A to Z Blog Challenge ~ X

The word for today is EXAMINE. Yes. I know that this word does not begin with the letter X, but there aren't many that do! This word fits me today because I have realized that I have GOT to re-examine my daily routine!

I used to have a morning routine that started with having coffee with God. I would pray, read my devotions, and write in my journal. Then... I would check my email, read Facebook, and write in my blog.

Lately... for whatever reason... I have lost my routine. Yes, I could sit here and think of every excuse in the world as to how I lost it, but there really is no excuse.

I also need to re-examine my exericise routine! I can't seem to find a good time to fit it in. I enjoy my Wii Fit very much, but I like to be home alone when I do it. For me, it is very distracting when my family is around.... which is almost ALL THE TIME! I've been able to ride my bike at least once a week, but would like to ride it more often, too.

I want to eat better and more healthy, too. So, I plan to re-examine my meals that I cook. Yesterday, I found a wonderful Betty Crocker "Heart Healthy" cookbook at the book store. I am excited about finding new, healthy recipes to cook for my family!

Camping Trip

Wow! What a beautiful weekend! I am so glad that we were able to get away and go camping. The temperatures have finally cooled off and were PERFECT for camping!

We are grateful to have F.D. Roosevelt State Park so close to our home. It is only about 30 minutes away, but it feels like we are hours away!

Here's a few photos of our weekend ----

"Home Sweet Home" for the weekend

 My boys, Chester & Jackson

Buddy finds a place to snooze.

The girls "hang out"...

While the boys cook! ... It works out great!

Enjoying time in the hammock.



My view from the hammock.

After digging a "crater" in the pathway, the boys decide to finally relax!

Girlfriends

I'm not sure how this picture got taken, but I like it!

Can you guess whose feet are whose?

Our campfire on Saturday morning.

After breakfast on Saturday morning, we walked down to the lake to watch the

Montgomery Model Boat Club have their regatta out on the lake. It was a lot of fun to watch!

This is the area that the event took place.

One of the bouy's that the sailboats would need to sail around.

This man did a great Franklin D. Roosevelt impersonation.

First, the speed boats showed off their speed.

Then, it was time for the sailboats.

And the race begins!

The winning boat happened to be an Auburn University themed boat.

The University of Alabama boat faught hard, but lost to Auburn.

The Boys beg for treats

The sea plane was next.

It took off and landed perfectly!

Hubby takes a ride on a friend's scooter.

A little friendly competition with the "Washer Toss" game.

We had a wonderful weekend!

Weekend Away

Sorry for the delay in blogging. Hubby and I went camping for the weekend with our friends. I'll post pics and write more soon!

A to Z Blog Challenge ~ W

Today's word is WIMPS.

I picked this word because that's what my dogs seem to be! My dogs seem to be scared of EVERYTHING! Jackson has been scared of things since he was a puppy, and now... so is Chester!

Jackson has always been scared of "new" things in a room, such as a helium balloon tied to a kitchen chair or a box sitting on the kitchen floor. It's quite comical! He will do anything to avoid the room with the new "thing" in it.

One time, he wouldn't come out of my bedroom because there was something... (it might have been a box. I can't remember.)... near the doorway. The funny part is... he had walked past the item when he went INTO the bedroom and hadn't even noticed it!

Sometimes, he will walk between the chairs to go under our kitchen table and then he can't figure out how to come out! He will stand under there and whine until someone comes and moves a chair for him! It's hilarious!

One good things is....  he's not afraid of checking out sounds that he hears or someone new coming in the door. He will bark and go check out what it is he hears or sees.

Chester, on the other hand..... HIDES when Jackson barks!! If he's inside when Jackson is barking, he will hide under the end table. If he is outside and Jackson starts barking at a squirrel or a deer, Chester will run to the screen door and cower on the step!

We laugh at Chester the most when he sees his reflection in something and then growls and hides! He sees himself in places like our fireplace doors, the glass in our living room cabinet doors and the mirror in our bedroom.

Both dogs are terrified of the vacuum! Jackson will just go to another room and lay down, but Chester will either crawl under my desk or hide behind one of the chairs in the living room or bedroom. Sometimes, I have to go looking for him to find him because he won't come out!

It's no doubt that these two precious pups provide us with LOTS of entertainment!

Happy Birthday Daddy

Today would have been my Daddy's 81st Birthday. I miss him so very much! He died, way to young, at the age of 53 of a heart attack. I was only 18.

I was a Daddy's Girl and not a day went by without him telling me..... "I love you."  They weren't just words with him, either. He meant it. I KNEW that I was loved! He always called me his "Little Sweetheart".

During football season is when I think about him the most. I have many memories of us watching the Atlanta Falcon's play on TV together. I believe this picture was taken as we watched a game together in 1972. I was eight. --

Another memory I have of my Daddy is helping him clean the pool on Saturday mornings. My job was to put the chemicals into the little tubes to test the pool water and then shake them to see what color the water turned. I thought that was so much fun!

My Daddy is the one that taught me how to swim, too. I was always afraid of the drain in the deep end. When I jumped off the diving board, I would always jump to one of the sides and never OVER the drain! It might suck me up!! One time, after I learned how to swim, he took me by the hand and swam with me to the drain and made me touch it to prove that it wouldn't suck me up! This was all it took to get me over my fear.

I used to love to watch him work on our cars. He was a very good mechanic and loved "tinkering" with them. He wasn't a mechanic by trade. He just enjoyed it.

I have many, many other memories of my Daddy. I could go on and on about them.

I can't help but wonder what my life would have been like if he hadn't died so young. The thing I hate the most is that he didn't get to see me grow up, get married and have a family. I hurts that my girls never knew him. They would have LOVED him!! He would have been the BEST Granddaddy EVER!!

It makes me sad that he is no longer here, but I know that he was sick and the only way that God could heal him was to take him home.

My hope is that my Daddy is waiting for me up in Heaven and I can't wait to get there to see him again!!

Happy Birthday, Daddy! I miss you and I love you!!

A to Z Blog Challenge ~ V

Today's word is VOLUME, as in the volume of the TV.

This word came to me last night, as I was watching my favorite Wednesday night ABC shows. I would have to turn down the volume during the comercials. I don't mind the comercials, but the volume on the TV almost always seems louder when they come on! I know that they somehow do this on purpose, but I have no idea how!

So, as I watch TV, the remote is always in my lap so that I can turn down the volume when needed.

Sometimes, the reverse happens. Some shows seem to have their volume turned DOWN and I have to turn my TV's volume UP! It's crazy!!

Hubby is the same way when it comes to the TV remote. He also keeps it in his lap, but his reason is almost always to turn the volume WAY UP or to flip the channel as soon as a comercial comes on! He likes the TV LOUD and he doesn't like comercials at all!! The girls and I get frustrated with him, but it's a joke at our house now, and we just laugh about it!

The only time that I want the TV loud is for my football games and maybe for certain movies. That's about it.

When Hubby actually sits down to watch TV -- which is rare! -- we usually let him control the remote, this way he gets to be "in control" for....  just a little bit.... because we know that in about 5 mins, he will be asleep and we can get the remote back!! **Smile**

Yes, I know! If we didn't watch so much TV... we wouldn't have this problem!