Final Post of 2018

The McGuirk family had quite the year in 2018--the big event was the big move to Florida.  While it was a bit stressful, I think we all came through and are starting to feel settled into our new home.  Bode is doing great and is now over five feet tall and weighs 105 pounds--he's a solid kid, and I can feel it when he shoves me around :-)  Joey has recovered from his ACL surgery and is back in the yard, running and fighting with Barkley.  And Ashley is happy to be back in the south where it's warm and humid--but there's also this thing called rain that we had forgotten about when we lived in Colorado :-)  As with previous years, we will close with Bode's school picture. 

He said he wasn't thrilled with the smile in the above picture, but he also wasn't thrilled with the idea of doing the retake.  He's a strapping young man.

We look forward to seeing you in 2019--hopefully we will have a new carriage house constructed so we'll be able to comfortably accommodate guests.  Pleasant new year to all!

Eden

I mean, Auburn.  It is common to confuse the mythical paradise of Eden with Auburn University--my bad on that one :-)  We just returned from a quick 3-day tour of parts of the south.  We first went over to Orange Beach to visit some dear friends from back in the day (Jon and Meghan--I graduated from high school with Jon a long time ago...).  Jon and Meghan have a great condo right on the beach, which was beautiful even if the weather didn't cooperate.

Fortunately Jon and Meghan's place comes equipped with cable TV, which allowed us to watch Auburn destroy Purdue in the Music City Bowl, after which Ashley proclaimed she will have to watch all future Auburn football games at their condo.  We also played a lot of rounds of Just Dance on their Nintendo Switch.  I was surprised how much Bode got into it.

Between dance-offs, I grabbed a quick picture of Ashley and Jon.

There are some videos of Jon and me showing off our moves, but sadly, I don't have their videos...perhaps Ashley has them on her phone, but since I'm the caretaker of this blog, those movies won't ever be published here :-)  Jon and Meghan also have a beautiful dog named Brody, who became fast friends with Bode.

We left Orange Beach on Saturday morning and headed up to Auburn.  We got there around 2:00 and spent some time in the book store and walking around, which we happened to trip over...

and of course Ashley needed a picture in front of the world's greatest wall (even better than the Great Wall of China according to an unofficial survey of Auburn fans).

We went to the Auburn vs North Florida basketball game.  I'd never heard of North Florida--they are the Fighting Ospreys.  This was Ashley's first (of what she hopes to be many) basketball game in the new arena.

The game wasn't very close--Auburn was ranked 12th in the nation.  I'm not sure where UNF was ranked, but they were simply overmatched--Auburn's players were so much bigger and faster.  As an example, Auburn's #50 (Wiley) is just huge.

Still, it was fun--Auburn's coach seems to yell the whole game.

Here's a nice shot of the venue--it's not very big, which is nice--makes it a quaint place to watch a game.

For four or five consecutive possessions, I would film the Auburn team, hoping to get a video of them just scoring a basket.  They kept missing, and I was getting frustrated.  Fortunately, I was filming when this happened--it was pretty cool.

After the game, Bruce Pearl (the head coach) does his radio interview, which was the perfect time for Ashley and Bode to get their picture taken "with him."

As we left the arena, Ashley realized she had not seen the new statue of Charles Barkley (for whom our dog Barkley is named).  Thus, we needed a photo.

We had a wonderful time at Orange Beach and Auburn.  We got home today to two very happy but well taken care of dogs (a neighbor watched them).  Now, we are all begging for a miracle win by the Browns to allow the Steelers to sneak into the playoffs.  Here's hoping!

The Arrival of S. Claus

On Christmas Even, we went to church--I think this was Bode's first church in awhile, and he seemed to enjoy it--probably because there were a lot of Christmas songs and we lit candles during Silent Night.  Afterwards, we came home and settled in for a long winter's...err...short but sweet sleep.  We put out the cookies and drink for Santa and lit up the tree.

We awoke Christmas morning and praise be to all! Santa had come bearing gifts and not coal!  He even brought stuff for the dogs, for which they were thoroughly pleased.

Bode got some cool Darth Vadar socks...

and at some point Nana and Papa showed up.  Ashley got Papa this cool camping chair which he was already enjoying.

We also received a Furbo from Santa Claus, which is a neat little camera that will allow us to spy on the dogs.  It also has an app of the phone which lets you talk to the dogs and remotely give them treats.

Ashley also received some new paddle-boarding gear--some partial wet suits and some booties for her feet.  Since the weather was so nice, she decided to try things out.

It was a fantastic Christmas, and we can't wait until next year--only 363 shopping days to do!

On Wednesday, Grammy headed back to cold Colorado (she said it was 28 degrees when she got home).  David (Ashley's brother) came down for a quick two-day trip, and we all had a nice dinner at Nana and Papa's last night.

