Day 5 - Orlando to Palatka

Dec. 6th (Wednesday)

This day began with us shopping at one of the many outlets. We continued on to Altamonte Springs, where I received a personalized tour. Jeremy lived there for 5 years while he was growing up. His old house was still in one of the nice areas. It hasn’t been trashed like many other older neighborhoods. We continued back on to Palatka to stay with Nana and Papa again, since we didn’t spend a lot of time with them earlier in the week. Uncle Ron also took some time off to see us. He never takes vacation days, so imagine to our surprise he takes off when we come. Maybe we need to come down more so he won’t continue to get his computer fix and he can take some time to relax. While we stayed in Palatka, I took many pictures of Nikki – their newest Pomeranian. She is adorable and spunky! She also has a sock/shoe fettish!

Dreams Come True Parade

Vacation Day 4 - Epcot

Dec. 5th (Tuesday)

The second day of Disney was spent at Epcot. We arrived a little after 8 am, and parked at the front door. The gates were already open, which they weren’t supposed to until 9 am. So we rode the Test Track first, which was a cool ride. We were the “test dummies” and the convertible got up to 70 mph. By far one of the best rides at Disney!! We continued on all the rides first and then walked around the world part. This was more fun and relaxing of a day. My favorite part was the Candlelight Processional. The guest narrator of the day was Mario Lopez, reading the Christmas story. After that we searched for a place to eat. (You need reservations to eat anywhere nice at Epcot.) We ate at a French restaurant, Les Chefs de France, that was quite good. Then we sat and waited for the firework and light show. It was worth sticking around for.

Vacation Day 3 - Magic Kingdom

Dec. 4th (Monday)

The day began with a hot breakfast buffet that was great at Mandolin's. We paid for it with our hotel room and with taxes it ended up being like $99 a night. I would recommend staying here any time; they are continuing to renovate the whole hotel.

Now the magic begins…we started our 2 days of Disney World at the Magic Kingdom. There we parked and rode the shuttle to the front gate. We arrive 20 minutes prior to opening. At 8:50 am, Disney had a pre-gate opening show. There was singing and dancing while the train pulled up with the original Disney characters: Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, etc. At precisely 9 am, the gates opened and we took off to the rides. First was Space Mountain and on the fast rides until we had covered all that we wanted to by noon. We ate lunch and then progressed to some of the slower rides, catching a few favorite fast rides along the way too.

We caught the parade at 3 pm, which was kind of a let down. I had been 13 years ago and the Christmas parade was during the day. Now it costs extra and is after they close the park. It was a short parade too. I love parades and this wasn’t fun like others.

That night we left around 5 pm, and headed to the hotel to rest before eating at the Crab House. I of course ate crab legs, 1 ¼ lbs to be exact, and they were really good.

Vacation Days 1-2

Day One –Dec. 2nd (Saturday)

We began our day early Saturday morning and hit the road for the long journey to Jacksonville FL. It took 7 hours to Jeremy’s grandmother’s house. There we had dinner with Grannie, Aunt Vickie, Uncle Mark, Aaron, Chris, and Jacob. I got to meet part of the family that I hadn’t met. We had a good time of talking and eating LOTS! Mark cooked a delicious meal with steaks, shrimp, potatoes, corn, and much more. We needed a nap after leaving there. That night we left to stay with Jeremy’s other grandparents – Nana and Papa.

Day Two –Dec. 3rd (Sunday)

It was a little bit later of a start this morning as we headed out to Orlando. There we met our friends David and Kelli for dinner at Uno’s and some shopping at the outlets. It is always nice to be able to see them. They currently live in Tampa and were in Orlando doing lots of Christmas shopping. After dinner we went to check in to our hotel for a few days – the Radisson Inn right off the Disney Magic Kingdom exit.

Iron Bowl

Gatlinburg

Two weekends ago, Jeremy & I went to visit our friends Ben & Christy up in Maryville, TN. That Saturday we were able to visit Gatlinburg since it is about 30 minutes away. We had a great time of eating at the Applewood Restaurant where we were stuffed by the time our entrees got there. Here is a little info about the restaurant.

