Peculiar Happenings in Suburbia

More Pictures From Our Last Day of Vacation

2009-08-03T21:44:00.001-05:00

The Great Family Western Adventure - Day 13 or Homeward Bound

2009-08-03T21:09:00.004-05:00

The final day of our vacation came all to soon as we arose early in Kansas City for a quick breakfast at the hotel. Today is the only day we actually backtracked over roads that we had traveled before. I honestly did not want this vacation to be over. The kids had been great, the things we saw were amazing, and I felt privileged to have been able to witness the great sites of this country. I really did not know if I would ever get to see some of the things we saw on this trip, but I now want to see even more of this great country. I just do not understand how people can look at these natural wonders and not believe there is a God creating all of this.

As we headed east that morning, we only had one thing on our agenda, other than getting home. We were stopping at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and riding to the top. LeAnn, Abby and I had done this before, but Ian had never been there. Plus St. Louis was approximately half way home, so it was a good place to get out of the car.

When we got to the Arch, Ian announces rather loudly that he has to go to the bathroom...NOW! The Arch is quite big and it does look like it is right there, but believe me, it's not. We walked as fast as we could to get there, since there were no bathrooms between the parking garage and the actual Arch itself. We headed to the nearest entrance only to see a huge line. By this point, Ian is about to relieve himself on the side of the Arch if we didn't do something quick. I explained to a security guard the situation and he suggested we go over to the other entrance since there was no line there. So here Ian and I go, running as best we could to the other entrance leaving LeAnn and Abby behind. Sure enough, there was no line, but as we entered the door, I knew we had a problem. In front of us, going through the security was a young couple with what looked like five kids, three of which were still in strollers. Trying to get all that through the metal detectors was crazy. The thing went off every time one of them went through it. Meanwhile, Ian is jumping up and down at this point. Finally, they get through. Ian immediately flew through the metal detector, while I am still putting all my paraphernalia in the plastic box. Fortunately, Ian didn't set the alarm off because he was gone. I got through as fast as I could and caught up with Ian. Gladly, we made it to the restroom avoiding any major catastrophe.

We bought our tickets to ride the tram up to the top of the Arch. While we waited for our appointed time, we visited the museum and the bookstore. I bought a couple of really cool books about Merriweather Lewis and William Clark. One of which is their diaries from their expedition. Ian got a four decks of cards. It was a buy one get another free deal. Ian collects decks of playing cards. I believe he ended up getting around seven decks on this trip. He was very happy with his purchase.

We then headed over to the line that takes us to the tram up to the top. If you have never been to the Arch, you ride a tram to the top. Each car looks like a futuristic egg and holds five people. It is very cramped, and Ian wasn't too sure of it. Of course, the rest of us had ridden to the top of the Arch before. But Ian quickly decided it was safe and thus okay to proceed. At the top, there is a narrow hall that has several windows on each side. The eastern side overlooks the Mississippi River and into Illinois. The western side overlooks downtown St. Louis. You get great views of Busch Stadium and the skyline. If you stand perfectly still, you can feel the Arch swaying a little bit. Especially in the tram is coming up to the top. The kids had a great time and really enjoyed the experience. We then grabbed our egg down to the bottom, made quick bathroom trips and headed back to the car. Once we got to the car, I was reminded that we were beginning our last leg of the trip.

We traveled south to Caruthersville, Missouri and then headed east again, across the Mississippi River and back into Tennessee. An hour later, we were pulling into our driveway, and the Great Family Western Adventure was officially over. And it truly was an adventure.

Thank each of you for patiently reading all of these post about our trip. I hope it wasn't to boring for you. But each day was so different and amazing that we didn't want to leave anything out and wish that each of you could have experienced it with us. A big thank you to Jon and Megan for joining us for our first weekend. It was really great to see you and spend time with you like that. This was a special trip for our family and we can't wait to hit the road again for another adventure. Not sure when or where that will be, but we will definitely let you know all about it.

More Pictures From Days 11 and 12

2009-08-01T16:36:00.002-05:00

The Great Family Western Adventure - Days 11 and 12 or Man, This Country is Really Big!

2009-08-01T16:03:00.002-05:00

I thought I would combine these two days since they were pretty much travel days. And honestly, nothing much happened on day twelve. Not even any decent pictures.

On day eleven, we woke with a little sadness. We definitely were not ready to leave Yellowstone and head home. But the vacation days were running out, not to mention the money. We got up early again and finished packing the car. We went over to the general store next door and got some breakfast for the road, gassed up the car, and headed south. Today, we would drive through the Grand Tetons National Park and visit Jackson Hole, Wyoming before ending the long day in Boulder, Colorado.

We headed south and left Yellowstone through the southern entrance. When you leave the park in this direction, you immediately enter the Grand Tetons National Park. The Grand Teton mountain range is amazing and beautiful. You get right up next to them as they dive down into the various lakes that come right up to their base. Every angle is beautiful. We made several stops along the way to take pictures and just take the view in. My favorite place is Jenny Lake and I could have set there and stared all day. We stopped at the visitor center and bought a few T-shirts.

We then headed down to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. From Jackson, TN to Jackson, WY was very cool. Jackson Hole is really a ski resort town so during the summer, I didn't expect it to be very busy. But the place was hopping. The downtown surrounds a town square. The town square is entered through arches that were made from antlers of deer, elk, and moose. It is very cool place. We stopped here and got some more T-Shirts and drove through a Wendy's to head south towards Colorado.

Wyoming is very beautiful and has many different types of landscapes. As we traveled to the southern most part of the state we traveled in a flat area that was nestled between two snow-capped mountain ranges. It was a long way to the interstate but it was a straight shot. We finally made it to the interstate and turned east toward home. As we did, we entered a new terrain. It was very much like those old western movies when the cowboys travel out into the desert. Another great things that we got to examine. We stopped in Laramie, Wyoming to have dinner before heading south into Colorado.

We finally made into Colorado and on into Boulder. We got in very late and it was the only time the entire trip that I was ready to get out of the car. It was exhausting, and we were homesick for Yellowstone.

Day twelve was nothing more than travel. We slept in just a little since we all were so tired. But we got up and had breakfast at the hotel. We then loaded up the car and headed out. We traveled through Denver and out in to the Great Plains. We traveled across Kansas and back into Missouri before making it to Kansas City to spend the night. It wasn't a bad day at all. But it was just driving across the flat plains of Kansas. Not really much to talk about.

The next day is our last day of this great adventure and the destination is home. At this point, I am just ready to be home and to get this driving done. But we have one last adventure to do before we get home.

More Old Faithful Inn Pictures

2009-07-30T19:07:00.001-05:00

The Old Faithful Inn

2009-07-30T18:57:00.002-05:00

Before we leave Yellowstone, and head back home. I thought I would post some pictures of the Old Faithful Inn. This is an amazing hotel. You can feel the history as soon as you walk into the lobby. It was indeed a huge privilege to stay at this hotel. I am so thankful that I had this opportunity and I got to share it with my family. LeAnn took some incredible pictures of the Inn, and I hope you enjoy.

More Pictures From Our Last Day in Yellowstone

2009-07-28T19:51:00.002-05:00

The Great Family Western Adventure - Day 10 or Mammoth Doesn't Necessarily Mean Impressive

2009-07-28T19:06:00.005-05:00

On day 10 we woke to rain. This was the first and only day that it really rained on us the entire trip. So no one was really complaining about it, but I was worried that it might be really cold and that just wouldn't be cool. This day was also our last day in Yellowstone, and honestly, I just wasn't ready to leave yet. I don't believe that I was the only one either. Today's agenda included a trip to the northern part of the park to see the Mammoth Hot Springs and travel on up to the northern entrance and Gardner, Montana. The northern entrance was the original entrance to the park and you drive through the Roosevelt Arch, which is located at the spot that President Theodore Roosevelt officially opened the park.

So after another great breakfast in the dining room, we hit the road toward Mammoth Hot Springs. Along the way you pass several interesting natural wonders. One spot is a very tight and windy part of the road that you travel along the edge of steep cliffs and these huge round boulders. Another spot is called Roaring Mountain. This is a a spot where many heating vents are located along the side of a mountain. The heating vents make a roaring sound...hence, the name Roaring Mountain.

Mammoth Hot Springs is hard to describe. It is a huge mountain that has hundreds of hot springs. These springs constantly are overflowing their edges and the off flow carry deposits of this mineral which cause the springs to grow in height and width. The hot springs have formed these beautiful terraces that grow on top of each other, basically making their own mountain. The activity at the hot springs is determined by water levels underground. Apparently, while we were there, the water level was very low. There were only a few of the springs that were active at that time, and some had dried up. Which, of course, was a little disappointing. I had envisioned this beautiful mountain of hot springs with water flowing over terraces. But what we got was this white mountain with a few trickles of water in a couple of spots. Oh well, I am sure it is impressive when the underground water levels are high.

We then traveled on to Gardner, Montana and the northern entrance to the park. We had decided to have lunch there on this day. On the way, we got a huge treat. Along the side of the road, we had the opportunity to watch about fifty big horn sheep run and jump along the side of a mountain. The majority of this mountain side was really a cliff. But it was amazing to watch these big horn sheep run and jump across these rocky slopes. We were sure some of them would fall. Then they made it to top and stood at the edge of the mountain looking down at us as to say, "What are you looking at?"

We then traveled into Montana, through the Roosevelt Arch and into Gardner. Now the arch is absolutely beautiful. But the town basically has grown right up next to it, which is kind of sad that someone allowed that to happen. Also, Gardner is not really the type of town that you want to be walking around at night in either. It is your basic small isolated western town, that has a lot of the old cowboy attitude still in it. We did each lunch there a one of the local diners. It was decent. But while there, Ian, for some reason, got his "tickle box" turned over. I can't remember exactly what started the laughing, but he was quite entertaining. By the end of it, he basically had the entire diner laughing at him.

We then headed back into Yellowstone. Of course, stopped and took many pictures of the arch and the Entering Yellowstone sign as well. We then decided to travel over to the western entrance and West Yellowstone, Montana. It was a long drive and it was raining again. But we did get to see some of the park we normally would not have seen. Once we got to West Yellowstone, we discovered that we were only five miles from Idaho. So you know what we did, don't you? We went to Idaho, crossing the Continental Divide again! From what I could tell, Idaho is a nice state. It was getting late, so we headed back to the Old Faithful Inn for our last night in the park.

