Safely Gathered In

I have to thank my friend Deb for putting a link on a recent post for the blog, Safely Gathered In. I have just spent the last hour reading every post that has ever been written on that blog! It is all about Preparedness-an overwhelming topic I know, but they are breaking everything down and making it seem so doable. Since the blog has only been online for 2 months we are not very far behind. Right now they are working on Car Kits and beginning a 3 month supply of food storage. There is a great plan for organizing your list to shop for a 3 month supply, a new recipe every Friday using only food storage, and tutorials for cooking/canning, etc. I can't wait to share this site with everyone-thanks Hannah & Abs for all the work.

Star Wars II-Attack of the Clones

Draven wanted to blog...I wanted to watch star wars 2 attack of the clones so daddy wanted to watch it with me at night, so I liked it!

School Prep Begins

Today the boys and I went to a couple of different stores-Big Lots & Staples to take advantage of their 1 cent sales. If you need school supplies be sure to look in the paper on Sunday because I've gotten everything we need plus some for under 25 cents each. Anyway, after the "fun" shopping trips we took Draven to get his hair cut. He asked at the beginning of the summer if he could grow his hair out like his favorite cousin, Quentin. So, we agreed that he could grow it out for the summer, but before school started he would get it cut. So, today was the day. I thought he looked grown up with long hair, but seeing him now I'm wondering where my 5 year old went!

Dave Matthews Band!!

Long awaited Concert Review...
As many of you know, we took a trip to Charleston on the July 4th weekend to visit my sister and watch our favorite band…DMB! I have been a fan of theirs since they came on the scene in the early 90’s and have been to 15 shows over the years. Of all 15 and Jennifer's 13, we can safely say without hesitation, this was the best concert we have ever witnessed….DMB or otherwise.

First of all, the concert was general admission seating and was at Joseph P Reilly Park where the Charleston Riverdogs(semi-pro baseball) play. We got there early (about 4pm), got in line with the other DMB crazies and were able to score ourselves a spot appx 6 rows from the stage….really close! It was really exciting because we had to try and outrun the other DMB crazies to get to the stage! Jennifer had made a sign earlier that day, which at the time I thought was a little silly but I didn’t hold her back or anything. On one side she put in a request for her favorite song (called #36), and on the other side she put “DMB sets us free!! Happy July 4th!” It was in red, white, and blue lettering as you can probably see from the picture.

Just before the band came out, the entire stage was covered by a HUGE screen that displayed graphics of the American Flag while playing Jimi Hendrix’s version of the star spangled banner over the speakers. After the star spangled banner, the screens lifted and DMB went into their first song, Seek Up, which has a really slow intro. As Dave stares out to the crowd and looks our way, I hold up Jenn’s sign and he gives us a smile. The really cool part is that later in the show, the camra man (who films the concert for video to display on the bigscreens) pans across the crowd and we hold up the sign again and it’s displayed on the big screens….DMB Sets us Free! At this time, the rest of the band take notice to it and are obviously smiling and talking about the sign. At the very end of the show, Dave waves to the crowd and throws his guitar picks out….he looks our way again and I hold up the sign again and he points right at us, waves, and gives us a peace sign as he walks off the stage. Carter (drummer) also comes over to our side of the stage, points to us with a drum stick and chucks one over to us…I had my hand on it but couldn’t pull it away from the 2 other guys in front of me….rrhhhhhgggg!!! Very disappointing but Jennifer consoled me with the fact that it was definitely meant for us.

Aside from the reaction we got from the band because of Jennifer’s sign, it was just an amazing show. The energy of the crowd was off the hook and the band was on fire and played a really energetic and fun show. They had 3 cover songs (which is rare for DMB)…they played Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer”, Neil Young’s “Hey Hey My My,” and another song called “Sail Away” which referenced Charleston in the song and made the crowd go nuts…this was also an independence day related song. Sledgehammer was really fun and it was a great song for them as Dave sounds very similar to Peter Gabrial. They had Tim Reynolds (phenomenal guitar player) playing electric throughout the whole show...this is another reason this show was so amazing. They don't normally have the electric guitar in the mix and he sounds great with the band. They also had a guest (Jeff Coffin from Bela Fleck and the Flecktones) on the horns that replaced Leroi Moore who was injured in an accident a few days before the show. This guy had crazy energy and was jamming all over the stage and having fun….considerably different from Leroi. I'm not a huge Neil Young fan but they rocked the house with Hey Hey, My My for the first song of the encore and then when we thought it just couldn't get any better...they closed out the night with Tripping Billies. The crazy thing is that they played the last 5 songs of the set with closing style jamming and energy.

