Battle of the Bands

December 18, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

We really had fun being with the tuba players! They were really enjoying themselves.

We really had fun at the pep rally that was called the Battle of the Bands. After we found the location of the pep rally, we went to the side for the University of Arizona. It was fun to intermingle with the band members, twirlers, pomp-pomp girls, and cheerleaders. A master of ceremonies from the New Mexico Bowl set up a series of challenges for both schools. Mostly it was fun series of songs between both bands.

band 3

football sign

Charlene and I decided the tuba players had the most fun in the band, so we stood just behind the tuba players. I have never been so close to the Pride of Arizona. It is so much fun being in the midst of all the students on the band. Both groups of students were excited to celebrate their schools and have fun together.

Charlene & Ed

Afterwards we ate dinner at an independent Mexican restaurant and then went back to the hotel and people watched to see all the fans, coaches, and players. It is a very fun evening!

Go Wildcats!

December 18, 2015December 18, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

We arrived in Albuquerque for the New Mexico Bowl!

We are excited to make it Albuquerque for the New Mexico Bowl! We just arrived at the hotel and we are staying at the same hotel as the football team. Bowl games are always fun and it is nice to get back to Albuquerque again. It is fun to see the University of Arizona banners and balloons celebrating the bowl game tomorrow throughout the hotel! We have seen a few of the players walking around the hotel.

balloons

It’s Snowing!

December 13, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

The big beautiful snowflakes were gorgeous!

This morning we woke up to a couple of inches of snow on the ground in Amarillo! On our way to church, it started snowing nice big flakes. After church, it really started coming down! It was very beautiful and refreshing!

Oklahoma City Thunder

December 10, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

We were excited to attend our first Oklahoma City Thunder NBA game!

Charlene was very popular with the Thunder cheerleaders since it was her first game.

We drove for 5 hours today, going from Branson, Missouri to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. We found that the Oklahoma City Thunder were playing a home game, so we decided to be spontaneous and buy two tickets way up in the nosebleed section. We were laughing that we had the opportunity to do something unexpected and spontaneous!

Charlene received a button since it was her first NBA game!

Although we have driven through Oklahoma City on multiple occasions, this was the first time we actually stayed in the city. It is always fun to learn about a community, walk around different areas, and meet new people. We also like discovering new, independent restaurants. We looked online and talked to several people about where to eat and selected an Italian restaurant. We had fun talking to our waiter because he was a Kansas City Chief fan and I was wearing a Kansas City Royals t-shirt.

After eating, we headed to the arena for the game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Atlanta Hawks. It was Charlene’s first NBA game, so it was extra fun. The Thunder gave Charlene a big button that announced it was her first game. A local group of “cheerleaders” was excited to meet Charlene since it was her first game.

Our seats in the arena were high up. We joked that we could not tell who the players were because they all looked the same from our height. I really enjoyed watching Kevin Durant play live and in-person. Everyone left happy because the Thunder won!

Court

Dixie Stampede

December 9, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

We absolutely LOVE the Christmas season!

Tonight we were treated to the Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede! It was really fun to have dinner and watch a superb Christmas show. The only thing weird is that they served dinner and did not provide utensils. We each ate a whole chicken (that was delicious), corn on the cob, baked potato, biscuit, pork, and turnover. It was a huge amount of food! I was amazed they could feed an entire arena of people and everyone receive such as nice meal.

Riders in a snow storm

The horses and program were quite impressive! We loved watching all the activities in the arena. Now I understand why the arena sells out so frequently!

Christmas in Branson

December 9, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

Charlene is telling Santa what she wants for Christmas!

Ed loves all the Christmas decorations!

Today we had a chance to enjoy many of the beautiful Christmas decorations in Branson. The businesses really have a fun time dressing up the community. It is very fun to enjoy celebrating the Christmas season in a new community!

Charlene is excited to find a Missouri mug with her name!

Christmas on the Trail and Shepherd of the Hills Trail of Lights

December 9, 2015December 9, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

Once we arrived in Branson, we had lunch at Starvin’ Marvin’s. Their bear seemed a quite fierce!

We had so much fun visiting Branson, Missouri a couple of months ago, we came back to enjoy some of the Christmas programs. We certainly were not disappointed! We started off watching the Christmas on the Trail and then drove through the Shepherd of the Hills Trail of Lights.

The Christmas on the Trail was a great program!

Lights 9

The Christmas on the Trail started with a fantastic meal of turkey, corn on the cobb, beans, corn bread, and dessert. For feeding a large group of people, it was very good food. I could not finish everything. The Christmas program was from a cowboy perspective of life on a ranch. There was a very nice complement of a Christian emphasis on Christmas, great singing, as well as humor and teasing. I thought it was a wonderful program to get us in the mood for Christmas.

The Christmas season is so much fun!

After the Christmas on the Trail program, we drove through the Shepherd of the Hills Trail of Lights. This was an amazing series of lights and was extremely impressive!

Lights 5

Lights 8

Charlene Avenue

December 5, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

We found a street named after Charlene!

We had breakfast with a nice couple we met at our marriage seminar. As we were leaving the restaurant, we noticed on the GPS that there was a street named Charlene Avenue. This is the first time we have ever seen this anywhere in our travels. We drove to the street and had a chance to take Charlene’s photo in front of the sign! Charlene is a wonderful woman and it is great to find a street named after her!

Spicy Mike’s Bar-B-Q Haven

December 2, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

Spicy Mike’s has absolutely fantastic barbeque! We enjoyed looking at all the rustic ranch supplies on the walls.

Today we discovered a special treat! A couple we met at the marriage retreat we attended a few weeks ago told us they liked Spicy Mike’s Bar-B-Q Haven. Today we learned why they recommended it. It is a very small independent restaurant in the southeast area of Amarillo. Charlene ordered the pork ribs and I ordered the pulled pork. The meat was especially tender and we thoroughly enjoyed both barbeque sauces. We had to ask for to-go boxes as we could not finish our meals. Their smoked meatloaf is supposed to be very good too. That will have to wait for a future visit. Maybe we will order a takeout meatloaf this weekend? I absolutely LOVE discovering independent restaurant gems!

Thanksgiving 2015

November 27, 2015November 28, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

Neil, Amy, Michelle, John, me, and Charlene on Thanksgiving morning.

It is not very often when we can get together with Amy, Neil, John, and Michelle all at the same time. However, we were able to all get together and had a wonderful, but brief, time together. Sorry, this is a poor quality photo from my cell phone.

Charlene and I are starting the Turkey Trot in a cold rain. Fortunately, it stopped raining as we continued on the course. Photo by Sean Steffen / Amarillo Globe-News

Amy, Neil, Charlene, and I were getting ready to go jog/walk in the Turkey Trot. John and Michelle needed to get out of town because a large multi-day ice storm was on its way to Amarillo.

Neil and Amy are in the middle of the photo wearing blue t-shirts. The rain was really coming down! Photo by Sean Steffen / Amarillo Globe-News

Neil and Amy left Charlene and me in the dust in the Turkey Trot. Neil and Amy are in great shape. It was raining on and off during most of the run, but we really enjoyed ourselves. Charlene and I were happy because we finished the 5 K within an hour. After the run, we enjoyed nice warm, long showers and then made a wonderful Thanksgiving meal.

Fiesta on Wheels

Author: Ed Armstrong