We had dinner reservations at the Inn's dining room. This is the only night we ate here for dinner and reservations were required. Now, I will have to say this is the only part of our time in Yellowstone that I was really disappointed and put out. Our reservations were late at 9:15pm. We were not seated until 10:00pm. We didn't get our food until 11:00pm. No lie. There really was no excuse for this, as there were empty tables in the dining room. By the time we got our food, Abby was not feeling well and went back to the room without eating. Of course, we had done a lot during the day and not getting food until that late probably didn't help her. Howerver, the food was really good, and our waiter was good also. He did take our order soon after we were seated. So I don't think it was his fault we didn't get our food until 11:00. But it was very irritating. We were the last guest to leave the dining hall. So if you ever go to Yellowstone, and decide to eat here for dinner, make your reservations early.

We went back to the room...LeAnn had already gone to the room to check on Abby. We packed the rest of our stuff up. Took our showers and loaded up some of the luggage into the car. Then settled in for our last night at the Inn.

The Great Family Western Adventure - Day 9 or Where Did All of These Rotten Eggs Come From?

2009-07-25T19:20:00.003-05:00

Our third day in Yellowstone was Geyser Basin day. We got up early again and had another great breakfast in the Inn's dining room. We headed north to Norris Geyser Basin. Norris is the home to the world's highest erupting geyser, Steamboat Geyser. Steamboat's major eruptions climb to a height of over 400 feet. Of course, it has been several years since it's last eruption, but it does give a good show while continuously having smaller eruptions. There were so many geysers, mudpots, steam vents, and hot springs at Norris, there is no way to count them all. And it does take a while to visit all of them. We spent a good chunk of the morning here and really had a great time. Of course the sulfur smell was everywhere. And Ian loved every second of that!

Next we traveled to the Firehole area of the park. This is a one way road that travels along a canyon and the Firehole River. It is absolutely beautiful here we saw two mother elks and their babies resting along the side of the river. It was a very peaceful place another one of my favorite places in the park.

We then traveled to the Lower Geyser Basin, Middle Geyser Basin, and The Upper Geyser Basin, which includes Old Faithful. I won't go into much detail about each basin. They all included beautiful geysers and hot springs. Each area is a little different. The great thing about Yellowstone is that the major roads go very near all the major sights. Also, each location has boardwalks that take you right out to the geysers, hot springs, etc. It makes it very easy with those individuals that have disabilities.

This day was very long, and very tiring. But it was awesome as the stars of the park really were on display and didn't disappoint. We spent a lot of time in the Upper Geyser Basin as it is the largest. Granted, it didn't get dark until 9pm so we had plenty of time to see most of it. No, we didn't see all of it. But we did get a very special treat. We were lucky enough to see Beehive Geyser erupt. It was amazing. This geyser shoots up through a very small cone that looks like a beehive. The force behind this eruption was overwhelming. Plus the boardwalk goes right up next to the geyser. Very cool experience.

We grabbed a quick bite at the Old Faithful Lodge and was able to watch Old Faithful erupt again. A perfect ending to a amazing day.

More Pictures From Our Second Day in Yellowstone

2009-07-18T22:41:00.001-05:00

The Great Family Western Adventure - Day 8 or You Mean There Is More Than One Grand Canyon

2009-07-18T22:01:00.002-05:00

Our second day in Yellowstone was very much anticipated. We were going to visit the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and go to a Cowboy Cookout. The Cowboy Cookout is considered a must do if you have kids. So we made our reservation about six months before the trip.

We started our day with a huge breakfast at the Inn's dining hall. LeAnn, Abby and I had the breakfast buffet while Ian had a huge stack of pancakes. We then made a quick stop at the general store to get supplies for a picnic. We then hit the road and headed over to the canyon.

When we first got to the Canyon Village, we were greeted by a huge buffalo who decided the parking lot was a good place to stand....in the middle of the road. He had traffic backed up for a while. The canyon is being formed by the Yellowstone River and has two huge waterfalls. It has a one way road on each side that gives you several stops and short walks that give you the best views of the falls, river and canyon. The walls of the canyon are made of a yellow rock, hence the name Yellowstone. Every view is breathtaking and of course LeAnn took several pictures. It was one of my favorite things to see. During the morning we traveled along the north rim. We took several small walks down to edge of each of the falls and lookout points. It was an amazing morning.

For lunch we had a picnic at a rest area at the beginning of the south rim. While there, two buffalo meandered down from a large pasture above us. They got fairly close, but decided not to get to close. We then drove along the south rim of the canyon. This side doesn't have as many stops as the north rim, but it more than makes up for it with the views. The best view of the canyon is at Artist Point. An amazing view of the canyon with the Lower Falls is the back.

After we finished with the south rim of the canyon, we headed to the northern part of the park and the Roosevelt Corral. Here we loaded on to covered wagons and headed out to a secluded valley for the Cowboy Cookout. It was so much fun. The kids loved every second of it. On the way out to cookout, Abby and Ian got to set up front with the driver. The guide told us several interesting stories on the way out and back. On our trip we saw buffalo, antelope, and yellow-bellied varmints. Once out to the site, we were serenaded with campfire songs. The food was amazing. We had steak, baked beans, slaw, corn muffins, baked apples, corn on the cob, and watermelon. It was delicious. Ian even ate steak for the first time. I, of course, had to convince him it was just a hamburger in a different form. He tried it and loved it. The kids got to run around with the other kids and played in a stream that ran through the valley.

After we got back to the corrals, we headed back toward our hotel, which is the southwestern part of the park. Since it was still daylight, we stopped by and saw Tower Falls. It was beautiful. There normally is a trail that goes to the base of the falls, but it was closed due to a rock slide. We then headed back to the hotel thinking that the adventures for this day was over. But the day had one more surprise for us. As we were getting close to Yellowstone Lake, we saw the one animal we really wanted to see, but figured we would not get to...a grizzly bear! It was amazing. It slowly walked very near our car and then crossed the road to a small pasture. And in the middle of the pasture was a rather large elk. I thought we were going to see some real nature at this point. The bear walked up the side of the pasture up a hill. I couldn't tell if he ever noticed the elk or not, but the elk definitely saw the grizzly. The elk stayed perfectly still, but never took his eyes off of the bear. He slowly turned his head until the bear was up the hill in the trees. He then slowly walked to the far side of the pasture and into the woods there. Just simply amazing end to the day!

We finally made back to the hotel. It was late and we had all wanted some ice cream. But unfortunately, the ice cream shop was already closed. So we went back to our rooms, took showers, and went straight to bed.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABBY!

2009-07-17T11:26:00.002-05:00

I can't believe my baby girl turns eleven today! LeAnn is mourning the fact that Abby is off at Fusion Camp, and that this will be the first birthday we don't get to spend with her. But we sent her gifts and cupcakes to share with her cabin mates. She will definitely know we are thinking of her!

More Pictures From Our First Day in Yellowstone

2009-07-15T18:45:00.001-05:00

The Great Family Western Adventure - Day 7 or Wow, We Finally Made It!

2009-07-15T17:47:00.004-05:00

On day seven of this adventure, we finally made it to Yellowstone! All I can say, is that it was well worth all the effort, planning, replanning, anticipation, etc, etc. It truly is amazing. God, gave us humans a great gift at Yellowstone. His awesomeness is on full display on a daily basis here.

We got up early, packed the car and headed out towards Yellowstone. We made a quick stop at the Buffalo Bill Dam so LeAnn could take a few more pictures since her camera's battery ran down the day before while we were there. We headed toward the entrance, paid our small fee, and entered into a wonderland. It just opened up in front of us almost like a movie. Snow-covered peaks in the distance as we climbed higher into the Rockies. Then suddenly, there was Yellowstone Lake. Just amazing! As we got near the edge of the lake, we came across our first thermal feature...a group of steam vents called Steamboat Springs. It was just a small sample of what was to come. As we got near the first major intersection, we came across our first Yellowstone buffalo. Three huge guys that were each as big as a car. It was like the park was putting on a show just for us.

We made our first stop at the General Store at Fishing Bridge. Made some purchases and got some goodies. We then went on the actual Fishing Bridge. The bridge is located where Yellowstone Lake empties and forms the Yellowstone River. This is a favorite spawning location for the Cutthroat Trout. It apparently got to be such a popular place to fish the trout, that the Cutthroat Trout almost became extinct. Hence, you can no longer fish off of the Fishing Bridge.

Afterwards, we headed over to the Lake Lodge for lunch. Great sandwiches overlooking the lake. We then drove down the road a bit and took a great hike. The Elephant Back Trail took us to the top a mountain that overlooked the lake. We decided to ignore the Beware of Bears sign and trek to the top. It was good thing everyone got new hiking boots before the trip as they were definitely needed. After we got to the top, we were rewarded with an amazing view of the lake, river and surrounding area. We then hiked down, which for some reason took only about half as long. We had wanted to take a smaller hike to a natural bridge, but they had a Beware of Bears sign as well, but this time, they put a road block barrier in front of the trailhead. So we decided, they were kind of serious about that on this trail.

We then headed down to the West Thumb Geyser Basin. The lake is "kinda" shaped like a hand and the thumb area is surrounded by this basin. We were excited to see our first geysers and hot springs. Ian of course was bummed that none of them went off while we were there. He apparently thought they were going off all the time. But we did see some beautiful hot springs, mud pots and geysers. It is amazing to see these geyser basins and know that there is a volcano fueling all of this heat. You can really feel the heat and with the steam coming off of them you get an instant facial. The smell of sulfur was there, but it wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. Which is fortunate, because Ian walked around with his nose buried in his shirt for four days. We saw the famous Fishing Cone Geyser. This geyser sits in the lake. The story goes, that in the early days of the park, people would fish here and then put the fish in the geyser and cook it still on the hook. Unfortunately, the water in the geyser has traces of arsenic, so they were slowly poisoning themselves. Obviously, that practice is no longer allowed. While we were there, Fishing Cone was completely submerged under the water. The lake was high due to large amount of snow melt they have had. You could still see it. It was probably only a couple of inches below the surface of the lake.

While we were at this basin, a couple of elk decided the geysers would be a great place to take a stroll and nap for a while. It was amazing to see these huge animals just walk among us, like we were not there. It was just another reminder that we were in a very special place.

