Oklahoma!

I forgot about the biggest event in June, We went to Oklahoma for Ryan's wrestling camp.  I will post more about the trip and pictures too.  Just not right now. I know you are dying to hear about it!

Downtown Bryan-First Friday

Last Friday evening, Luther, Ryan and I went to our First Friday ever.  In Bryan, they have these celebrations downtown the first Friday evening of each month.  It has been going on sometime now, but we just have not made it there yet.  Other than being blazing hot outside, we had a nice time.  We walked up and down the streets and stopped at a few shops, we ran into friends who were also out and we ate dinner at Must Be Heaven.  I tried a French Dip sandwich for the first time and it was Heaven! 

I am sure we will go to other First Fridays, but hopefully when it is a bit cooler.  I really want to go in December when they are celebrating the holiday season.  I hear they have horse buggy rides. I'm up for that! I will also love to see the Christmas lights and decorations.

Oops! Skipped a month!

So, I completely missed the month of July.  Let's see if I can remember the highlights...

The 4th of July we spent at Luther's parents' house. We went home, but Ryan went with Lindsay and Brandon to watch fireworks in Kurten.

The next weekend, we went to Dallas to visit my parents, but had a mishap with my Dad having to spend most of the weekend in the hospital.  He is fine and we are going for another visit in August.  In fact, Ryan will be spending some time up in Dallas with my parents and then Luther and I have a long weekend planned to go visit my parents again when we pick him up.  I know my brother is planning on taking Ryan and his cousins to Six Flags, so that will be fun.  I love Six Flags, so kind of sad I will miss it this time.

Ryan finished his summer camp and open mat in the middle of July and has been hanging out at the house.  He is a good kid and stays out of trouble. 

Our pool got a hole in the liner, so we have drained it and bought a repair kit, but we made the decision to wait until it is cooler to repair it because we also want to level the ground.  I'm really bummed it broke because I was having a wonderful time working out in the pool and one of my favorite things to do is relax in the pool.  Oh well, we will take care of it and I will have it next summer!  

We went out to dinner and Northgate to celebrate Lindsay and Brandon's engagement.  That was a fun night! Ryan went to dinner with us and then we dropped him off at the house before returning to Northgate.

I finished reading The Hunger Games and Catching Fire.  I am now working on Mockingjay.  They are excellent reads!

I think those are the major highlights of July. I really need to do a better job on my blog! Oh well, I guess you could say, sometimes life gets in the way and I am living life.

Wedding Bells!

This past weekend, Luther and I decided it was time to get serious about working out and eating right, so we are beginning our, as he calls it, 100 pound quest to May.  He might loose 100 pounds, but realistically, I think I will only be able to loose 50 in that time frame. Why the May time frame? Well...

Yes, I will be a bridesmaid and Luther a groomsman!

June is here!

Friday night, Ryan, Luther and I went to celebrate our friend's graduation from Rudder High.  Congratulations Kallie!  It was at the La Salle Hotel in Bryan.  The party was so cute, it was all deserts and there was a smores bar. Very very cute and we had a fun time.

The cookie Table!

Saturday night, Luther and I had our first swim in the pool.  It was perfect!  The water felt great and it was 93 degrees outside.  I will be spending quite a bit of time in there this summer.  I have even been looking for some things to do to workout while in the pool.  I love summertime!

I had one of these before I got in the pool!

Car Wash!

This past Saturday, we had the first of two car wash fundraisers for the CSHS Wrestling Team at Pilger's Tire/Carquest Auto Parts on University Drive in College Station.  They are raising funds to go to the OSU wrestling camp this June.  It was a perfect day for a car wash and I was pleased with the turnout especially since this is the first time I have ever headed up something like this.  We are doing another one next Saturday, so wish us luck!

Mother's Day 2013

This past Sunday was Mother's day.  I unfortunately was sick with a stomach virus all weekend long.  I spent almost the entire weekend in bed.  Sunday afternoon I got out of bed around 2:00 in the afternoon and watched a little TV with Luther. Ryan and Luther gave me a card and a gift certificate to Starbucks.  That's awesome!  I took a shower because we were invited to go to Clay and Colleen's for dinner with the family.  I really didn't want to go because I was just starting to feel better, but I didn't want to disappoint the rest of the family. Basically, I sucked it up! I did get to see Lindsay's engagement ring for the first time and had girl wedding talk, lol.  Also, Mary Anne gave me some beautiful yellow roses. That was awesome too!

Later that evening, I called my Mom to wish her a happy Mother's Day and she was taking my Dad to the hospital.  It turned out he had a bad stomach virus and they kept him in the hospital for 2 nights.  Weird we both had one on the same weekend, I'm glad I didn't end up in the hospital.  I got to talk to him the next day and he was feeling much better!

