New Sea Wall

For Christmas, Ashley and I decided to treat ourselves to a new sea wall :-( It is sort of like a new roof: it's expensive, you need it, but it certainly isn't something that is fun and exciting for the family. However, we bit the bullet and had it done, and I must say we are very pleased with the results. First, here is a picture of the work in progress. Note how much higher up the new wall is compared to the current level of the sand (about 18 inches).

Here is a picture of the big backhoe with the new wall already in place. You can see the original wall in front of it.

At some point, they started bringing in truckloads of sand.

Eventually that had enough sand and levelled it off.

They also built a nice set of stairs to get down to the water.

Barkley seemed to enjoy rolling around on the new beach.

Because we put this new sea wall in, we are bound to get a huge hurricane come through here this year :-( Here's hoping for a nice tame season!

Polar Plunge 2025

Bode and I did the polar plunge this year (after not doing it last year). Ashley was the filmographer and took some movies and pics. It was a balmy 60 degrees, so certainly not cold, but the water was a bit chilly.

Ashley then took videos of each of us jumping into the water. I wussed out and sort of eased into the water, and I found it to be quite cold!

Bode looked far better entering the water and didn't have the weak reaction that I did.

Here's to a great start to 2025! Now if only the Steelers can win this weekend :-)

Ringing in 2025

We hosted a New Year's Eve party at our house. We had a large crew--the Kings, Radkas, Smiths, and the Williams all came to enjoy some festivities. On our way back from Alabama, Ashley and I bought some fireworks. Bode and I (with an assist from Sarah) lit them off on our dock. I think this was our big finale.

There were also some goofy pictures.

As well as some nice ones.

And a good one of the girls...

And one with the guys.

And I don't think I was supposed to be in this one.

We managed to ring in the new year, although we did do it on eastern time :-) Happy 2025 to everyone!

Auburn Basketball

Ashley and I went to Auburn for the Auburn vs Monmouth basketball game. In case you don't know, Auburn is currently ranked #2 in the nation, and they have a wonderful team. The Monmouth game figured to be a blowout, so we were able to score some great seats. We left Bode at home to take care of the dogs, and we left Monday morning. We arrived early to Neville Arena and we happy the weather was pleasant.

We were right by the player's entrance, and as we were standing in line, a lot of the players showed up. Some have fancy cars. We were able to see player of the year candidate Johni Broome, Auburn's 6'10" stud. Here he is walking to the arena.

Our tickets included access to the scholarship club, so we got a nice pregame meal. Everything but alcohol was included. Ashley and I bought beers, but that was $20, so we then resigned ourselves to the free sodas :-)

The game was close for the first fifteen minutes. Then, Auburn scored eighteen straight points and we up by as many as forty points in the second half. There were some amazing dunks, so we had a great time.

We stuck around after the game and watched the coach do his interview as well as some of the players. We were probably the last people in the arena.

As always, we had a wonderful trip to Auburn. SEC play starts on Saturday. Auburn is 12-1 and have played a very difficult non-conference schedule. Hopefully they continue to play well!

Round the Bay Relay

A group of us participated in the 36.8 mile Round the Bay relay on Saturday. This is a run that circles Choctawhatchee Bay. A friend of mine had a team that needed a runner, and since I have been running, they graciously allowed me to be on their team. Even though the weather was not ideal (ok, it was sh*t), but we still had fun. We all met at the Elks Lodge on Okaloosa Island at 6:00 am on Saturday morning.

Obviously that is me. Nick (the guy in the beard) is a painter and has done a lot of work on our house over the past few years. The other three are siblings: Diana, Katie, and Andrew. I know Katie because our boys swam together on the Choctaw swim team. I met her siblings for the first time on Saturday, and everyone was a blast to be around. Andrew and Katie ran the first two legs in a driving rain and into the wind. I ran the third leg across mid-bay bridge, and then we all decided to have some mimosas (and this became somewhat of a theme).

After another leg, we had more.

We had to stop for some donuts at one point.

But eventually, we found our way back to where we started.

We were the 5th place relay team (we were the Pacemakers). Note the people with a U next to their names are the psychos that ran the even by themselves. And yes, it is sad that a team of seven lost to three individuals, but oh well :-)

Afterwards, there was a nice party, but around one, I was ready for a nice nap :-) Here's hoping I get invited back for next year!

Christmas 2024

 Another Christmas has come and gone, and like many previous Christmases, we were very blessed this year. The weather was beautiful on Christmas Eve, so Ashley and I headed out to Okaloosa Island and checked out the beach. There were some yahoos swimming; obviously from out of town. We opted to stay dry, but we had a nice moment.

We didn't do much on Christmas Eve. We went to church and enjoyed the music, and then we watched Christmas Vacation. But we watched the version on HBO so we could enjoy all the cussing and swearing that is fitting for this time of year :-) Our tree was festooned with lights, and we all went to bed eagerly awaiting the arrival of the fat man.

We woke up Christmas morning and opened a sh*tload of presents (sorry about the language--I blame it on that vulgar movie). Bode was nice enough to pose for a picture with his mother.

The dogs got some toys that they really liked as you can see by these pictures.

Nana and Papa also came over for a wonderful dinner. I should have taken pictures of the feast, but I did not (bad Jeffy). Bode and Ashley made a prime rib, and it was amazing. We ate of that for a few days, and it seemed to just get better and better as the days wore on.

We had a wonderful Christmas (even though the Steelers lost to the dreaded Chiefs). Ashley and I spent the rest of the week goofing off, while Bode spent an inordinate amount of time swimming as they have been having two practices a day. Merry Christmas to all!

Social Activities

In the lead up to Christmas, Ashley and I have been to a few social activities. The first was a Beer and Cookie night at a local brewery. We went with Derrick, Katie, Matt, and Sarah, all wonderful people we met from the Choctaw swim team. The brewery was giving four beers and coupled with a local cookie maker to also provide four awesome cookies. 

We also got invited to a pig roast by some of my pickleball friends at Ivy and Ale. The food was awesome, as was spending time with Randy, Dee, and a host of others.

We will definitely be going back to Ivy and Ale for a dinner--the food and atmosphere is great, and always good to know the owner :-)