Holiday Events

The cookie party was scaled down this year but was just as yummy as always. We missed Emily’s iced sugar cookies but she is forgiven as she is in Bangkok on business.

Mom joined me for my P.E.O. chapter’s annual brunch at Andres on the plaza. Fifteen of us enjoyed yummy food and fabulous dessert!!!

Tim celebrated the big 5-0 on the 17th. Cousin, Jennie Byrnes, made his cookies (she is starting a baking business and does a fabulous job).

Fall semester was completed and we were blessed to have Shelby home for an entire month over Christmas (although she did work a lot of hours so was quite busy). Brenton and Cady only got home for a quick two day visit as both were working in Tulsa but we managed to pack in a lot of quality time into those days.


Mom and Dad joined us for Christmas dinner and gift opening. Martha and Larry had commitments in TN so couldn’t make it this year (I did so miss our New Year’s hike). Tom is still in the nursing home recovering from his car accident so was not able to join us either. We had a great dinner though and all the kids got to visit their Grandpa Byrnes before returning to school.

The End of a Season and a College Football Career

Well, once again I find myself apologizing for my inability to keep this blog up-to-date; however, life once again got in the way. When I last posted, the Ottawa Braves were rolling through the KCAC.  I am happy to report that their roll continued as they were once again KCAC Champions.  This means another championship ring and a trip to the playoffs.  The final game of the regular season was Senior Day where all the seniors were introduced and recognized.  Martha and Larry made the trip from Murfreesboro to support Brenton as did Dee Dee and Poppa, Tim's brother, Terry and his son, Tyler.  Cady's folks came up from Tulsa as well.  It was a very special day (made even better by happy punch and a 72-6 victory).

Of course victory meant playoffs and we had to wait a day to find out where we were headed.  There was talk of Iowa (which would have been fabulous as Shelby could have met us there) or even staying in town and playing MNU in Olathe.  Unfortunately, we ended up having to travel to Azusa, CA to play Azusa Pacific.  Needless to say, that was not in my budget as flying with the team would cost far too much and flying on my own was even worse.  So I was resigned to the fact that I would have to listen to the game on the computer.  That was until Cady called wanting to know if I would be interested in driving.  I was not - until she talked about what a great adventure it would be.  Now, I am old enough to know better, but I realized if I was in her shoes, I would have headed out without another thought.  So...I found myself in a car for 50 hours with Cady and my friend Emily from work (Emily had just returned from Afghanistan and 50 hours in a car was nothing to her). 

We left Friday at noon from Ottawa and arrived in Azusa around 10 am.  We got a cheap hotel room to shower and take a much needed nap, and then headed to the game. 

We were surprised at the number of OU fans at the game (thanks to a strong alumni contingent from San Diego).  The softball girls made banners for the team (which we hung at perhaps the nastiest stadium I have been in - seems there was a marching band festival at the stadium so we got to play at the practice field - no real locker room for the boys and no restrooms except for 4 porta potties - yuck).  Unfortunately, a win was not meant to be.  It was so hard to see all the seniors crying.  I was SO glad I was there to hug my sweet boy! 

What a wonderful experience the past four years has been for Brenton - he was part of the most successful senior class in Ottawa history - 2 conference championships, 4 playoff games, and never finishing lower than 2nd place in the conference.  His last home game was also the football program's 1,000th game.  The boys will get their championship rings in February!  Now to find someone who needs a D and fence...

More Football

The Braves continued their roll through the KCAC with a 41-19 victory over Southwestern College in Winfield, KS.  Shelby was on fall break so came home for the weekend and went to the game with me (thank goodness or I probably wouldn't have seen her as her social calendar was quite full).  As the University of St. Marys upset Bethany, the Braves are currently in sole possession of first place in their division.  Next up for the Braves is a trip to McPherson, KS to take on the Bulldogs.  Go Braves!

