Happy Thanksgiving

First of all I apologize for not having updated in awhile. This blog is turning into a once a month update...and for that I am sorry, but I hope to get better with time. Here is a recap of November:

We got our house keys! Yay! So far we have only moved the essentials: Bed, TV and Clothes haha. The rest we are kind of dreading to move. Let's just say we better stay in this house for awhile because Ben and I have learned very quickly to despise packing. It's crazy that even with the little bit that we do have, we do not need it...obviously...we have been without it for a month. I am realizing just how blessed we truly are, I knew before but it has become very evident this Thanksgiving. My goal from this Thanksgiving to the next is to think of the "Thank you's" everyday before the "I wants/needs". So Thank You, Lord, for not only our wonderful home but for the memories we will create there for years to come.

We also had the opportunity to attend and Aggie Football Game (Thanks Mom & Dad). Always a great time, but even better that we BTHO Nebraska! The game seemed pretty evenly matched (the only points scored were field goals). The Aggie Band was great too, as always. They perfomed The Four-Way Cross, which is one of the most anticipated drills the band performs and it was just as good as I have always known it to be. The picture is of the 12th Man storming the field after the win. It was a great last home game to end a great season.



Well with the house and all of the moving we missed having Thanksgiving with our parents in Portland, however we had a great substitute. We are very blessed to be a part of a couple's bible study and a few weeks before Thanksgiving we had a great Turkey Dinner with them. The turkey was the best I ever had, that, coupled with great conversation and study made for a wonderful evening. Thanks for hosting and cooking K. Passmore Family =-).

On the actual Thanksgiving Day, Ben and I slept in then I made cinnamon rolls, YUM! We had pizza that night and hung out with my brother and sister-in-law to watch the A&M vs. t.u. game. Did I mention we won that game too? Thanksgiving just would not be the same without Aggie Football.

The girls of our bible study all got together for an ornament exchange a few days ago. We had a lot of fun at Gina's apartment, we had a wonderful meal and then exchanged ornaments. It was fun to see all of the varieties, from crosses and glittery ornaments to a crystal mistletoe ornament, everyone went home very happy! Now I just need a tree to put mine on, Thanks Katie!

And that brings us to December! Ben and I hope that you and your family have a very Blessed and Happy Holiday Season! Come see us in The Woodlands!

Our New House

Well as most of you know by now, we are buying a house! We will close soon and we could not be more excited.

The process went a little like this:

In September we decided we would start looking to see what neighborhoods we liked, before we started touring houses. We drove countless miles and used numerous tanks of gas to narrow our search to The Woodlands/North Spring area and then started our online search. I think I probably looked at 300 houses online.

Ben and I agreed on most things regarding what we were looking for. We wanted a newer house because at this point in our lives we do not have the skills, means, or time to have a major fixer upper, we wanted a designated office space (whether that was the 4th bedroom or its own room), and we also wanted a sufficient yard for Rollie (she does not spend a ton of time in the yard but we thought it would be nice). Most importantly though we were looking for a house we could stay in for the long haul. Once the family chapter of our lives starts we do not want to have to pick up and move again.

With all that being said I had narrowed our search to a list of 4 homes that I really wanted to look at, and then we figured with the help of a Realtor they could steer us in the right direction. I gave him my list and then he returned my list with 16 more options. He told us to narrow it down to 7 or 8 houses, so we did and the search began. We liked the first two houses that we saw but then we came to the third house... Ben and I could literally not stop saying "wow". I new as soon as we walked in that this house would be the one.I think in all we physically toured 7 houses and kept coming back to that third house, so we made an offer (this was the end of September).

Throughout the whole process we have been praying for guidance, strength and wisdom...anyone who has purchased a home knows you need all three. There were a couple of things that reassured our decisions along the way. When we signed our offer letter our Realtor offered to say a prayer over us regarding the process, so in the lobby of his office we prayed over the decision and the house and I cannot describe how much peace came over us. We have also had the privilege of working with a family friend as our lender, it has been so nice to have the Sue and Nugget's support and experience to help steer us in the right direction.

