Adventures of P&J&J

Should have included this in the previous post...

2011-08-14T12:57:00.002-04:00

KEEP YOUR GRIMY LITTLE HANDS OFF MY SCISSORS AND MY JEANS!!!!!!!!!!!

Things I want Jonas to know:

2011-08-13T13:43:00.008-04:00

Even though I haven't learned them yet...

-Don't be devastated by failures. Learn to embrace them.

Learn from them.

-Adapt.

-Be Adventurous.

-Take chances, but learn that discipline and honest hard work is worthwhile.

-You can do anything you heart is set on. Sing, play instruments, dance, fix cars, hit homeruns, travel the world, see poverty and suffering and seek to change it, go jeeping, camp out, explore, give to others, above these...Guard your heart. Follow Jesus. Love people.

-You can...

-Question conventional thought and the status quo.

-Dream.

-Accept adjustments because sometimes you're just one small adjustment away from outrageous success.

-In all your endeavors, acknowledge God. He will direct you.

-Trust that whatever he allows to happen, tragic or wonderful in your eyes, His reasons are better that yours. His logic is smarter than yours. His decisions are perfect. He unconditionally loves you.

-I unconditionally love you.

Love, Mom

Today

2011-02-17T22:26:00.002-05:00

A friend told me I should keep track of my days by writing down the happenings...I thought I would do that here...then I changed my mind...I'm really going to need that leather, worn journal from Barnes and Noble to get started...so I'll work on getting that, but for now I'll tell you about today. 12 steps to quitting...

1. Wake up in the wee hours to Jonas falling off the bed.
2. He doesn't even blink and I'm up for the next 4 hours.
3. Finally fall asleep and the other two people I live with bound out of bed.
4. Awaken to the sound of glass shattering in the kitchen....Jonas was doing the dishes.
5. Decide to leave the broken glass in the floor and get a shower.
6. Step out of the shower to hear Jonas running out the front door after Sasha.
7. Grab the closest thing to me, which is Patrick's jacket and run out the door after them.
8. Wave to a few friendly drivers and haul Jonas and Sasha back inside...
Finally it's 9 AM....
9. Ride my bike to Story Time at the Library...
10. Don't realize I'll need a LOCK...so I get mad at the librarian who tells me I can't park the bike in the foyer, just this once...and storm off and hide my bike behind the library in between the air conditioners...I know my way around that area...
11. After lunch I let Jonas play outside...He proceeds to drop his pants and poop in the yard...GROSS!
12. I give up...(not really...I actually finish out the day pretty strong, but who really cares at this point...)

Peace
~J

My Macgyver

2011-01-10T21:41:00.001-05:00

Patrick installed a push button on our toilet to flush it. It's too hard for Jonas to push...I turn around to see him flushing the toilet his own way...Macgyver style...How did he figure this out? Should I hide my knives?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Another Sleepless Night

2010-10-13T02:06:00.007-04:00

Hello everyone, this is Patrick.

Why do I drink Pepsi before I go to bed? So, I am going to bore whoever is reading this blog with whatever is going through my head.

If you don't already know, I am creating a catching instructional video. I think it is going to be pretty awesome. I have an awesome film crew that I am working with up in ATL. We already shot all the instruction scenes, now we just have to shoot the talking scenes. I am really excited about seeing how it is going to turn out. I have seen some work these guys have done, and they are great.

Also, I am running the Marine Corps Marathon on October 31st in Washington DC. I am super excited about it. I can't believe it is almost time. I have been running, but no where near what I am supposed to be running. I only run about 3 times a week. I started thinking about this the other day. I have lost 30 lbs and have not done any working out, I have only run 3 days a week for about 45 minutes to and hour. That is what the average workout should last, I think. Well, what have I done differently that I never did in the past. The only thing I have changed was getting on the Figure 8 system by Arbonne. I drink the Fizzy Tabs, I drink the protein shakes, and I take fiber. I actually mix the fiber in the protein shake to make it easier. January and I do eat healthier because of Jonas, but we still eat our burgers and pizza a couple times a week. So, really, we are not dieting. I am not saying any of this to be bragging, I just started thinking about how cool it is to know that I lost 30 lbs this year. Two years ago I trained for a sprint triathlon. I could not get below 185 lbs. After I finished the race, I did not exercise any. I got up to exactly 199 lbs. Then, at New Years, I decided to run the Gate River Run, 9.3 miles. I got down to about 185 lbs. I knew that was as low as I was ever going to get. I was in shape and nothing was changing. I mean come on, I am 31 years old. I have heard all the horror stories about what happens after you turn 30. Well, after the race, I decided to run a marathon. I have not done any more training than I did for the Gate River Run. The only thing I have changed was doing the Figure 8 program. I could not stand the Fizzy Tabs for the first 3 days. Starting on the 4th day, I loved them. Now, I am weighing in at 170 lbs and have even touched 168 lbs. So, if anyone is willing to exercise a couple times a week and use the Figure 8 products, you will see a huge change.

Well, I am finally getting tired. I guess I will try this sleep thing one more time.

Day 7 - Goodbye Dear Enchanted Island of Beaches, Rainforests, and Shave Ice

2010-08-02T23:07:00.000-04:00

Goodmorning!

Good Afternoonish...kinda still morning...

30 hours awake, 22 hours of travel and we arrived home following day at 9:00 pm. Finally we get to hold Jonas!!! we missed him sooooo much!!!

Thank you God for safe travels, beautiful days, amazing creation and Jonas!

Don't call! We're still sleeping...yawn!!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Day 6 - 2 heads are better than 1...right...

2010-08-02T23:03:00.000-04:00

So, back on track...Day 6....ahem....

With only one more full day the pressure was on to finish our hiking...We both wanted to hike Diamond Head and Koko Head. Easy enough...we decided to do 1 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon. After packing 2 bottles of water and a granola bar we headed toward Diamond Head on foot. The bus fare was $5 and we were running low on cash...so we walked the 2 miles to the base of the crater.

Through the crater wall

Up the footpath, many many many stairs

To the at famous lookout on Oahu

We hiked back down the mountain, through the crater wall and down to the bus stop. We figured we would splurge on the 8 mile trip to Koko Head.

At this point we have 1/2 bottle of water left, no snacks, and no sunscreen...

The bus drops us off and we walk another mile to the base of Koko Head where, for the first time I realize 2 Heads are NOT better than one...especially when tuis one has over 1,100 "steps" up an incredibly steep incline...

See the specks behind us? Those are people...dumb ones, like us who thought hiking this mountain at mid-afternoon, with no food or water all day would be fun.

That's not me in the picture below....no I am on the edge of the cliff trying, crawling, and crying to make it up the last 100 steps...if you look close you can see my hand grasping over the edge for dear life...

The view from the top is of course incredible...was it worth it? Well, from the top it was...good thing I couldn't speak coming up...

I am smiling in this picture, but it is just to keep from weeping.

Now, just so you don't get the wrong impression...I am not a wimp...I have hiked Delicate Arch, Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, Angels Landing, Manoa Falls (the day before) and many other short strenuous hikes...but let me tell you...do this hike early, with fresh legs, plenty of water, and a don't back down attitude...

I thought I would roll down...it would be quicker and probably way less painful...my legs were total jello...noodles...shaking uncontrollably..but thank God I made it down that mountain...

As we neared the bottom I realized we still had to walk to the bus stop...up hill...

We made it to Cheeseburger, where we drank 1 large water and 37 cokes!!!

Would I do it again?

Yeah...

- Posted using BlogPress fromvvb my iPad

Day 4 Pearl Harbor

2010-08-01T17:14:00.000-04:00

Hello, this is Patrick. We had planned a long day for day 4. First, we signed up for the Pearl Harbor Tour. We rode on a tour bus from our hotel to start off. It was late, so we made some friends. It seemed like any time we had down time we were looking for people to talk to. Oh well, it was cool and we got to meet different people. Finally, the bus came. We rode to Pearl Harbor. When we got there, there was a long line for the video. You start by watching a 20 minute video. So, we took a tour of the city until the line went down. We saw the capital, a temple, the palace of King Kamehameha, and some other cool sites.

The capital of Hawaii

Statue of King Kamehameha at his palace
It is life size. He was around 7' tall.

After our city tour, we headed back to Pearl Harbor. When we arrived there, we watched the video. WOW, January and I learned a lot. It is crazy how every thing that happened on that day just fell into place for the Japanese. If you don't know the history of Pearl Harbor, I would suggest you look it up. Hopefully the search will tell you the same things we learned. After the video, we rode on a boat to the monument of the Arizona. The Arizona was a ship that was sunk, that is directly below the monument.

After that, we rode back on the boat and hopped on the bus to head back to Wiakiki. We had planned to go and hike Diamond Head Crater. But first, we decided to take a quick nap. By the time we got ready to go hiking, Diamond Head was about to close. So, we did the next best thing and walked to a grocery store. When we got back from shopping, we went to eat at a pizza place called Giovanni's. It was GREAT. There were like 12 TV's with baseball games on every one. I loved eating there. January was very nice to me and did not get mad that I was watching the games instead of gazing into her beautiful eyes. When we finished eating we called it a day.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Oahu, Hawaii

Day 3 Snorkeling at Hanauma Bay and Luau

2010-08-01T17:13:00.000-04:00

We are getting our under water pictures developed. This is a picture of Hanauma Bay. It was absolutely beautiful.