Biopsy

The last week in April, I went to my doctor with some issues I was having.  While I was there she unexpectedly decided to do a biopsy.  She didn't act too worried about it, it was more of a precaution.  I wasn't too freaked out, but you still never know.  I posted on my Facebook page requesting payers for good results.  I think that freaked more people out than me.  In the future, I might re-think that.  I wanted the prayers, but I did not want to freak all my friends and family out.  Maybe next time, I will just ask for prayers for a personal issue... anyway, the results turned out all good and the issue I went to see her about is all healed up as well.

My Mom Necklace!

Wow! I am really behind.  I have not posted anything since the middle of April, so sorry!  well, here is a picture of the cute Wrestling Mom necklace I got, I just love it!

What a Week!

This has been a crazy week in America! On Monday, there was a bombing at the Boston Marathon, killing 3 people and injuring over 100.  The bombs were set off by 2 brothers.  One is dead, but not after killing an MIT police officer in the process.  The other is on the run and there is a massive manhunt in Boston and outlying areas today as I write this.  This has been classified as a terrorist act.

Wednesday night a fertilizer plant exploded in West, Texas and 14 people are dead so far.  They are still searching the area for survivors and recovery as I write this.  West is a small town north of Waco.  It has been a horrific accident. Many people displaced and the town is devastated. 

Today also marks a terrible day in history, It is the anniversary of the bombing in Oklahoma City. Let's hope next week is just calm and peaceful for this nation. 

Hurdles Over-MMA Beginning Again

Last week, Ryan finished up with his track season at school.  He gets bored with off season, so Monday night he started going back to his MMA gym, Team Unleashed.  He will continue working out there trough July and then when school starts in August, he will get back to wrestling.

This June, he will be going to a wrestling camp at Oklahoma State University. He has done one fund raiser with his school and hopefully will have another one in May.  He is pretty excited about going, this is the first away camp he has ever been to and the first wrestling camp.

We plan on taking him over to Oklahoma University to tour the campus.  After viewing out of state tuition rates, he better hope he finds a full ride scholarship if he wants to be a sooner!

2013 Cougar Wrestling Banquet

Last night was the first ever Cougar wrestling banquet.  We had a really nice night. Honey and Papa joined us and Rebecca Burns sat with us at our table. It was a wonderful night of good food, conversation and fun!  We had a great season and I can't wait for next year to start!

Easter 2013

This was a fun Easter weekend. Friday, Luther and Ryan hung out together while I was at work.  They did some errands during the day and got to see a guy get arrested in Bryan. When I got home, we watched Walk the Line. Ryan had never seen it and he likes Johnny Cash.  

Saturday morning, we all got up and went to eat breakfast at Coco Loco.  After breakfast, we went to The Farm Patch and got some fresh fruits and veggies and then to the grocery store.  We were invited to go to our friends Mark and Laura's house Saturday evening so we were getting some things to make a salad and cheese/veggie tray.  We had a blast at Mark and Laura's.  We had BBQ that Mark made, which was outstanding.  We also played chicken foot, which is a dominoes game and it was really fun too.

Sunday, we went to Luther's parent's house.  We had lunch and then the little kids had the annual Easter Egg hunt.  Ryan stayed and rode home with Lindsay. Luther and I left and stopped at the grocery store for lunch supplies, since he is trying to be good and take his lunches to work.  We got home and watched Rock of Ages, which was kind of a goofy movie, but the 80's music was awesome.  I had no clue Tom Cruise could sing as well as he does.  When Ryan got home, we watch The Walking Dead with him and then Luther and I watched Game of Thrones.  Then it was bedtime and time to get the start on a new week.

New Old Job

Well, Luther started his new old job as store manager back at Carquest today.  The new job he took last week was not really what he was expecting it to be. His supervisor at Carquest did not want him to leave, so they met last week and talked about the situation.  His supervisor promised to make some changes that would allow Luther to be able to do Manager work, instead of trying to be the manager and fill in on all the other things that need to be done.  They are going to try to correct the staffing issues in his store which will really help improve things tremendously.  I hope this all works out for him and his stress level diminishes.  Ryan and I want the real fun loving Luther back home with us when he is off the clock!

New Job

Luther starts his new job today at Superior Automotive.  He will be working in the office and service writing. He used to do this at Batson Tire when we were first married and he loved it.  He will have much better hours, Monday-Friday 7:30-5:30 and off on the weekends.  It will be nice having him on a set schedule and home with us on the weekends.  This is a small family business and he has been trying to get back to that type of situation ever since Batson Tire closed down.  I think he will really enjoy this job because he will definitely be in his element as they say.

