Update, huh?

Yeah, just got back from a BBQ at my old neighbor's house... Have a house FULL of kids, and life goes on... :)

We are still trying to find the right home/area to move to down in Jacksonville, but making progress... I suppose we will be down there in the next month or so, and I cannot wait!

I will be glad when this is all over though so I can just concentrate on my career and other things, I'm tired of moving, but I am SO glad we decided to move out of that other house, that house drained me for ten years, time to start doing something other than building and remodeling. Whew!

So yeah, not much of an update, but I'll have one soon... ;)

Jacksonville Bound...

Well, back from Jacksonville, long drive... :) We had a great time though, and are planning to move there, so let the fun begin! I AM glad we moved here first though, because it took us months to sort through all the crap we had accumulated living at 415 Grist Mill Drive for 10 years. SO glad that is over! Now just have to find a house in Jacksonville, we have found many we like, and now we'll start the process... We are all very excited about it though, and can't wait to be down there to be honest, I have wanted to move to FL for years, now I am finally going... The GE facility I will be working at down there is in a very quiet and nice office park, so the work accomodations, they already have me a cubicle down there, will be nice. The school district we are looking in, good schools, so that is great...

Now we just have to move basically, after we find the house we want, so I'm sure I'll be busy over the next few months. We plan to be down there in the next few months, hopefully the sooner the better... :)

A few more pics from our trip...

Taylor and I on the beach this AM, we left the hotel at about 6:30AM to get out early, spent about two hours out there looking for shells and riding the boogie boards... Taylor loves it down there, the boys? Yeah, they wanted to sleep, so we left them at the hotel, they were still sleeping when we got back... :)

Carolyn and I this AM, there is nothing better than strolling on the beach in the AM, we LOVE it!!!

Sunrise on the beach the other day, it is so beautiful!

We were out yesterday, and this guy was trying to get that contraption going, it is a kite basically that hooks to a ski of sorts, and you skim across the water with it, he had brought the wrong pieces, I tried to help him get it launched, but it wouldn't work. I'm getting one if we move down there... :)

This was me for two whole days out there, I mistakenly started a Sidney Sheldon novel, and I cannot put his books down, so I read it in two days, and of course, the next day, I started a Jack Higgins novel, and could NOT put it down and finished it in one day! I think that is the first time I have ever started and finished a novel on the same day, ah, the beach... :)

So yeah, we are moving again, but we all are looking forward to it, we are tired of the area we currently live, time to move on. I'm amazed I have lived here as long as I have, I have the "rambling fever"... :) Yeah, time to move on... Keep reading, I'll keep posting details... ;)

Jacksonville...

I think we have all decided that this is the place to be, as opposed to where we currently live anyway... :)

Taylor and I on the beach yesterday...

Chance and Taylor on the dunes...

Tanner at the end of the pier...

Carolyn and I this AM out for a stroll in the surf, which is quite nice I might add...

Me, after a swim in the ocean...

So now, off to do more exploring and bask in the sun on the beach...

415 Grist Mill Drive...

Several of our neighbors called us this AM and said it looked like our mail box had exploded... So I came home from work and wow...

Yeah, pretty much obliterated...

I'm surprised that was still intact, the one on the other side, the 4, 1 and 5 were halfway down the street...

They must have been going pretty fast, notice how far down the street on the other side of the driveway the bricks are...

So anyway, we called the police, while waiting on them, we found several car pieces that identified the vehicle as a Volvo, one of our neighbors stopped by and said he saw a white volvo going back in the opposite direct with extensive front end damage... They could have left a note! Oh well, we have half of the neighborhood on the lookout for a white volvo, as well as the Paulding County Sheriff's office...

Lake...

Well, I didn't go, but the kids went with our old neighbors to the lake for some fun and relaxation in the 93+ degree weather, while they were doing that, Carolyn and I were busting our asses over at Cory's house helping him get a few things done he needed help with... :)

Taylor at the wheel of the pontoon boat...

Relaxing on the boat...

Chance, Tanner and TJ, buds hanging out at the lake...

Ditto...

Happy Independence Day!!

Six Flags...

I really am not a fan of amusement parks, but my kids LOVE them, so I go... :) This is what Chance wanted to do for his birthday, so off I went with six kids in tow...

The guys all ran off when we got there, so it was Taylor and I together...

Taylor LOVED it, the last time she went was for my company outing in 2003, so she does not remember it, but of course now she wants to go back every day... :)

We did occassionally run into the guys during the day, ran into Chance and two of his friends at the Scream Machine... I remember riding that thing when I was a teenager, I think it was built in the 70's though, so it has been around a while.

And of course we ran into Tanner and Nate twice during the day, this time at Goliath, which was Taylor's favorite ride, she dragged me onto that thing at least 5 or 6 times... :)

We had a good time though, now off to help a friend of mine cut up a tree and install a sink. Fireworks tonight and a picnic and swimming at the lake tomorrow, I love long weekends!

Happy Birthday Chance...

Today was Chance's birthday, I love doing things for these kids on their birthdays! So first stop was Texas Roadhouse for dinner, Chance and his love for steaks... :) I actually bought him one for lunch too, which Carolyn made for him... That boy LOVES ribeyes smothered with A-1 sauce, so had it he did...

