Signs, Tris, and Shin-Digs

What a whirlwind of fun we had this past weekend. Friday, Angela L and I went over to Heidi (a friend of hers whose hubby was doing the triathlon with Jon and Dough) house and hung out. I really like Heidi a lot and I'm so excited I have a new friend. She is so interesting and very delightful. The kids swam, we chatted, and then we had to get down to business for the real reason we all got together. . . .


All our kids made signs for their dads. It was so neat to see how creative each one could be. . .. then the competitor came out in Hanna of all people. She quietly called me to her and asked me how to spell "Beat Mr. Doug". Then, the cheering for each Dad all over the posterboards began.

Alec was so funny. He drew each one of them. The first is Jon saying, "I feel like a deuce." Then is Doug saying, "Tell me about it." Then Nick saying, "M-O-N-K-E-Y". Monkey is something Nick says to his son. Jon and Doug have this thing about calling one another a deuce. It's one of those "you had to be there things" . . . I think. . . they think it's hilarious.

That night we had everyone over to our house for a spaghetti dinner. We all had a great time.

Saturday morning, bright and early, . . . 6:30 AM to be exact, Angela comes and picks me and the kids up. Jon and Doug had already gone to meet Nick. We then went to Heidi's and I had the BEST cup of coffee I've ever had!!! When she puts in her coffee grounds she sprinkles cinnamon into the grounds. . . A-M-A-Z-I-N-G I tell you!!!!

In a triathlon the swim is the first thing. This just happened to be the thing Jon was the most nervous about. . .

The best # out there, in my opinion!!!

This is his age and his division. It's so much more complex than a 5K, 10K, half marathon, or marathon. . .

Before he headed out into the water I made sure to give him a good luck kiss. I was so very proud of him from the start. My eyes just welled up with tears!!!

The swim was 600 meters, so the stronger swimmers have a chance to get to the front of the pack. Therefore, it makes it really hard to tell where your guy is. Thankfully Jon's goggles were white and not black. . . so this made him a little easier to find. . . silver hat, white goggles. The first time I saw it I just knew it was him, so I started yelling in my loudest voice, "Go Jon. Go Baby. You can do it Babe. Come on. " The guy gets up from the lake. .. Oops! It wasn't Jon!!! By the 3rd time I did this it was him. They say 3rd times a charm, right?

Next, it was time for the biking. He had a 14 mile bike ahead of him. He has a computer on his bike that tells him how fast he's going. Once he got up to 34 mph.

Finally, there was a 5K (3.1 miles). Y'all it was HOT!!! I was just a spectator and I had sweat dripping down my back. I was itching to be out there and be apart of all this. However, I was so glad I got to anticpate for Jon coming after each event. I just LOVED cheering him on!!!

Alec was so sweet to pour cold water down his back.

Y'all know I have a thing for old people, right? Well, this precious man and his wife here are just wonderful. He is 89 years old. Well, actually, when I went up to him to tell him how impressed I was that he was out here he informed me that he was almost 90. Precious thing.

After congratulating our guys, Angela and I start to head home. Doug calls and says they all want to go to Pizza Hut. She and I were really looking forward to getting home and getting a nap, but we hopped on the Pizza Hut train and met the guys there.

We headed home and they headed home. We crashed!! We woke up and then went to our Sunday School Shin-Dig which included . . .

Chicken fights. . .

Lots of smiles, giggles, and laughter. . .

Jon decided he and Angela looked like twins . . .thing is, Ang is pregnant

A very special man's birthday who just happens to share a birthday with my FIL. I told Mr. John that I know 2 great men who were born on this day. . . His sweet wife, Judy, surprised him with a brownie. . .

There were people who were thrown into the pool including Alec, Matthew (I actually asked to throw him in), Mr. John, and Jessica. . .

I just love unposed, sweet, captured moments . . .

