The Vogel Hot Corner

Braden Thomas Vogel

2009-07-17T12:17:00.001-07:00

8lb 10 oz of cuteness

June 2009...and we'll do better "keeping up" from now on

2009-07-01T09:08:00.001-07:00

Kate's going away party, and my 32nd b-day lunch at The Flying Fish in Ft. Worth

"Going Yard" (way gone) for St. Mary's softball team. We "damn Catholics", as many other teams refered to us, kicked everybody's butt, and ran away with 1st place

Stopped by old junior college stomping grounds on the way to brother-in-laws ranch in Powderly.

May 2009

2009-07-01T09:04:00.001-07:00

Papa, Memorial Day

April 2009

2009-07-01T08:09:00.000-07:00

1st real "slumber" in big boy bed.

Brendan's 1st communion; Brooks and Jack at "after-party"

March 2009

2009-07-01T08:01:00.000-07:00

Playing with his good buddy and cousin, Jack

Definitely has his parents curls

Let's start over...

2009-07-01T07:55:00.000-07:00

Since joining Facebook, we've really neglected the blog. Mom's on my case about it, so we'll get her rolling again. (Jenn will be pleased too) Gonna try and catch up with the pics, hopefully there will be some kind of order

Drumrole Please.............

2009-02-07T09:06:00.001-08:00

Bradley says we are now 2/9th's of the way to our baseball team. God help us...

Almost 19 weeks and everything looks great so far. Thanks for the prayers...and keep em' coming

After 2 Weeks, My Hearing is Back to 100%

2009-02-07T07:42:00.000-08:00

Standing next to the stage for 2 hours of very loud PURE AC DC ROCK took a toll on the old eardrums. The ringing has finally subsided. What...a...Show! For Those About To Rock is EASILY one of the great concert songs of all time.

Finally Found Disc w/Christmas Pictures! Coming Soon

2009-02-07T07:30:00.001-08:00

Baby Checkup

2009-01-13T07:16:00.001-08:00

Went for a "baby" checkup Friday. We're a little over 14 weeks along, and I'm very happy to report that all is well. Ultrasound looked great, and baby has a very healthy heartbeat. We should find out the sex on our next visit (Early February). Still looks like a July 8th due date. Keep Jenn and baby in your prayers. God bless.

HERO 6/6/1919 - 12/17/2008

2009-01-06T09:10:00.000-08:00

Hero for family, hero for country (multiple purple hearts), but most importantly, a Hero for Christ. A more unselfish man has never existed, and will never exist. A more loving family man has never existed, and will never exist. A True Hero and Servant for Christ. Our family was/is blessed to have had him for as long as we did. We don't know why God chose to give us the greatest Papa the world has ever known, but he did. For that we are very grateful and very blessed. His legacy will live on in our hearts and memories, until we meet back up with him in Heaven. He was in a league of his own. There's good, there's great...and then there's my Papa.

Well, We Tried

2008-12-05T07:03:00.000-08:00

David and Bea Means (fellow Allstate Agency in Denison) were kind enough to take pics with Santa after the Denison parade. Most of the kids were older and just had a boring old smile for Santa...Brooks offered much more.

By the way, as Santas go it doesn't get much better than this guy. Thanks again David and Bea.

Should've Been a Postcard Photographer

2008-11-25T15:20:00.000-08:00

These pictures came out pretty incredible. New profession???

Annual Trip to Heaven:Saturday

2008-11-25T14:46:00.000-08:00

The Grotto

Easily the most famous of all University Landmarks, The Golden Dome

Brutally cold, and brutally ugly football game

Annual Trip to Heaven:Friday

2008-11-25T13:18:00.001-08:00

The friggin' snow plow woke us up about 5:00 am, and again at 8:00 am and this is what the car looked like at 9:00 am. Almost a foot of snow as we slept!

