2 years is hard to understand. We love you and miss you Keller.

LONDON BABY!

To quote Joey from friends: LONDON BABY! Well, Charley is now officially living in Nottingham, England for the next 4 months! It is hard for me to believe that right now at 6:18 pm College Station, Texas time is really 12:18 am England time. He is sound asleep (well who knows if that is true with a college kid!) and I am...well I'd like to be sound asleep. Really- I would take a nap right now if I thought I could wake-up and then still sleep all night long. Is this what aging is all about? I digress.

So, he is in England. I am ready to book a trip there. I am DYING to know everything single thing he is seeing and doing, but will wait for his exciting blog posts instead. Mom has already skyped him...I'm very impressed. She is becoming more technologically savvy all the time! Apparently, he was even filmed by BBC when he got off the bus at the university, but Mom and Dad watched the BBC news and did not see him. I was impressed we could even get BBC news. I think I need to start watching it instead of Fox News in the morning. Charley would love that! He does not yet appreciate the quality news we get from Fox News! Who doesn't like Gretchen, Steve, Brian and the Curvy Couch? I digress again. I will attempt to find the BBC news channel tonight!

Charley's last weekend in CS was bittersweet. We are so excited for him, but so used to him being a phone call and 10 minute car ride away. So, Vic and I decided to party like it was 1999 (the year Vic came to college) and go out with Charley and his friends. I must say that Charley has WONDERFUL friends.

They celebrated each holiday at their house before we went to Northgate. This included Halloween (yes...Monster Mash was played and costumes were provided); Thanksgiving (canned food was displayed and Charley was required to tell the things he was thankful for; His birthday (they had an actual cupcake and candle and we sang happy birthday to him!); Christmas (paper snow was thrown on top of him while he snuggled into a Christmas sweater...and Ana's favorite N Sync Christmas song was played); New Year's (countdown and the "ball dropping" occurred with the disco ball that hangs in their living room); and finally Aggie Football was celebrated with the War Hymn!! You would be impressed to know that each of these events took less than 2 minutes! Efficient!

And then onto Northgate where Vic partied like it was 1999 (I drove the car)! I have to admit that his partying then and now is very different. Vic had a little more money to spend and had no problem spending my shopping money on delicious shots for each and every one of Charley's friends...multiple times. Of course, it did not really bother me at all. Back in 1999, I recall a story of Vic taking a $20 bill to a bar and coming home with one quarter. Times do change!

So, as sad as we are to be without Charley in person for a few months, we are SO excited for his "grand adventure" as his blog states. I expect him to be part "royal" by the time he gets back...I've always wanted to be a princess and surely if he figures out how to become "royal" I can finally wear a crown!!

Oh and how could I forget one last thing? They had a "shrine" for Charley at his house where everyone met up before going out...see below. What a lucky guy Charley is to have such great friends (and of course family....hello!!)

Here are some pics from his last night out in College Station:

Memories and Cookie Tins

A couple of weeks ago, I was at home and going through all of my "prized" possessions I'd accumulated since I was young. Mom had boxed up everything that belonged in my bedroom and was ready to get it out of her house and into mine! There was everything...from stuffed animals to old papers to clothes to 4H projects to anything you could think of. I even found an old diary that I only wrote in approximately 7 times before getting bored with the diary writing--it is comical; apparently I was in love at the age of 10! Oh the silly things we think when we are young!

Anyways, it was so much fun to go through everything. I really only had time that day to go through clothes and they included some precious things that Melbo and GG made for me (they used to make SO many of my clothes all the way up to High School), Fashion Show outfits (that I made and competed with in 4H), Goat Showing outfits, school t-shirts, award jackets (FFA jacket, Houston stock show jacket, State Fair of Texas jacket, 4H jackets) and more. It was so much fun to re-live those memories with mom and daddy. Then, right after I boxed everything I wanted to keep up to take back to College Station and store, mom mentioned she had some pictures for me to go through.

So, I started to look through them - I came across one of my first birthday party at my great-grandma's house in Quanah, Texas. As I looked at the picture, I noticed in the background a turquoise tin. I have thought of that tin many other times when I think of Grandma and seem to remember it always held cookies. If they were not homemade, they were Little Debbie Oatmeal Cookies. It is just a random memory as I have so many memories from Grandma's house. I don't know if it is just because it held cookies and I LOVE cookies or what but it has stuck out in my mind.

