Picture Post

First Pic:
Travis, Peter Bay and Jason Bradshaw asleep watching sports at Port Aransas.

Second Pic:
Just a fraction of my precious 5/6 graders!

Third Pic:
Aunt Trese, Barbara and I celebrating the Royal Wedding with royal food :-)

Spring time is here

Many times to catch you all up on!

We spent our Easter weekend rejoicing with our family down in La Grange, Texas at the Ranch. Trav's Moms sister and her husband live on a ranch and had many family members come in for a blessed weekend. Some of our favorite memories are: hanging out with Mary Beth and Austin Burns playing basketball, listening to music, playing no sun softball, Tricia riding a dirt bike for the first time, Uncle Butch's ribs, 80 brownies that were eaten, pool time= tackle travis time and many conversations.

Beach weekend at Port Aransas with some Klife Staff. We drove 6 hours to get to the Texas Coast to stay in a free beautiful home on the beach. We had so much fun playing cards, games, football, walks on the beach, laying out, watching NBA games, going to the grocery store a million times, and laughing.

Anna Alaback our sister came this last weekend. We went shopping at the Allen outlets, ate sushi at our favorite place, Blue, worked out and sat by the pool with Aunt Trese and Barbara, ate lunch at Central Market with family, watched movies and saw friends. Loved having her here!

We have found a church-Hope Works- that we love. This is a church that stretches us and reaches to the unreached people of Fort Worth. Its smaller and the pastor preaches always on scripture which is amazing. We go to a "home group" or small group on Monday nights. There is about 3 other married young couples and 4-6 singles that come. Cool story... an atheist has been attending and is intrigued that we believe Satan tempts you to do certain things and how marriage is set up in the Bible. Pray for Raleigh with us that he continues to come and seek the truth!

Travis' ESPN: Never thought this day would happen... but I think I am becoming an OKC Thunder fan...Go Thunder!

Tricia's Randomness: Travis and I have picked up Tennis. We play often because there are courts at a park within walking distance from us. We played with one of our new, wonderful, married couple friends- Tim and Brittany Watson. We met them through KLIFE and they have been such a blessing to us. Travis and I dominated and got Sweet Sammies (favorite Ice Cream/Cookie place) out of the victory.

Tuffy's Tales: Well at the Ranch, I found this grey looking shell that moved (armadillo) and tried to play with it and got scratched up on my nose and my leg..bad idea. I also found a furry squirrel and tried to smell it (possum) and Dad yelled at me..another bad choice.. I found some new Hispanic friends at the park while Mom and Dad played Tennis. There was a party going on and I became the center of attention. Hispanics love me.

Joys and Pains of Learning: We learned about the Matthew 5:5 verse "Blessed are the MEEK for they will inherit the earth."

Meek means:
Those that let the Lord control
Those that care about unity that being right
They don't have to be recognized for being right
They are just as happy for someone for an accomplishment as they would be for themselves
Those that care for the overall good of the cause rather than over all good for themselves
Those who know they stand under grace and extend that grace to others
Those that can listen and learn from constructive criticism

We know we struggle with this and we encourage you to strive to be MEEK. Personally, I thought that Meek was quiet, gentle and not outspoken..so this was awesome to learn. In everything you do, strive to be MEEK.

Love to all and thank you for reading!
Tricia, Travis and Tuffy the Lovester

I luff you..

Our favorite nickname for Tuffy is "The Lovester". So we came up with a saying that says I luff you..incorporating tuffys love and his name...pretty creative.

We had an amazing weekend individually that really was incredible for both of us. Travis went on the Men's Retreat to a camp with 18 other men and I stayed in Fort Worth while my friends- Bekah, Britton and Sarah "Broadway" came to stay with me! Travis heard other men speak about how to be a spiritually leading husband, how to love your wife and the Lord definitely spoke many things to him. I love my husband. I love his heart and the receptiveness he has to the Lord and what the Lord is refining him to be. I am so blessed. My weekend was revolved around taking pictures, laughing and eating ice cream with the girlies. Love them very much.

Trav and I started going to a small group with a church we have been going to called Hope Works. It is a church that focuses on reaching to the unreached. The pastor-Shane- focuses his sermons completely on scripture and we leave each week challenged.

We feel a peace to be in Fort Worth for the time being. We have amazing people surrounding us and are plugged into ministries that we feel strongly grounded in. The Lord has blessed us beyond what we deserve.

Travis ESPN: Denver Nuggets are in the playoffs.

Tricia's Randomness: I got a massage the other day (thank you mother in law) and my left side of my back is so much more tense than my right. The lady worked on it pretty well and I had a migraine for 1 1/2 days...ouchie..get a massage though...don't let things build up in your body.

Tuffy Tales: I luff my parents. Squirrel. I luff my parents. Squirrel.

