Hardin Simmons University

Our second visit was at HSU in Abilene Texas. I will be totally honest and say that after Austin College, I wasn't expecting to be impressed. Boy was I wrong! I loved loved loved HSU!!! Like seriously loved it! Good thing this is Robert's decision and not mine, because I would be changing tickets and committing today and shopping for the rest of our trip if it was up to me! However, I guess he is supposed to make this decision since he is the one that is going to live there for 4 years so we will continue on and see what happens. :) 

To keep up with our timeline, we got at the crack of dawn on Friday and drove for the most boring 2 1/2 hours ever to Abilene. No joke it was the most boring drive in the world. Nothing to look at, no cell service, and no radio stations. Thank God I had my iPad so we could listen to my wonderful music selection!

 

                                                                        College Visit

We left pretty early(shocker I know) and arrived almost an hour before our appointment. The wonderful admissions office altered our schedule for us to maximize our time. So we started out with meeting with admissions which was super quick since Robert has already been accepted. We then moved on to meet with Coach Fello the defensive coordinator. We briefly met with him and arranged to hook back up later that afternoon when we had more time. From there a young graduate assistant (G.A.) gave us a tour of the facilities and showed us their equipment. The locker room is a lot bigger that the previous school and they have a separate weight room just for athletics, however they are not as new. We briefly met with the head coach after that and then it was time to move on.

Robert then went on to anatomy class and we chose not to sit in and headed to the POD ( provisions on demand) to grab a snack and some coffee. After class Robert found his way back to the caf all on his own :) and we had lunch with some players and a different G.A. The G.A.'s are working on a higher level degree and basically interning with the coaching staff at the same time. Lunch was super boring for me and Ash as we were sandwiched between Robert and players and Rob and the coach. Austin had a much better food choice and their pizza was way better! 

After lunch we met up with a group of people that were there for Cowboy Friday. Cowboy Friday is held once a month for campus visits. We toured the campus to include the model dorm room and several classrooms. The dorms here are all single sex, no co-ed dorms, and they are smaller and a bit older than at Austin. No fancy smancy apartments of cottages here. However, rumour going around is that new residential halls are being built. Once the tour was over we headed back to the field house to talk football.

                                                                   Football time

If I wasn't already impressed before, this is where HSU really got my vote. We met with the DB coach who would coach Robert if he chooses to go there. During that time they ( by they I mean coach, Rob, and Robert) discussed X's and O's and Ashleigh and I tried to stay awake! If you know me, you know I love football but when you start drawing plays on the whiteboard you lost me! Anyway for about an hour they discussed football and then the DC came in. Now we have been communicating with Coach Fello for the past few months and his background in coaching is impressive. He has coached in multiple places and even spent some time working for the Big 12 implementing instant replay so his opinion carries a lot of weight to me. 

We went thought a video presentation where Coach Fello told us several key things about the HSU way and asked Robert questions to determine if their ways and his ways would mesh. By the end of that hour I felt as if HSU will be a good fit for my bubba and if he chooses to go to school there I know he will be in good hands. 

                                                      Game Time 

We spent the night on Friday in another Hampton Inn and checked out Abuelos and the Mall of Abilene. I'm happy to say that the mall was much better than the one in Sherman! Then on Saturday we were given tickets to see HSU play TLU. Back in May we visited TLU and Robert just received an email notifying him of his acceptance.  

                    

Prior to the game, Robert hung out on the field with Coach Fello and saw up close and personal what the DB's do for pre-game workouts. We had great reserved seats in the section with many of the players parents. Going into the game TLU had an undefeated record and HSU has a losing record this season. But, HSU won the game and knocked off undefeated TLU 73-44! It was a great game complete with crazy penalties, an ejection, and even record breaking touchdowns! One cool thing was that prior to the boys coming on field the alumni and parents all made a spirit line for them to walk through before they ran onto the field. After the game we had a chance to chat with the DB coach for a minute and then we headed back to falls town. 

                                  

                                                    Final Thoughts

Choosing a school has to be based on more than just football. The school has to be someplace where my baby will be able to leave and start the next chapter of his life. In his words, " a place that will prepare him for the next phase, as much as his parents have prepared him for college." There are several reasons why I think HSU will do that. The number one reason being the academic program that they offer. Robert can pursue his degree in athletic training and then continue on and complete his doctorate in physical therapy in only 6 1/2 years. That is huge!!!! To be able to complete his bachelors degree and stay at the same school for his doctorate would be great!