OK, so our day started off by going to Hanauma Bay to go snorkeling. January was talking so big and bad. There are 3 different levels to swim (basically shallow, medium, and deep with bad under tow). You know the deep part is bad when it is called toilet bowl. Well, J said she was going to do all her swimming in level 2, because level 1 wasn't deep enough to see the big fish. Well, I wanted to stay close. If you know me very well, you know that swimming is not one of my strengths. So, January was giving me a hard time. So, I told her I would do it. Well, the water was just too cold for the tough ol' girl. She snorkeled for a total of about 10 minutes. I had to swim all alone. It was fun though. There were plenty of coral reefs in the level 1 , as you can see in the picture above, that had plenty of fish swimming in them. Yeah, snorkeling was great. The water was so clear and beautiful.

When we finished, we got back on our bus and went to our room to get ready for the Luau.

The place we went was called Germain's Luau. It was a lot of fun. The music was good, the dancers were good, and the food was good. They buried the pig that morning and started smoking it. They pulled it out when we got there. Needless to say, J nor I ate the pork.

Yeah, that is the pig's skull. Here are some photos of the dancers.

He is not grabbing her, it just looks like that.

As the show went on, one of the guys came out twirling fire. He was amazing. He stuck one lighted stick in his mouth and transferred the flame to start the fire on the other stick. INCREDIBLE!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Oahu, Hawaii

Day 5 Manoa Falls

2010-07-29T16:02:00.000-04:00

I have to skip to this day because it was so incredible...and as always with places like this, pictures do not do it justice.

At the Luau the other night, the narrator said that Hawaiians are very spiritual people. There is no way you can see what we saw today and not at least acknowledge that a creator exists...

We caught two city busses to get to the Manoa Falls trail. We left behind a tropical beach and sun and 15 miles away we had arrived in a tropical rainforest! There are 150 climate categories in the world, Hawaii has almost all of these climates. The closer we got the bigger and greener everything got!!!! we felt like we were in the Alice and Wonderland movie set!

Manoa Falls

At this point most people turn around and walk back to the bus...we found a small trail climbing up the side of the mountain in the rock. Of course we headed up the mountain!!! It's always worth it to go off road!! Just a little side note-wild boar roam the mountains here-so as a precaution we told Beka to call in the troops if she didn't hear from us...

This is one tree. The roots grow down to the ground from the limbs.

Most parts of the trail were very narrow and had steep drop offs. You couldn't tell on some parts because the foliage was so thick.

We walked for about an hour up up up the mountain. Some parts got really dark and thick and some parts were rainy. It looked just like Fern Gully!!! We finally got to a clearing. Off to the left a small foot trail followed the rim of the mountain. Literally 4' width at the top and steep drops on either side. The wind was very very strong, clouds were starting to settle over the mountain, our cell phone battery's were dying, we had no idea how far the trail went so we walked until we had to turn back to give ourselves enough time to get back down the mountain.

One of the bamboo forests we walked through...It was very dense and very little light gets through even in the middle of the day!

At the bus stop we were able to identify where we had just hiked. If you look about 1finger width from the left of the photo you see a small clearing. From there we hiked to the right up the dip, across the flat (looks flat from this view...nothing was flat) part, up up up to the peak of the tallest part, across that peak and then turned back...we weren't sure if it looped back around and we were running out of daylight.

This has been my favorite day so far!!! I feel ALIVE in the outdoors!!! Whether it is in the red rock of Moab, the coffee colored river in Branford, or the rainforest of Hawaii...I choose this over commercialized, man made activities and things any day of the week!!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Oahu, Hawaii

Day 2 Part 2 - Circle Island Tour cont...

2010-07-27T20:17:00.000-04:00

Correction: This is Gilligan's Island

Cliff Diving

Sea Turtle

Pineapple Rows: Takes 1 1/2 years to grow 1 pineapple. After the first harvest they produce up to 10 more within several more months. They get smaller and smaller, but sweeter and sweeter.

We got Lei's made from seashells for our Anniversary!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Oahu, Hawaii

Day 2 Part 1-Circle Island Tour

2010-07-27T20:07:00.000-04:00

TIP: Book a Circle Island Tour with the Polynesian Adventure Tours after you've caught up on your sleep and before wasting a lot of time trying to decide what to do.

Humpback Whale - mountain in background

Hanauma Bay

East side of Island

Byodi Temple

Gilligans Island (I think) Patrick says it's not...he says it Chinaman's Hat
And it is, but i think it's both....

Sunset Beach on the North Shore where all the surf competitions happen

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Oahu, Hawaii

Day 1 Slow Start

2010-07-26T02:53:00.001-04:00

We woke up bright and early Hawaii time so we headed downstairs to find food and see the ocean...before we got out they bribed us into staying for the Activity Briefing with pineapple, papaya, and danish...for free. Then we headed for the water!!!

The water is amazing! So clear and shallow for so far out...Mountains in the distance. We were surprised by the stuff in Waikiki, but we're told the sights change as you get away from the hustle and bustle of the island...we'll do that tomorrow....we don't stay here long...we're off to look for food again!

Cheeseburger, Waikiki Beach...Opened by two girls who picked up and moved from LA and making picture frames to open the best cheeseburger restaurant...with no experience whatsoever. They now have 8 and are wildly successful! They were fearless!!!!

NAP!!!

Hungry again. So far all we've really accomplished is eating...

Hawaiian Swordfish!!!! Jason was our waiter, he's also a Jui Jitsu instructor as well as like totally stoked about the north shore...dude...

We were so hungry and it was only 5 pm, so we dressed up for a night on the town...only it was more Like a midday on the town...by 7 we were dead asleep in the condo. But we have an early day tomorrow so 27 hours of sleep will probably do us good...

TIP: When traveling to Hawaii factor in a sleep day...cause you're going to take one whether you want to or not...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Oahu, Hawaii

Aloha!!!

2010-07-25T00:52:00.001-04:00

Finally we are able to blog....after crashing the Mac store for a camera to iPad connection, searching high and low for Internet connection, downloading the blog application, transferring pictures and eating some Really great pizza we are finally online!!!!

9:30 am Friday morning - arrive at Atlanta International
9:32 am - Freak out because I can't find my wallet with my ID and most of our vacation money
9:33 am - Patrick and Cody search the truck and find wallet under seat!

Whew...scary start

9:34 am - Spend several minutes trying to convince American Airlines we do not have to pay for our checked bag because we meet the exception clearly stated on their website...and I already have a printed copy that's highlighted with the exception...
9:36 am - he doesn't care and says if we want our bag we have to pay up...
9:37 am - sigh and grudgingly hand over my card with e understanding I will be contacting the airline...again, he doesn't care...

Dallas, Los Angeles, Honolulu, Shuttle, Sidewalk, Wrong hotel, Right hotel, 4 am Live Oak time...SLEEP!!!

All I can say is the weather is PERECT here and we don't know any of the words...

Night night!

Location:Oahu, Hawaii

The Strange and Wonderful Life of a Jonas...

2010-06-16T22:55:00.022-04:00

I like to start my day around 7 AM.

It's 9 and Mom really needs to wake up

and cook me breakfast...Dad's been gone

an hour and this is really getting ridiculous.

I usually end up eating broccoli for breakfast.

I'm like Popeye...I like to eat my greens...

Plus it was left-over from last night and mom,

well, she struggles in the mornings.

After Breakfast I take a little tour of the backyard

in my red beamer. I can feel the sun and breeze whipping

through my mullet and I feel free.

Until the stinking thing runs out of gas...I hate having

to push this clunker! At least I have my boots on!

You know, sometimes you just have to walk away.

This is such a better alternative. I'm really

good at the sound effects too!

I try to spend some quality time in our garden.

You've really got to become one with the soil to

reap the harvest. I love dirt.

I also love hanging out with Dad.

And cousins, like Raelyn. I like hugs.

Don't tell her, but I'm really trying to body slam her...

Now with girls like this...You've gotta play hard to get.

See how I'm still looking at the camera, but showing such strong emotion.

I may go into acting...either that or tree-climbing...Is that a job?

I love to climb.

Sometimes I climb when mom isn't around.

You know, just to keep my agility up to par.

Look, I can stick my fist in my mouth.

It's about time for supper so I usually climb on the table.

I have a good view here. I can keep an eye on the hot

pan where the squash are frying...You may be wondering

if I even have a mom...I'm usually unattended. It's fun.

Here's a stunt I haven't quite perfected. I got stuck and

had to call for help. Somehow we have a picture of this...

Wanna see in my mouth?

Ah, Bath-time!!! My favorite part of the day.

Oh, by the way, I working on my rat-tail.

I like to wind down with a little island music and tomato juice.

It just doesn't get any better than this...

Off to sleep. Sometimes I wake up in the mornings

and feel like I've been sleeping off a balcony. Weird.

I feel so refreshed in the mornings! Can't wait to

wake up and do it all again!!!!!

GO SEE BETH"S PICTURES!!!!

2010-06-16T15:29:00.003-04:00

THEY ARE AMAZING!!!! HER BLOG IS IN THE RIGHT SIDEBAR. CALLED ONCE UPON A TIME. I CANNOT BELIEVE THE PICTURES SHE POSTED, TAKEN STRAIGHT OUT OF HER CAMERA!!!!!! And yes, I know I haven't posted the pictures I said I would post...and, I am sorry for this, but I'm not going to...ever...well maybe another time, but not now...sorry...

Whirlwind...

