My last post was March 26. How sad is that?

Life is hot here in Texas! Kyle and I have been traveling a lot though and we LOVE to travel! Kyle has been to Orlando to take his big SCCC test (to become a certified strength and conditioning coach) and he passed the practical exam and will find out in a couple of weeks about the written part. He feels very confident about it though so I am so excited to say YES my husband is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach! He flew from Orlando to Nebraska and I drove up to meet him. We went to his little sister's high school graduation and made the lovely 12 hour trip back home. 

Kyle also flew out to Denver using our vouchers from our honeymoon. He stayed with his best friend Tim and his wife Kim and he took the USAW test and passed with flying colors. So as soon as we get official results in my husband will be Kyle James Ochsner SCCC USAW ATC ... That's a lot of letters! I don't even know what order to put them in! In one year he will graduate with a Masters in Strength and Conditioning! My husband is an all-star! We don't know when he will be able to find a job after grad school or where. The market is such a hit and miss thing and we want to make sure he gets the exact job he wants, so we may be here longer while waiting for the right opportunity to come for him.

Kyle also has been playing Rugby 7s and has gotten VERY good at it. I am so impressed and proud! He had a tournament in Albuquerque a couple of weeks ago and one in Dallas last weekend and he has so much fun with it! While he was in Denver he met the head Medical personnel for the US Rugby team and he might get a job next February doing Athletic Training for the Las Vegas 7s Tournament! Its great to have good contacts!

We also went to Kansas City last week. It was AMAZING. Elliott Jay stole my heart and I left part of it with him in Missouri. I took pictures of him for Heidi and wow, I love taking pictures. I can't wait to pursue photography and graphic design. Here are some pics of little Elliott www.jenniophotography.blogspot.com. Oh it was so fun to have the WHOLE family together! What a blessing that time was.

 

Also, for fun, here is a little convo Husband and I had last night.

Husband: Its hot in here!

Jenni: Well do you want me to turn the AC on?

Husband: uuuuuuuggghhhh, eneerrrrgyyyy......

Jenni: O.K. well I would tell you I can just blow air in your general direction, but I'm not gonna do that.

(just a side note, Kyle and I are huge on conserving energy and try to avoid any unnecessary energy waste)

Well I love you all and I hope all is well with you!

Visits

WOW! Have we been busy or what?
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30815306&l=bf75b7ee48&id=110800292 here is a pic of coach and chloe right when we got them :)
Three weekends ago my parents and Casey visited here in Lubbock. We actually met up with them in Palo Duro Canyon and went hiking! We had an awesome picnic and the weather was perfect :) I will definitely be going back there, it was beautiful!
Later that night we went to Cagles, which is a ranch and steakhouse. They raise their own cattle and you eat their cattle. It was soooo tasty. That was for Mom's Birthday, and it was something REALLY Texan. The next day we had pancakes at home (a weekly thing for Kyle and I) and enjoyed seeing some sites. On Sunday we went wine tasting and out to eat at a Bar B Q joint. It was so wonderful having my fam here and being able to be close to them again. The distance is hard but I will be seeing them again mid April.
Here are some pics from the weekend...
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30807029&l=bb377a1de5&id=110800292


The next weekend Kyle's Parents came with Andrea and a surprise! Reed, Andrea's Boyfriend came along as well. We made our "Healtier Lasagna" for them as well as pancakes of course :) We had some down home bar b que from Big E's Bbq and we had chocolate chimmichangas at Ruby Tequilas. We spent some time checking out houses at Ransom Canyon and in Lubbock. We also picked some cotton ;) and figured out how they grow it down here and the differences from Lubbock to Nebraska and Iowa. We also went out to eat at Cagles. It was really fun getting to know Andrea's boyfriend as well as seeing his fam again. Like I said with my fam, we are just too far away.
The link up top will also get you to some pics from this weekend.


This past weekend we watched Justin and Lauren's dog Katarza. She is a Chow/German Shepherd and SO pretty! We had Taco's with Dustin and Megan on Friday night and watched a movie. It was so fun getting to know them! We also went shopping Saturday as I still had a gift card from Christmas (Thank you Andrea :) ). That evening we ate burgers with the Kukal's and watched another movie. It was a good weekend and Coach misses Katarza dearly!