Here is the setlist…
Seek Up
Old Dirt Hill
Best of What’s Around
Crush
You Might Die Trying
#41
Everyday
Cornbread
Sail Away (Cover Song…not sure who)
Sledgehammer (Peter Gabriel Cover)
Ants Marching
Sister
So Damn Lucky
Louisiana Bayou
Crash Into Me
So Much To Say-->
Anyone Seen the Bridge?-->
Too Much

Encore:
Hey Hey, My My (Neil Young Cover)
Tripping Billies

Anybody interested in listening to this live show or nearly any other DMB show for that matter, there is a great website that allows you to stream live DMB shows on your computer. You have to sign up but it’s totally free and totally worth it if you are a DMB fan. Here’s the link.

Aunt Lanie & Uncle Mylin's

Our next stop was my sister's place in Charleston, SC. After a long 5 hour drive from Augusta GA, we were super excited to finally arrive at our final destination. We were all so wiped out that we just ordered a pizza and hung out on the first night. Draven wasted no time in checking Aunt Lanie's DVD collection which to our surpise, included the classic 1970's TV show WONDERWOMAN!! The boys loved the show and it brought back memories for Me and Jennifer because we grew up watching it on TV. Brody always goes after Aunt Lanie's cast iron train and is content with that as long as he can keep it away from Draven. I think PJ was just happy to be somewhere for a while...we all were.

On Saturday, we all took the boys to the beach for the first time! We also got to hang out with our twin couple, the Kinney's. They, along with the Smartt's, have been pregnant and have 3 kids that are the exact same age has ours. They are pregnant again so obviously that makes Jennifer and Me a bit nervous!

The boys were so excited and had a blast playing in the surf and getting hit by waves. Throwing sand became a big hit as well as you can see in the video...it was really windy so the sound on the video is not the best.

Malt-O-Meal Coupons

I've been really working hard lately to get coupons for as many things that I buy as I can. I've been printing them online, cutting them from the paper, etc. Did you know that the Parade Magazine in the Sunday paper has coupons in it?! Anyway, today I went to the Malt-O-Meal website and printed lots of $1 off coupons. If you send a request, through the website, to stores that don't carry that brand, they'll give you a $1 off coupon for any of the cereals. Then they also had $1 coupons for 3 specific kinds of cereal. I printed 2 or 3 of each one! I have found that Malt-O-Meal is less expensive per ounce than the other cereals at the store, then with the $1 off, it is a lot less! Walmart is one place I've found it around here. Happy Shopping!

Next Stop-Birmingham

Well, with my surprise party on Sunday, we didn't leave for Birmingham until Monday. Pierce was going down there to help one of his former peers at IKON with opening a new site, and the boys and I went to visit friends and so we could just drive straight to Charleston from there-Pierce wouldn't have to come back to K-ville to pick us up. On Tuesday we met up with my friend Kelly and her 3 boys-Eli, Brandt, and Asher. We drove to the middle of nowhere and picked blueberries. It was more fun than I thought and really cheap. We paid $8 for over a gallon of organic blueberries. One funny and aggravating part was that Draven decided to be stubborn and not say he was sorry when he got in someone else's car and started playing around. So, he spent the first half of our time there sitting in the van until he said he was sorry. So, after blueberries, the owners drove us around the farm on a hay ride, and picked sunflowers for us. Then the boys fed a donkey and some sheep from their hands. It was very fun, and they enjoyed playing with old friends.



Wednesday we had to check out of the hotel so the boys and I went to the park and the mall just to waste time until Pierce finished working. The park was really fun and relaxing. That afternoon we drove to Augusta, GA and stayed with our friends Verina & Sam Scroggins. Sam was actually on call-he's a dental surgery intern-so we didn't see him. But again, the boys got to play with Scott and we got to see our old friends. We still miss the friends we had in B-ham. It was nice that we had a reason to see them again.

I'm 30

I am having very mixed emotions about moving into this stage of my life. Pierce turned 30 last year and had a harder time with it than I thought he would. So, for the last 9 months I've also been thinking about turning 30 and what it means to me. My friend Rebecca couldn't wait to turn 30 because she said her 20's were so tumultuous that she thought her 30's would be more settled and she liked that. I can see her point; in your 20's you get married, start having babies, finish school, move wherever the job is, leave your family, etc. In your 30's your husband usually has a good job, you're used to being a mom, you just kind of flow. But, lets look at the other side of things. In your 20's you get married, have babies, finish school, have few enough responsibilities that you can lay out at the pool for a whole day without watching any kids, leave for a road trip at the drop of a hat, whatever. Don't you remember all those things with fondness? I definitely do. And, what do you do in your 30's? You live the thankless job of raising toddlers, and time passes so quickly that you don't even know what day it is.

