A New Jeep

We decided to bite the bullet and get a new vehicle. The Xterra is over twenty years old, and even though it is running well (when the wheels stay on), we thought we should get a more reliable bigger vehicle.  Ashley had been searching the web, and this past Saturday, we ended up buying a 2020 Jeep Wrangler. 

We now own four cars. We hope to keep the Xterra for as long as possible.  Bode can get his learner's permit this fall, and we figure the Xterra is the perfect car for him when he starts driving :-)

Odds and Ends

July is quickly approaching its final days.  Summer has gone by too fast, yet we also feel like we have done a lot (of eating...but that is a different story :-)  Bode started high school band camp last week and was recently fitted for his uniform.  He looks so old in these pictures :-)

Part of his uniform is an elaborate head-dress.  We have spent MANY hours gluing feathers.  Fortunately, Ashley is far better at arts and crafts than Bode and me, so she has been the guiding light through this project.  We are just about done--only a couple more rows of feathers to go!

The dogs continue to do well, although neither likes the heat and Rowdy is, well, rowdy.

We had quite the scare a few weeks ago.  The Xterra was making a funny noise, so Ashley was taking it to the shop.  Bode and I were driving right behind her when the front tire came off.  Amazingly no one was hurt, our car suffered minimal damage, and the wheel hit an oncoming truck but did little more than dent its fender.  This could have been much worse, and we are all thankful for this summer miracle.

Pleasant week to all.

End of Summer Meet

Bode had his final swim meet of the summer, and he now has ten days off from swimming before the high school season starts. Bode swam nine events over the past two days, and in all but one, he swam a personal best. I won't go through every race, as I'm sure all the pictures look the same to everyone. He shaved three seconds off his 200 Individual Medley time, and below is a shot of Bode at the start of his 50-freestyle.

Initially, he was very disappointed in his 50-free time--he did it in 27.9 seconds.  He was not in things mentally because he was mad at me most of Saturday for signing him up to swim the 200 butterfly.  He was not looking forward to this swim, which was shortly after the 50-free, but he swam in and did great--2:28 if my memory is correct. He even said he was glad he swam it afterwards, so I told him sometimes Dad does know best :-) He then finished Saturday doing a leg of the 200-relay. His 50-split time was 25.5 seconds; I know relays times don't really count as a personal best, but he proved to himself that he can swim fast as long as his mind is in it.

Today was a great day. Bode started with a 100-free, and swam in 57.6 seconds. He followed this up with a 100-butterfly in 1:02.1. I tried to get some action photos of this event, and these are shown below.

His third event was the 100-back, and he was not thrilled with his time, so we won't dwell on it. He finished with a 200-free in 2:06, shaving another three seconds off his time. 

We are very proud of Bode's dedication this summer.  He never opted out of a practice even though they were at 7:30 every morning out in Destin.  I'm sure he'll sleep in some this week (as will I :-)

FSU Band Camp

Bode spent a week at Florida State University at the end of June. We don't have many pictures--just two really--but I am posting because at some point, we should get a link to the concert they performed. We weren't allowed to do any recordings, so hopefully in August, we will be able to share this with you.

This first picture is of Bode and Grace when we dropped them off at the dorm. 

This next one is a picture of Bode in the dorm room. I don't think he liked me taking pictures, so after this, I put the camera away :-)

I think Bode liked his time in Tallahassee.  He did tell me he didn't want to be a music major in college--he prefers playing and having fun as opposed to the theoretical part of music, which is great.  We'd rather that he figures this out now rather than later :-) He did say he HATED the food, so I don't think FSU will be near the top of his list of colleges.

The concert they played after one week of rehearsals was outstanding. Check back here at the beginning of August for a link!

Callaway Part 2

As many of you know, Ashley and I like to golf.  Bode has been a couple of times, but he has not shown a big interest in it.  Thus, we were thrilled when he said he would play with us.  I had to let him wear one of my collared shirts and a nice pair of shorts.  The boy cleans up nicely.

Here is a good picture of Ashley on the tee.

I also got a good picture of Bode in mid-swing with the lake in the background.

I did get a goofy one of Bode and me in the cart.

And here is a picture of Bode driving the cart, a clear violation of the rules :-)

I also took some movies.  Here is Bode coming off the tee.

And finally, here is a movie of Ashley and Bode hitting their drives.

We had a wonderful time golfing.  Amazingly, Ashley and I played fairly well--nothing great, but we didn't hurt ourselves, and that is always a good day.  We were sad to see our time in Callaway come to an end, but it was nice to get home and see Rowdy and Barkley.  We will probably rest this weekend and return to our normal lives on Monday. Pleasant week to all.

Callaway Part 1

We just returned from a week-long getaway to Callaway Gardens.  We had a wonderful time relaxing and doing as little as possible :-) We've been there many times in the past, but we were sad to see there was no longer the opportunity to go waterskiing, which was a real bummer.  However, we didn't let this deter us, and we, as always, loved our time there. As always, we spent some time at the beach.

We also did Aqua Island twice (separate days). Ashley and I were exhausted after each hour-long outing, but we are proud to day we were the oldest ones out there :-) Ashley and I managed to scale the big iceberg on the left and jump from the top; sadly, Bode couldn't figure out how to climb the wall.

We also played some frisbee golf.

Here's a shot of Ashley showing her perfect form.

Here's a good one of Bode after his release.

We jogged every morning, and Bode even went with us. We also went for some nice walks around the park.  Below is a nice one of Ashley and Bode.

It looks like a very sweat picture.  However, I think Bode was actually shoving his mother as opposed to giving her a sweet hug. Bode was nice enough to take a picture of Ashley and me.

And here is a good one of Bode and Ashley.

I also took a funny sequence of Ashley after our Aqua Island adventure. 

We also managed to get Bode out on the golf course...stay tuned for those pictures :-)

Water Dog

 Rowdy likes the water. We figured this out over Memorial Day weekend. We didn't think he'd take to it as much as he has. Today, we didn't even have to coax him to jump in.

Barkley continues to hate the water and remains firmly on land.

We do put Rowdy in a swim-vest so he has better buoyancy. Here's a shot of Bode and the little guy.

We throw a ball that Rowdy seems to love, and he'll swim to it wherever it lands. Here is Ashley throwing the ball and you can see Rowdy's fervor as he's in hot pursuit.

Here are some still pictures of Rowdy swimming in for the kill.

Finally, a movie of the water fun.

Rowdy is usually wiped out after we swim; he is currently zonked out on the couch :-)