CAMP WILLOW CREEK

Grampy Has the Best Toys

A Big Fat Post

Since Kelly gave us a shout out on her blob, I thought it might be a good idea to update in case anyone drops by. We’ve been keeping busy here at the Camp. What have we been up to? I’m glad you asked. Allow me to answer in convenient list format, which will give me the freedom to talk about several unrelated topics without the hassle of segues or summaries:

1. Logan took his first (and consequentially, second) plane ride. We flew to NJ to visit family and some old friends. Logan demanded to see everyone and everything in the airport, but slept for the entire plane ride. We landed in Atlantic City just as snow was starting to accumulate. It continued to snow until about midnight and we woke up to about six inches of powder. Technically, it wasn’t the first time Logan saw snow, but some Yankee purists might question whether the dusting and ice North Georgia saw in early January really counted.

The trip to the beach was undoubtedly his first and he was not impressed. I’m not sure if it was the biting winds or the snow-covered dunes or the 100s of layers of clothing we put on him.  Auntie Karen and I tried to assure him that it was a much more fun place to be during a time of year we call “Summer.”  Since he has no idea what Summer is, he remained unimpressed. He did agree to let us to snap a few pictures if we promised to get him back into the LS with the heated seats as soon as possible.

Logan had a lot more fun when Grandma made a cheesecake and Auntie Karen called everyone to come over and say, “Hi.”  He recognized most of the voices from the baby shower last summer in NJ, but it was great to meet everyone in person.

Before we left, we were treated to some more snow.  Another 4 or 5 inches fell the night before we left.  We thought it was pretty special to see so much snow in one week.  Apparently, we were wrong.  They saved the two blizzards for after we left. That’s ok.  We’re supposed to get our own Georgia snow today and maybe a little more on Sunday.

2. Super Bowl Party.  We had a major fail on the homebrew.  After a taste test earlier in the week, we were able to bench the brew and save our guests.  Thanks to Jason for taking one for the team.

On a brighter note, we called for a pot luck and and scored a win.  I want to thank the person who brought the homemade potato salad.  So good.  I can’t actually believe any was left after the party. It must have been hidden somewhere. And Whitney, that smoked chicken came back in its second life as a chicken pot pie.  For anyone who left a plate or a bowl or a pot or a smoker or whathaveyou, they are all clean and ready for pick up whenever you are (that includes your cute green veggies and dip dish from last Fourth of July, Leslie).   I’m glad everyone could come out and I can’t believe how many people were here that are shorter than me (granted, they were all also under the age of 4, but still).

3. Website renovations. That has been my excuse for the last week or so for not updating. Wanted to get everything all tidied up before inviting everyone in for a visit. The good news is, thanks to Laura, I now have a calendar that supplies me with excuses every day of the year. So next time I don’t have a post, at least I’ll have an excuse.  Hooray for Laura.

4. Baby Stuff.  Logan has started trying to sit up. If he’s propped up at about 45 degrees on something like a Boppy pillow, he tries like crazy to pull up the rest of the way. If he manages to make it, he just kinda falls sideways and rolls onto his face. More entertaining for us than for him. He’s also become quite fond of grabbing. Whatever he can reach. A toy, my hair, the spit rag, the mirror toy on his changing table, a rattle, Mr. Penguin, my hair, a bib full of spit, spit…the list goes on.  He’s really digging the Jumperoo thing and can almost actually reach the floor with his feet. For now, we help him out with a little boost under his feet and he goes crazy. The thing makes more noise when he jumps around and I think he kinda has that part figured out.

Daytona 500

You might recall that a few months ago, Camp Willow Creek joined forces with Jane Drive and crashed The SoCar lair of Nansox for the Bank of America 500. Or you might not, because chances are, I forgot to write about it.

Anyway, we created a little NASCAR monster that fateful fall day.

Nancy, Jason and I just got back from our first Daytona 500. The first thing that struck me about this whole experience was that Daytona International Speedway and Lowes Motor Speedway have little in common other than a big paved oval.