Here is the result:





We cannot wait to have everyone over to see the house and visit with us. Next time you are in the Houston area give us a call and you have a place to stay!

Wide World of Sports Weekend

This past weekend Ben and I had the opportunity to head up to our beloved Aggieland for a football game. I did not think that heading back to College Station would be so emotional. I really felt as though I were heading home. I know, to some, it might not seem like much but with all the tradition that surrounds the town and all the amazing memories Ben and I have shared there it was nice to go back.

First order of business was to buy Ben a new Aggie baseball hat. Due to some unfortunate circumstances involving our ordinarily well-behaved dog Rollie eating Ben's last hat, a replacement had to be found. Once that was taken care of we went to meet our great friends Ashley and Kyle for a tailgate before the game. We had a great time relaxing and catching up, eating with them and Ashley's parents. For any of you who have frequented College Station you know that the weather is unpredictable but one thing you can usually count on is a disgustingly hot game day. However, while we were there the weather was warm and overcast (what a relief). After tailgating for a couple of hours we walked over to the quad to watch Step-Off. It was very surreal to be walking WITH Ben to WATCH the Aggie Band step-off WITHOUT him. I think it was a bit harder for me then him...but odd regardless. Canon went off, everyone WHOOPed, and then the drum majors blew their whistles. As many times as I have been to step-off it gives me chills every time when the drums start their cadence, and then they were off, and we were left standing and watching.

Luckily, we noticed a few of Ben's buddies and their girlfriends/fiancees/wives standing and watching too. It was so great to see Jenna & Jake, Carla & Kason, and Kayla & Brian, most were still in College Station finishing up school so it was nice hear updates of campus and school, as well as, future plans for everyone. We were all going to the game so we decided to walk over together and we ran into Mr. Adam Goldsmith! It was so good to see him! What a reunion we had going. We cannot wait to see everyone again.

The game was great, way too stressful if you ask me. It should not have been that close of a game, but it made it exciting at least. We had really good seats and had a nice breeze on top of the already decent weather. We had to eat a few Aggie Dogs (hotdogs) and Peanut M&M's (a tradition for Ben and me at football games)

After the game we walked back to the tailgate and stayed around until midnight and decided it was probably time to make the drive back to The Woodlands before we fell asleep. And yes, I fell asleep on the ride home, no worries Ben was driving ;-)

On Sunday, Ben's brother, James invited us to go to lunch and then the Astros game with his family. It was so nice to see James, Holly, the boys and Amy! We haven't seen them since July. Since then Mason (the youngest) has become mobile so it was fun to watch him try and walk around and explore things at the game. There was a MercyMe concert after the game, both Ben and I have seen them before but it was neat being in a setting like we were. Singing praise songs in a Baseball Stadium was a new experience for all of us.

All in all it was a great weekend, both teams won and we got to catch up with family and friends. Is there a better way to spend your weekend?

House Hunting

Well, let the house hunting begin.

What an experience this has been already. Ben and I have been spending all of our free time researching and driving around looking at houses and neighborhoods. So far we have actually been inside a whopping two but the first one we fell in love with and is probably going to be the house we compare to all the ones we will look at in the future.

We are shooting to move around Christmas since that is when our current lease is up so we have given ourselves a deadline of the end of October to have an offer made and accepted to meet that goal. With that being said, however, if we do not find something we will just extend our lease so no worries folks, we are trying not to Rush it too much. (can't help it though just trying to live up to our name =-) too corny?...sorry

Other things we have enjoyed this month:

- Goo Goo Dolls concert: one word- Amazing. It was such a great date night reliving songs that were popular when we started dating, bringing back such great memories. I hope they come back to the Houston area soon, I would drop everything to go to another one of their concerts. And to think we were sitting outside...listening for free...that was just the icing on the cake.