It has been a busy month! This weekend I'm on my own with Coach. Kyle left last night at 11pm for Baton Rouge Louisiana with Texas Tech's Rugby team. He is helping out with nutrition and strength and conditioning. This is regionals, they already won Texas State Champs, and if they win this weekend they will go on to Nationals in Florida! I really hope Kyle has a blast! As for me I have a bunch of varied plans this weekend that I need to decide between, but they all sound so fun!


Kyle and I have some hopes and dreams in the works, Please pray for us as we want what God wants. We have been praying that he leaves doors wide open that he wants open and closes the doors that won't be good for us. Some decisions are just so hard!


We hope you all have a great weekend!


-Jenni and Kyle

Colorado

We went to Colorado this past weekend. It was such a blast, especially seeing all of the friends we were able to connect with! We stayed with Tim and Kim Naiman in their nice apartment with a great view! We also saw almost all of Tim's family, Brittnee Wood, and Blaine Crawford.

A couple months back we got cheap tickets for a flight to Colorado, it was only $50 a person! We left Friday morning and were picked up by Tim and Kim at the airport. We dropped our stuff off and went straight to the Coors brewery in Golden. This would be Tim and Kyle's 3rd time on the tour, but I had never seen it before and neither had Kim so we went and had a good time. After that we went out to eat at Golden Europe which was fabulous and I suggest it to anyone who ever visits CO.

The next day we went downtown and saw the sights. After that we drove to Blackhawk and Kyle and I blew $5 in the penny slots. Gambling was fun, but what was more fun was the drive there and back. It was so beautiful!  We went to Blaine's apartment that evening and Brittnee and Blaine made us supper! It was a wonderful vegetarian meal but I can't say it was so wonderful from Tim and Kyle later... If anyone knows them they will know what I'm talking about  haha. We also played Train dominoes or something like that, I forget the name. It took us 3 hours but it was really fun!

Sunday we went to the Bump and Grind, which we heard from B and B that it was an awesome place for brunch on the weekends. They have Transvestite servers that give you a hard time the entire time your there. Especially if you decide to cut your muffin and eat it with a fork like Britt ;). However, when we got there they had a sign on the door saying "closed indeffinitly, we will let you know when we get it worked out, xoxo."

It was quite unfortunate that we couldn't go there, but then we went to Tim's uncle's coffee shop and enjoyed some exquisite coffee/ hot cocoa. I forgot to mention that for lunch twice Kim cooked for us! It was wonderful! We had an awesome cheesy chicken casserole/ spaghetti as well as kick butt chicken artichoke pizza.

Sunday night we went to Casa Bonita. I must say, however mediocre the food was, the entertainment was by far past sub par. :) They were very entertaining, there was even cliff dining. Even though it is a oncer for Kyle and I, we wouldn't have changed the choice we made to go there for the world. It was so much fun! However part of the entertainment may have been Tim's brother and sister Matthew and Natalie.

We flew home early on Monday morning, and even though the trip was short lived, it was totally worth it! It rejuvenated me to go back to work with a smile on my face and was a nice get away for Kyle right before classes started again for him.

Christmas Vacation

I wrote this up, but I am without a computer now so its difficult to post, but here is what I wrote a couple weeks ago.....

Oh how wonderful it is to have a week off of work. Especially when that week is spent with loved ones that you haven’t seen in while. We flew into Kansas City where Heidi picked us up to bring us to Omaha for Kalina and Luke to pick us up. On our way to Omaha however, Heidi’s car overheated. We tried leaving it off for a while, putting snow on the engine, and took off again only for it to overheat again less then a mile down the road. This is where we decided to call a tow truck. The tow truck came about 45 minutes later to bring us to the nearest town. Nick drove to meet us from Kansas City as Mom and Dad left from Iowa to pick Heidi up from Omaha. Nick brought us to Omaha and I spent a fleeting moment with my parents as we waited for Luke and Kalina (who had been waiting for us in Omaha since 2 and it was now 7.) Then we road with them to Sutton and got there at about 9:30 at night.