Pep Rally

Friday night after the Pep Rally we watched the #2 ranked hockey team pound Bowling Green before heading down to the walking down to watch the end of the Women's scocer team play a third round plaayoff game...Can you believe how tough these girls are to play soccer in 9 degree weather after folks spent all day getting nearly a foot of snow off the field? It also snowed during the game. That's ALL DAY TOUGH. The nations #1 soccer team beat Minnesota 1-0 to go to 24-0 and advance to the Elite 8.

Annual Trip to Heaven:Thursday

2008-11-25T10:44:00.000-08:00

We flew into Chicago Thursday morning and spent most of the day there before driving over to South Bend.
After my salute to the Cubbies outside of Wrigley (Jenn not as amused as David), we took in lunch at Harry Carey's. Always great food, and it tastes even better when you wear a Cardinals hat.

Eagles Soar High.....Again!

2008-11-18T08:19:00.001-08:00

Three Eagles shows in two months. It REALLY doesn't get better than this. Perhaps the coolest thing about this show, was that my mom got to see the Eagles in person for the first time. Any one that knows her, knows that she's a 56 year old teenager. She's cool. She had a flippin' blast. She was singing along, and her and Jenn had the little "mini-dance" thing going with classic hit after classic hit. She was into it, and realized that we were right when we said you can't consider yourself "cream of the crop cool" until you've jammed out at a live Eagles show. (We didn't actually say that...but it's true)

Arboretum

2008-11-11T14:39:00.000-08:00

These are from our visit a month ago. Just found the disc. Oops

Brooks' and Grandma's Day at the Park

2008-10-12T19:58:00.000-07:00

Grandma Dorman took Brooks to a park near her house for some good times. Thanks Grandma!

Mimi's 90th B-Day!

2008-10-12T19:49:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Mims. As always, Brooks was happy to help open gifts.

INCREDIBLE...INCREDIBLE...INCREDIBLE

2008-09-16T08:46:00.000-07:00

Words can not come close to describing how PERFECT these two shows were. UNREAL. They continue to prove why they're the best ever. (Rubbing elbows the 2nd night with Joe Walsh was alright too)

4 More Days!

2008-09-10T07:09:00.000-07:00

Bradley has seen the Eagles a few times already, but David, Dr. McDonald and I will be new to the scene. I'm more than a little excited to say the least. I know DMac and David are as well. I think Bradley may be more excited for us than he is for himself. He may be the biggest Eagles fan on the planet. Of course, he's backstage the 2nd night, so he's a bit tough to live with right now. Maybe a bit over-zealous

The "highly traumatic" 1st Haircut

2008-08-27T11:54:00.000-07:00

I'd say he didn't want to lose the curls. Lotsa girly stuff in the background. Maybe that did it

Why Yes...Yes He Does

2008-08-27T11:35:00.001-07:00

How'd I Miss This One?

Happy Birthday Slugger

2008-08-24T18:57:00.001-07:00

Brooks raked in the goodies ...(cupcakes and toys)

Being a rookie with the gifts, he was happy to accept some much needed help from the experienced "unwrapper" cousins Anna & Ellie. Thanks girls!

He loves this crazy zebra...courtesy of the Riley crew.

The day after the big party, eating phenomenal pancakes from the very famous Mckinney staple, Bill Smith's Cafe. Looks older and wiser...(the one on the left, anyway)

Cardinals Fan

2008-08-12T13:43:00.000-07:00

Much like his daddy and the other Vogel boys Brooks appears to be a Cards fan. (Mommy's a life-long Cubs fan...booooooo! A house divided)

Long Overdue

2008-07-30T08:43:00.000-07:00

Anxiously awaiting some (unhealthy, I'm sure) grub before his very first swim (back in May). Boy loves the water!

The scene on the way home from my parents boat July 4th. Needless to say it was a short and wet boat ride. He did enjoy the fireworks in Mckinney that evening though!

He loves the bible stories. (probably for the neat pictures, but either way...)

