Here it is Thursday night already. Where has this week gone? Between Aidan's Soccer game on Tuesday night, and Lori working a night shift on Wednesday night, and Aidan's baseball practice tonight, it's no wonder our world's stuck in overdrive. Whew, let me catch my breath.
Speaking of Tuesday night's soccer game, Aidan had his best game yet. It made up for the slow, tired game that he played last Saturday. Aidan scored 7 goals himself, and personally prevented 2 other goals when the other team had clear breakaways. His hustle was unmatched. Through his 6 quarter of play so far this season, he has scored 14 goals, and the other teams have scored a combined 2 goals while he as been in the game. A great start to the season I would say.
Aidan and his teammates had their best baseball practice of the year tonight. They are really starting to understand what they are doing, and each boy is swinging the bat with more confidence. It's really neat to watch the maturation of the boys at this age. You can almost see the light emanating from their heads when the bulb suddenly turns on, and they understand what you are teaching them.
Aidan's swing is sweet, and he looks great at the plate. His bat speed is fantastic for a boy of his age. I really hope that he sticks with baseball as he is growing up. His instincts are so natural on the field, and I really feel like he could become a very special player. Most people will probably roll their eyes at that statement, and chalk it up to parental blinders, but I'm not one to blow smoke. His skills are rare for a boy of his age, and his competitive drive is unmatched. Hopefully he will continue to enjoy himself on the field and continue to love the game. If he does........watch out.
Christopher is growing more "boyish" each and every day. It is fascinating watching him figure things out, and he is a real pistol. I still do not know how we got so lucky. Our boys are everything that we could have ever wanted, and then some. Watching Christopher run around the ball field trying to emulate his older brother is one of the most satisfying things I have ever seen. I would not trade these times for anything in the world.
William
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
A Moment's Notice
William is taking a small hiatus from the blog only for the moment to let his gastric juices settle down after all of his excitement and to let me jot down some thoughts. No worries the master blogger will return in all of his glory to resume his post.
We have all had our little dramas and headaches to deal with on a day to day basis but nontheless something happens when you are engulfed in your first grade drama to bring you back to reality. Our friends in Houston are dealing with a little more hurricane driven drama right now that has still left them without electricity but it is going to be restored soon. We are also hopeful their house in Sea Isle will be in reasonably good order on Wednesday when they return to Galveston to assess the damage. Regardless of what we face on a day to day basis minor or major drama, all of these things become insignificant when faced with a grieving family.
I had two children that I came in contact with on Friday that made me want to come home and hug the boys. I will spare you the details but both children were doing very innocent and normal things like riding their bike and sitting with their family when something happened that instantly changed everything. The miracle is that one of the children, which is incidently about Christopher's age, survived and so far appears very lucky with respect to his injury. The other child and family was not so fortunate and my heart just broke for them. I can't even imagine nor would I want to even fathom losing one of my children. William and I thank God every day for our boys and we are so thankful to have them here with us, to treasure each and every day that we afforded. Life is so precious. Hug your children!
Lori
We have all had our little dramas and headaches to deal with on a day to day basis but nontheless something happens when you are engulfed in your first grade drama to bring you back to reality. Our friends in Houston are dealing with a little more hurricane driven drama right now that has still left them without electricity but it is going to be restored soon. We are also hopeful their house in Sea Isle will be in reasonably good order on Wednesday when they return to Galveston to assess the damage. Regardless of what we face on a day to day basis minor or major drama, all of these things become insignificant when faced with a grieving family.
I had two children that I came in contact with on Friday that made me want to come home and hug the boys. I will spare you the details but both children were doing very innocent and normal things like riding their bike and sitting with their family when something happened that instantly changed everything. The miracle is that one of the children, which is incidently about Christopher's age, survived and so far appears very lucky with respect to his injury. The other child and family was not so fortunate and my heart just broke for them. I can't even imagine nor would I want to even fathom losing one of my children. William and I thank God every day for our boys and we are so thankful to have them here with us, to treasure each and every day that we afforded. Life is so precious. Hug your children!
Lori
Sometimes It's Not "Good To Be The King"
I need everyone to be on the lookout for the sneaky bandito that pulled a fast one on me yesterday. It seems that someone secretly exchanged all of the beverages that I consumed on Saturday with imported water pulled from the deepest, darkest, and dirtiest well in Mexico. That has to be it, for there can be no other explanation for the revolt that my digestive system staged yesterday. The word miserable does not even begin to describe my suffering. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being mostly dead, I was a strong 10. I'm telling you, I should start going by "King" William considering how much time I spent on the "throne" yesterday. Here it is 24 hours later, and I am just now starting to feel better. Uhhhhggg........next time just shoot me.
William
William
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Is That You Roy Hobbs?
Man o man, I just got in from Aidan's baseball game tonight and I am still pumped. He played absolutely awesome! He was an out getting machine in the field tonight. Made two great plays at home to get outs when he was playing pitcher, and made another great stop and put out at second base when he was playing shortstop. Combine that with two great at bats, a single and a double, and he was turning some heads. Sign him up.
In case you couldn't tell by now, I am PROUD of my boy! Woo Hoo!
William
In case you couldn't tell by now, I am PROUD of my boy! Woo Hoo!
William
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
The Battle of Camelot Pass
Well, here it is Tuesday and I think that I have finally recuperated from Aidan's birthday weekend festivities. If you thought Aidan was normally a bit high strung, well throw in a birthday with screaming friends, lots of sugar and lots of presents, and it's enough to send a 42 year old man to the loony ward. With the exception of my mental fatigue, the weekend went great, and Aidan made out like a bandit.
On Friday Lori was off work and decided to go by Aidan's school and have lunch with our oldest Monkey. Even though his actual birthday was on Saturday, she brought along 2 dozen birthday cupcakes for Aidan and his classmates. You know, I always have thought it's a wonderful idea to stuff 6 and 7 year olds full of sugar while they are in school. It usually works out great. I am sure Aidan's teacher thoroughly enjoyed the extra excitement that was created by the wonderful sweets, and can't wait to thank us in person. Here are a couple of pictures of her visit.
Because Aidan's cousins Wyatt and Jackson were going out of town on Saturday, we decided to have them celebrate Aidan's birthday with Aidan on Friday night. We met up with Cricket and the boys at the local bowling entertainment center called Strikz. We rented two lanes, ordered a couple of pizzas, picked out our spherical weapons, and started pummeling pins like there was no tomorrow. Bowling brings back a lot of fond childhood memories, and it's easy to forget how much fun it is. There is something almost therapeutic about hurling a 16 lb ball down a lane as hard a you can in hope of obliterating as many pins as possible. Boooooom!!!!! Yeah Baby!!!!! It's like being a kid again, and it's great stress relief. After the bowling was over, the kids took their game cards over the arcade, and digital bliss engulfed their bodies shortly after. Everybody had a great time, and we all retreated to our house to open presents. Here are a few pictures to help visualize the party.
Once we got home, Cricket brought the boys over for a SLEEPOVER! Oh Joy!! Screaming Monkeys in the house for the entire evening and most of the night!!!!! The cake was cut and the candles were extinguished,
the ice cream was opened, and the sugar river flowed like the Nile. You know, it's never a real party until the party's shades make their appearance. Oh, and make their appearance they did, in resounding fashion. Elton baby, eat your heart out!
After floating along the sugar river for a while, Aidan made a bee line to the presents that Aunt Cricket and the boys brought over. In what can only be described as devastating carnage, the wrapping paper was torn to shreds. It never stood a chance. He opened all his presents with Herculean Gusto, as like I said earlier, he made out like a bandit. He loved all of his gifts, including this Pokemon T-Shirt. I don't know if the shirt has magical powers or what, but Aidan seem to suddenly take on the characteristics of a lizard/bird boy the moment he placed the shirt in front of his body.
The boys finally ended up going to sleep about 10:30pm, and Lori and I collapsed into our bed shortly after. We both looked forward to a good night's sleep, and we actually got to enjoy one until about 4:30am. You see, it was about that time that the three monkeys that were upstairs decided to wake up for the day. "What the............................why are those primates already up?" Lori was nice enough to get out of bed, and let me sleep. Thank God. She ended up staying up until Christopher woke up about 6:30am, and then had all 4 to deal with. It did not take long after that, for Dad to get the ol' wakeup/distress call. So we all got up Saturday morning and wished Aidan happy real birthday. Aunt Cricket came over early, and she and Lori went out to get breakfast for the whole crew. After donuts and croissants, Aidan got to open all of his presents from his Mom and Dad, and was spoiled through and through. Wyatt and Jackson had to leave, but before Aunt Cricket took them home, Aidan challenged them all to a silly string fight. I was lucky enough to have my video camera at the ready, and captured most of it on film. And now, for your enjoyment, I present THE BATTLE OF CAMELOT PASS.
I hope you enjoyed reading about Aidan's birthday as much as we enjoyed living it. The rest of the weekend was pretty tame, as all of the Soccer games and Baseball games were cancelled by IKE. I still find it hard to believe that Aidan is already 6 years old. It just seems so fast. I am enjoying the ride, but I wish it would slow down a bit. He is such a sweet, handsome, and inquisitive boy. We are blessed to have him as a son, and we watch every day with wonder and amazement as he grows and matures before our very eyes. Happy Birthday Monkeyboy.
William
On Friday Lori was off work and decided to go by Aidan's school and have lunch with our oldest Monkey. Even though his actual birthday was on Saturday, she brought along 2 dozen birthday cupcakes for Aidan and his classmates. You know, I always have thought it's a wonderful idea to stuff 6 and 7 year olds full of sugar while they are in school. It usually works out great. I am sure Aidan's teacher thoroughly enjoyed the extra excitement that was created by the wonderful sweets, and can't wait to thank us in person. Here are a couple of pictures of her visit.
