Thanksgiving, Iron Bowl, Allie's Birthday weekend

We were all busy this weekend as it is normally guaranteed that all of the children will be in the vicinty at some point in the week. We were all able to get together and visit while tailgating prior to the ballgame on Friday. The girls all are changing so fast, and are more active and social. Thats not to say that when there is a meltdown it seems to be close to a catastrophe but we get through it ok. I have put a new picture up that is everyone but Julia (it was a little cool and windy for her). We now get ready for Xmas.

AU Homecoming Weeknd

Both Lauren and Amanda visited the night before AU's homecoming game, as usual this gave us a chance to visit and play with Allie, Hayden and Hailey. Pizza cooked on the egg, tailgating in Auburn and a homecoming victory. Allie and Hayden are really growing and becoming more socially active. Can't wait for Thanksgiving weekend when Zack will join all of us and we get to visit with Julia, Freya and Emma along with the others. Will finally get a picture of all six girls at one time.

Mid October

Here we are in the middle of October, historically the driest month of the year and it has rained almost everyday. Hopefully the weather man will be right about this weekend as Lauren and Amanda and children will be here on Friday to go to the State Fair in Montgomery. Saturday we all plan on going to see AU vs Kentucky and Pam and I are making bourbon balls for the tailgate.

Update

Here it is almost the end of September and it seems that it was just the 4th of July. After spending two weeks in Alaska and not getting home until the day that Auburn played its third game has really gotten us out of schedule. The next couple of months are also busy as we have Hayden's and Allie's 1st birthdays and Pams birthday which will mark the beginning of her last year working. All I can say about Alaska is it was beautiful and if you get a chance to go do so. I have posted some pictures on Facebook and will also post some pictures here.

Aquapalooza 2009 Lake Martin

Yesterday we joined over 2000 other boats for Aquapalooza 2009 Signature event here on Lake Martin. Alan Jackson was the headline performer and there were 5 other acts preceeding his. This event was sponsored by Sea Ray boats and Russell Lands. To say the least it was an outstanding event. The weather, the crowd, and the friends that we shared it with was fantastic. I tried a new recipe for chicken thighs and everyone enjoyed them along with all of the other food that the other friends with us had brought. This retirement thing is working out just fine. The only problem I have is explaing to others how at sunset on Saturday afternoon it reverts back to Friday night. You must be retired to fully understand.

July 4th Independence Day

Independence Day finally arrived. The celebration of not only our country's birth, but the first day of my retirement. Lauren and Amanda and families arrived Thursday night. I had smoked two Boston butts on the egg for 13 hours and they were a great start for the weekend. On Friday we tubed, swam and rode the lake in the boat. Hayden and Allie must really like the boat ride, since they both nap most of the time while riding. Saturday we welcomed friends to enjoy the 4th and I smoked an 18 lb prime rib loin on the egg. Pam thought it would be too much but somehow most of it disappeared. That night we rode out to view the fireworks along with around 2000 other boats. I have put a slideshow of some of the pictures that we took over the weekend and hope that you enjoy them.

The BGE

After reading and listening to owners and friends, I made the decision to purchase a Big Green Egg. The egg was delivered on 5/30 and we have cooked on the grill five of the seven days and will be doing ribs on it this afternoon. From filets, burgers, mason jar chicken to baby back ribs in a week, and we have not used a 9 pound bag of charcoal yet. It will not replace the smoker for the big cookings but it can cook plenty of food for 10 - 12 people very easily. For those that will be here on the 4th, I promise a big surprise from the BGE.

Memorial Day Weekend

Even though the weather did not want to cooperate, we enjoyed Memorial Day weekend with Family, and Friends. Allie and Hayden both arrived with their parents and siblings Friday afternoon and we visited, cooked, laughed, took pictures for the remainder of the weekend. Watching Allie and Hayden play and interact with each other is a pure joy and we cannot wait until Julia brings Zack and the rest of the Family to join us. For those of you that have not heard Julia Bennett Hall is our latest grandchild that was born last Thursday morning. We had 15 others join us for the BBQ on Sunday and Malcolm and Nick made sure that the grill was protected from the rain showers and we then put baby back ribs, mason jar chicken, and Conecuh sausage out to eat shortly before 4 PM.

