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.