Bartlesville Floods

Little did we know that we'd make national headlines and get a day off work!!! As many of you have probably heard, we've had the strangest weather this year. This past winter, we had a blizzard and ice storm. This doesn't sound all that crazy, but I have never seen so much ice. We were delayed in Texas at Brenton's parents' place due to ice all the way between TX and OK. On our way back, it literally looked like a land of ice. Past this winter, we have had abnormal amounts of rain.

Everyone began more than grateful since our summers are generally dry. However, as the rains continued, the city had to open the flood gates so the dam did not break as it did in the 80s. We were all waiting to see what would happen when the river crested. From stories we were hearing, we imagined the water would rise past that of the pictures below. Not so, the pictures you are seeing are the worst. Roads were and are blocked, many homes are dealing with water damage and this years' weather continues to be exciting. Thankfully we are safe, though you can keep those dealing with flood damage in your prayers.




OWU Baseball and Soccer Fields



OWU Soccer Field (The bleachers are completely under water, and the water almost goes up to the door knob on the shed.)



OWU Practice Fields



Price Road (On the sides of the road, fences are completely under water at parts.)

Mud Baths

Brenton joined a soccer tournament with a number of his soccer guys this last weekend, and boy was it fun times! One of his former OWU players and another student currently on the soccer team headed up this tournament team. The guys did a great job leading and playing. After two long days of running in the mud and rain,




they came out of the tournament undefeated. Their win was pretty impressive considering some of the skilled teams they played. A few of the guys in the tournament had previous professional contracts, others were talented international players and a number of them played at NCAA D1 universities. Along with the competition, you can tell what a good time the guys had playing soccer in all this mud!

Don't forget to read up on "Story Time" below.

Story Time

So I left you all wondering for too long, huh?! Take a seat and get comfortable for this little narrative...

One pleasant summery evening, we were out in the Benware's back yard playing with the neices and nephews. We engaged ourselves in a little game of tag (we'll at least I think we did...) and watched the kids slide down the slide. Brenton was being the BESTEST uncle ever and gave Baylor a ride on his shoulders. It was a "Leave It to Beaver" type of night, until Baylor chose that exact moment to take a little potty break. Brenton says he started to feel something warm and mushy. I snapped the picture just in time to catch his futile attempt to get Baylor off his shoulders before he had too much of a mess. The bud had to run in and clean the "chocolate" off of his neck and out of his hair. All to say, the "BESTEST uncle" in the world was a good sport.

Hope you all enjoyed story time!

Question of the Week?

This is a picture of our cute little niece Baylor and my gorgeous husband Brenton. During one of our trips to Texas, I was able to catch this splendid memory on camera. Props to the person who can make the best guess of what is happening in this picture. We'll fill you in on the details after we make you guess a little!

Family Update and Marshmellow Wars

This has been a fun week with family. We went to Brenton's family reunion in Kansas for the weekend, and were able to see both immediate and extended family. Sunday we headed back to good ole OK and had a fun visit with Zach, Brenton's cousin. As you can tell, he and Brenton had some good marshmellow wars on campus. Zach was one of the best guests you could have. Anyone looking for someone to clean house?! We came home from work one day to see that Zach had cleaned all our dishes and left the apartment looking brand spankin' new!

Tuesday morning the Dongell's had a fun surprise, when we learned the first grandson and nephew was born into our family. Brandon and Jennifer will be posting pictures of their little guy, Jaylon Christian Bruce on their blog (www.brandonjenniferbruce.com). However, if you ask Dad how he likes being a grandpa, he'll tell you that he has another name in mind. His grandchildren will apparently call him GP (Grandpa). GP comes from the great master of ceremonies, Kirk Franklin, as Dad says. In case you're still forgetting the infamous song God's Property (GP are you with me?!). We're still having a fun summer and we're looking forward to seeing our new nephew soon! Congrats B & Jen.

Home and a Farewell

While today is a cloudy and rainy change of pace, we have had some amazing weather. There have been a few times that we have felt the beach was only a few blocks away. That's when we remind ourselves that we are in OK, no where near sand. You don't have to feel too bad for us, since we have quite a good piece of property. We joke every time we drive on to campus that we have a stunning lake, fountain, performing arts center and mansion. Then we drive up to our humble apartment in the freshman dorm! It is good times with the students though. Now we are just waiting for out chance to hit up the beach.

Another update is a sad farewell to a sweet friend. Amber, know that we love and miss you. We appreciate what a wonderful friend you have been to us, and we're sorry this is such a late posting. We are thinking of you and hope that you are enjoying your new job...Amber was one of the hardest workers in the Admissions office on campus and has now moved to work at a church near home. (She is the middle one in the picture.)