Another reason is the emphasis that is put on success. Each football player is given a success manual and the coaching staff uses it to monitor grades, attendance, help with time management, and a ton of other tools. Underclassmen are required to attend tutorials weekly as well. There is also a huge emphasis put on faith at HSU and I think that is extremely important.

 HSU just felt very homey to me. Maybe it was because indirectly there were some connections. One of the sweetest girls I met in Louisiana graduated from HSU. Come to find out one of her dear friends is the lady we have been communicating with in the admissions office,who is just as sweet as can be! Even after Rob kept calling her Mr. because he thought her name was Brian not Brynn! Then we found out that one of the head coaches best friends is one of Rob's classmates and a former teammate. Several staff members are alumni which says a great deal to me! These people graduated and chose to work there instead of moving on. Must be a pretty special place. 

The last thing was that Coach Fello looked both Rob and I directly in they eyes and told us he would take care of our son and they would not do anything to mess up the hard work we have done so far. I believe they care more about just football there. Don't get me wrong, I think they want to win games, but I believe they want to teach these guys how to be successful both on and off the field as well as how to be great men. I haven't got that feeling from other schools, and for that HSU has Mama's vote! 

I'm ready to buy this shirt! 

Next up, Coe College in Iowa! Stay tuned to see who has bubba's vote as the road to February 2014 continues!! 

Austin College

                                                          Visit #1

On Wednesday we left Wichita Falls and headed to Austin College in Sherman Texas.  Since we are just a few hours away from Wichita Falls, Grandma Angie was able to come along with us and see the recruiting experience  first hand.  When we arrived we met with Coach Coachmen who is the recruiting coordinator/quarterback coach. Immediately upon arrival, the quarterback met us in the parking lot and him and bubba headed over to his apartment. R.J. Spent the night with 4 football players, all Juniors that live in a fancy 4 bedroom apartment on campus. Once they headed over to the apartment, we spent some time with the coach discussing basics and then headed over to our hotel. 

                                                                         

 

                                                                        

After check in, we went to see what Sherman has to offer.  We checked out the mall which was not very big, then headed over to Cheddars for some dinner. Sherman had all the resturants that we could think of and a bunch of stores for shopping. The Mall left a lot to be desired, but it's a relatively short drive to the Dallas area for real shopping. 

                                                    College visit

Thursday morning we checked out and headed over to the school to meet with the head of financial aid. The financial aid lady was great and was able to answer a lot of questions and provide a ton of insight into the process that we will need to go through if Robert chooses Austin. 

Next, we joined up with another family and met with the admissions counselor. We have already been through the admission process and are way ahead of the game, but the session was still very informative.   One of the great things about Austin is the CI program for freshman. Every freshman is enrolled in a seminar class and is assigned a faculty mentor that follows them throughout their 4 years at Austin. During orientation the students are grouped according to the CI class and remain with the same students all year. It automatically creates a cluster where the student can develop relationships and form connections with the other students throughout the year.

We then met up with a student  tour guide and toured the beautiful campus. Austin is a small division   III school with slightly more than 1300 students. There are several dorm options including co-ed and all male options. Juniors have the option of moving over to apartments with either half kitchens or full kitchens. Seniors have an option of moving into cottages that I would be happy to live in! The Idea Center is a new state of the art science building where R.J. would have a lot of classes. The campus was much bigger than I expected, but very manageable. 

Next, we met up with several coaches and headed to the dining hall for lunch. R.J. ate with several of the football players while we ate and chatted with the coaching staff. The dining facility was totally amazing and I was overwhelmed with the options! I can see bubba eating there every day! Thankfully, Austin requires the unlimited dining option for freshman! 

Our day was not quite over yet, we then met with the defensive coordinator and the Rob's talked specifics and we tried to stay awake! Next up was the AD who was quite entertaining yet serious in his own way. Finally, we met with the head coach who ended up making me cry and promised to take care of bubba if he chooses to go there. We ended our day with a tour of the athletic facilities where we did see the messy lockeroom which surprisingly  doesn't smell half as bad as R.J's room! 

                                                        Final thoughts

I really liked the campus. I was impressed with the employees from the front office to the campus workers we encountered along the way.  The coaching staff was outstanding and every single person went out of their way to ensure we were comfortable and felt welcome! I really did love the school and staff. Plus side is that it is close to family and duh it's Texas!! Only downsides, it's probably the most expensive school on our list and the mascot is a kangaroo! The money we can work on. The mascot ain't changing! 

         

 

Next up is Hardin Simmons stay tuned to see how they compare! 