Because Aidan's cousins Wyatt and Jackson were going out of town on Saturday, we decided to have them celebrate Aidan's birthday with Aidan on Friday night. We met up with Cricket and the boys at the local bowling entertainment center called Strikz. We rented two lanes, ordered a couple of pizzas, picked out our spherical weapons, and started pummeling pins like there was no tomorrow. Bowling brings back a lot of fond childhood memories, and it's easy to forget how much fun it is. There is something almost therapeutic about hurling a 16 lb ball down a lane as hard a you can in hope of obliterating as many pins as possible. Boooooom!!!!! Yeah Baby!!!!! It's like being a kid again, and it's great stress relief. After the bowling was over, the kids took their game cards over the arcade, and digital bliss engulfed their bodies shortly after. Everybody had a great time, and we all retreated to our house to open presents. Here are a few pictures to help visualize the party.
Once we got home, Cricket brought the boys over for a SLEEPOVER! Oh Joy!! Screaming Monkeys in the house for the entire evening and most of the night!!!!! The cake was cut and the candles were extinguished,
the ice cream was opened, and the sugar river flowed like the Nile. You know, it's never a real party until the party's shades make their appearance. Oh, and make their appearance they did, in resounding fashion. Elton baby, eat your heart out!
After floating along the sugar river for a while, Aidan made a bee line to the presents that Aunt Cricket and the boys brought over. In what can only be described as devastating carnage, the wrapping paper was torn to shreds. It never stood a chance. He opened all his presents with Herculean Gusto, as like I said earlier, he made out like a bandit. He loved all of his gifts, including this Pokemon T-Shirt. I don't know if the shirt has magical powers or what, but Aidan seem to suddenly take on the characteristics of a lizard/bird boy the moment he placed the shirt in front of his body.
The boys finally ended up going to sleep about 10:30pm, and Lori and I collapsed into our bed shortly after. We both looked forward to a good night's sleep, and we actually got to enjoy one until about 4:30am. You see, it was about that time that the three monkeys that were upstairs decided to wake up for the day. "What the............................why are those primates already up?" Lori was nice enough to get out of bed, and let me sleep. Thank God. She ended up staying up until Christopher woke up about 6:30am, and then had all 4 to deal with. It did not take long after that, for Dad to get the ol' wakeup/distress call. So we all got up Saturday morning and wished Aidan happy real birthday. Aunt Cricket came over early, and she and Lori went out to get breakfast for the whole crew. After donuts and croissants, Aidan got to open all of his presents from his Mom and Dad, and was spoiled through and through. Wyatt and Jackson had to leave, but before Aunt Cricket took them home, Aidan challenged them all to a silly string fight. I was lucky enough to have my video camera at the ready, and captured most of it on film. And now, for your enjoyment, I present THE BATTLE OF CAMELOT PASS.
I hope you enjoyed reading about Aidan's birthday as much as we enjoyed living it. The rest of the weekend was pretty tame, as all of the Soccer games and Baseball games were cancelled by IKE. I still find it hard to believe that Aidan is already 6 years old. It just seems so fast. I am enjoying the ride, but I wish it would slow down a bit. He is such a sweet, handsome, and inquisitive boy. We are blessed to have him as a son, and we watch every day with wonder and amazement as he grows and matures before our very eyes. Happy Birthday Monkeyboy.
William
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Deux Sports - Une Garçon
Last weekend marked the beginning of both Fall Soccer and Fall Baseball for Aidan. We were all very excited to get the season underway, and Aidan certainly did not have any problem shaking off the rust from a 3 month hiatus.
Aidan woke early like usual, and was really excited about his "Gameday Baby!". All morning he pestered both me and his mom to let him put on his soccer uniform. Of course, we all know that "almost" 6 year old monkeys are very dirty animals, so we held steady and did not allow him to dress for his 2:00pm game until after he ate lunch. With lunch finished and a quick shower taken, Aidan was dressed in his new soccer uniform in a flash.
Aidan not only had a 2:00pm soccer game, but he also had to be at the baseball field at 3:40pm for team pictures. Because of this, we were not going to be able to go home between his soccer game, his pictures, and then his 4:30pm baseball game. So, we packed an ice chest full of drinks and snacks, loaded up on the sun screen, and left the house about 1:25pm to begin the festivities.
Aidan was really excited to play his first soccer game of the season. He plays for the "Texas Twisters" and his team was playing the "Transformers". It was not until we got to the field that we realized that Aidan would be playing against 2 of his friends from his baseball team. This made Aidan really excited, and for a moment Lori and I were both worried that he might want to socialize a bit too much during the game instead of playing hard. That thought ended about 30 seconds into the game after Aidan scored his first break away goal. In all, Aidan played 2 quarters of the 4 quarter game, and he scored 6 of his teams 8 goals. His team won 8-5, with all of the opposing goals scored while he was on the bench. It was a stellar start to what we hope turns out to be a great season. Here are a few pictures from the game:
Here are team Captains Aidan and his friend Davis awaiting the coin flip.
Here is Aidan just before the start of the game, giving instructions to his teammates.
Here is Aidan, red face and all, watching the game intently with his friend Gojet.
And finally, here is a picture of Aidan, getting congratulation from his baseball teammate buddy Aidan Nelson.
As soon as the game ended, we had to quickly get everything and everybody loaded in the CX-9 and drive across town for Aidan's baseball pictures. Aidan changed in the car while we were driving to the baseball park. That might not sound too difficult to some, but pulling up sliding shorts and installing and positioning a cup while the lap belt is tight across your waist, takes quite a bit of dexterity. We arrived in plenty of time, and we actually had about 15 minutes to sit in the vehicle and enjoy the cold AC.
We got out of the car about at 3:35pm and made our way over to the picture taking tent. Aidan smiled for the camera, and miraculously his team sat still enough for a few seconds to get a team picture made. His team is the Braves, and last season they were allowed to dress exactly like the Major League Team that they were named after. Well, I believe that MLB had a licensing problem with that, so they are no longer allowed to mimic the MLB team's colors. Here are is a picture of Aidan in his uniform, and Aidan in his team photo.
The game was really hot, and Christopher got pretty restless. Lori did a fantastic job keeping him appeased, as I served as the bench coach for the team. Aidan had a really good game, and was one of the few kids that actually hit the ball that was being pitched by the coach. In this league, you get three pitched strikes to swing at, and if you do not connect with one of them, you get three swings from a tee. Aidan never had to use the tee, and we were really proud of him. Christopher was really proud of him too, but for some reason he found it hard to express himself.
After the game we finally got home about 5:45pm, and our outdoor activity quota had definitely been met for the day. I showered and changed, and then met up with a few old friends that I had not seen in 4 years. We played penny poker for about three hours on Saturday night, and I had a really good time catching up. Sunday was spent relaxing and gearing up for next weekend's activities. Not only do we have the games to attend, but a certain Monkeyboy will be turning 6 on Saturday. Yes, Saturday should be a realllllllllllllllllllllly long day. I can't wait.
William
Aidan woke early like usual, and was really excited about his "Gameday Baby!". All morning he pestered both me and his mom to let him put on his soccer uniform. Of course, we all know that "almost" 6 year old monkeys are very dirty animals, so we held steady and did not allow him to dress for his 2:00pm game until after he ate lunch. With lunch finished and a quick shower taken, Aidan was dressed in his new soccer uniform in a flash.
Aidan not only had a 2:00pm soccer game, but he also had to be at the baseball field at 3:40pm for team pictures. Because of this, we were not going to be able to go home between his soccer game, his pictures, and then his 4:30pm baseball game. So, we packed an ice chest full of drinks and snacks, loaded up on the sun screen, and left the house about 1:25pm to begin the festivities.Aidan was really excited to play his first soccer game of the season. He plays for the "Texas Twisters" and his team was playing the "Transformers". It was not until we got to the field that we realized that Aidan would be playing against 2 of his friends from his baseball team. This made Aidan really excited, and for a moment Lori and I were both worried that he might want to socialize a bit too much during the game instead of playing hard. That thought ended about 30 seconds into the game after Aidan scored his first break away goal. In all, Aidan played 2 quarters of the 4 quarter game, and he scored 6 of his teams 8 goals. His team won 8-5, with all of the opposing goals scored while he was on the bench. It was a stellar start to what we hope turns out to be a great season. Here are a few pictures from the game:
Here are team Captains Aidan and his friend Davis awaiting the coin flip.
Here is Aidan just before the start of the game, giving instructions to his teammates.
Here is Aidan, red face and all, watching the game intently with his friend Gojet.
And finally, here is a picture of Aidan, getting congratulation from his baseball teammate buddy Aidan Nelson.
As soon as the game ended, we had to quickly get everything and everybody loaded in the CX-9 and drive across town for Aidan's baseball pictures. Aidan changed in the car while we were driving to the baseball park. That might not sound too difficult to some, but pulling up sliding shorts and installing and positioning a cup while the lap belt is tight across your waist, takes quite a bit of dexterity. We arrived in plenty of time, and we actually had about 15 minutes to sit in the vehicle and enjoy the cold AC. We got out of the car about at 3:35pm and made our way over to the picture taking tent. Aidan smiled for the camera, and miraculously his team sat still enough for a few seconds to get a team picture made. His team is the Braves, and last season they were allowed to dress exactly like the Major League Team that they were named after. Well, I believe that MLB had a licensing problem with that, so they are no longer allowed to mimic the MLB team's colors. Here are is a picture of Aidan in his uniform, and Aidan in his team photo.
