Happy B'day Donna!

Picture 2: Donna and Will. The happy couple. He loves his mama.

Picture 1: This is the $45 cake Grams had for Donna (Tony got his own $45 cake) Sunday.

Well, Donna hits 38 on Tuesday the 18th. Wow, she is really putting on the years. Me, I am holding at 29 for the last 9 years. She sure looks alot younger than me.

Will and I are blessed to have a wife/mother that loves us like Donna. She takes care of us along with everyone else. I hope she has many more happy b'days that we can celebrate together as a family.

Happy Birthday Donna!

Will starts school

Well, as you can see by this photo Will was less than thrilled that he had to start school today. He loved open house Monday night, but this morning his enthusiasm was not quite as high. Hey, the kid loves his mom.

Donna actually took him in this morning. Yes, there were some tears along the way and when he got to his class. However, his teacher got him and within just a few moments he was the Will we all know and love. With his normal social personality he was showing off his drawings to any of our friend teachers that just "happened" to drop by his classroom.

A special thanks to Heather Whitley and Lana Langley. They kept us posted during the day on his status. Apparently after the initial shock he was fine and had a fantastic day.

Donna picked him up and brought him to the office after school. He had many stories and even declared tonight that he "loved" school.

You know, Donna and I really prayed that Will would get the right teacher. There were a couple that were going out just days after school starts with maternity leaves and that would be hard. Others that we thought would academically challenge Will ( I will give his mom credit that she has done an excellent job preparing him for k in regards to reading, writing, words, etc...). However, God knew what he needed. We really didn't know Ms. McConnell. I thought I knew everybody in this town, but I did not know her. Well, she is a BLESSING! Her personality is one that seems to be very caring and loving to the children.

Thank you Ms. McConnell. Will needed you this a.m. and you were there for him. We look forward to a great year.

Oh, for the record I would say that Donna did better than I did today with Will starting school. Hey, he is my only child and I am an emotional guy.

NYC

Yankee Stadium

Coney Island rides

China Town section

Nathans Hotdogw (original stand) on Coney Island

Empire St. building

Wall St. Bull

St. Pauls Church (near WTC)

I took a trip this weekend up to New York my friend, Chuck to catch a Yankees game. I have always wanted to go watch the Yanks play, so for our 15th Annv Donna gave me tickets to the Yankees vs. Red Sox. What a trip!

Chuck and I left Friday morning and went up. Friday we spent the day just going all over the city on the subway. NYC is a big grid and relatively easy to find your way around if you know where you want to go. Subway trains run everywhere and they are a very inexpensive way to move around this huge city.

Friday night we went to Coney Island to watch a minor league baseball team play. It was so cool. Coney Island is neat. We saw the original Nathans hot dogs stand. Remember, this is where the July 4 hotdog contest is held.

Saturday we went all over the city. Fun times. Just looking and checking out a few things I wanted to see that I had not seen on a prior visit. Beautiful Episcopal and Catholic cathedrals. Absolutely beautiful!

Saturday night was the highlight. We headed over the Yankee Stadium. Awesome! Everything I thought it would be. Imagine if you are an Alabama/Auburn fan. Well, the atmosphere outside the stadium is like gameday in Tuscaloosa. This whole area is dedicated to the Yankees. The people are probably a little more into the game then UA vs. AU. You read correctly. This Yankee fans are radical. I mean radical. Plus, their vocabulary is probably a little more spicy than the average UA vs. AU fan. Hard to believe, but true.

Well, great trip. Alot of fun. Will says that he is going next summer. Maybe. My next goal is to watch the Yankees vs. Mets.

See you at the park.

Panama City Beach Bound

We decided to take another trip to the beach this summer. Instead of taking the routine trip to Gulf Shores, we made a detour and go to Panama City Beach. This is where I spent many of summer trip when I was a kid.

Each summer for many years we would take our camper to PCB. We had great fun on Miracle Strip and at Shipwreck Island. I can also remember the church trips with the youth group to Laguna Beach church camp.

Wow, it has been 20 years since I had gone.

When we pulled into town we went by the old block hotel like camp known as Laguna Beach Christian Camp. What great memories it brought back of a time that was alot less complicated. Hanging out with my youth group and of course trying to meet girls from some far away place (like Mississippi, or Georgia). I know, not that far away. Well, it was for us.

LB also brought back the memory of my sisters first youth group trip when she left her bags in the back of my dad's truck. This was a time before cell, so daddy had to fly through Tuscaloosa and catch us on the south end of town near Duncanville. It also brought back all the kids that were there that are not here any longer (Chris Jacobs and Barry Hicks). Fun times learning and playing. I would work for weeks to try and save $30 to take with me as spending money.

We stayed at the Splash while in PCB. Neat condo that is designed for the family. There were waterslides and other water features on the property. Certainly something that was right up Will's alley.

Mom and Pop went with us. I think Pop enjoyed eating at some of his old favorites like Captain Anderson's. We also visited PCB 1st Baptist Sunday morning for church. This is where we would attend as kids while on vacation. Yes, in our family you go to church even on vacation. Don't leave the SON out of your summer.

Donna, Will and I rented a jet ski one day. While cutting up we spotted a sea turtle. Of course, Donna wouldn't let us get too close. You know, it may knock us off the jet ski and we would all certainly be eaten. Hey, that's what moms are for.

We had a great time and squeezed the most out of our trip. We didn't leave until 5p on Wed and pulled back into Fayette around midnight. Work the next day came early, but it was worth it.

I can't wait until our next trip to the "Emerald Shores."

Mr. Bill's Farm

You are seeing correctly. Will is feeding deer and racoon's. Only in the country.

The other night we paid a visit to a friend that lives here in town. He has more wildlife than the B'ham Zoo. Lama, buffalo, miniature horses, cows, ducks, peacocks, deer and even racoon's. Animals everywhere.

Will and I have made many visits before. This particular night was extra special because we got to feed the new family of coons that had taken up residence on the farm. They loved the bread we gave them and literally came right up to us. NO, we didn't try to feed from our hands. We are smarter than that. They are wild animals. However, we did have a great time.

Thanks Mr. Bill for the personal tour and the ride around the farm seeing the sites. Will (and me) had a great time.

Tractor Pull 2009

Hey, what are a couple of country boys suppose to do? You guessed it, we go to the tractor pull. You heard me correct. Will and I went to the tractor pull this past Saturday.

We enjoyed watching the pull. There were alot of powerful tractors that ranged from the brand new to the very, very old. It was neat seeing the old tractors that had been fixed up to pull. I mean some were 50 years old.

You will notice that with all good sporting events (is tractor pulling a sport?) the best part is the concession stand. The pic above shows the "John Deere" green ice cream that Will ate.

We stayed a couple of hours and saw a bunch of our friends. Good time with my son on a Saturday.

Fishing!

Will and I enjoy fishing during the summer. Many nights you will find us spending a few minutes at my buddy, Chuck Langley's pond. He lives just five minutes from our house, so Will and I can run over and fish for a few minutes. Great father and son time.

These photos were taken last week when Will, myself and Chuck were wetting a line. Chuck and I were talking when Will hooked this bass. 1 or 1 1/2 lb bass. We looked up as Will set the line and then reeled the bass in all by himself. Maybe he is going to be more of an outdoors man than his dad. Oh, for you fisherman reading this it was a slimy plastic lizard that Will was throwing on the ol' Zebco 33.

Thanks Chuck for letting Will and I fish. We also appreciate you stocking this pond with alot of hungry Florida Bass.