Shelbs

Push ups with the OU Cheerleaders (think we did 138)

Shelby's First College Bowling Meet

Shelby competed in her first college bowling meet at the 41st Annual Midwest Collegiate Tournament in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.  It was a 2 day event. It was extremely hard for me to miss it as it is the first bowling event of hers that I wasn't able to attend.  Unfortunately, all of their meets are quite far from KC so I will not be able to attend many.  Shelby bowled 4 out of 6 games the first day and competed in the Baker event the second day.  She had mixed results with a high game of 181, a low in the 140s.  The Lady Saints came in 14th place (out of 27 teams) which is not too bad for a 7 freshman - 1 sophomore team.  Last year, they came in 23rd out of 27 so they definitely improved.  Shelby was quick to point out that the girls beat the boys so she was pleased about that.  They have qualifying for every meet (Shelby qualified 4th for this last meet) so we shall see where she ends up for the next meet which is October 22-23 in Addison, IL.  Go Saints.  Here is Shelby's bio from the Ashford website at http://www.ashfordathletics.com/sport/18/18.php:

2011 Ottawa Brave Media Guide

Boys will be boys and if there was ever a doubt about the Ottawa Braves Football Seniors, this year's media guide proves it.  They decided to take funny pictures.  Here is Brenton's picture (groan). Of course, his is NOT the worst (so that gives you some idea).  I do like Bobby Adamson's picture (he is standing amid flames and Clarence Anderson is in his picture holding a fire extinguisher - pretty comical).  They all look goofy.  Sigh...

Ottawa vs Tabor

In the past, I have blogged about every Ottawa game but since I have been negligent, I will have to condense.  The first game of the season was against Baker and Ottawa was horrid and lost in a blowout.  I can't even remember the score having blocked out the game like childbirth.  I take some responsibility as obviously my OU earrings (which had never been worn at a game) had some bad mojo.  I have stopped wearing them.  Game 2 was against Georgetown.  We gave that game away being unable to score from the red zone 3 times. Next up was Kansas Wesleyan who we easily defeated by the score of 44-19 in Ottawa.  The team then traveled to Leavenworth to take on the University of St Marys.  We beat then 30-14 even after they knocked out our QB, Bobby Adamson (Their No.1 clapped, jumped up and down, and fist pumped the entire time Bobby was down). I wrote an email of protest to the head of the KCAC, his assistant, the director of the NAIA's Champions of Character, the St. Mary's AD and the Ottawa AD.  Only the Ottawa AD felt the need to reply.  I of course will have to stir the pot some more about this. Totally horrid behavior. Back to the Braves.  Last night, Tabor came to Ottawa.  We were a tad nervous as Bobby was not to play still recovering from his concussion.  No need to fear, the Braves handled the Blue Jays 37-10.  Our own Brenton Byrnes was one of the co-captains for the game and actually saw some playing time.  Next up is a trip to Southwestern (somewhere in the middle of nowhere).

I will post more game pictures when I sort through the thousands Michelle took while I was busy manning the D and the fence.

Catch Up

Okay, I have been extremely negligent about updating the blog.  If Shelby were home, she would be horrified regarding my blog apathy.  However, she is away at school which could have something to do with my apathy in general.  Then again, I have always had the tendency to procrastinate so I am going to blame that instead. I am a firm believer that habits can be easily formed (and broken, alas) so I am going to get back in the habit of blogging.  Before I do that, I must do a bit of catching up on the past few months. It's not like I have been sitting around reading (on second thought that is somewhat accurate); however, I have been to Beijing, China, Bangkok, Thailand, and Augusta, Missouri (and countless football games). You must start somewhere to break a habit, so I will start today.  I am going to post-date items so they appear in chronological order.  I am sure I will forget something as that tends to happen with age.  Here goes...

Fall Softball

The Lady Braves took to the field this fall - well not their field as it is being resodded, but the local field in Ottawa for some fall softball.  I managed to make it to two of the games and was NOT disappointed in Cady's performance.  She was quite sensational this fall - the last game she went 4 for 4 (inside the park home run, double, single, bunt, and stolen base).  Looks like perhaps the Lady Braves will threepeat as conference champions if all goes as planned.  Cady received her second conference championship ring at the Kansas Wesleyan football game.  Go Lady Braves!

