February: Superbowl Surprise

It was hard to get excited about the Superbowl this year. When the Chargers got knocked out I must say that I lost interest, but watched the Big Game as every other footbal fan did. This year though, Superbowl Sunday had an added bonus to it for two people than just a football game and a party. During halftime Mark Bostic proposed to his long-time girlfriend, Heather! I am pleased to say that she said "Yes!"

We'd like to say Congratulations and wish them both the best!

Friend of the Month - January

The first "Friend of the Month" for 2009 goes to two couples: Tony and Denise Hernandez and Warren and Loraine Okabayashi. Tony and Denise have been long time family friends of the Bricks, and moved to The Big Island a few years ago. They have a beautiful home on the Kona Coast and were such great hosts on our Hawaii trip! They gave great tips on sight seeing, set up golf, and had us over to their home for games, Kona beer, wine, and poo-poos! It was great to see them!

While we knew we were going to be able to see the Hernandez's on our trip, getting to meet Dyan's parents, the Okabayashi's, was a surprise. During one of our outings we received a phone call and an invitation to come up to the Okabayashi family farm. They took us on a tour of the land that has been in their family for generations! It was beautiful and fun to imagine a little Dyan running around there as a kid. There were so many trees including macadamia, mango and coffee. In fact, Warren and Loraine had hand picked coffee beans from their trees, took them down to their neighbor's for roasting and grinding, and had a fresh bag of coffee waiting for us to take back home! Best coffee we've ever had! We'll be back to help pick next time, we promise!

January 28 - Happy Birthday Papa Tom!!

Happy 75th Birthday to Papa Tom!!! We love you very much and are excited for you to come out in April! Papa, aka TR, aka Dr. Knockus, aka The Dirtologist, aka Captain Video, is the oldest Runnels ever, and still has some of his best years ahead of him! I am proud to say that he can still shoot his age in golf!

January 2009: Hawaii

What better way to start of a year than with a trip to Hawaii! We made a venture over to The Big Island in celebration of Terry's 60th birthday! What a wonderful time. It was my first time to any of the Hawaiian Islands - absolutely beautiful!

So Much to Say, So Little Time to Type

Greetings to all of our adoring fans! We apologize for not being more current with our postings, but that will hopefully change. So much has happened since the end of 2008, I really don't know where to start . . . . . . . I guess we will have to get you up to speed starting with January's events! In an effort to cover the items that are noteworthy, we'll list them as individual posts. Stay tuned as there will be much more to follow . . . . .

Friend of the Month - December

It was as close call, but due to the late breaking news we received, Brett Bornemann is the friend of the month for December! Here's to you Brett for growing a pair and getting it done!

Engaged!!!

Ladies and Gentleman, we have just received word that Brett Bornemann is now engaged! Whooaaah! Congrats to you and Sara! We are so happy for you guys we could just scream!

House Closing

We did it! Karrie and I closed on the house! Yea baby! Let the moving begin! We were able to sign papers last Wednesday night, Thursday we funded, and Friday we got keys! It still does not seem real, but we are excited and look forward to being there! We are also pleased to announce that Uncle Bub and Christy closed on their new home as well!!! Congrats!!!

Happy Birthday to Mom!!

Happy Birthday Mom! We love you much and hope you have a wonderful day! We will celebrate with you when you get out to California on the 23rd!! We're excited that you and Codeman are coming out - just in time to help us move in the new place!

Breaking News - Kentucky Delux Set to Return to CA

This just in, Kentucky Delux is set to make a return trip to Southern California!! Ladies beware!! Some of you may refer to this handsome fellow as Cody, but he is better know for his alter ego - Kentucky Delux. Mr. Delux is known for his ability to bring life to any party, chase any "cougar," and be able to recover from any amount of alcohol consumed the night before (as illustrated in this file photo). He is set to arrive on December 23rd, and will make his way up Orange County after the TCU Horned Frogs win the Poinsettia Bowl. Don't miss this opportunity to see him in action!

Happy Birthday T-Bone!!

Happy Birthday to Terry Brick! For the past two weekends, we have been celebrating Terry's 60th birthday! His actual birthday is the 14th, but we were able to pull off a surprise party for him a week prior (with the help of family and friends). As a present, Nina is taking him to the Kona Coast on the Island of Hawaii in January for a nice getaway!

Happy Birthday to Mimi!!!

We'd like to wish a very Happy Birthday to Mimi - Master of the Black Eyed Pea Dip!!! We love you very much and hope you have a "monsterio" day! We're sad we can't be there to celebrate with you at Pappadeux, but hopefully we will be able to celebrate with you soon at Pasta Fina!! Have a wonderful wonderful evening!

Friend of the Month - November

Our inagural "Friend of the Month" goes to not one person, but six: Doug and Cheri Cleary, Glenn and Amber Cleary, and Shea and Jen McMahon. Thanks to them, we were able to move our furniture out of the condo and into storage in preparation for the new house! We can't thank them enough, especially since they had to deal with three flights of stairs!! Thank you for your hard work! Oh and by the way, keep the weekend of December 13th and 14th open for round # 2!! :)

Happy 88th Birthday to MaMa!!!

We want to wish a very happy birthday to Mama Piel! She is 88 years young today and still going strong! Born in 1920, she has seen and experienced a lot of things in her time including The Great Depression and World War II. I can even remember her telling stories of going to school in a horse drawn carriage! Mama's secret talent is being able to chocolate-cover anything, and to also make rice crispy treats into any shape under the sun! :) Happy Birthday Mama - We Love You!

Softball Injury

Bad news sports fans, Ryan broke his right elbow playing softball this past Thursday night.  He was diagnosed with a "radial head fracture."  He is out of commission and will have to undergo physical therapy to prevent the joint from fusing.  He's not in a cast, but has to keep his arm in a sling for the next few weeks. :(

Friend of the Month

Karrie and I have decided that we are going to "spot light" someone on our site each month. This lucky individual will be known as the "friend of the month!" It is a prestigious honor that we think should be held in the highest regards! Now this person can be friend, relative, neighbor or really anyone that we feel is deserving of the honor! The Friend of the Month will have their picture(s) posted on our site for all the world to see and know.

Stay tuned as the inaugural Friend of the Month will be revealed shortly!!!!!!!

House Update

We went up to the house on Saturday and took some more pictures. Things are coming along nicely, and we are still hopeful to be in by Christmas.

Our New Home

Here are some pictures of the new home that Karrie and I are in the midst of purchasing. We are hopeful to close in mid-December. It has been a trying process in obtaining a loan due to the current state of the economy. Each week there is a new prerequisite that comes out either from FHA or the Lender that we must meet. Hopefully things will work out and this will be our new home!!

So last night was a Lucha Va Voom extravaganza! Shea, Glenn and I went down to the Mayan Theatre to check out some masked midget wrestling! It was a blast! Dirty Sanchez was there along with Chupa Cabra and Los Crazy Chickens. What a night!

Check out the clips below: One of Dirty Sanchez entering the ring, and the other from the special "black light" match!