Falcons Training Camp 2011

Boys, we were able to go back to the Falcons Training Camp in Flowery Branch again this year.  We came over here last year, and we had a blast, and you boys had asked if we could come back.  It is pretty fun just getting to spend this time hanging out with you boys.  We got us a Falcons football that is smooth on the top side of it so that the players can autograph it easier.  We watched the practice from up on the hill at the Falcons Complex.  We got to see the Falcons #1 draft pick this year, WR Julio Jones.  He is going to be a BEAST!  The Falcons traded up 21 spots in the draft to get him, and from the looks of him, it is going to be worth it.  He was making amazing catches.  After the practice, some of the players come over to the fans and sign autographs.  Today, most of the new draft picks were signing.  We got Jaquizz Rodgers, Akeem Dent, and Matt Bosher's autographs on our new football.  It was a very fun day!  Thank you boys for letting me be a part of it with you.

1st Day of School 2011

Boys, today started another year of school.  It is the first time that the 3 of you will be in 3 different schools.  Jay starts Middle School today!!  6th Grade!!  Wow!  That is so hard to believe.  It is so exciting to see Jay grow and mature.  Nothing seems to be too much for him to handle.  The transition to Middle School has been much harder on Mommy and Daddy than it has on Jay.  He will have a locker for the first time, change classes, be in the Middle School band, and attempt to ride the bus!!  But I know that Jay is strong enough to handle it all.  Jay, you have succeeded in everything that you have done in school, and we fully expect that you will continue to succeed!
Cody starts 3rd Grade in the Intermediate School.  Cody, you have done so well in school also.  You are a natural leader.  Your friends look to you to take the lead, and your teachers do, too.  You are taking speech, and your speech teacher says that you are doing so well that you will not be in it much longer because you have worked so hard and done so well.  We could not be prouder of you, buddy!
Riley starts his final year in the Primary School....2nd Grade.  Riley, you will be the big man on campus this year.  We are so proud of you, and what you have accomplished in school so far!
We could not have asked for 3 better boys when it comes to school.  All 3 of you work so hard, that it makes it seem like school comes easy to you....but it really doesn't....you just make it look that way.  I pray that you all keep on working hard....it will pay off for you one day, I promise.  We love you all 3 very much!

Jay's last Sunday in the Kidz Klubhouse!

It is so hard to believe that today is the last Sunday that Jay will be in the Kidz Klubhouse at CMC.  Next Sunday, Jay moves up to the Youth area!!  We are sure that Jay is ready....he has been ready for awhile, but it is hard to imagine that the little baby we brought home from the hospital is growing up so fast!  Jay, we are so very proud of the little man that you are becoming.  You think with your heart all of the time...you are so considerate of others....even when they sometimes don't deserve it.  For an 11 year old little boy, you have got "love God, and love people" down pat.  I am so excited for you to begin this next season of your church life in the youth group.  I know that God has great plans for you, and He will work wonders in your life!  We love you, buddy!

Panama City 2011

Vacation!!!!  We were able to go to the beach this year with Yaya and DeeDee, and we had such a good time!!  We had went to PCB a couple of years ago, and we were so looking forward to going back this year.  We stayed on the 21st floor in a very, very nice condo.  You boys loved going out onto the balcony and looking for the dolphins swimming in the Gulf.  We went down to the beach everyday.  Jay and Cody loved playing in the sand.  Each day they would dig holes that were so deep that they could both sit in them, and they would take turns burying each other in the sand.  Riley was a wave-riding fool....he got on his boogie board and off he went.  He is so little that he could get way far out in the ocean, catch a good wave, and ride it all the way to the shore.  He LOVED riding those waves.
One thing that I will always remember about this vacation was how bad the seaweed was.  It was so bad that people kept taking piles of it that ended up on shore and writing words with it.  It was so bad that when we went up to our room after we were through at the beach for the day, we would empty the pockets of our swimming trunks, and we would just have globs of seaweed in them.  We had seaweed in places that seaweed didn't need to be!!

We asked you boys what you wanted to do while we were at the beach.  You guys said that you wanted to play putt-putt, ride go karts, and go to the arcade.  Cody also wanted to do the maze (see other post).  We were able to do it all.  We played putt-putt, and Jay was the winner of a very close match.  Riley made a hole in one, but Jay pulled out the slim victory.  We went to ride go karts twice.  The first track we went to, neither Cody nor Riley were tall enough to drive by themselves, so Cody rode with me, and Riley rode with Mommy.  Cody and I smoked the competition!!  Cody and Riley really wanted to drive, so we went to another track.  This time Riley was able to drive by himself on the kids track.  Cody was just barely tall enough to drive on the track with me and Jay, and you could tell that Cody was a little bit nervous and excited at the same time.  The very first lap around the track, I was staying back beside Cody to make sure that he was ok.  I tried to pull along side of him, and he swerved into me and spun himself out.  After that, though, he got the hang of it, and did really well for his very first time driving.
We did have a little excitement on the trip.  Mom's car decided to tear up while we were there, and we had to spend almost $900 to fix it...that definitely wasn't in the vacation budget., but all in all, I was so glad that we were able to get away and enjoy a week together at the beach.  I pray that we created some memories for you boys this week!

Click here to view all of our PCB 2011 pictures

Cody and the PCB Gran Maze

Oh, the Gran Maze in Panama City….what fun!  I remember doing this maze when I was a kid, and I had talked it up with the boys all week while we were on vacation.  Cody is the only one that showed any interest in doing it with me, and so me and him went to do it.  It was literally right up his alley.  He said that we should have brought a camera and took a picture up on the bridge.  Then we could have used that picture to navigate our way through the maze.  You are so smart when it comes to figuring stuff out.  We got in the maze, and I just let you lead the way while I followed you.    Cody loved it….we would go through the maze and find a dead end, and he would just laugh and turn around and find the right way.  Not once did he ever even consider cheating and crawling under the walls….he wanted to figure it out the right way.  We made it through the maze in 22 minutes….and the best time of the day was 15 minutes…so that was pretty stinkin good for your first time ever going through a maze.  I was very proud of you, and so happy to get to do something with just me and you….we hardly ever get that chance!  Love you, buddy!