You might be a redneck if....

The past few weekends have been quite busy. We visited with friends who are moving away and enjoyed the children's end of year school activities.

End of School Year and Moves

Our friends Lisa, Mark, Jacob and Jeremy are moving to Colorado Springs and they had us over to their home last weekend and visited with us one last time on Sunday. Being the great influence that we are, Lisa and Mark bought a truck with a camper on it that will be Lisa's home in Colorado until the house is sold here in Georgia. It is a great alternative while in transition like that. They have decided to "stop and smell the diesel." :-)

Rachel and Anna both had water day parties and then their end of year school programs. We stayed for Anna's program but left for Florida and missed Rachel's end of year program. We gave her the choice of leaving for the beach earlier and skipping the program or staying. She chose the beach. Her teacher presented her with her certificate and a beautiful scrapbook that Mrs. Crawford made for Rachel throughout the year.

Memorial Day Weekend

We traveled to Florida this past weekend and stayed at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park in Santa Rosa Beach. This was our second trip to Topsail. Our first visit was last June and we enjoyed it so much that we wanted to go again this year. It didn't disappoint us either time.

The park itself is immaculate and the camp sites offer a good bit of privacy. And, the best part is that it is only a short distance to the beach. It's a good idea to bring a bike as that is the easiest and quickest way to access the beach from the park. The beach area for the park is pristine and not very crowded. The best part is that it is more of a family beach so it's relatively peaceful and lacks the huge skyscraping hotels, tiki bars and loud boom boxes. Of course the emerald waters and white sand beaches are absolutely beautiful. One day while at the beach, we caught one of the small crabs and Rachel named him "Sandy." We let Sandy burrow back in the sand shortly after catching him.

We met Harold and Gail there for the weekend and their camper was parked behind ours. Rachel and Anna slept each night with them instead of in our RV. They enjoyed the time spent with Grandma and Poppa. And, Jeff and I enjoyed having the camper to ourselves each night. That is a rare treat.

We arrived on Thursday and came back home on Monday. We spent Friday at the beach, Saturday at the park pool, and then back to the beach on Sunday before deciding that we had enough of Vitamin D to last us a long while. Anna is our coppertone baby. She just tans in the sun. Rachel, on the other hand, is like her Momma. Even with the same sunscreens and other protective measures, we still get sun burn. Rachel even has freckles on her face like me. In many ways, she is a mini-me.

The wind was blowing pretty hard so it was perfect for flying a kite. But, the ocean was pretty rough. The temperature of the water was still pretty cool too. So, we didn't venture far into the water. While taking a break from the pool on Saturday, I rode my bike around the park and found a beautiful pond filled with lilly pads. You'll see a close up of one of the lilly pads at the beginning of this post.

On Thursday night we had dinner at Bayou Bill's Crab House. And, on Saturday we traveled to Panama City and enjoyed dinner at the Treasure Ship's Main Dining Room. I have to admit that Panama City was very disappointing. It has been over 13 years since I visited Panama City and I couldn't believe on delipidated it seemed. Panama City used to be the place of choice for seniors after high school graduation and for House Party and Spring Break during my college years. The Miracle Strip was the place to cruise each night. Yes, it's always been known as one of the "redneck rivieras" but what we saw was not the Panama City I remembered.

Dinner at the Treasure Ship was a treat. It was my first time to ever eat there and a first for Rachel and Anna. They enjoyed visiting with the pirates and we all enjoyed the view of the bay from the restaurant. We tried the main dining room for dinner. The food was a bit pricey but I would definitely recommend it for other families visiting Panama City. And, Bayou Bill's is a great family choice in Santa Rosa Beach.

We drove on Hwy 98 while traveling to Panama City and then we took Hwy 30A driving back to Santa Rosa Beach. All of the quaint towns along Hwy 30A were interesting and some were very nice. We drove through Seaside and other similiar developments. Seaside is a town where some scenes in the movie The Truman Show (starring Jim Carrey) was filmed. After a long drive back to Santa Rosa Beach, we decided to visit Brusters Ice Cream for some dessert. We have a Brusters in our home town but have rarely patronized it, mainly because it is located very close to Baskin Robbins and Baskin Robbins has my favorite ice cream. The ice cream was a great treat to end the day.

