Aggie Basketball

Last weekend James, Joe, and I headed to College Station to watch the Aggie basketball game! The game started at one and there's no way Joe would ever be late to such an occasion so we left our house at 9:45!! Shelby and Grayson were away visiting Shelby's sister so it was a fun little break from studying for James while they were gone. Friday night I finally broke down and bought an Aggie T-shirt. Joe was so happy!=) I know I didn't go to the school, but my husband, his family, and it seems like over half the population here did.......so it was time for me to support my husband and represent his team=)

Before the game we stopped to get lunch at a place that James recommended called Laynes. It's the perfect little college town place to eat. It's one of those places where you walk in and order (It's either chicken strips, or a chicken sandwich, fries, and sides like potato salad) and then you just pick a table and have a seat and enjoy! I must say that they were the best chicken fingers I have ever had!

This is what we got. I must say that I didn't really get the whole toast thing, so I gave my piece to Joe and he seemed shocked that I didn't want it! So, I told him I would just take one bite and he could have the rest. After that bite.....I got it! It was the best Texas Toast I've ever had! I still gave it to Joe though because he loves it! Their potato salad was great too!

After lunch we drove around campus for a bit so the boys could see what was new since they've been gone. It was fun to see the buildings they used to have classes in. Then, we headed to the game!

I must say that I like their court. The guys in white are called "yell leaders." They lead the students in cheers throughout the entire game! I can't remember what was going on here. There are a couple songs the aggies always sing before sporting events. I really need to learn the words so I don't look like a fool=) ha ha!

This was funny! Our seats were right next to one of the student sections and when they were introducing the other team's players the students all have newspapers and pretend to be preoccupied with reading it=) Then they wad them up and throw them.

This was the student section on the opposite end. They all wear white for basketball. I wanted a maroon shirt. Now I don't fit in! Oh well=)

I think this was the end of the first half. The Aggies had a ton of turnovers, but they won it in the end! Thank Heavens!=) I wouldn't have wanted Joe to be upset on the hour and a half drive home=) ha ha!

The Three Amigos!=) We had a blast! Way to Go Aggies!!!

Houston, We Have A Problem!!!

Last Saturday Joe and I went to NASA's Visitor Center. I felt that it was something I had to visit to be able to check it off my list. I mean we live 30 minutes from it! I was actually pretty excited about going! I must say that I learned a lot and had a great experience! We watched several informative short films, checked out some rocks and soil that astronauts brought back from the moon, and walked through several exhibits. Towards the end of our visit we went into a little theatre room and a woman talked to us about what's expected to happen in the near future, commercial trips to space that will become available, as well as space hotels! I was unaware of the fact that there is an international space station where 6 astronauts are currently staying! She said the longest they have anyone stay there is 6 months. Among other things, they are testing how the human body handles being weightless for that amount of time. I can't even imagine what that would be like. Another thing that both Joe and I learned was that they have never launched or landed any space shuttle from Houston! They always launch and try to always land in Florida, depending on the weather. They have mission control here in Texas. So that's where "Houston, we have a problem!" comes from! It's a shame because when the woman announced they were launching a shuttle in February, Joe and I were both thinking "SWEET!!! That would be awesome to watch!" but then she told us they launch from Florida, not from Texas!! Bummer! Anyways, we had a lot of fun and I developed a greater appreciation for the space program.

We learned that the tallest astronaut that's been able to go on a flight mission was 6'4". They said that's the max to be able to fit in the shuttle.

They had a flight simulator to land the shuttle. Joe was really good at it! My shuttle blew up when I landed it!=) Whoopsie!

Look! I have magic powers to keep the ball in the air!!! Kidding! ........There was air blowing out of that turquoise tube blowing the ball up! Did I have you fooled?!=)

This was an example of the cockpit of the shuttle. There were SO many controls!

During one of the videos they showed the astronauts doing a "practice run" and having every problem imaginable thrown at them and they had to figure out what they would do. The idea was that most likely what could potentially happen on the real mission wouldn't be as bad as some of the "situations" they were given during practice and it would be easier for them to stay calm and know how to handle things during their actual flight to space. During the film they were given situation after situation and just as they landed safely and all the weight was lifted off their shoulders they were told they would be starting again in 5 minutes!!! I can't even imagine their stress levels!!! Anyways, we enjoyed ourselves and now I can check NASA off of my list of things to do while we live in Houston=)