The game was really hot, and Christopher got pretty restless. Lori did a fantastic job keeping him appeased, as I served as the bench coach for the team. Aidan had a really good game, and was one of the few kids that actually hit the ball that was being pitched by the coach. In this league, you get three pitched strikes to swing at, and if you do not connect with one of them, you get three swings from a tee. Aidan never had to use the tee, and we were really proud of him. Christopher was really proud of him too, but for some reason he found it hard to express himself.
After the game we finally got home about 5:45pm, and our outdoor activity quota had definitely been met for the day. I showered and changed, and then met up with a few old friends that I had not seen in 4 years. We played penny poker for about three hours on Saturday night, and I had a really good time catching up. Sunday was spent relaxing and gearing up for next weekend's activities. Not only do we have the games to attend, but a certain Monkeyboy will be turning 6 on Saturday. Yes, Saturday should be a realllllllllllllllllllllly long day. I can't wait.William
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Delightful Sojourning
Three day weekends are always nice. That one "extra" day always seems to be just what the doctor ordered. This weekend was especially great because Grandma and Uncle Jim decided to drive up for a visit. It has been quite a while since they have been to our house, so we were all looking forward to reintroducing them to our little zoo.
They arrived around noon on Friday, and all was quiet at the home front. Aidan and Christopher were at school, and Lori was at work. I was here and after getting them settled in their rooms, and having a bit of lunch, we starting visiting properly. Before long it was time to pick up the boys, and Jim decided to accompany me to the school. He got to experience first hand the bizarre labyrinths that must be conquered, and the illogical rituals that must be followed in order to pick up one's child. Regimented confusion is the only way that I can describe the requirements.
After picking up Aidan, we stopped off for Christopher on our way home. Ahhhh....how refreshing......park, get out of the truck, get Christopher, and back in the truck in 3 minutes. Oh yeah, give it up for a little normalcy baby!
The rest of Friday was spent chasing the monkeys around the house, and introducing Uncle Jim and Grandma to the ear peircing sound of a one year old pterodactyl. We picked up some BBQ for dinner, and after eating and visiting some more, we all got to bed at a decent hour.
Saturday was spent playing at the house. Since Uncle Jim and Grandma were not able to make it down last weekend for Christopher's birthday, we went ahead and celebrated both his birthday and Aidan's upcoming birthday. Here is a picture of Aidan and Grandma taken after opening his birthday cards.
Aidan made out like a bandit and was itching to spend the money he received, so we piled in the CX-9 and off we sped to TOYS R US. WooooHooooo. Aidan looked at just about every toy in the entire store, and while mom and grandma were picking out some clothes for Christopher, Jim and Aidan and I were in LEGO heaven. Aidan finally decided on a Sponge Bob LEGO set, and some POKEMON items, and soon we were on our way home.
While Jim was helping Aidan assemble his new LEGO bus, I began to prep the kitchen for the special dinner I was going to prepare. After what seemed like hours, I was finally ready to grill the Bacon Wrapped Cream Cheese stuffed Jalapeno Shrimp, and the Filet Mignons. A little Surf and Turf was on the menu, with a side order of grilled Corn on the Cob. Lori made a salad to go with the rest, and we all sat down for a feast. MmmmmmmMmmmmmmm it was Gooooooooooood! Hmmmmm....what do you top off such a wonderful meal with? In this case, how about some of Lori's wonderful homemade Lemonade Pie. Oh My!!!!!!!!!!! Yep, the pie was delicious, and after finishing my gargantuan slice, I waddled over to the couch for a well deserved rest. Ahhhhhhhhh.........
Sunday morning came in a flash, and just like that Grandma and Uncle Jim were already heading home. It just seems like there is never enough time. Well, fun was had by all, and the family unit and I spent the vast majority of the rest of the long weekend relaxing. A great visit I would say, and very much appreciated.
William
They arrived around noon on Friday, and all was quiet at the home front. Aidan and Christopher were at school, and Lori was at work. I was here and after getting them settled in their rooms, and having a bit of lunch, we starting visiting properly. Before long it was time to pick up the boys, and Jim decided to accompany me to the school. He got to experience first hand the bizarre labyrinths that must be conquered, and the illogical rituals that must be followed in order to pick up one's child. Regimented confusion is the only way that I can describe the requirements.
After picking up Aidan, we stopped off for Christopher on our way home. Ahhhh....how refreshing......park, get out of the truck, get Christopher, and back in the truck in 3 minutes. Oh yeah, give it up for a little normalcy baby!
The rest of Friday was spent chasing the monkeys around the house, and introducing Uncle Jim and Grandma to the ear peircing sound of a one year old pterodactyl. We picked up some BBQ for dinner, and after eating and visiting some more, we all got to bed at a decent hour.
Saturday was spent playing at the house. Since Uncle Jim and Grandma were not able to make it down last weekend for Christopher's birthday, we went ahead and celebrated both his birthday and Aidan's upcoming birthday. Here is a picture of Aidan and Grandma taken after opening his birthday cards.
Aidan made out like a bandit and was itching to spend the money he received, so we piled in the CX-9 and off we sped to TOYS R US. WooooHooooo. Aidan looked at just about every toy in the entire store, and while mom and grandma were picking out some clothes for Christopher, Jim and Aidan and I were in LEGO heaven. Aidan finally decided on a Sponge Bob LEGO set, and some POKEMON items, and soon we were on our way home.
While Jim was helping Aidan assemble his new LEGO bus, I began to prep the kitchen for the special dinner I was going to prepare. After what seemed like hours, I was finally ready to grill the Bacon Wrapped Cream Cheese stuffed Jalapeno Shrimp, and the Filet Mignons. A little Surf and Turf was on the menu, with a side order of grilled Corn on the Cob. Lori made a salad to go with the rest, and we all sat down for a feast. MmmmmmmMmmmmmmm it was Gooooooooooood! Hmmmmm....what do you top off such a wonderful meal with? In this case, how about some of Lori's wonderful homemade Lemonade Pie. Oh My!!!!!!!!!!! Yep, the pie was delicious, and after finishing my gargantuan slice, I waddled over to the couch for a well deserved rest. Ahhhhhhhhh.........
Sunday morning came in a flash, and just like that Grandma and Uncle Jim were already heading home. It just seems like there is never enough time. Well, fun was had by all, and the family unit and I spent the vast majority of the rest of the long weekend relaxing. A great visit I would say, and very much appreciated.
William
Thursday, August 28, 2008
For Whom the School Bell Tolls
The school year started on Monday, as Aidan ventured into the public school system for the first time. It has been an adjustment for not only Aidan, but also for us. Taking him to his private Kindergarten was a breeze, and we got used to leaving our house at 7:50am and having him in his classroom by 8:00am. Those times are gone, and we are now stuck in traffic Hades, as the two mile drive is now a grueling 30 minute round trip. You know, one might complain about that being excessive....that is, until they have go to pick up their children. That 30 minute round trip suddenly becomes a 50 minute test of patience that Job himself would find difficult to endure. I can only assume that Bledsoe Elementary has Steven Hawking designing their traffic route, for the added complexity is absurd.
Aidan on the other hand seems to be adjusting to 1st grade nicely. Other than a couple of warnings he received from his teacher for talking, he is very happy with his new school and loves his teacher and class. He is making new friends, and he is adjusting to his added freedom and responsibilities. The 8 hour days full of new and wondrous learning are taking a bit of a toll, for he is finding it difficult to stay awake once he gets home after school. Here is an example of a before and after picture.
Picture one.......Bright Eyed and Bushy tailed......ready to conquer whatever tasks are set before him.
Picture two.......ZZzzzzzzzz.........a boy who left 100% on the scholarly playing field.
He will do just fine, and Lori and I will learn to adjust to the illogical traffic routes. All in all, it's going to be a great school year.
William
Aidan on the other hand seems to be adjusting to 1st grade nicely. Other than a couple of warnings he received from his teacher for talking, he is very happy with his new school and loves his teacher and class. He is making new friends, and he is adjusting to his added freedom and responsibilities. The 8 hour days full of new and wondrous learning are taking a bit of a toll, for he is finding it difficult to stay awake once he gets home after school. Here is an example of a before and after picture.
Picture one.......Bright Eyed and Bushy tailed......ready to conquer whatever tasks are set before him.
Picture two.......ZZzzzzzzzz.........a boy who left 100% on the scholarly playing field.
He will do just fine, and Lori and I will learn to adjust to the illogical traffic routes. All in all, it's going to be a great school year.
William
Monday, August 25, 2008
A Simian's Tale
It seems like only a very short time ago that we were celebrating Aidan's first birthday. I can still see him shoveling the cake into his mouth as the rush of sugar cascaded through his veins.
Yep, that's just how I remember it. The 5 years since have really flown by, and it is very hard to grasp the fact that our youngest Monkey Christopher has now been in our lives for a full year. Needless to say, he too really enjoyed his birthday celebration, and once again I was also able to capture a bit of the magic on film. So, without any further delays, I now present you with an overview of Saturday's festivities.
Like most of my blogs, I like to fill you with as many details as I can. Keeping that in mind, I do not think it would be fair to talk about Christopher's party, without first mentioning the blood, sweat, and excessive misery that both Lori and I endured in preparing the house for the party. You see, if the ol' adage is true, I've got some serious explaining to do to the Big Man up stairs, for cleanliness (as far as housework goes) has never been one of my strong points. Put a bit differently, cleaning toilets and mopping floors ranks right up there with water boarding and Bamboo under the fingernails. Torture my friend goes by many names, and the sight of a bucket and a mop would make me spill my guts out as soon as the bucket of soapy water hit the floor. NOOOO......PLEASE......NOT THAT!.....I'LL DO ANYTHING YOU WANT!!!! Cleaning toilets? Forget about it. If it were left entirely up to me, our toilet bowl would probably look like the bottom of the coffee pot at the local VFW.