His almost daily visit with his Papa. They make each other laugh...it's quite moving

I'd say he's a Chef Boyardee fan

Brooks' New Favorite Game

2008-04-30T10:37:00.000-07:00

WHAT A RUSH!!!

2008-04-30T10:10:00.000-07:00

David and I have seen Rush MANY times, including August of last year, and it's ALWAYS an awesome show. That said, Friday was the best Rush show we've ever seen. The vocals were incredible, the instruments sounded awesome, and Neil Peart...well he was Neil Peart. Most anyone that follows the great bands of all time will tell you there is not a better drummer than Neil Peart. David and I have seen hundreds of live shows from some of the greatest bands in history, and to us it's not close. We were in the pit again so, it was very loud and wild, but standing in the pit for a Rush concert is a guaranteed 3 hrs of goosebumps.

WOW! Different Breed of Folks!

2008-04-28T08:59:00.000-07:00

Jenn (obviously a parrot-head) has seen Jimmy Buffett a couple times before, and has told me time and time again that I had to experience at least 1 Jimmy Buffett concert. We had great seats Saturday in Frisco...actually too close to the stage...being that the closer you are the crazier these folks are. The smell of many exotic "folliages" filled the air, and everyone there seem to be having a FABULOUS time. Jimmy made the comment after the first song, "If you've never been to a Jimmy Buffett show, you're probably asking yourself, 'What the HELL is going on'..." Hit the nail on the head. At no point from the moment we showed up until he walked off the stage the final time, were there less than 50 beach balls going at one time, many of which Jimmy had to dodge mid-song...you could tell he was used to it. The show was pretty incredible. Jenn was right, he is one hell of an entertainer.

San Antonio!!!

2008-03-19T09:08:00.000-07:00

These two faces say it all. Our get-a-way to San Antonio was great. Notre Dame always starts their baseball season in the warmer states (for obvious reasons), and every year they host the Irish Classic in San Antonio...so obviously every year, being that we are die-hard Domer's, we spend a long weekend in San Antonio as well. This year we brought Garrett and Brooks. (as grown adults we actually needed an excuse to go to Sea World, and our boys provided just that)

Brooks enjoyed seeing many exotic animals while at Sea World, but he LOVED feeding the dolphins. Jenn had to bear hug him to keep him from entering the tank & joining flipper for a swim.

...and most importantly...Brooks' very 1st baseball game, a 13-1 Notre Dame victory. What better team to watch for your 1st baseball game than God's team, right? Go Irish!

First Snow as Mckinnians!

2008-03-05T07:29:00.000-08:00

...don't know if Mckinney residents are "Mckinnians" or not, but that's the most logical sounding to me. This was also the first time Brooks has seen snow, and he didn't seem overly awed or impressed. Also, I've received some smack (from more than one of you, after hearing my complaining) about now living in a practically EMPTY 3600 sq ft house, and having most of our unpacked stuff in the garage. My reward for such stupidity?...an hour worth of scraping snow and ice off of Jenn's and my vehicles in the freezing cold. Oh well, it would've been nicer around Christmas, but the snow made the trees and bushes very pretty for a day anyway.

6 Month Check-up!!!

2008-02-29T07:50:00.000-08:00

Well, Brooks dropped from the 100th percentile in weight, all the way down to the 98th percentile, which is also his percentile for heighth. Doc said he's progressing beautifully and that the 6'6" Notre Dame quarterback prospect his daddy has visioned is certainly very possible. The 2 pics above are a couple hours before we went to see doc...notice the smile...5 shots will quickly change such a mood. ps we've been told by many that we're horrible bloggers...so...sorry, I guess. We'll try to post a bit more frequently. We're finally in the house, as of last weekend. We'll blog something about that later when we get some more things in place, and boxes unpacked, which should be soon...somewhere around October-November... (2009)

Happy 25th Jenn!!!