2010-04-03T01:04:00.004-04:00

It's been a whirlwind around here!!! Las Vegas, Jacksonville, Destin, Tampa and now we're gearing up for Hawaii in July!!! Can't wait!!! In the meantime I'll show you how Super Patrick spent his spring break!!!

AWESOME Home Renovation project! I've been having a blast NOT spending my money!!!
(picture coming)

Destin!!! SUN, EAT, SUN, EAT, SLEEP SLEEP, EAT, EAT, EAT!!!!

Back Home - Modern Fence Installation!!! Yay! Now maybe our dog won't get squashed!
(picture coming)

O - also, some seafood restaurant recommendations are coming up soon!

I'm 30

2010-03-10T00:40:00.008-05:00

Well, 30 at last. My friend Lacey swears that 30 is the new 20.

If she's lying...well all I can say is it's not going to be pretty!

30 was a weird day. I thought it was going to be bad or

depressing. It wasn't! Do you see the cake in the picture?

One of the greatest girls I've ever had the privelege of knowing

made that cake for ME! To top it off she bought this fabulous

white cake stand for me that I've been dying to have and

delivered cake and all to my house!!!! She didn't stop there...

She coordinated this whole "Why we like January" e-mail

from all my friends including my sis and it really made my day.

As vain as this may be I really want to share

a couple because they just crack me up!!!:

You might see her out one day looking like she got

straight out of bed, then the next day she's wearing sequins!

When in danger...she has a gun and bullets

She dances like no one i've ever seen ;) ...really

FYI - That last one is NOT a compliment! ;)

Then my family of course came bearing gifts and hugs and

it was really just perfect! I love my family and friends!

and now I can use my favorite line from "Thirteen going on Thirty"

I'm "30, Flirty, and Thriving"!

Toilet paper on a roll is so 2009...

2010-01-14T21:07:00.003-05:00

This is what happens when you have to take care of something urgent and you leave your 14 month old to play by himself...This is only the tip of the iceberg of what he did to the house...It's funny to think something that small can wreak havoc on such a large area. He's sooooo stinkin' cute though...What could I do?

Breathing

2009-12-30T00:35:00.005-05:00

I really don't have much to say. I was about to reprimand the "Life of J" for not posting and realized it had been a while since I shared a thought.

A lot has happened in 2 months...and then, it seems like it's all happened before...

I won't lie; I'm frustrated. I should never type past 10 pm...I'm way to emotional and transparent...

I'll keep it brief. I want a vision for our life...I want to do, to be, to go, give, impact, share, affect, live, see, absorb, contribute, alter, succeed...

Is that to much to ask?

Currently, I breathe...

p.s. I don't know what happened to my hair...What is that part all about? Seriously, why can't I get the same haircut everytime? I like the hair in my profile pic...why can't I keep that hair?

That's where we wanna go....way down to Cozumel

2009-10-19T13:53:00.003-04:00

According to Patrick we just got back from YukaSTAN...so just FYI Cruises are now available to the India/Pakistan area...

It was beautiful...(more pics on facebook)

On a somber note...

2009-10-08T22:22:00.002-04:00

I have 20 million things to do before the sun rises in the morning, but I just felt such a burden to type this post.

In the hospital, with no prior warning, no less than 6 nurses & doctors came to our room to convince us to give the HepB vaccine to our 1 day old son. I was an emotional crazy person and had no idea we would be asked to make that kind of choice. Along with each visit, the nurse or doctor brought with him a paper about the horrible things that could happen if Jonas contracted HepB while in the hospital...I asked several times about the necessity of this vaccine and each time was strongly "encouraged" to give it to him...Against my better judgement and because I was ignorant on the subject I signed the consent form. Here is a short article about recent findings regarding this vaccine:

Hepatitis B Vaccine Triples the Risk of Autism in Infant Boys
Posted by: Dr. Mercola October 08 2009 22,948 views
A new study has shown that giving Hepatitis B vaccine to newborn baby boys more than triples their risk of developing an autism spectrum disorder.
The study’s authors used U.S. probability samples obtained from National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 1997–2002 datasets. The conclusion states that: “Findings suggest that U.S. male neonates vaccinated with hepatitis B vaccine had a 3-fold greater risk of ASD.” The authors also noted that an earlier study by them found that hepatitis B vaccination was associated with receipt of early intervention and special education services. The new study used a different database than their earlier study, and they found same results, suggesting a validation of their findings.

I hate that I didn't know

I hate that I didn't know that I needed to know

I hate that I signed that form against my own instinct

I hate that I will worry about this for a long time

I hate that I will constantly struggle with trusting God with this
and blaming myself for being so ignorant.

JONAS WALKING

2009-09-29T15:53:00.005-04:00

I am an excited Dad right now.

Home Alone

2009-09-28T17:23:00.029-04:00

OK, so I have been by myself for eight days now without my wife and child. It is not as cool as I thought it would be. I thought I would live the bachelor life, but bachelor life is not that great when you have a great wife and a great little boy. I have played my video games like 3 times, I have tried to exercise since I have a race in less than a month, and I even read a thin book. I have kept myself a little busy so that I keep my mind off my family.

Monday, I had a swim meet. I am the starter: TAKE YOUR MARK.......BEEP. That is my job. The "beep" is a horn, it is not a cuss word. I also got dinner invitations from Jan and Sarah, and Beth. Thanks guys for thinking about me. I had already eaten, though.

Tuesday, I ate with my great friends Kevin and Darlene. We ate Taco Soup that Darlene made. It was really good. We just hung out watching TV and talking business.

Wednesday, Beka, Clay, and I went to Gainesville to watch the Identification Tour. It was amazing. All three of us loved it. Cody and the Jason Cox Band just did a fantastic job. I love listening to Cody speak. Clay also loved it, and Beka loved the guitarist. I had to break the news to her that he was only 18, though. I have to admit that they all rocked.

Thursday, I did a little Arbonne business meeting after school. I think that was the night that Kevin came over and we talked about uniforms for the Bulldog baseball team. We nominated ourselves to be on the uniform committee.

Friday, I had another swim meet. After the swim meet I got ready for the Bulldog football game. My friend Lawanna gave me a ticket for the game. I was really excited. I saw my brother and he told me to sit with them. I told him that I didn't really want to get kicked out of a seat. He assured me that it would not happen. Well, I got to sit there for like five whole minutes before I heard the words, "Hey, you're in my seat". So I got up and went to sit with Lawanna and John. Well, they never showed up. (They told me they were there. They actually sat in the wrong seats. Apparently they didn't know that you were supposed to look on the ticket for the section, row, and seat number.) O well. Thankfully Beka came to sit with me and I had friends sitting in front and behind me. (Thanks Beka for taking the time out of your popular life to sit with me at the game.) I left at halftime.

On Saturday I washed clothes and dishes. Now the house was finally clean. I listened to an Arbonne conference call starring my wife. January, you did a great job. Then, I went to Kevin's house to watch the Gators play, but I left at halftime. Can you tell that I am not a die hard football fan? I don't think I did much after that, except a little Guitar Hero.

Sunday, I went to church and asked my inlaws where they were going to eat. Mrs. Sarah said the Dixie Grill. I told her that I was going to eat with them. Well, I got there at 10:50, because they get out of Sunday School around that time (I kind of skipped out on Sunday School). I got us a 6 seated table, ordered my drink, and texted Beka to let her know that I already had a table. Well, no response. At 11:05 Mrs. Sarah texted me and said, "At grill". I texted her back and told her, "me too". I got no response after that. I thought they were just pulling up and Beka would have given them the message. So, at 11:10 I called Mr. Jan and asked him if they were sitting up front, and of course he said, "Yeah". So, since I was waiting in the back part, I got up, let my waitress know what happened, and walked to the front of the restaurant. It was OK, just a lack of communication. I blame Beka for not having her phone. Just kidding, but seriously.

Today, I taught, went to the field to watch a little bit of baseball practice, then got ready for the Discover Arbonne meeting. It went good, except nobody came that I invited. That is OK.

Some of you may be falling asleep reading about my daily journal. Not that anyone even cares about what I did, I just thought I would do a little blogging.

January and Jonas, please come home soon.

Thank you Cody and Katie for letting January and Jonas stay with you. We appreciate and love you so much. Wow, Cody, I think I sound like my dad right now.

Patrick taught him ALL his moves!!!!!

2009-09-02T00:46:00.001-04:00

2009-08-16T23:33:00.002-04:00

Who needs a baby

seat when you

have a basket and

a Jandaddy?

Patrick's new tatoo!

2009-07-14T22:23:00.003-04:00

Just kidding. Actually the triathlete is at it again.
Thank goodness this one wasn't named after a turtle...
Freedom Springs Triathlon in Marianna, FL was the
setting for the big day.

The best kept secret is their amazing spring! Huge
spring and crystal clear - it is absolutely gorgeous!

Patrick did well! He cut his time by 15+ minutes and
said he felt much better after this one! Yay Patrick!