We then headed over to our hotel, the Old Faithful Inn. I have always wanted to come to Yellowstone, and I have always said that I was going to stay at the Inn. I wanted to walk out the front door and watch Old Faithful erupt. It is crazy, but I wanted to experience that. As we headed over to the Inn, we crossed over the Continental Divide twice. Very cool, but I don't think we ever got the kids to understand what the Continental Divide is. As we got to the Inn and drove up to the entrance, it was a beautiful and amazing as I thought it would be. Walking in to the lobby, you immediately look up and the six-story lobby and fireplace. It is amazing. We quickly checked in, took the largest of the bags to our room...which I will describe later. We then walked over to Old Faithful, and right on cue, it erupted in full force. It was like the park wanted everything on our first day to be picture-perfect. Ian was on cloud nine...he finally got to see a geyser erupt! You just stand there and watch it shoot water over a hundred feet in the air. It was great. After we recovered, we went next door to the Old Faithful Lodge and had dinner. As we walked back, we got an encore performance by Old Faithful. Could our first day in the park be any better. We ran by our car and got the rest of our stuff out and headed to our room.

Now our room. We stayed in the original part of the hotel that was built in 1904, or was it 1914. Oh, well...it's old. It is in it's original form and is quite rustic and small compared to today's modern hotel rooms. That is to say, there was no bathroom. That was down the hall, with the showers. Now before you freak out, let me say this. We made our reservations a year in advance. And this was the only type room left at the Inn then. Also, it was $89 a night. We could of stayed at the Lodge with a bathroom for $200 a night. Plus, dang it, I wanted to stay in the Inn! It turned out not to be so bad. The bathrooms were right across the hall from us and there were private showers in each. We did have a sink in the room, so it wasn't that big of a deal. The rooms were quite small. There were no televisions, phones, or alarm clocks. No closets, just hooks and hangers to use. There was a small fan and a radiator for temperature comfort. But we found the room to be warm and we slept with the window open and that was just fine. It was actually just fine and the kids ended up loving it.

Now I know I have gushed more than usual. Okay, I never gush! But have you ever had a dream of doing something. And that dream comes true, and exceeds your expectations. Well, that was this day for me. It was amazing and one I will never forget. I am staying at the Old Faithful Inn, I walked out the front door, and Old Faithful erupted as if it had been waiting all day for us. WOW!! The park is beyond words. If you have never been, you owe it to yourself to go there. It makes you feel very privileged to be there and let's you know that only God could have created something so incredible.

The Great Family Western Adventure - Day 6 or Shoot'em Up Bang Bang!!

2009-07-12T16:38:00.004-05:00

On the sixth day of our vacation, we stayed in Cody, WY the whole day. We had tickets to the rodeo and had made plans to see the nightly gunfight at the Irma Hotel. Also, we had planned to go to the Western Trail Town today. But we knew the gunfight and the rodeo were at night and needed something to do during the day. They have a great museum in Cody, but I could just imagine how excited Ian would be about that. After the kids got in bed, I was looking through some of the vacation brochures that the hotel had given us when we checked in. I saw a few ads for whitewater rafting and recognized one of them as being about a block from our hotel. LeAnn said it sounded cool, but I figured it was going to be a long shot on such short notice. I decided to go down to a little bakery early the next morning and thought I would stop by the raft office while I did that. We were lucky as they did have openings for all us on a trip that left around 12:30. So the doughnuts and I headed quickly back to the hotel room to tell the good news.

We headed out to the Western Trail Town as soon as the doughnuts were inhaled. The Western Trail Town is a small "town" of actual buildings from the area that were built in the 1800's. Some of these are infamous as some notorious individuals used them. People like Billy the Kid, the Sundance Kid, The Hole in the Wall Gang, and others that I had not heard of. These are the actual buildings, cabins, etc. that these people used to plan bank robberies. There was an old saloon that had bullet holes in the door. It was very cool that they had relocated these buildings here. But it gave you an idea of how rugged and remote the people of this era lived.

Today was very windy and very cold. The first day that we had to break out the long sleeve shirts and jeans. I was beginning to think that whitewater rafting might not have been such a great idea. After a quick lunch, we headed over to River Runners Whitewater Rafting's office and met up with our guides and fellow travelers. Our fellow travelers were a couple from the Netherlands! But they were a lot of fun. Fortunately, the sun came out and started to warm things up a little, so it wasn't as bad as I was afraid. Ian, of course, was very excited and became the life of the party. We got fitted with our vest and loaded into vans that took us down to the Shoshone River. Once there, our guide gave us instructions and seat assignments. He gave the Rial family the front row. Yea us! He explained that today was the first nice day that they have had in weeks. Two weeks ago that had a huge snow storm and it had rained a lot since then. As a result, the river was very high. It was great. We got very wet, but had a very special time. This raft trip is something that Ian really enjoyed. He cracked up the guides continuously. When we got back to the office we were waiting for our pictures to be downloaded, Ian went outside and laid out on one of the rafts and dried himself. It was great also, because the company's photographer is from Memphis. So it was nice to talk to someone that sounded like us!

After we went back to the hotel, cleaned up and dressed, we went out for an early dinner. After dinner, we drove out of town just a little and visited the Buffalo Bill Dam. It was amazing to see this dam built in this canyon. With all the melt off and rain the spillways were pounding and rushing out into the canyon below. It was a little overwhelming. After that we drove back into town.

We parked a few blocks from the Irma Hotel, and walked around. We had not told the kids about the gunfight. Every night, except Sunday (they don't kill people of Sunday), they stage and old fashion gunfight on the street outside the Irma. We got there and for a $1 donation we were able to reserve each of us a chair. We looked around some of the stores while we waited for the show to begin. It was nice. LeAnn and I thought it was cheesy, but again Ian, thought it was AWESOME!

After, the gunfight, we headed over to the rodeo. Ian loves going to bull riding events that are around here, but this was a full fledged rodeo, with all the events. They have this rodeo every night, and the competitors change every night. So some of the events had just a few competitors, and others had a lot. It was a great night and a lot of fun. We had front row seats just above the gates. So the view was great. It was another great day.

Tomorrow, we finally make it Yellowstone! It has already been a vacation to remember, can't wait to see what the rest is going to be like!

The Great Family Western Adventure - Day 5 or Who Knew Driving Could Be This Much Fun?

2009-07-11T17:32:00.003-05:00

Day five of vacation was Father's Day. Early in the morning, the kid's and LeAnn gave me some great gifts. A vacation like this, really makes you appreciate your family. The kids were awesome on this trip with only a few dust ups. Today was a travel day, as the agenda was to travel across Wyoming to Cody. We have done a really good job on this trip to have stops and sight-seeing trips planned along the way. Today we are going to stop at Devils Tower National Monument, drive across the Big Horn Mountains, and into Cody in time for some sight-seeing there.

We got a fairly early start on the day. Checked out of the cabins, got something for breakfast, and gassed up the car. We headed up through some really small and interesting small towns on our way back to the interstate. Once back on the interstate, we headed west again and soon crossed over into Wyoming.

Soon we exited the interstate and headed about twenty miles north to Devils Tower. We were lucky, as this was a Fee Free Weekend for the National Parks and National Monuments. So we got in for free. Ever since I watched Close Encounters of the Third Kind, I have wanted to visit Devils Tower. You can see the Tower for miles around. I think we were about six miles from the park, when we got our first glimpse of the Tower. The first thing you notice, is just how enormous the Tower is. It is truly awe-inspiring. There is a trail that goes around the entire base. It takes a little while but it is well worth the small amount of effort it takes. What was surprising was that on the far side of the Tower, there is a cliff there. It overlooks the prairie below. It was beautiful. While we were there, about six guys were climbing the tower. It was hard not to stop and just watch them work their way up the side of the Tower.

A side note about this part of this trip. Aunt Jessica had given Abby and Ian each an activity book for vacations. They both took their books and worked on them and it was something they used to pass the time away. One of the activities in Ian's book, was to find the license plates from each state. Ian didn't start this activity until we crossed the Wyoming state line. Ian found over half the license plates in the parking lot of the Devils Tower Monument. We did finally find all the state license plate before we got home.

We then headed even further west. We had decided to take the drive over and through the Big Horn Mountains. We had heard several stories about this drive. From the winding roads with no guard rails separating you from the valley below, to how beautiful it was. But, I must admit, as the mountains and the snow-capped peaks loomed above us, I had a few moments of anxiety. But no worries, it was an amazing drive. We got some really great shots. The road was crazy, but nothing to hard to handle. We were able to to watch a rain storm go across a valley below us, drive among snow, and wind around peaks. Coming down the western side of the mountain range was amazing. We had the opportunity to drive a beautiful canyon with a rushing river right beside the car. It was amazing.

Then it was on to Cody. We didn't get in to Cody as early as we wanted, because of the time we spent at Devils Tower. But we had enough time to walk the main drag of the town and have Father's Day dinner at the Irma Grill and Restaurant and the Irma Hotel. This hotel was built by Buffalo Bill Cody and named after his daughter, Irma. It was just beautiful and the food great. The waitress was really great with the kids and took Abby over to buffet desert table and let her get some cake even though Abby didn't eat from the buffet. Ian opted out of dessert.

With or bellies full, we headed back to the hotel for showers and bed. It was a long, but wonderful Father's Day. And we were so happy to finally make it to Cody. It is hard to believe how much we have already done on this vacation, and we aren't even half way through yet. This truly was an amazing vacation.

The Great Family Western Adventure - Day 4 or Wow, Those are Some Big Heads!

2009-07-09T16:50:00.001-05:00

Today, we headed out early toward Hot Springs, SD to see the Big Mammoth Site. This is a location that they have discovered of thirty mammoth skeletons that fell into a sink hole and could not get out. This kind of thing has always interested me, so it was the side trip that was my idea. Jon and Megan opted out of this trip, because of a mix up with their hotel room and they ended up staying in a separate hotel in the park. But it was even later when they got in bed. They met us later in the day at the Crazy Horse Monument.

On the way to Hot Springs, we drove through Wind Cave National Park. Here, we encountered our very first buffalo herd as well as prairie dogs. It was very cool to be able to see these animals close up. The kids, of course, were very excited.