Well I'll have you know that all of that changed on Thursday and Friday of this week, and Martha Stewart herself would have been downright proud of the job that I did on our floors and carpets. Lori and I both worked our tails off cleaning the house. She and I finally rolled into bed about 3:45am on Saturday morning, and let me tell you we were whipped. For some that might not sound too awful, but throw a couple of 6:30am waking Monkeys in the mix and you get the picture. Needless to say, we were dog tired Saturday morning, but the house was as clean as it has been in quite some time, and Lori did a stellar job decorating the premises for the Monkey themed party.
Our guest started arriving about 2:15pm., and by 3:00pm we were knee deep in Chick-fil-a nuggets, fruit, chips and dips, and lots of screaming children. A virtual Heaven you might say......if you are into the whole loud, obnoxious, run around the house and yell at the top of your lungs kind of thing. After everyone had their fill of nuggets and pop, it was time to get down to the business at hand......Birthday Cake! Everyone gathered around Christopher's chair to witness the unbridled carnage that was about to unfold. Lori slowly handed Christopher a Birthday cupcake that she and Cricket had masterfully created the night before.
Christopher was a bit timid at first. His trepidation was obviously due to the inner conflict he was experiencing in regards to Cannibalism. Once he crossed that threshold it was on, and our smallest Monkeyboy devoured his prey with the finess of a Lion. Here is a three shot sequence that sums up the conquest quite nicely.
Hey, it's a Monkey eat Monkey world, and Christopher is now the master of his domain.
Once the sugar was sufficiently dispensed, it was time for presents. You would have thought that Christopher would have had enough to eat when he finished his cupcake, but noooooooo....he decided to top off his cake with a heaping portion of tissue paper....YUMMY!
Thank goodness that Lori was close by, and with her cat like reflexes she was able to pull the helpless tissue from the little eating machine's mouth.
Whew, Smurf mouth prevented, now on to the gifts.
Christopher, with Lori's help, had no problem ripping, tearing, and shredding the wrapping paper, He loved that part. He also loved his many presents, although the sheer numbers probably caused information overload. He did not know which one to play with, so he made like a pollinating bee and went from one to the next at breakneck speed. Here he is unwrapping his Wonder Pets toy.
Just think, now I get to not only listen to the Wonder Pets on his DVD, but now I even get to hear that "delightful" Wonder Pets diddy emitting from his newly acquired toy. OH JOY!!!! The one present that really got the attention of not only Christopher and his ever protective Mom, but also all of the boys in attendance, was his Star Wars electric ATV. Here is a picture of Christopher checking out his new wheels.
Lookout toes and shins of the world, here I come!
Christopher stayed awake just long enough to try out all of his toys and then quietly drifted off to dreamland. The rest of us visited for a while and then just like that, it was over. Lori and I would like to thank all that attended. A special thanks goes out to NANA and PAWPAW for making the 16 hour drive to be here. Christopher is too young to understand the sacrifice that you made right now, but he will come to appreciate it as he gets older.
I will leave you now with one last picture. Here is Aidan and his little brother Christopher doing what they do best............being Monkeys.
William
Yep, that's just how I remember it. The 5 years since have really flown by, and it is very hard to grasp the fact that our youngest Monkey Christopher has now been in our lives for a full year. Needless to say, he too really enjoyed his birthday celebration, and once again I was also able to capture a bit of the magic on film. So, without any further delays, I now present you with an overview of Saturday's festivities.Like most of my blogs, I like to fill you with as many details as I can. Keeping that in mind, I do not think it would be fair to talk about Christopher's party, without first mentioning the blood, sweat, and excessive misery that both Lori and I endured in preparing the house for the party. You see, if the ol' adage is true, I've got some serious explaining to do to the Big Man up stairs, for cleanliness (as far as housework goes) has never been one of my strong points. Put a bit differently, cleaning toilets and mopping floors ranks right up there with water boarding and Bamboo under the fingernails. Torture my friend goes by many names, and the sight of a bucket and a mop would make me spill my guts out as soon as the bucket of soapy water hit the floor. NOOOO......PLEASE......NOT THAT!.....I'LL DO ANYTHING YOU WANT!!!! Cleaning toilets? Forget about it. If it were left entirely up to me, our toilet bowl would probably look like the bottom of the coffee pot at the local VFW.
Well I'll have you know that all of that changed on Thursday and Friday of this week, and Martha Stewart herself would have been downright proud of the job that I did on our floors and carpets. Lori and I both worked our tails off cleaning the house. She and I finally rolled into bed about 3:45am on Saturday morning, and let me tell you we were whipped. For some that might not sound too awful, but throw a couple of 6:30am waking Monkeys in the mix and you get the picture. Needless to say, we were dog tired Saturday morning, but the house was as clean as it has been in quite some time, and Lori did a stellar job decorating the premises for the Monkey themed party.
Our guest started arriving about 2:15pm., and by 3:00pm we were knee deep in Chick-fil-a nuggets, fruit, chips and dips, and lots of screaming children. A virtual Heaven you might say......if you are into the whole loud, obnoxious, run around the house and yell at the top of your lungs kind of thing. After everyone had their fill of nuggets and pop, it was time to get down to the business at hand......Birthday Cake! Everyone gathered around Christopher's chair to witness the unbridled carnage that was about to unfold. Lori slowly handed Christopher a Birthday cupcake that she and Cricket had masterfully created the night before.
Christopher was a bit timid at first. His trepidation was obviously due to the inner conflict he was experiencing in regards to Cannibalism. Once he crossed that threshold it was on, and our smallest Monkeyboy devoured his prey with the finess of a Lion. Here is a three shot sequence that sums up the conquest quite nicely.
Hey, it's a Monkey eat Monkey world, and Christopher is now the master of his domain.Once the sugar was sufficiently dispensed, it was time for presents. You would have thought that Christopher would have had enough to eat when he finished his cupcake, but noooooooo....he decided to top off his cake with a heaping portion of tissue paper....YUMMY!
Thank goodness that Lori was close by, and with her cat like reflexes she was able to pull the helpless tissue from the little eating machine's mouth.
Whew, Smurf mouth prevented, now on to the gifts. Christopher, with Lori's help, had no problem ripping, tearing, and shredding the wrapping paper, He loved that part. He also loved his many presents, although the sheer numbers probably caused information overload. He did not know which one to play with, so he made like a pollinating bee and went from one to the next at breakneck speed. Here he is unwrapping his Wonder Pets toy.
Just think, now I get to not only listen to the Wonder Pets on his DVD, but now I even get to hear that "delightful" Wonder Pets diddy emitting from his newly acquired toy. OH JOY!!!! The one present that really got the attention of not only Christopher and his ever protective Mom, but also all of the boys in attendance, was his Star Wars electric ATV. Here is a picture of Christopher checking out his new wheels.
Lookout toes and shins of the world, here I come!Christopher stayed awake just long enough to try out all of his toys and then quietly drifted off to dreamland. The rest of us visited for a while and then just like that, it was over. Lori and I would like to thank all that attended. A special thanks goes out to NANA and PAWPAW for making the 16 hour drive to be here. Christopher is too young to understand the sacrifice that you made right now, but he will come to appreciate it as he gets older.
I will leave you now with one last picture. Here is Aidan and his little brother Christopher doing what they do best............being Monkeys.
William
Friday, August 22, 2008
Unus Annus Vetus Angelus
Happy First Birthday Little Slugger. The joy and happiness that you bring into all of our lives is immeasurable. We are so very lucky to have such a beautiful, healthy son. We are blessed.
William
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Journey To Satiation
We are back, and for the moment, satiated. Rocking good times were had by all, and leaving our friends and the beach grows more difficult with each visit. I guess we will eventually get used to it, but for now, the dread of leaving has been replaced with the eager anticipation of our next opportunity to visit. Like always, it can never get here soon enough. So grab some popcorn and a drink because it's story telling time.
As I stated in my last entry, Lori worked a night shift in the ER on Tuesday night, and unfortunately she only got to lay down for 1 hour during the night. Needless to say, she was pretty whipped the next morning. She finally got home about 9:00am and after making a few last minute preparations, the family unit was on it's way. The miles passed quickly (except for the wreck we were stuck behind for 20 minutes in South Dallas), and Lori and the boys were able to nap a little bit. We finally stopped for lunch in Buffalo, Texas, and everybody enjoyed the hamburgers and the chance to stretch our legs. We got back on the road about 30 minutes later, and made really good time all the way to Galveston. 331 miles in 5 hours in 29 minutes is not too shabby when you are traveling with two small children and a dog.
Once we got to the beach house and unpacked and ate, we headed for the beach. We got to the beach about 7:00pm, and we made the most of the 1 1/2 hours of daylight that remained. Aidan of course was the first to the water. I am quite sure that noise laws were being violated as Aidan's Screams, and Christopher's squeals bellowed through the evening air. Yep, I'm pretty sure that I heard a couple of car alarms going off from the ear piercing decibels being emitted from the young Thornton Clan. After a minute or so, the shrills turned to smiles a amazement, as watery bliss engulfed their bodies. Here is video that I shot about 30 minutes after we arrived.
We finally left the beach about 8:15pm, and went back to the house to get a bite to eat. After eating, we were extremely tired, and an early night was had by all.