Boys/Girls Trip: One weekend Ben went up to College Station to play golf and catch up with his buddies. They had a great time drinking beer, whacking a few golf balls, driving around town and doing guy stuff. In the mean time I headed down to Clear Lake (south Houston) to hang out with Miss Ashley soon-to-be Holland. I spent the night at her parent's new house and we spent a good part of Saturday walking around a Bridal Expo in downtown Houston getting ideas for her wedding next October, it's been so much fun being her MOH.

- Portland trip: We took a trip home for Labor Day it was so nice to go home, see a bit of the beach and the water and to see our family. And let's not forget, spending some much needed time with the pup, Rollie. I do not think there was a moment that she was not right next to us when we were at my parent's house...including sleeping with us (in between us). I cannot wait to have her up here with us for good. We spent the weekend hanging out visiting with the folks, shopping, and eating the local cuisine. There are a few places that you have to eat when you make your way to Portland, TX including Dixie Cream Donuts, Taqueria El Tapatio (taquitos), and you have to make the short drive to Corpus for Kiko's Mexican food, I am happy to say we made it to all three.

-Couple's Bible Study: We have also joined a Couple's Bible Study with my brother and sister-in-law, Hollis and Jessica, and some of their friends and friends of friends. We have been twice now once at Hollis & Jessica's house and once at Drew & Becca's house. We are studying couples of the old testament. It has been really interesting hearing everyone's take on different bible stories and questions that the book we are following has asked. I can tell we are all going to be great friends by the end of this. We meet once a month and everyone takes turns hosting. Hopefully by the time our turn rolls around we will have a house to meet in.

Big Updates

Well make yourselves comfortable their are a lot of things to discuss since I have fallen so behind on updating.

First the biggest news...Ben got a job and, not just any job, its with the company that he has been talking to and interviewing with since May. The company is called Bureau Veritas and it is located right near the George Bush Airport off the Beltway. He was hired as an engineer and will be doing work in many different fields for now. The company is starting a nuclear branch and he will be doing a lot of work with that branch once it is up and running. He is excited about his future with the company because he is the only nuclear engineer on hire. Finally everyone can breath a sigh of relief, and start our prayers of thanks rather then prayers of desire.

We also made our first trip to the Houston Outlets, it was an extremely warm afternoon but we accomplished our mission. Once we found out about Ben's job offer we had to head out and go shopping for some business-clothes for him to wear at his new job. We were honestly kind of disappointed at first because in the first row of shops we didn't really find any "good" deals. We ate our words however once we had a pretzel dog, a coke and a cookie and headed down the second row of shops. We found great deals on polos and button down shirts for him and I actually found two cardigan sweaters I have been trying to find for months now. We vowed to definitely to come back when we had something specific to shop for.

At the beginning of the month we took a quick trip to Concan, TX to float the Frio River and enjoy some time with my family and of course my dog. We left soon after work on Friday and made the 4.5 hour drive to a little town an hour or so west of San Antonio. Growing up my family would make the trip to Concan for vacation every year. With college and work I have missed a few trips so it was a wonderful feeling stepping out of the car, feeling the dry air engulf me and taking a seat in a lawn chair to look at the billions of stars you cannot see anywhere else. The next morning we headed to our favorite place to eat Neal's Cafe...I cannot really describe how wonderful the breakfast is...but you miss it when you are not in Concan. We spent pretty much the whole day hanging out at the swimming hole in front of our cabin throwing river rocks for the dogs to retrieve and soaking up some sun. There is nothing more relaxing then sitting in a tube on the cold Frio River on a hot summer day. While a few of us went shopping that afternoon at the little gift shops close by, Ben, my cousin Michelle and my Uncle Mike decided to go for a helicopter ride over the area.

Last weekend the Brad Paisley tour came to The Woodlands with artists including Justin Moore and Darius Rucker. Hollis, Jessica, Brent, Ben and I all went and brought lawn chairs, food and drinks to sit outside the pavilion and listen to the "free" concert for us. We quickly fell in love with the great time we were having and decided that we would come out for every concert we could. How could you pass up a great evening with friends and free entertainment. Some of the upcoming shows we are going to try and make are Jack Johnson, Clay Walker, Paramore, Kings of Leon, Dave Matthews and Creed and those are just in the month of September. Let us know if yall are interested in joining us. It would be an even better time with more people.