Caldwell Track Meet

Saturday, Ryan had a track meet in Caldwell, which was nice because it was close.  Papa met us there around 9:00.  It was a bit chilly, but it got warmer after lunch.  Ryan finished second in his trial run of the 300 hurdles and finished 5th overall.  He finished fourth in the 110 hurdles.  He didn't fall in any of his runs, yay!
On the way home, we stopped at our friend's house in Caldwell and dropped off some Butter Braids.  We had a nice visit with Dianne and the little weenie dogs.  Then, it was home to meet Ryan at the school and watch a movie.

Hello Black Hair

Last Monday, Ryan went back to school after Spring Break and his principle called us wanting us to get rid of his colored hair by today.  We complied, but it was disappointing because we found out later that there are several girls at school with colored hair and they are allowed to have it.  We didn't put up a fight because we didn't want it to be taken out on Ryan at school.  He is an A-B student and doesn't get in trouble, so we let it go.  Still, the double standard makes me mad. 

Ryan decided, he wanted black hair, so we got a haircut from my friend Laura and then she told me what to do so I could dye it at home.  It turned out ok, but I will be glad when his beautiful strawberry blond grows back.  I told him if he wants to color his hair, he will need to do it during his summer breaks. Haha. 

Spring Break

Spring Break was uneventful this year, which was nice.  I worked Monday and Tuesday and was off the rest of the week.  I had some errands to do throughout the week, but for the most part was able to get some chores done and relax.  Ryan was bored at times because most of his friends were gone.  He helped me do some errands and just kind of hung out.  Luther had to work and we don't really have the funds to go anywhere, so it was a Stay-cation kind of week.

Luther starts a new job next week, so it will be interesting to see how all that works out.  He will have weekends off again, so that will be wonderful for us.  He had to miss so much of Ryan's school events because of working on Saturdays and now that will not be an issue.

We are excited about this new change in our life and will have to see how things go.  He is getting back into the kind of work he loves, so it should be a positive thing all around.  Money will be tighter, but having quality time with the family means more to our house of 3.

Speechless...

So Ryan did this last night with the help of Brandon and Lindsay...

Giddings Track Meet

Friday, Ryan had a track meet in Giddings.  Luther and I both had to work, so we were not able to go.  Honey and Papa went to see him for part of the meet.  He did good again on the 100 hurdle, but fell again on the 
300. This time he had some battle wounds to bring home.  He had track rash on his shoulder, hip and knee.  He told me he heard the whole crowd gasp when he fell.  This week is Spring Break, so his next meet will be in 2 weeks in Caldwell and Luther and I will be able to go to that one.  I sure hope he doesn't fall when I am there, not sure my heart can take it.

Saturday was just kind of a lazy day for us, well, Luther had to work.  I made chicken BBQ for dinner and we just kind of hung out Saturday night at the house.

Sunday, we went out running around town and tried a new resturant named Wolfies. At 5 we went to see Oz.  Lindsay and Brandon met us up at the theater.  It was a really good movie.  I loved the flying monkey!  Now, I want to read the books this movie and the Wizard of Oz are based on.  I heard they were good.  I guess I will add those to my reading list.

I will be working Monday and Tuesday of this week and then off for 5 days. Woohoo! I love this town during Spring Break, everyone is gone and it takes no time to get in and out of places! I am hoping we can go to the Franklin Safari. I have been asking for weeks, but we have not made it out there yet.  Maybe the weather will be nice and we can go. Other than that, no special plans so far...Oh, read, I can read!

2nd Track Meet

This past weekend, Ryan's track meet was in Troy, Texas which is a minimum 2 hour drive.  Luther had to work, so I decided to stay home.  Also, I was not ready to sit out in the sun again.  I had fever blisters and peeling from the weekend before.  I decided to stay home and get some things done.  Of course, Ryan got to do hurdles and place.  He placed fourth in his heat for the 110 hurdles and finished 6th overall.  This was awesome, because this is the first time ever he has ran track or done hurdles.  I texted him about the 300 hurdles and he said he fell flat on his face over the first hurdle, so glad I missed THAT! He was ok and I did not see any marks on his face when he got home, so all is good.  His next track meet is Friday in Giddings, so I won't be able to go to that one.  But the one after will be in Caldwell on a Saturday and I am planning on going to that one.

Parental Units Visiting and First CSHS Track Meet

I am so far behind on my posts! The weekend of Feb 23rd, my parents came down to visit.  I took off Friday afternoon, the 22nd because my Mom and Dad were coming in that day for the weekend.  They arrived before Ryan was out of school and we got to spend some time visiting.  They brought me a cute little bird nest for my room.  When Ryan and Luther got home we went to Buffalo Wild Wings to eat dinner.