As we got into Hot Springs, we ended up in a line of cars, and basically parked on the highway. I could see in front of us, that their was some type of small town parade going on. Great! We found out that apparently, this little town host the Miss South Dakota pageant every year and this was their parade in honor of the occasion. That's fine and all, but it was screwing around with my vacation! After the beauty queens got out of the road, we were allowed to proceed. The only small problem was, that the town's signs and the lady in our GPS box didn't really seem to know where this mammoth site was. But, we did finally find it...on the other side of town. The site is very interesting and it was very cool to see all these bones. The story of how they got trapped made you think what other kinds of prehistoric animals lived here back then and what the land really looked like then. The thing is, I can't really recommend this side trip either. Only if you are a really big fan of prehistoric history and animals, then this is a must see. Other wise, the time it takes to get here might be more than what you want to spend on your vacation. As we left, we encountered our first rain of the trip.

Next, we headed to the Crazy Horse Memorial. After a few attempts to call Jon and Megan, we were finally successful in letting them know that we were on our way to the memorial. One thing, the phone service in the Black Hills area, is horrible. It is hit and miss, and if you move your leg or arm the wrong way, the call is lost...seriously. The memorial is not anywhere near finished. They do not take government funds. It is fully funded by donations and entrance fees to the memorial. Even in it's partially completed state, it is still very impressive. When completed, it will be the world's largest sculpture. Now, granted, at the rate they are going, it will not be completed in my lifetime. But, maybe Abby and Ian's lifetime. The story of Crazy Horse was not one that I was familiar with, and I want even try to tell it here. But it does leave you with a new found respect for the Native Americans. We ate lunch at the Laughing Waters restaurant there at the memorial. I can't remember what I ate, but it was very good. The view of the memorial was astounding. While we were leaving, Abby and Ian each purchased an "authentic" Indian flute. What were we thinking? Before we even arrived at Mt Rushmore, we were threatening to take them away. Not only are the loud musical instruments being played very badly, they are also weapons.

We, then went over to Mount Rushmore where we spent the rest of the day. This is a place I have always wanted to see in person, and it did not disappoint. You have all seen the monument before, but in person it is very cool. We walked over to the base of the monument and got to basically look up the president's noses. Later, that evening it rained, but we were able to escape in the gift shop and the restaurant. The food there was very good and gave us time to rest and wait out the rain. At the end of the day, they have a patriotic service and light up the faces on the mountain. It was very moving, but Megan and I kept waiting for Tinker Bell to suddenly fly off of George Washington's head and sprinkle pitzy dust on the crowd. It was kind of in the Disney World mode right before the nightly fireworks.

Later, Jon and Megan came by our cabin to say goodbye and take a few pictures. We headed westward the next day, and they headed home to Minnesota. It was so very cool to have them join us for a few days on this trip. Made the South Dakota leg even more special.

The Great Family Western Adventure - Day 3 or Who's Bad?

2009-07-08T17:12:00.004-05:00

Day three saw us take an early start looking for a quick breakfast. Which turned into a not so quick start. The lady in the GPS box decided to take us on a scenic drive through Sioux Falls to the "nearest" McDonald's. However, not to let this get us down, we got our food, some gas, and off into the prairies of South Dakota we headed.

When we talked to people about our upcoming trip and the route we were taking, everyone said that we just have to stop by Mitchell, SD and see the Corn Palace. Now, I didn't have high expectations, but it's location on the map told me that it might be good place for a potty break. Now the Corn Palace is an auditorium, gymnasium, event-type place that has the entire outside and some of the inside decorated by corn or corn plant products. Think Rose Parade with corn instead. It is very interesting. They redecorate it each year in a different theme. This was supposed to be a quick visit, but we made the mistake of going inside the palace. And there was shopping. It doesn't matter that the shopping was corn related...it was shopping. Needless to say, we stayed there longer than what had originally been planned. But, alas, we did escape Mitchell, SD and the hypnotic grip of the Corn Palace. If you are ever driving down the road in South Dakota and the interstate signs beckon you to Mitchell, my advice is...don't. Keep on driving.

As I was driving along, I was struck by how the terrain changes suddenly. The prairies kind of sneak up on you. They are beautiful as they roll along. Then suddenly these strange rock formations show up and you realize you are in the Badlands with no warning. Once we, got back on the road, the decision was made to go straight to the Badlands National Park instead of Wall Drug Store. The drug store is another of those tourist traps that everyone says you must go and see. We ate a quick lunch at the DQ in Wall and then headed to the Badlands.

All I can say is, WOW! The Badlands are amazing, beautiful, and mysterious. There is no way a picture on here can do them justice. I had always wanted to see them, and I am so glad that day finally came. The colors on the rock formations changes as the sun moves across the sky so every time you look back, it is completely different. We had a great time climbing and walking around. Of course, there was the warning sign at the first stop we made, that warned people to beware of rattlesnakes. This, of course, completely freaked Ian out. The whole rest of the day, every strange sound might be a snake. But it did keep him on the trails and firmly in the center. Ian is my, "by the book" kid. Abby knows no fear. We spent the majority of the afternoon and early evening in the Badlands, and I for one could have spent more time there...curse you Corn Palace!

Afterwards, we went back to Wall, SD to visit the must see Wall Drug Store. My advice, again, is to skip it if ever in the area. A goofy tourist trap!

After dinner we headed to Custer, SD and Custer State Park located in the Black Hills National Forest. We were staying in the Sylvan Lake Lodge cabins. Sylvan Lake is the location of a scene from National Treasure 2. The scene where they are looking for a cave located somewhere behind Mt. Rushmore. This is the lake. We of course got there very late and it was already very dark. Just a few feet into the dark park on winding roads, we meet a herd of elk. Very cool. Later we had the opportunity to drive beside a lonesome buffalo who was meandering along the side of the road. Just past the buffalo, we had the opportunity to go through a sobriety check point. Now this was just plain silly. That road was so windy and curvy, anyone intoxicated would have wrecked long before they got to the check point...inside a state park. We then turned onto what was called the "Needles Highway". Good name! This was the narrowest, curviest road I had ever been on. Trying to maneuver it at around midnight was a lot of fun. And then there was the three one car narrow tunnels that you got to drive through. These, of course, are what gave the road it's name. It is literally like driving through the eye of a needle. But thankfully, we finally made it to our hotel.

Day three was long, but very rewarding. We were now in Western South Dakota in the Black Hills, or as LeAnn likes to call it, the left side of South Dakota. Tomorrow we go to see a crazy dead indian, some dead mammoths, and four dead presidents!

The Great Family Western Adventure - Day 2 or How Many States Can We Get to in One Day?

2009-07-07T17:28:00.003-05:00

Day two of our trip started early. We were very excited because after a long day of traveling, we would end up in Sioux Falls, SD where LeAnn's brother Jon and his wife Megan would join us for the weekend! We were really looking forward to spending time with them, since we usually only get to see them for a few days around the holidays each year.

We started early with a quick stop at Walgreen's to pick up some stuff we forgot. But soon headed out westward toward Kansas City. The day was really uneventful, except for the number of states we drove into and through. Another title for this leg of the trip could be: How Many Times Can We Cross the Missouri River? I know we crossed that bad boy at least four times. We passed through Kansas City and drove by the Kansas City Royal stadium and Arrowhead Stadium there. We soon passed into Iowa. As we got near Omaha, we decided to jet over into Nebraska, since it was just across the river. I am really glad we did, because the college World Series was going on. LSU was about to play and there was a large crowd gathering. It was very cool to see at least for me.

We continued to drive along and finally entered South Dakota and on to Sioux Falls. The trip was really easy and went relatively fast. After a few phone calls to to Jon and Megan, we realized we had some time to kill and decided that since Minnesota was only fifteen minutes away, we would just run across the state line and add another state to our vacation. When we got back to Sioux Falls, LeAnn had wanted to see the falls in the downtown area. So it was decided that was where we would meet Jon and Megan. The falls are where Sioux Falls originally grew around and they are on the Big Sioux River. They were beautiful and a lot of fun to explore.

Jon and Megan arrived shortly after we did at the falls. It was great to see them. After it started to get dark and the mosquitoes started to eat us alive, we headed out to find some grub. We found this "authentic" Mexican restaurant just down the street from our hotel. It was actually really good and the company even better. We headed back to the hotel to get showers and a good night sleep before heading out westward again!

The Great Family Western Adventure - Day 1 or Boycott Enterpirse Rent-A-Car

2009-07-06T17:05:00.004-05:00

After a year of planning, countless hours on the internet, and many books read, the big day finally arrived. However, the day almost ended in disaster. Since we were going to be traveling over 4000 miles, we decided to rent a car. So those preparations were made with Enterprise Rent-a-Car approximately three months before the day of departure. LeAnn and I got off of work early on that day and headed over to Enterprise to pick up our car. However, when we got there, the guy behind the car, who couldn't have cared less, informs me that I am on their DNR list. What is DNR? It is their DO NOT RENT list. Now, this comes from an unfortunate rental car incident on a business trip a couple of years ago. The fact, that I had nothing to do with the incident, and that I was four city blocks away from the car when the unfortunate incident occured doesn't matter. My name was unfortunately on the contract. Now, I really couldn't care less that my name is on their DNR list, I can always rent from someone else. But, what burns my butt, is that they could have told me this three months earlier when I reserved the vehicle! So here we are on the day of our departure without a car. We decided to try Avis which was next door, but they didn't have a car available. We decided reluctantly to take LeAnn's car. LeAnn decided to take her car to be serviced before we left. While she was gone, my brother Jeff, who was house-sitting for us, suggested giving Hertz a call. It couldn't hurt right! So we did, and luck was on our side. They had a Toyota Highlander, that had come in the day before and was available. LeAnn and I rushed over, signed the papers, and got a really good deal on the rental. The car was exactly what we needed. So we then rushed home, packed the car, took a couple of pictures, and off on the Great Family Western Adventure. And only an hour and half behind schedule!

The first day agenda was simple. Just driving to St. Louis with one stop at Lambert's in Sikeston, MO. Lambert's is famous for being the home of the throwed rolls. Think Cracker Barrel on steroids, and you pretty much have it. The food was excellent and quite filling. Visit their website and http://www.throwedrolls.com/. We made it to St. Louis with no problems and immediately headed to bed, since the next day promised to be long.

12 days, 11 states, and 4,268 miles!