Joys and Pains of Learning: At the Mens Retreat, Travis was challenged to think more about my love language and his own. We sat down for awhile and discussed how we can meet each others love languages better. Figured out that mine is Words of Affirmation and his is Words of Affirmation which is really cool! Its changed since the beginning of us dating which is a great learning tool. We challenge you to figure out with your spouse your love language (Words of Affirmation, Physical Touch, Quality Time, Acts of Service, and Gifts) and ask how you can serve them more in this area!! Its really important!!

Finally.

Pictures: From Colorado when we went up for Christmas!

We have been married for 4.5 months! Its really crazy cause sometimes we feel like we have been married so long but then it seems yesterday planning for the wedding. We love being married and love learning so many new things.

Things have been going great here in Fort Worth. We have been getting into Tennis...that is until Travis rolled his ankle and now its 3x the size. We are on a softball team with Klife which is so fun. Last game, I was running to first and tripped from a hole and bit it and scrapped up my knees! Really tho..a hole! We went to Tulsa two weekends ago to see Mary Cherry in her high school play- Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. She did wonderfully! This weekend, Travis is on a Mens Retreat to a camp with about 16 other guys. He is so excited and looking forward to turning off the phone and indulging in the Word with other men. Three of my bestest friends are coming to stay with me this weekend! Bekah Blume Zsiga, Britton Terronez Webb and Sarah BROADWAY! I am so thrilled to have them here and who knows what we will do...but we will have an amazing time.

Travis ESPN: He isn't here to tell met he ESPN but I can try interpreting. Baseball season started..uhh..March Madness is over and the Final Game was terrible and no one could should from either team. I was rooting for Butler but they lost.


Tricia's Randomness: I have been substitute teaching at Covenant Classical school here in Fort Worth. I taught Music and Latin on Monday. 1) I can't sing 2) I don't know Latin. Therefore, this was an interesting day! My favorite quotes of the day... A kindergarten boy told me, "Since you are married to a boy, you can kiss that boy." I agreed strongly with that :) And a 1st grade girl said, "Are you Lydias Mom?" And I said, "Oh no, I am nobodys mom!" and a boy replied, "That means she doesn't have a baby growing inside of her!" haha love it.

Tuffy Tales: Well I ate 3 whole bananas twice in one week while my parents were gone. I have been running better with the big pills they sneak me wrapped in bread. I love squirrels. Life is good.

Joys and Pains of Learning: I grew up with girls and have always been around girls. Travis grew up with brothers and one sister.. He loves sports and loves watching sports. I have had to stretch my abilities to watch games that doesn't involve my knowledge what so ever and try to enjoy what he enjoys. Its been interesting. Kinda like him trying to understand why I loved Theta so much in college... Our challenge to you..Try to appreciate and find joy in doing something you necessarily don't like but what your spouse loves. And do this with them!

Us and Kids

Travis and I got invited to go to the Mavericks Game with one of our favorite Kanakuk families- The Slovers- this I guess was the best picture

My Grams and I at Uncle Dicks 50th birthday party

My beautiful cousin Meredith and lovely sister Mary

Beau (Travis cousin) and a TCU player

Leslie Armour- Love this picture shows how cute and tiny she was. Love her smile!

The wonderful Kelley family and I at YO! (yogurt place) on Leslie's Fancy Night Birthday. The girl on my left has CF (who looks like Leslie to me) and her younger sister Tiffany is below me with blonde hair.




Maybe your first reaction to the title was "are they pregnant?" NO. This week we have had the joyful experience of house sitting a great klife families' 8th grade boy-Conner Reese- and had Travis' younger cousin - Beau- come stay with us for the weekend! Conner was extremely fun and he has a LabraDoodle puppy named Archer. We fell in love with Archer for 2 days then got tired of him scratching our legs and stealing our socks. We will not be getting a puppy for awhile. Beau and Travis played every sport possible in one weekend and literally Beau got the ultimate tour of TCU and Fort Worth. Travis carefully planned everything out so that Beau would have an unbelievable weekend here and unforgettable. It was so amazing for me to sit and watch my husband interact with these two boys seeing how patient and loving he is...love him. And as easy as Conner and Beau were to watch and as fun as they were to hang out with..it was so exhausting to take care of another person. Then we realized we were right on about waiting to have kids for awhile. Bravo to Aunt Mary Ann, Aunt Patty, Memom, My Mom, Grams, Alison Kelley, for having multiple kids and handling it gracefully.

I went to Tulsa from Monday to Wednesday and got to see Meg Brown (Matron of Honor) for coffee, kidnapped Libby to make her go to Metro with me to eat with Mary, and hang out with the family which was so wonderful.

