Snow Tubing

I tired to take the kids snow tubing today in the mountains of North Carolina. The roads were in bad shape and the Cadi got stuck trying to go up a hill. It was a frozen mess. I needed chains, a 4X4, a tow rope, and a shovel but didn't have a any of that. After being stuck for about an hour, I called my wife on her cell phone and we discussed an alternate route, with the help of google maps, that wasn't as hilly. So I drove home a different way. We never went tubing.

The kids said today that they were sick of snow and ice.

I am glad to be home today!

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

I'm dreaming of a white christmas, just like the ones I used to know, Where the treetops glisten and children listen, to hear sleigh bells in the snow ...

We are having a white Christmas at my house this year. The kids and I love it. It is snow ball time!

Merry Christmas to all!

Next Day (Sunday)

Today was a fun day for sledding and building a snow man. The hills around our house make for fast sled rides. Here is Justin Luke all bundled up and getting ready for a sled ride. Ashlyn is busy making a snow angle

Pretzel Time!

Instead of making cookies, I decided to make mall pretzels (with the help of the younger ones of course). Instead of small, hard pretzels, we made the big, huge, and buttery ones. Before we started cooking though, the helper chefs had to dress up and look cute. After the dough had risen, we cut it into pieces and formed the pretzel. When all were in a some-what pretzel looking shape, we put it in the oven and cleaned the messy place up. When it was time for us to take them out of the oven, Luke took the task of buttering and salting them (good thing none of us has high blood pressure). When the pretzel making process was over, we sat down with a huge glass of milk and ate our pretzels.

Election is Over

The election is over and unfortunately, Dana was not elected as Trustee to the Anderson District 1 School Board. Dana and I are surprised by the result and disappointed but we respect the vote.

We had campaign signs spread throughout the county so we were busy picking them up this week.

My commissioner position was not up for re-election this term. But in two years, we will be campaigning again as I seek re-election.

Halloween Fun

October 31

We had a little halloween fun today. First we started the day by going church. Later in the evening we went to another church for their festival. They had a trunk-or-treat event with rides and games. As the sun set, we came home to pass out candy and go trick-or-treating. Justin stayed at home and scared the bigger kids by jumping up from a grave yard and saying boo. He did this to only the big kids. Most of them laughed.

Mommy set up her campaign headquarters outside and informed the potential voters as they walked by our house.

Currahee Challange

Ashlyn and I ran in a race over the weekend. The race was three miles up a mountain and three miles down the mountain. The race started at the base of Currahee Mountain on the Colonel Robert Sink Trail, the training site of the 501st, 506th, 511th and 517th Parachute Infantry Regiments seen in Band of Brothers, Saving Private Ryan & The Dirty Dozen.

Per the military guidelines, you have to complete the run under 1 hour or you have to run the course again. Fortunately for me, I did not ascribe to those military guidelines as I finished the race in 1:22:02. Ashlyn did much better by winning her age group and coming in 15th overall for females. Ashlyn's time was 1:05:45.

That was one difficult run! It was strenuous to say the least. It is also a race I look forward to competing in next year.

The Commissh

Grand Visit with Mom

I went to visit my mother for a few days. It was good to see her and
spend time with her. I arrived at mom's house on Thursday and stayed
busy until I left Sunday morning. Mother and I accomplished many things
in a short amount of time. Hard work is one of the many great virtues
that mother instilled in me. She has always been a hard worker.

The trip was not all work. Also important is that we made time to have
fun. I certainly ate good - everything from good old Texas BBQ brisket and Tex Mex to fine dining at an private club.

We enjoyed the time together and I look forward to many more visits.

Cookie Monster

Right before we left our neighborhood pool party, Julia grabbed a chocolate chip cookie without us noticing. On the ride home, she was very, very, quiet. When I went to go unbuckle her, I saw chocolate all over her face and fingers (and not to mention all the crumbs around her). She looked so innocent like she had done nothing wrong!

The Campaign Trail

Dana and her team are starting to hit the campaign trail. We are making signs and putting them in high visibility areas. Dana is running for Anderson School District Trustee. The election is November 02.

Here I am building a sign for the campaign.

A day at the beach

Wouldn't it be nice if life was a day at the beach. Well, my family and I recently enjoyed a few wonderful days on the beach. We stayed at a hotel on the beach in Mytrle Beach, SC.

Dana and the kids went parasailing.

My little girl is following in her daddy's foot steps by enjoying surfing.

The little kids and the big kid enjoyed making a sand castle.

We also had fun taking turns being buried in the sand.

The hot days of summer

The summer season is winding down and the north pole of the earth is tilting farther away from the sun. However, the weather in S.C. is still hot like it is the middle of summer. Here is a picture of Ashlyn which reminds me that cooler temperatures should be on their way.

40th Birthday

Today I celebrate my 40th birthday. It is hard to believe that I am 40. In many ways, I still feel like a kid with so much to learn and so much to do.

Typically, people see forty years old as the beginning of middle age. Some people see forty as a time when one feels a sense of loss, the loss of being young with a fear of becoming old. As for me, I see this as the beginning of a wonderful time, a time of celebration of gain and a time to look back on past accomplishments and forward to those things which I hope to accomplish.

I am going to do something different today on my birthday. I will give my wife and kids each a gift. That should be fun.

Dana put a large picture of me in the local newspaper with the caption - "lordy, lordy look who is forty." That was cool.

