Mid-Summer Update

Mid-summer update, take two.

I actually created this blog last night and was quite proud of it. I laughed. I cried. It moved me. It was chock full of funny, witty comments that would have entertained you for hours but it was all wiped out when I published it despite my frequent saves. Then I yelled, threw things, pouted and finally cried again. I doubt I can create that greatness again but I'll try.

Last month, Dana and I celebrated our 16th anniversary! Sometimes it seems like time has flown by and other times it seems like a looong time - in a good way, of course. Unbeknownst to each other, we both decided to splurge a little on our anniversary gifts and as a result we now have a balance on our dang credit card again. She bought a new camera for me (that I LOVE) since our old one broke. I bought her a new TV. I thought the old one was fine but she insisted TV pictures are supposed to have colors other than green. Little did I know that with a new TV, one must also acquire a whole new set of furniture to go with it. Funny how women work like that. For me: new camera = use old camera bag. For her: new TV = new TV stand, bookcases on either side, repaint living room, new rug, new drapes, reposition wall hanging 3-7/8" to the right, new pillows for the couch, etc. Good thing I love her.

The Slugas also came to visit for a week in June. We had a great time visiting with them and were sad to see them go. I know Dana especially enjoys time with her sisters. We're still trying to convince everyone to move out here but no one is buying it.



We took the Slugas to our favorite state park. Here's Ronney & Karen checking out the waterfall. I'm still amazed at how green everything is around here.



Playing with the camera in this one. Check out the defocused background. Pretty trick, huh? I horsed around with the settings on the camera so much I failed to get a decent picture of all the kids together. I'll have to try again when we're in NM.


We've gone riding a whopping two times this summer. Poor Kevin missed both times because he was out galavanting around the country with his friends. So nevermind, not poor Kevin.

My awesome zoom allows cool close up shots without endangering myself. I like these where you can see their eyes.



The helmet hides Cade's always-present smile.


Even the most hardcore MXers need a water break. Crossed eyes and puffy cheeks are optional.


Cameron is getting the hang of his 65. He and Cade both ask to go riding quite often. Too bad it isn't free like the good ol' days in NM.


Pit tootsie. She's hubba hubba in color and hubba hubba in black and white.

We finally made our way down to Destin, FL for a weekend at the beach. I was there for a conference several years ago and really wished I could bring the family to show them how pretty it is. Never thought we'd make it. Now it's half a day's drive away. And, my personal goal of dipping the Expedition's toes in both oceans and the gulf is now complete! Time to sell it.

This was my view when not in the water. Poor me.

What's a day at the beach w/o burying someone in the sand?

I was playing with the camera (notice a theme here?) and took this panorama. What I really like about it is Kevin's head sticking out of the sand in the lower left corner.


Cameron on the run looking cool as always. I wish I had that cool, David Hasselhoff run like he does.



I just love the smiles on their faces in this picture. And they're not fighting!!!


Look how clear the water is. If you ever get the chance to visit the Emerald Coast, do it!

Cade was either playing in the sand or in the water but he was playing nonetheless.

That's one good lookin' kid!


There's another studmuffin. I didn't get a good picture of Cade on the boardwalk so don't think I don't think he's good looking. He is.

Kevin is growing fast but I still have a few inches on him. For now.

This picture reminds me, did you know you can submerse an old style Ford key fob in salt water for over 2 hours w/o harming anything? I do now. But next time I'll be sure to empty my pockets before playing in the water just in case.


Our neighborhood had a golf cart parade for the 4th of July. The local golf pro is the leader of our Sunday School class so he let us borrow a golf cart. I think we did alright considering our nearly last minute dash to the dollar store for some decorations. We didn't win any prizes but I still think we had one of the best carts. No one else had Uncle Sam on the back of their cart! But we had fun and that's what matters, right?

The boys ready to roll in their first sort of parade.

We invited our neighbors and friends over to watch us set off our fireworks then have some of Dana's awesome flag cake. I had a blast setting off roman candles and rockets and all the things that were banned years ago in NM.

Getting ready for the Reynolds festivities.
Have I ever mentioned that we LOVE our neighbors and the street we're on?