We woke up on Thursday morning looking forward to spending the day at the beach, and waiting for our wonderful friends to get into town. Kenny and Hailey had taken off work on Friday, so they and Carley were driving down that evening. We got to the beach around noon, and commenced frolicking for the next 4 hours. Christopher takes after his brother and absolutely loves the beach. He has also copied Aidan's fearlessness, and wants to swim with the big boys. It takes the eyes of a Hawk and the quickness of a Cheetah to keep up with that little Monkey. Here is a picture of him frolicking around in his entirely too big beach clothes.
Actually the shirt fit just fine, but the "shorts" would have looked great with a pair of cowboy boots. Oh well, he did not seem to mind. While I was playing chase the Monkey, Aidan and Lori were out riding (as Aidan put it) some "gnarly" waves.
We left the beach about 4:00pm, and went back to the beach house to get cleaned up. After cleaning up, we had to drive into town and do some grocery shopping at Wal-Mart. For those of you who want to know, I would not wish that experience on my worst enemy. Geeshhhh....talk about some strange ducks........wow. Strange people in mass quantities all under one roof does not appeal to me one stinking bit. It's pretty bad when one is elated to get back into the 90 degree / 80%humidity parking lot. After a quick sprint to the vehicle and loading up the booty, we were on our way back to relaxation central. After getting back to the beach house we cooked and ate dinner. Kenny and Hailey got in a couple of hours later, and after getting the kids to bed, we start catching up with our old friends. Last time we did that, as I wrote on my last Galveston blog, we did not get to bed unitl almost 5:00 am. I wanted to make sure that did not happen again, so we limited ourselves to a few hours, and we all got to bed at a semi-decent hour (1:30am).
Friday morning came in a flash, and we were all up by 6:30am. Christopher made sure of that with his rousing impression of a Pterodactyl. Lord that boy can be loud! Anyway, getting woken up that early is not a bad thing because that meant that Hailey would start cooking her absolutely delicious, world famous, mouth watering breakfast casserole. YUMMY! After feasting on entirely too much casserole, Ken and I made the journey back towards town for our Shrimp run. One of my favorite things about Galveston is the ability to get fresh (i'm talking right off the boat) Shrimp. We purchased 5lbs of Large Shrimp with Saturday's cookout/feast never far from our minds. After we got back to the beach house, everybody prepared for a day in the sun.
We got to the beach about 2:00pm, and it was a great day to be there. It was a bit overcast, and not too hot. The water was perfect, and Ken and Aidan set out to tame some waves.
Christopher meanwhile, sat in the sand and contemplated life's little secrets.
Well, maybe that's stretching it a bit....he was probably plotting his escape from the ever watchful eyes of his mother. Either way, he was cute as a button, and really enjoying himself. Here he is, involved in a pretty serious shark attack.
We stayed at the beach for almost 4 hours, and by the time we left, everyone was quite tired. We drove the 3 minutes back to beach house, and started getting the grill ready for the forthcoming burger and hotdog extravaganza. After stuffing our faces and getting the kids to sleep, we had a wonderful surprise when another of our good friends showed up to visit. We weren't expecting to see Kirk until Saturday, so his early arrival was just icing on the cake. Kirk is another one of those special friends that you can't help but to feel comfortable around. We all sat and visited until the early morning hours, and then called it a night.
Saturday morning started off with a few showers, but it had all cleared up by noon. While we were waiting for the weather to pass through, we got a phone call from an old friend that we have not seen in years. She lives with her husband and 3 kids about 2 hours away from the beach. Sara and Alan decided to meet us at the beach, and they brought their 10 year old daughter Morgan, and their 7 year old son Nolan with them. Aidan and Carley now had some new playmates to visit with, and I was ecstatic that I was going to get to see my old friend Sara. I have been great friends with Sara for almost 23 years, and she is like a sister to me. All though we still speak to each other on the phone, it's been far too long since we have been face to face.
We all meet out at the beach about 2:00pm and once again the weather was great. After some big hugs were exchanged and the kids were introduced to each other, we all started visiting properly. While Sara and Hailey were visiting,
daddy was being challenged by is 5 year old son in soccer.
Morgan joined forces with Aidan, at which time I called in Kirk for my backup. Nothing like being old. Here is a shot of Carley trying out the boogie board.
After all of the playing, it was snack time.
We stayed at the beach until almost 6:00pm, and then made our way back to the beach house to begin preparing the feast. T-bones - New York Strips - Boiled shrimp and my favorite Bacon Wrapped Cream Cheese Jalapeño Shrimp. MMMmmmmmmMMMmmmmmm!!!!!! Everything turned out perfect, and everyone ate like there was no tomorrow. After dinner it was surprise time for Aidan and Christopher. Hailey made cup cakes for their forthcoming birthdays, and she and Kenny also had presents for the boys. So, everyone further stuffed their faces with delicious cakes, and Aidan tore into his Pokemon presents. After the festivities and the sugar, Aidan an Nolan got a bit goofy.
The kids drifted off to dreamland, and all of the "grown ups" filed downstairs. We played darts, drank a few cold beverages, and just reminisced about old times. It was really great to have so many good friends in one place again. I would not trade my friendship with those guys and girls for anything in the world. They are all quality people, and we are so lucky to have each one in our lives. The night ended about 2:00am, with the last day of the visit looming just over the horizon.
Sunday morning was overcast, and we knew there would be a good chance of rain. Sara, Alan, and the kids left around noon, and the rest of us prepared for a final trip to the beach. We got there about 1:00pm and hoped that our good fortune would last. While Lori spent some quality time with Christopher,
Kirk started setting up his fishing gear. Mystic suddenly took an interest in what Kirk was doing when she noticed the bait fish flopping around on the hooks. Well, she took and interest all right, and the next thing you know she was chomping down on the lowest fish.....yeah, the one with the hook in it. Thankfully the hook only grazed her bottom lip and just cut it a little bit. It could of been much worse. Here is a picture of the carnage.
A short time later, the Heavens broke loose and put a big damper on our last's day's beach time. Bummer. We packed everyone and everything up and headed back to the beach house.
After we got back, everyone showered, and started the long depressing job of packing. Wow, where did those 4 days go? A blur I tell you. I started loading up the CX-9 about 5:30 and we were packed and not wanting to leave by 6:00pm. We said our sorrowful goodbyes and took a few last pictures.
We then set out on our journey home and 5 1/2 hours later we pulled into our driveway.
We are very thankful that we've had the opportunity to visit the beach and our friends twice this summer. It sure was fun, and a big thanks goes out to the Canons for inviting us. As of May this year, Kenny and I have been friends for 20 years. We have both had our share of trials and tribulations during that time, and have relied on our friendship for guidance many times. I could not ask for a better person to call my buddy. We are all proud to know him and his family and to be able to share such special times with such fantastic people.
I will leave you with one more note. Click on the picture, step back, and take it all in slowly.
KING OF THE BEACH BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
William
As I stated in my last entry, Lori worked a night shift in the ER on Tuesday night, and unfortunately she only got to lay down for 1 hour during the night. Needless to say, she was pretty whipped the next morning. She finally got home about 9:00am and after making a few last minute preparations, the family unit was on it's way. The miles passed quickly (except for the wreck we were stuck behind for 20 minutes in South Dallas), and Lori and the boys were able to nap a little bit. We finally stopped for lunch in Buffalo, Texas, and everybody enjoyed the hamburgers and the chance to stretch our legs. We got back on the road about 30 minutes later, and made really good time all the way to Galveston. 331 miles in 5 hours in 29 minutes is not too shabby when you are traveling with two small children and a dog.
Once we got to the beach house and unpacked and ate, we headed for the beach. We got to the beach about 7:00pm, and we made the most of the 1 1/2 hours of daylight that remained. Aidan of course was the first to the water. I am quite sure that noise laws were being violated as Aidan's Screams, and Christopher's squeals bellowed through the evening air. Yep, I'm pretty sure that I heard a couple of car alarms going off from the ear piercing decibels being emitted from the young Thornton Clan. After a minute or so, the shrills turned to smiles a amazement, as watery bliss engulfed their bodies. Here is video that I shot about 30 minutes after we arrived.
We finally left the beach about 8:15pm, and went back to the house to get a bite to eat. After eating, we were extremely tired, and an early night was had by all.
We woke up on Thursday morning looking forward to spending the day at the beach, and waiting for our wonderful friends to get into town. Kenny and Hailey had taken off work on Friday, so they and Carley were driving down that evening. We got to the beach around noon, and commenced frolicking for the next 4 hours. Christopher takes after his brother and absolutely loves the beach. He has also copied Aidan's fearlessness, and wants to swim with the big boys. It takes the eyes of a Hawk and the quickness of a Cheetah to keep up with that little Monkey. Here is a picture of him frolicking around in his entirely too big beach clothes.
Actually the shirt fit just fine, but the "shorts" would have looked great with a pair of cowboy boots. Oh well, he did not seem to mind. While I was playing chase the Monkey, Aidan and Lori were out riding (as Aidan put it) some "gnarly" waves.