2007-12-28T09:22:00.000-08:00

We wanted a pic of all of us standing around Brooks sitting on the giant chicken, but we were freezing our a....well, it was very cold, so I just got a shot of the sign. That said, the freezing cold and nasty drizzle wasn't going to kill tradition. We were going to Babe's in Sanger for Jenn's b-day come heck or high water. The big 25. Happy birthday Jenn

Wow, What a Christmas!

2007-12-27T08:15:00.000-08:00

Brooks' first Christmas was a great one indeed. We spent the better part of the day Christmas eve in Denison at Bradley's parent's. Granny and papa, gramma and papa, David & Garrett, Caryn and Chad and all of their crew were there. Then we headed to Mineral Wells to hang out with Father Jeff and attend Midnight Mass. Brooks was very alert and very pleasant, as he always is (so far) during mass. Just like when he hears papa (Bradley's dad) during mass in Denison, his eyes lit up every time he heard FJ's voice through the mic, it was pretty funny. After mass we spent the night with FJ, woke up and headed to Mimi's in Ft. Worth for more Christmas fun. As you can see in the pictures, Brooks made out like a bandit, receiving a lot of "loot", and even more attention on Christmas eve and Christmas day. Thanks for all the goodies folks, and especially the hospitality.

The Piano Man!!!

2007-12-05T08:59:00.000-08:00

Bradley once told me that "you haven't heard the piano sound the way God intended until you've heard Billy Joel play it in person". Unlike Bradley, last night was my first time to have that priviledge, and Billy was quite amazing. He can do anything he wants with that wood box of ivory keys; fast paced rock and roll to classical and everything in between. (He played several classical and Christmas interludes between his incredible songs) The piano was so loud and crisp it just gave you goosebumps to hear it. Unlike anything you'll ever hear from a piano. Thanks Gramma V for babysitting!

WOW, 60 Years!!!

2007-12-03T11:52:00.000-08:00

Granny and Papa celebrated their 60th anniversary Sunday. We filled the back room at Garcia's and had us a grand old time. Needless to say they mean the world to all of us, and we couldn't be happier that they are such a big part of all of our lives. We love you Granny and Papa! (We now have over 120 years of marital bliss between Granny and Papa and Grandma and Grandpa Vogel)

God's Country

2007-11-12T06:57:00.000-08:00

You could argue that there's a more beautiful campus than the University of Notre Dame, but you'd be wrong...so don't bother. From EASILY the most famous of all campus landmarks, The Golden Dome to the Famous Grotto and Library (Touchdown Jesus), walking on the campus gives a person chills every time they're lucky enough to do it. We had a die-hard Ohio State friend with us that stated several times that ND was unlike anything they had ever seen, and that seeing the campus on tv doesn't come close to doing the beauty of it all justice. ND is a large campus with about a 1/4 of the students of most major universities, so it's very peaceful, except on Saturdays of course. Couple that with the greatest band in the land practicing at any given time on football weekends, from Rakes of Mallow to the greatest of all university fight songs "The Notre Dame Victory March" and I gotta figure it's as close to heaven on earth as you can come. What would you expect from a school named after Jesus' mother...The beautiful lady on the Dome. I'm a little tardy w/this post. We actually went up there for the Navy weekend. Yes we witnessed the longest streak in history of one team over another end. Tough year for the boys, very young. Even with the tough season you'd have thought we were 8-0 with all of the usual enthusiam from the ND faithful.Had to throw this in. Brook's (and Garrett's too I believe) very first Irish jersey. Future Domers of course