No summer would be complete without a slip-n-slide. Unfortunately, ours broke the first time we were using it but that didn't stop the kids from having a good time.

Kevin getting a face full.

Oh, look! Cade is smiling. Imagine that.

This picture speaks for itself.

Trying to Keep Up!

Geez, Louise! Can you believe summer vacation is half over? We've been having a great time here in Athens so maybe that's why it's going so fast.

Since the last update, Kevin finished 7th grade, Cameron finished 4th grade and Cade completed pre-school. Kevin & Cam both made the A honor roll and were recognized in their school's awards ceremony. Dana and I are awfully proud of our boys.

Cade looked so darn cute in his cap and gown!

Soccer season finally ended. Kevin's coach didn't want to quit and kept scheduling more games. When that did end, Kevin joined a club team here in Hunstville. He'd better really, and I mean REALLY, enjoy soccer because he'll go straight through from Jan/Feb (whenever it was that the school team started) all the way through November. And then he'll start again with school next year.

We didn't get any good action shots of either of the boys in soccer this year and Kevin skipped his year-end party so no pictures of him there either. At least we got this one of Cade.

Cameron's wrestling group had a year end party at the ice skating rink. Dana was the only one of us who has ever tried ice skating before. While we wobbled around and tried not to bruise our tailbones too badly, Dana leapt on the ice with all the gracefulness of a, um, well something that's pretty graceful. Especially when you compare her to the rest of us with backs hunched over and arms wildly flapping back and forth with a look of sheer terror on our face. Dumb ice. Cade actually had it made. He got a "walker" to help him skate so he cruised around like a little old man - except he moved a lot faster.

Here's Dana showing off by not flapping both arms, Cade with his walker, and Cameron trying to balance. Actually, Cameron picked it up very quick and looked right at home after just a few minutes. Kevin and I are the ones who really had trouble.

Jacobs had an employee event at the Botanical Gardens again this year. Dana was sleeping so I took the boys with me for some fun in the su, er, rain. And it was a bit cold.


We spent a long time in the butterfly house. Here's Cameron showing off his new hair accessory.

All 3 boys jockeying for position to get the butterfly to crawl on their hand. Each of them got a turn. I like how Cade is holding his left hand out as he concentrates on his other hand.

Honey, I shrunk the kids!

Dana and I celebrated our 16 anniversary in June! And we actually celebrated it this year, unlike last year when we did nothing and bought no gifts. Not sure what we were thinking. Anyway, Dana gave me a new camera!!! (Our old nice one broke a couple of years ago) I LOVE this one. 32X optical zoom! So if you think I had a lot of pictures before, just wait!

Here's a cool shot I took while messing around with the camera. If you squint really hard and turn your head you can sort of make out the Apollo landing sites. Ok, I made that up.

Cam's B-day and Easter

If you haven't been keeping track, Cameron's birthday on April 21 was a special milestone. Yep, it was the big one-oh. He's now in the double digits. And I hope he makes it to triple digits. Dana took cupcakes and balloons to him at school and I think it's safe to say he enjoyed the extra attention. At home, he requested a scavenger hunt type search for his presents like we've done in the past.

Cameron and his "helpers" trying to find the next clue.

Can't have a birthday w/o a birthday cake. That's getting to be a lot of candles and I don't like it.


This year we had the pleasure of spending Easter with the Samps. I'm always amazed at how all the cousins pick up right where they left off despite not having seen each other for 1-1/2 years. Included in our typical tour of the area, was a trip to Monte Sano State Park and Wheeler National Park.

I like this shot I took of all the boys at Monte Sano.


On a short hike, we came across this little waterfall.

Cool shot of Tyler

At Wheeler, we found this psycho squirrel. It was slightly skittish at first, but Ryan was eventually able to pet it. Mr. Squirrel must have liked that because he started following us around. Like, all the way down the walking path and to the car. I don't think anyone would have been surprised if he had tried to get in one of the cars. The boys had some good laughs over this little guy.



What would Easter be without colored eggs? Unfortunately, 4 days after this photo was taken we lost power for several days and most of the eggs were lost. Sigh. Anyway, did you know if you leave an egg in the dye overnight, it doesn't really get much darker but the shell starts to look kind of weird and bubbly? I do now.