Trying to take a pic at the Texas Roadhouse, Tanner wasn't cooperating... :)

Once we got back to the house, the people who came over for the cake... Just missing Carolyn and myself... I'm sure we were taking pics, well, I wasn't, but Carolyn was... :)

I just love to see their faces when they open their gifts...

Yeah, these are not in order... Chance about to blow out his candles... :)

Everyone at the birthday dinner, well, except me, but I had to take the pic... :)

Great day!! I just love my kids birthdays, they make me happy. We will go to Six Flags with his friends and us of course on Saturday for the finale... Should be fun, I really am not a fan of Six Flags, but Chance is, so, yeah, that is where we will go... :)

Father's Day...

What a wonderful day! A continuation of Taylor's birthday celebration and Father's Day! We had a great time once again. Now that I no longer will be remodeling, we will have many trips such as this. We had a great weekend together as a family, and we will have many more, God willing... :)

Me and my fabulous children at the top of Stone Mountain! I love these kids more than life! The only one missing is Cory, and I love him just as much!

My lovely wife bought me a new iPod for Father's Day, which is great because my other one died, and who can be without one?? Thank you Darling!!!

I just LOVE the notes my children write me in the cards they give me, who could ask for more wonderful children than the ones I have?? I love them all dearly!

My first born son, I love that boy! I love them all though, what a wonderful life I live!!

Me and my wonderful, lovely wife Carolyn! I lucked out snagging this woman! She is my soul mate, my friend, my confidant! There are not too many people who could deal with me, Carolyn not only does, but we are perfect for each other! We were meant to be together! I love you honey!

Stone Mountain...

So Taylor decided that instead of having all her friends over for a birthday party, she wanted to go to Stone Mountain and spend the night. LUCKILY they did not want to camp, so we stayed at the Marriott inside the park instead. These pictures are not in any sort of order as blogger is not copperating... :)

The guitar Taylor wanted for her birthday...

Cookie cake Taylor wanted instead of a regular birthday cake... I actually ate a piece of it, I normally do not eat cake...

Birthday cookout and party... It started pouring down rain right as we were finished! Whew!

The "grill" was a challenge to say the least, luckily the hotdogs were precooked... It was good anyway... :)

Our lunch picnic, which was the first thing we did when we arrived at the park, which was also rather tasty, and a LOT cheaper and better than the food you buy at the park itself... :)

Now, off we go to do some swimming, mountain climbing, riverboat cruise, etc... Oh yeah, and also a Father's Day picnic lunch somewhere, wherever we happen to find a free picnic table I suppose... :)

Happy Tenth Birthday Taylor!!

I can't believe my sweet little angel is ten!?! Where did the time go? It does fly by though, that is for sure. I suppose I'll blink again and be walking her down the aisle... sigh. I can say that it has been a WONDERFUL ten years watching my baby grow up, and I am looking forward to the next ten with great pleasure! Happy Birthday Sweetheart! I Love You!

She was going to have a birthday party, but decided instead she wanted to go to Stone Mountain for the weekend, so go we will. We will be staying at the Evergreen Marriott Conference Resort located inside Stone Mountain Park, so I'm sure we will have a great time this weekend doing that and doing all of the activities there are these days at the Park. Luckily she also wanted a new digital camera, so I might actually have a few decent pics to post next week... :)

Chance and Tanner are still at Tybee Island and return tomorrow, so today we took Taylor out to Longhorn for dinner...

Taylor and Carolyn

No, my kids no longer order off of the kids menu, and I usually have to tell the host or hostess that we all need adult menus, or just grab them for the kids myself... :)

Me and my Princess!

The Grand Finale, for today anyway...

Carolyn and Taylor are watching the Justin Beiber movie right now, yeah, I had to pass on that activity... I don't think I have ever watched a kid movie with my children and I don't understand people who do. But that is just me... :)

Last Day Of School...

Taylor and her teacher...

Taylor wrote this note on the whiteboard in her classroom, and I agree! Her teacher was GREAT!

Easter...

Taylor looking for eggs...

Kids with their loot after the hunt...

I'd put more pictures up, but my camera SUCKS! Sigh...

School Pics...

Chance

Tanner

Taylor

Spring...

I think Spring is FINALLY here! Of course it is still rather nippy in the AM, which means I have to change from jeans to shorts around lunchtime... Oh well, I still love it, but I am looking forward to 90 degree weather! :)

We decided to modify the little patio area out in front of the house, looks great I think. Yes, Carolyn did the vast majority of the work, including transplanting those leylands from back by the pool where they were getting smothered by the other plants back there...

This corner as you pull in the driveway was a constant nightmare, we never have been able to get grass to grow there, so decided to just make the entire corner a bed... Also turned out great, and yes, Carolyn did all the planting there too... :)

It is too bad that the dogwoods and azaleas only bloom for a few weeks, but they are pretty when they are in bloom... What is the wheelbarrow doing there? Next pic... :)

Some jackass ran over the drain I had installed there years ago, of course it very likely could have been me... :) Anyway, I finally dug it up and put in a new one. Without it, that area becomes a muddy mess when it rains... So back in business there...

Yes, we also have more puppies, sigh. Of course last night someone came and bought them all but one and that one we are giving away to one of our friends, so thankfully getting rid of them this time was super easy... :)