College Road Trip

I know I've been doing a terrible job at updating the blog and I always say I will do better, but this time I mean it! I even dl an app for my iPad to make it easier. Hopefully it will also curb my perfectionist needs and will allow me to post more frequently! 

Okay enough about that on to the topic at hand! The Navarro Family College Road Trip! Um wait I guess since we have to take like 5 planes this should be the Navarro Family College Road & Air Trip!! The next two weeks are going to be crazy and we won't always be able to keep in touch or call so I will try to update through the blog about our trip. Just in case you don't follow me on twitter (which you should go do now @niktastik1219) or read all my fb posts let me just give you a quick overview. 

Left Germany and now we are heading to Texas via OKC. In Texas we will visit Austin college in Sherman and Hardin Simmons in Abilene. Then we fly to Chicago and from there drive all over the freaking place. Coe College in Iowa, Wayne State College in Nebraska, Augustana in South Dakota, and finish up at Trinity International University in Deerfield Illinois! Our goal is to find bubba a college that he likes, will enjoy playing football at, and most importantly one that Mama is ok with! We all know that's the most important part, because if mama ain't happy ain't nobody happy!!

                

                                  

We have been extremely blessed and Robert has been offered over 100,000 in academic scholarships! He is still awaiting the athletic scholarship portion.  As a parent I can't describe how proud I am of my son who has worked so hard to get to where he is right now! Only 3% of high school athletes go on to play collegiate sports at ANY level or sport! My bubba is one of that small percentage. Getting to this point has not always been easy, but each moment has helped turn him into the great young man he is becoming right before our eyes! I am sure the next few months will be just as hard as Robert chooses a college and we prepare to send him out into the big scary world on his own! 

Stay tuned to  find out how our visits go and where the next chapter of Robert's book of life begins. The countdown to Februrary 5, 2014 is officially on!

                                  

Navarro's in Paris

Navarro Family @ the Eiffel Tower

For Spring Break, we took a short 3 day trip to Paris with our friends the Moreno's. We left bright and early on a Sunday morning and had a really easy drive to the hotel. We stayed outside of the city at L'Elysee' near Disneyland Paris. It was a nice hotel with the basics such as beds, bathroom, & bar! Best of all it had underground parking and was across the street from the train station and a mall. I would definitely stay there again.  It was a great trip and we had a blast. I think I may have wore everyone out but we almost made it to see everything that was on the original itinerary list! Instead of uploading a massive amount of photos I created a mini movie of our pictures. I hope you enjoy viewing our pictures just as much as we enjoyed taking them!

 

Sadly we didn't make it to the Louvre in time to see the Mona Lisa. We got there 20 minutes after it closed. So we will have to go back, but being 4 hours away I don't see a problem with that! One of my favorite things to do was to put a lock on Pont des Arts. You put your lock on the bridge and then throw the keys into the Seine River to lock your love forever. I glitzed our lock up with pink glitter so that if we go back it will stand out and we can find it.  We had a great time and I am sure we will go back again!

 





My love, and our lock!

I'm Baaaccckkkk

Wow it’s been almost a year since I have updated the blog. So sorry to deprive all 6 of my fans of my awesomeness, but you can finally relax I am done with school and am still unemployed so I have nothing to do but blog! I will be able to update my blog now and you will finally be able read about all of the fascinating details of my life on a regular basis! For today I will leave you with my list of things I am looking forward to now that I am finished with grad school (yay me!!!)

1.     Interacting with my family instead of half listening and half doing school work.

2.     Not citing everything I say in APA format.

3.     Sleeping all night (no more 1 A.M. web conferences with professors in Texas)!

4.     Reading trashy romance books instead of text books.

5.     Applying for jobs and waiting on the NOR (notice of results) that tells me that although I spent the last 2 years going back to school I am still not qualified to be a secretary for the government.

6.    Using my laptop for shopping, candy crush, FB, and anything other than Microsoft word and Blackboard!

7.    Tweeting! Yep that’s right, I tweet random stuff. Lucky you, you can follow me there too, at https://twitter.com/niktastik1219

8.    Feeding my addiction to pinterest. Oh pinterest how I have missed you!

9.    Watching T.V. especially reality shows that are so stupid you can’t stop watching.

10.   I almost forgot the most important part, celebrating graduation. I will be doing that from now until May 19, 2013 (that day after actual graduation).  You are all welcome to join me in my celebrating, either here or there or by Skype somewhere in between!

 

Have a wonderful day, do something nice for someone, and stop and smell the coffee. Yep I said coffee, I don’t know why people say stop and smell the roses, they don’t really smell good ask Outkast.