HOWEVER!!!! The best part is yet to come...Patrick
convinced his cousin Michael to do this one with him.
Michael said "yes" (poor guy) and he and Patrick
immediately begin to text one another to discuss how
hard the race would be and how they weren't going
to be ready or how Patrick would probably drown
and Michael would pass out running...Seriously these
guys need a major lesson on POSITIVE motivation!
Not scarring yourself silly before the race!!!! Anyway...
Michael had never trained for anything like this before
and he finished like a champ! He came out of the water
like he just got out of a leisurely shower! He biked
through the course making great time on a fat tire bike (twice as slow as a road bike) and
finished the run with a smile! YAY MICHAEL!!!! We are soooo proud of you!!!!! Now we
have unconfirmed rumblings that Beth, Sallie, William and April will join us in October for
the infamous Cooter Triathlon in Inverness, FL. Hey - If you're in leave us a comment and
we'll put you on our weekly phone list so we can call and scare you silly...uh...I mean encourage
you!!!! BTW - Jen I signed you up too...

Beautiful Subjects...

2009-04-28T23:42:00.005-04:00

O heck, now that I'm logged-in I might as well share some of my favorite photos. I took pictures this weekend of my "son" Clay and his sweet girlfriend Mary Beth for Prom - They are such appeasing subjects as they allow me to move them and push them around and generally force them to pose for the camera! With a Nikon and these 2 photogenic people how can you really go wrong...I mean they make me look like I can actually take decent photos...

Posting

2009-04-28T23:28:00.004-04:00

It's totally ridiculous that I spend approximately 20 of 24 hours every day at home and cannot update our blog...I mean seriously it takes less than 30 seconds to log-in. And that's the hardest part - logging-in. Something about it seems so arduous. In my mind, when I'm imagining logging-in and posting (because I always imagine myself doing something before I actually do it) it takes like 29 minutes to log-in because I forgot my password and then they have to send an e-mail to change all the stuff and then I have to log-in to my e-mail account which I usually remember the password to, but in my imagination I can't remember it and then I have to reset my whole life to log-in and write about something that you may or may not be interested in uggg....in my imagination of course...because I know all of you are just dying to know what I'm up to next - at home - with a 5.5 month old - let me give you a hint...A. Sleeping B. Feeding C. Changing D. Playing (repeat 43 times and wake up again) :) I LOVE MY LIFE - REALLY -Look at the picture below and tell me you wouldn't do ANYTHING to spend all day with this little guy - I would not change ONE thing...well maybe one - add 1 million dollars to my checking account and then I would not change ONE thing!!!! Well times up for posting, so I guess the post about posting is finished and I'll write something more interesting next time! You can comment about how pathetic I am if it makes you feel better for wasting your time today!!! I LOVE YA'LL!!!

My Sisters!!!!

2009-03-19T22:37:00.006-04:00

A long time ago, another place, another time, with strange, but loving people, my sisters and I became known as "January and Company." I had absolutely NOTHING to do with the name but everyone knew it meant me, beth, beka, and whomever else I could con into helping us pull off some wild scheme...

One time it was an old-time christmas musical where we dressed up

in long skirts and made the guys wear paper top hats.

One time it was singing christmas carols with buck teeth made

of lemon rind (sp?) at a perfectly respectable senior adult dinner.

One time it was selling spaghetti dinners to our town to raise money.

Whatever, whenever, however, I know two sisters who will ALWAYS

be the "company". They will ALWAYS make the crazy things I say

"Yes" to actually happen. They will cut or paste or color or sing

or roll tiny bits of asparagus up in cream cheese covered roast beef

to make cute pinwheels, or make an 11 layer, 3 tiered, chocolate

cake with strawberry cream cheese filling.

They NEVER get all the praise and accolade they deserve

because when it's "January and Company" as much as I say

"This never would have happened without my sisters"...somehow

the "company" never gets told how good they did, or how much they

were needed, or how it would have been impossible without them...

And they were good, and they were needed, and it was

only possible because they were there to help.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU

p.s. could we possibly create another name soon...

and also get our pic taken together b/c I can't find

a recent one of us all 3 together and it's anoying...

Quick

2009-03-16T22:50:00.003-04:00

Lots of new news, but no time to post...Here's my baby lookin

o so cute...I know - that probably sounds obnoxious to you,

but seriously he is... ; )

CULPRIT

2009-02-25T21:23:00.002-05:00

Thief apprehended! After a struggle my sweet pink phone

was removed from the left jacket pocket of Mr. Pea Coat.

Pinkie was in good condition with the exception of

an hour of CPR (cellular phone rechargeation).

Mr. Pea Coat will spend 2 nights in the

closet without bail...

APB

2009-02-18T13:09:00.003-05:00

Has anyone seen my phone???? It's MIA. I'm not ignoring your calls. I can't FIND the stupid thing anywhere...if P would not make me put it on silent in church I could have called it and Nnnoooooooow I'm sure it's dead! Whaaaa! :(

OMGsh!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously!!!!!!!!!!

2009-02-16T23:48:00.010-05:00

It all started when P and I decided to quit using our credit card after reading a "How To" article on saving money and finding discounts on the internet...He then put a 1 year ban on me buying anything "decorative" for our home (choke). In return I banned him from us eating out for one year. Then we went to Pizza Hut to discuss our decision. He got online to view the "deals" that were discussed in the article. He decided to make one more purchase on our credit card and planned a VALENTINE WEEKEND EXCURSION! Yippee!!!! I love surprises so he promised not to tell! (Save money? Who us? Well he did "save" money on the tickets...)

Saturday morning we woke up, loaded the camper, and headed south! For two reasons this was music to my ears! 1. Warm, warm, warm 2. Warm, warm, warm! We said our traditional traveling prayer and pulled out onto Ohio Avenue with the camper, Jonas, Sasha, and 75% of our house in tow. Somewhere around the "Bulldog Carwash" (~ 1/4 mile from our home) we get pulled over by a cop...Our trailer tag expired 4 days prior and he thought he would give us a warning...Whatever Fritz...(he looked like that guy from the Sound of Music - seventeen going on eighteen...). After we got away from Valentine's Day RUINER...we drove through McDonald's and got a cheeseburger cause' that just makes it better. Once we arrived in Tampa, lovely warm Tampa, P set us up in a campground - It was kinda in the ghetto, but there was a fence so if you closed your ears where you couldn't hear the gunshots it was like paradise...jk (kinda)...

THEN we got dressed and ate at Olive Garden. Yummy! We were seated in like 10 minutes, had a great server, Jonas slept the whole time, and I got Raspberry Cheesecake! YUmmmmm!!!

THEN (drum roll) we head to St. Pete Times Arena where we had 3rd row center ice seats for the Washington Capitals vs. TB Lightning...(We fell in love with hockey and the Caps in Washington D.C. one year...our lives just wouldn't be the same without hockey)!!!!!!!!!!! The game was AWESOME! We won 5-1 and saw the best goalie we have ever seen. Which really doesn't say much since we don't watch hockey at all except when we actually go to a game...but he was still really good!

THEN, and this was a surprise for both of us...Edward Cullen (aka Rob Pattinson) was outside the arena, waiting for me!!!!!!! Well, he wasn't waiting for just me...he was waiting for like 30,000 screaming teenage girls and I just happened to be among them. But he and I made definite eye contact...as evidenced below about 27 seconds into the video. I know, I know...what more could I ask for on Valentines Day than to spend it with my three dream guys Patrick, Jonas, and Edward...(sigh) Watch and weep girls!!! and THEN Patrick decides to bash all my dreams by telling me that it's not really Edward (ACK!) Seriously - watch the video and then VOTE in the comments section...Is it Edward???? (It is, but I just need some smart girls too back me up when I tell Patrick). Happy Valentine's Day!!!!!!! XOXOXOXO (i love you Patrick, Jonas, and edward ;)

(excuse the stupid camera guy that kept getting in my way-

MOVE!!! - doesn't he know I'm watching EDWARD!!!)

Photo Shoot!

2009-01-25T14:00:00.003-05:00

So we did a photo shoot right after church today. It was overcast and the lighting was totally perfect. We set the stage, angled the camera, put on lipstick, and just as we were ready...Jonas thought it would be the perfect time to cry...So yet another batch of pictures where we look like totally incompetent parents. Anyway, here's one of my favorites:

Merry Birthday...

2009-01-23T13:48:00.004-05:00

Somwhere between Christmas and my birthday I've received my gifts from Patrick: "new hair" as Patrick says, and a new robe that's made from Turkish Terry Cloth and just plain delicious!

New Hair:

I have been wanting a new robe for quite a while, but I knew that the time had come when my friend's four year old saw me wearing my yucky one and said, "Mommy, what does she have on?" C'mon when a four-year old notices it's BAD! Just to prove it I took before and after pictures. I even had bad hair and a frown to accompany my bad robe like they do in the infomercials...

Bad Robe:

(if you look close you can see ALL the pockets

are torn and little string thingy's are coming out everywhere

don't look at my face though...no makeup...for added effect, of course)

Delicious New Robe:

(Did I mention Turkish Terry Cloth???

p.s. - Patrick ordered it all by himself)

A thought...

2009-01-20T12:20:00.003-05:00

Ok - I have a ton to blog about, but not today. Today I just want to share a short video that I LOVE!!!! And after this I promise to stop using so many videos in my posts!

Santa Baby

2009-01-12T20:20:00.000-05:00

OUR NEXT EXTREME SPORT!!!!

2008-12-30T16:10:00.008-05:00

WE CANNOT WAIT TO TRY THIS!!!!!

wingsuit base jumping from Ali on Vimeo.

p.s. Am I getting good at this video embedding or what????

2008-12-28T19:46:00.005-05:00

I've always wanted to do some organic gardening, but thought I didn't have the space...

I'm totally inspired!!! (No I will not go to some of the other extremes in this video...