Saturday morning we got up at 5AM to get Ryan to school for his first track meet.  We went and picked up Luther's Dad. We had to take 2 cars because we did not have one where we would all fit.  The guys rode together and Mom and I rode together.  The meet was in Bastop and we had a little trouble finding the meet.  Finally, Ryan had texted me asking when we were getting there and I told him we were lost.  He had his coach call Luther, so we could find the stadium.  Since this was our first track meet, we did not realize Ryan would not even be competing till about 3PM. It was cold out and we were all bundled up, however; we totally forgot about the sun burning our faces.  Needless to say we were all pretty red in our faces. We went home and introduced my parents to Duck Dynasty. OH YEAH!  I think they liked it.

I love this picture because both feet are off the ground!

We all went to bed pretty early because we were beat. Sunday morning, my parents headed back home.  Ryan and I were invited by some friends to go to the WWE Smack Down at Reed Areana.  We went there at 4 and got home around 8ish.  Ryan had to finish a science project that would have been simple, but we couldn't get the laptop to print, so we had to go run around and get his stuff printed out.  I think we ended up in bed around 11PM, way past my bedtime.

It was a pretty nice weekend and busy!  Ryan did not place at the meet, but he didn't get to do his hurdle events either.  The coach did not have any of the boys do hurdles at the first meet.

Wrestling Season over!

Ryan lost in district so he did not get to move on to regionals or state this year.  He still had an amazing year full of excitement.  His record was 10-13, not bad for a sophomore!  Now on to track.  He is doing hurdles, this should be fun to watch.

Middle of February!

Wow! I have not been doing a great job of blogging. It's the middle of February and this is my first post.  Let's see...my house is just about back to normal after the pipe fiasco and I even got rid of stuff taking up room, so yay for the good from it.  

This coming weekend my parents are coming down for a visit, so that's exciting! They will even get to see Ryan in his first track meet on Saturday.  

This past Saturday, Ryan and I went to Garrett and Payton's birthday party.  It was a nice time with family.  Luther could not go because he was working.  But, Saturday evening we went to Icehouse on Lake Bryan with Lindsay and Brandon for dinner.  I love their burgers!

I think that pretty much sums up what's been going on at the O'Banion house, so until next time!

Plumbing and Wrestling Update

Well, our leak is finally fixed and this past weekend Luther put up new sheet rock to cover all the holes in the walls and ceiling.  Last night he did the first round of sanding, so maybe next weekend I can paint?  I will be super glad when this whole process is completed.

Tomorrow is Ryan's district meet. He is seeded 4th and has to finish 4th or higher to continue on to regional's.  Luther and I were both able to get the day off work and Honey and Papa are going with us.  If they do not finish the tournament tomorrow, it will continue on Thursday.  It would be awesome if Ryan made it to regional's his sophomore year. Go Ryan!

Beginning 2013

Well, this year has started off with a bang! I have been sick since shortly after Christmas, then New Year's Eve I felt much better and we went to Luther's parent's house to celebrate Christmas with his brother's family who were in Michigan.  We went home and Luther and I were in bed about 10PM, so we didn't even stay up late and the next morning we both woke up sicker than ever!  We both stayed home all day on the couch and in bed Tuesday.  

Luther's grandmother passed away and her viewing was on Wednesday night, the 2nd.  Luther and I were so sick we went to bed and missed it.  On Thursday, we went to her funeral.  

Friday, the 4th, we both felt better and went to Houston to Ryan's wrestling tournament.  He was eliminated Friday, so we did not need to go back Saturday.  Saturday, I woke up sick again!  We had to go help clean out Luther's grandmother's apartment and then I got antibiotics.  I was not actually feeling better until the 8th. I missed work on Monday the 7th.  

So, I go back to work on the 8th and then on the 9th, Luther walked into our closet and the carpet was soaked.  I stayed home from work and had to move everything out of the entire closet, so a plumber could come find the leak.  It was behind the wall at the base of the foundation in our hot water pipe.  The insurance adjuster met us on Thursday to see the damage.  We are now in the process of getting estimates without hot water in the house.  My closet is in my living room and dining room and it's driving me insane!

Saturday, the 12th, Ryan had another meet in Houston, but I stayed home to try to get over all the crud in my system so I wouldn't relapse.  I wish I would have gone because he was 2-2, but I did not want to take a chance on getting sick all over again.  

The only good thing from all of this so far, is that I have decided to purge stuff before it goes back into our closet. Wow! 2013 sure is starting off on a low note...