Happy Halloween!

Yes, the baby is sitting IN a pumpkin! You wouldn't believe how long Cari has waited to do this.  Last year she tried to put me in a pumpkin but I am thankfully too big.  I am relieved that Brenna is the perfect size for this now. 

Free Car!

A co-workers car was stolen from our parking lot this week. When I first found out about it I became a bit nervous about my car being out there.

A few of us were standing around talking about it with the victim when I learned a few more details about what happened.

1. He didn't lock the car door.
2. He left the keys in the car.

"They didn't steal your car. . .", I told him, "You gave it to them."

Pass the Ear Protection

This past Saturday Randy and I headed down to the Atlanta Motor Speedway to watch the Nascar Craftsman Truck race. We left the house around seven and the weather was cloudy and cold.

When we arrived at the track, it was COLD. I did not dress for cold. Everyone around us were wearing sweatshirts and jackets. I was wearing a t-shirt. Randy wasn't as bad off because he was wearing his cub scout uniform to get a free ticket. He had a long sleeve shirt on under his uniform. We did some shopping outside of the track at the team trailers but Randy was anxious to get in and get a look at the track. We had hours to wait before the race started but the big name cup cars were on the track practicing for Sunday's race. From outside the track you could hear the thundering noise coming from within.

The entire day was made perfect when we walked into the track and climbed the steps to the grandstands. Randy took his first look at the mile and half track and saw a car speed by at 190 MPH. I don't think I have ever seen that much excitement on his face. It was awesome. We raced up the stands and chose some great seats on the exit of turn 4. More cars came flying by with deafening sound. Randy asked me to dig the headphones out of the backpack.

We watched as Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson made laps with the other cars. We pointed and sneered at Tony Stewart together.

It didn't take long for the sun to come out and I started to forget how cold I was. The hours passed quickly and the trucks came to the track for the start of the race. Randy and I took our headphones off for the start of the race so we could hear the true sound of 33 race trucks speed past us at full speed.

There were no wrecks during the race but we did see two trucks go spinning around in the grass in front of us.

After the race, we stopped at McDonald's as Randy's choice. This was a day that neither of us will forget. Hopefully we will remember the good times we had and not be forced to remember the day due to permanent hearing damage.

In Memory of Garden Cat

This past year, as we built our new garden, a stray cat kept us company outside. Cari and the kids started feeding him and he would run out to greet anyone that wanted to spend time in the garden. I named him Garden Cat.

You might remember when I wrote about Garden Cat once before after he killed some obnoxious birds that were nesting in our trees.

I always enjoyed Garden Cat being around as our outdoor pet and I sometimes wondered how he would survive the winter.

Truthfully, I didn't always enjoy him. It was times like rubbing up against my leg when he was wet or covered in mud, using the sandbox as a toilet, laying under the car tire, and killing local wildlife that I didn't enjoy as much. There were plenty of times I shooed him away and cussed his existence, but I loved him.

We haven't seen Garden Cat for well over a month now. I'm not sure if he was eaten by a dog, killed by birds looking for revenge, or finally got what he deserved from a car. It's possible that a family took him in as a pet. I pity the family that may have done that. Garden Cat was not meant to be caged in a house. By now, that family's furniture has been ripped to shreds and the carpet smells of urine.

What happened to him, I will probably never know. What I do know is that this stray cat brought us some smiles and company as we enjoyed our garden and now he is gone. I placed a small cat statue next to the bench and the garden is now known as Garden Cat Memorial Flower Garden in Liberty. Otherwise known around the house as GCMFGL.

Busy Day

I've been on the road since seven this morning. Here's a picture to hold you until I post tomorrow.

Review: Blue Ridge Parkway

We took our car for a hike this past Sunday. For the past few years I have been wanting to get onto the Blue Ridge Parkway and see what the fuss was all about but we have never made it. This is one of the best times to go because of the amazing color show the mountains are displaying RIGHT NOW.

We loaded up the car full of kids happy to spend another Sunday on the road. Oh! They were so happy. I decided to bribe them with the Nintendo DS, it was the easiest way to lure them in.

