Cady to Town

Brenton's girlfriend, Cady, flew in from Tulsa on Sunday for a quick visit.  She is a delightful young lady and put up with all of Brenton's high school friends who descended upon us Sunday night for an impromptu party in her honor.  Brenton, Cady, and Shelby went bowling yesterday and Brenton took her to the ice terrace at Crown Center and a stroll around the Plaza to see the lights last night.  Brenton is driving her home today to spend some time in Tulsa and meet her parents.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate and the snow will let up a bit.

Christmas 2009

Christmas evening is winding down, yummy food has been consumed, presents have been opened, the dishes have been washed and put away, and the house is somewhat quiet now (not so the case earlier).  We went to church yesterday at St. Thomas and then had a wonderful enchilada dinner at Dee Dee and Poppa's house.  Then we reciprocated and had Mom, Dad, Tom, Terry, Tama, Tyler, and Corey over for prime rib tonight.  Missy (our 15 year old Brittany Spaniel) was slightly confused as there seemed to be someone sitting where she usually sleep (she had a few discussions with Grandpa Tom - not sure if either one of them heard what the other was saying).  Hannah (our lab) loved all the people and prospects for food.  We had a wonderful fire in the fireplace to take the chill out and Tim didn't get called out to a fire (thank goodness as he did all the cooking).  It was great spending time with the family - something we should do more of for sure.  After all the eating I've done the last few days I need to spend some serious time in the gym!  We now are looking forward to Brenton's girlfriend, Cady's arrival Sunday. 

Fruitcake

My friend Debbie Vesel and I volunteer as ushers for B&V at the Folly Theater and got a treat on Friday when we got to watch the Heartland Men's Chorus' Christmas Show entitled Fruitcake.  If you haven't had a chance to hear them, they are fabulous and it really got us in the Christmas spirit.  We have already decided to volunteer for their spring show (even if we aren't scheduled) entitled British Invasion.  Can't wait!

An Awesome Start

Today was the first day of bowling tryouts and Shelby scored big time!  Perhaps it was the last minute lesson with Aaron on Friday, perhaps it was because today would have been Grandma Dixie's birthday, perhaps it was because she's an awesome bowler - whatever the reason, she was the No. 1 girl's bowler today and Coaches T and D were impressed (as were her Mom and Dad).  I will post her scores as tryouts continue.  Go Raiders!

End of an Amazing Season

It had to happen - the Ottawa Braves had one of those games that straight out of the quicksand speech in the movie "The Replacements." Keanu Reeves (in the only movie of his I can stand to watch) says (when talking about fear on the football field) "You're playing and you think everything is going fine. Then one thing goes wrong. And then another. And another. You try to fight back, but the harder you fight, the deeper you sink. Until you can't move... you can't breathe... because you're in over your head. Like quicksand. " That pretty much sums up the 3rd quarter of the Lindenwood game. It was a hard game to watch and a sad way to end a wonderful season. But, to quote Brenton (who has learned in his nuitrition class that he is 86% sexy - glad to see that education paying off) "Great season boys...seniors thank you for everything." So football season is over - just in time for....Bowling. Tryouts start tomorrow after school. Shelby had a lesson with Aaron on Friday and is primed and ready to help the Raiders win! I hope they are as successful as the Braves were this year!

Brenton Pregame Max blocking for Ethan

Team (Brenton in the middle) after game

Family Shower for the Twins

Cousins Jamie and Juro Trubiroha are expecting twins and Shelby and I attended a beautiful baby shower (thrown by Jennie, Shelley, and Anna - Wow was it impressive!) It was great to see the family - Barb was in town from Minnesota and while Brenton and Tim had seen her on a Canada trip - Shelby and I hadn't in quite some time. The babies got lots of great thing - now we just need to be patient and wait for the arrival.

Unbelievable Playoff Game in O-Town

The first playoff game hosted by the Ottawa Braves was to quote my mom "A tale of two halves" (It should be mentioned that she said the same thing last week as well). Personally, I would like to forget the first half - our quarterback who had only thrown 8 interceptions all year, threw 4, our defense was full of holes, and our beloved Braves were frustrated and stunned. I had never seen the team look so lost and out of control. It was hard to fathom that the Hastings Broncos (who were third in their conference) were so much better than us. Due to NAIA rules, players cannot be in the press box, we can only dress out 57 players, and only have 75 people on the sideline (this includes staff, trainers, players, etc), so Brenton was forced to watch with his harem in the student section. I had to have a beverage at halftime and rest my weary shoulders (from holding up my "D" and "Fence" forever to no avail). I thought perhaps halftime would be a great time for some player to stand up and say "We have won every single game we played until now. So this team is perfect. We stepped out on that field that way tonight. And if it's all the same to you, Coach Boone (insert Kessinger), that's how we want to leave it." (Cue the Remember the Titan's soundtrack). However, halftime found our players slumped against the side of the building looking sad and tired. This did not bode well for the second half. Therefore, I wasn't too surprised when they stopped our offense on the opening drive and then scored making it 34-6. The stands were quiet, except for the obnoxious sound of cowbells ringing (and ringing, and ringing) by the Hastings fans (I really must agree with Shelby - whoever invented those things should be shot - they are SO annoying when you are losing. It did cross my mind that as B&V built a power plant in Hastings, perhaps they would grow horns to go with their cowbells). Just when I was ready to pack in my D and Fence, something happened. The defense quit playing soft, came to life, and starting attacking (and knocked out their starting quarterback). Clarence Anderson (who is always awesome) caught balls that were uncatchable, and soon the score was tied. Andy Otto (whose longest run of the night was probably 7 yards) tore through the Broncos for a 64 yard score and the Braves had the lead for the first time - 40-34. The Broncos looked like they were going to score and win when Casey Calhoun (his dad wore a kilt to the Senior Day game, but didn't wear it for this game - I wonder why?) intercepted the ball on the 3 yard line and the Braves ran out the clock for the win. Next up, Shelby and I will be having Thanksgiving Dinner with the team (she is thrilled to spend Thanksgiving with her other brothers). Then I think I'll take a trip to US Toy to get some cowbells to take to No. 3 ranked Lindenwood University in St. Charles MO on Saturday, November 28 (insert evil laugh - ok I am kidding). Go Braves!