Special Birthday Trip

To celebrate my 50th birthday, my dear sweet sister, Martha, treated me to a glorious trip to Augusta, MO where she made sure I felt every one of my 50 years.  Okay, that really isn't accurate because I was the one who said, "Why don't we ride to St. Charles for lunch."  Now, I knew St. Charles was roughly 28 miles away and knew I had only ridden roughly 18 miles at one time; however, it is safe to say I suffered from some dementia and forgot that we would have to ride back.  Martha, being a riding professional, just smiled and agreed to the ride.  Well, I can say we did it although the last few miles were downright horrid (where was Captain Larry when you needed him?).  And I did not ride up the hill to the B&B - I walked it. We stayed at the fabulous Clay House B&B and ate absolutely fabulous food.  We opted not to ride day two and instead did a short 10k walk.  Day 3 we just did a short ride (15 miles) and then had a wonderful 3 hours at the Halcyon spa (complete with paraffin hand and feet treatment, facial, and massage).  It was a wonderful birthday treat from a wonderful (older but definitely better) sister.

Empty Nest in Lenexa

Well, it is official - we have an empty nest. Shelby and I left Thursday afternoon to make the drive to Clinton, IA and the start of her college career. She drove the first half (the longest she has ever driven at one time) and I drove the second half. Tim got her a Garmin nuvi for her car so she had no trouble at all. When we got to Clinton, we checked into the hotel and then drove around Clinton and hit the Walgreens (can't believe we sent her off to school and forgot ibuprofen). We had dinner and then collapsed.

On route to Clinton, in Bethany MO

We got up bright and early Friday morning but took our time getting ready and missed the free breakfast so had to hit McDonalds for a smoothie. We went to the campus to find out if any of her textbooks were available on her Kindle (only one) and then went to move into the dorm. This is the largest freshman class for Ashford so they had to buy the Best Western hotel and convert it into a dorm which is where Shelby is staying. The volleyball girls helped us carry everything in and the Shelby and I made quick work of organizing and putting everything in its place. Her two roommates are from Canada and are soccer players so they were at practice and Shelby didn't get to meet them until after their team dinner. We finished up in time for her orientation. Tim arrived with the refrigerator and off we went back to campus. Tim and I attended the parents' session (very informative) and then we hit the book store again to get her books (and some Ashford bowling t-shirts). 

Shelby in front of her bed

Shelby in her room

After lunch at Applebees, we went back to the dorm and I got printer/computer duty while Tim got Wal-Mart duty. Tim and I got our last hugs and Shelby handed me a box of Kleenex and off we went. I did not open the box...I used my shirt. We got home at midnight and Hannah was glad to see us but has gone into Shelby's room looking for her quite a bit.

I can't wait to hear all about her first day of school Monday but told her I would not call or text until she does first (unless I haven't heard from her in a week in which I will start the mother guilt voicemails).

So now, along with Go Braves, I can say Go Saints!  I miss my Shelby but I think I wouldn't mind the empty nest as much if it was clean...Guess I should get on that.

China and Bangkok Travels

So, after the Win for KC Triathlon, I rushed home, showered, packed my suitcase, and headed to KCI to hop on a plane for a short (2 day) ride to Beijing.  B&V actually has some project work in China and our regional office needed training in OneSpec.  I hadn't been in Beijing since 2005 and can report that while the air quality was somewhat better, it still is poor at best.  Did not see as many panhandlers (was rumored they were gathered up and relocated before the Olympics).  Since I had done all the sightseeing the first time, I just spent my time working and visiting with the new professionals there.  What a great group of people - completely engaged and easy to train!  Only downside was no dragonfruit at the hotel - egads.  However, I managed to find a fruit vendor on the street so I could get my fix!

How is it I am the shortest person in this picture?

Love my dragonfruit

Outside the Pearl Market

Peking Duck

The Place - neat shopping area

After a week, we then flew to Bangkok, Thailand to train the staff there.  Since I was last there in 2008, not much had changed - still a wonderful place and got reunited with a number of friends.  We did go to the Teak Mansion - gorgeous mansion made of all teak wood.  Of course had to hit the market for shopping and yay - dragonfruit every morning for breakfast!  Was glad to get home in time to get Shelby off to college!

Teak Mansion

View outside my office - elephant building on the right

Hotel Room

Scott, Atasit and his wife 



Pawin