We headed up the road to Rosman, NC and from there found another curvy road to the Parkway. Everyone in the car except me was pretty well car sick at this point. Shortly after getting onto the Blue Ridge, there was an overlook. We stopped there and ate some of our snacks. We also took the opportunity to get out and stretch for a while. I was trying to prevent anyone from vomiting in my car and this stop worked wonders.

After that stop, we drove through a tunnel

and found another area to pull over. As it would turn out, there is an overlook or a marker within every five minutes of driving.

The views are amazing. I don't care what time of year you go, it is amazing. The road twists and turns as it follows the the mountain tops. As you look out you can see an endless ocean of nature. Trees, now spotted with fall color, follow the contour of the mountain sides.

We came to a place called Graveyard Fields. There was a huge fire in the valley and the burnt logs and stumps started to look like a grave field at one time. That was a long time ago. Then another fire came and ripped through the valley, destroying the remaining logs. There is a lot of hiking trails in this area as well as two waterfalls.

This is when the kids got really excited. I turned around to face them in the backseat. "Get your shoes on, we're going for a hike!" Maybe it was the long car ride they had already endured, but I did not receive the resistance I had expected. We went for a short hike to find one of the waterfalls.

I took a few photos that were filled with people climbing on the rocks and then I went back to the observation deck where Cari was taking shots of the kids.

After we left Graveyard Fields, we stopped at a few more overlook spots. You would think that after you have seen one, you have seen them all. When you think that, you are wrong. Every stop seemed to offer a different view or a different angle, each one equally dramatic and beautiful.

By mid afternoon we reached the exit to hwy 276. We had only travelled half the distance I thought we would. My original plan was to get off the Pkwy at Asheville, but we were just North of Brevard. We took the exit and headed home so we could get some dinner. Taking our time and enjoying the Blue Ridge Parkway was incredible. The kids were good in the car all day, the views were one of a kind, and the weather was perfect for a day out with the family.

Botanical Gardens

Cari, Brenna, and I visited the South Carolina Botanical Gardens at Clemson on Monday. The weather was perfect for another day out. We had a picnic adjacent to the duck pond and then we hit the trails.

I honestly didn't take very many pictures. There were only about twenty on my memory card when we got home. Part of the reason was because I was pushing the stroller, the other part was because we were just having a nice walk and I didn't want to interrupt that with the constant stopping to get photos.

Of the photos I did take, most of them were at a small area in the woods with scattered rocks.

Cari had her camera and got one of me tasting the Sourwood.

Yep, it's sour.

Only 20 Pounds!

Cari and I went for a hike recently. It's been a while since we've had the opportunity to get out and do some hiking so we were both excited to get back to it. A neighbor loaned me a baby carrier that you wear like a backpack. In the past, I had a soft carrier that you wear on the front. Now that Brenna is bigger - and heavier - I was glad to have this framed unit that I could wear on my back.

We headed out on a trail to the Raven Cliff viewing platform that we knew wasn't very difficult. The round trip hike was going to be just over four miles but doesn't have a lot of steep elevation change until the end of the trail. This was one of the first trails we had hiked since moving here and we haven't been back in the past few years. The original observation platform has since been destroyed by falling trees in the last ice storm and a new observation was built. For the new platform, they chose a different location. The new location is up much higher on the mountain and is supposed to be a bit less strenuous to get to. Apparently, they haven't tried this trail with a twenty pound baby on their back.

By the time we got to the observation deck, I was ready to get her off my back. My shoulders were killing me. We had packed a lunch (also in the pack), that I was happy to eat just to lessen the weight on my back.

I really don't like the view from the new deck. The previous deck was much lower and had a much cleaner view of the falls. The falls are among the tallest in South Carolina but it seemed like you could only see the top half from this new location. I was disappointed. I took a few photos but my disappointment on the location wiped out my enthusiasm for photos.

Below is a shot I took from the old platform in 2005. You can see that MUCH more of the falls is visible from that location. At the new location, you can only see the middle section of the falls.