2009-07-01T18:34:00.002-05:00

Hey, we're back!!! The Great Family Western Adventure has sadly concluded. It was truly an adventure of a lifetime! I don't want our loyal readers to miss one minute detail of our trip and adventures, so what I am planning to do is give a post for each day of the trip, so you can relive the adventure with us. I can feel your excitement already!! There are of course many pictures, a couple thousand I believe, and several videos that I am going to attempt to post on here as well. We were able to spend a weekend with Jon and Megan, as they joined us for the South Dakota leg of our trip. It was great to see them and spend some fun time with them. Our adventure led us through some great states: Tennessee, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Colorado, and Kansas! We traveled a total of 4,268 miles, fortunately we rented a car and got unlimited miles...thank you Hertz! There is so much to tell you, but for now, we will leave you with just a few teaser pictures of our great vacation!

Golf

2009-06-07T18:59:00.002-05:00

Well, Ian has been on me for some time to take golf lessons. In fact, he passed on baseball this summer to take golf lessons. I figure if a seven year old stays on something for six months, then he is serious about it. So a couple of weeks ago, Ian and Abby started taking golf lessons at Highland Green Golf Course, here in Jackson. They are taking lessons from William Boyd. William just graduated from Union University where he was on the golf team. William is great with kids and was recommended to us by some friends from church. The kids warmed up to him quickly and you can see improvements during each lesson. William says they are doing great. I'll take his word for it, since I know nothing about golf. Abby is already hitting the ball over 120 feet, and Ian is getting it near 100 feet. But they are both doing great and really enjoying it.

Diamond Jaxx Game

2009-06-07T18:35:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, Abby was invited to a birthday party that was held in a sky box at the at Pringle's Park where the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx play. For those of you that don't know, the Diamond Jaxx are Jackson's Double A baseball team. They are the Seattle Mariner's double A team for the past couple of years. So since Abby was going to the game, the rest of us decided we would take the game in down in the cheap seats. As we were waiting in line to buy tickets, a young lady approached us with tickets. She said that her dad had season tickets and they were not going to use them and just wanted to give them to a family. So LeAnn, Ian, and I got free tickets in the not-so-cheap seats. Plus, the tickets ended up being right below Abby's sky box! So, of course, LeAnn got some really good pictures of the Abby's gang.

It was a great night of fun, although the Jaxx lost...again. Pretty much the Jaxx stink this year. And you can pretty much lay it at the pitchers feet. The Jaxx lost 5-7 last night. Thanks to two wild pitches that scored runs for the Huntsville Stars. But it was a great night. Abby had a great time at the party, and Ian always loves going to the baseball games. We all ate well...BBQ Nachos, hamburgers, and ice cream, just for starters. And after the game, there were fireworks!

Grammy and Grampy Come to Visit

2009-06-07T18:21:00.003-05:00

Since we are going to be on vacation on Father's Day, LeAnn wanted her parents to come for a visit before we left. So this past Saturday, Grammy and Grampy came up to spend some time with us. We visited, went out to lunch at Olive Garden, and gave Grampy his Father's Day gifts. Abby and Ian had the opportunity to introduce Oreo (guinea pig) and Nikko (dog) to their grandparents. Grammy and Grampy even went out to the golf course with us for Abby and Ian's golf lessons. It was a nice visit full of gifts, Italian food, and sunny golf. What more could you ask for?

Rial Family Get Together

2009-06-07T18:10:00.003-05:00

Sometime during the end of May, the Rial family got together to celebrate Mother's Day with my grandmother. This reunion, it was decided to go out to a state natural area in Greenfield, the Big Cyprus Tree Natural Area. At one time, the world's largest Cyprus Tree was located in Greenfield, hence the name. But as luck would have it, as soon as the state designated the area as a state park, the tree was struck by lightening and burned to the ground. So the area, was turned into a natural area instead of a full blown state park.

Well enough about the sad history, and on to happier times. We had a great time with the uncles, aunts, cousins, and cousin's kids. It was good to see them and spend some time with my grandmother. It was the first time in several years that I had been out to the park, but it is really nice with walking trails, playground equipment, and picnic area. The family probably will not be back together until Thanksgiving, so it was nice to catch up with everyone that was there. The kids had a great time playing and running. It was a great day!

Pet Day

2009-06-07T17:58:00.002-05:00

I apologize for my lack of posting, but we've been kinda busy with the end of school year activities and summer fun. During the last week of school, Ian's class had pet day. This is a day when each child brings their pet to school for a little while to show off. With our large stable of critters to choose from, Ian chose Sam to bring to Pet Day. Now Sam isn't the most calm dog. Especially when you put him on a leash! But Sam did a great job. He made new friends, both human and canine. And Ian loved showing him off. LeAnn brought Sam that morning and successfully transported him. It was a great day for all involved!

Summer is Here...Finally!

2009-06-02T18:37:00.002-05:00

Well school is finally out and the summer is here. A lot of camps planned for the kids and the great Western adventure is two weeks away. Above are a couple of pictures of the kids with their teachers. Abby and Mrs. Bullion, and Ian with Mrs. Patsy. It has been a long hard school year and we are all ready for a break. Last week was a week for the kids to rest and veg out. This week is basketball camp at Union for Ian. Abby is visiting grandparents and friends. Next week is vacation bible school. The next week is soccer camp for Abby through Wednesday and then we leave on vacation that afternoon. That will take us through the end of the month. I hope everyone is having a nice summer so far, and we will keep you posted on our activities.

Celebrating Mother's Day with a Fiddler

2009-05-17T17:12:00.003-05:00

Last weekend as you know was Mother's day. We spent the weekend with our moms and caught a show at the Orpheum. On Saturday, we headed to Greenfield to spend some time with Gran-Gran. On Sunday, the kids and I gave LeAnn her gifts and headed to church. After church, we headed to Memphis to see Grammy. LeAnn and I had Orpheum tickets to see Fiddler on the Roof. This is the farewell tour for Topol in this show and the role he made famous. It was a special night and if you get a chance to see this show during this tour, see it!

On Wednesday night, the children's choirs at church had their annual share time. Abby had a speaking part and did a great job. Both of the kid's choirs were great. We are so lucky to have great leaders at our church, that know music and love to share it with children.

That's just a quick catch-up on the last week. This next week, we have the last week of school, soccer tryouts for next year, a dentist visit, and a doctor visit. And I get to miss it all since I get to work in Murfreesboro the whole week.

The Ant Project

2009-05-03T19:33:00.003-05:00

Ian had one of those wonderful projects that teachers give first graders. And we all know who really does those first grade projects don't we! But we are lucky that Ian wants to do a lot of it himself. So it isn't that bad for us parents. Ian's class has been studying insects, and they had to make a three-dimensional insect of their choosing. When Abby did this project, we did a ladybug. Ian chose a fire ant. It was interesting and we learned a lot about fire ants. We used Styrofoam balls and base, felt pieces of fabric, pipe cleaners, and wooden Popsicle sticks. It turned out pretty good.

Also this past week, was Grandparent's Day at the kid's school. We don't have any pictures of this since we were not there. But Grammy, Granddaddy, Gran-Gran, and Uncle came to school for the day. Each class performed a couple of songs, and showed off their classroom and projects they were working on. From what we hear, it was a fun day.

Oreo, the Guinea Pig

2009-05-03T19:15:00.003-05:00

Okay, the guinea pig. Abby has been on us for quiet some time about getting a guinea pig. Every time we go to the pet store to get supplies for our livestock, Abby spends the entire time looking at the guinea pigs. One of her best friends, Ashley, has two guinea pigs, and Abby just has to have one. LeAnn and I had decided to get Abby a guinea pig for her birthday in July. Of course, Abby didn't know that. So Abby had announced that if she got a goal in soccer, she was going to use her $100, to get a guinea pig and the cage and the other paraphernalia.

So a couple of Thursdays ago, we get this email form Ian's teacher, letting the parents know that the classroom guinea pig had babies, and they were needing good homes. So we were now being faced with a free guinea pig. So LeAnn, who was very much against getting a rodent, decided that it was a good idea to get this guinea pig now. We decided not to let the kids know.

So last Saturday, after Abby's first soccer game, we met Mrs. Patsy at the school to pick up the newest addition to the family. The kids were speechless and couldn't believe we actually let them have a guinea pig. After a quick stop at the pet store to get the supplies, we brought the newest addition home. The kids named her Oreo, because she has a black head and a black bottom and is white in the center. She kinda looks like an Oreo.

Oreo has been a lot of fun, I admit. I didn't realize guinea pigs made these high frequency noises. She has a personality that is sweet, and she loves teasing the cats, who can't figure out what she is.

So now we have, two dogs, two cats, three fish and a guinea pig. We are going to start charging admission to our little zoo!

Best of the West Shootout

2009-05-03T18:30:00.005-05:00

Well, it has been a while since I last posted, but it really isn't my fault. Someone with a fancy new camera, that her incredible husband gave her for Christmas, wouldn't download pictures to the laptop. But finally, she did. So let's go back to last weekend and our last soccer tournament of the season shall we.

Last weekend, the local Jackson Area Wide Soccer hosted their spring tournament. We were grateful to have a tournament here in town for a change, and it was the last tournament of the season for us. In fact, the soccer fields are right across the street from our house. So talk about playing at home!! This tournament was a little smaller than most than we have played in, but there were still some good teams entered. Of course, playing at home doesn't necessarily mean you get to sleep in. We got to play at 8:00am on Saturday against the Dyersburg, TN Strickers. It was an easy game for our girls as we won 9-0. But the big news in this game was that Abby finally scored her first goal!!! It was on a great pass from Addison and Abby was in the perfect spot to slam the ball through to the back of the net! Now here is the thing. Abby is the youngest on the team. In fact, if she was a week younger, she would be playing on the U10 team. She is also the only new girl on the team this year. So Abby was a little hesitant and a bit behind the other girls back at the beginning of the year, which was August 2008. So to get her to be aggressive, I promised her that if she scored a goal, I would give her $100. And yes, I lived up to my part of the bargain. Their second game was against the Poplar Bluff, Mo Kickers. Again, the girls played great and won 5-0. And guess what! Abby scored again!!! It was a great clean up goal. Now she did NOT get another $100. But it was great day for Abby. Now this put us in the Championship game on Sunday against our most hated crosstown rivals, the Jackson Rush Swoosh team. It was a classic game ending in regulation at 2-2. It was the first time someone scored against us in eight games. We played two overtime periods and were still tied at two. So we went to penalty kicks. And with our goalie, Morgan, we liked our chances. And Morgan didn't let us down and we won the PKs 4-2, to win our third straight tournament championship!