I'm not completely devoid of materialism!)

MaryJo and the WEST WING

2008-12-14T21:08:00.002-05:00

Well, all we have to do is make it throughout the night in this room and we get to go home. But, at 10:00 p.m. they tell us to move to the other hallway. That is when things start getting crazy. First of all, every nurse we had was absolutely amazing. We loved them, especially Brandy, the one that helped us through the actual birth. She even stayed a little later on her shift just for us. Well, across the hall, we had Mary Jo. From the very beginning, we kind of new something was different about her, but who cared, we only had to stay the night then we were going home. Around 4:00 a.m. Mary Jo comes in and says she needs to take Jonas for his assessment. January was a little worried about him being off with her, so she went down to check on him. He was OK. But January, being full of hormones just started crying. They asked January if she wanted to roll him back to the room. She just gave a simple nod and rolled him back to our room. So, January fed Jonas and at about 6:00 a.m. Mary Jo came back to take Jonas for another check up. We asked how long he would be gone. She said 1 hour, so we should try to get some sleep. It was still dark out, so that is what we planned to do. No lie 10 minutes later Mary Jo came back in and said that he was fussy. Maybe he was gassy or hungry and that January needed to feed him. January said she just did, but OK. So, Mary Jo handed him to January to feed. January was about to latch him on when she started thinking this baby is heavy. Like I said it was dark, but there was a little bit of light shining in from the cracked door of the bathroom. Then she looked again and thought, this baby doesn't have any hair. Jonas had a lot of hair. Then she thought, this baby is wearing a "star costume". Then I heard her yell out, THIS IS NOT MY BABY. Of, course I was asleep, but I woke right up when I heard that. Mary Jo said,"What?" January said, "This is not my baby". So Mary Jo said, "Oh, OK", and took the baby and just walked out. January told me to go find Jonas. So, I walked right past Mary Jo in the hallway going to look for our child. The nursery is in the other hallway, where we originally were. I told them I was here to see Jonas Jernigan. They said, "Jonas, Jonas, Jonas?" I said, "Is this the only nursery"? They said it was. I was like oh great, our baby is gone. They asked me what his name was again. I said, "Jonas Jernigan". They said, "Oh, he is right here". Apparently they only heard me say Jonas and not Jernigan. WOW, what a scare.
After a few more hours we got to go home. I was so glad. I was going crazy in the hospital.
And that was our experience of Jonas' birth.

So, here's the story...

2008-12-14T20:49:00.009-05:00

OK, OK, OK, so it has been a while since we have updated. I will start from our last "real" entry about my (Patrick's) birthday party / Halloween party.

November 3rd, 2:00 a.m., we headed to G-ville because January was having her contractions 5 minutes apart, lasting 1 minute, for 1 hour. That is when they told us to leave, since we have an hour drive. So, we arrive at 3:00 and we were expecting things to go quick and easy. They checked her and she was dialated to 3 cm. They said, they would check back in 1 hour. She made it to 4 cm, so we got to stay. They put us in a very nice room. The couch was very nice and soft, but I will talk about that later. They came in several hours later and she had not changed. Finally, they said that we needed to get this process going, so they did all the stuff they had to do to get it going. I am not going to get too graphic during this entry. I could, but I'm not. Well, contractions start getting pretty bad for January, so she decided it was time to get an epidural. They gave it to her and it only helped one side of her. So, she was feeling terrible pain on half of her body, while the other side was numb. They could not figure out why, so they decided to keep pumping her full of drugs. Nothing seemed to work. Finally they told her to turn over on her other side, since nothing else was working. Well, that did the trick. And with all those other drugs, she felt TERRIFIC. The real funny part was before the drugs, we watched this screen that would show when she was having a contraction. She would be in pretty good pain during these times, but when the contraction was over, she would be OK again. Well, with the drugs in her, we would watch the screen, and she had no idea when the contraction was happening. She was just talking like nothing was going on, while I am watching the screen knowing that she was supposed to be in pain. Well, that was funny to me. I guess you just had to be there.

When we went into this whole pregnancy thing I imagined there being a sheet between Janaury's head and the "whole process". Well, there wasn't. I witnessed everything. It was obvious that I had never really seen the actual process before, though. I watched it in college, but I guess I closed my eyes, because I never saw the up close and personal version. Thankfully the nurse, doctor, and January were nice, because I had some crazy questions during the actual birth. I asked how big his head was, did he have a skull, why was his leg so crooked, and during the actual birth yelling out "O MY GOSH"! Like I said, I was not prepared for what I witnessed. But I made it just fine without passing out and would not change it for anything. O yeah, January did good to.

That night, January was feeding Jonas and she thought he was choking. She picks him up and runs out in the hallway screaming that her baby is choking. They come over to her and tell her that he is OK. Yes, she is a little paranoid. I of course did not know about this until morning time, because that couch was so comfortable. January said that I did not budge. Oh, did I mention that January didn't have any clothes on when she ran out in the hallway. Yeah, that is my wife.

JONAS KANE - BORN 11/3/08

2008-11-17T22:45:00.008-05:00

We have tons of stories,

but right now we're too busy getting

pee'ed on, pooped on, spit-up on, and sat on to tell them...

they are coming though...we promise!

Even Yoda came...

2008-10-31T11:52:00.007-04:00

Patrick turns 30, yes, THIRTY this TUESDAY which also happens to be the day Jonas is supposed to arrive...So we did an early 30th B-day party last night. It was great fun - lots of Trick-Or-Treaters, some friends, and family helped us celebrate. I made a yummy cake that fell apart, forgot to get a "0" candle for the cake - So I cut the middle out of the "six" and it was OK...If you missed it, you missed TONS of food and a good time...and YODA...

HE DID IT!!!!

2008-10-27T09:25:00.013-04:00

At 6 AM, we anxiously waited to register for the triathlon in a crisp, 54 degrees beside Henderson Lake in Inverness, FL. Patrick received an ankle chip to mark his time and then got "body marked" with his number #271 on each arm, leg and an "N" for novice on his right calf.

As the sun began to rise over the lake, Patrick rolled his bike down to the transition area and began preparing to swim - in the CHILLY weather - however the water was a bath water 76 degress. After a few pre-race announcements the groups moved toward the edge of the lake and listened intenetly for the sound of the starting siren. As the siren sounded the fun began. Hundreds of adults ran over and swam over one another as they raced to and in the water...At this point I began wondering if this was such a good idea...I mean Patrick has just overcome his fear of the water and now he's going to be pummeled by humans to the bottom of the lake...After the first leg of the swim...He decided to wait back and get out of the madness, so he could just swim like he had been practicing. That worked and he made great progress.

Out of the water and on to the transition station to bike the 12 miles. He said at this point he was about to throw up because he swallowed half the lake during the first leg of the swim. He pulled out of the transition area a little shaky, but was determined to finish.

About 50 minutes later we see him heading around the curve back to the transition station looking GREAT! He made great time on the bike and recovered from the swim. He was tired and really sweaty, but was ready to finish strong with the 3 mile run!

Patrick says the first 2 1/2 miles were good. He felt great and was looking for the finish line. As the line finally came into sight, the race end was so close, the last 1/2 mile and then victory - He got a cramp in his side and thought he would have to walk...he didn't stop though...He pushed on and made it!!!! SWEET SUCCESS!!!! He says at this point he was NEVER going to do this again...5 minutes later when he caught his breath he was talking about what he would do at the next one! :)

He placed 17 ahead of the last participant which exceeded his goal by 17, placed 9th in his age group, and 89th in the male category!!!! In the words of the surfer we met while standing in line to register, we're "totally stoked!"

My 2 cents...

2008-10-23T10:13:00.013-04:00

Two posts in one day...I think that's a record for me!

This is a video produced by the Catholic Church,

but speaks volumes to anyone who

claims to be a follower of Jesus...

-OK...tried to be nifty and embed video, but can't-

GO HERE: http://www.catholicvote.com/

Vote...

funny...

2008-10-23T09:18:00.004-04:00

The Great American Cooter Triathlon...

2008-10-21T13:06:00.006-04:00

Well the big day is quickly approaching! Michael Phelps...er...I mean Patrick Jernigan will compete in his first ever Cooter Triathlon! (No, I don't know why he chose the one with the weirdest name...). He has trained since August - Here I pause to give special thanks to our sponsors: Joy Grisham and the Grisham Family Pool, Shelby Brothers & Coach Wood for superb swimming instruction, Kevin Greene, for being occasional training partner, Clay Tomlinson, for lending his supreme knowledge in which "Jammers" to purchase (if you're wondering...Jammers are speedos with legs...CUTE!), Gabe Galloway, for his bicycle helmet, Dad, for letting us steal your bike, and anyone else who has been his cheerleaders...