After I took a few shots and we ate our lunch, we loaded the baby back into the pack and I prepared for our trip out. I don't want anyone to believe that I was the only one suffering out there because Cari had the burden of hauling all my camera gear and tripod on her back. I've never weighed it, but I'm guessing it's at least ten pounds.

As we approached the end of the trail I had to stop and take a break. Cari took the opportunity to catch me with her camera.

As much as I love hiking, I'm really going to have to rethink the trails we take with Brenna on my back. I suppose it's only twenty pounds and I can train until my body adjusts to it. When I go hiking with Rake and Roadrunner in a few weeks, maybe I'll take a pack full of bricks as part of my training. Cari suggested that instead of bricks, I should take the baby for training. I decided that I don't need to train that badly after all.

Larger View of Halloween Photos

Printed 8x10 and framed in the living room. It's the Adam's family.

New Portraits

We put up new shots of the kids just in time for Halloween. These are the three frames above the couch. I love how they turned out! I asked the two older ones to look "scary" and they each gave the same reaction. They rolled their eyes and opened their mouths.

Not My Friend

There is something about Facebook and sites like it that irritate me.  I'm not sure why, but I'm just not excited about them.  Even so, I signed up on Facebook.  I have never used it to post what I'm doing or put any photos up there.  I linked to a few of you on there and  I enjoy reading what people put there. For me, I prefer to work on the blog.  

I told Cari I found a few friends from high school on Facebook and she signed on as well.  We both kinda ignored it after those first few days.  Then, Cari started building up an army of friends.  She bragged about it quite heavily.  Cari was trying to show me how popular she was compared to me with my three friends.  Heck, a month would go by without me logging on to the site.  

I began to quietly build up my friend list.  I found a few more from high school and several more that I met through the blog.  Then I started getting requests from other people.  That's the magic of the site.  You start looking through the friends list of your friends and see who you know.   The requests I was getting were people I knew from high school.  Several were people I didn't like from high school.  Why would I acknowledge them now?  The only reason was to keep up with Cari.  This is a competition now, it's no time to be picky.  

Cari still had the lead by three about two weeks ago so I looked through her friend list.  In there I found a teenage girl from across the street and a dog.  A FRIGGIN' DOG!  Seriously.  I started screaming across the house, "YOU CAN NOT BE FRIENDS WITH A DOG!"  This isn't just any dog, this is my brother and his wife's dog.  In all fairness, it's their baby.  I might have had a friend request from the dog at some point but I completely ignored it.  I'm sorry.  As it turns out, the puppy uses Facebook more than I do... and most likely has more friends then me. 

Today the score on Facebook is 24 to 24.  A tie.  When you take out the dog and the teen, I have a two friend lead over Cari.  I declared victory and went outside to celebrate.  Cari was on my heels five minutes later after she looked over my friend list.  "You don't even like half of those people and don't talk to half of the ones you do like.", she declared.   I turned and argued that she is friends with a DOG.

In her mind, she voided half of my list and said that if she friend requested all the people whose names she recognized, she would blow me out of the water.  The fact is that as of today, I'm winning.

I'm starting to believe that this is common practice on Facebook.  If you have a Facebook account, take a moment and answer my poll.  Have you ever accepted or requested a person that you didn't really like?  

Scream, Jump, and Cheer

I told you that my daughter is a cheerleader for the rec center football but never provided proof. So here is your proof:

The football team has gone undefeated this season and I was surprised to learn that there is a playoff system in place. Tuesday night will be their first post season game. Our schedule will now be determined week by week. Oh, the joy that brings to Cari's heart as she plans activities!

I'm not sure how high up this playoff system goes or how big of an area this will cover. I think we are about to find out how high is high because nobody can seem to stop the locomotive that is our #24.

Meanwhile, on the sidelines, there is our daughter cheering. She is having a blast with this. On Saturday we had our homecoming game and she was escorted by two football players. She still hasn't put down the flower one of the boys gave her.

She will scream, jump, and cheer the whole game and come home with 100% energy. Is there any slowing her down?

Baby Bottle. . .

. . . you're doing it wrong.