Tailgating

The "Creators" pregame

Shelby, Tiffany, and Kalie pregame

Brenton and his harem in the student section

The scoreboard

Kelli (OU Alum and B&Ver), son, Conner, and husband, Jay

Shelby, Tiffany and Kalie after game

A Perfect Season

The Ottawa Braves finished a perfect season by beating the Friends University Falcons (and the officials). The Braves had a 42-14 lead at the half, only to have miscues and the officials bring the Falcons back. A 49-42 win sealed the KCAC conference win and a home playoff game against Hastings College. B&V has a project there that I worked on - small world. This will be the third meeting between Hastings and Ottawa - Hastings won the first two so we are due. I did talk to Brenton today to ensure he didn't celebrate too much (although he was still in bed). Now to plan the tailgating for the playoff game - hope the weather isn't too bad although Momma Brown has promised to bring more hot apple cider so I'm ready....The girl's soccer team is also hosting a playoff game sometime after the football game. Let's hope for 2 victories. Go Braves!

Ottawa vs Bethany

We had a great time last weekend tailgating before the Bethany game. The weather was gorgeous, the food was great, and of course the game was a great success with Ottawa winning 41-14. Next up is a trip to Wichita to take on the Friends University Falcons. Of course when I went to Wichita State, we called them Friends University of Central Kansas (we obviously had nothing better to do except come up with witty acronyms while drinking beer at The Flicker Lounge). A win Saturday will ensure a playoff game. The "D" and "Fence" will be there of course. Go Braves!

What Happened to October?

My cousin, Kathy, reminded me today how remiss I have been with my blog. Somehow October seems to have come and gone and I am woefully behind in relaying the Byrnes' adventures. I looked back at my October calendar and found there wasn't a day that wasn't completely filled in, but luckily November looks better (at least so far). So you don't think I am exaggerating, in October we had 7 football games, 2 half-time shows, 3 marching competitions, 1 cancelled marching festival (twice), 2 drum lessons, 5 bowling matches, 1 band concert, 1 BBQ contest, 3 catering gigs, 1 Folly Theater volunteer event, 1 dentist appointment, 1 root canal, 1 chili cookoff, and the usual - work and school.

The Rompin Stompin Raider Band competed in the Blue Springs Marching Festival, The Heart of America Marching Festival at KU, and the Festival of Champions in Warrensburg, MO. I think I took over 1,000 pictures (another reason why I have postponed blogging - it took me forever to download all the pictures to the band website - let alone my blog). They performed "Fantasmic" - which is a lot of Disney tunes. They did great taking home a 4th place trophy and making the finals in 2 out of the 3. Shelby played the bells and did an awesome job. She is so very responsible - getting herself to all the practices (early) and giving lots of rides to fellow band members. She still loves her new car - her "baby" and is great about running errands for me - anything to have an excuse to drive. It has definitely made things easier for me.

The Ottawa Braves remain undefeated to date with 2 games to go. I have travelled to Sterling, KS, Hillsboro, KS and Salina, KS to watch the games and tailgate with the other parents. The coach asked all of the players to dedicate last week's game to someone - Brenton dedicated the game to his grandma Dixie, as she never got to see him play football. This Saturday is Senior Day and we are post-game tailgating. The final game of the regular season is in Wichita, KS vs Friends University. I will of course be there with my "D" and my "Fence." Brenton (No. 54) had a great game against Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina Monday - as did his roommate, Jake (2 TD passes), and friend, Clint (2 rushing TDs).

Tim didn't have much luck at the Garnett BBQ and I placed 4th at the B&V Chili cookoff. Work is very slow as there does not seem to be a demand for power plants in the US - I certainly hope we find a project soon or there will undoubtedly be more layoffs. The fire department is keeping Tim busy (no shortage of fires). Now that I have caught up on our lives, I will strive to not procrastinate and get so far behind. Of course bowling tryouts are the end of November...then we will have bowling matches to keep us busy.