The girls went 15-1 during the spring season and would have qualified for the state championships if they had had them this year. The state organization eliminated the U11 tournament this year, so we don't get to go this year. Hopefully, next year. They held their opponents scoreless ten times during the spring, and only allowed more than one goal twice. This group of girls played great together. They dominated the spring because they were quicker than their opponents and they were just manic aggressive.

The season is over for our girls and they will practice for a few more weeks. They have tryouts for next year's team in mid-May. Next year, they go to 11 v. 11, so that should be interesting. Abby has come so far, and I hope she can make it to next year's squad. We have a few girls that our coming over from Rush trying out and some from out-of-town. But I like her chances.

Another Weekend, Another Rain Storm, Another Championship

2009-04-20T22:07:00.006-05:00

This weekend, like so many of our weekends lately, was about soccer. We loaded up the cars and headed back to Nashville for another soccer tournament. This time it was the Music City Invitational. This is an annual tournament for our soccer club and one of the more prestigious soccer tournaments in the state. So of course, the competition was going to be tougher. The kids and I headed up on Friday after school. LeAnn had a meeting in Nashville on Friday, so she was already there. We usually head to our out of town tournaments on Friday, because we usually have an early Saturday morning game each time. The was a great tournament, because the hotel the entire club stayed at was right across the street from the soccer complex and we didn't have to pay for parking and could walk to the games.

Saturday was a beautiful day with warm temperatures, and clear blue skies. I mention this, because in every tournament we have been in this spring we have had terrible weather. We have played in sleet, rain, thunderstorms (very shortly), below freezing temperatures, and had games called or postponed for hail storms and tornado warnings. So a warm, sunny day was much appreciated. We opened the tournament against the host team, Harpeth Futbol Club. Harpeth always has good teams and pull their teams from a lot of the private schools in Nashville. Much like the soccer club in Jackson is made up of mostly the USJ kids. Our coach felt like this was going to be the toughest game in our pool. The girls played very well and never allowed a strong attack on our goal. We won the game 3-0. We had lost to Harpeth twice in the fall by one goal in each game, so it was nice to get some revenge. One of those losses was in our own tournament. So the girls, were glad to return the favor.

That afternoon, we played the Clarksville, TN Royals. I don't believe we had played them this year. The girls dominated from the very beginning and jumped out to an early lead and won 5-0. The first day was over and we were sitting with a big lead in points in our pool. They used that strange point system in this tournament as well. You get six points for a win, three points for a tie, one point for each point (up to three maximum), and one bonus point for a shut out. So the most you can get in each game is ten points. So we had 20 points at the end of the first day. The first place team from each pool advanced to the championship game.

On Sunday, we awoke to the theme of the spring season...thunderstorms. It was raining hard, and we had a ten o'clock game against a Paris, Kentucky team. Paris is a suburb of Lexington, so they had come a long way to finish last. They were supposed to be our easiest game, but for some reason, their goalie played amazing. She got everything. The entire game was played in front of their goal, and we finally got one in with about three minutes left in the game. They had not scored and had given up thirteen goals, but for some reason they played well against us. We needed a big win, because there was chance that the championship games would be cancelled because of the severe weather. In that case, the team with the most of those points would be declared the winner. The leader in the other pool had 19 points, so we needed to score more than we did. But the other team go upset and didn't make it to the finals.

That afternoon, they decided to play the championships in a down pour. As long as lightening wasn't in the area they would play. We played the Brentwood, TN Select team. We didn't have a great feeling about the game, those girls were big. But once again, our girls just played more aggressively and better defense. The goal opened up for Abby once and I was sure she had it in, but it just went a fraction wide. But our girls pulled off the upset 2-0, for another championship. They did not give up a single goal all weekend, against some of the better teams in the state. We are so proud of them.

This weekend we have another tournament, but this one is here in town and right across the street from our house. So that will be great. Some of our biggest rivals from here in town will be there, the Rush Swoosh team. It is a smaller tournament, not as many teams, and is hosted by the Jackson Area Wide Soccer (JAWS) organization. It should be a lot of fun. I know we will be playing a team from Missouri on Saturday afternoon, so that should be interesting to play a team you know nothing about. Next month is the tryouts for next years team, and then after that it is summer of golf lessons, sports academy, camps, and the Great Western Family Adventure...just 57 days until we leave!

More Easter Weekend Pictures!

2009-04-13T22:05:00.003-05:00

Easter Weekend

2009-04-13T21:42:00.002-05:00

We just finished another great weekend. On Thursday, Ian's class had an Easter Egg Hunt and party. Pizza and fun were had by all. On Friday, we all had the day off. We spent it cleaning the house and running some errands. We took Nikko to the vet, to see how much he weighs now. Our newest pet is now six months old and weighs 64 lbs. Yep, he a big boy! We did some shopping and Abby went to a birthday party.

On Saturday, we took off to the Memphis Zoo. It was great day, and the kids had a great time, with very little arguing or picking on each other. It is great to see what they have done with the zoo. It was horrible when I was a kid, but today it is very nice. We even bought a membership to the zoo, this trip. I know we will be there a few more times this year.

On Sunday, we went to church and then to my parent's house for Easter lunch with Granddaddy and Gran-Gran. The kids spent the night since they had Monday off from school, and LeAnn and I had to work.

We have a busy week ahead with work and soccer. Scrimmage game tomorrow and a tournament next weekend in Nashville. We will be scrimmaging the U12 team to get us ready for the upcoming tournament. Stiffer competition in Nashville this weekend, so hopefully this will help. We will keep everyone posted on things.

Hard Work Pays Off

2009-04-11T21:57:00.002-05:00

Just a quick post to congratulate our good friend, Josephine Owino. Many of you know that Josephine plays for the Union Lady Bulldogs, and has become a special friend to Abby. Yesterday, Josephine was drafted in the third round of the WNBA draft by the Washington Mystics! Josephine is just the second player from the NAIA to be drafted into the WNBA. Obviously we are so proud of Jo, and hopefully will get to see her play some. And after looking at the Mystics' schedule, we may be making a trip to Atlanta for a visit with Brian and Lyndsey!

A Great Weekend

2009-04-06T21:27:00.004-05:00

The past weekend was awesome. I guess it really began on Thursday. On Thursday night the 4th grade at USJ gave their performance on "I Need A Vacation". They did a great job. Abby had a small part as a camp secretary. She was beautiful and did a fantastic job. On Friday night, the soccer club had their annual Family Night and Auction. It's a great time for all the teams and families to get together and raise money for the club. We had great Italian food and some great fellowship. We were able to raise over $2000 for the club and we were able to get Abby a private lesson with Musaf Manney. Musaf is from Ethiopia and played soccer on Bethel College's national championship team. Musaf coaches our U13 girls team I believe. He also coaches the speed and agility training. All the kids like him a lot.

On Saturday, we had our first annual Soccer Spring Invitational. This is a one day event of "friendlies". Friendlies are individual games that are played, but not in the normal tournament setting. We had several teams for three states come in. The girls played great again and won all three of their games against the Memphis Cougars (6-1), TN United (8-1), and the Western Kentucky Futbol club (5-2). The girls have won seven straight games now and are 8-1 since their winter break. And Grammy and Grampy came up and saw the first two games. Abby was so happy they came. Between games, we went to the Craker Barrell for a late breakfast. Of course, Abby chose to eat with her friends instead of her family. I guess we should get used to that. In two weeks we head off to Nashville for the Music City Invitational. Can't wait.

And on Sunday, LeAnn and I went to the Orpheum and saw the musical, "The Color Purple". It was a great show and was very moving. It was interesting to see how they transferred the story into a musical. So as you can see, it was a long and full weekend. But a lot of fun.

Ian's Art Show

2009-03-31T20:17:00.003-05:00

Ian doesn't say much about school. He goes, reads his AR books, takes his test, does his homework, rarely ask for help. But, apparently, Ian had his artwork from art class selected to be in the annual art show. Apparently, they only do this once a year, and they only select a few from each class to be in the show. Today was the reception for the art show, and apparently this is a big deal. I say apparently, because we had no idea any of this was going on until we received the invitation to the show. The thing is, Ian couldn't care less about art. He does it because he has to. It's Abby that loves to draw. I wasn't able to attend the reception because I was in Murfreesboro with work, but LeAnn kept me up with text and pictures throughout the morning. In the pictures, you can see Ian's attitude about things. It's just another day at school...no big deal!

More Soccer Pictures!

2009-03-31T19:34:00.001-05:00

Great Soccer Weekend!

2009-03-31T18:57:00.004-05:00

Wow, what a great weekend! Abby and her soccer team played in the Stones River Spring Shootout in Smyrna, TN, which is just southeast of Nashville. With nine teams from across Tennessee in the '98 Lady Wolves division, we new it was going to be a tough tournament. Things didn't start off to well on Saturday morning. The girls were completely out of sinc and played poorly. The end result was a 1-4 loss to Tennessee Futbol Club-Black Team from Franklin, TN. It was amazing how a bunch of ten and eleven year old girls can get down on themselves. They decided that was enough.

Their Saturday afternoon game was interesting. With severe storms in the area, along with thunderstorm and tornado warnings in the surrounding counties, the girls played the Harpeth Futbol Club - White team. The game made it to the half with the Lady Wolves up 1-0. The game was suspended for fifteen minutes while a line of storms came through. We all waited out the storm and hail in our cars. After it came through, it was decided to suspend the rest of the games for the day. Fortunately for us, the tournament rules say that if you had made it to halftime, it is considered a complete game. Which gave us the win. They used a weird point system for this tournament where you get so many points for a win, so many points for a shutout, and points for point differential per game up to 3 points. So we got points for winning, points for a shutout, and one point for the goal we scored. So after Saturday, we were sitting in fourth.

After the storms came through, the temperature dropped...a lot! So Sunday morning we had to play at 8:00am in a wind chill factor of 32 degrees. It was so much fun! The girls had to win this game to advance to the semi-final round of games. The girls played their old nemesis from Memphis, the Purple Rain. We lost twice to them in the fall by one goal both times. The girls played awesome! It was like they decided they were a soccer team and no one was going to beat them. The dominated the game from the beginning and won the game 4-0! And we were off to the semi-finals against the #1 seed, Tennessee United Soccer Club from Brentwood, TN. It was a tough game for the girls with the game scoreless at the half. But our girls dug deep and won the game 2-0. Abby had a great assist on the second goal. And we were off to the Championship game.