We left the beach about 4:00pm, and went back to the beach house to get cleaned up. After cleaning up, we had to drive into town and do some grocery shopping at Wal-Mart. For those of you who want to know, I would not wish that experience on my worst enemy. Geeshhhh....talk about some strange ducks........wow. Strange people in mass quantities all under one roof does not appeal to me one stinking bit. It's pretty bad when one is elated to get back into the 90 degree / 80%humidity parking lot. After a quick sprint to the vehicle and loading up the booty, we were on our way back to relaxation central. After getting back to the beach house we cooked and ate dinner. Kenny and Hailey got in a couple of hours later, and after getting the kids to bed, we start catching up with our old friends. Last time we did that, as I wrote on my last Galveston blog, we did not get to bed unitl almost 5:00 am. I wanted to make sure that did not happen again, so we limited ourselves to a few hours, and we all got to bed at a semi-decent hour (1:30am). Friday morning came in a flash, and we were all up by 6:30am. Christopher made sure of that with his rousing impression of a Pterodactyl. Lord that boy can be loud! Anyway, getting woken up that early is not a bad thing because that meant that Hailey would start cooking her absolutely delicious, world famous, mouth watering breakfast casserole. YUMMY! After feasting on entirely too much casserole, Ken and I made the journey back towards town for our Shrimp run. One of my favorite things about Galveston is the ability to get fresh (i'm talking right off the boat) Shrimp. We purchased 5lbs of Large Shrimp with Saturday's cookout/feast never far from our minds. After we got back to the beach house, everybody prepared for a day in the sun.
We got to the beach about 2:00pm, and it was a great day to be there. It was a bit overcast, and not too hot. The water was perfect, and Ken and Aidan set out to tame some waves.
Christopher meanwhile, sat in the sand and contemplated life's little secrets.
Well, maybe that's stretching it a bit....he was probably plotting his escape from the ever watchful eyes of his mother. Either way, he was cute as a button, and really enjoying himself. Here he is, involved in a pretty serious shark attack.
We stayed at the beach for almost 4 hours, and by the time we left, everyone was quite tired. We drove the 3 minutes back to beach house, and started getting the grill ready for the forthcoming burger and hotdog extravaganza. After stuffing our faces and getting the kids to sleep, we had a wonderful surprise when another of our good friends showed up to visit. We weren't expecting to see Kirk until Saturday, so his early arrival was just icing on the cake. Kirk is another one of those special friends that you can't help but to feel comfortable around. We all sat and visited until the early morning hours, and then called it a night.Saturday morning started off with a few showers, but it had all cleared up by noon. While we were waiting for the weather to pass through, we got a phone call from an old friend that we have not seen in years. She lives with her husband and 3 kids about 2 hours away from the beach. Sara and Alan decided to meet us at the beach, and they brought their 10 year old daughter Morgan, and their 7 year old son Nolan with them. Aidan and Carley now had some new playmates to visit with, and I was ecstatic that I was going to get to see my old friend Sara. I have been great friends with Sara for almost 23 years, and she is like a sister to me. All though we still speak to each other on the phone, it's been far too long since we have been face to face.
We all meet out at the beach about 2:00pm and once again the weather was great. After some big hugs were exchanged and the kids were introduced to each other, we all started visiting properly. While Sara and Hailey were visiting,
daddy was being challenged by is 5 year old son in soccer.
Morgan joined forces with Aidan, at which time I called in Kirk for my backup. Nothing like being old. Here is a shot of Carley trying out the boogie board.
After all of the playing, it was snack time.
We stayed at the beach until almost 6:00pm, and then made our way back to the beach house to begin preparing the feast. T-bones - New York Strips - Boiled shrimp and my favorite Bacon Wrapped Cream Cheese Jalapeño Shrimp. MMMmmmmmmMMMmmmmmm!!!!!! Everything turned out perfect, and everyone ate like there was no tomorrow. After dinner it was surprise time for Aidan and Christopher. Hailey made cup cakes for their forthcoming birthdays, and she and Kenny also had presents for the boys. So, everyone further stuffed their faces with delicious cakes, and Aidan tore into his Pokemon presents. After the festivities and the sugar, Aidan an Nolan got a bit goofy.
The kids drifted off to dreamland, and all of the "grown ups" filed downstairs. We played darts, drank a few cold beverages, and just reminisced about old times. It was really great to have so many good friends in one place again. I would not trade my friendship with those guys and girls for anything in the world. They are all quality people, and we are so lucky to have each one in our lives. The night ended about 2:00am, with the last day of the visit looming just over the horizon.Sunday morning was overcast, and we knew there would be a good chance of rain. Sara, Alan, and the kids left around noon, and the rest of us prepared for a final trip to the beach. We got there about 1:00pm and hoped that our good fortune would last. While Lori spent some quality time with Christopher,
Kirk started setting up his fishing gear. Mystic suddenly took an interest in what Kirk was doing when she noticed the bait fish flopping around on the hooks. Well, she took and interest all right, and the next thing you know she was chomping down on the lowest fish.....yeah, the one with the hook in it. Thankfully the hook only grazed her bottom lip and just cut it a little bit. It could of been much worse. Here is a picture of the carnage.
A short time later, the Heavens broke loose and put a big damper on our last's day's beach time. Bummer. We packed everyone and everything up and headed back to the beach house. After we got back, everyone showered, and started the long depressing job of packing. Wow, where did those 4 days go? A blur I tell you. I started loading up the CX-9 about 5:30 and we were packed and not wanting to leave by 6:00pm. We said our sorrowful goodbyes and took a few last pictures.
We then set out on our journey home and 5 1/2 hours later we pulled into our driveway. We are very thankful that we've had the opportunity to visit the beach and our friends twice this summer. It sure was fun, and a big thanks goes out to the Canons for inviting us. As of May this year, Kenny and I have been friends for 20 years. We have both had our share of trials and tribulations during that time, and have relied on our friendship for guidance many times. I could not ask for a better person to call my buddy. We are all proud to know him and his family and to be able to share such special times with such fantastic people.
I will leave you with one more note. Click on the picture, step back, and take it all in slowly.
KING OF THE BEACH BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
William
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Anticipatory Euphoria
Well, it's another really quiet night here at the Thornton household. The boys are in bed and Lori is working a call night in the ER at the hospital. Me, well I am making the best of the situation by smiling from ear to ear. What you ask? Why would I be smiling with Lori gone and me solely responsible for the two monkeys upstairs? I have a one word answer for you.......ready.......BEACH! Yep, that's right, at this time tomorrow we will once again be at the beach, breathing in that warm salty air, and visiting with our wonderful friends.
We are so very lucky to have wonderful friends like the Canons. Once again they have invited us down to their beach house, and once again, it took all of 1/2 a second to respond with a resounding yes. As I have stated in past blogs, we love the beach. Combine our love for the beach with our desire to visit with our wonderful friends, and I cannot think of a better time.
The family unit has done quite a bit of traveling in the last week. Last Friday, we started a 3 day 1100 mile trip. On Friday we drove to Senatobia, Mississippi to visit dad's grave. After spending the night in Olive Branch, Mississippi we got up real early Saturday morning and drove to Jonesboro, Arkansas. We left Jonesboro, Arkansas late Saturday evening, and finally stopped in Little Rock, Arkansas late Saturday night. We got up Sunday morning and drove home. Aidan and Christopher did remarkable well on our trip considering the long hours that were spent in the car. We are all crossing our fingers in hopes that this trip will be as smooth. After everything is said and done, we will have put about 2200 miles on the CX-9 over a 10 day period. It sure is a good thing Lori's vehicle is so stinking comfortable.
Well, I guess it's time for me to finish the laundry, pack the suitcase, pack the ice chest and the snacks, and then pack the vehicle. Hopefully Lori will have a decent night, and if we are really lucky, she will get a little rest. Either way, she will have about 6 hours of road time to catch some ZZZZzzzz's.
As always, I will have plenty of pictures to share when we return.
William
We are so very lucky to have wonderful friends like the Canons. Once again they have invited us down to their beach house, and once again, it took all of 1/2 a second to respond with a resounding yes. As I have stated in past blogs, we love the beach. Combine our love for the beach with our desire to visit with our wonderful friends, and I cannot think of a better time.
The family unit has done quite a bit of traveling in the last week. Last Friday, we started a 3 day 1100 mile trip. On Friday we drove to Senatobia, Mississippi to visit dad's grave. After spending the night in Olive Branch, Mississippi we got up real early Saturday morning and drove to Jonesboro, Arkansas. We left Jonesboro, Arkansas late Saturday evening, and finally stopped in Little Rock, Arkansas late Saturday night. We got up Sunday morning and drove home. Aidan and Christopher did remarkable well on our trip considering the long hours that were spent in the car. We are all crossing our fingers in hopes that this trip will be as smooth. After everything is said and done, we will have put about 2200 miles on the CX-9 over a 10 day period. It sure is a good thing Lori's vehicle is so stinking comfortable.
Well, I guess it's time for me to finish the laundry, pack the suitcase, pack the ice chest and the snacks, and then pack the vehicle. Hopefully Lori will have a decent night, and if we are really lucky, she will get a little rest. Either way, she will have about 6 hours of road time to catch some ZZZZzzzz's.
As always, I will have plenty of pictures to share when we return.
William
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Eager Expectancy
Well August arrived in a flash, and with it's arrival comes a new season of Little League Baseball. Anticipation is ripe at the Thornton household, as we are all very curious to see how Aidan handles his first season of live pitch baseball. Aidan's first practice is tomorrow afternoon, so I suspect that anticipation will not be the only thing that is ripe after we spend 2+ hours in the hot August sun. Oh Joy!
Speaking of hot, it's been real hot here recently....extremely hot....I'm talking Africa hot. There was a time in my life where the heat, no matter how hot, rarely bothered me. I guess spending years of your life unloading sweltering 130+ degree tire trailers at Western Auto will do that to you. Well now that I am getting older (fatter), and I have not been in a trailer in the past 17 years, my ability to acclimate has greatly diminished. Last week, while doing my daily exercise, I actually looked like I had sprung a leak. Remember this: If you can hear a squishing sound with every step you take, it's probably a good clue that it's too stinking hot to be exercising outside.
Right now we are all keeping our fingers crossed that the cool front (ha ha) that is currently keeping the temperatures in the mid 90's will stay for a little while. We, along with the yard and the flowers, could all use a reprieve.