We spent that night catching up. It was wonderful. The next day we went Christmas shopping and Bowling! It was so much fun! My highest score was 98, oh well. I guess I just need to go bowling more often and get my game up for next year. By this time we already knew of the big winter storm coming. I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to see my family at all. We ended up leaving Tuesday evening instead of Weds at noon. We first had our wonderful Christmas celebration with the Ochsner family and then packed up to go. We also had a surprise ride along named Andrea J. She was planning on leaving the next day as well to visit her boyfriend over Christmas, but with the weather, and him being 5 hours north of us or so, the fam decided to send her with us. Then she took the Ochsner van and we sent her further north that night yet. She ended up arriving there at 5 am in the morning.

Being back home for the first time since we moved in June was splendid. Watching the beautiful snow fall all day, every day we were there was wonderful. God did bless us with a white Christmas, it is just too bad that it probably messed up a lot of other people’s Christmas plans.



We played a lot of sequence, which we have yet to buy for ourselves sometime this week. I even beat mom once! And I am the one that is horrible at that game! We did the family Christmas with us plus Dwight. Dad got a nice sound system and we got to test it out on the TV downstairs. It was just a fun time chilling out with my fam, watching casey play, seeing my prego sister, chilling out with my dad, and working on the computer with my mom.

I miss home a lot. A lot a lot. Someday we will move closer. I hope. But for now its me and my wonderful hubby exploring the world of Texas.

Birthdays and Travel

It was my birthday this past week. We went out to eat at Red Lobster and I got the Ultimate Feast :) After that we went to Olive Garden and I got my favorite desert! It was the Black Tie Moose Cake. AMAZING! The week went really fast with work and now I don't work for another week because tomorrow we are leaving for Kansas City! Our flight leaves at 7:15 tomorrow morning and I will see my sister and little Jenni tomorrow for lunch!!  I am so excited to go home! Yay for Christmas!

Today we brought Coach to the vet and he weighs 8.9 lbs! 3 weeks ago he weighed 6.8 lbs, so he has grown a lot! He got shots as well and now he is not feeling the greatest. He won't even play with his friend Katarza tonight! We will be keeping him at Lauren and Justin's place for most of Christmas as well as  Brittany's place for a little bit of break. So even though I will miss Coach a lot, he will be in good hands. :)

Bell Ringers

Wow, it has been over a month since I have posted!

Lots of things can happen in a month. But first I must say Happy 2 year anniversary Sarah and Dustin Grabe!!! I hope it was marvelous!

It is actually our 6 month anniversary today as well, so that should keep it easy to remember! We cracked open our wedding wine tonight and each had a glass. It is wonderful stuff :) We had gone Christmas shopping today, and it made me realize why I always do it throughout the year. The traffic is what was really bad. However I had a great time with my hubby today!

There are bell ringers outside of everywhere, the mall, Wallgreens, Target, and even a home improvement store. I was really upset I gave my only dollar bill to the first one we saw. If I was smart I would have waited until the 5th or 6th bell ringer. Then when I felt super guilty for avoiding eye contact with these super nice bell ringers all day I could have given it to the last one I saw and felt a little better. But instead I sit here at home feeling like a horrible person because I don't carry cash.

We ate out at one of our favorite restaurants in town, "Lite Bite." The owner of the store almost knows us by name now, just like Peter at Bamboo Garden in Sioux Center. We are also able to buy all the Tahini and Couscous we want as well as any other random odd thing that most other grocery stores don't carry.

We had Isaac and Tara visit the week before Thanksgiving. We had so much fun. It makes us want to come live closer to home more than ever. We went out to eat at a barbecue joint, went to the OU/TT game on Saturday. Watched the Huskers game that night, and spent the rest of the weekend just chilling out and enjoying our good friends from Lincoln.

When Thanksgiving came around we decided to drive the 11 hours to go to Nebraska! It was so nice to see familiar landscape and loved ones. We celebrated Turkey Day at Kyle's parents house and it was so tasty! My family came on Friday with one more person then I expected! I am so excited that my sister Heidi is having a baby and that I'm going to be an aunt!  Everyone else thinks its going to be a boy, however, its a girl, trust me.


Grandma Anona and Grandpa Charlie will be here on Tuesday, which is also my 24th birthday. What a great birthday present! I'm very excited to see them, Kyle has never actually met Charlie! We are going to have a lot of fun seeing them on their way to their winter hideaway in Arizona.

Well, We shall talk to you soon!