If this were a Mastercard Commercial

1. Husband in child's goggles. . . makes me giggle. . .

2. Laying on the beach with wonderful friends. . . lots of chatter and laughter.

3. Kids getting to enjoy their friends at the beach. . . no fussing or fighting AT ALL!!! . . . loads of fun.

4. Men getting to be in the "no woman zone". . . they may say "priceless"

5. Two snaggle tooth, cuddly cuties . . . all would agree . . .PRICELESS!

6. Trying to ride a boogie board like a surf board. . . lots of muscle strength

7. Taking a cool dip when its blazing hot outside . . . definitely PRICELESS!!!

Shoot fire!!! Okay. . . enough with the Mastercard theme . . . I can't do it. . . I'm just too wordy. Last weekend we headed to SSI with our friends the Jones, Brisendines, and Hendrixes. To say we had a blast wouldn't do it enough justice. It was a great trip.

The B's were already there. Friday night we got in and headed over to their place for spaghetti. We then to the kids to the pool and hung out. . . our family headed back to the condo and later the Jones' got there.

Saturday morning I woke up and headed over to the B's. Jennifer is training for the Peachtree Road Race, so she and I decided to run together. I actually ran over to their place which was 2.8 miles. She and I then went from their place to the beach. . . which was another 3 miles. As we were running down the beach we see these huge seashells. I have never seen seashells on SSI like this. J and I start getting as many as we can. . .so much so we had to pull our shirts out to hold them all. Needless to say we were done with our run.

We all get ready and head out to the beach for the day. Poor Lisa, she had a sinus infection and, honestly, just doesn't like the beach. She hates the sand. I think she wasn't having very much fun at this point. She and her family head back to the condo. We all continue to hang out at the beach. When we got home L had had a nap, and I could tell she had a pep in her step. YAY!!! I had told J and F I was afraid they weren't having a good time. . . but she felt so much better after getting some rest.

We all get ready and head to one of our favorite eating places on the island, "Mullet Bay". Jon and I actually ate there the night we got married.

The food was wonderful. . .

The company was even better. . .

We then headed back to our condo and put all of our thinking caps on. We decided to play Trivial Pursuit. Poor Jon, he had to carry our team (which was he and I). There are some real smarties amongst our friends. Tim and Lisa took the win. We all had so.much.fun.

Sunday morning we decided to split time between the beach and the pool. While we went to the beach, the Jones' headed to the Village to hang out and look around.

After we all got a bite to each, everyone came over to our condo to swim in the pool. We had probably the biggest game of 'Sharks and Minnows' ever played. It was so fun!!! Then some of the grownups and kids starting having swimming races.

Faith and I went to get a picture together. I didn't have my sunglasses on. I told her, "Girl, let me put on some sort of accessory." Apparently Steve snapped this picture while I was getting ready for our picture :)

There we go!!!!

Group shot. . . Jon was missing. He was really tired and so stayed at the condo and watched TV.

Silly group shot . . .

All the kiddos. . . ever called a restaurant and said I need a table for 21. . . 8 adults and 13 kids. . . We even saw one lady at "Mullet Bay" counting all the children. They all did great. They were all so well behaved.

Monday morning we got up, got the condo cleaned and headed home. We stopped in Savannah for lunch. We see this blue Volvo with a tag on it from our hometown. . . It was Tim and Lisa. . . great minds think alike, huh?

Lunch at Crackle Barrel

We are so very blessed. We know that friendships like these don't come a dime a dozen. Some people never find like-minded friends where the moms, dads, and kiddos all get along really well. We all just have a great time together and enjoy one another's company. We all know how incredibly blessed we are and certainly don't take the friendships God has blessed us with for granted. I love each of these families so very much!!! We had an incredible weekend. I think we may all do it again in the fall. . . I hope so!!!

'Cause I Love Mindless

I just love me a good MeMe. . . mindless. . . no thinking, no loading pictures, just answering questions. . . all the while people learn useless information about this girl who identifies herself by the shoes on her feet . . . I stole this from Mer's blog. So, here I go. .

What color are your socks right now? No socks. Just my bare feet.

What are you listening to right now? TV on in the bedroom. Sounds like "America's Got Talent" is on.

What was the last thing you ate? Supreme Pizza from Pizza Hut.