So, the conclusion I have come to is this. I don't want to go back. I have a wonderful life and I love my husband, my kids, our life. But, at the same time I am sad to leave that place in my life behind. We will never be the free spirited 20 somethings we were; we will be the responsible 30 somethings we couldn't wait to be. I feel like I'm saying goodbye to the 29 year old Jennifer and hello to the person my children will remember me as. It's bittersweet.

Happy? 30th Birthday to Me!

Ok, I know we've been missing in action for weeks now, but I'm trying to get back on track. I thought summer was suppose to be the relaxing time of the year?!

So, after Six Flags (Pierce forgot to mention that PJ got a new dresser from IKEA while we were there!) we stayed the night in a hotel and drove home Sunday morning. We planned to go to church with my mom at the Farragut Ward since we had missed our meetings while we were driving, then rush home, pack the car, and drive to Birmingham. Just thinking about it was making me crazy, but when I suggested to Pierce that we skip church with my mom and get an earlier start he said no. I have to say I was surprised, but he had just given a talk in church the week before, so I thought he was being extra spiritual or something and who's going to stand in the way of that!? So, after church my mom and I drove home and when I walked in the door there were all these people in my house yelling surprise! I have to admit my first thought, before I processed everything, was how long are they going to stay-I have to pack! Pierce and my Mom had told me we were going to celebrate my birthday after we returned from our vacation, so I was totally surprised! My husband is so wonderful. I love surprise parties, so I was really excited. We had yummy food to eat, and my Aunt Carol made a delicious Chocolate Raspberry Cake. It really made me feel special to have my friends and family here to celebrate. Thank you to everyone who came and helped. I have the best friends and family a 30 year old girl could ask for!

Fun Idea

I just saw this on Katina's blog. I thought it was much more fun than the usual tag, so play along! Here are the rules: 1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember! 2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.Happy Memories to You!

Six Flags over Georgia

As many of you know, the most recent Copeland Tour began on June 28th at Six Flags in Atlanta, GA. The company I work for (IKON Office Solutions) put on an employee appreciation day and treated us to a day at Six Flags. Grammie came over friday night to babysit the boys so Jennifer and I could get up at 5am to head to Six flags in hopes that we could arrive there in time for the gates to open. We were able to achieve that goal and as we arrived we hooked up with another co-worker and his buddy and went straight over to get in line for Goliath (pictured above). For those of you that like roller coasters, this is far and away the best one we have been on. It's a fairly new roller coaster that has probably been there for a couple years now. Since we got there early when the gates opened (which is the way to go!!), we were able to get on the ride within about 15 minutes AND we road in the very front! It starts off like the typical roller coaster, slowly ascending to 200 feet high, with a sweet view of the city at the top. Just as you soak that picture in, you begin the super fast (appx 70mph)fall down 200 feet and up and around and down and everywhere in between. Super super fun ride that got the adrenaline going and pretty much ruined us for the rest of the day.

Next we road Superman, which was a ride that I have wanted to try since it was built back around 2001...last time we were there it was a crazy wait for that ride. It was super good, it definitly makes you feel like you are flying. The only part that made me a bit nervous is that it swooped down towards concrete and gravel a couple of times and I was scared to death my long legs were going to be scraped to pieces!!

We also road a couple other rides before getting a little wiped out and dehydrated from the hot weather. I also paid $10 to get in a 3 point shooting game that I absolutely did terrible in. I made 1 shot out of 12....which is horrendous. I'm a decent long range shooter but it just wasn't my day for this and it was irritating especially since I was talking it up beforehand. Lucky for me, Jennifer didn't marry me for my amazing basketball skills ;o)

On a tragic note, in case you didn't see the news over that weekend, there was a death at the park that day at the Batman ride. This ride is up there with Goliath and previous to riding Goliath was my favorite ride. We were waiting in line for Batman for about an hour and a half and we were just about 10-15 minutes from getting on the ride when the line stopped moving and police were making there way through the line in an urgent fashion. There were a couple of Six Flags employees coming down through the line and although they didn't say anything, you could tell by the looks on their faces that something was not right. Apparently, a 17 year old boy and his friend were there as a part of a church group and hopped 2 six foot fences to grap a hat that had fallen off the roller coaster. One of the two boys got struck by the roller coaster and it killed him instantly. We didn't know all of this at the time and the park did a good job of evacuating the area. We learned what had happened later that night when we got to our hotel room...it was a little eerie to say the least.