This Sunday the race will began at 8 AM - He will swim a 1/4 mile in Lake Henderson, Bike 12 miles, and Run 3 miles on Florida's Rails-To-Trails path. Although Patrick has been confident about the running and cycling portions of the race he has not been so crazy about the swimming portion...Insert short inspirational story here:

When Patrick started training he was able to swim one lap in the city pool (known as a "25"). As his training progessed, he and I both became more and more aware of a pretty strong fear he had of the water...never knew how real it was until this year...As he trained he would gain a lap over the course of a couple of weeks. A 1/4 mile swim would require him to be able to swim a "450" or 18 laps non-stop in the pool. By mid-September, he was able to swim a 100, but getting discouraged because of slow gains, inconsistent breathing, and poor swimming technique. Thanks to Coach Wood, she suggested he try a special type of snorkel that would force his head into the water, at the proper angle, and would help him prepare his body for the distance at least. He would have to tackle the breathing part after that. Well SURPRISE to us...when he used the snorkle, his head went into the water at the right angle and all of a sudden his feet popped up, his body flattened out, and he was able to swim with his arms AND his LEGS!!!! He went from swimming a 250, to swimming a 500, then a 700, in less than two weeks. Exceeding his goal by almost double the distance!!!!!! FINALLY with just shy of 3 weeks to go before the race, Patrick met and exceeded his goal and is READY to compete!!!! Our goal is to finish the race - and maybe beat a few people...Be praying for us this weekend!!!!

SEE!!!! We're financial GENIUSES!!!!!

2008-10-16T10:19:00.005-04:00

Just to reinforce our can collecting...

If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in Delta Airlines one year ago,
you will have $49.00 today.
If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in AIG one year ago,
you will have $33.00 today.
If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in Lehman Brothers one year
ago, you will have $0.00 today.
But, if you had purchased $1,000 worth of coke one year ago, drank all the coke, then turned in the aluminum cans for recycling refund,
you will have received a $214.00.

Based on the above, the best current investment plan is to drink heavily & recycle.

Nursery

2008-09-25T09:35:00.005-04:00

Except for a few minor details the nursery is complete! The porch conversion took a little longer than expected, but finally it all came together! YAY! Now all we need is Jonas!

We want your CAN...(aluminum not your toilet)

2008-09-23T15:02:00.003-04:00

So we're collecting aluminum cans to pay for a king size bed to accomodate Me, P, Sash sleeping sideways, and baby J...We've picked up cans from everywhere! Dirt roads, smashed into paved roads, alleys, park trash cans - P actually went through all the trash cans at the sports complex and filled up the back of his truck...Now that's my kind of man! Some friends and relatives have also contributed to our cause. Now we are in can-collecting mode - we ordered the bed so it will be ready when baby J arrives...Our goal was 37,500 cans - according to the chart (a few cans aren't up yet) we have around 27,000 more to go! I'm going to have to start stealing the homeless guy's cans...Just kidding! :) If you got cans - we want them!

How I Feel?

2008-09-11T16:23:00.003-04:00

Number 1 question from all...I'll just clear up the real answer right now. Now follow these instructions EXACTLY:
1. Get the tightest pants you own.
2. Put them on and stuff 10 fully inflated water balloons in the front.
3. Button pants and walk to kitchen.
4. Eat EVERYTHING in you kitchen that tastes disgusting and will give you heartburn.
5. Wait until you have heartburn and go sit FULLY CLOTHED in a sauna for about 10 minutes.
6. Ask a friend to beat your lower back with a baseball bat.
7. Run to and from the bathroom every 3-5 minutes all day.

OK - You now know about each and every day!

Actually - that stuff is true, but I'm TOTALLY AWARE that I could have it SOOOOO much worse...I'm NOT swollen, puffy, or puking...so I'm actually VERY thankful for a HEALTHY me and Jonas...8 more weeks!

Baby!

2008-07-15T22:02:00.005-04:00

I know I'm a little late in posting the news (my blog accountability partner recently informed me that I'm totally slacking...). We went to the doc about a week ago and found out we are having a boy. As far as I can tell he's really cute...the picture shows his profile. His name will probably be Jonas Kane - unless we change it at birth. The nursery is under construction so I'll post pictures when we finish. I'm officially a cow and "my back hurts real bad"!

There's no place like home...A new adventure begins!

2008-06-28T21:38:00.004-04:00

We are back and have spent a few days recuperating! We really did miss our home and our shower. It's amazing how big a house seems when you've been living in 80 square feet for 21 days! Sasha is absolutley in heaven, now that she's back home - she's such a homebody! We go next Tuesday, July 1, to find out if we are having a boy or girl, so I guess next month will be another whole new adventure! We'll let you know as soon as we can! I might even be a cornball and post the picture...I'll have to think about that though...

Zombies, Cannibals, Werewolves, and Vampires

2008-06-23T20:43:00.000-04:00

Patrick- We stayed in a nice campground in Little Rock that even had an ice cream shop in it. So of course we ate a cone that night. We left and headed to Tuscalusa, AL to visit our good friends Buddy and Alison. It was only a 5 hour drive, so that was a piece of cake for us nation-wide travelers. We pulled into our camp site and we just loved it. It was cheap, shady, quiet, and by a lake. It was out in the middle of nowhere. It was a 20 minute drive to Tuscalusa. So we put the camper up, got all settled in, and headed to Tuscalusa to meet up with Buddy and Alison.
While I was driving, January was reading the flier from the campground. It said that the campground gets locked up at 10:00. So, January called to see if we could get the code or a key or anything, just making sure we could get back into the park. The guy stated again on the phone that the park gets locked at 10:00. So January asked what we needed to do, and he said he guessed we could park a car on the inside and the outside so we could get back to our camper, because he was not coming back to unlock it. January informed him that we did not have 2 vehicles and that she surely did not ask him to come back and unlock it. She let him know that every campground has an alternate entry or code after a certain time. He told her they were a Federal campground and we had just better bring a flashlight. This guy apparently does not know who my wife is. So when she got off the phone she was "a little fired up". She informed me that we will be driving to our camper no matter if the gate is locked or open. I just went along with it. The bad thing was that our camper was like 2 miles from the entrance. O well, we just kept on to town.
We met up with Buddy and Alison and got to see Shelton State (the college he coaches softball at), their home, and then we went out to eat at a cool little college town burger joint. It was great. We left their home at 9:40, giving us exactly 20 minutes to get there. According to the GPS we were to arrive at 10:02, so I started hauling tail. Remember, we were driving back in the boonies, and the roads were very curvy. January wanted me to slow down. She was not worried at all, but of course, I was. I did not want to walk 2 miles back to the camper with a pregnant angry woman. As we were pulling in, the Park Ranger was pulling out. Thankfully the gate was open. I was so glad, we made it.
Now is when our minds start wandering. Yes, there were other campers, but we never saw any real people, except the lady I paid my money to at the entrance earlier that day. We started wondering why they locked up the place from 10:00 to 7:00 in the morning. They can't do that. What if people need to get out for an emergency? I started thinking, is this like the Hotel California, where we will never leave. January started informing me that they were probably cannibals and were going to eat us, so she made me get the machete out of the truck and sleep beside it. She was getting all freaked out and said she was not going to be able to sleep. I mean, she actually said she wanted to pack up and leave right then. (January: The reason we didn't see any people was because the cannibals there ate everyone...and they were locking us in to eat us!!! AND our camper is part tent so the werewolves, who were also vampires (like in Van Helsing) would claw right into the canvas and suck our blood - maybe before the cannibals got to us to finish us off!!! I'm sure those kinds of scary beings have it all worked out!) I told her we would be OK. Well, it was about 2 minutes after she said she would not be able to sleep, that I heard her snorring. I on the other hand, laid there all night and did not sleep at all. Not even a little bit. I was not even worried like January was. So, at 6:00 I made her get up so we could leave as soon as they opened the place at 7:00. We pulled out of the exit at 6:56, passing the Park Ranger again, I guess he was opening it up, and he gave us a big wave goodbye. The more I thought about it, the stranger it got. How could we pass the Ranger 2 different times, unless he knew when we were arriving and leaving? Maybe that is not that weird, but I think it is. Finally we left that place and headed home.

Headed Home

2008-06-22T22:59:00.005-04:00

For the last two days we drove and drove and drove. We spent the night in Durango,CO and toured the historic city. We had a great dinner at one of the oldest restaurants in Durango called Francisco's. It was yummy! Last night we stayed in Amarillo, TX by the "Big Texan" the famous place that gives you a free 72 oz. steak if you can eat it all in an hour - We didn't even attempt that!!! Today we drove through Oklahoma City and saw Bricktowne which was really cool! We also saw the largest cross int he Western Hemisphere located in Broome, TX. Tonight we are staying in Little Rock, AR...

Mesa "Ver D"

2008-06-20T22:17:00.000-04:00

Patrick - We left Moab and traveled two and a half hours to Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. Apparently January and I say it wrong, because we thought Verde was the spanish word for green, but they call it "Ver D" instead of the spanish word "Vaird A". I just wrote it like that so you can tell how I am saying it. This is where the Anasazi, also called Ancient Puebloan Indians built homes inside the mountains. They were absolutely amazing. They had to climb down sheer rock just to get to their homes. We got to climb down stairs and up ladders to get to their homes. While climbing up the ladder, we noticed a woman wearing a spaghetti strap shirt that had underarm hair twice as long as mine. I am serious. It was crazy. We stayed the night in Durango, Colorado.

Our Final Jeep Day

2008-06-19T16:27:00.009-04:00

We saved the best for last. We arrived at Fins & Things about 9:30AM and before we even got into the trail good things got scary...Fins are long segments of slickrock that slope down steeply on either side of a narrow trail at the top. The trail can also incline or decline very steeply. Patrick's skills were tested over and over today as he chose his "line" up the rock and kept the jeep from sliding. One of the worst climbs was an incline of jagged rock shelves with loose sand and gravel on them. Once we cleared one shelf and started up another the tires began spinning and we fishtailed side to side to try to clear another shelf...Scary! We finally made it up! Near the end of the trail Dad (driving the jeep in front of us and guiding us down the rock drop-offs we couldn't see from the jeep) chose a line down a steep rocky drop-off before we knew what was happening BOTH of his back tires were OFF of the rock-Me and Patrick screamed at the top of our lungs!!!! Of course he was laughing when he got out...I about had heart failure...And No, I didn't get a picture, unfortunately!