Much love

-Jenni and Kyle Ochsner

October

Life is good. Kyle's volenteering has been going wonderfully and I love my job. My workers are amazing, my boss is awesome, and I love my office! I finally finished my two weeks at my part time job so I will have weekends off! I feel relaxed and ready to jump into finishing Andrea's senior photos! As soon as I'm done with Andrea's pics I can move on to our honeymoon pics, family visiting pics, and pics from Labor Day weekend!

Mom and Dad's visit was awesome. Casey ended up staying behind because she couldn't miss school, but it was fun just chillin with mis padres! I must have hugged my dad a billion times. I haven't seen him since we moved in late June! I couldn't even hug my mom too much because that would just make me cry and I promised myself I wouldn't cry the whole time they were here.
We did a lot when they were here too. They got here after a 15 hour drive at 12am. We talked for about an hour, maybe two, before I let them go to sleep. I'm such a bad daughter. :) While they were here we showed them Ransom Canyon which is a cute little town 20 mins east of Lubbock. We also went to Bear Springs Lake and had a picinic there. It made me think of all the awesome vacations our family has gone on. Road tripping to see the beautiful sites in wyoming, california, Maine, and everything in between. Sitting on rocks by a peacefull lake and eating a pre-packed lunch. After we sat on the rocks by the lake we found some pretty nice picinic tables that we could have sat at, but it was much more worth it to chill on the rocks like old times. We also saw a ton of ducks and geese at this lake. I will upload pics of their entire visit as soon as I have the time.

After trying to feed the geese and after Kyle almost getting his finger bit off by a goose we left Bear... Buffalo Springs Lake and showed dad the blossoming cotton. He was really interested to see it like that because dad is such a farm guy and he has never seen cotton blossom. I have some pictures of that coming as well.
We went out to eat at Rudy's BBQ, we sat at tables and ate our food on napkins. Mom and I went shopping together which I LOVE shopping with mom and getting her to get stuff that she loves. She doesn't treat herself enough! Dad found a sweet dealer that had tons of used Harley's and we might check them out someday when we have dual income :). We also went to the Harley store and Kyle found a coat he liked,... maybe he can get one once he gets his motorcycle license.
I had some horrible planning going on for this past weekend. I planned on donig so much but I was so excited that they were coming that I never did any actual planning. We went to the tractor museum, but it was closed, we went to the windmill museum, but it was closed. However, we did watch desperate housewives like old times. Watched the Huskers dissapoint against Texas Tech, and we watched the Punisher. We grilled some steaks, had a potroast, and I made some guinness and gouda soup, which the recipe still has some revamping if you ask me.
We toured McKinsey Park and stopped at Prarie Dog town. I showed mom and dad the strip, which they loved and I will upload pictures. You never understand how funny it is until you can actually see it. Little Las Vegas we call it because of all the neon lights and the drive through liqour stores.:) Dad wasn't able to find the camera that night so I need to get him some pics soon so he can show the fellas at work.
Mom and Dad brought us the same wine that we had at the wedding and we can't wait to have a taste of it again. I spilled the first batch that we had actually made at the wedding all over the grass in front of the Ochsner's house when I was trying to take too many things inside at once.
My job is such a perfect fit. I have 6 assistnats, 3 of which we hired this week. Kyle and I will move there as soon as something opens up which is kind of bitter sweet. Sweet because its free, has a washer, dryer, dishwasher, two bedrooms, and any extra furniture we might need. Bitter because Kyle needs to get up at 4:15 in the morning and he needs to get his sleep; around noisy college students that isn't going to be easy. Also bitter because eventhough our apartment is small and we didn't like it at first, Kyle has put a lot of work into it and it is finally feeling like a home. I love our apartment now, but saving money is more important.

With this job I have a large office, big pretty windows, and a staff that I love. I will be doing leasing as well as being in charge of the Community Assistants. I am so in love with it and have met so many awesome people, on our property and the sister properties in town. If any of you are curious about it (I can't remember if I mentioned it before) this is my property www.upointe.com and our coorperate company is American Campus Communites.
 
So to all of you back home, in Colorado, and everywhere else, have a happy Friday! Thanks for getting through this super long update and I hope to hear from each and every one of you on how life is going!
 
Loves and Misses!!!
 
-Jenni O, AGM :)