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 :-)

Murph

In what has become another tradition much like the polar plunge, the McGuirk Trio did the Memorial Day Murph workout this morning. This consists of running one mile, doing 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, and 300 air-squats, and then running another mile. The real warriors wear a weighted-vest when doing this; we opted against this part. Ashley and Bode each did one-half of Murph (they both ran the two miles), while I did the full workout, coming in at 47:14, which is two seconds slower than my time from last year. I guess it is hard to beat Father Time :-) Here are some pictures. First, Bode and Ashley preworkout.

Next, a good one of me and the "little" man.

We also took a pic with Sondra, her daughter Mia, and her friend, Sam. Mia and Sam both go to Choctaw and are a year ahead of Bode. 

After a brief warm-up, the starting gun sounded, and we were off. I took a quick break mid-workout to take the following pictures. You can see Ashley repping out her push-ups, Sondra and Sam are doing air-squats, and Mia is off to mark another successful round.

Here's Bode getting ready to tear that pull-up bar down.

After it was all said and done, we posed for a family photo.

The garden is going great. We have had a number of handfuls of blackberries thanks to the bird net keeping the birds away.

This could also be the first year we get blueberries. There are close to fifty growing right now; here is hoping the pests don't get to them. It is hard to see them through the net, but they are there.

We are exhausted :-) Ashley is asleep in her hammock while Bode and I are going to watch something on TV.  Perhaps later we'll relax in the bay and take Rowdy for a swim--he's becoming quite the water dog! Happy Memorial Day to all!

Panama City Meet

Bode had his first long-course meet of the season today, which means he's swimming in a 50-meter pool. The warm-ups were at 0640 in Panama City, so we had to leave the house a little after 5 am; an early start to our Sunday :-)

Bode's first event was the 50-meter freestyle. Here's a pre-race shot.

Below is the race. Bode finished is :29.5 seconds, a best for him.

After the swim, I took a quick shot of Bode and Ashley.

Bode's next event was the 100-meter backstroke. He'd never done this race before, so obviously it was a best time for him. He finished in 1:16 or so. I didn't film this one, but I did take some action shots. First, here's Bode at the start.

Here's Bode in the center lane coming into and out of his turn.

Bode was also going to swim the 100-meter butterfly, but you can tell by the sky that weather was approaching. Shortly after Bode finished his backstroke, the skies opened up, and it poured. The rest of the morning session was cancelled, so we came home.

I keep meaning to post some pictures of the dogs. Here are a couple pictures the first time Rowdy was down on the dock.

I would have posted more pictures, but Rowdy doesn't understand that you can't mess around on the dock due to the limited footing, and he promptly fell in. It was up to me to jump in and save him :-) He's fine, and I bet we'll be able to convince him to swim with us (unlike Barkley). Pleasant week to all.

Final Band Concert

We had Bode's final middle school band concert this past week. It was nice to see the Meigs Band play one last time. They called it the Legacy Concert. I think this is due to the fact the graduating 8th graders had three different band instructors during their time, and they were all at the concert.

The first piece was a version of Loch Lomond.  It was conducted by Mr Harris, who had been the band teacher at Meigs for 37 years, and he helps a lot during the year.

They also played a fun version of the theme from The Incredibles. I didn't record this one--not sure why; I think I just forgot to hit record :-( Towards the end of the concert, they presented various awards and certificates for achievement. Bode received three awards: one for playing in the solo and ensemble event in April, one for making the All-County band, and one for making the All-State band. I recorded all three presentations, but I only included the All-State one.

The band finished the night with a wonderful rendition of some music from Harry Potter. Ms Leffard conducted, and she was Bode's 6th-grade band teacher.

Afterwards, we took some pictures. First is a lovely picture of Bode and Ms Tordi, his current band instructor.

Ms Noe was at the concert as well. She was Bode's 7th-grade band instructor. Here's a cute picture of Bode, Ms Noe, and Brendan.

Finally, I got a picture (a blurry one) of Bode and Ms Leffard.

Ms Tordi put together a grade slide show with some pictures and movies of the kids throughout the year. I am trying to get a copy; if I get one, I will post it (or a link to it) here.

It is hard to believe middle school is over; done in the blink of an eye ;-) Hopefully high school will be just as fun, and we all hope a pandemic doesn't strike halfway through! Pleasant week to all.

Matriculation Ceremony

 Meigs Middle School had their 8th grade matriculation ceremony last night. It is hard to believe Bode will be starting high school this fall...the class of 2026 at Choctawhatchee High School, 38 years after Ashley graduated waaaay back in 1988.

We took the time to get some pictures. Bode now towers over his mother.

I think I still have him by a hair, although it is hard to tell in this picture.

The venue was very nice and festively decorated.  All the "graduates" were called and walked across this stage.

Bode was thrilled--he loves being up by himself in front of large groups of people :-)

The moment came when Bode's name was called; we should have brought the foghorn...

Bode was on the A/B honor roll, and he earned the President's Award, which is given to students that have a 3.5 GPA or higher. We need to work on his hand-shaking with the adults...

Afterwards, we took a nice picture of Bode with his medals.

Such a fine-looking young man. He only has eight more days of eighth grade; Bode is a little upset that he still has to go to school even though they had the ceremony. Life is so unfair to him :-)