Earlier this week, I was fortunate enough to watch my great friend Allison select the gown she would wear at her wedding! I drove straight from work to the bridal shop and arrived just in time to hear her say yes to the dress she had on =-). She is going to make such a beautiful bride. I cannot wait for their wedding next August and to see John's face as she walks down the aisle. So happy for you both, enjoy this time of anticipation it will draw you closer together as a couple.

Everyday I am reminded of just how blessed we are to live where we live. We cannot wait to start house hunting in the area.

The Big Move

Well I made it through my first week at my new job. I am doing a lot of accounting work which is kind of funny because anyone who knows my educational background knows that accounting is a big reason I switched majors in college. However, I am really enjoying it...and I am learning a bunch. I stay very busy throughout the day and I like it, it makes the time go by so much faster...who would have thought.

Last weekend Ben and I went back to College Station to pack up some more. I have not done much of the packing, my incredible husband has been diligently packing while I work (thanks babe). I cannot imagine having to pack a whole house much less a two bedroom duplex. I guess this is why people hire professionals. Anyway we made a lot of progress, but when we left to come back to Houston it did not look like we had made much of a dent.

Rollie is taking a vacation in Portland with my mom, while Ben and I get our schedules all situated and get a routine down. Even though my mom loves goldens, we are still very grateful that she is willing to keep her...three dogs (2 of hers + ours) can be a handful! Hopefully Rollie won't be there too long, I miss her already, luckily we will get to see her in a few weeks at the river YAY!

Today we had some guys I used to work with come and get our entertainment center and a chaise lounge, and Ben let me know that it looks a lot more empty without the big furniture. We are also bringing in some reinforcements to help us, Ben's best man, Matt comes in tomorrow to help finish the packing and then help load up the moving truck Friday morning. It will be great to hang out with him this weekend after we are all moved in (moved not necessarily unpacked...haha).

I am enjoying the thought that I will not have to lift a finger until Friday when I meet the boys at our "New Place" but now I do not get my sentimental "Goodbye College Station" moment... maybe the next weekend when we have to go back to turn in our keys. I still need to get a picture of us in front of our "first place" as my mom has been reminding me for weeks now (Don't worry it'll happen).

On a side note: Ben's second interview went really well and it sounded like now its just a matter of time...don't you just love the waiting game =-). Oh well, it has given us some time to slowly get moved and situated. God always knows what He's doing (and His timing, although most of the time funny and ironic, is always perfect)...and I am grateful.

We Found A Place to Live!

Yesterday, after driving up and down I-45 for the better part of a day we found our place in Houston. We have signed our leases, been approved, and paid for an apartment where the Hardy Toll Road meets I-45 just south of The Woodlands.

We started our search with two apartments which we had researched and made appointments with the day before... I wouldn't suggest doing that to anyone because apparently the complex never got word of our arrival and were not ready to see us when we got there. However, when we randomly walked into a few places they graciously welcomed us and showed us around. It is amazing what a difference your tour guide can make in swaying a decision if you are not careful.

We were looking for short term leases in the hope that once Ben secures his job we would be able to go ahead and start looking at houses. So the place we settled on has a 5 month lease which would keep us there til around Christmastime. I have a feeling it is going to fly by.

Anyway, when we came to the place we ended up choosing we fell in love with all the modern touches the apartment had to offer, the commute would be perfect for both of us, and the location in reference to grocery stores, shopping, parks and of course our friends was ideal. We will be living on the 3rd floor (top floor) and our balcony will face the pool. It is a pretty spacious one bedroom/one bath, but it will still be a change from our current 2/2 in College Station for the same price, haha.

We move in July 23 so we have two weeks in there that we will be staying with family and friends while we go to work on the weekdays and take trips back and forth to College Station to pack up. This will actually be ideal for us seeing as our current lease in College Station does not end til the end of July so now there will not be as much of an overlap and we will not have to pay two rents at once.