William
Speaking of hot, it's been real hot here recently....extremely hot....I'm talking Africa hot. There was a time in my life where the heat, no matter how hot, rarely bothered me. I guess spending years of your life unloading sweltering 130+ degree tire trailers at Western Auto will do that to you. Well now that I am getting older (fatter), and I have not been in a trailer in the past 17 years, my ability to acclimate has greatly diminished. Last week, while doing my daily exercise, I actually looked like I had sprung a leak. Remember this: If you can hear a squishing sound with every step you take, it's probably a good clue that it's too stinking hot to be exercising outside.
Right now we are all keeping our fingers crossed that the cool front (ha ha) that is currently keeping the temperatures in the mid 90's will stay for a little while. We, along with the yard and the flowers, could all use a reprieve.
William
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Temporary Insanity
I briefly wrote about our trip to Dollyworld's Splash Country in my latest blog entry. I purposely left most of the specific details out because quite frankly, I am trying to forget them. That being said, there is one part of the park visit that I will never forget.
Splash Country is like almost any other mainstream water park, with various slides, wave pools, lazy rivers, and splash areas. One thing that sets Dollywood's park apart is the fact that it is built on two tiers. There is an upper tier consisting of 2/3rds of the attractions, and a lower tier that is roughly 150-200 feet below the upper tier that contains the remaining attractions.
Well, it seems that one day while they were going over the plans for the park, some genius decided that it would be fun to build a 60 ft tower on the edge of the first tier, and construct a water slide that not only dropped the length of the tower, but keep right on going all the way to the bottom of the second tier. One straight shot, with no twist or turns.
This was not what I wanted to see, and I figured that Aidan would avoid this particular ride at all cost. I figured wrong, and as soon as he saw it, he was pulling both Lori and Me towards it with frightening ease. "What the hell"? I thought to myself, "surely he doesn't intend to ride that humongous thing". "Come on Dad, it will be fun" Aidan said. Fun? Fun? Ummmm......falling 20 stories on my backside is not my idea of fun. As a matter of fact, just climbing and standing on the top of a 60 foot tower ranks right up there with stubbing my big toe on the ol' fun-o-meter. "Are you too scared"? Wait....wait...Did my 5 year old son just ask his dad if he was "too scared" to do something that said 5 year old was willing to do? For some insane reason, the first words out of my mouth were "of course not, let's go". Oh Crap!
As we approached, I saw that the SLIDE OF DEATH had a height requirement. Oh yeah.....WHEW!......saved I thought.....until....wait, does that say 48"? Crap, Aidan is right at 48". Sure enough, we measured him at the base of the staircase, and the bar was touching his hair. "I made it dad" Aidan yelled "oh yeah"! Oh yeah indeed.
We started our journey up the spiraling stairs, and the whole way up all I could think about was how stupid I was for agreeing to accompany Lori and Aidan up this death tower. I hate heights. I have always hated heights. 60 ft towers are high. What was I thinking? With the slow moving line and the hoards of people, it took about 20 minutes of rail gripping terror to finally make it to the top. Once there, to my surprise and dismay, Aidan did not chicken out, and he was ready to go. Damn it!!
The tower is actually built with dual slides next to each other. They are separated by approximately 6 feet. The plan was for me and Aidan to go down each of the slides at the same time where Aidan would be there at the bottom to flag down the EMT's in order to restart my heart. No, not really, but that is exactly what I was thinking at the time. As we slowly made our way across the platform of terror, the executioner (actually the girl who worked there) stopped Aidan and told him that she would have to measure him. She did, and according to her chart, he was 1/4 inch too short for the ride and would not be allowed to slide down. Aidan was devastated, and began to cry. He and Lori would now have to make their way down the 20 flights of stairs, all the while pushing their way past the throngs of people waiting in line. Now I do not know if it was because the heat was getting to me, or if I simply did not want my son to think that I was a scared-y cat, or if I just did not want to walk past all those people, but for some insane reason, I completely lost my mind and decided to go ahead with the execution...err I mean ride.
I made my way to the slide and took a seat. Once you are sitting, a bit of the fear subsides because the ride creates a wall of water in front of you, and you cannot see anything. I assume they create this sight blocking wall of water to keep all but the truly deranged from standing back up and walking back down once they see the death plunge they are about to take. Even so, my heart was still racing. If you have ever watched the Luge event in the winter Olympics, that should give you an idea of what you are "supposed to" do. As you sit, you have a handle on each side of you to grab. You are "supposed to" use those handles to give yourself a little momentum to clear the edge. "Supposed to"...is the key word...and as it turns out, important in this instance.
The Grim Reaper walked over and told me to keep my arms crossed over my chest and my legs crossed at the ankles the whole way down, and then she screams GO. With that GO, you are supposed to give yourself that little push that I mentioned earlier and off you go. Well...not me....oh no......my adrenaline was pumping and I gave myself one big heave.
OH SHhhhhhhhh.........Whooooooaaaaa.....Ahhhhhhhhhhhh.......in that very instant I realized why you are supposed to ease yourself over the edge.....for I was suddenly free falling, and I could not feel anything but air between me and the slide. "Surely this is not designed this way" I thought. Well needless to say, the leg crossing plan suddenly and abruptly ended, and I looked like a large screaming upside down letter Y going down that slide. My rear finally touched the slide about 20 feet after I went over the edge, and then I started picking up serious speed. At that moment I realized there was a specific reason why they wanted me to keep my legs crossed. My flailing legs were now acting like a funnel, and all of the water on that 300+ foot slide was being force fed into my mouth, and up my nostrils and into my eyelids. Looking back, it was probably good that I was swallowing so much water, because the water going down my throat was the only thing that was preventing my son from hearing his father scream like a second grade school girl. "Please let it end" was all I could think about with the exception of "Please don't drown". After what seemed like an eternity, I finally came to a stop and let me tell you I could not get off that death trap fast enough.
I waited (still shaking with fright) at the bottom for Lori and Aidan to join me. By the time they had walked the stairs down, Aidan has stopped crying and was now just disappointed. I informed him of my terror, and told him to thank his lucky stars for that 1/4 inch, for it probably saved him some permanent scarring. I on the other hand now have a memory that will unfortunately remain frighteningly fresh for a long, long time.
William
Splash Country is like almost any other mainstream water park, with various slides, wave pools, lazy rivers, and splash areas. One thing that sets Dollywood's park apart is the fact that it is built on two tiers. There is an upper tier consisting of 2/3rds of the attractions, and a lower tier that is roughly 150-200 feet below the upper tier that contains the remaining attractions.
Well, it seems that one day while they were going over the plans for the park, some genius decided that it would be fun to build a 60 ft tower on the edge of the first tier, and construct a water slide that not only dropped the length of the tower, but keep right on going all the way to the bottom of the second tier. One straight shot, with no twist or turns.
This was not what I wanted to see, and I figured that Aidan would avoid this particular ride at all cost. I figured wrong, and as soon as he saw it, he was pulling both Lori and Me towards it with frightening ease. "What the hell"? I thought to myself, "surely he doesn't intend to ride that humongous thing". "Come on Dad, it will be fun" Aidan said. Fun? Fun? Ummmm......falling 20 stories on my backside is not my idea of fun. As a matter of fact, just climbing and standing on the top of a 60 foot tower ranks right up there with stubbing my big toe on the ol' fun-o-meter. "Are you too scared"? Wait....wait...Did my 5 year old son just ask his dad if he was "too scared" to do something that said 5 year old was willing to do? For some insane reason, the first words out of my mouth were "of course not, let's go". Oh Crap!
As we approached, I saw that the SLIDE OF DEATH had a height requirement. Oh yeah.....WHEW!......saved I thought.....until....wait, does that say 48"? Crap, Aidan is right at 48". Sure enough, we measured him at the base of the staircase, and the bar was touching his hair. "I made it dad" Aidan yelled "oh yeah"! Oh yeah indeed.
We started our journey up the spiraling stairs, and the whole way up all I could think about was how stupid I was for agreeing to accompany Lori and Aidan up this death tower. I hate heights. I have always hated heights. 60 ft towers are high. What was I thinking? With the slow moving line and the hoards of people, it took about 20 minutes of rail gripping terror to finally make it to the top. Once there, to my surprise and dismay, Aidan did not chicken out, and he was ready to go. Damn it!!
The tower is actually built with dual slides next to each other. They are separated by approximately 6 feet. The plan was for me and Aidan to go down each of the slides at the same time where Aidan would be there at the bottom to flag down the EMT's in order to restart my heart. No, not really, but that is exactly what I was thinking at the time. As we slowly made our way across the platform of terror, the executioner (actually the girl who worked there) stopped Aidan and told him that she would have to measure him. She did, and according to her chart, he was 1/4 inch too short for the ride and would not be allowed to slide down. Aidan was devastated, and began to cry. He and Lori would now have to make their way down the 20 flights of stairs, all the while pushing their way past the throngs of people waiting in line. Now I do not know if it was because the heat was getting to me, or if I simply did not want my son to think that I was a scared-y cat, or if I just did not want to walk past all those people, but for some insane reason, I completely lost my mind and decided to go ahead with the execution...err I mean ride.
I made my way to the slide and took a seat. Once you are sitting, a bit of the fear subsides because the ride creates a wall of water in front of you, and you cannot see anything. I assume they create this sight blocking wall of water to keep all but the truly deranged from standing back up and walking back down once they see the death plunge they are about to take. Even so, my heart was still racing. If you have ever watched the Luge event in the winter Olympics, that should give you an idea of what you are "supposed to" do. As you sit, you have a handle on each side of you to grab. You are "supposed to" use those handles to give yourself a little momentum to clear the edge. "Supposed to"...is the key word...and as it turns out, important in this instance.