Oh my gosh Spaghetti Bread

Spaghetti Bread

Bread, cheese, and spaghetti simply ahhmazing!!

By now you all should know that I am totally addicted to Pinterest. Many nights I lay in bed looking at stuff to make on Pinterest. What I realized the other day is that most of my pins are food. Hmm why is that??? Other people pin dream homes, clothes, crafts, but me I pin dinner, desserts, snacks, muffins, pretty much all things food! I came across this pin while staying in TLF at Barksdale and just now got around to making it. Let me tell you it was worth the wait! Sorry I didn't take step by step pics but if you check out this link you will find the recipe and directions.

The recipe called for Rhodes frozen bread dough, but they don't sell that over here, so I made my normal bread machine pizza crust dough. I used about half a pound of ground beef, and Newman's Spaghetti sauce. My oven is pretty small so I had a hard time finding a pan to fit the bread on so I ended up using a cookie sheet.

To assemble, you roll out your dough into a rectangle, let that rest while you cook your spaghetti and meat. I then mixed the meat, sauce, and spaghetti. Pour the mixture down the middle of the rolled out dough and top with cubed mozzarella cheese. Next you will cut the sides of the dough into strips every 1 1/2 inches. Don't cut the dough all the way to the spaghetti stop about 1/2 inch from the spaghetti. Pull the end up fold over and take each strip and start braiding. It was pretty easy once you start. Just one side over the other. When you get to the end just tuck the dough under. Brush with egg white for browning and sprinkle Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning over the top.

All braided and ready to bake!

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until done. After 30 minutes my dough was fully cooked. As I said I have a small oven and I had to turn my braid several times once the dough started rising it actually hit the oven door!

Cooked!!!

This was a hit in my house, but then again we love bread, and cheese so you can't go wrong with adding spaghetti! Will for sure make again. I think I will experiment with fillings next time.

Spring Break Part 1 Saarpark Centre & Farmers Market

The kids have been on Spring Break for the past week and it has been great! Thouroughly enjoyed sleeping in a bit and hanging out. Rob was unable to take leave this year and just had a day off during the week. The weather didn't really cooperate with us too much but we made the best out of it and explored a few places not far from the base.

Saarpark-Centre

 
The first place we went to was Saarpark-Centre in Neunkirchen Germany. It took us about 35 minutes from our house to get there. The mall was pretty big and reminded me of a mall in Dallas. Much bigger than that so called mall in Bossier City we had for the past 2 years. Ashleigh and I found quite a few stores we liked and ended up buying a couple of dresses. The Rob's eh not so much. They probably won't go back unless I promise them wings from Hooters. There is an H & M and it was much nicer and organized than the H & M I went to in New York. Tons of small boutiques, shoes, and house ware stores. The best part was that there was a TK MAXX!! No I didn't spell that wrong it is TK not TJ Maxx here. Looked just like the one in the states just different brands of clothes. There is also a Hooters there.





Hooters is somewhere over there by that oddly shaped building ;)

We decided not to eat there and went back to a small village close to the base and ate the best German food I have ever had! The Wooden Spoon was delish. I had schnitzel with caramelized onions and garlic. Rob and RJ both had schnitzel with ham and cheese. Ashleigh had wonderful spaghetti carbonara. I would highly recommend the Wooden Spoon and can not wait to go back! I didn't bring my camera in to dinner so the pics are from R.J's ipod.

Ashleigh's dinner.

Caramelized onion and garlic Schnitzel

Ham & Cheese Schnitzel



K-Town Farmers Market

Ash and I decided to check out the K-Town Farmers Market. The market runs Tuesdays and Saturdays from about 8-1:30. I did my research and found an address that would put me fairly close to the market. However, I could not find a place to park to save my life! And I was in my itty bitty car not the truck. After driving around in circles for a good 20 minutes I tried across the street in the opposite direction and BAM found a spot! The market was not that big and we actually spent more time looking for a spot then wandering around the market.  But never one to waste the opportunity to shop, Ash and I wandered around the area and found a ton of stores. New Yorker has become one of our favs! Cute cheap clothes. H & M again, although this one was much smaller. Much to Ashleigh's delight, Claires, a Foot Locker, and many more.




Can not escape Claire's they are everywhere!!!



This was the smallest Foot Locker I have ever been to!

We stopped for lunch at Burger King and continued our shopping er exploration. Then we stopped for a pastry at a bakery and headed to the run errands. A very successful day. Not much at the farmers market just some spices and pasta and flowery salad, but we had a great time.

Next post will tell you about our trip to Heidelberg, the castle we saw, and of course the food!