Catching Up

Well, I know I'm as much to blame as anyone, but I really miss the good old days of frequent blogging. Facebook doesn't cut it for me and Twitter makes it too had to be either clever or sincere in 140 characters or less. Therefore, I'm recommitting myself to this blog. Here's what's been going on for me over the past few months:

We sold our house and moved out in August. After only a couple of months of trying FSBO we were about to give up and get an agent when, Lo and Behold we got a contract. We're currently living with my parents and hope to start building on our lot, at Summer Lake, soon.

Cub Scouts has started back. Grant is a Webelos II and I'm back as a Webelos Den Leader. Grant and Jennifer got to go Scuba Diving with the Boy Scouts at the Lexington Country Club pool, a couple of weekends ago. We also went on a Pack mountain biking trip at Harbison State Park for IMBA's "Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day" last weekend. It's going to be a great year for scouting.

The kids and Jennifer are Home Schooling again. It's a little tougher to do without a home. All three are taking Tennis classes on Fridays.

Blythe is taking a Hip Hop class with her new friend, Harper.

Of course, we're still hyperactive in church, with Praise Band, children's ministries, concert committee, Upward Basketball , and Upward Cheer leading. We're also now leading a Wednesday night Small Group discussing the Nooma videos, by Rob Bell. We also had Steve Fee and band in concert last month and it ROCKED!

My work has been crazy busy, with new business proposals, security audits, a HUGE project underway, and other insanity. We're starting to get serious about using Social Networking as a communications media, which is really exciting.

Last week I was in Baltimore for work and ate approximately 20 pounds of crab in 3 days.

Last night we went to see "Walking with Dinosaurs" at Colonial Life Arena. It was excellent and the dinos were very realistic.

So life is good. Still busy, but I'm really blessed. I'm hoping to reconnect with some old blogger pals (and some non-bloggers) and spend more time with my family.

A Busy Bee...Again.

I haven't had a lot of time to blog lately, so I thought I'd take a moment to catch everyone up on my goings on.

Since my last post, Jennifer and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary by sending to kids to Asbury Hills Camp for a week while we spent a night and the following day at the Grove Park Inn and Spa. Then we headed to Montreat for another day and evening before returning home for a couple of busy days of work before returning to get the kids. While we were home we were also negotiating a conter offer for a contract on our house from some very interested potential buyers. At the end of the week we picked up the kids (with their ear infections) and returned home only to pack for North Myrtle Beach. My in-laws had a condo there for several days to celebrate Big Daddy's 60th birthday. Unfortunately, I had a business trip to Baltimore for 4 days, so I only got to stay at the beach for 1 night, which I spent in the Grand Strand Regional Emergency Room with Jennifer and Grant getting staples in Grant's head after a skim board accident.

I got a call from the buyer's realtor before my flight left letting us know that tehy accepted our counter offer and our contract was final. After a nightmare return trip from Baltimore last Thursday morning, we had to start planning our move out before the end of the month. We've also had a few repairs to attend to, thanks to a very thorough home inspector. Meanwhile, we haven't had a chance to work with any builder about building our new house yet. In the interim we are preparing to move into the vacant wing of my parents home. Yes, at age 41 I'm moving back in with my parents. Maybe I should have the next 6-8 months filmed for some kind of reality show. Now, I'm off to pack another box.

Band Reunion at the Lake 2009

Last weekend my old Children at Heart band mates and our families got together at the Mynatt' Lake house just outside of Atlanta. Greg was there with his new bride and their now-expanding family, so we had a little belated wedding shower for them. Mike and his family couldn't make it because he's been on two back to back youth mission trips lately with his new job. We missed them. However, the weather was beautiful and it was a great chance to catch up with everyone and just chill out. A good time was had by all. Here's some pics.

Returning to Nashville

Last weekend we traveled up to Nashville to attend Monica and Gabe's wedding. They were high schoolers back when we helped with the church's youth group and Sonshine choir. It was great to see so many former youth all grown up and married and all. The wedding was at our old church. Blythe caught the bouquet.

