Aquapalooza at Lake Martin

This past weekend Nick and I attended Aquapalooza at Lake Martin! It was awesome! I have really never seen anything like this before. This was like one huge tailgating party, but everything was on water! Everyone had their own place to hang out (on a boat), drinks, food, grills, school flags, and people swam around from boat to boat.We were on the water from noon til about 8:00pm. Alan Jackson was the main event, but he did not play until 6 o'clock. While we waited for Alan, a few other country bands played for the crowd. To give you some idea of how it was like on Lake Martin this past weekend, take a look at these pictures.

This picture is from WSFA.com. This is a shot from the sky.

This is coming in on the boat towards the crowd

As we get closer the crowd gets bigger!

Getting closer to the crowd and the stage

This is coming down the center isle of all the boats

John George, Nick, and Dale floating in the water

This is what we saw to the left of our boat. People are swimming around and shuttle boats are dropping people off on their boats. People came and parked their boat in the spot they wanted on the day before the concert.

This is to the right of our boat.

This is view from the back of our boat.

There was a boat throwing out T-shirts and floats. Nick and Dale swam out to try to get a shirt. During this process, Nick accidently pulled all of the floats from the boat. This caused everyone nearby to swim as fast as they could to get a free blue and white float. Above you can see some people getting their floats. Below you can see what all Nick gained during this time. He got 3 floats, 2 huggies, and a t-shirt! This whole things was very entertaining!

See all the blue and white floats? Thanks to Nick, all of these people left with a new float!

Nick and Stephen floating

This was most of our crowd

More floating pictures:

NOW TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT ELSE WE SAW ON THIS FUN DAY!

We saw some cool boats!

We saw some Auburn fans!

We saw some big beers!

We also saw a pirate!

We saw some cool contraptions for people getting to their parked boat! This is how several people transported themselves and their coolers to their spot.

We saw some BIG floats! And we saw some cool floats! For example, floats with umbrellas, floats that have a special spot for your cooler to float, and floats with moters.

We saw helicopters!

We saw volunteers throwing out goodies!

We saw Marine Police!

We saw country singers! This is Caitlin and Will. They won a season of Can You Duet.

Finally, we saw Alan Jackson! He rode in on his boat, the Hoochie Coochie!

The only bad part of the day is when we tried to leave, and the boat would not go! But we got towed by a friend and made it back to shore just fine.

Thanks to the Hutchensons for letting us use their boat and stay at their house! We really appreciate it!

Don't Change That Channel

I enjoy many things. I love to read, exercise, food, friends, family, wine, etc. However, if you know me well, you know that I have always been a big fan of television. I got my first TV when I was 10 years old. This has always been my favorite TV set because it had a VCR in it. When I was a teenager I could set the timer to record a show during the day, and I would come home at night and watch it. This TV still worked up until I was moving from Auburn to Montgomery. As I was moving the TV, the part that the cable cord screws into snapped off. I had a slight breakdown at the time. The VCR still works, and a repair man said the other part could be fixed. I am working on getting it fixed this week.

My favorite TV

I think my obsession with TV started when I was young. Besides cartoons, some of the first TV shows I remember watching were the classics on Nick-at-Nite. This is when Nick-at-Nite showed Dick Van Dyke, The Donna Reed Show, Mr. Ed, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, Get Smart, Flipper, Mork and Mindy, and I Love Lucy. Other Nick-at-Nite television that I liked was Dragnet, The Odd Couple, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Partridge Family, The Bob Newhart Show, Welcome Back Kotter, Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, The Many Loves of Doby Gillis and I could go on.

Eventually some of these shows stopped airing, and I found new favorites. When I was elementary school age, I watched Saved By the Bell, The Brady Bunch, Little House on the Praire, Gilligan's Island, Happy Days, Growing Pains, The Flintstones, Popeye, Are you Afraid of the Dark?, The Wonder Years, Matlock, Who's The Boss?, Three's Company, The Jetsons, The Cosby Show, and Scooby Doo.

Once I got into high school I began watching another variety of shows. I watched One Tree Hill, Smallville, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Felicity, Dawson's Creek, 7th Heaven, Charmed, Popular, Gilmore Girls, Everwood, and The Bachelor. I did not start watching FRIENDS until the final season, but I will discuss this in a minute.