More ND

2007-11-08T20:05:00.001-08:00

To Serve...Not Be Served

2007-10-31T11:32:00.000-07:00

The Book of Matthew states, "just as The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as ransom for many"...well in that beautiful scripture is the Catholic deacon's "motto" to serve...not be served. 25 years ago, after 5 years of Diaconal formation, dad (or Deacon Vogel as many know him) was ordained to the permanent diaconate in the Catholic Church. Well, like many other family members, friends and fellow parishioners, I could write a book on just how gracious and Christ-like this man is, but I'll spare you, and just state in short...He is easily the most generous, unselfish human being that I know personally. Throughout his 25 years, he's been an example of Christ's love and service to all that have known him. Praying with the sick and dying; preparing and helping couples with the sacrament of Holy Matrimony; Baptising new christians; he's done so much more than a blog can hold. Most of all he is a teacher of God's work and love, through his words and his actions. If only the world had more people like him...and not for just Jenn and I, I speak for all friends and family when I say thank you deacon. We love you and look forward to celebrating your 50th anniversary into the diaconate. There was a big party celebrating his wonderful 25th anniversary after the 11:30 mass Sunday. Dad's ordination: November 6th, 1982The Vogel guys before dad married Caryn & Chad: April 17, 1999 Baptising his first grandchild, Brendan: Fall 2001

With mom and the grand kids (Pre- Jack and Brooks): Easter 2006

Had to throw this one in. Dallas Cowboy and Super Bowl Champion, and good family friend, (Roger Staubach's hand warmer) starting center Dave Manders at dad's party.

"...anointed by the Holy Spirit; a new adopted son of God"

2007-10-18T04:49:00.000-07:00

Sunday October 14th, Brooks was baptised into Christ's death and resurrection at the 5:00 mass at Immaculate Conception. Our great friend Fr. Jeff came in to celebrate the mass, and dad performed the baptismal rites. We're extremely blessed to have clergy in the family in the form of my old man, who coincidently celebrates his 25th year of serving in the diaconate next month. He has proudly baptised all 6 (many more to follow, God willing) of his grandkids. Due to the genorosity of Jenn's and my parents, we took the sacramental celebration to El Guapo's afterward for some fajitas and fun.

We love you FJ Extremely proud grandparents of six beautiful kiddo's, 4 of which are Caryn and Chad's. Brooks will get to share his "1st Christmas" with Jack, who was born May 16th of this year. Wow, slow down Chad and Caryn, we have some catching up to do.

Proud grandparents and great-grandparent Mimi

...more proud great-grandparents, granny & papa, & "super-aunt" Shirley.
...Brooks' other great-grandparents, Grandma & Grandpa Vogel wanted to be there, but were on a cruise celebrating grandma's 8oth b-day. Happy birthday gigi!

We were honored to have the worlds greatest "baby-doctor" and his wonderful family celebrate this special day with us. He also delivered Caryn & Chad's last kiddo. As you can see Dr. Mcdonald is also very blessed. His wife Michelle is one of the most outgoing, fun-loving people you could ever have the pleasure of knowing...and she's beautiful too! He also has 5 of the most polite, enjoyable kids I've ever been around. (Must take after their mother)

Victory!!!

2007-10-01T03:23:00.000-07:00

Brooks shares a winning moment with his exhausted, yet victorious daddy. Bradley played in the annual (3rd year) Raytheon tournament (Frisco) with his very good, long time friend Kyle. Their other team members were his buddy Tyler, and another co-worker of Kyle's, and new friend of Bradley's...another Kyle. According to Bradley, he, Tyler Kyle & Kyle played so well it really wasn't fair for the other 11 teams...And no surprise here, for the 3rd straight year, Bradley won the long drive contest. Way to go Daddy!

Happy B-Day Grandma!

2007-09-30T21:25:00.000-07:00

Saturday, Brooks and I met up with Mom, Dad & Matt to enjoy The Great Pumpkin Festival at the Dallas Arboretum to celebrate mom's birthday. Brooks was fascinated with all the pretty fall colors, and was especially partial to the wide variety of pumpkins & gourds. Brooks was obviously once again the center of attention, and he's getting quite comfortable in being so. He missed his daddy (Bradley was playing in a golf tournament in Frisco), but he certainly had a blast with all the excitement. Happy Birthday Grandma.

Great Concert Year!

