Hodgepodge of Happenings

Hodge podge (noun) - jumble - a collection of things that do not belong together.
      I felt "Hodgepodge" was an appropriate title for this blog since there is not a common thread to tie most of these events and pictures together. Life in general is like a hodgepodge of people, circumstances, blessings, accidents, events and so much more. But when you put them all together, it creates the hodgepodge of our lives.


Nate realizing who all was in on the surprise.

 Over the summer Leon and I stayed busy visiting our friends and family. Our first fun event was a surprise birthday party for Leon's friend Nate at the Biscuit's baseball game. Nate's 25th birthday was in May and his sweet girlfriend Amy decided to surprise him. She was very sneeky and Nate didn't suspect any thing. Amy told Nate they were going to the Biscuit's game, but that it was going to be just the two of them because no one else was able to go. Little did Nate know, that when he walked to their seats, his parents, and several friends were there waiting to wish him a very Happy Birthday! He was completely surprised! But, that's not all. During one of the breaks betweening innings, Nate got to go out on the field with Big Mo (the mascot) and have the entire stadium sing Happy Birthday to him! I think Amy earned extra brownie points and girlfriend of the year and every one had a wonderful time!

The following are a few pictures from several other events in May.



My cousin, Clint Justice, Prattville H.S. c/o 2010.


 

My poor car after being rear-ended at a red light.



Penny, doing what she does best, hanging out!

Also, during the month of May, we went to the lake a few times with our family and friends. One of our most fun trips was to Lake Martin with our friends Dave and Ashley Corwin. Dave's parents live on the like and were kind enough to invite us up on several occassions. On this particular occassion we loaded up the boat on a bright and sunshining afternoon and headed over to Chimney Rock (this implies the shape, no need to explain this).



Chimney Rock (photo courtesy Wikipedia)



 If you're not familiar with "the rock" let me try to explain it to you as best I can. In the middle of the lake there is a small rocky island  with some rather large rock "cliffs". These cliffs intice the local daredevils to climb up and take a leap off the ledge and for the artist in you, spray painting the rock is a favorite as well. Now, for those of you not quite daring enough to jump off the top of the roughly 60 foot tall rocks, don't worry, "chicken rock" is only about 20 feet or so high and offers a more comfortable landing than that of actual chimney rock. But, as you can imagine, chimeny rock is quite a draw for people from all over. I think it is like the Sirens, in Gullaver's Travels or maybe it's Homer's The Odessey, that draw you in and call out your name so that you can't resist their temptation. Because there are every type of person imaginable jumping from Chimney Rock. It's a great place to anchor your boat and watch all the "brave" people take a leap into the lake and also listen to grown mean scream like little girls!



The boys "enjoying" some tubing!



Ashley and me showing them how to ride the Viper!



Now, one of my favorite things to have while on the lake, or anytime for that matter, are boiled peanuts! Yummy! It makes my mouth water just thinking about it. There is a boat that drives around near chimney rock that sells ice and, you guessed it, fresh, hot boiled peanuts. So of course, we got a few bags and enjoyed as we floated around in our "diaper" life jackets. After swimming around for a while we did notice it the sky starting to cloud up a bit. Well, it didn't take longer to also notice the approaching wall of rain heading our way. We packed up the boat and made a mad dash back to the Corwin's house. Despite our best efforts, we did not beat the rain. And when I say rain, I mean rain. Cats and dogs and buckets full of rain! Of course, by the time we made it back to the house the storm had passed and we were able to take out the Viper and have a little fun! Now, the viper is a tube and not just any tube. It is a highly durable, three person tube that you sit in and hold on for dear life. I'll lt the pictures explain the rest. Needless to say, we were bounced around and thrown around like little rag dolls, but we loved every minute of it! Thank you to the Corwin's for such a wonderful time. We couldn't ask for better friends!