Wednesday Night Travis and I needed a date night so we went to our BBQ place in the Stockyard area and then Sweet Sammies afterwards. Let me tell you the genius idea of Sweet Sammies. This place offers cookies and ice cream for the lowest prices. We usually get the deluxe Sweet Sammie which is two cookies with ice cream in the middle. Genius right? The sad part is..we walk in and the owners recognize us and have Travis' order memorized. Wow.

February 25 and that was one of my best friends- Leslie Armour- birthday. If you all don't know, Leslie and I grew up together from our Dads being in the airforce together and were practically sisters. Our families are not related but consider each other family. Leslie was born with a disease called Cystic Fibrosis. Which Cystic Fibrosis is an inherited disease that causes thick, sticky mucus to build up in the lungs and digestive tract. It is one of the most common chronic lung diseases in children and young adults, and may result in early death. And she died the summer of 2007. Her parents have started a new tradition of having an annual "Fancy Night" wherever you are on February 25 in honor of Leslie. Leslie loved Fancy Nights and therefore the tradition started. For my fancy night I was blessed to be with one of my favorite families in Fort Worth-The Kelleys. The girls had some of their family friends over to hang out with and they happen to have 2 little girls with Cystic Fibrosis. Sydney- 3rd grade and Tiffany-5 years old ish.. Gosh what an amazing night to be with CF kids on one of my best friends birthdays' who had CF. God is so amazing. It was definitely hard to see these two little precious girls with this awful disease that I watched one of my "sisters" suffer through her entire life. My heart broke for their bodies and their family but also rejoiced that the Lord gave me this opportunity to love on them.


Travis' ESPN: Si.com took the top 25 teams for 2011 and researched how many players had a criminal record on their roster. TCU had ZERO. Keep doing what are you doing TCU...Go Frogs!

School Players charged with a crime SI preseason rank

1. Pittsburgh 22 16
4. Boise State 16 3
7. Oklahoma 9 12
25. TCU 0 5

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/the_bonus/02/27/cfb.crime/index.html#ixzz1FUUoBpHV


Tricia's Randomness: I substituted PE at my favorite school-Covenant Classical. I thought about applying for the PE teacher/Athletic Director before I substituted this class...Oh My Gosh...It was an eye opening experience that I would be happy to bi-step anytime the rest of my life. We played kickball and kids fought the entire time about rules and unfairness and made fun of other kids playing sports. The funniest part of my day was with 3rd graders. A little boy didn't understand the position of catcher. He would try to catch the rolling ball before the kicker got a chance to even kick it. He also would lay down over home plate to protect it..And thought that tackling the runners coming from third was protecting his team from getting a point. I had to explain that he needed the ball to do that and do it differently...so funny though!!

Tuffy's Tales: Well.. I got into the trash and Mom told me that it was gross and disgusting that I chewed on feminine products. I also got to be outside all day once when Mom and Dad went to the TCU baseball game..that was great. Grandma Haynes gave me joint bones that I look forward to eating daily. And I took a trip to Tulsa with Mom and got loved on by the Alabacks.

Joys and Pains of Learning: We love going to games together. We have been to 2 baseball games together this season and absolutely love sitting in the sun and watching the Frogs win or lose and just doing something together. We encourage you and your honey to do an activity together this week! Maybe something different than you are used to!

Thank you all for reading, we really appreciate it! Love to all!
Tricia Bowles :)

"What the Snow Does"

Picture: When Mom Haynes came to visit us in Fort Worth! She is a fellow frog alumni.

If you happened to visit Fort Worth Texas this last week, you would have thought you were visiting the arctic circle. Due to the two days of snow temperatures in the single digits, I had no work on Tuesday and Wednesday. As a close friend of ours put it, "Snow days are like another honeymoon." Tricia and I had a great time. Those two days were full of fires, movies, cookies, and reading. Hopefully there will be many more snow days in the future...


Travis' ESPN: This week the Super Bowl is in Dallas and ESPN put all their studio equipment in downtown Ft. Worth. A co-worker and I ignored the cold temperatures and walked downtown to the Mike and Mike radio show. It was awesome seeing all the production and on the way back to our office ran into Bill Romanowski...good thing he didn't spit on either one of us.

Go Broncos.



Tricia's Randomness: I have decided that I couldn't survive in environmental conditions like Alaska, Antarctica, or Minnesota due to the fact of my rare disease; raynauds syndrome. Fort Worth even gets to cold for me.

In case if you are wondering what the horrific and rare disease that is know as Raynaud's Syndrome is, well here is the definition:
"Raynaud's disease is a condition that causes some areas of your body — such as your fingers, toes, tip of your nose and your ears — to feel numb and cool in response to cold temperatures or stress. In Raynaud's disease, smaller arteries that supply blood to your skin narrow, limiting blood circulation to affected areas.

Women are more likely to have Raynaud's disease. It's also more common in people who live in colder climates."