Because of the storms on Saturday, everything and been pushed back on Sunday, so we didn't play the championship game until Sunday evening. We played the Tennessee Futbol Club-White team from Franklin, TN. It was the sister team to the team that had beat us on Saturday morning. It was a great defensive battle, but the Lady Wolves pulled out a 1-0 win, with a score by one of our defenders. I will say that our goalie, Morgan Williams, is the best goalie in the state in our age group. Nothing gets by her. She didn't play Saturday morning, because she had strep throat, but showed up in the afternoon to play. And if you notice the scores, nothing got by her. The girls played great and we are so proud of them. Abby has come along so much over the year and it is just a matter of time before she gets her goals. She is still the newest girl on the team, and has made so much progress.

Farwell Old Friend

2009-03-27T16:46:00.002-05:00

Last night a dear friend died. Grammy and Grampy's cat, Rusty past away. Rusty was 19 years old. LeAnn will say that he was really her cat, but I bet Grammy would differ. Back when LeAnn and I were dating, and I visited the Babb house for the first time, Rusty met me at the door. And he has always been there. It will seem so strange not to see him when we visit Grammy and Grampy's house.

Goodbye Rusty, you were a great cat!

More Championship Pictures!

2009-03-26T23:21:00.002-05:00

We Are The Champions!

2009-03-26T23:08:00.003-05:00

The Lady Bulldogs did it! They knocked off crosstown rival Lambuth 73-63 in the national Championship game. It caps off an amazing 37-1 season. The girls never trailed in the game, but it never seemed safe either. It was a great game! Josephine Owino was named the tournament MVP and the National Player of the Year for the second year in a row. It is going to be really strange next year not to see Josephine and Merideth Jacobs playing for us. I have followed Merideth since she was in the eighth grade at Bradford. She has always been a great ball player and great person. She has never failed to be a great role model for Abby. Coach Campbell finished his tenth season as head coach with the Bulldogs and claims his third national title and third National Coach of the Year. He is a great Christian guy and allows Abby and the other ballgirls to have free run of the locker rooms at Union. He does this as a reminder to the girls on the team that they are role models to young girls who are always around, always watching, and always listening. The should never forget that. And to this point, they haven't . We were able to go on the floor after the game and celebrate with the girls and Josephine and Coach Campbell's wife gave Abby two pieces of the net, which we plan to frame. Of course, LeAnn had the camera and there are a lot of pictures. Thanks Lady Bulldogs for a great season!!

Of course, it doesn't stop for us....we have a soccer tournament in the Nashville area this weekend. Heading out tomorrow after work. Wish us luck!

National Championship Game!

2009-03-23T22:39:00.003-05:00

Congratulations to the Lady Bulldogs for making it to another national championship game! The ladies totally dominated their semi-final game tonight against the Oklahoma Baptist Bison 73-48! They play cross town rival Lambuth tomorrow, who beat Oklahoma City by two points. It should be a huge crowd and really loud. Union has beat Lambuth twice this year, both games by double digits. So here's looking forward to tomorrow night and hopes of a fourth national championship for the Lady Bulldogs!

Final Four

2009-03-22T20:03:00.004-05:00

Wow what a game last night! Union trailed most of the game, but finally took the lead for good with about six minutes to go and take the win 65-59. It was the first time in the tournament that the Lady Bulldogs were challenged. Mainly because Point Loma Nazarene have the post players that match Union with size. But Coach Campbell pulled out the stops by putting Josephine Owino (6'4") and Sarah Chan (6'3") in at the same time for the majority of the game. Something we haven't seen all season. It took Pt. Loma completely out of their defensive game plan, and took some pressure off of Josephine. She finished with 15 points and 20 rebounds. The scary thing is that Jo went down with a sprained ankle with 5 seconds left in the game. Hopefully, with the day off she can get it healthy enough to play Monday night.

Tomorrow night is the final four, and it is Oklahoma against the city of Jackson. In the first game, Union will take on Oklahoma Baptist. These two have had some classic games in the past. It is hard to believe, but OBU has never made it to the final four before. The second game has Oklahoma City University against Lambuth, which is from Jackson also. Oklahoma City has four national championships, and have made it to the finals seven times. Lambuth won the championship two years ago. Union has won the championship three previous times and look to make it four. The final national poll has Union at #1, Lambuth at #3, OBU at #4, and Oklahoma City at #11.

I have added a few pictures from the tournament and the celebration after the game last night. Abby has such a good relationship with the girls. It is so cool watching her interact with them.

ELITE EIGHT BABY!!!

2009-03-21T09:43:00.004-05:00

As most of you know, this week we have had the NAIA Women's National Championships played here in Jackson. Our beloved Lady Bulldogs from Union University are the overall number one seed. We love the girls on the team and Abby has been their ballgirl for the last couple of years.

Tonight the girls play in the elite eight against Point Loma Nazarene from California. The girls have played awesome. They won their first round game against Jarvis Christian, Tx 86-58, and they won their second round game last night against Lindsey Wilson, Ky 80-59. Things get tougher tonight, Pt. Loma is the overall #8 seed and they have some height to compete against our post players. In the above picture, Abby is with Josephine Owino (kneeling), and Sarah Chan. Josephine is from Kenya and Sarah is from Sudan. You can't tell in the picture, but Josephine is 6'4", and has been Abby's basketball camp coach over the past two summers. Abby just loves her. Unfortunately, Jo is a senior this year and it is going to be hard to see her leave. She was the national POY last year and should be again this year. Look for her in the WNBA next year!

We really enjoy basketball, and it isn't that we like women's basketball more than men. Probably not the case. But since Abby is our oldest, we have been around the women's teams more. But beginning this year, Ian gets to go to camp at Union too. So we should be getting to know the men as well. The thing about the women's game is that it is slower than the men's, so you get to see the strategy being played out a little better. And these girls aren't weak. So far in this tournament we have had several broken noses, bloodied noses, and all kinds of other injuries. It isn't for the squeamish either. In a game last night that went into double overtime, seven players fouled out, tempers flared, a broken nose in the first half with blood everywhere. They patched her up and she came back out to inflict her revenge by blooding the nose of the girl who broke her nose. Elbows were flying and pushing, pulling hair, cussing, and screaming. It was great!

On a side note, our Bulldog men were upset last night in their national tournament. Sounds like a bad tournament for most seeded teams out in Kansas City. The highest seed to get through to the quarterfinals is the #6 team.

We will head over to Oman Arena this afternoon for the quarterfinal round. Hopefully we will get in to the final four and on to a national championship. It will be our third in five years if that happens! Go Lady Bulldogs!!

Oh, and GO DUKE!!!!

Catch Up and Update

2009-03-16T21:18:00.003-05:00

Today marks the conclusion of one complete month on the big diet. As of this morning, I have lost a total of eleven pounds. Not too bad, I think. Considering during week two, I hit a wall and barely lost any during that week. What is exciting for me, is that some time during the next week, I should drop under 200 pounds for the first time in a year and a half. I have always been thin and my weight has never really been an issue. What concerned me this time, was how fast the weight was coming on, and my eating habits were not helping at all. And of course, my physical fitness was completely gone. Of course, it probably also has a lot to do with the fact that I am now well over the age of 40 and I am making some lame attempt to hang on to my youth. But, I guess there are worse ways to go through a mid-life crisis. So there you go, I am making good progress toward my goal of 35 pounds. I am completely determine to climb that mountain this summer, both figuratively and literally.

Also, I should give you an update on our friends Jason and Heidi Batchelor. The whole family finally made it home in the early hours of Saturday morning. Louis is now an American citizen and home in Tennessee. I really can't wait to meet him soon. It was a long ordeal for them that lasted two full months. Thanks to every one that kept them in their prayers.

March Madness

2009-03-12T07:08:00.004-05:00

As you all know, LeAnn and I met at Union University, back in....well, we won't go there. You also know that we are a very sports active family. Well both of these things meet during basketball season. Union University plays in the NAIA and has a very successful athletics department. Abby is one of the Lady Bulldogs ballgirl during the season, and we have had a great time meeting the girls on the team. This week both the men and women's teams won our conference tournament championship, and are heading to the national tournament. Fortunately for us, the women's tournament is held here in Jackson. The Lady Bulldogs will be the #1 seed with a 32-1 record. The men should be the #4 seeded team. There are 32 teams in each tournament. So next week we will be down at Oman Arena here in Jackson a lot. Fortunately, it is Spring Break!! So go Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs!

And of course, in the middle of all this the NCAA tournament starts. So go Lady Vols and Blue Devils!!

This and That and Then Some More

2009-03-09T16:37:00.004-05:00

It has been a few days since my last posting. It isn't that I haven't had anything to tell you about, but I didn't think any of it would qualify for a post in itself. Then I was reading Jessica's blog and got inspired. For those of you who don't know who Jessica is, she is LeAnn's brother Matt's wife. In other words, LeAnn's sister-in-law, and my fellow Outlaw! You can link over to Jessica's blog from here. Anyway, on Jessica's blog she listed twenty things about herself that you might of might not know. It got me to thinking that might be a great way to get everything in. So with kudos to Jessica for a great idea, here are my twenty things.

1.) Last weekend Abby played in a soccer tournament in Memphis. The first game was played on Saturday morning. It was freezing and windy, but hey we won 4-2 over the Memphis Rush Swoosh team. Way to go Lady Wolves!

2.) The second game was played in a hard sleet and was miserable. The girls were running in slow motion and the ball wouldn't move because of the slush. The finally called the game at the half.

3.) We stayed overnight at LeAnn's parent's house and watched it snow.

4.) By the next day we were able to leave around noon and head to Jackson. It took around 2 hours to get home. It usually only takes one hour.

5.) Jackson got 13" of snow. Yep, a record. There was still around 8 1/2" in our yard by the time we got home. It was a good snow. Deep and great to play in, but off the roads and easy to travel in. This weekend it was in the 70's.

6.)We are very happy that Abby and Ian's basketball season is over. We now only play soccer. Of course, it is March and the college basketball tournaments are in full swing. Abby is also Union University's basketball team's ballgirl. The Lady Bulldogs are 31-1 and ranked #1 in the nation for the NAIA. Tonight they play in their conference championship game for an automatic bid to the national tournament, which happens to be held here in Jackson.

7.) I am addicted to Facebook. I really don't know how this happened. But it is very cool. I had reconnected with high school friends I haven't seen in over twenty years and college fraternity brothers I haven't seen since....well, we won't go there. I got to catch up with friends that are in Sweden, and Kenya. Friends that are now all over the country. If you haven't been on Facebook, give it a try.