Can you drive a stick? Oh yeah. My stepdad taught me with his little truck that still smelled brand stinkin' new even after it was 10 years old. He took me down the dirt road we lived on. . . actually my 2nd car was a stick.

Last person you spoke to on the phone? Lisa J.

How old are you today? 33

What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? College football . . . just 'cause I like to be a supportive wife and all. . .

What is your favorite drink? Coffee.

Have you ever dyed your hair? I had highlights one time. I wanted to do it for years and years and finally broke down and spent the money. I liked it. However, Jon made such a good point, "Michele, people pay lots of money to have your color hair. . . and now, you're paying money to change it?" One time at the salon a lady stopped by my hairstylist and said, "I want the color you just put on her hair." Natalie told her, "This is all natural." So, I decided I should be grateful and save my money to spend on something else :)

Favorite food? I really love a good salad. . . seriously!

What is the last movie you watched? You mean from start to finish? (stole that part from Mer). Maybe Gran Torino? I fall asleep a good bit during movies.

Favorite day of the year? Thanksgiving. It's not about all the stuff. . . just being with family.

How do you vent anger? I suppress and suppress and then I erupt like a volcano. . . not good!

What was your favorite toy as a child? Barbies!!!

Favorite Season? Fall, spring, and summer.

Cherries or Blueberries? Blueberries

Living situation? Financially strained right now. Not knowing where God is going to take us or how He is going to move. . . but I have more peace in my life than maybe ever. . . I've come to a much, much deeper understanding of His Soveriengty. . . which just brings me such peace. . . life is busy with 3 kids. We're blessed with wonderful family. We have the best church. We have lots of amazing friends and are so.very.blessed. Other than our financial situation, life is about as good as it gets!!! And, even the financial strain I'm grateful for . . . because God has either allowed it or caused it. . . which tells me we NEED it and He will work it all together for our good. Blessed be the name of the LORD!!!

When was the last time you cried? Today. . . well, I was teary eyed. . . at the triathlon. . . just so excited and proud of Jon. Then tonight, my friend who has recurrent breast cancer for the 3rd or 4th time shared some things with me . . . my heart just breaks for her family.

What is on the floor of your closet right now? Accessories galore, clothes, shoes, hangers. . . it is way, way messy!

What are you most afraid of? Rejection.

Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? I like them ALL!!! My favorite burger is always one grilled at home. Right now I really like them stuffed with feta cheese.

Favorite dog breed? Bishonpoo. . . cause that's what we have. Although I think labs are GREAT dogs!

Favorite day of the week? Sunday. . . the only day I truly take to rest.

How many states have you lived in? I am a Georgia Peach through and through and I want to keep it that way!

Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds.

What is your favorite flower? Hydrangea.

Did you get an H1N1 vaccine? Nope. Will not be getting it either.

Flying High in an OPEN cockpit

For Alec's 13th birthday (coming up in about a week) he'd talked about flying in a small airplane. His friend, Levi, did this to celebrate going into the teen years.

However, moola is tight around here. . . so, it just wasn't happening this year.

One Saturday morning my friend, Faith, called and told me they were at a local airport and they were giving a flying clinic for kids ages 8-15. They were flying kids for free!!!
Alec was still in the bed. Jon and I really didn't have too much time to talk about it. We had to go and had to go then if we were going to take advantage of this. Jon was pretty nervous, so I called Faith and asked she and her family to hang out with him. The girls and I had to go to my sister's baby shower. Jon's parents actually showed up to watch their grandson fly high into the sky.

Friends watching . . .

Alec LOVED it. He actually got to fly in the plane with the open cockpit. I'm so glad I didn't hesitate because of my own fears. I don't want fear to dictate my children's lives. Although I wasn't thrilled with the idea, I certainly didn't want to hold Alec back. I certainly didn't let him know my fearful thoughts either. The only part he saw of me was enthusiasm and excitement. I'm so, so, so glad he was able to do this!!!

The LORD provided him with something we couldn't afford right now. I'm so grateful God's hands are even in those little details of our lives.