Seven Mile Rim & Uranium Arch

2008-06-18T21:14:00.008-04:00

This morning we ate breakfast at the Jailhouse Cafe. It was the original Jailhouse in Moab and now serves breakfast every morning, except Tuesday (In case you get the urge to eat there yesterday like we did...and then have your hopes dashed by the "Closed" sign hanging on the gate.) After yummy whole-grain waffles with fresh fruit and lots of syrup we hit the trail! 7 Mile Rim is the name, extreme jeeping is our game!!!! Enter Patrick - There were some hard spots today, some down and ups, and Uranium Arch was scary because we almost fell off. It was one of the things I said I didn't want to do, so of course we went. We survived...I'm learning how to climb down rock and tomorrow will be my biggest challenge. Today I learned to go straight up and straight down without going at an angle, keeping the break steady, walking the jeep down the rock, and that the jeep is capable of doing a lot...A lot of prayers were said today.

Famous Last Words

2008-06-17T20:44:00.006-04:00

Today we toured Arches National Park...most of the park is paved roads with views of famous formations like Balancing Rock and the 3 Gossips. Some formations you have to hike to like Delicate Arch - Tons of formations in Arches have been in commercials and on T.V. We hiked up to Delicate Arch - It is a pretty strenuous hike in some areas, but completely worth the torture! Sasha actually went on this hike with us...but Patrick ended up carrying her on his shoulder a lot of the way. After the hike, we went out of Arches the back way. Patrick has been driving on the trails because Aunt Molly and Ronny have been riding with Dad and Mom...when he agreed to drive he said the only two trails he DID NOT want to do were the bike trail out of Arches and Uranium Arch on 7 Mile Rim Trail. Well we headed out of Arches and started up the bike trail...He drove it like a champ! Very impressive!

This is a hold-up pard'ner...

2008-06-16T23:00:00.001-04:00

So we arrive back from jeeping around 5PM and it's time to clean up for our "Romantic River Boat Tour." We show up at 7PM with pre-purchased tickets in hand...We're greeted at the door by a guy decked out in cowboy attire...Ok, so this is a "Cowboy, Romantic River Boat Tour"...got it! He passes us off to Billy the Kid who proceeds to sit us down at lunchroom style seating...Yes, I'm talking about high school lunch room, with 400 other people, half of which were senior citizens doing their best to become intoxicated! Sound romantic yet? After the rest of the romantic couples are seated along with their obnoxious kids, door cowboy tells the crowd how to proceed through the food line starting with table 1 and working down the line. If you know my family, you know we're already leery of following 250 people down a food line they have all breathed on and quite possible touched...We await patiently and try to forgo thoughts of bacteria on the spoon handles and sneezes on the rolls. Just as our table is summoned, Cow "Boy" George races from across the room, faster than if he were on his horse "Lightning" and holds our table up...What? O.K. maybe the line is getting clogged and he is trying to let it thin out a bit...NO, to our dismay, and the other 60 people sitting at our table, George, with a flit of his hand allows the other 200 people at the OTHER END of the room to ascend upon the grub line! DID I MENTION I'M PREGNANT????? I was standing; already headed toward the lunch line, so why sit down? It's the perfect opportunity to confront Cowboy George. He didn't really have an explanation as to why he unjustly quarantined our table...As I continued to try to make sense of Cowboy George's non-explanation, Dad and Ronnie along with several furious women from our table also came to my side...Cowboy George didn't care...We were ready to string him up-It's a good thing there was no rope readily available...As we FINALLY got our food, a cowpoke server decided he would try to smooth out the feelings of 60+ furious people...He begins to do pervy napkin tricks...to MY MOM, no less!!!! Can you imagine??? We're ready to KILL these people and they think dirty napkin tricks will make us happy!!!! HOW ROMANTIC!!!! After the chow line altercation we were then herded to the "Romantic Boat". Through a curtain of mosquito birds, we boarded the love boat...for a light show on the river! The door cowboy narrated the trip up river for an hour...It was ok, he told us about the history of Moab and pointed out some features of the rock that we wouldn't have seen otherwise, and that was pretty neat...Then, just as the sun made it's final decent the light show began! From across the way lights flashed on from nowhere...Actually, wait, it was a truck with 10 big flood lights strapped to the top, driving on the road alongside the boat, shining them on the rocks! It was narrated by a deep booming voice that told us all about Brigham Young and his contribution to Utah...Don't get me wrong, I like history...but ROMANTIC???? Are you kidding? They did turn off the lights and played Chariots of Fire as we floated back down the river for an hour and looked at the 4 stars that were visible through the clouds...Maybe that was the romantic part, but me and Patrick just discussed the best methods for peeing over the side of the boat...Don't ask me why every entry has a potty story...it just happens!!! Finally we get back, get out of the mosquitoes, and call it a rootin' tootin' cowboy romantic boat tour night!!!!!

Hitting the Trails!

2008-06-16T22:48:00.000-04:00

Thrill-seekers, enthusiasts, and curious alike...pack your jeep, put on your sunscreen, buckle up and experience Moab off-road. We packed the jeep and were ready to go around 8:30AM - No sleeping in on this vacation! We have to bring 80-100 ounces of water per person, for the day so we don't get dehydrated. The first trails we hit were Dubinky Well, Spring Canyon Bottom, and Secret Spire. These trails are considered "Easy" because there are very few tough climbs involved. We encountered some great switchbacks and narrow roads that were pretty high up, but nothing we needed 4WD for...That's coming tomorrow! I managed to fall into a small plant with millions of small needles on it...I mean seriously, try peeing in the wilderness, downhill, scouting for bugs, keeping my pants dry and holding up my weight plus whatever my kid weighs, and then realizing Sasha is on the way to see what's going on...I just lost my focus and fell right over into the stupid plant! Thank God, my hand took the brunt of the abuse and once I got down the hill, Patrick and Dad help me pick at least 400 thorns out...Next we went down into a wash that, when raining, spills over into a deep canyon. You can literally climb down into the waterfall path and walk to the edge where it spills over the sheer canyon wall - One false move, and you're a gonner...We also stopped at the bat cave - you walk through the cave to see a great view, but you MUST keep your hands down at your sides so you don't touch any bat poop...Great cave and we didn't see any bats...We ate lunch at Secret Spire, which is a rock formation that is in the middle of nowhere, but is a must see! Patrick, Dad, and I did some rock climbing at this stop after lunch. We scouted out the trail we thought we should take and then sent Patrick down first!!!! Everything is MUCH steeper than it looks - to the eye or in pictures, but we made it and the climb was great! After lunch, we drove to Dead Horse Point which is paved and easy driving, just very high and AWESOME panaramic view. To the left you see ice blue lakes where minerals are mined. To the right you see the Colorado river snaking through all the deep canyons and crevices. Right out in front are the most amazing canyons, mesas, spires, and other crazy formations! I would tell you the story of Dead Horse Point, but it's pretty sad, so I think I'll refrain. Our last trail of the day was in the Dead Horse Canyon Area...on this trail is where you can see the leaning rock that was filmed for a Jeep commercial...We went under the rock and through the rest of the trail and came home to clean up for what our campground host called a "Romantic Boat Tour with Dinner on the Colorado River." I don't know what he calls "romantic", but if that was it...he CAN'T be married...

Veggie Burgers and Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

2008-06-16T00:19:00.005-04:00

Not much to report on today. We ate at Zax again for lunch. Patrick actually ordered a veggie burger and liked it...My work is paying off! Mom, Dad, Molly, and Ronnie rolled into town late last night so we ate with them at lunch. We also picked up our jeeps so we can get an early start tomorrow...I guess the highlight of today was our meal at Red Cliff Ranch for Father's Day. I look forward to their Buttermilk Ranch dressing all year - and it did not disappoint! Yummy! We're turning in early so we are ready to go in the morning! Happy Father's Day!

We Have Arrived!

2008-06-14T18:42:00.007-04:00

We finally made it to Moab today! YAY! It's HOT HOT HOT here and we like it better than all that snow...except I'm not so sure I will deal with the heat as well as I thought I would...We ate at Zax, an oven-fired pizza joint in town, and we're just blobbing in our camper trying to stay cool and rest before our jeeping adventures start! I'm adding a picture I took for Ches - he loves trains! I couldn't get the shot I wanted because we were driving down the road, but I think he'll appreciate it! :)

Mecca

2008-06-13T18:12:00.000-04:00

Got up, drove an hour to Salt Lake City, got lost, saw the Mormon Mecca (Temple Plaza) and the state capitol, got our truck serviced at the most amazing dealership I've EVER seen in my life - complete with a restaurant to eat in while we waited, free drinks, free carwash, and awesome service! On our way to the dealership we passed the Bees Stadium...Yes, of course we stayed to watch the game...Do you remember who I'm traveling with??? Patrick knows a pitcher, Jason Bulger who plays for the Bees (Triple A team for the Los Angeles Angels) so he got a chance to catch up with him...He was very surprised to see Patrick. We even got free Bees T-Shirts...(Yay! We don't have to pay for Shannon's gift!!!!) It was a good stop and Salt Lake City is pretty neat to see!

