Whirlwind Astros Game

A couple months ago, one of Jonathan's friends mentioned that him and his wife go to an Astros game every year but this past year have not been able to make it, with jobs, new house etc etc. Joanthan, the ever generous one, called up his dad and asked him if he could pick up some tickets for us to go to the game. Due to work schedules, we left at 8am on Saturday, drove straight through to Houston, went straight to Micah's football game, came home and changed, went to the baseball game. The game was awesome, we had a great time, the astros played great, the company was wonderful, my nachos were amazing, all in all a fabulous time. We came home pretty late, did a little hot tubbing and then crashed out. Slept in a little had some family time, followed by an amazing lunch and then we were off again. It was a whirlwind trip but fun none the less, next time we will stay longer :)

What an amazing Will to Survive and GO COAST GUARD

A father and son who tread water for more than 12 hours in the Atlantic Ocean before being rescued spent much of the time in the dark seas not knowing if the other was alive, authorities said Monday.

Walter Marino, 46, and his son Chris Marino, who has autism, were swimming in the Ponce Inlet, south of Daytona Beach, Florida, on Saturday when currents pulled the 12-year-old boy out to sea.
His father jumped in to try to save Chris but was also pulled out to sea.
Family members called 911, but by the time rescue units arrived, the father and son could no longer be seen, officials said.
The U.S. Coast Guard, the Volusia County Beach Patrol and the sheriff's office immediately launched a search-and-rescue mission using helicopters, boats and personal watercraft to try to find the Winter Park, Florida, father and son.
"[We were] floating," Walter Marino told CNN affiliate WKMG-TV after the rescue. "We were floating and just waiting for help to come." Watch the father thank rescuers »
Hoping to find the pair alive, the Coast Guard searched from Saturday night until early Sunday morning before suspending the search because of darkness, Coast Guard officials told CNN.
Coast Guard officials told Lt. j.g. David Birky that he would be part of a backup crew to relieve the team from the night before. Birky told CNN the crew was set to do a search when the sun came up, but received a call while they were en route that a good Samaritan boat found Walter Marino about 7:30 a.m.
Birky, the co-pilot of the crew, told CNN that after the father was found, they began searching that area for his son. Chris Marino was found two hours later, three miles from where his father was rescued.
The Coast Guard lifted the boy into a helicopter, and both father and son were taken to Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, where they were in good condition. Both were treated for dehydration, according to WKMG-TV.
"The Coast Guard rocks," Walter Marino said as he was being transported to the hospital, according to WKMG-TV. "God bless the Coast Guard."
While Walter Marino praised the Coast Guard for its rescue efforts, Birky said the true praise goes to the father and his young son.
"That kid is an amazing kid," Birky said. "To tread water for almost 14 hours, I don't know about you, but I don't think I could do that. They have amazing willpower to be able to do it."

Hurricane Ike Recap

Wow that hurricane sure did play around with us, but Corpus Christi really did get luckily that the cold front blew through and turned the hurricane away from us. We did board up the houses, make hotel reservations, make puppy care reservations, packed bags, food, water, gas and memories in the car just in case! Luckily we didn't have to go anywhere but we had planned on going to some good friends wedding up in Salado Texas, so it was a great little get away :) We went with some amazing couples from our hometeam and had a group getaway. The wedding was simply gorgeous and the bride got her wish for an outdoor wedding of her dreams. The reception was perfect and we had a great time overall, I even got spun around the floor a couple of times wahhoo! So the weekend was great, followed up by a little outlet shopping didn't hurt, too bad we had to get back to the real world on Sunday evening, oh well at least it was a weekend to remember!

Oh and thank you to all those that called and offered places for us to evac to. We were torn between Dallas, South Carolina, DC, Alaska (don't worry we are saving that one for next summer) and California thank goodness we didn't have to choose :)

Pictures

Okay Okay, so you have been asking for a few photos so here are a few :)

Us on a jetski at a staff retreat with the church :) Wheeee

Us playing around after the Geis wedding, isn't he a cutie!

And that's it because our camera hates me and didn't copy the photos from JT's bday and other events, so all we have are our memories, sorry all!!!

