We let time get by during the Summer.....

I can't believe we have just been letting time slip away this summer.  We are only 2 wks away from school starting back!  Graham has been out of town working quite a bit this summer, and the sad news is that he is not done :( But we make it work.  I have my final exam this week for Public Speaking, and I can not tell you how HAPPY I will be to have this class behind me!  This has certainly forced me out of my quiet box in the classroom.  Being back in school with kids half my age....what was I thinking!!  I am thinking..."I think I can, I think I can!"  And in the end it will all be for a that degree to hang on my wall that says to me "I did it!!"  I have been working on some things in my sewing corner of the bedroom, and have been very excited about what is turning out from in there!

Ok I realize this is sideways, but if you turn your head just right you will get the picture ;)  I took all of Logan's Cub Scout patches, tshirts, neckerchiefs, etc and turned them into a memory wall hanging.  I want to hang this in the room as soon as I finish it!

 Here I have made a quilt for Graham to go on our King size bed!  And next door is a wall hanging I made using a dresden plate template with left over fabrics!!  Waiting for my wonderful neighbor to come home so we can put them on her long arm frame and quilt them!!

It's Like Riding a Bike....Right???

1997.....that was the last time that I set foot on a pitcher's mound. Until this past weekend....and man, I have sore muscles where I did not even know there WERE muscles!! But, it was all worth it to be able to spend a few hours playing a game I grew up with with guys that I have played with and against since we all were little kids. Not sure if everyone knows, but Heath Dowsey, from Fairhope, was involved in a boat accident about a month ago. In this accident, he lost both his father and his uncle. His uncle's girlfriend and the boat captain was drowned - Heath was the lone survivor. So, as a way to show the Dowsey family some love, some old teammates put together a "tribute" game to honor Big R, Randy Dowsey. There were guys from Daphne, Fairhope, Robertsdale, and guys I played with at FSCC there; in all, close to 40 guys showed up to play. It was awesome to see all these guys, some I had not seen in 14-15 years!! But it seemed like the conversations picked up where they were left off all those years ago!!



Heath's mom, Donna, set the line-ups, and it was gametime!! Now, how us old pitchers got roped into pitching 2 innings each, I have no clue. But, it was like riding a bike!!! And now I feel like I fell OFF a bike!! After 9 innings, the "team" I pitched with ending up scoring more runs than the other team. I am not going to say "won," because everyone won on this day. And with Will Hughes cooking up some awesome BBQ, everyone left with full bellies! It was a great day, and I think it will happen again in the future.



Other highlights of the weekend included the Arts & Crafts Festival. April spent the day with my mom and Aunts Martha and Reenie. It was a beautiful day for the festival! Mackenzie and I hung out and did some geocaching along the bayshore! Then we took a walk to the end of Fairhope Municipal Pier! It was just a fantastic weekend, full of friends and family!!



Another weekend in the books.  Saturday we spend a lazy day around the house.  I got in some sewing this weekend.  Finished a mug rug for my MIL, and I really hope she likes it.  We will be putting that in the mail to her this week.  Also so happy to be done with my Boutique quilt top.  Now just to get it across the street to my neighbors and pin it on her long arm!!  We got in a Geocaching Meet and Greet in Phenix City.  Always nice to put a face to some of the names you see signing the logs! 



 Mug Rug - work in progress & finished product





And Sunday we spent most of the day away from the house.  We left bright and early to go to Atlanta to visit IKEA with our neighbor.  She was able to get a new table for the sewing room.  And we spent some time as a family just wandering around at all IKEA has to offer!  Then back home for a den meeting.  And afterwards, Reba fed us dinner and in turn we put her new furniture together!!  All in all we had a good weekend!  Now on to our very busy week this week with baseball practice, gymnastics, mid term exam, and the list goes on........







She needed a nap from all the walking around!!



What a great weekend!

