Beast in the Middle East

Good rhyming, huh? Anyway, people always are asking us how my dad is doing over in the war. So, I will frequently post updates and pictures as he sends them along. Yesterday, my dad sent me this picture taken in front of a hospital bus. The bus takes the hospital employees to and from work. These men are some of his new friends over in Afghanistan. The older man with the beard is an internist and the younger man next to him is an anesthesiologist. My dad is incredible at creating trusting relationships, caring for people, and planning and organizing a successful working environment. You can be sure he is making a difference for the better in Afghanistan. We're so proud of you!!! You're our hero!

It's a miracle

Outside early this morning, we were sitting on the porch drinking our coffee, and Jack ran down to the flowerbeds in front of the house. He said, "OOOOOh my gooooodnesssss, you're not going to believe this, but the mulch has turned into grass!!!" Jon looked at him and said, "They're called weeds!"

Jack likes to cut the weeds...maybe we don't let him use scissors enough.

Girls are good lunchers

Jack wanted us to play pirates with him after dinner tonight, so we took his pirate ship and chosen pirates outside on the front porch to play. He gave Jon the knight and gave me the woman with the "pot".

Jack: Daddy, here is your knight, and Mommy, here is your girl with the pot.

Angie: What is the pot for?

Jack: So your girl can go in the kitchen and fix us some lunch?

Angie: What if she doesn't want to fix lunch? What if she wants to swim with the rest of the pirates?

Jack: Well...Mommy...girls are just good lunchers and boys are not good lunchers. Now can you go make the boys some garlic soup?

Z is for Zoo

Today was zoo day for the Tyners, Rhotons, and Millers. The stars were aligned and all three guys were off work today, so we had to plan something. Will and Elin came along too, but the low battery light on my camera came on about 10 minutes in the front gate. Typical. But we had a great time.

Our new favorite thing

Drinking coffee on the porch in the morning.

7566 Miles (to be exact)

Jack asked us how far away the desert is where Poppy is camping. Poppy sent us this picture taken from right outside his camp. Mileage to Pensacola, of course.

Mail from Knoxville to Afghanistan

Dear Poppy,
I hope you have a great trip today. I hope the snakes don't get you and have a great morning and night. I'm giving you a great big kiss from me. Give your friends a big hug for me. Be careful because the camels might bite you. Don't let the camels spit on you. The desert is a long way from Knoxville and Pensacola. I played at Hudson's and I goed to church, and learned in my class, and I hope I have good dreams, and I hope you have good dreams too. And a good breakfast. Have a safe trip and sleep good today.
I love you Poppy! I love you so much.
Jack

JT/at

The one that didn't get away

Jack may be the new best fisherman in our house.

So you think you can dance?

Well, not us. Our friend Ashley let us borrow her Dance Dance Revolution game for Wii. We tried it. Unsuccessful. It gave us a grade of D actually.

The Golden Tooth

While I was making dinner a few nights ago, Jack ran over to his chair, grabbed a piece of corn and put it on his tooth, and said, "Look at my new golden tooth!"

The Stick Game

Tonight, we went out to dinner with our friends Tim and Jenny and baby Elin. Jack adores Elin.

After dinner and walking, the boys decided to play the stick game. They each chose a stick, tossed it into the stream, and then watched patiently to see which stick flowed the fastest down the stream. Jack carefully watched his stick, then decided he didn't want it to flow away, so brave Tim rescued the stick before vanishing under the bridge.

Then Jon and Tim went out dancing.



The End.

New Olympic Event

Happy Birthday Kate!

We celebrated Kate's 3rd birthday this afternoon...a Pink Princess Pool Party... as soon as Jon flew in.

Sarah, my sister and her husband, Phillip, my mom, Jon, Big Mama, Diane (my aunt), and the kids all came to the party dressed up in tiaras, feathers, and pearls. Oh, and did I mention Poppy was there? Copy Poppy, I mean. We had him laminated so he'll last all year long. He didn't want to miss the party.



Happy Birthday Kate and we miss you Poppy, but at least you ate some cake. He he!

Family Pictures? Yeah, right.

Maybe we'll try again tomorrow.

Reunited Cousins

Hannah, Kate, and Jack.  Just happy to see each other!

It's hard to be humble

The story begins:  Jon dressed Jack at the church in time for pictures.  The photographer running a little behind.  Time to kill.

Jon:  Jack, you sure look sharp!

Angie:  Jack, you look SO handsome!

Jack walks up to Memaw (groom's grandmother) and says:  I sure look sharp.

Jack walks up to another guest who arrived early and says:  I look sharp, don't I?

Jon:  Jack, you don't say nice things about yourself.  You wait for others to say nice things about you and then say thank you.  You need to be humble.  

Jack:  Okay, Daddy.  Sorry.

Jack thinks for a minute and walks up to someone else he doesn't know and says:  How do I look???

Trendy Duck

There was a small duck pond right next to our hotel in Highlands, NC. While Jon was ironing our clothes, Jack and I went to go feed the ducks. FYI - Ducks do not like potato chips, but that was all we had. We saw this duck, and it reminded us of someone...

Hmmm, maybe...

OR

Wedding Weekend in Highlands

This past weekend, we attended a wedding in Highlands, NC. What a beautiful place. The altitude there is 4100 ft. Now I am 100% a beach girl, but after this weekend in Highlands, I've lowered my percentage to 99%. I'd love to go back and visit there. It's like the "Seaside" of the mountains.

Anyway, our great friend, Amon, from college got married. Jon performed the wedding and Jack was, once again, the ringbearer. We drove up Friday afternoon, attended the rehearsal, and then rode a shuttle further up the mountain to Amon's grandparents' mountain house for the rehearsal dinner. We ate outside on the upper balcony. I LOVE to eat outside and Jon HATES it, but since we had an incredible view, cool weather, delicious food, and no other option, he had a great time. Jack was not feeling so well, and sat in my lap all through dinner, so we had to give up on the incredible family picture we could of had. Instead, Jon and Amon had their picture made. It reminded me of another picture I have of them from a college trip to France.

Not fair.

The next morning, Jack woke up with the sunrise at 6:30, and since the continental breakfast at the hotel didn't start until 8:00, we opted to venture out into town and find a breakfast place and bum around town for the rest of the morning.

Excuse me, but I believe he ordered the giant banana pancake.

All in all, we had a great weekend, Jack and Jon both did a great job, and we made it back home safely.