White Water Rafting

Ashlyn, Justin and I went white water rafting on Saturday. We rafted down the Nantahala River. We experienced mostly class I and II rapids with one class III rapid at the end of the day. After 3 1/2 hours of rafting, we stopped by the side of the river, ate a picnic lunch and took a picture. It was a lot of fun.

Vacation Day 10 - The Journey Home

We sailed at sea during the last day of our trip. Eric & I enjoyed walking around the deck since the weather was warmer, but the kids decided to wrestle in the cabin.

Julia said goodbye to a friend she met over the week.

Then later, Ashlyn & Julia confiscated my camera.

Our trip was the vacation of a lifetime, and we're ready to go back. Next time, we'll probably skip the expense of the cruise and fly directly to Alaska!

Vacation Day 9 - Canada

It wouldn't be considered a trip to Canada without a picture of the mounties! The kids seemed more excited to get a stamp in their passport book, though. This last port of call was a small town called Prince Rupert. The Canadians were really nice. All their signs & instructions were written in both English & French, but none actually spoke French in this town.

Once through border patrol, Julia enjoyed the cool weather playing in their memorial park. Eric sat on the bench to keep watch while the two older kids had fun chasing each other around saying "eh?" at the end of each sentence. You can see our cruise ship in the background.

Although we visited 3 cities in Alaska, it was here in Canada where I spotted our national symbol, the bald eagle. It's head is the white speck in the middle of the tree. They are gorgeous, majestic birds, and bigger than I expected!

Vacation Day 8 - Icebergs & Glaciers

As we pulled away from Skagway, we sailed into bays and fjords that were full of glaciers and icebergs. For some reason I expected them to be white, but they are actually a light blue color resulting from thousands of years of compression.

We started seeing icebergs floating in the water, and later, right up to the boat. They were small, but I kept thinking of the Titanic at this point. The weather was definitely cold, and we were glad we purchased some ear muffs, heavy coats, and ski hats in Juneau so we could enjoy the sights on deck.

As we approached this next glacier, the ship actually made it through the narrow passage and came within 20 feet of the ice breaking off into the cove. I wasn't sure how the ship was going to turn around, but somehow it did and we came right back out.

Here, the mountains are just a few yards away on each side of the ship as we exited that narrow passage. This picture was taken from the top deck of the ship from the pools and water slides. The view was amazing! And yes, if you look closely you can see people in the hot tub. Crazy!

On the way out of the bay, I saw several seals basking on the icebergs.

Vacation Day 7 - Skagway, Alaska

In Skagway, we splurged on our one and only excursion - the White Pass Railway. This was built during the Klondike Gold Rush in the 1890's and took us into Canadian territory up over

the mountains.

This is a great picture showing the fjord carved out by glaciers. The town of Skagway is at the water's edge, with our cruise ship in the harbor. Here, all groceries are either flown in or delivered by cargo ship, and most purchase groceries in bulk on-line from places like Costco. A gallon of milk costs $6 and usually expires in 1-2 days. It's not uncommon for people to fight over milk with a 5-7 day expiration date, since it's rare.

The rail cars are nicely heated, but we occasionally stepped out to breathe the crisp, cold air and take a few pictures. Of the 100,000 gold rushers that started on the journey, only half actually reached their destination, only a few thousand actually found gold, and only about a hundred actually struck it rich. Nordstrom was one that struck it rich, and he used the gold money to invest in a shoe store back home (you know the rest of that story).

Once at the peak of this mountain pass, the terrain was very different. The lush green fir trees were gone and replaced by sparse vegetation, including a rare white moss that is only found in very clean environments. This moss is extremely fragile, and has a unique ability to break down the granite rock, allowing other vegetation to survive.

Vacation Day 6 - Juneau, Alaska

Temperatures were cooler in Juneau, and our jackets came in handy. The air was so cool & crisp that we decided to take another hike. About 2 miles of steep roadways led to an old gold mining operation back in the gold rush.

Justin wanted to try his luck at panning for gold, so for $8, we bought a pan, siphon, and a glass container. It was worth it though, because we ended up with about $15 worth of gold, silver, and copper combined. Since it would cost more than that to refine and process, he decided to keep it to treasure.

In the evening, the inside passage was breathtaking. Whales were spouting and their tail fins broke the surface. Although I never saw one jump completely out of the water, other passengers on board did. They surfaced in areas I didn't have my camera focused, so unfortunately, no picture of the whales.

At dinner, it was formal night, so we all dressed up for pictures. This one is taken in the ships' main deck at the foyer.

Vacation Day 5 - Ketchikan, Alaska

Our first port of call was in Ketchikan, a town with annual rainfall around 14 feet (168 in). We were there during perfect weather:

sunshine, mid 60's, and dry (very rare for this

town).

Rather than spend money on an expensive excursion, we decided to enjoy the weather and hike Deer Mountain Trail. A 4 yr old black bear was spotted at the trail's entrance just an hour before, but fortunately we didn't cross paths.

We didn't quite make it half way on the trail because the little one fell asleep. We also didn't want to risk taking too long to get back or we'd miss the ship - only 6 hrs at port.

Vacation Day 4 - At Sea

While at sea, we took advantages of some great programs on board. They had several activities for kids-only, like an indoor playscape for the littlest ones, a Wii tournament for tweens, and dance parties for the teenagers. Below is a cupcake making event for the whole family.

In the evening, all the little ones from 2-5 yrs made crowns and marched in a prince & princess parade around the ship. Then, every time they wore their crown throughout the week, the stewards on the ship would bow to them and address them as little "prince or princess" and their name, giving them royal treatment. It was really cute.