I know its kind of a lame thing to talk about, but the parking was super organized and super easy at the super speedway. I guess after 50 years of practice, they should be expected to get a few things right. On the other hand, tailgating in Lot 10 was pretty sparse. Which was actually fine because after stopping at every Walmart between Jacksonville and Daytona Beach – this is Florida we’re talking about. Do you know how many Walmarts that is? – looking for rain gear, we were running a little behind schedule.

So we took the bus over to the track and found our seats in Row 4. I couldn’t find a Row 2 anywhere, so this was essentially 3 rows from the track. Very close and very cool. When the cars went by, they were a blur. Luckily, there was a big screen pretty close where we could keep an eye on the action. Also, the PA system was clear and easy to hear, so I thought it was a lot easier to follow what was going on than it was at Lowe’s.

However, being that close has its drawbacks too. From that low a vantage point, its hard to see much of the track. You can see a little stretch right in front of you and you can see the turns to your left and right, but with the size of this speedway and the proximity of our seats, we could barely tell when the cars were near the Grandstand, much less have any idea who was crossing the finish line unless we were watching the big screens. Being higher up at a smaller track like Lowe’s, we could see everything from our seats at Turn 2.

Of course, no one actually crossed a “finish line” Sunday, since the checkered flag was never waived. Rain stopped the race at 152 laps and never let up, so the powers that be called the race. In NASCAR, as long as they complete half of the race (100 out 200 laps, in this case), they don’t have to restart or resume the race and finish it. Whomever is winning when the race is stopped wins. Game Over.

This fact compels sportscasters and fans to discredit the winner. I disagreed. All week forecasters said there would be rain in Daytona on Sunday. Throughout the race, the drivers were getting updates on how close the storm was moving. Presumably, unlike Donovan McNabb, they all know the rules of the sport and were fully aware that once they hit that 100 lap, it could rain and end the race at any time.

So while Daytona was a completely different experience from Lowe’s, it was just as much fun. We’re already talking about our next NASCAR adventure – March 8 in Atlanta – so stay tuned.

Drunken Painting

Last weekend I went to see Nancy and we came up with a new sport: Drunken Painting.

Its all pretty simple. You get a beer, or two, or four. You get some paint and paint tools and paint supplies. Then you get a wall that you would prefer to be a color other than the color it already is.

Mix it all together.

And…VIOLA!!

Brides & Bikes

I went to see my family for the weekend. My sister threw me a fabulous shower and I saw a whole lot of good people that I haven’t seen for years.

Later on in the weekend, my dad took me for my first motorcycle ride. We went to the same strech of road in the pine barrens where he took me to learn how to drive a stick. Very cool. We also checked out the patch of pine barrens that recently burned down. The green is already starting to pop up new out of the ground. That is amazing.

Good Eats!

Brian invited us to join him in Mississippi for the weekend for a crawfish boil. In addition to enjoying some great food, we met some of the coolest people ever.

We can’t wait to go back next year.

In the Spirit

In keeping with that wedding theme and since I don’t really have anything new to add just yet about my own, I’ll share a little about Kathy & Gary’s wedding.

It was beautiful.

I think my favorite thing was Kathy’s Grandfather, who gave the sweetest toast. My second favorite thing was the Cream of Sweet Vadalia Onion soup — Excuse me. I have to go silence the alarm because JDB, who is trusted by a worldwide banking corporation to maintain servers, cannot for all the beer in Germany learn to operate a Clock Radio — ok back, where was I?

Ah yes, Creamy Sweet Vadalia Onion soup. For the first time ever I saw the good side of JDB’s distaste for onions – more soup for me. Laura and I split his cup. Pure Joy.

Anyway, everything was lovely and I took a few pictures.

Pictures!

The cruise pictures are uploaded, but there are two catches. 1) It was getting late, so I am not done with labels and captions, so you may just have to wonder what the heck is going on in some of them. 2) The other cruise pictures are still over at skurtz.com, so for now, the new ones are also.

nevermind.