F U

For Monday's hike, Cari and I headed over to the campus of Furman University. I've seen some photos of campus in the past and was interested to see some of these sites in person. Before we get to the photos, here's a few things about Furman:

Founded in 1826, its current location is its third.

The nickname or mascot of the Furman sports program is the Paladin. A paladin can be described as a heroic champion or the defender of a good cause. What a great mascot!

The Latin motto of the university: Christo et Doctrinae (For Christ and Learning)

We got to campus and found a parking spot very quickly. It was fairly quiet when we arrived in the morning. On our drive across campus to the parking areas we drove through a round-a-bout and I thought it was just the greatest thing. Why don't we have more of these things in America?

It didn't take long for us to find one of the most photographed landmarks on campus. The bell tower that sits on lake Furman.

Our next destination was a place called Place of Peace. It's a pagoda from Japan. In 2004 they disassembled it into 2,400 pieces and transported it to Furman. I assume they had permission to do this because I can't imagine a bunch of rowdy, American students running up and taking apart a building without someone noticing. It was reconstructed in a very quiet and beautiful area of campus near the lake.

We were invited to go inside but were told to remove our shoes first. I took a look through the open door and saw. . . .a pillow in an empty room. I decided I had seen it all, so we chose to leave our shoes on and continue our tour.

At the base of the hill is a wonderful Japanese garden with a collection of trees and flowers.

At around eleven, the bell tower sounded and played a short song. The chimes were even more beautiful to listen to while looking over the water. As they started playing I grabbed my camera and pointed it at the tower. Then I realized that just because the bells were ringing, my photograph wouldn't look any different than earlier.

Cari and I headed onto the trail that circles the lake. We made a stop at the bell tower and took some photos.

I had to dangle my NEW flash from the spiral stairs to achieve this photo and I'm a bit embarrassed to tell you that it fell once. As it was crashing toward the concrete floor, I made a quick grab a caught it. Even scarier than the possibility of losing another flash was the look on Cari's face when she saw what happened. Wow!

We finished our walk around the lake and meandered among the buildings on our way back to the car. We found this path that has old mill griding stones set in the walkway. It is the best use I've seen of these old stones yet. Cari noticed a railing near one end of the path and we went to check it out. Looking over the railing, we found this amazing rose garden:

As we talked about how beautiful the campus is, the bell tower struck twelve and gave a short concert. Suddenly, campus came to life as students started appearing from every doorway. Bikes started to fill the walk ways. I tried to count how many students weren't wearing an iPod but couldn't find one.

Furman is an amazing place to visit and take a relaxing walk.

Next time I go, I'm picking up a hat that says F U.  They use one of my favorite colors, purple.

Paper Dolls

She made this by herself.  A much better job than I could have done.  From left to right you can see "Winter", "Summer" - those aren't tears, it's sweat, "Spring", and "Autumn".

Out of Focus

I went into a Subway for lunch a while back and saw that they were offering pizza.   Who's idea was that?   I was confused.  Maybe one of the managers of Subway went to Domino's one day for lunch and had a pizza.  During that lunch he thought, "Wow.  This pizza thing tastes great.  We should do that."  Nobody had the brains to remind him that they are a sandwich shop, NOT a pizza place.  

In all fairness, I have never had pizza from Subway.  It may be great, but I'm not willing to take that chance.  

In the mail today I got an advertisement from Domino's Pizza.  It didn't mention pizza a single time.  The entire ad was focused on telling me about their new SUB lineup!   Did the manager of Subway get fired and find a new job over at Domino's?  Has everyone lost their dang mind?

I'll tell you what.  When I want a pizza, I go to a pizza place.  When I want a sub sandwich, you guessed it, I go to a sandwich place.  I wish some of these places would stop trying to be everything to everyone.  They are watering down what they do right and start doing a lot of things wrong.  If the crazy guy that made these decisions happens to be reading this I want to say, "Get back to the basics.  Do the things you do well, and what made your company a success.  If you want pizza, walk across the street and get one at the pizza place, don't make your own." 

It won't be long before I go into a Chick-fil-A where they are serving tacos.  

Before the Flash went Dark

From the other night before I killed my flash by balancing it atop the door like an idiot.