8.) Be careful when you ask your boss a simple question. Sometimes those simple questions blow up into big hornet's nest. I mean one simple question, and now people are coming down from Nashville and Murfreesboro, to help with some kind of unlicensed activity. I mean, really, it was a simple question!

9.) The diet is going well. Not as well as I would like, but then again I am impatient. I kind of hit a wall during the second week, but things are moving down again. My goal is to lose 35 pounds by June 15th. I figure if I can lose ten pounds a month, I will make. I am still on that course.

10.) My friend Jason and his wife Heidi, are still going through their Ukraine adoption saga. Jason had to come home, but Heidi and their daughter Dinah are still there. They now have Dimitri who they are now calling Louis and have moved on to Kiev. All they lack now is the Louis' physical exam and his passport paperwork at the U.S. Embassy. They hope to leave for home on Thursday.

11.) Our new puppy, Nikko, is now 5 months old. He is already bigger than our two year old dog, Sam. They said they thought Nikko would be around 100 pounds when he gets full grown. He is almost halfway there now.

12.) I can't wait for our vacation this summer to Yellowstone National Park and many points in between. I often just get online and plan the trip and see what else there is to do. There is no way we are going to get everything in.

13.) Last week was the end of the kid's third quarter. Only one to go...Hallelujah! It has been a long year already. Especially for Abby. Way too much homework for a 4th grader!

14.) LeAnn and I went and saw Legally Blond the Musical at the Orpheum theater in Memphis. It was hilarious and a great date night.

15.) We also saw the Drowsy Chaperone about a month ago. Another great show. LeAnn's sister-in-law (and my fellow Outlaw) Megan, and her brother Jon perform in regional theatre productions in Minneapolis. LeAnn and I agree they need to do this musical, and Jon must play the lead. He would be perfect.

16.) I am running out of things to write about. Can you tell?

17.) My favorite color is blue. Always has been. Don't know why.

18.) I just bought the new U2 CD. Haven't listened to it yet. Wanted to but the first time I was in the car alone, I left it on my dresser. I expect it to be great. Hope I'm not disappointed.

19.) I haven't read any good books lately. But I want to. Really don't have the time. But will try and find some time.

20.) Daylight Savings Time is great. But for the first couple of days it pretty much sucks. I want that one hour of sleep back...now!!

There I made it. Thanks Jessica for the inspiration, and that should get you caught up on things.

Ian's Famous American Speech

2009-03-01T15:21:00.003-06:00

On Thursday, the entire first grade class gave speeches on Famous Americans. Ian decided to do his speech on Peyton Manning. I have no idea why he picked Peyton Manning other than he loves football, and I am raising him right and instilling a strong and undying love for the Big Orange. Below is a link to see his speech, which is on my Facebook page. It is only a couple of minutes long, but I think he did a great job.

Facebook Kerry Rial

Sports Madness

2009-02-26T21:30:00.003-06:00

In seems though our lives revolve around sports. Practices and games. This isn't a complaint, just an observation. Ian plays football and basketball. Abby plays travel soccer and basketball. Things are very hectic right now because soccer and basketball are overlapping for a few weeks. Fortunately, Ian has finished up basketball, and Abby has only one game left. And Ian has blessed us by deciding against playing baseball this summer. However, he wants to take golf lessons. I am not opposed to that at all.

Today is a typical Thursday for us. It goes something like this. After school, Abby has soccer practice form 3:30-5:00, then she had basketball practice at 6:30, then a basketball game at 7:30. Then a mad dash home for homework. Between the kids there are four test tomorrow. Fortunately, we planned ahead for this. Although, it isn't typical for us to have a game during the week, we did so this time because Abby and another teammate have a soccer tournament this weekend in Memphis. And if Ian were still in basketball, he would have had practice tonight as well. Normally Abby has two soccer practices a week and an optional third, Ian would have one practice and then games on the weekend.

Travel soccer is back in swing. We will hopefully play four games this weekend at the Mike Rose Soccer complex in Memphis, well actually Collierville. It is going to be a tough tournament for the girls, but hopefully we can make the championship game. We have scheduled six total tournaments this spring, and will be playing all over Tennessee every other weekend. We as a family are having a great time with travel soccer and enjoy the other girls and families that are on our team. Abby is playing in the Jackson Soccer Club, U11 Lady Wolves team. It has been awesome watching her get better each week, and gain self-confidence in herself.

Oh yea, Abby's basketball team defeated the undefeated team from Medina tonight. It was a tough defensive battle, with the final score being 10-9. I can't remember such a low scoring game. Abby scored the opening two points of the game and played an awesome game on defense. She got many rebounds on defense tonight, but had two huge offensive rebounds in the final couple of minutes, to help seal the deal. But it was her friend Ashley who sunk two free throws with 17 seconds left that was the hero of the night. I know they are only in the fourth grade, but cut me a little slack for being a proud daddy, okay!!

The bottom line is this. As a parent, I have enjoyed watching my kids play sports because what it has given them. They have made great friends, learned how to work with others, learned how to win and lose the right way, and gain self-confidence that they couldn't have received any other way. Now I am not one of those parents that believe my kids are the next Candace Parker or Peyton Manning. Heck, they may not even make their school teams. But it has given us, as a family, something to do together, and I believe made us a closer family.

The Diet

2009-02-23T17:57:00.002-06:00

Well, in my first post I kinda mentioned the diet I had planned for the year. And last Monday, I started the process. Why a diet? Well there are many reasons, some serious and some not.

First, health reasons. A few years ago, LeAnn and I went to the Virgin Islands. We went on a boat tour of the British Virgin Islands. On one of the stops, we had to jump off the boat and swim to shore. I almost didn't make it. It was very scary and honestly, it was embarrassing. Normally, the distance of the swim should not have been a problem. It was the first time I realized age and lifestyle were catching up with me. Of course, with my job, I work in a different town every day, which usually means fast food for lunch. And with the kid's homework every night, or running to sport practices and games, there isn't time for working out or running. So, now I have decided to take care of myself. If I don't do it now, I never will.

Secondly, our family vacation out west this summer. I know when we get out there, I am going to want to do some hiking. Hiking is one of my favorite hobbies. In the shape I am in now, there is no way I will be able to do that and enjoy the vacation. This is a dream vacation for me, so I am going to make sure I enjoy it to the fullest. My goal is to have all the weight I want to lose gone by the time we leave on June 17th.

Thirdly, it is vanity. Pure and simple, I don't like the way I look fat. The goal I have set is to get down to my college weight. I have a long way to go.

I have been on the diet for one week. I lost 3 1/4 lbs. It is a start and I have a long way to go. But if I can average that, I should reach my goals that I have set.

Well, there ya go. I am on a diet for only the second time in my life. I was successful the last time, and I have every intention of being so again. I will post each week the amount I have lost. And hopefully this will keep me on track.

3 1/4 down....31 3/4 to go.

Congratulations Jason and Heidi

2009-02-21T12:34:00.006-06:00

Yesterday, good friends of ours, Jason and Heidi Batchelor, adopted a six year old little boy from Siberia. His name is Louis Dimitri Batchelor. They have been in Siberia for over a month, and after a roller coaster ride, they finally got the adoption finalized. I can't tell you how many hoops this family has had to jump through. Apparently, they don't make things go smoothly for Americans adopting Siberian children. But Jason and Heidi are extremely happy and so are we. They will not be able to leave the country with Dimitri until another ten days (another hoop), and Jason has to leave on Monday. So Heidi will be there with their daughter, Dinah until they are allowed to leave the country. The adoption was finalized yesterday with a judge, so it can't be reversed at this point. But we ask everyone to keep the Batchelor family in their prayers as they finish this process. Especially since they will be separated the last week or so.

The New Addition to the Family

2009-02-16T19:52:00.004-06:00

Last Friday, I had a moment of weakness. I was watching the local ABC television station as I was getting ready for another hard day of work. Every Friday the morning show has a "Furry Pets" segment in which a lady from the local Humane Society comes on with a homeless animal that needs adoption. On this day, she had a beautiful puppy that was half Akita and half Siberian Husky. Both of these breeds are my favorites. The dog happened to be a female, but apparently she had a brother as well. I jokingly told LeAnn that I was going to get the puppy. As the day went on, I thought more and more about the puppy.

Of course it was a Friday and I had a short day. And you guessed it, I made a trip out to the Humane Society and came home with a puppy. I didn't get the female that was on TV, but I instead adopted her brother. He is a big guy, and he is a lot of fun. We wanted to give a cool name. I looked at several Siberian words, but couldn't pronounce any of them. So instead, we looked at Japanese names. We settled on Nikko. Nikko is a city in Japan, plus it kind of sounds short for Nicholas which is Russian. It seems to fit, he didn't seem to mind it.

Sam, our two year old Beagle mix, really likes his new "brother". I was a little worried about how Sam would react. But after only a couple minutes of hesitation, they decided it would work. Sam, of course, has made it clear that he is the dominant male of the "pack". And Nikko seems okay with this. But then again, when Nikko reaches 100 lbs., that may change.

We took Nikko back to the Humane Society this afternoon for his surgery. We can pick him up tomorrow afternoon. He didn't seem too concerned about being left, but we can't wait to get him back. We now have two dogs, two cats, and three fish. The cats and dogs have all come from the Humane Society. They have all been great animals and brought a lot to our family.

As We Enter the 21st Century

2009-02-15T17:25:00.000-06:00

Well gang, we finally did it! We've joined the exciting world of blogging! We have been inspired by our family members who have entered this exciting world well before us. Of course, with friends and family getting more and more scattered around the world, it obviously is a great way to keep up with each other.

This year is a going to be busy for us. Abby is still playing on her traveling soccer team, as well as playing basketball. Ian plays football, basketball, and baseball. There are of course all the practices that go with those. I am still traveling all over Tennessee with my job. Sometimes, they even unleash me on the rest of the country as well! LeAnn's job is hectic as usual. This summer is going to be highlighted by what we are calling "The Great Western Family Adventure". We are so excited about our trip out to South Dakota and Wyoming in June. I am sure you will hear a lot about this trip. Of course, we will have some very personal tidbits as well. One for sure is my diet and exercise regimen that I am starting tomorrow. I think if I blog about it, I will be more likely to stay on the diet (at least, that is my theory).

With everything going on, you can obviously see the reason for the blog title. So stayed tuned for all the craziness of the Rial family!!