Looking Forward

We have finally finished our traveling until this Fall. Now the changes to our lives are about to begin. Yes, I have made the decision to go to that next chapter in my life that we will write and modify more than others. Retirement this summer. Already the list of things that we want to accomplish is growing, but I will be taking care of important tasks first. I hope that those of you that can, will frequent the lake and help us to enjoy this next beginning. Independence today will have a double meaning this year.

Now we get busy

Well the rural mail count is over and Pam and I get busy. Trips to Washington, Dominican Republic, Savannah, Atlanta, Birmingham, Atlanta again, and the next thing you know it is the first weekend in May. So it looks like May will be when the boat and us will be on the lake very much. Lauren and Allie (and I hope Malcolm) have indicated that they will be visiting quite a bit this summer. We all are awaiting the birth of baby # 3 to Zack and Anna which is due at the end of May. Will the streak be broken? Who knows? Actually all I hope for is that both Anna and the baby are fine and healthy. Talk to all soon.

Is it REALLY???????

Has spring arrived!! It has been in the seventy's since the weekend with the same forecast for the rest of the week. Do we dare? Can spring be really here? Probably not completely, but most if not all of the cold weather is hopefully behind us. We have even planned Sugar's spring haircut for three weeks from now. Need to call about the waverunner and boat and get ready for riding.

You just never know!

We have always been told that if you wait just a little while that the things that normally happen will change swiftly. This weekend the weather has demonstrated how different it can be from one day to the next. On Friday it was in the seventy's, on Saturday morning there were tornado's and severe thunderstorms, and this morning we woke up to snow. The closest tornado to us was about 15 miles away in Tallassee and in Opelika today there was over 5 inches of snow accumulation. Go figure.

Surprise!!!!!

Yesterday, the 5th day of the dreaded rural count, I got home around 5 and Pam got here shortly after. Since we both had to get up at 4:30 this morning we had decided that we would go out for my birthday dinner tonight. We were standing in the kitchen talking and I had already started to change into my flannels and Pam said I needed to put some pants on since we had company. I still had no idea what she was talking about and put a pair of jeans on. About this time Lauren, Malcolm and Allie showed up at the back door. Surprise, they had come down for my birthday. It awasn't long that one of them let slip that Amanda, Nick, Hailey and hayden were also on the way. The rest of the night was great except I did not get to bed early enough to be getting up at 4:30. Today has been great and we are enjoying our visit. I will post some pictures later.

Top Chef

Well we are down to the top 4. I know that some of you are happy with who is left and I am surprised at the late run that Carla has made to move into the favorites role. Last night also surprised me when Tom made the statement that some people like their (in this case squab) cooked differently. What a novel idea! Now you can imagine that if you eat in Tom's restuarant that you can actually request your steak to be cooked some other way rather than just the way one particular judge likes their's. Now on to New Orleans for the next round. Anyone venture to go out on a limb and declare the winner.

24

Pam and I have started watching 24 just this season. Do you know who the real bad guys are yet? Want to venture a guess?

Facebook and You

I actually signed up for Facebook about a year ago, but since getting my new phone and having the ability to have Facebook all the time only paid attention to it every couple of weeks. This week Zack signed on and he was surprized that I was on. Today I discovered that James Aston was on and have already had a online chat with him. Someone that I have not seen or talked to since Zack was in HS. Are you on facebook? Just another way to let each other keep up with what we are doing.

Holidays 2008-2009

We have just returned from our second visit of the Holidays. We spent time at Lauren's and Amanda's. It sure has beeen fun visiting with the children but primarily getting to see and hold our five granddaughters. Emma, Hailey, Freya, Hayden, and Allison all are the most beautiful girls in the world. Anna is expecting grandchild six in May and so far they have decided not to ask their Doctor the sex of the child. I have posted pictures from both visits.