Texas..Home Sweet Home

Well, I just returned from another visit to Texas. While Blaine was training in Oklahoma, I was able to spend an entire month back home! Visits to Texas always bring great Mexican food and awesome BBQ...but more importantly, I get to spend time with my family and friends. My parents were very accommodating as I "moved in", toting Blaze and Holly with me, as well! While there, I substitute taught along side friends whom I grew up with, as well as some of my old teachers. I even taught some students whose parents I went to school with...still trying to do the math with some of those.

Blaine was able to come down for a weekend and we did some "bar-hopping" in Elgin! For those who don't know, Elgin does not have much of a bar scene, but we made the most of it. We went to Quoffer's, the British pub on Main Street, which is just one of the many TWO bars that any sane person would actually go to. We saw a few familiar faces and had a good time listening to American Idol's next contestants singing their hearts out. I love it..Blaine has absolutely no qualms about getting up in front of everyone and singing karaoke all night long! We had a great time.

I was fortunate enough to be in town long enough to attend the wedding of a dear, life-long friend of mine. Amanda's wedding was absolutely beautiful..I am so glad I was able to make it. The reception boasted a very swanky sitting area, one that we just had to get pictures of! The cake was also gorgeous, so much so that you could see the disappointment on Amanda's nephew's face when he learned they weren't cutting the cake yet! Too funny.

All in all, I had a great visit and look forward to going back next summer!

Happy Birthday, Blaine!

We recently celebrated Blaine's 31st birthday in Oklahoma City! Blaine is finishing his instructor pilot upgrade in Altus and I am visiting Texas, so the timing for an OKC visit was perfect. We went to our FAVORITE restaurant, Bourbon Street Cafe, for dinner. I highly recommend the filet mignon or the pork chops..the best I have ever had anywhere! Since I was not really in a position to bake Blaine a birthday cake, we settled for some yummy creme brulee instead. Afterwards, we walked along the riverwalk and asked a very nice couple to take our picture at the exact spot we were engaged three years earlier. I like this picture much better..we did the same thing the night we got engaged and my eyes were closed! I couldn't believe it. We ended the night at one of our favorite bars, TapWerks, which has over 100 beers on tap! I also discovered my new favorite beer..Young's Double Chocolate Stout. It's like Guinness, but with chocolate! I already researched places where I will be able to get it in Charleston. We had an awesome time..and I certainly look forward to sharing many more birthdays with my sweet husband!

2nd Annual Razorback Rumble

The 2nd Annual Razorback Rumble was filled with good times and great friends! This year, we made an entire week of it and really enjoyed the upstate. Blaine's high school had an alumni baseball game in which his classmates played the younger guys. Blaine hit a homerun at one point, his team won, and he got MVP of the game!! Needless to say, it was a good day.

Instead of driving back to Charleston for the week in between the game and the Rumble, we decided to stay and camp at Oconee State Park. We had such a great week with perfect weather! We did some hiking, saw some beautiful rivers and waterfalls, went to a fish hatchery, and did some shopping in neighboring Highlands, NC. After a relaxing week of camping, it was back to Walhalla for the big Rumble weekend!

The Razorback Rumble is Blaine's "baby" and he looks forward to everything that it involves each year. It is a weekend event in Walhalla and Clemson, coinciding with Oktoberfest, in which everyone competes in different events with the hopes of winning one of three trophies. This year, we had a darts tournament and a cornhole tournament. The third trophy is set aside for the "random event", but after several drinks, we forgot about it this year. The darts tournament took place at the home of Blaine's best friend's parents (who were VERY gracious hosts). Congrats to Parker for winning the darts tournament and scoring this awesome trophy!

The cornhole tournament was the highlight of our Clemson tailgating adventure. The tournament lasted ALL day but was so much fun! The trophy that everyone wants went to David, again. With his cornhole skills, he may need to make a permanent place for it in his home! Congrats, David!

We ended the Rumble weekend with a celebration at Walhalla's own Oktoberfest..complete with the good ol' Chicken Dance! This is about the time we all forgot about the Random Event trophy.

During our vacation in the upstate, we managed to get some flying in. The area was so beautiful to fly over! We saw Blaine's old home and the Clemson stadium from the air. And, to top it off, we flew with the instructor who taught Blaine how to fly. It seemed like they never missed a beat and was such a great experience for everyone!