The Grim Reaper walked over and told me to keep my arms crossed over my chest and my legs crossed at the ankles the whole way down, and then she screams GO. With that GO, you are supposed to give yourself that little push that I mentioned earlier and off you go. Well...not me....oh no......my adrenaline was pumping and I gave myself one big heave.
OH SHhhhhhhhh.........Whooooooaaaaa.....Ahhhhhhhhhhhh.......in that very instant I realized why you are supposed to ease yourself over the edge.....for I was suddenly free falling, and I could not feel anything but air between me and the slide. "Surely this is not designed this way" I thought. Well needless to say, the leg crossing plan suddenly and abruptly ended, and I looked like a large screaming upside down letter Y going down that slide. My rear finally touched the slide about 20 feet after I went over the edge, and then I started picking up serious speed. At that moment I realized there was a specific reason why they wanted me to keep my legs crossed. My flailing legs were now acting like a funnel, and all of the water on that 300+ foot slide was being force fed into my mouth, and up my nostrils and into my eyelids. Looking back, it was probably good that I was swallowing so much water, because the water going down my throat was the only thing that was preventing my son from hearing his father scream like a second grade school girl. "Please let it end" was all I could think about with the exception of "Please don't drown". After what seemed like an eternity, I finally came to a stop and let me tell you I could not get off that death trap fast enough.
I waited (still shaking with fright) at the bottom for Lori and Aidan to join me. By the time they had walked the stairs down, Aidan has stopped crying and was now just disappointed. I informed him of my terror, and told him to thank his lucky stars for that 1/4 inch, for it probably saved him some permanent scarring. I on the other hand now have a memory that will unfortunately remain frighteningly fresh for a long, long time.
William
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Mountains of Mirth
I am looking out the window while I type this and getting more depressed with each passing key stroke. You see, for the last week I have been waking up to this view.....
and now all I am seeing is the row of houses across our street. Night and day I tell you. There is just something about breathing in crisp 59 degree mountain air first thing in the morning that just makes you feel alive.
The Thornton family clan took a vacation last week. We piled into an airplane and flew to visit Lori's parents at their farm in the Smokey Mountains. Visiting their farm is always something special, as stress melts like butter with each passing minute. After a 1 hr delay at the airport to get a new plane, the remainder of the flight went very well. Christopher was very good and slept most of the flight, and Aidan was so engrossed in playing his PSP he hardly noticed most of the flight.
Lori's mother picked us up at the airport, and 1hr later we were far off the beaten path, and heading for alpine solitude. After arriving at their beautiful Log Home,
we unpacked and prepared for our rural holiday. Like I said before, the stress of everyday life seems to just disappear the moment you step out of the car. The scenery is fantastic, and Steve and Dianne are wonderful host. As you pull up the driveway you are greeted with a rush of colors as Dianne's beautiful flower garden comes into view.
This was Christopher's first trip to the mountains and I must say, he enjoyed himself immensely. He loved riding on Gator (4x4 ATV) and enjoyed all of wildlife, farm animals, and food. Here is Christopher showing his appreciation for the Plum that his brother Aidan picked from one on the many fruit tress on their farm.
Speaking of picking fruit, here is Aidan in action - picking and eating a peach.
Aidan seemed to enjoy picking the fruit and eating it immediately. Very few of the ones that he picked actually made it into the basket. The same goes for the blueberries
and the wild blackberries
he picked. He had a blast, and a full belly.
Aidan likes to ride around the farm on the Gator too, but he especially likes it when PawPaw takes him for a ride on his tractor. He was provided an extra special treat this year when PawPaw brought out his new tractor to give Aidan a ride.
Yep, that big Massey Ferguson has all of comforts of home.....complete with AC, CD Player, and GPS. Oh, and to give you some perspective of how big it actually is, that truck that is sitting next to it is a Ford F250 4x4. No wonder Aidan is all smiles.
Most of the days were spent relaxing at the farm and either fishing, exploring, or frolicking in the pool. We did venture out a couple of days to check out some of the local attractions. One of those days was spent at Dollywood Splash Country. While Nana and Pawpaw took care of Christopher, Aidan and Lori and I set out on our journey. It was about an hour drive, and Wow let me tell you, that was quite an experience. Picture Los Angeles rush hour traffic combined with a NASCAR Mud wrestling championship and you get the picture. Aidan had great time at the park, and that is what matters. Lori and I got our pleasure out of knowing that we were looked upon as downright svelte amongst that crowd.
On Wednesday, we went to visit Steve's parents, and while we were there, Aidan and Dad played in the mountain Creek that runs in front of their house.
It is an absolutely beautiful area, and the creek is even stocked with trout.
While we were visiting, MaMaw Stokely found an old stuffed little monkey and gave it to Christopher. Do you think he enjoyed it?
On Thursday we drove about 20 miles away to have lunch in Hot Springs, North Carolina. It's a very small town that is known mostly for it's hot spring baths and it white water rafting companies. Here is a picture of Lori that was taken at the small restaurant were we had lunch. Notice Huck Finn's Whitewater Rafting store in the background.
Friday came in a flash, and after 7 days in country bliss we had to return to "city life". We took a few final pictures
and then headed for the airport. The flight home could not have gone any better, with Christopher sleeping the entire way, and our luggage waiting for us as soon as we got to the baggage claim. After picking up Mystic at doggie day care, we finally arrived at our humble abode. Kitty was here to greet us when we arrived, and he was one happy feline.
We were all very sad to leave, and now we are all right in the middle of our rural withdrawals. I am sure that Nana and Pawpaw are now enjoying the peace and quiet, and we are all looking forward to the next time we get to gaze upon another stunning sunset at Poplar Springs Farm.
William
and now all I am seeing is the row of houses across our street. Night and day I tell you. There is just something about breathing in crisp 59 degree mountain air first thing in the morning that just makes you feel alive.The Thornton family clan took a vacation last week. We piled into an airplane and flew to visit Lori's parents at their farm in the Smokey Mountains. Visiting their farm is always something special, as stress melts like butter with each passing minute. After a 1 hr delay at the airport to get a new plane, the remainder of the flight went very well. Christopher was very good and slept most of the flight, and Aidan was so engrossed in playing his PSP he hardly noticed most of the flight.
Lori's mother picked us up at the airport, and 1hr later we were far off the beaten path, and heading for alpine solitude. After arriving at their beautiful Log Home,
we unpacked and prepared for our rural holiday. Like I said before, the stress of everyday life seems to just disappear the moment you step out of the car. The scenery is fantastic, and Steve and Dianne are wonderful host. As you pull up the driveway you are greeted with a rush of colors as Dianne's beautiful flower garden comes into view.
This was Christopher's first trip to the mountains and I must say, he enjoyed himself immensely. He loved riding on Gator (4x4 ATV) and enjoyed all of wildlife, farm animals, and food. Here is Christopher showing his appreciation for the Plum that his brother Aidan picked from one on the many fruit tress on their farm.
Speaking of picking fruit, here is Aidan in action - picking and eating a peach.
Aidan seemed to enjoy picking the fruit and eating it immediately. Very few of the ones that he picked actually made it into the basket. The same goes for the blueberries
and the wild blackberries
he picked. He had a blast, and a full belly.Aidan likes to ride around the farm on the Gator too, but he especially likes it when PawPaw takes him for a ride on his tractor. He was provided an extra special treat this year when PawPaw brought out his new tractor to give Aidan a ride.
Yep, that big Massey Ferguson has all of comforts of home.....complete with AC, CD Player, and GPS. Oh, and to give you some perspective of how big it actually is, that truck that is sitting next to it is a Ford F250 4x4. No wonder Aidan is all smiles.
Most of the days were spent relaxing at the farm and either fishing, exploring, or frolicking in the pool. We did venture out a couple of days to check out some of the local attractions. One of those days was spent at Dollywood Splash Country. While Nana and Pawpaw took care of Christopher, Aidan and Lori and I set out on our journey. It was about an hour drive, and Wow let me tell you, that was quite an experience. Picture Los Angeles rush hour traffic combined with a NASCAR Mud wrestling championship and you get the picture. Aidan had great time at the park, and that is what matters. Lori and I got our pleasure out of knowing that we were looked upon as downright svelte amongst that crowd.
On Wednesday, we went to visit Steve's parents, and while we were there, Aidan and Dad played in the mountain Creek that runs in front of their house.
It is an absolutely beautiful area, and the creek is even stocked with trout.
While we were visiting, MaMaw Stokely found an old stuffed little monkey and gave it to Christopher. Do you think he enjoyed it?
On Thursday we drove about 20 miles away to have lunch in Hot Springs, North Carolina. It's a very small town that is known mostly for it's hot spring baths and it white water rafting companies. Here is a picture of Lori that was taken at the small restaurant were we had lunch. Notice Huck Finn's Whitewater Rafting store in the background.
Friday came in a flash, and after 7 days in country bliss we had to return to "city life". We took a few final pictures
and then headed for the airport. The flight home could not have gone any better, with Christopher sleeping the entire way, and our luggage waiting for us as soon as we got to the baggage claim. After picking up Mystic at doggie day care, we finally arrived at our humble abode. Kitty was here to greet us when we arrived, and he was one happy feline. We were all very sad to leave, and now we are all right in the middle of our rural withdrawals. I am sure that Nana and Pawpaw are now enjoying the peace and quiet, and we are all looking forward to the next time we get to gaze upon another stunning sunset at Poplar Springs Farm.
William
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