Final Post of 2021

 It is hard to believe another year has come and gone.  As with all years, there were ups and downs, but we are forever grateful to have each other.  Somehow, we didn't get school pictures this year.  I think Bode failed to give us an important take-home document, but we'll let that slide.  The little man does love his big girl and she loves him right back.

The weather was great today, so much so that I played pickleball for two hours.  Afterwards, Ashley, Bode, and I played Goofy Golf and went to the Waffle House.  The New Year can't get here soon enough, as I plan to return to my healthy-eating ways and attempt to shed a couple of pounds :-)  Happy 2022 to all!

Christmas Peas

 The weather has been wonderful here these past two months.  I planted some peas in November just to see if they would grow.  To my surprise, the peas did better than they did in the summer. I am starting to realize that unlike Colorado, the middle of summer isn't really the best time to grow certain things.  I grew peas earlier this year.  They grew great for awhile, but in early June, they all died for some reason (maybe the heat?)  I picked these and we had some at dinner--they were fantastic!

I haven't been shaving for a couple weeks (gotta love being retired from the military.)  I've perfected my evil villain look.

There is a lot of grey in the beard, so I shaved it off; Ashley hates it when I look like this.

And hate is not the correct word; she won't even talk to me when I have a mustache; thus, I had to shave for the sake of domestic harmony.

We are not doing much this week--Bode will do swim practice, Ashley will go to the gym, and I will play a lot of pickleball...and I think we'll probably clean the house before we ring in the new year!

A Merry Christmas

 We had a wonderful Christmas.  On Christmas Eve, we had our tree all lit up awaiting the arrival of the fat man.

Thankfully Santa cleared the COVID protocols and was able to make his deliveries to our house.  Barkley was pleased to have a number of new toys in her stocking.

She also received a new blanket from our neighbor.

Bode also got a new blanket to keep warm under during the cold Florida winters.  His blanket is musically themed.

We got wonderful presents from all of our family and extended family members.  Bode was thrilled when he received a new Xbox; he told us he was surprised because he heard they were difficult to get.  I told him Santa can get lots of things, to which he replied, "Well he isn't real," and then proceeded to thank Ashley and me and give us each a hug :-)  

We had a lovely dinner at JoAnne and Frank's.  Olivia, Jason, and Jay were there as well, so we had a nice family gathering.

Bode even posed for a picture with his grandparents.  Looks like he's taller than Papa.

We lounged around the house the rest of the day.  Bode played a new game on his Oculus.  What you see on the computer screen is what he sees inside his headset.

We had a wonderful Christmas this year, although Ashley and I discussed that there are only four more Christmases until Bode graduates from high school.  This is both exciting and a little sad, but we figured he'd grow up when we had him fourteen years ago :-)  Merry Christmas +1 to all!

Auburn Basketball

 We took a fun trip up to Auburn to watch the men's basketball team (ranked #12 in the nation) play the Murray St Racers.  We drove up and checked into our hotel before the game.  Bode was grateful the room had Wifi as he had gone the entire 3-hour trip without seeing a Youtube video.

Once we refreshed ourselves after the drive, we headed over to campus.  We stopped for some pictures, first in front of Samford Hall and the Auburn Christmas tree.

We then headed to Toomer's Corner for a lemonade and stopped for another picture at the campus entrance.

We then headed over to the arena and watched the teams warm up.  We were excited when Bruce Pearl entered the arena.

I took a lot of videos in hopes of getting some good plays.  It seemed that every time I recorded, Auburn turned the ball over.  Still, I did get this dunk.

I tried to get a selfie during the game; Bode wasn't cooperating, and apparently I couldn't get my big head into the frame.

I did get (sort of) a pretty cool movie.  In this next clip, Auburn had the ball, but they had the ball deflected way into the backcourt.  The shot-clock was winding down (you can hear me saying, "Shoot it! Shoot it!")  The shot is taken out of the camera view, but it was from beyond half court.  I remember feeling disgusted because I thought it was going to be another Auburn turnover; instead, the shot swished in.

Fortunately despite all the turnovers, Auburn won rather easily.

Bode was amazed at how tall the players are--he said TV doesn't do justice to their actual heights.  In the photo below, #10 is 6'10" while #13 is over seven feet tall.

We had a wonderful trip up north.  We returned home to beautiful weather.  Ashley and Bode took the waverunners out today; it is crazy that Bode can now legally drive them on his own--he even has a license to prove it :-)

The jolly fat man should visit our house tonight (no, I'm not talking about myself).  Merry Christmas Eve, everyone!

Meigs Band Concert

 The Meigs Middle School bands performed their winter concert on Tuesday night.  Bode plays in both the Symphonic Band as well as the Jazz Band.  They did six performances in all, but we didn't record everything.  We did record three of the Jazz Band songs.  First up was their version of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.

Next, they played A Jazzy Merry Christmas.

Finally, here they are playing White Christmas.

The Symphonic Band performed versions of Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies, Silent Night, and Sleigh Ride.  It was a wonderful night of music.  I did get a couple pictures.  First, here is Bode having a jolly time between numbers.

And of course, we had to get a picture of Bode with his mother.

This marks the end of the winter music season; we look forward to some much needed rest :-)  Pleasant week to all.

Winter Orchestra Concert

 The Youth Symphony had their Holiday Magic concert last night.  It was a wonderful night of Christmas music.  We arrived early and got a good seat.  Here is Bode relaxing before the start.

After some quick introductions, the symphony played their first piece called A Festive Fanfare.   I apologize for the focus on this first video--damn camera from circa 2006.

The next piece was entitled There's Christmas in the Air.  The focus on this is much better and has a jazzy flavor.

Between pieces, Aaron (the conductor) recognized some of the musicians in the orchestra.  You can tell how thrilled Bode is when he stands up :-)

The final prepared piece the orchestra played was A Christmas Festival. 

They even did an encore--they did part of the 1812 Overture.

After the concert, we took some pictures.

We are very proud of how hard Bode works at his violin.  We are looking forward to the spring already :-)  Pleasant week to all.

Christmas Lights

We have completed the exterior illumination for the season.  We are still working on the interior and hope to get our tree up this week.  Our neighbors have all told us how much they like our lights, which is sort of sad--we do have lights up, but we don't think we are extreme in any way; just festive :-)  Below are some pictures working from left to right.

I also took a movie.  I was going to sing some holiday tunes while filming, but I don't think that would have helped.

The Meigs band is marching in the Fort Walton Christmas parade tomorrow; the weather forecast is nice--should be in the 60s and calm; gotta love Florida in December :-)