The Easter Bunny came! Please disregard my boys in their various states of undress.



All decked out for church.



The start of the easter egg hunt.


A bunch of good lookin' people. And me.

All too soon, Easter was over and our visit with the Samps was over. We all had a great time and I know Dana enjoyed the time with her big sis. Dana and I are still trying to figure out how to convince everyone to move out here to Alabama so we can see everyone more often. Unfortunately, I don't think the tornado outbreak in April helped our cause any.

Somehow, Cade figured out how to climb up the doorframe. Once again, please disregard underwear boy's choice of attire. He really does wear clothes around the house. I promise.

Wrestling, Soccer, Art. It's All Here!

Lots of stories to tell so try to keep up!

Gosh, where to start? I found my MIA camera in my coat pocket from our last snow day. We've added a few pictures since then but I obviously hadn't gotten around to doing anything with them.

Cameron quit soccer this season (boo! He was really good!) and decided to take up wrestling, of all sports. Hunter, Kevin's BFF and our neighbor's son, started last fall and they suggested Cameron try it. I took him to a practice to see what it was like and was surprised at how hard those kids work. They did some serious cardio exercises! Cam thought it looked fun so we forked over the dough and signed on the dotted line. On the way home from his very first practice, he was literally singing songs about how much he hated it and swore he wasn't going back. Sorry, buddy. We paid, you play. Like it or not. By the next practice, his attitude had improved again (kind of like labor, I assume, where people forget how bad it was and remember the good parts). The coaches really took a liking to Cameron mostly because he truly worked very hard and never quit. Cam was warned most kids don't win any matches in their first season but that didn't stop him from getting more and more discouraged as the season progressed and he remained winless. He led at times and came really close to winning a couple of times but just couldn't finish the deal. Finally, late in the season, he not only won a match but he did it by pinning his opponent (as we learned, you can win by a pin (best way = bragging rights) or on points). He followed that up with another win in the next tournament. We all learned a lot about a sport we initially knew nothing about and got to where we were really enjoying watching the matches. We even learned to shout something more profound than "Go!" by the end of the season. As fun as it was though, it was always very tough to see my son get twisted into a pretzel and out-muscled despite his very best efforts. It took all I had not to go out on the mat and kick some of those kids off him. That probably wouldn't be a very good display of sportsmanship.

One of Cam's first matches (he's on top). He wanted to look tough but he really looked cute in his singlet.

This has nothing to do with wrestling other than the fact that we were at a match but I just love the expression on Kevin's face.

We also bought a new, used dirt bike for Cameron. He didn't know it was coming so when I brought it home and asked him to help me get something out of the pickup, he was overjoyed when he saw it.

He's only ridden it a couple of times so far but he figured out the clutch and shifting pretty quickly. Hopefully we'll get more time to ride it now that summer is here.

It took us several weeks but we (with the boys help) finally got around to putting our new outdoor fireplace together. Dana bought some huge marshmallows to roast. I'm talking Texas-sized. These things were monsters! We'll enjoy us some nice fires with this thing.

Look at the size of those marshmallows! Eat one and you don't want any more.

Pretty much as soon as we found the camera, Cade got back to taking self portraits again. Dana bought him some kind of detective kit at the dollar store one day so he took these pictures. I just love them.

Agent C is on the scene.

And he's packing heat.

"Don't make me call for backup. I'm the good cop."

Kevin's middle school soccer team had a great season. They almost went undefeated losing only one, close game. When the regional tournament rolled around they were the number 1 seed. The first game was easy, the second was a little harder and the third and final game was against the team they lost to. They jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first half and hung on for a nailbiting 2-1 win. Regional champs for 2 years in a row (Kevin's first year, of course)!


Champs

(Kevin 4th from L on top row)

Cade is playing soccer again this season. He's really enjoying it. He's constantly kicking a ball around the house and out in the yard (Imagine that! Someone who actually practices!) He has improved tremendously this year and it's a good thing because he's the only one on the team who has played before. He's always very proud when I ask him to show his teammates how to do something.