We are really very excited about the move and is only now really starting to sink in that we are finished with school and will be somewhere else come football season. Do not get me wrong we both love College Station and I am sure we will be making trips back for a few game weekends, but I finally feel like we are closing the "college" chapter of our lives. I cannot believe how fast we became "Big Kids".
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Houston it Is

Well it's official...We are moving to Houston!

I (Jenn) accepted a job offer with a company called Ontility. It is actually the same company my brother, Hollis, works for. I will be working very closely with him, and hopefully taking the edge off his work load by providing administrative/sales support. I am very excited and I am looking forward to something new and different.

Now the tricky part, I start a week from Monday (the 12th). Although, I am looking forward for my current job to be over and done with, finding a place to live in Houston this quickly will be a fun challenge. I promise to keep you updated as the week progresses. Both my new job and Ben's prospective job are located near I-45 and Beltway 8 (North Houston/Spring Area), so at least that narrows our search a little bit. We have a few places in mind along I-45 heading up toward the Woodlands but it will be a matter of physically getting us there to look and sign a lease since I still have to work this upcoming week.

I might send Ben on his own, but since he never had to rent a place in college I might have to send him with a list of questions and a camera. In addition, I am a little nervous that we would end up living somewhere in very close proximity to Minute Maid Park (Astros).

We will give more updates with Ben's job as soon as we get them, one step at a time right? He does have a second interview, with a company he would very much enjoy working for, in a few weeks so we will keep you updated.

June Update

Wow!
I didn't realize that I hadn't written in a month. Here is June in a nutshell.

At the beginning of the month we made a trip to Richmond, TX to see our nephew, Mason's, 1st birthday. We went out to eat with Ben's family and then headed back to the house for some cake and ice cream. He sure enjoyed his birthday cake, and we had a great time watching him.

I thought it was funny to look back at Mason's brother, Tyler's, 1st Birthday Cake picture. We will be heading to his 4th Birthday Party this weekend.

A little later in the month we headed down to Houston again to celebrate my brother's 26th Birthday. Hollis & Jessica drove us around to different neighborhoods giving us some advice as to where we might live or relocate to. After driving around for about an hour we had worked up an appetite and went to eat at a Mexican Restaurant called Gringos. It was very yummy. After dinner we just went and hung out at their house for awhile before heading back to College Station. We are realizing now more then ever how nice it would be to live in the Houston area. We would still be close to our beloved College Station but we would also be near to our brother's and all of the extra amenities the Houston area has to offer. Not to mention some of our best friends Haley and Zack would be close by in The Woodlands.

We also made a few trips to the Woodlands to hang out with Haley and Zack, one time we just watched Iron Man and the next we spent an afternoon outside swimming at Haley's parents pool. I forget sometimes how awesome of a time you can have just being in good company and not needing to do anything special. We also hope to see them at the end of this week!
Anyway that's all for now... I have to get ready for work. I hope everyone has a great week, I know we will.

Thanks and Gig'em

My patient, driven, and incredibly intelligent husband has officially graduated from Texas A&M University with a B.S. in Nuclear Engineering! Whoop! I am so proud of all that he is and all that he has accomplished.

Graduation weekend was an emotional roller coaster to say the least. It started with pure joy and admiration on Friday when I watched my hubby walk the stage after four long hard years of studying for classes I have trouble pronouncing.

We celebrated his academic excellence on Friday and then when Saturday rolled around our thoughts were focused on his accomplishments in the Corps of Cadets and Aggie Band. We attended Final Review on Saturday evening and I was overwhelmed with a bunch of bittersweet feelings. All four years at final review have been moments of excitement. After fish year we were excited to be sophomores and do the yelling instead of being yelled at, after pisshead year he was excited to be an upperclassmen, and finally after butt year he was excited to be a senior and put on those senior boots. This year however, was a bit different, he would be taking those senior boots off for the last time and saying goodbye to many great friends that we have made over the past four years.