While I was in college I tried not to pick up new shows. I was pretty succsessful with this my first year. However, since I would be home during some parts of the day, I would just watch re-runs of some shows I have already mentioned. Eventually I gave in and began watching new TV programs. I started watching Grey's Anatomy, Desparte Housewives, American Idol, The Sapranos, ER (re-runs and new), The Today Show, 24, and Boston Legal.

When I say I watched all of these shows, I don't mean I just saw an episode and changed the channel. I watched the Nick-at-Nite shows and the shows in elementary school until they stopped airing (I still watch some re-runs today). Now, all of the other shows mentioned are a different story. I watched all of the other shows, give or take a few, from the beginning to the final seasons. This doesn't mean I sat in front of the television and never moved. I would sometimes watch re-runs to catch up on the show. I am still watching re-runs of Gilmore Girls and Charmed to get the full story. I have also seen every ER episode except the final season, but don't worry, I will watch it very soon. I also don't watch The Today Show anymore. I know some of the shows I have loved may be weird or not to your liking. I think the main reason for my addiction is because once I see an episode or two it is hard to not watch anymore. It is like reading a book. I can't just read half of it and stop. I have to see how the story ends.

My current TV schedule consist of Grey's Anatomy, Desparte Housewives, One Tree Hill, American Idol, Charmed, The Food Network, Fox and Friends, The O'Reily Factor, Gilmore Girls, Mad Men, Everybody Loves Raymond, Friends, and sometimes I let Nick choose the show (but this is rare). I also enjoyed the series of John Adams.

Now I have discussed all of the shows I have been addicted to watching. I haven't mentioned the TV series that I own. I own every episode of FRIENDS, I Love Lucy, and The Wonder Years. I also have the final episode of Dawson's Creek on VHS (recorded from my special TV). My parents also have The Dick Van Dyke Show and some of the Donna Reed Show on VHS.

If you are to now ask me, what is your favorite of all of these shows, my response would be FRIENDS. Friends is one show that I watch over and over again, and I still find it funny and entertaining everytime I see an episode. I watch one of my DVDs on a daily basis. Most of the time it is before going to bed, but sometimes it is fun just to have on in the background while cleaning or cooking or if nothing else is on. Nick and I have seen every episode more than once. We qote this show often. So if you need a TV suggestion, "I'll be there for you."

To view FRIENDS clip click here.

The Summer of Sand and Sun

I really enjoy going to the beach! This year I have set a record for myself. I have been to Sandestin 3 times in the past 2 months! It takes me exactly 3 hours to get from my house to the beach, and the trip seems to get eaiser each time I go. I went with a different crowd each time, and I had a great time on every trip. I enjoyed good seafood and drinks. I ejoyed good company. And I really enjoyed the sand and sun!

My first trip to the beach was with Nick to celebrate our one year wedding anniversary. It was a great trip and a nice way to start my summer! We enjoyed long days on the beach, and we spent several nights in Baytown. I have the least amount of pictures from this trip because it is hard to take good pictures of ourselves.

The condo we stayed in

After dinner at Fish Out of Water (this was the best meal I had out of all my beach trips)

My second beach trip was the Freeman family beach trip! There was a total of 23 people and 4 dogs that attended the trip. We had a big crowd! We cooked at the condo some nights and we went out to Baytown another night.

Nick and his brother Jeremy after renting the kayak

Nick's grandmother in the kayak!

Nick with his twin brother and dad

Nick's Uncle Mark and his lobster dinner

Nick and his mom

My third trip to the beach included my mom and our good family friends the Mitchells. Harold was going for the Mississippi Bar Convention. My dad was unable to go, so my mom invited me! We enjoyed riding bikes and eating good seafood. While I was there, one of my best friends from Jackson, MS surprised me because she was also in Destin! Paige came over for dinner one night and laid on the beach with us before she headed back to MS. The best day on the beach was our last day out there. The Mitchells had to go in around 6 for a dinner, but my mom and I stayed on the beach until 8 pm. It was beautiful on the beach and the weather felt great! The funny thing was that we counted up to 23 different families that came out to the beach wearing khaki and white or blue jean and white to take their family photo. 2 of these families were wearing some color! It was very entertaining to watch all of the different photography occuring on the beach. We even took a picture or two for those families that only had small children!

My mom and E'lou floating in the water

It was a little crowded!

We took some mini beers to the beach because they stay cold better

My mom and E'lou relaxing under the umbrella

One of our yummy meals! Sea scallops wrapped in pancetta

My friend Paige who got hang out with us for a little while!

These are a handful of families that were taking pictures. This is the view from where we were sitting on the beach.