Good or not, he' still pretty darn white.

Three little monkeys sitting in a tree. One fell off and bumped his... knee? This was obviously taken a few months ago before everything bloomed and my sinuses rebelled.


Sometimes I hook a strap to the skateboard and drag Cade around the driveway. The boys took that idea a step further and tow each other around the cul-de-sac.

Yet another self portrait. He figured out that he can put the camera on the table, push the button and immediately jump back to get a picture like this. Some day I'll show him how to use the timer but in the meantime this is more fun to watch.

My littlest buddy and me.


Spring time means chalk time. Yet another driveway masterpiece under construction.

Dana let me build a train track around the wall in our office! I've always wanted to do that. With that done, I'm trying to convince her to let me tunnel through the wall and go into another room or three.

More pictures to come. Cameron had a big day and we had some guests for Easter.

Returning to Normal

We've had quite the interesting week to say the least! As you all probably know, we had what's called a generational storm system, in that something like this only happens about once a generation. I've heard the worst storm on record in 1974 spawned 149 tornadoes but this one spawned 150 tornadoes - in Alabama. I don't know what the total count for all the states turned out to be. It started on Wednesday when the storms started rolling in. After getting stuck in the basement at work for an hour, I took the opportunity to go home early in between storm fronts. I'm so glad I did too because I got home just minutes before another storm hit and several of them passed through my route home. Dana and Cade had already taken shelter once under the stairs when it got nasty but it was just a strong wind at that time. One of our neighbor's trees fell but nothing was damaged. The rest of the afternoon and early evening seemed to be one tornado warning after another with several passing just a few miles south of us. We lost power around 5:00. At one point, Dana noticed debris falling from the sky even though it was calm outside (indicator of a tornado nearby). Pieces of insulation, tin, shingles, paper and other items littered the area. We found a church bulletin from Phil Campbell and registration form from Hamilton AL (both about 100 miles away and very hard hit by the tornadoes).

The next day, power was out across the area. We heard 1 million people were w/o power. Most of Athens had power (we did not) so all the neighboring cities were coming here for gas and groceries and causing all kinds of headaches with traffic. Reports were that getting gas could take anywhere from 45 minutes to over 2 hours depending on what time you went. The grocery stores that were open were quickly wiped out of bread, milk, ice and the like. Being from the southwest, Dana bought some of the many available tortillas and we made meals with those. Ha! These Southerners apparently didn't know what to do with them. It also started to become more clear how lucky we were. An F-4 tornado passed just 2 miles south of us and destroyed several homes. One brick home was completely wiped off it's foundation. We had nothing more than some broken twigs in our yard while those nearby people lost everything.

Some good came out of the bad. Our lives slowed down and we spent more time visiting with neighbors and each other. Dana volunteered to work an extra day at the hospital since they were short on staffing and I grabbed my chainsaw and headed out with a group from our church to help with cleanup efforts. The chainsaws ran all day as we cut and others hauled off the debris. I won't post any pictures but it looked like a bomb went off in the hardest hit areas. Houses gone, cars pulverized, huge trees uprooted... After seeing this, I couldn't help but feel like I had a little survivor's guilt. We didn't have so much as a shingle torn from our roof. We also started hearing some terrible and heart breaking stories from EMTs and first responders that I won't repeat here.

Almost all of our friends were unaffected by the storms other than not having power but some did have some damage to their homes. One group was watching the big tornado as it approached and said the water in the field across the road suddenly rose and shot straight towards the approaching wall cloud then went straight up in the air. At that point, they ran inside and down to the basement. Just about every tree on their property was knocked over (and they had a lot!) and several hit the house. No one was injured though. Another friend had some damage to the home they were renting and ruined a lot of nice furniture. But literally, just across the street, several homes were destroyed and the second stories on each of them were gone. I'm pretty sure they consider themselves lucky.

As the days dragged on with no power, we used our little generator to charge all the neighbor's cell phones and the kids' portable games. Dana also used it to power her blow dryer. She was the only lady in the whole neighborhood with perfect hair every day! Everyone else wore a cap or a ponytail. We grilled some of the food in our freezer before it went bad and shared dinner with our neighbors. And I must say, we LOVE our neighbors. Everyone has been so good about helping and watching out for each other.