Surrounded by acres of apple trees, the Original Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant is beautifully quaint, and modestly priced. If you long for the best country cooking in the South look no further. We begin each meal with our delicious homemade Apple Fritters, so good, people take them home in sacks. And be sure to try our special Southern fried chicken. Discover country charm and the magic of apples for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We extend a special invitation for you to stop by and visit our fourth Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant located at the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains Natioanl Park in Gatlinburg.

After we ate, we browsed the stores around the town. We came across the perfect photo opt in front of one of the stores...a giant-size rocking chair.

Jeremy & Wendy

Ben & Christy














Jeremy & Ben

Trick or Treat Animal Style

Jeremy sent me this and I thought I would share it with you all. Have a Happy Halloween!

Get Your Own! View Slideshow

War Eagle! Tigers Beat Gators!

So Jeremy & I went to the Auburn v. Florida game this past weekend. It was insane! Everyone was so fired up and pumped up. The first half was just okay. The second half of the game was Awesome! I can't believe how good our defense was this week compared to the previous weeks. We definitely deserve to move up a little in the polls. Final Score 27-17

Whew! We Won & We're Relieved!

Jeremy at Toomer's Corner

Me at Toomer's Corner

The Field After the Game

Auburn Wins Again

So it has been crazy with Auburn moving up in the polls since beating LSU. Hard to believe that we are back on top again, and striving for that National Championship. With a few more games like this, we will definitely be on our way. Jeremy and I went to the Auburn v. LSU game on Saturday. What a game!

Kelli & Wendy at our Tailgating spot

Jonathan W., David, Jeremy & Jonathan S. in front of Cole Bennett's (#87) family's RV

Babies, Babies, Everywhere

Well it seems that the baby boom has taken a short break from our Sunday School class. Kimberly had Jax a few days ago on Sept. 8th, the day after my birthday. Our friend Becky, who is a truly gifted photographer, has been busy taken pictures of all the babies that have been born recently. Below are the weblinks to Jax's page and Becky's temporary page. She is working on a more professional page that should be out by the end of the year. Check them out.

Jaxon Wade Lombard

Becky Abernathy

Here is one of my favorites:

More Auburn Pictures

At the game after the rain. Can't you tell by my curly hair?

The flight of the eagle.

WAAAAAR EAGLE! HEY!

The eagle has landed!

Pre-Game Festivities

Pre-Game Festivities

The upside down eagle for the national anthem

Final Score: Auburn 40 - Washington St 14

Rolling Toomer's Corner

Rolling Toomer's Corner

WA-A-A-R EAGLE!!!

This weekend was the season opener for Auburn against Washington State. It was off to a slow start but ended great with Auburn winning 40-14. I believe the curse is gone on our season opener. Like all Auburn home game weekends, Jeremy & I went down to Auburn early to help with the tailgating spot. We had a nice group of family and friends to tailgate and of course we celebrated my birthday early. Here are some snapshots of this weekend.

Ferrie's Mom, Nina (My Mom), Allison (Jon's Girlfriend)














Jim (Uncle), Diane (Aunt), Billy (Dad), Drew(Cousin), Jeff (Cousin), Ferrie (Cousin), Ferrie's Mom, Nina














Coliseum Game Day Activities













Wendy, Jeremy, Brittany, Charlie













Drew, Jeff, Ferrie

Update on Back to School Blast

Sorry for not posting this sooner, but I couldn't find the sheet with all the information on it.

8,000 Attendance
400+ Haircuts
500+ Dental Exams
386 Hearing Exams
165 Scoliosis Screenings
230 Car Inspections
4,000 Backpacks
600+ Volunteers

Vacationing at Seagrove Beach - Part 2

I couldn't put up all the pictures in the last blog, so I am adding them now.

The Pensione is one of the few bed and breakfast places around. Their website is awesome and has great pictures of Rosemary Beach.


















The Cocina Pool where Shana & Jeff's rehearsal dinner was held.

Rosemary Town Hall is where they were married. It serves as a church on Wednesday nights and Sundays.

Vacationing at Seagrove Beach

This past week, Jeremy and I went down to Seagrove Beach, which is located halfway between Destin and Panama City. Lynette was down there from Sunday to Sunday, but we only were there from Wednesday to Sunday.

The whole time we were there, the sun was out and HOT. I couldn't walk outside without getting frizzy headed. The first couple of days there, the water looked like you were at a Caribbean island. It was so clear that you could see the bottom for a good ways out. We saw 4 dolphins swimming along the shore and several schools of fish. One school was even jumping out of the water, which made the birds dive down to try to catch them. It was almost as if we had visited Sea World.


