-)
Stay tuned for pumking pics on another post.
Monday - I went home sick from work. I think something was in the air.
Wednesday - daycare called, trip to the doctor says: Aubree has pink eye
Thursday - still banned from daycare (24 hrs after starting meds) We brought daddy lunch and met some teachers, so that was pretty fun.
Friday it was back to work for me.
In the meantime, our house is still on the market. We had been talking about different possibilities to increase our chances of a sale. First on the list was to make the kids bathroom look just a tad bit spiffier!
SO, Friday afternoon while Tom took Brock to soccer practice and Aubree was taking a nap, I began to disassemble the bathroom. I had bought a nicer mirror and clock to "complete" the room. I had everything done and was ready to take the existing mirror down when I ran into a roadblock. It was GLUED to the wall! So, hair dryer in hand, and fishing line to "saw" through the glue, I'm going at it in the bathroom. Midway through (I thought), Tom calls to let me know someone wants to look at the house the next morning! OF COURSE THEY DO! Well, that pretty much sealed the deal that we HAD to finish the bathroom that night. We managed to complete the project by 10pm. Just about 4 hours to replace a mirror! In my head, that was a 30 minute project!
Bathroom - before
(I never did center the mirror after we converted from a single vantity to a larger one)
Bathroom - after
(new mirror, pictures hung in an actual pattern, clock added to take up wall space)
I would probably do more if we were planning on staying, but we're not. I'll focus my attention on our new bathrooms if the house ever sells. ;-)
In the midst of a rainy Saturday (soccer game was cancelled), we took Grammy and Aunt Jenna (who had come to watch the game) to target and Chili's while the house was being shown (11-1). Brock felt really warm the whole time we were out. He had a steady 100.6 degree temp all day. (here's hoping it doesn't turn into the flu!) We got home, the kids began to make the usual "kid mess" and Aubree went down for a nap and the phone rings again. MORE lookers from 3-5! So out of the house we venture once more. It was quite an interesting day.(I never did center the mirror after we converted from a single vantity to a larger one)
Bathroom - after
(new mirror, pictures hung in an actual pattern, clock added to take up wall space)
I would probably do more if we were planning on staying, but we're not. I'll focus my attention on our new bathrooms if the house ever sells. ;-)
(here is where I would talk about the A&M game with Loni & Carlos, but if you know how the game went...you'll know why I am skipping the re-cap)
This brings us to Sunday. Another very rainy night (yay rain!) and an under-the-weather mommy, made for a lazy morning. I actually fell asleep on the couch for a bit. This is VERY unusual for me, which goes to show I'm not exactly 100%. I awake from my nap to a phone call. MORE lookers. They want to show the house from 2:30 to 4:30. We looked at the clock and it was 2:30 right then! We were able to get out relatively quickly and headed to the pumpkin patch.
When we listed our house in February, ours was between 2 others like our floor plan in terms of price. The two others must have gotten desperate and drastically lowered their prices. They have both sold. There is one house like ours which just went on the market, but it's priced 10K higher than ours at the moment. This makes ours the cheapest of our floor plan in the neighborhood. This could be the reason for a sudden increase in showings. We'll see. All I know is I'm SOOOO ready for the home selling business to be over. It's very hard keeping this house clean! ;-)
Stay tuned for pumking pics on another post.
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