We never felt like we were all that affected by the storm, only minorly inconvenienced by the power loss but others felt differently. I stopped at AutoZone and when I asked the cashier how he was doing he griped that he could be a lot better because he didn't have any power at home. Really? Your place of employment is still there and open, your family is well, your house and property are fine and you're complaining? Seriously?

The power came back on at our house late Sunday night and cable and internet followed on Monday. After being cut off from everything for several days, we were finally able to see the images and videos from the storms. Yikes!

The other day Cade and Cameron found a big box from a generator and dragged it home. They taped it back together and call it their "emergency box". It appears the storms had an effect on them as well.

As I type this, the Redstone Arsenal where I work still hasn't reopened so I've been off work for almost a week. I could definitely get used to this as long as the paycheck keeps coming!

Things are slowly returning to normal and it appears the rest of the country has moved on to the next big news story. It'll be awhile before it feels normal here because I have to drive by some of those devastated houses to get to work. Every time I see one of those, I thank God my family wasn't injured.

I started working on a blog early last week with some updates over the last month or so. I'll get around to it again soon and post some pictures of the kids' happenings.

Thanks to everyone for the thoughts and prayers and for checking in on us. It was exciting but not the kind of exciting like a Space Shuttle launch where you immediately want to do it again. I'm good with going through that just once!

Mental Image Post

We seem to have misplaced our camera so we don't have anything to show for the last few weeks. You'll have to use your good ol' imagnation for this post.

Most of you probably know Kevin made the no-cut soccer team at school. We joke about it but in reality, he made the "A" team and gets to play in the games. Some kids are stuck on the practice squad and don't get to play or travel. I'd say he's part of the "B" team of the "A" team if that makes sense. He's done well and played in all but one of the games and he was even the first 7th grader to score this season. So far, his team is 6-0 and looks like they have a pretty good shot at going undefeated but we don't want to get ahead of ourselves. So here's the mental image part: Picture Kevin in a gold jersey with black shorts and a big #10 on his back. In that picture, imagine him doing a super cool bicycle kick to score the winning goal against the #1 team in Alabama. Ok, it didn't happen like that but if you pretend it did then 20 years from now that's what we'll all remember.

Cameron quit soccer to take up wrestling. After his first practice he was singing songs about how much he hated it. If you're like us, you probably had no idea how hard wrestlers have to work and how good of shape they have to be in. Anyway, after swearing he would never go back he changed his tune after a day or two (we would have changed it for him anyway since we already paid the $70) and kept at it. So far, he's really enjoyed it and his coaches have been very impressed with how hard he works and how quickly he's learning. Why is it that when I was coaching him, getting on to him only made him mad but for these guys he works harder? What the heck? Oh well, whatever works for him. He had his first tournament yesterday and wrestled his heart out. He lost both matches on points but he led after the first round both times and avoided getting pinned. Most kids never win a match their entire first year of wrestling so for him to have been close on his first try was like a win to me. He was caught a little off-guard in his first match because the intensity was noticeably higher than what he was used to in practice. For Cameron, just picture him pinning a guy the size of the Incredible Hulk. Again, convince yourself it happened and eventually it did happen. As a side note, another kid joined Cameron's team on Thursday. Never wrestled before and in really good shape (shape = round). On Saturday, he had to wrestle in the tournament. Poor guy had no clue what to do. He lives right by us so he and Cam may become buddies.

Cade is ready to start soccer and frequently talks about how many goals he's going to score this season. Practice should start next month. He also had a blast at the wrestling tournament yesterday and was climbing all over the bigger kids between matches so he might decide to pick that sport up later. They start at 5 but that just seems too young to me. For Cade's picture, just imagine him happy with a big smile on his face as he's running somewhere. That's perfectly normal for him.

Dana and I are well and are excited to see what our landscaping looks like when everything blooms and turns green again. Not so excited about the allergies though and Kevin is absolutely dreading having to mow. It's gonna take him a week with all this grass! We'll be sure to post some pictures of everything - if we can ever find that darn camera.