Me at the Beach


Jeremy at the Beach


Rosemary Beach - The place where Shana & Jeff had their reception.

One of the many areas of shops















Of course we ate some of the freshest seafood around while we were there. The Crab Trap has become one of our absolute favorites. I can't get enough of the shrimp and crab legs. We also went to AJ's, McGuire's Irish Pub, and Florida Bar & Grill. AJ's is just a hip place to be for our age. They usually have live bands every night during the summer time. McGuire's is known for there Irish Wake, which is of course green. It also has thousands of dollar bills plastered to the walls and ceiling with the person leaving a message on it. The Florida Bar & Grill (off of Hwy 30-A) had recently opened. It is on the pricier end, but well worth it. However, the dessert portion was too small for the price. So I would recommend you skip that and head to another restaurant for something bigger & more filling.

Back to School Blast

This weekend is the annual Back to School Blast at Metropolitan Church of God. Several hundred of people from the church will be volunteering, including Jeremy and myself. Last year they gave out more than 2,000 backpacks filled with school supplies, several eye exams, hearing tests, haircuts, etc. This year 4,000 backpacks have been stuff and ready to go. We find out our assignments tonight at church and the event will be tomorrow from 8 am - 1 pm.

There is some fun with the inflatable games and skits. I do know that the gospel will be presented several times during skits. There will also be an evangelical team that will be walking around praying for and with those who show up.

Pirates

This past weekend we went to the movies to see "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest". I like the movie a lot. In my opinion the first was better because it had more of a plot. Jeremy liked this one simply for the fact that it had a lot more action. All in all it was set up as a bridge between the first and third ones. I can't wait for the third one to come out.

Here are some pictures taken off of msn movies website of scenes from the movie:

Finally SOLD!

After Jeremy's parents finalized their divorce, the house went up for sale last September. Earlier this week they finally had an offer on the table that was reasonable. So the people want to move in the house asap, which means Lynette has less than 2 weeks to move out. They actually close on the house on July 14th and the new owners want possession immediately. I am helping Lynette this weekend to pack up and get ready for the movers to take her to her apartment. She will be in the apartment until her house is ready, which hopefully will be by Christmas this year. It will be fun for her to pick out new stuff for the house. I wish I had a new house to decorate (and the money to do so).

All in Days of Fun

Is it Wednesday already? Where does the time go? I know that I sure could use another weekend to catch up on some much needed sleep.

Last Friday, Jeremy & I met up with some friends, Caleb & Maria, at Cocina Superior. It is a great TexMex restaurant for the under 40 crowd.






Afterwards we went to see the movie, Click, starring Adam Sandler, Kate Beckinsdale and Christopher Walken. It was definitely a good movie, but could be viewed as a rental-type. Most of the critics didn’t like it because it is typical of a Sandler movie. But it did have a great message running in the story line that is prevalent to most of us who have a fast-paced life.

The rest of the weekend was a blur of us doing house work and yard work. It did finally rain on Monday, which we are thrilled about. We had been 3+ weeks without any rain. (Sure it had rained in downtown B’ham, but not so much as a drop at our house.) But with the rain came horrible wind. I had just gotten home on Monday and emptied the car of the groceries when the rain came down. Then came the wind which was worse than any hurricane winds we have ever had. I heard a loud thud hit the house. I scrambled to put some old clothes on and flip-flops to see what had happened. The rain was pounding on the front door and I really didn’t want to get wet, but I did. The thud was the teak wood chairs on our front porch hitting the house. One chair had already made it across the street and the other was in the yard. I scrambled to get them back on the porch and against the wall, when I saw the break. The side that holds up the back of one chair was completely broken. I was not happy since this was my birthday present last year. It hadn’t made it a whole year before being broken!


Last night we ate dinner with Caleb & Maria again and then went to see the Birmingham’s annual “Thunder on the Mountain” fireworks show launched from Vulcan Park. I have only been once before but this year was kind of crappy. The music was very hick-ish and the fireworks lasted under 20 minutes. Then it took us forever to get home since there was a huge turn out. It was like leaving an Auburn football game. I think next year we will try to go back to Lake Martin if at all possible.