Passing of President Bush '41

I am just blogging this because it was such a big deal for our country, but also for us here in College Station. President George H. W. Bush died November 30th, in Houston, Texas. His precious wife, Barbara, died a few months before. He was 94 years old and I just can't help but love the Bush families. Whether you like or dislike their politics or the way they ran the country, you just have to admit that they were kind, strong, moral, God and family first, people. One of the best things about George Bush was that he loved Texas A&M and Aggieland and despite going to Yale for school, had his presidential library built in College Station. And, he and his wife are buried here. It was a big deal for our entire town and the university and public schools all closed for the day or half day of his funeral. He had his own train car and after his service at his home church in Houston, his family traveled on the train all the way to College Station for his burial at his library. Vic couldn't really take off work to come home to help me, but my plan was to take the kids up to campus and watch the train roll into town (along with everyone else in BCS and around). I thought it was just so special and wanted the kids to wave their flags and realize that a United States President was being honored. But, it was rainy and cold and Hazel had a little cold and it just seemed to be more than I thought I could squeeze in between nursing and naps. So, instead we watched as much as we could on television and talked about it instead. It was still really special and I love being in Aggieland where such special things happen. He even had the Corps Marching Band play as the family arrived, and ironically, Barbara (back earlier in the year for her funeral) had requested that the Corps line the road that led to the library for her burial as well. They loved Texas A&M so much!

Rest in Peace Mr. President and First Lady.

It's football season!

So, for the last 6 weeks, we have been watching some Fightin' Texas Aggie Football! And, of course, we have to wear our maroon! Also, I signed the kids up for the Junior Aggie Club which means they get free tickets to lots of sporting events and then some half priced tickets to one football game, as well as some other conference games for baseball and basketball. So, this past weekend, Vic and Atticus went to see A&M BTHO Kentucky! Whoop! They had seats in the north end zone on the 3rd deck, and they had a great time! And, after overtime play, we won! Vic said Atticus stayed completely into the game; never asked for anything (although Vic said they indulged in lots of good concession stand food!) and never complained. Atticus loves seeing sporting events, but games are long and you can get pretty tired, even at 7 years old. So, we were proud of him and really glad that he had such a good time! Here we are in some maroon and white!

And Vic is so photogenic! He always looks so nice and is so fit and healthy! Maybe one day, his wife will get her act together and look better for him! ha!

And here are pictures from the football game:

Gig 'em Aggies!

Meet the Aggie Football Team!

On August 12, Vic took Atticus on campus to Meet the Team for Aggie Football. They had a really good time and while Vic said the lines were really long to get into the building (and it was raining too), once they were inside, things moved pretty quickly. They were given a big poster of the number 12 football player and they made their way through the tables to get autographs. It was separated by position and they got almost all of the players to sign! They did not get Coach Fisher because his line was the longest and it ended before they could get in to wait. But, Atticus liked getting the quarterbacks the most! They had a great time and even got a photo with the yell leaders. Atticus said Vic looked like one of the yell leaders because he was wearing a white shirt.

Afterwards, they took a special lunch date to the Dixie Chicken for burgers. And Atticus said they are going to go back another time so they can play pool together. One-on-one adventures with the kids are so fun, so I was so glad they got to go meet the team and kick off the Aggie Football season!

 Atticus came home and told us that one of the Aggie Football players (but he couldn't remember who) told him he liked his sunglasses and that Coach Fisher wore the same sunglasses! :)

 Vic even stopped at Walmart on the way home and bought him a frame to hang it up!

 Lunch at the Chicken!

And then Atticus came home and got back to work taking care of his littlest sister!