Here is a video that my uncle took of Ben's final step-off from the quad as Infantry Band Drum Major.

He was far more ready to hang up his spurs then I was to watch but as one chapter comes to a close another one starts, right? Here is our FINAL Picture from FINAL Review and Ben's FINAL time in uniform.

Here's to our four years at A&M. Thanks and Gig'em.

"From the outside looking in you can't understand it, and from the inside looking out you can't explain it"

A Weekend of Weddings

Well Ben and I both traveled to go to weddings this past weekend...just different ones.

Ben went to San Antonio to march in the Battle of the Flowers Parade with the rest of the Aggie Band on Friday. He said it was extremely hot and long (3 miles at parade speed)... sounds like a ton of fun doesn't it? However after the parade he had a great time with his Aggieland Orchestra buddies, they stayed to perform at a wedding the next day. He said it was '40s Themed so the groups "Big Band" music was perfect. He had a great time and then drove back to College Station Saturday night.

I was off to Portland on Friday morning for my good friend Evelyn's Wedding. The rehearsal was Friday afternoon and went very smoothly and then it was off to the rehearsal dinner at the U&I Restaurant in Corpus. Tyler and Evelyn seemed so relaxed that night and it carried on throughout the next day. The girls got together around noon to get our hair done and then it was off to the church to get dressed and snap a few "getting ready" pictures. Evelyn was very calm and collected and have I mentioned beautiful and blushing. Here are a few pics:
The ceremony was very sweet and tear filled, and the Bride & Groom really enjoyed themselves at the reception it was fun to see them so in love...made me miss Ben and wish we could have gone together. I can't wait to hear what Evelyn thought when they get back from New York!

Parents Weekend In Pictures

Final Midnight Yell

Ben Conducting

Making the Switch

Walking Away

Congrats to the New Drum Majors

I had to get one...Cody & Ben

Award from the Ceremony

Great Friends!!
Flower Pinning

A-Co Zips

Ben and his last ol' lady Jason

Ben and his first ol' lady James

Just Us

Final Drill on Kyle (tear)

more tears

So proud of him

Ben and Brian happy to have completed their last Maroon & White Game

Easter Weekend

I cannot believe it has taken me this long to blog about our Easter Weekend but here it goes. Ben and I left to drive home to Portland after I got off of work on Thursday evening. We got to my parent's house around 11 o'clock that night. We pretty much went straight to bed because we were both exhausted from the drive and we knew we would have a big day on Friday.

Friday, we got up and Ben went golfing with his brothers in Sinton. They had a good time but I do not think anyone golfed as well as they would have liked to. Meanwhile my mom and I went shopping in Corpus. We also had fun, I won a $100 gift certificate to Victoria's Secret which was awesome and then we went to eat lunch at Snapka's in Corpus (local favorite).

Ben and I met back up for dinner at the Barnetts' where we got to hang out with Ben's side of the family. It was so great to see our nephews and extended family and we had a great time eating and catching up. After a wonderful dinner we went back to my parent's house for apple pie. My mom knew it was Ben's favorite and saved it until we came down to visit. My cousins, aunt, uncles and my brother and sister-in-law were at the house when we got there and we just spent time talking and hanging out. Another good night's sleep and we were ready for some pre-Easter egg hunting with our nephews on Saturday.

Tyler

MasonThe boys and their treats

After Egg Hunting we enjoyed another great dinner at the Barnetts' and again enjoyed their company as well as my family's afterward.

On Sunday we got up early and went to 8:30 Mass with my parents and then headed to church with Ben's family at 10:00. In between we stopped at Dixie Cream Donuts (thank goodness they were open, we were hungry and we miss that place so much when we are not in town) and got breakfast to eat on the way. After church it was off to my grandparent's house, where we had Easter Lunch and said our goodbyes to my side of the family. After a quick stop at Ben's parents house, we were on our way home to College Station.