What a wonderful few days--Merry (belated) Christmas to all.

The Beach

We spent the morning of Christmas Eve in Destin.  In the summer, we'd never venture to the Harbor Walk due to the massive crowds.  However, today, it was quite pleasant--and the weather was spectacular.  Here's a picture of Mom, Ashley, and Bode in front of the pirate ship...

and also one of Bode, me, and Grammy.

We tooled around the Harbor Walk and went into some of the shops.  Grammy bought Bode some fudge, which I've yet to try (maybe tonight).  Bode then did a trampoline ride, which he said was pretty awesome.

Bode was fascinated by two pelicans.

We then headed back to Okaloosa Island and had some lunch.  Afterwards we went out to the beach and enjoyed the view.

Grammy surprised us all and took off her shoes and walked in the ocean--brrr!

Bode did what all kids do--dug some holes and tried to make a tunnel.

Finally, Ashley, Bode, and I sat down and took a picture of our feet.

Less than nine hours until the fat man makes an appearance.  We are all on our best behavior!

December Golf

The weather had not cooperated for my Mom's visit until Saturday.  Finally, a day with no rain, and we decided to hit the links.  The weather was quite pleasant--I even wore shorts!  We decided to first try the driving range to ensure our swings were properly calibrated.  They were not, nor did time on the range help out.  Still, we decided to stop for a picture and just enjoy the day.

There's really no need to go into the scores--the more important things are the pictures of the lovely weather.  You can't see where the balls go on these shots, but I can assure you the shots were magnificent.

Saturday evening we went over to JoAnne and Frank's for a wonderful dinner.  The moon was just coming up and looked amazing.  We tried for some pictures, but they just don't quite capture how pretty it was.

We had a great meal and spent some time visiting and digesting.

Which leads us to today (Sunday).  I took Mom up to the gym in the morning and made Bode do some chores.  When we got back, we all went to Goofy Golf. 

I did take some movies and even managed to capture one of Ashley's many holes in one.

At the end, we all tried to get it into the snake's mouth (which wins you a free game).  Sadly, none of us were successful although Bode was quite close.

We are now doing our final preparations for the arrival of the fat man.  We are trying to be on our best behavior, but Bode is having a hard time of it :-)  Pleasant Christmas Eve to all!

Pre Xmas Fun

We have had a busy week or so.  First, we had a visit from Miss Meghan, her sister Miss Bridget, and their dog, Brody.  Brody make Joey and Barkley look small--he's rather tall and also hairy.

We had a very nice visit--they stayed for a day, and the dogs just wore themselves out.

Earlier this week, my Mom arrived for a Christmas visit.  It was hard to tell if Joey was happy to see her or if he was just interested in what she had on her plate.

Bode is now done with school until 8 January, so he and Grammy had some games of solitaire.

On Saturday, Ashley and I ran in a 5k race--the Egg-Nog-Jog.  It was nice to get out and get some exercise.  Here's Ashley before the race.

Here she is finishing strong--look at her putting the gap on the guy behind her.

Afterwards we snapped a goofy photo...

and we stuck around to collect a medal.

I was fortunate enough to win my age group.  Ashley was not so lucky--she would have won the 35-39 and 40-44 age groups, but sadly, there were three fast 45-49 year old females that kept her off the age-group podium.  Afterwards, we all needed a nap.

We had a lovely Saturday morning...but the best was yet to come :-)

Sinfonietta Strings

Bode's little orchestra had its fall concert yesterday.  It was a lovely event, and the music keeps improving as Bode gets older.  The sinfonietta started meeting once a week in early September.  Three months later, they sounded marvelous.  First, let's take a look at the program.

Bode is listed under the 1st violins, which sounds more impressive than it is.  Miss Liz made a big point explaining to the kids on the first day there is no difference between the 1st violins, the 2nd violins, etc.; it is simply a way to group the kids (we will, however, sort of believe her but also feel some pride knowing that Bode is a "First Violin.")

We arrived early, and the kids started to tune their instruments.

Afterwards, they sort of goofed off until the performance began.

We weren't in a good seat to see Bode--we were originally, but Miss Liz made some minor chair location adjustments prior to the start.  Thus, it's hard to see Bode in the movies.  I recorded them all, but the files would be too big, so I have included some small snippets.  First, the start of The Bows on the Bus.

Next is the complete Barcarolle.

Finally, here is the end of Contredanse en Rondeau.

Afterwards, we listened to the larger, older Youth Orchestra play (high-school kids).  They sounded pretty good--something to strive for.  I did take a quick picture of Bode and Ashley...

and also a nice one with Nana and Papa.

We are in full Christmas mode here--only fifteen shopping days to go (and less if you consider the shipping, since no one goes to the mall anymore :-)  Pleasant week to all1