Memorial Day Weekend with Reveille

On Memorial Day Weekend (Sunday), the Cummings invited us over to swim and play, along with a few other people. And she told us a special guest would be there. We arrived and found Reveille and Reveille's handler were staying with them for a few weeks! Apparently, Reveille's main handler (also the first girl handler in TAMU history) was in San Diego for a few weeks for training, so her second handler was in charge. Well, the second handler was from Louisiana and didn't have a home in College Station to stay in (plus in the corps, they live on campus during the school year), so the Cummings invited them to say with them. Reveille has a busy schedule of training on Kyle Field with noise and lights for football games 3x a week as well as a weekly grooming appointment, so she can't just leave College Station easily. And, she has to stay kind of hidden when not doing official events or going to class during the year. So, her handler and her just hung out for a few weeks. And WE got to see her and love on her! We arrived and the kids thought it was neat for a few minutes, but then wanted to swim. I couldn't really get enough of this moment. I mean - it's REVEILLE! And we could pet her as much as we wanted and it was relaxed and easy. Even in her official capacity at events, I'm sure she is pretty protected by her handlers, so this was really neat. We didn't get nearly enough photos and actually, we asked permission first. Her handler said we could take them, but requested we not post on any social media. I did ask him if I could put on my family blog and he said ok. Yay! But, apparently, people sometimes take advantage of posting silly memes about Reveille or other things and so they don't really want photos out there that could cause problems. Anyways, other than Reveille, the kids had a great time swimming! I didn't get in the pool at all, because I was pretty sure that Everly was not going to stay in the water. She was not super interested last summer in a big pool and it's sometimes easier for one parents to be in and one to be out of the water to handle kids in and out. Well, I was mostly wrong this day! She loved being in the water! And this gave Atticus and Grace another chance (they had actually both been to dance and birthday parties in May so they were already warming back up to swimming - especially Atticus!) to practice being in the water after 9 months of no swimming. It was a really fun day!

 Her handler was teaching the kids how to give her treats. She has to do certain steps to get her treat, but the kids were not consistent and poor Rev kept messing up. I mean - she WAS on vacation, so she should get a break! https://youtu.be/sMCYoLbrSoQ

When my kids are older, they will probably regret not playing with her more when they had the chance!

 She loved these Minnie Mouse goggles of Grace's.

Scott spent a lot of time teaching Atticus to climb up on his shoulders and jump in the water. The videos are so funny! Here is our video of our day! https://youtu.be/oTi-FvddDiw

TAMU Staff Appreciation Day Family Pictures on Campus

So, the past few years, the new President at A&M, Michael Young, has really stressed Staff Appreciation. One of the things he has done is setup a Saturday in the spring for any and all TAMUS staff to come on campus and have professional pictures made by professional photographers all for free! This is the first year we have gotten to attend, but it was fabulous! We had a busy morning with Grace having a t-ball game, and hoping we could beat any crowds and not get too hot before we got some photos done. Well, it turned out to be so much fun!! The weather was good; the lines were shorts and we made it to multiple spots to take photos before we had to go! I didn't worry about what we wore - we just threw on some maroon and fixed Grace's hair for t-ball and tried this day out. It was fun walking with the kids on campus and made me remember how that can be such a fun family day, when we want to plan one (walking around campus). The pictures turned out GREAT and Everly was eating up the fun of walking around holding hands with the kids. We will definitely try to do this yearly! Here are our photos (both mine and then the professional).

And Grace was really into posing on this day!

Aggie Football Maroon & White Spring Game

On Everly's Birthday, Vic took Atticus to the Maroon & White game and even met Todd, Haley & Camden there as well! It turned out to be a chilly, windy day, but it was still fun for Atticus. Even Johnny Manziel was there for some halftime "game" with old players. Here are some quick pics!

Aggie Baseball Aggie Leadoff Day

So, with the sports addiction in our house, we just had to attend the Aggie Leadoff Day for Baseball on February 10th. I read that they served food, you could get autographs, and then watch the Aggies play one another. It was a really fun day! I only took Atticus and Grace (Vic stayed with Everly who had a little cold) and we arrived and ate and Atticus got some players autographs and then they played in the kid zone throwing lots of baseballs and on the bouncy slide. Grace even got brave and was so proud when Atticus awkwardly helped her up the bouncy slide. She loves that brother and he can make her entire day when he shows her affection too! He threw lots of balls and Grace entertained herself and then we went inside for the game. Well, it was fun, but all of a sudden, out of nowhere, the overcast atmosphere dropped to a LOW temperature and started off-an-on misting and we got cold! But, you know Atticus - he never wants to leave a game early, so we stuck it out as long as we could before Grace was basically a popsicle. Then, we headed home. I did NOT pack for cold weather, so I was pretty cold too. It was a fun day though and I have video and pictures below. Also, that night, at the end of the video, Atticus and Everly just played in bed and watched some sports and I just thought it was cute!

Here's a quick recap of our day: https://youtu.be/sBNMuRRkVyU