Tuffy Tales: Well, I first want to thank you for following me and listening to what I have to say. This week was a good week. My dad didn't have to go to work a lot, which I like because then he is home more. I love the snow. Brings out so many good smells and the cold makes me feel really good. My favorite part of the week was the long walk I took with mom and dad on Thursday morning.


Funny Story: Well, I feel like there are so many funny things that go unnoticed and forgotten. But with sticking with the snow theme...on Thursday morning everything was frozen over with ice (including our front porch). When I took tuffy out early in the morning I took a step back, and like Home Alone Style flew in the air and landed on my back. Praise The Lord that I walked away from that. I came inside and told Tricia to be careful...did she listen...NO. Later that morning I got a text from her that she slipped on the same ice. However, Tuffy was there to catch her fall. Thanks Tuffy!


Joys and Pains of Learning: After being married for two months, I would have to say that marriage is way more awesome that I could have imagined. It has been so much fun, full of laughing, adventure, and learning. Saying that, I am learning that communication in marriage is a different ballgame than when we were dating. Saying that, I am so fortunate to have a God-fearing wife that seeks after the LORD with all her heart, because learning to communicate would be so hard.

Until our next blog, we want you to know how thankful we are for all our family and friends who support us who support us our life adventure together. And most importantly a loving God who loves us and seeks after us.

We Love yall!
Travis

The first post.

The Catch Up: After the wedding, we went to St. John's U.S Virgin Islands. Absolutely beautiful and peaceful. We had our own villa that overlooked part of the islands' shoreline. We were up in the clifts overlooking Fish Bay. We drove on the left side of the road (when I say we, I mean Travis...I wasn't old enough to drive) which was adventurous. We traveled to many parts of the islands and got to know the 3 roads with no stoplights very well. We would wake up in the morning and have a quiet time and coffee on the porch getting a glimpse of the sunset. Our villa was located on the part of the island where you are blessed to see both the sunrise and sunset...breathtaking. We loved our relaxation there and our hiking to beaches was extremely fun. We would love to go back.

Next, we are figuring out married life in Fort Worth, Texas. We are living in a townhome just 5 minutes from downtown and are in the Cultural District. We are surrounded by beautiful homes and fields nearby where we take Tuffy on walks. We are close to the Trinity River, which is a nice scenery to run in.

We have everything settled in and organized perfectly (thanks to Travis). We are figuring out the dailies and having alot of fun living in the same place. There are so many surprises when you get married and live with the opposite sex..we definitely have laughed hard at so many things.

We are surrounded by family which is a huge blessing. We have:
-Travis' Dad, Papa, Grandma Lou and Aunt Lori
-Tricia's Aunt Trese (Mom's Siter) and Uncle Marty
-Tricia's cousins Andrew Munneke and Scott Schardt and their wives Raelyn and Lindsay
-Tricia's close friend/cousin Caitlin Lippert

We have found new friends and have best friends here as well:
-Peter Bay (Trav's Best Man and Best Friend)
-The Bradshaws (Jason was a groomsmen)
-Families from Christ Chapel for Tricia* The Kelleys and The Weedens (both have 5th grade girls)
-Tiffany Forrest (Tricia's new friend that moved here around the same time and is newlywed too)

Needless to say, we are surrounded by wonderful people.

Travis' ESPN: This is Travis reporting live from Fort Worth Texas. In case if you are not on this earth, TCU won the Rose Bowl 21-19. We had a watching party with family and friends at our place as we cheered on the Frogs to victory.

Tricia's Randomness: I have been substituting at my favorite Christian school- Covenant Classical and still working at Christ Chapel as a 5/6 intern. I absolutely love my job! Also side note, after breaking my teeth, I have this new passion to become a Dental Assistant :) Guess we will see what happens.

Tuffy's Tales: Well I threw up 5 times last night. It didn't taste good. It smelled kinda funny and had weird texture to it. Mom and Dad woke up saying "EW" and locked me in the garage.

Funny Story of the week: We have a fireplace in our bedroom (ya be jealous) and we fall asleep to a fire (we know.. dangerous) and in the middle of the night the fire alarm went off just from some leftover smoke. I sprung out of bed and got it off and Travis started freaking out and yelling "OH NO OH NO OH NO I HATE THIS OH NO!!" I was so scared by Travis random unnecessary yelling and alarm that I was shaking so bad I had to kneel to the floor. Travis goes "Whats wrong?" I said "Um...that just really scared me!!" I told him to go check the gas on the stove just in case and he did. He got back in bed and I was still freaked out asking him should we open the window or put the fan on it..and he seemed like he didn't care that I was so worried. Next morning, I said "that was a crazy alarm night..." he goes "What are you talking about?" He didn't remember anything..scary.

Joys and Pains of Learning: Learn how to recognize the certain things your spouse has done and thank them for it! We serve our Father above all, but affirmation is always received and appreciated..even the little things.