2007-09-30T18:20:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite forms of entertainment is a great live concert (Jenn's too) It has been a great concert year. The Police (backstage), Stevie Nicks, The Fray (stood in the pit in front of stage), Pretenders/Don Henley, Rush (in the pit again, Neil Peart is easily the king of all-time drummers), Foreigner/Def Leppard. Next year The Eagles and JT will be the top concert priority. Can't wait
Neil Peart & Geddy Lee

Future Domer!!!

2007-09-16T17:33:00.000-07:00

Through the generosity of Grandma & Grandpa Vogel, The Notre Dame fund has officially been started for our little slugger/quarterback. Brooks is great-grandchild #21 for proud Grandma (aka "Gigi" to the great-grandkids) & Grandpa Vogel. Grandma already has him pumping his fist as she cries "Go Irish". He's got no chance...He's a Domer.

Trip to Denison

2007-09-03T21:40:00.000-07:00

We headed to Granny and Papa's to introduce them to their newest great-grandchild. They were ecstatic, and Brooks was very happy to finally meet them. Brad and I think the world of granny and papa, and the fact that we enjoyed their famous "chicken and rice caserole" was just icing on the cake. We miss getting to spend all Sunday afternoon with them and the rest of the crew...We love you granny and papa!

Happy Birthday Mimi!!!

2007-09-02T21:47:00.000-07:00

After taking some "baby-time" off, Brad went back to work Friday, and mom and I took Brooks to Ft. Worth to have lunch with Mimi to celebrate her 89th birthday. Mimi's friend Jeni-Lou joined us, and we had a real big time. Brad said his poor little slugger was unfairly outnumbered (of course, throw in the big labrador, and I'm outnumbered 3-1 every day in my own house) and felt sorry for him spending the day at the "hen-party". Brooks didn't seem to mind. Actually, I think he rather enjoyed all the non-stop attention.

My Precious Sluggers

2007-08-26T20:18:00.000-07:00

Proud daddy and "super husband" Bradley Michael holds our little future star Brooks Michael in front of the center-piece of the nursery...a 16x20 portrait of Brooks' namesake. This autographed beauty was actually a gift from Brooks Robinson himself. The auto reads "Brooks Robinson, 16 Gold Gloves"...and fittingly, (much to Bradley's, and his brothers delight) Mr. Robinson was named as the 3rd baseman for Rawlings All-Century Gold Glove team, the very day our little Brooks was brought into this world (I know this only because his brother pointed it out to us less than an hour after Brooks' birth).

Brooks Michael Vogel

2007-08-26T18:17:00.000-07:00

Almighty God blessed the Vogel family with a 7lb 8oz bundle of joy Wednesday August, 22. Needless to say we are happier than words can describe, and would like to thank everyone for their continued thoughts and prayers during the pregnancy, birth and beyond. Jenn is a natural. All the horror stories I've heard about pregnancy and childbirth, (and what it can temporarily turn your lovely spouse into) were innacurate with Jenn. She's MUCH tougher than her husband, that's a certainty. There's obviously many many pics, and I'm just posting a few for now. More to follow, of course. Figured I'd start the pics with the grandparents and Dr. Mcdonald (D-Mac)

Can Brooks come out and play???

2007-08-08T18:40:00.000-07:00

The Very Best...EVER!

2007-08-05T08:32:00.000-07:00

What a show! No backstage this time, but still phenomenal seats, for an extraordinary show. Of course, we Eagles/Henley junkies have come to expect nothing less. Don shares this blog title with Jenn, who at 9 months pregnant made sure Baby Brooks got to see (hear, I guess) the greatest voice in music history. Jenn says despite the lack of space he was dancing right along, and that like his old man, he was especially partial to Hotel Califonia and The Boys of Summer. I wanted to get a shot of Jenn and junior after the show, but by the time I figured out how to work this new camera getting pics of Don...my batteries were shot. Could Jenn have been right?..Maybe I SHOULD have read the instructions...nah