Sunshine in Sept

What a great day, started off with a slow start, I got to sleep in for awhile and then woke up and did a little community work :) Yes I was crocheting this morning but I was making Stoma covers for little children at the hospital. They are the cutest colors and I love to make them so it made me feel really good today! Then I took some time for myself... me and my best guy :) Sebastian got in the car and took off to the beach with Amy. We enjoyed running in the ocean, jumping over waves, playing with the water frisbie and just spending time with a great friend :) Later on my real best guy, got back from a guys fishing morning, wahoo for guy time, and changed into some swim shorts and joined us in the water. Unfortunetly the Texas heat got a little too warm so we decided to head home. Tonight I am working at the church and he went to a concert at the park with some friends, followed up with dinner with some more friends and then watching the fight somewhere :) What a great day, when you can take the time to do some things for others, take some time for yourself and then end the day by spending it with people you love and then going home with the one you love. What a day :)

Wedding Bliss

On August 23rd, Jonathan and I got the honor to stand by two of our great friends as they joined their lives together as one. As Jonathan was the best man, he was with Eddie most of the day, even through the flat tire, errands, whataburger etc. As a bridesmaid I met up with Barbie at lunch and then hung out with her for the rest of the day until the wedding. She looked amazing and the look on Eddie's face when he saw her was priceless. The wedding was beautiful and the reception was amazing. We had a wonderful time visiting with old friends and hanging out with new ones. We wish them the best as they join their hearts together and start off on an amazing adventure. Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Geis

So I just turned 26 and here's how it went...

All week Mia had been hinting at something big for my birthday. I finally get it out of her that we're going somewhere for the weekend. Then I finally get it out of her that we'll be spending the weekend in Fredericksburg. I had to work the actual day of my birthday but manage to sneak out that night cuz my boss loves me. So I get home, we pack the car, and off we go to drive up to Fredericksburg. I slept in the car most of the way. After about three and a half hours of driving we make it to the hotel and crash for the night. The next morning we get up in time to catch the end of the hotel's continental breakfast. I get my food and sit down and start eating. As I'm eating I look up to see my parents and my little brothers walking towards me. I say hey, and then go right back to my breakfast. Whoa wait a sec...I didn't know they were coming! Mia surprised we with getting my family to meet us for the weekend and come to find out my sister and her boyfriend are coming up later in the day too! So I'm excited! I love Fredericksburg and I love my family and I really love my wife for all she did to put the weekend together for me. So we spend the weekend running around town and hanging out with the family. We did a lot so I'll just give you the highlights. Friday we had lunch at a cool little old school diner at the airport. Mia and I spent the better part of the afternoon with my sister and her man. We checked out several Wineries and experienced wine tasting Texas style. It was a great experience and I learned a lot. We went out for Mexican food for dinner that night and then we went to this place called the Rockbox Theatre. They stared with stuff from the 50's and just worked their way up. It was a really cool and really funny show. If you're ever up that way it's definitely a place to check out. Saturday we grabbed breakfast and then headed out to Enchanted Rock State Park to hike to the top of the second largest granite monadnock in the United States. Translation-it's a giant pink rock. So my whole family heads up the rock and about half way up my sister's boyfriend gets sick cuz he decided to race my little brother up a steep part of the climb. He blamed it on one to many pancakes at breakfast. My dad, who was two bad knees, makes it to the top. I'm sure he will be hatin life later for doing it but I was proud of him for makin it to the top. The top of Enchanted Rock has one of the most beautiful views of the Texas hill country and when the sun sets on the rock it seems to glow (that's how it got its name). We hiked back down the rock and then took a detour on our way back to the hotel and checked Wildseed Farms. Wildseed Farms is the largest working wildflower farm in the U.S. They have somewhere in the neighborhood of over 200 acres of wildflowers. It was awesome. I'm not normally in to that kinda thing but you got to admire anyone who plants 200 acres of flowers. We slept in on Sunday and did a little more shopping in town. There's a place there that sells old baseball cards from like the late 80's and my little brother just loves baseball cards. So we go in to look around and my brother buys a couple packs. The guy who owns the place tell him to wait there a sec and he runs out to his car. He comes back and hands my brother a pack of cards with a Nolan Ryan card from the last year he played with the Astros. Let me just tell you, it's a cool card and a collector's item. I tried everything in the book to get him to give me that card but he wouldn't budge. I loved Nolan Ryan as a kid. He was the guy who could throw 100 M.P.H. pitches.......Anyways. We grabbed some Dairy Queen for lunch and then all parted ways. I had an awesome weekend. Somewhere in all that Mia gave me an IPhone and some awesome sunglasses! Can't wait to start playing with that! My wife is awesome and I had a great weekend with my family. Life just doesn't get better than that!