Friday night we started out with a wonderful night at the AU Gymnastics meet.  One of Mk's friends from daycare joined us, and the girls had a great time playing together!  I always like to see how she interacts with kids outside of daycare.  And just as I figured she is kinda bossy!!  Saturday daddy was not feeling well, so off to the doctor he went.  After a shot and a prescription he came home and crashed in the bed.  I decided to get out of the house a bit with Mk, so we took a trip to the park!  Low and behold another of  her bestest friends from daycare shows up! Talk about luck!! The girls slid down the slide and had a ball!!  To end the day off right we took a trip to Chill!! Nothing better than some frozen yogurt for dinner!!  And Sunday was a day of cleaning the house and relaxing!  Oh and we did get a little ball practice in with Logan before the sun went down!!  Love the weekends, I DO!!

Daytona 500!

Wow, what a weekend!! April, my mom, and I drove down for the Great American Race...the Daytona 500!! We met at the hotel in Jacksonville on Saturday night, then had some dinner at Whitey's Fish Camp, www.whiteysfishcamp.com It was some decent seafood, not the best, but good. Conversation and company was GREAT!

We got up early Sunday and headed down I-95 to Daytona Beach. We thought about grabbing a few geocaches along the way, but I am glad that we decided not too. Once we got to the designated parking lot, we realized that there was going to be a LOT of people here today. Boy were we right!! Waited in line for the bus to take us to the track - the good ol' yellow school bus!! Could not even begin to tell you how long it had been since I had been on a school bus....17 years maybe?

After we got off the bus and made our way towards the grandstands, the excitement of the race started to grow. I was able to get some free Sprint Fanzone passes, so we were able to get down onto the track and pit road. I knew mom would love this, and I was right! She was thoroughly enjoying herself!! After we walked the track (and me looking at the result of many many hours of sweat during the repaving project) we made our way to our seats. The sun was out and there was not a single cloud in the sky....total racing weather perfection! The pre-race concert by Brad Paisley was good, but I think we all just wanted those cars to fire up and get on the track!!!

Martina McBride sung the National Anthem - I think she has sung it for over 100 sporting events....maybe it is her way to get in free!!! When the command to start the engines came, I think the crowd was louder than the cars themselves! Everyone was primed and ready to go...RACING!

The green flag came out and things got crazy and stayed crazy. This race ended up having a record number of cautions, leaders, and total lead changes. Engines were blowing, cars were wrecking, drivers were putting theirs cars anywhere they thought it would fit! End the end, it was the rookie, Trevor Bayne in the famed #21 Motorcraft Wood Brothers Ford that took the checkered flag. Just turned 20 they day before....20 years old! The youngest driver to ever win the Daytona 500...5 years younger than Jeff Gordon when he won in 1997. I think the crowd was extremely happy to see him win....probably due to everyone's favorite having a beat up car! The race should have been renamed the Daytona Derby!!

After the race, we decided to drive up A1A and stop so April could see the Atlantic Ocean. Nothing beats the smell of salt water in the air. Decided to stop in Flagler Beach and have dinner on the Flagler Pier. Nice restaurant - very quiet on a Sunday night. Just a few people eating and talking about the race. Nothing but positive things about the track and the racing.

Once we got back to the hotel, it did not take long before the snoring started!! We were all worn out....but it was an unbelievable trip! Got up Monday, grabbed a biscuit, kissed mom goodbye, and April and I were on the road back home. Could not wait to see the kiddos!!

Mackenzie's 3rd Birthday!

What a great day we had yesterday!!  Mackenzie's birthday party went great.  She had a wonderful time and got lots of great toys from all our family and friends!  We were very excited to see her daycare friends come out to the party!  The theme was Toy Story 3 with a highlight on Jessie for Mk! The decorations we borrowed from a friend's family member were a BIG hit!!  I tried to all the kids pictures made in front of the props before they left, but alas I missed a few :(  And a big thanks goes out to Uncle Stephon for taking Logan to Montgomery for his People to People meeting.  Yes we are sending our son to Canada this summer for 12 days!  He is very excited!!  Well enjoy the pictures of the party!!

So tonight Mackenzie and I went to the City of Auburn's 22nd Annual Daddy Daughter Date Night. We had a little dinner from Chick Fil A, had Flip Flop Foto take our picture, then danced a jig or two!! All in all, we had a ton of fun!