Patrick's Day At Yellowstone

2008-06-12T22:49:00.001-04:00

Today we saw Old Faithful! Thankfully it was on time, but we were 30 minutes early...since we didn't have a jacket, we froze to death!!! While we were freezing NO ONE was around. Finally 30 seconds before Old Faithful went off, a swarm of people came out - they must have known the exact minute it was going to erupt. It was beautiful! Next we waddled our frozen bodies to the General Store because we both had to tinkle...But of course, they were painting the Men's Room. So I waited. We left and toured Yellowstone. We saw buffalo, bear, deer, and a moose thing, but January calls everything a Llama...There were buffalo that walked in the middle of the road. January could have touched it with her hand. We saw Mud Volcanoes, Geysers, Hot Springs, Sulfer Pits, Waterfalls and other wild things that you don't see in Live Oak. While seeing one of the sights I got to relieve myself in a hole, uh, located in the restroom. Leaving Yellowstone was long and snowy. After Yellowstone, we traveled through Grand Teton National Park. Everything was beautiful, but it was covered with snow and ice. Then we drove 4 hours to get to our Campground in Evanston, WY.

Don't tell PETA

2008-06-12T22:32:00.000-04:00

O.K., so what we didn't tell you yesterday is that there are NO DOGS ALLOWED in the Old Faithful Inn. We were desperate for a warm safe place to stay and there was NO WAY we could leave Sasha in the truck all night. The temperature was 27 degrees before the sun went down. So, we stuffed her in a backpack...and I do mean STUFFED...She absolutely did not want to get in that bag and clawed and squirmed her way out several times before we successfully got the thing zipped! All was well, until she had to go to the bathroom at 2AM...Patrick, my hero, saved the day!!!! He stuffed her into the bag, walked down three flights of stairs, across 2 parking lots, in the snow, in frigid temperatures, to let Sasha go potty...basically he's Bear Grylls...

NO! We're Not Kidding!

2008-06-11T22:04:00.000-04:00

After a chilly night we woke up and had a pancake breakfast at the campground! Yum! Yum! Today would be exciting,we would FINALLY make it to Yellowstone National Park to see Old Faithful and the other amazing and weird land features. An hour or so into the trip, we crossed some mountains that had leftover snow drifts in some areas...It was great! We got out and took some pictures and let Sasha touch the snow. It was amazing to realize that in just a days drive we went from HOT to winter wonderland! Boy, if we only knew what awaited us...We finally made it to the mountains just before Yellowstone and we started seeingsome hazy wind and what we thought was fog...several miles more and we were in full blown snow flurries. There was even snow on the ground and it was just beautiful! I was squealing with excitement!!!! We rounded the last curve and saw the entrance to the park! As we headed into the park we began to climb, climb, climb...the higher we got the harder it snowed and the higher and higher the snow got. We weren't just in leftover snow anymore this was a winter snowglobe complete with the icey lake. Excitement turned into panic as we realized we were driving in a very heavy snowstorm and the road ahead was covered with ice and snow - I stopped in the middle of the road and inched forward, we began to slide around and we endedup driving in the opposite lane toward what would be oncoming traffic if there were idiots like us trying to pull a camper in a blizzard. Just then as I was begining to hyperventilate I noticed a van in the rear view mirror. I stopped him and confirmed that he knew how to drive in this mess - He led us through the "blizzard" and horrible roads, off the mountain, and on into the park. Once the trauma was over we noticed how beautiful this place was. After every turn there were new unbelievable sites. As we looked for a campground, we noticed there were NO tents or pop-up campers...Why??? Because the snow was piled 2' high ontop of vehicles and motorhomes and another 16" is expected tonight...Now we are sitting in the ONLY room, $250...cough, gag...available at all 3 of the Old Faithful Lodging Options. The cool thing is we are on the 3rd floor of the Old Faithful Inn -You can see it on the Travel Channel - staring RIGHT AT OLD FAITHFUL!!!!!!!!! We prayed God would provide a room for us and He saved us 1 - and even threw in a great view!!!! So we are hoping to be on the move tomorrow, however we have been warned the snow may keep us here another day...We're planning to see the main features of the park tomorrow and then head south for summer weather, jeeping, hiking, and rock climbing!!!! Baby is doing good - is the size of a large mango - and has been practicing kick boxing, rock climbing, and sommersault skills!

What did we see today?

2008-06-11T01:14:00.000-04:00

We drove for a million miles to see the badlands at Badlands National Park...From there we headed towards Mt. Rushmore on State Road 2 that was GRAVEL...This place is amazing! Rushmore was awesome! We took the "Presidentail Hike" around the monument and learned some pretty cool stuff, like, there is a room behind President Lincoln's head...Can you name all 4 presidents carved into the mountain???? From there we drove several more hours towards Yellowstone. We're staying in a great campground in Buffalo, WY tonight! We're exhausted! Signing out-

I'd like to check you for tics!!!

2008-06-10T01:05:00.000-04:00

5:45am and we're wide awake! The sun is already up and it's time to roll the camper down and get on the road. Our plan was to make it to Mt. Rushmore today, but after finding that campsites with only electricity there are $99/night we're stopping short at a state park on the border of Nebraska and South Dakota in Chadron. We will pay around $15/night there...and the camper will sleep the same either place!-We set up in Chadron State Park just in time for the rain to hit again...so we decided to settle in and watch a movie. Half way through Bourne Identity Patrick said "What is this?" I looked over and saw a HUGE tic on his arm!!!!! GROSS...it still gives me the shivers...

Joy came in the morning!!!

2008-06-09T00:56:00.000-04:00

Sunday! Thank God we made it through the night. On our way into Lincoln to tour the city and get our tickets to the Lincoln Saltdog game we passed a huge freight trane interchange - OK so it wasn't a tornado I heard in the distance last night, but it could have been! We saw Haymarket Park where Patrick played in 2002, the home he stayed in, University of Nebraska campus and stadiums, the capitol building, the historic downtown area, and ate at Lazlo's; a really cute restaurant downtown. At the game, Patrick was happy to see Jeanette, the office manager for the Saltdogs and Mark Goodman a pitcher he played with in San Angelo, TX who was there running the video for the Saltdog game...small world! The game went into "overtime" - JUST KIDDING BASEBALL FANS - the game went into EXTRA INNINGS and we left before the end...I was starving and we had to get back to Sasha who was chilling back at the camper! No more rain and a peaceful night sleep awaited us!

It's a known fact that tornadoes sound like trains...

2008-06-08T00:55:00.002-04:00

We pulled into Pawnee State Park in Lincoln, NE around 9:30 pm and still had to "set up camp". As soon as the camper was set up, the rains came...We went to sleep and I woke up about 1:30 am to booming thunder, flashing lighting, and hurricane force winds! The canvas on the camper was sucked upward by the wind, then pushed in by the wind...the top rocked side to side and the sound of a freight train was looming in the distance...I KNEW we were about to be blown away by a tornado and woke Patrick in a panic - He kindly rolled over and said "It's fine, go to sleep!" I kept "guard" for the rest of the night until about 6 am when the winds subsided...Oh sweet daylight!

That's the St. Louis Arch. The Gateway to the West.

2008-06-08T00:37:00.000-04:00

Saturday we took off early to see the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. The arch is right beside the river...we found the river raging and part of the street almost cut off. The riverside walk, stairs, and statues were all under about 8'-10' of water...It was unbelieveable! We finally climbed the 200 or so stairs to the arch and got tickets to go up 630' to the top! In order to get to the top, we had to climb through a 2'x4' door to get into a barrel type capsule to ride to the top - I wasn't crazy about this and closed my eyes most of the ride up. Once we got to the top it was wild! You can see out for over 30 miles and can feel the arch swaying in the breeze. Less than 5 minutes up there and that barrel down was calling my name! Here are some pictures of the view from the top of the arch. This was just the begining of our day! We had to make it to Lincoln, Nebraska by nightfall; 8 hours away. As we passed through Kansas City, we saw the Kansas City Royals Stadium and the KC Chiefs Stadium.

Don't judge a book by it's cover...or a town by it's Name

2008-06-07T00:30:00.000-04:00

Friday morning we headed toward St. Louis, Missouri. About 6 hours into the trip we got a warning call about tornadoes in the St. Louis area so we decided to stop short in Paducah, Kentucky...Sounds a little scary, but the town was actually amazing! We went downtown to the riverside and historic disctricts. Murals were painted along the seawall that was actually near an old fort used during the Civil War. We ate at a restaurant called Toucan's and walked/drove around the art district. The artists there are given a house for free by the City of Paducah if they commit to restoring the home and opening a gallery on the first floor. The rest of the home is theirs-most of the homes were 3 floors! Seems like a good deal to me! That night Sasha and her daddy surfed the web together!

Take me out the ball game...CLUB LEVEL!

2008-06-06T00:23:00.000-04:00

First stop, Atlanta, Ga to see our friends Cody & Katie. They just moved into their new house, like 2 days ago and still set us up with an AWESOME bed and even let Sasha stay inside! They had some great connections and got us tickets to the Braves Game, Club Level! We saw Chipper Jones hit his 400th home run - and that's about all Katie and I saw because we had soooo much to catch up on!

Hitting the Road!

2008-06-05T00:17:00.000-04:00

June 4th we're finally ready to get on the road with our camper in tow...This is going to be interesting!