On the way up we stopped at Chickamauga Battlefield and made our way to the marker where our ancestor, George Schumpert, most likely fell in battle. This was the same spot where we took my grandfather in August 2007.

Our pal, Greg, and his daughter, Noel, were gracious hosts and competitive Wii players. We also got to have dinner with the Linney family and catch up just like old times. Sadly we didn't get to see all our old friends, but it was a busy weekend and perhaps too close to Christmas to see everyone.

Our old house looked terrible, which was sad, but Nashville has grown and changed alot. Nevertheless, within less than a day I was ready to be home, back in good old SC. Not sure when THAT happened, but it was a comforting realization.

Sleep over on the USS Yorktown

December has been a really busy month for us and I haven't had a chance to blog much, but I intend to make up for it.


A couple of weekends ago we spent two nights aboard the USS Yorktown, in Charleston, SC, with Grant's Cub Scout Pack. It was cold and the quarters were crowded, but it was a fun experience for the whole family. We took a boat over to Fort Sumter where we got to help raise a historical flag and then tour the fort. Here are some pictures:

Ridin' the Candy Tractor

As a Thanksgiving tribute to my buddy, Kyle, I rode the tractor to my uncle's for Thanksgiving. See his post from last June if this doesn't make sense.

Weekend in NC

Last weekend we went up to Cary, NC to visit with the Greens and to attend Malana's and Eric's wedding. Below are the highlights (or "low lights"):

Above: Alan and Leslie hang out by their fire pit on a brisk August evening.

Above: Grant and Jenna create toy water crafts at Marbles science museum, in Raleigh.

Above: Blythe and Meredith make floating junk of their own.

Above: Alan in front of a section of the Berlin Wall (West Berlin side).

Above: George on the other side of the section of the Berlin Wall (East Berlin side).

Above (clockwise): Meredith, Grant, Blythe, and Jenna at Marbles (or inside the Death Star. It's hard to tell.

Above: Jennifer and Blythe broiling at the outdoor wedding. It was beautiful though.

Above: Grant enjoys one of many non-alcoholic Mojitos at the wedding reception.

Above: The happy couple and their posse.

Above: Michael in the middle, with Grant and Blythe. We stopped in Fayetteville to visit our former neighbors and let the kids reunite with their old pal.

Above: George reunited with his old friend, Pedro.

Weekend at Coley's

Last weekend, we went to visit our good friends, Coley and Kim (and their kids), at their family's weekend lake house in Stonebridge, GA. We met Coley and Kim in college, a PC, and Coley and I were fellow rock-n-rollers there and later in Nashville. Good times.

Above: George and Coley enjoy refreshments on the dock.

Above: Kim and Jennifer relax on the beach.

Above: George and Coley show young Matthew how to really rock out on Rock Band. Coley is playing drums with salad spoons (just like old times.)

Webelos Waters Camp

I just got back from Webelos Waters - Scout Camp with my boy, Grant. We slept in a hot tent and walked everywhere and did lots of other fun stuff. Grant knocked out the requirements for four badges, plus some extra awards, so it was very productive. Here's some pictures:

Oh Crap!

Why you should NEVER park under an Osprey nest when you take your kid to Cub Scout Camp:

Thru-Hiking the Art Loeb Trail

Last weekend I hiked the entire Art Loeb Trail with several friends. This trail starts at the Daniel Boone Boy Scout Camp, climbs up to Cold Mountain, traverses the Shining Rock Wilderness, crosses the Blue Ridge Parkway, and eventually meanders down to the Davidson River Campground (Near Brevard). It was approximately 33.5 miles. Despite some rain and backpacks weighing in excess of 50 lbs each, we had a blast. Here are some of the highlights.

Ascending to Cold Mountain

Day 1 - Cold Mountain, as seen looking back from the Narrows of the Art Loeb Trail.

Breaking Camp in the Shining Rock Wilderness.