Happy Thanksgiving 2008

What a busy wonderful Thanksgiving weekend it was for the Rowlands and the Byrnes. Aunt Barsh came home for the holiday, but without Larry (or Prince Albert as he is known at B&V). Larry's aunt was hospitalized the weekend before Thanskgiving and passed away on Wednesday. Larry needed to stay in town for his mom, but Martha flew into town on Tuesday. Out thoughts and prayers are with Larry's mom and family.

We enjoyed enchiladas on Tuesday night, ate out on Wednesday night, bowled on Thanksgiving as Tim was BC and was protecting Overland Park, and had our Thanksgiving dinner on Friday (after Martha and Leslie had time to recover from a very productive Black Friday shopping expedition at 4:00 am).

Brenton trying to recreate the Dr. Pepper/Dr. J commercial where he shoots an ice cube into a glass - Dee Dee is looking on in fear as he missed and got ice all over her wood cabinet. He came close several times, but never could make the shot (probably why he plays football and not basketball for Ottawa).

Barsh and Shelby mugging for the camera.

Brenton and Tim showing off their good looks!

Brenton and Daddy celebrating the Titan's victory over poor Detroit.

Beau Rowland doing his Hilter impersonation.

11/30/2008 - Happy Birthday to Corey (16) and Mary Byrnes (49). Of course we must also remember Grandma Dixie who would have been 82 today as well. She is missed by all.

End of a Season :(

The 2008 football season has ended for the Ottawa Braves after their 13-17 loss to Sterling College on Saturday (could it have been because my "D" fence sign was absent?). Brenton got to travel with the team and took the loss pretty hard as the captains all talked about how special this season had been (they were dubbed the Bad Boys of the KCAC and were quite proud of it). However, Brenton thought it was awesome to be a part of a winning program - the first (and hopefully not the last) in his football career. They ended the season ranked No. 20. Now we will concentrate our cheering efforts on the Titans (still undefeated - "kaching" goes the cost of renewing personal seating licenses, Martha).

Shelby is gearing up for bowling tryouts. She actually beat her bowling instructor yesterday and is getting better every time she bowls. We bowled next to some of the Raider boys yesterday who looked really good as well. Tryouts are December 1st through December 5th, with the first meet on January 13, 2009 in Atchinson.

P.E.O Update:

My P.E.O chapter collected food for Harvesters this past week. We delivered the bounty on Saturday - we collected enough to feed 684 people! Way to go, Chapter MO.

Last JV Game: Ottawa Braves 14 - William Jewell Cardinals 3

Another cold and rainy night watching football (pretty much the theme of the season), with the result being victory. Brenton was wearing hand warmers which made me tease him about being a wimp. His new women sat behind us and so I got to listen to her and her friend discuss how great Brenton looked from behind. My D-Fence sign has been responsible for holding the opposition to 3 points in the last 2 games (scoreless in the 2 before that). This made me want to give them to the coaches to take to the last varsity game this weekend in Sterling, Kansas. The Braves are now ranked No. 14, but really need a win on Saturday to get a playoff spot. Brenton reported that if they make the playoffs, they would play Lindenwood, Morningside, or perhaps (gasp) Tim and my Alma Mater, MidAmerica Nazarene. We will have to wait and see. Go Braves!

Check out the article from the Kansas City Star on the Rompin, Stompin, Raider Band at http://www.kansascity.com/shawnee_mission/story/878771.html

The game has gone to the dogs...

While taking a break from practicing with the Braves, Brenton decided to practice with the dog - one Hannah Byrnes. While she is great a taking a handoff and running for the score, she hasn't quite figured out the concept of giving the ball back to the quarterback for the next play. Alas...

Hey, Let's Go Bowling

With marching season over, it's time to move on to bowling. Shelby has been taking lessons from Aaron since last spring and has improved her average by about 20 pins. Tryouts for the bowling team start in December so Shelby has been getting lots of practice (bowling against uberbowler grandparents on Sundays). Needless to say, it is a lot different trying to get a decent shot of a bowler than a football player or marching band. Here was my only decent one.

No. 19 Ottawa defeats No. 14 Bethel 31-21

The Braves got a big win against the Bethel Threshers. Brenton was on top of the press box writing down the plays/results for Coach Smith. Ottawa is now 7-1 and will probably move up in the rankings. Go BRAVES!

Ottawa is now ranked No. 17, moving up 2 places.