The weather was absolutely beautiful throughout the weekend and we couldn't have asked for more perfect weather.

Those reading this may be wondering why I titled this post "you might be a redneck if...." It's not because of my discussion of Panama City. It is because of a comment made to us while staying at Topsail. We brought our ferrets with us which we usually do. The ease of portability while traveling was one of the reasons we chose ferrets. Because we do take them with us, we bought a portable, configurable fence that is large enough that the ferrets can run around and play and the girls can get into the fence with them to play. This works great as it allows the ferrets some time out of their cage without the fear of them running away...or at least the fence slows them down so that we can catch them before they scale the side and jump out. One afternoon the girls were playing with the ferrets in the fence outside on our patio. A man and woman walking by our camper noticed them and asked us if Rachel and Anna were "playing with puppies?" We replied that they were "playing with ferrets." So, this couple walked up and struck up a conversation with us asking us about the ferrets. Now, this isn't unusual. Most people that we have encountered have been extremely friendly and a pleasure to speak with. And, it's not atypical to strike up a conversation with people to discuss their camper, places they've traveled to, etc. We met one man this past weekend whose wife died in December of 2006. He now travels with a lab that his wife bought for him before he died. He has tried to find a companion who might enjoy traveling with him through e-harmony on-line but hasn't had any luck just yet. He reminded me of just how fragile life is and how every day is precious. Then there is an 80-year old man who had trouble walking through the parking lot but tells us he is still active square dancing. He reminded me of how despite our circumstances, we can still make the best of what we have. And, last but not least, the family whose son was camping for the weekend who is in the Army and will be deploying to Iraq in a few months. They reminded me of how precious time is with our family and friends. Now, back to the couple inquiring about our ferrets.

After we answered their questions about the ferrets the man said "Well, rednecks never cease to amaze me." To which Jeff replied, "I'll take that as a compliment." You could tell that the woman then realized that her husband may have overstepped some congenial bounds with the comment and they quickly excused themselves and went on their merry way.

Jeff Foxworthy defines a redneck as someone who lacks sophistication. And, we aren't sophisticated nor high maintenance people. And, if being a redneck is what those people weren't, I will definitely take that as a compliment too.

Westward Bound

Jeff will be starting a new job in a few weeks. Before he starts his new job, we are planning time off to drive west in our motorhome. Rachel and Anna will be staying with Harold and Gail in Alabama during this trip. We figured we did a family trip for a week in Orlando at the end of April and this recent trip to the beach. The trip out west may be the last long trip that Jeff and I will be able to take for a very long time as leave from work is always tough to come by for long periods. We plan to go to Yellowstone National Park, Badlands National Park, the Grand Teton National Park and other areas near there. Jeff worked at Yellowstone one summer while in college and he has always told me about the beautiful areas out there. After almost 13 years of marriage, I'll finally get to see all of the areas that he has told me about. It will be the longest road trip we have made to date in our motorhome. And, I can't wait. We never had a honeymoon after we got married. So, I guess we can call this our much delayed honeymoon. And, with our 13-year anniversary coming up in June, I'd say it's about time that we had a honeymoon. I can't wait for our western adventure to begin. We'll be leaving June 7th and won't be back for two weeks.

Mother's Day 2007

Children are a great comfort in your old age - and they help you reach it faster, too. ~Lionel Kauffman

I called my Mother the day before Mother's Day. And, Jeff and I called his Mom on Mother's Day. Since they live several hours away from us, we weren't able to visit with them on Mother's Day.

I had a great Mother's Day. We packed a lunch and headed to the lake for a picnic and to feed the ducks. Anna always stands up on the picnic table to feed them. I guess duck are a bit intimidating to her since they are her height. After lunch, we stopped at the RV campground that we used to call home and visited with the camp hosts, Norm and Sharon. They backfilled us on the happenings at the campground since we left.