My grandma passed away when I was a sophomore in college and back then, all of her things were divided up or gotten rid of. As I saw that picture, I told my mom that I wish I knew what happened to that tin and that I would have loved to have had it as a keepsake. She told me to wait right there and a few minutes later came back with the exact tin. I almost cried - I asked her what made her find and keep that from Grandma's house. She said that when they got to Grandma's house to pack things up and clean it out, some family members had already gone through and gotten rid of things. Just as someone started to toss that tin, she said she just took it and told them she would keep it. I don't think it meant anything necessarily to her, but probably like me, it was just something of Grandma's that reminded us of her. To this day, she has kept it with no plans for it. So, you can imagine my happiness when she told me to just take it with me.

It is just funny to me how memories work. Whether they are events or places or clothes you wore or just an old tin that sat on a counter for so many years, memories that tie to family and friends are just so precious. When Grandma thought about the things she would want to pass down to her family, I'm sure she never thought twice about that tin. I means, she left me a beautiful crystal bowl that I just love! But, regardless, I always associated that tin with Grandma's house and one of my memories of her.

So, it now sits in my kitchen as decoration at the top of our cabinets. One day I might even use it for cookies like Grandma did, but for now, it will just serve as a reminder of my Grandma and Pop.

This is the picture I found that day and the little tin is on the counter behind Grandma. You can't really see it, but there are Texas historical scenes on the side of it and it has a turquoise lid with a bluebonnet on top. I just love seeing Grandma with her party hat! And below is the same tin, 25 and a half years later, sitting atop our cabinets.

"The House that Built Me"

Have you heard that song titled "The House that Built Me" by Miranda Lambert? Mom just emailed it to me as I was typing this up and I thought it was a perfect fit. While our house that we live in now would not be the current "house that built me" since we've only lived here a year, it very well could be one that builds me as time goes on. I expect a lot of firsts to occur while living in this house.

So, a little over one year ago, Vic and I moved into our new home. It is so hard to believe a year has passed! While it was so exciting to move in, we knew we would have some work to do to make it our own. Originally, there was old carpet, walls that had been re-painted a very drab color and of course, only our little amount of furniture from the condo. Today, however, it is so much more like home. We still have a few items on our agenda, but for now, this is where we live....see before and after shots below.

The left side of the house (before is on top, after is on bottom). Yard looks much better!The right side of the house.Blue Paint and some décor.Fresh paint, fabric, furniture, floors!

Okay, so this room only has new paint...but it also got a new chandelier this weekend - out with the gold, in with the new...lol. Oh one day we really will buy dining room furniture.Decor, paint, furniture.New knobs, new paint, décor...soon to have new countertops! Oh and the yellow in this picture looks very mustard yellow, but in person, it is just the right color!
More kitchen/breakfast nook (or for us, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks...)
And the 3 pictures above are just parts of the house that I made myself!

The Erwins in College Station

Typically, because of busy schedules and short weekends, mom and daddy do not get to come to town very often. So, I was really excited to have them both in town for a few days. Daddy was in the middle of summer school and had a couple of weeks off and Mom was going to be out of work for a few days recovering from carpal tunnel surgery (her left hand this time and her right coming up in a few weeks). So, they came to College Station for a relaxing weekend this past week. Friday night we played 42 and Saturday we shopped for updated Aggie Gear - Daddy was in need of all sorts of things for the new school year! We stopped by the Association of Former Students so Daddy could see the giant Aggie Ring since he couldn't make it down for Charley's Aggie Ring weekend. And of course, I took their pictures. Then, one of the most fun things we did was go to Alfred T. Hornbacks, a local bar, and play pool and dart for couple of hours. There was NOBODY at the bar, except for us, so we had everything to ourselves. Pool was fun. But, then we switched to darts. That is when it got intense. There were 2 dart boards and Vic and I played on one while Charley played both mom and dad (they were sort of a team). Vic beat me and Mom ended up beating Charley. So, we let the losers play one another and the winners play one another....

For those of you who know Vic, you know he is pretty competitive. Well, you wouldn't always know it about my mom by her regular personality, but apparently she can be a little feisty and competitive too! As we watched, she would purse those lips, aim and if she did badly, she'd get a little frustrated. It was just really funny because they had to play one another.

So, they continued to play and got down to the last turn for each where they both got the number of points they needed! Vic hit the center, which was the last thing he needed and we were all excited. It was a tie! So, then they had a tiebreaker and....MOM WON!

Now, let's sum this up here. Vic, who had a dartboard with his roommates in college and played every single night got beat by his little short mother-in-law who was recovering from surgery she'd had on her other hand just 48 hours before and probably has not played darts in years and years. This makes me laugh just thinking about it! What's funnier is that Vic could have played the nice "I'll let my mother-in-law win" card, but he didn't and still got beat. It was just really fun!

We had some back porch time visiting that night, Church the next day, more shopping, more movies and then they had to go back home on Monday. It was just so nice and relaxing...if only they would want to move here to do this more often........

Pictures from the weekend!

Charley - this picture was much easier to take on this day than on Fightin' Texas Aggie Ring Day - much less people!!!!