A weekend full of family was just perfect and exactly what Ben and I needed, we even enjoyed our 8 hour car ride...it was nice to talk to each other and spend time with one another without the distractions of school and work.

Stopping to Smell the Roses

Lately, it has become a tradition of ours to watch Joel Osteen on Sunday nights. If you have not heard of him he preaches at a mega-church in Houston, TX and also has a broadcast of his sermons. I do not know what sucked us in first...his perfectly gelled hair and winning smile or his thick east Texas accent. Either way, after Ben comes home from his Sunday night Corps meetings we usually turn it on before bed.

There is always some sort of uplifting message or a reminder of how blessed we truly are. Last night was about taking time to stop and smell the roses. All too often we look forward to the next "event" in our lives and miss the joys of everyday life. It has been said that life will seem even shorter then it already does if you live this way. This is very true in our lives. I could not tell you the number of times we have mentioned to each other how fast each semester is flying by.

Just recently, we lived from weekend to weekend looking forward to Aggie Football Games, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Our Wedding/Honeymoon, various weekend Corps events, Spring Break and now Easter etc. What about all those weeks or weekdays in between?

I forget the joy I have simply taking my dog to the park everyday or soaking up these first few rays of the spring sun. I even take living in this duplex in College Station (where all of our friends and lots of fun memories are) for granted. We are so excited about the next steps...new jobs, new town, new house...that I think we almost forget to live in the now, and enjoy this while it lasts.

So, Thank you Lord for our "Now" because it is wonderful too. Here is to living moment by moment instead of event to event.

Here is a song that has been on my heart lately: "While I'm Waiting" -John Waller

Spring Break Update

Although I (Jenn) have had to work all week it has been nice to see Ben when I am not working, usually we tend to miss each other with our normal schedules. We have made two road trips this week on my two days off and they were both really fun.

On Sunday, we started the week by going to brunch with Ben's scholarship donors. A man who was Class of '49 and his wife met us at Pebble Creek Country Club and treated us to brunch. He said that he always liked to meet the students he is sponsoring, and we were not going to pass up the opportunity. Besides having a great time meeting them and listening to a few Ol' Ag stories it was nice to go back to the place we had our wedding reception. As we were walking up to the Club we both commented on how weird it was that it had been two months already.

Right after we had finished brunch we left for Pittsburg, Texas. Two of our great friends Adam & Claire were getting engaged that night and Adam had asked Ben to be part of a saber arch for Claire. It was an eight hour drive round trip in one day but totally worth it. Claire was completely surprised and of course said "Yes". She kept saying she couldn't believe we were all there because it is quite a drive from Aggieland. Their parents treated us to BBQ and cake afterward and then it was back on the road to go home. It made for a wonderful day off and we are so very excited for them. Here are a few pictures.

On Wednesday it was Ben's buddy, Jason's, Birthday, which happened to be on St. Patrick's Day. After I got off of work we met them at The Tap for a drink and that was an experience. It was our first trip to the Piano Bar and it was crazy crowded due to the holiday. We had fun celebrating with him!

We just got back last night (Thursday) from our Houston Road Trip which was also a blast. Our first stop was The Woodlands to see Haley & Zack's cute new house. The boys grilled burgers and we watched the Basketball Tournament for a few hours. It was nice to catch up with them a bit, we had not seen them since the wedding. As we were leaving we both realized how much we miss them and hope to trips down more often.

Then it was off to Ben's brother's house. James & Holly live in Richmond which is about an hour south of the part of Houston we were in. We hit a little bit of Rush Hour traffic but it wasn't too bad (Ben was driving). Holly made lasagna and we got to hang out with our nephew Mason and catch up with Ben's mom who was also there. It was nice to see everybody and great to be able to make day-trips down to see them.

Ben has filled the rest of his days with golfing, fixing things around the house, job hunting, tournament watching and sleep! (not too bad of a spring break). Neither of us can believe that the week is quickly coming to a close. We are looking forward to our next couple of days off which will be for Easter, we plan to make a Portland Road trip but more on that to come later. We will see what this weekend brings first.