Rachel and Anna made the sweetest gifts for me at school. On Friday morning, Rachel's class hosted a "Muffins with Mom" breakfast. And, both Rachel and Anna brought home crafts they had made at school for me. Anna gave me a picture she painted and the whole entire page was red. I didn't really think much of that fact until she told me "Mommy, I painted it red because that is your favorite color." I thought that was so thoughtful of her....something that seemed so benign had so much thought put into it...particularly for a 4 year old.

Additionally, Jeff helped them make a framed photo/hand print gift for me. Jeff jokingly started complaining about how he didn't get any gifts and Mom got everything on Mother's Day. Rachel replied, "Dad, stop grumping. You'll get something on Father's Day." It was pretty funny to witness. Now, if they would just be so understanding when they don't get a gift when it's their siblings birthday.

While I love my children with all of my heart, I will be the first to admit that there are days I wonder if I'm cut out for this motherhood gig. You will always hear women go on and on about how wonderful motherhood is but you won't hear many tell you about their crazy parenting moments. I think one of my favorite videos to watch is "Bill Cosby, Himself." He has the funniest commentary about parenting in that video and so much of it is true! One prerequisite for parenting is having a sense of humor; otherwise you just won't survive. How many parents can remember saying, "look at the camera and smile." All we want is one good family photo...is that too much to ask. But...noooooooo. As you can see, Anna is not smiling in my Mother's Day picture. But, then again, I have given up on those perfect photos. And, in the end, I guess this photo is more indicative of who she is anyway.

I think God sends us the moments of "Mommy, I painted it red because that is your favorite color" so we don't go running screaming into the night. :-)

And, when you show up at work with two different shoes just remember this....

Insanity is hereditary; you get it from your children. ~Sam Levenson

Stone Mountain, Georgia

"....let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia."~~Martin Luther King, Jr.

We visited Stone Mountain, Georgia, this past weekend for the first time. We decided to make this trip to meet our friends, Pete & Gabrielle and their children Lia & Krista.
We had hoped to take the RV and stay at the park but we didn't because we had just got it back from service again and the camper had a bunch of ants. So, we decided to drive up for the day only and return home that night.
We left first thing in the morning on Saturday and arrived by 10 am. The weather was gorgeous for the bulk of the day but we did get a few showers in the late afternoon.

The town is named for Stone Mountain, the largest exposed granite dome in North America. Stone Mountain is also the site of a famous giant carving commemorating the military leaders of the Confederacy as well as a state park and museum, including a tourist railroad.

Not longer after arriving we ate the lunch I had packed and then started touring the park. The first thing we did was ride the train. The train stopped at the base of the mountain and in our infinite wisdom, we decided to hike up the mountain. The hike is approximately 1.4 miles and all uphill. It was a bit hot on Saturday as well. The heat combined with the height was not a pleasant experience for Rachel and she made it known to everyone. I believe she screamed for the entire last 1/4 mile up to the top. She didnt like the heat (she's not much into sweating). She didn't like the height. Anna did a good job on this trip where the hike was concerned. Usually, she's not very fond of physical exertion either when it comes to walking. But, she actually did well this time. Despite much moaning and groaning, we did make it to the top. Anna had the most fun splashing in the water puddles at the top! Then, we rode the skylift back down the mountain.

The children were then ready to go play at the various playground areas and the Talking Water Fountain (which we determined didn't talk but shot water out at people). While at the playground, Rachel attempted the rock climbing wall. She made it a little over half way up before deciding to quit. She's not real fond of heights. Anna wanted to do it but they would not allow her to since her shorts were wet. I would've loved to see her climb as well to see if she would've continued to the top or not.

The girls had a blast getting soaked. It was shortly after that when the first rain fall hit. We went to the 3-D movies on site after the playground and then started heading to the barn when we got caught in the rain fall.

We stopped at the covered ticketing area and the girls had a great time playing in the rain. Last up on the list was the visit to the barn where every male who entered became a child again. While there are signs that state "no throwing," every man (and child) immediately picks up the foam balls and starts throwing.

After a full day, we decided to head home around 3:30. We stopped a O.B.'s Bar-B-Que in McDonough, GA. All I can say is, "yummy!" And, since it was Mothers Day weekend, I got my meal for free. It was a yummy dinner and I highly recommend the ribs to anyone traveling through who stops there.