One of my favorites....

Another view of the ring.

The Official Stance (the pursed lips are happening even if you cannot see them).And, she wins! Look at her with all of her empty beer glasses....she looks a little "extra happy" here if you know what I mean....hmmm. Okay, so mom doesn't even drink beer.

Mom was a "champion" and Daddy was on the "losing" side.

So adorable!I am so glad they came and so proud of how good they are both looking (Daddy - you look so good!!) and feeling (Mom - I'm glad you are getting these hands fixed!) and glad they got to have a little mini-weekend vacation!

Wicked!

Since my trip to NYC during Thanksgiving back in 2004 (during my internship on the hill in DC), I have wanted to go to a Broadway play. I know they come to Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston, but I have just never searched for tickets and set a date. However, earlier this year, I found Wicked playing in Houston and Vic agreed he'd give the Broadway show a try. So, on July 3rd, we drove to Houston for the play. 1 word to describe. WONDERFUL. The story of Wicked is about the Good Witch Glinda and the Wicked Witch of the West and their story before, and even the untold story during The Wizard of Oz. It is full of great music, great comedy, and a great story. I was so excited to go and would absolutely see it again one day. Even Vic liked it a lot! We will definitely seek out more shows!

Weekend with Jill & Geoff

So, Jill turned the big 2-7 on June 25th, and ironically, that was the same day that she and Geoff were coming to College Station for the weekend to visit. Geoff was in from Pennsylvania for a couple of weeks and we had a really good time getting to know him better!

Friday night, we ate dinner at Beefmasters in College Station. As we were about to leave, we decide we need a picture of the 4 of us. Jill jokingly said we should take it with the back of this girl's shirt that works there and as we are laughing and Jill is still joking to the girl (I think...), the girl turns around and poses and they snap the picture. It was pretty hilarious, but at least we got the restaurant sign in our picture to remember the evening!

Since Geoff had only been to College Station one time, we had to take him to Northgate for a drink. It was early enough in the evening (we don't do much of the "10:30 or later heading to Northgate" stuff anymore), we got a table on the rooftop of The Corner bar. Even though it's only a couple of stories up, the view is great!

The next evening, we celebrated Jill's birthday again with Tomatillos Enchiladas - THANK YOU WHITNEY! - and a dessert we now know as "Jill". Funny story - Jill tried earlier in the day to describe this delicious dessert someone at Church made recently. We searched the internet, we discussed, and Jill even called Linda Kirchoff to see if she had the recipe. But, we had no luck, so we just made it up. It's a mixture of angel food cake, pineapple, cool whip, sweetened condensed milk, yogurt and I don't know what else. But, I wrote it down and it was delicious! It was pretty funny on Sunday night, when we asked around the table "What do you want for dessert" and Geoff answers "Jill" just like it was no big deal!

We also got to play Chinese Checkers when they were in town. Typically at our house, we play dominos or cards, but recently we acquired this old Chinese Checkers board and marbles that belonged to Vic and Jill's Noni (great grandmother). It was really special to play on such an old family game board! I can't even remember who won now...probably Jill!It was a really nice weekend and we cannot wait to have them both again!!!

Vic's "Pre-Father's Day" gift - no we are not pregnant yet...

So, during my fun weekend in DC, Vic had texted a couple of times about looking at new TV's. Vic has really been wanting a new one for our living room as his is older. Also, we just upgraded our dish stuff and part of it included free HD channels and we do NOT have an HD TV. So, as I have spotted this particular type of illness before with my brother and dad, I knew that Vic had the "TV purchasing bug". This is no big deal really. If he wants a TV, that is fine. But, usually for purchases for the house, we shop together, so I just expected to come home and then as the week wore on, we'd start looking around. Oh no. Sunday night this is what awaited me at home:
He just thinks he is so funny! As long as it says "pre-father's day", at least I know he still wants kids! Seriously though, I laughed a lot. And, this picture just makes me laugh and I am also posting it for Taylor.
You may remember that our friend Taylor hooked up every electronic item that had to do with speakers, tv, dvd, dish, etc. last July and let's just say there were a LOT of cords. So, before Charley and Vic could put the new TV up, they had to label each and every cord so nothing would be put in the wrong spot on the new TV. If you can see the cord Charley is holding, you can see just one of the many, many pink post-its they used to label the cords.

Also, thank you TAYLOR for fielding the many phone calls while Vic not only picked out his TV, but then later that night, when they needed even more "hooking the tv up" help.

It is a great TV - I can't wait to watch Harry Potter on an HD channel one day - I'll practically be flying through the sky during a Quidditch match with him and destroying Voldemort with him! Gosh, I love some Harry Potter! Oops - off subject.