Happy 4th of July!

Hope everyone had a great Independence Day! As Stephanie update you last week I have been absent in my blogging duties, it may be a little long but will do my best to bring you up to speed.

Last Sunday I headed to "the farm", which from here is about 3 hours north-east. It wasn't a bad drive except for the fact that I left at 5 in the morning. Of course this was planned on my part so that I could make it in time for breakfast. Aunt Nora didn't disappoint either. We had the usual spread of homemade biscuits and gravy with eggs, bacon, sausage, and tomatoes. I think she throws the tomatoes on the table just so she can offer a little healthier option to her guests. Everything was as amazing as I remembered it would be. The only thing she didn't have this time was chocolate gravy. Yup, that's right...as if gravy couldn't get any better, someone decided to put chocolate in it. I guess my uncle Bobby wasn't minding her this week (it's his favorite).

After stuffing our faces we went to work. Jeff, Casey, Owen, mom and dad had already been working on Saturday and we picked up where they left off. Jeff and I starting putting the final texture on the drywall upstairs. It looks a whole lot better than it used to and is almost finished. Mom decided that she was going to stay till Monday and keep working on it.

Leaving Mom behind to fend for herself, Dad and I headed for home...that is Fairfield. For those of you that didn't know, dad is running for school board in Fairfield. make sure you vote early and often and tell your friends! Once we arrived I started on my list of tasks to be completed on my visit...I won't bore you with a blow by blow of that, but here is a rough synopsis...haircut, install signage on a truck, minor work at our house, load the truck with stuff we forgot, set up a computer for a friend, play golf with optimist club, went out with Mike for lunch, visited Janet, visited Momzes and Papa, etc. Sounds exciting huh? Momzes and Janet were kind enough to send care packages back with me...Momzes sent Zuchhini bread and Janet sent cookies. Both were great! I would say there was at least 50% left for Steph by the time I got back...ok maybe 40%.

Tuesday evening when I returned Steph and I went out looking for houses again with our realtor. Once again we didn't really see anything to our liking. Location, Location, Location! Problem is we don't know what location we want! Our search continues...on the other hand we are in the middle of a contract negotiation on our house in Fairfield. Keep your fingers crossed and we should know something today!

That brings us to Wednesday the 4th. Had I known what was going to happen on the 4th, maybe I would have stayed in Fairfield longer. Somehow before I left town Stephanie talked me into running a 5K (3.1 miles) for a local YMCA. When she mentioned it I think I was still sleeping or something. Anyway I thought to myself, "self how hard could a 5K be?"..."5k doesn't sound very far" Now those of you that run or walk are probably laughing at me right now, but since I haven't ran farther than 1/2 a mile in the past year I began to start thinking that 5K might be a pretty far distance. We awoke that morning at 6:00 am (race started at 7:00) and headed to the event. They had a huge turnout-about 1500 participants. It was a very well run event and you could tell that most of the people had run farther than a 1/2 mile recently.

As the gun sounded the start I sucked it up and started to slowly push myself forward one foot at a time. Steph was a very good coach, she would keep asking me if I needed oxygen, or should she call 911 yet, sometimes she would run backwards...she said so she could still keep an eye on me and make sure I didn't cut through the trees. She is hitting me right now...none of that actually happened...I'm sure some of it could have, but didn't. About mile 1.5 she did turn to me and seriously say "do you feel like you are in a groove now"...remember I'm doing well just to concentrate on breathing every few seconds. I try to hold back my laughter and tell her politely "NO!" I guess most runners get into a "groove" of some kind and then "its all downhill" from there. We just kept jogging/running and I eventually made it to the finish line in one piece. Stephanie was very proud of me! I was just glad to make it without walking. After the race they offer food and drinks to those who participated...I told Steph this was the first time I didn't feel guilty about eating and drinking those. Normally after Steph runs I get hungry and thirsty from just watching. As a side note in case some of you were wondering...Jason won by 1 second over Stephanie.

After a well deserved breakfast and shower we headed to downtown Franklin. They had a festival to celebrate the holiday. Music, food, vendors, kids events and many others. It was nice and relaxing even though it involved more walking. Charlie accompanied us and was a big hit. Everyone loves Charlie! Back at the apartment we had a quick nap and then headed back out on the town. Nashville had a big concert and fireworks show planned for that evening. We went with Brandon and Shay (Steph's co-worker and wife). It was on the river downtown similar to WEBN's in Cincinnati. GAC hosted the event and had Taylor Swift, Rodney Atkins, and Van Zant as the musical guests. Stephanie was excited because she got to buy her Cowboy hat! All in all it was a great event. Lots of people, but it was easy to get in and out. For those of you that missed out on seeing Fireworks on the Fourth I have added a video that we took.

I guess that brings everyone up to speed. Sorry it was a long winded blog, but with no job and no house to work on what do you expect.

Next Week's Issue..."Owen sings at the Grand Ole Opry", "Casey eats Jimmy Johns every night", "Kelly buys a cowboy hat and boots and promises to start a fashion trend in Harrison"...stay tuned.