New Years Eve

I forgot to post about New Years Eve! We have some good friends from our ward that don't have kids either so we decided we should ring in the new year together! Joe and Jason both had received gift cards to Chilis so we decided to go there for dinner. Afterwards, they came back to our apartment and we switched between Dick Clark's New Years Rockin' Eve, and NBC's New Years Eve show with Carson Daly. Joe claimed that it's because Jason, Jillian, and I are all from Utah that we like to watch those shows=)

It was the first little party we had hosted and I wanted to use my little fondu pot shaped like a hershey's kiss. I had strawberries, pound cake, and marshmallows to dip in the chocolate, and then we also made queso for tortilla chips. They brought 3 bottles of Martinelli's Sparkling Cider and it turned into a funny story! They put 2 bottles in our fridge and left one on the counter. Well, around midnight the boys went to pour the cider into little champagne glasses that they had also brought, and after the countdown we cheered and toasted and started drinking our cider. After a few minutes Jillian said "Did you guys pour the bottle that we left on the counter? This is warm!" So much for putting the two bottles in the fridge! We had warm cider=) ha ha ha! It's good either way, but we laughed and said "leave it to the guys!"=) Here's a picture of us right after midnight!

On New Years Day James, Shelby, and Grayson came over to watch the Rose Bowl. Joe introduced me to a new tradition that's popular here. He said you're supposed to eat black eyed peas for good luck and something green to have a prosperous year. The grocery stores were stocked up with bags of fresh black eyed peas and huge boxes of cabbage! So, Joe cooked some up some black eyed peas for everyone and he and Shelby loved them! We had celery on our relish plate so I guess that counts for our something green=)

Last year Joe fell asleep around 9, and I was upset because I had never had someone to kiss on New Years Eve before and I finally did and HE WAS ASLEEP!!!=) In his defense he didn't know, but this year he made sure he was awake=) Thanks babe!=)

Severe Weather in Houston

The past few days I have been seeing commercials for Channel 2 talking about Severe Weather Coverage!! What on earth could they be referring to, you ask? It's not really hurricane season, so what are they so worried about!? A week or so ago I was watching the news and before going to a commercial they mentioned that when they came back, they would be talking about the severe weather in Houston! So, I stayed tuned to hear what all the fuss was about, just to find that it was nothing more than.......... The "FREEZING" temperatures here in Houston! =) Ha ha ha! It hasn't been above 50 degrees for about the past 5 days. This morning on my way to work at 6:30, it was 36 degrees! Apparently if you live in this part of the country where it's BLISTERING hot most of the year, it is a rare for it to drop so low. They made it seem like everyone should be in a frenzy to prepare for the "winter chill" as they call it. They're warning everyone to cover their plants, bring in their pets, turn off their sprinkling systems, etc. It just made me laugh when I saw "SEVERE WEATHER" and then all they were referring to was the fact that it's winter and the temperatures are around freezing!

I must say that I have LOVED the drop in temperature! I love fall and winter and LOVE to wear sweaters, boots, big coats and long jeans! The 11 and 13 year old girls I nanny for have said to me "BB, how come you look so fancy and stylish now?" I just cracked up, because I was wearing jeans and a sweater(nothing fancy), but to them it was fancy because normally I'm in shorts and a t-shirt with my hair pulled back and barely any makeup on! In my defense..........Let me just say that when it's hot a humid there is absolutely NO POINT in taking the time to blow dry my hair out straight and then take a curling iron to it because I walk outside where it's humid and it frizzes in two seconds! Also, when I'm constantly sweating, it is pointless to put all my makeup on because it's going to be sweat off in five minutes! So, I am soaking up these freezing days and enjoying them while they last! I guess I didn't know how much I missed winter and the FREEZING temperatures until they arrived=)

Missing Tate and Korver

It's always been hard for me to say goodbye to my family when I go visit, but it's become harder with the addition of these two precious boys! I miss these sweet little faces and their cute personalities!

Ice Ice Baby

A couple weekends before Christmas, Joe and I headed to Dallas to see Julie and Anthony and the kiddos! Bob and Sharon went up before us and when we got there all the adults got to go out to celebrate Bob's birthday. We had such a fun evening! The next day Joe and I had planned to go to an Ice show at the Gaylord Texan Hotel. Every year they do a different theme and this year it was Charlie Brown. They fly over about 40 ice artisans from China and they create all these sculptures. Every year China has this incredible ice festival where they make things like this!

So, we thought it would be a fun thing to go to and it turns out it was! Here are some pictures from the event! They gave us parkas to use because it was 12 degrees inside! The sculptures were dry to the touch because it was so cold! It was very cool to see. I have no idea how they put all the different colors together on one sculpture!

They had these slides made out of ice! It was pretty amazing!