Say what you want...

But Michael Jackson made some great music. I dare you to try to sit still when his oldies are played. I think it's impossible. And who doesn't have "Thriller" on their Halloween mix? Good thing he left a legacy of greatest hits...

Go Gators!

What do you do when you win your first softball game of the season? You go drink monster margaritas at the Mexican restaurant, of course! We decided after sweating off a few pounds in the 100-degree weather that this was the perfect way to cool off and celebrate our win.

The team we played was pretty mean, so we were even happier to have won this game. Now we’ve got a 1-2 record, and we’re officially no longer the Bad News Bears. It’s definitely a lot more fun when you win. :)

I'm on a boat

Today is the official start of summer, and it's already too hot to spend any time outdoors unless you're on a boat or in the water. Gotta love a sweltering Mississippi summer. We headed out to the lake after work on Friday with some friends to beat the heat. Three of the five friends we brought had never been out there before, so we had a great time introducing them to Eagle Lake.

Here are a few pics from our day out on the boat at the Redneck Yacht Club. :)

We had a great time and ended the night at Chotard, where we pretty much had the whole bar to ourselves. This morning our friends hit the road and the rest of the Greys came out for Father's Day lunch at the lake. Since I spent two days in the car with my dad last weekend, we celebrated an early Father's Day, but he did open his gift, Tiger Woods 2009 for the Wii, today.

I'd have to say the highlight of the weekend was watching Gary open his gift... a gift certificate to go skydiving!

When we were out at the lake over Memorial Day, he made the comment that he'd really like to go one day, and with all that has happened here lately, we decided there was no time better than the present! We're going to pick a weekend and just go with whoever wants to do it. I'll be on the ground with the camera, but I know Derek will do it. That will definitely be blog-worthy. :)

I hope everyone had a great weekend and a wonderful Father's Day! Another weekend gone already...

Never too old for Nintendo...

Who needs television when you have new Wii games?? Not us! A few weeks ago, we bought Super Mario Galaxy and Mario Kart… only the two best games EVER (besides Rock Band, of course.)

Derek’s gotten to be a pro at both games, but I think Super Mario Galaxy is hard. The controller is kind of hard to figure out, I think. Of course, this coming from a girl who was only able to play old school Nintendo on the joystick because I wasn’t that coordinated to work the little controller. The old Super Mario Brothers used to stress me out once I got to Bowser, so I’ve learned that these days, when it gets hard, I just hand it over to Derek. I only play the fun worlds.

Mario Kart on the other hand is super fun, and I feel like I’m 12 again and playing for hours until the TV starts to turn strange colors in the corners. Only this time, there are no wires and you don’t have to blow the dust out of the box to make it work. The graphics and the music both remind you of updated versions of the old games.

Of course, Derek and I can play at the same time on Mario Kart, and inevitably he always places first and I’m usually in last place. I’m not very good at it at all, but it’s still fun! Needless to say, our DVR is full of shows we have to catch up on because right now all our TV time has turned into Nintendo time.

But don’t worry, fans, Touch of Grey will soon return to the Rock Band tour after our summer hiatus… :)

Family Road Trip

Friday night after work I met my parents in Meridian for the long drive to Decatur, Ala., to visit Grandma. Thursday was her 86th birthday, so a road trip was definitely in order to celebrate with her. Derek stayed behind and spent the weekend at the lake, which he probably really needed. Plus, I had the whole backseat and hotel bed to myself… not too shabby. :)

Once we hit Birmingham just as it got dark, the weather started getting pretty rough. Before we knew it we were driving through a storm strong enough to knock out power in almost all of central and north Alabama. Not pretty… I, being a nervous backseat driver anyways, was on edge the whole time. If it wasn’t for the wine my mom had packed (neither one of us was driving, of course), I don’t think I would have made it. About two bottles and two hours later, we made it to the hotel in Decatur by about 10:45, and we were all worn out.

Saturday we got up bright and early to pick up Grandma and head to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Because of the weather Friday night, we never stopped for dinner, so we were pretty hungry, and a big country breakfast was just what we needed to start the day off right.

The plan for the day was to visit the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville. Yes, indeed, and it was totally worth it just to see my dad act like a kid at Christmas. He used to beg us to stop at the U.S.S. Alabama on the way to Destin every summer, too. He’s into that stuff. Big time. Here are a few pics from our space adventure…

Here's my dad, the rocket man...

Here's Dad giving a space lesson to the rest of us...

Here's a short video of my mom and dad on the Space Shot ride. If you listen closely, you can here Mom yell a not-so-kid-friendly word. She was next to a six-year-old. I think it scared the poor little girl. :)

Afterwards we explored downtown Huntsville for a while and then enjoyed some Mexican and margaritas at Rosie’s Cantina, which was like the Disney World of Mexican restaurants. We had a quiet night in the hotel Saturday night and hit the road about 7:30 Sunday morning to head back home.

It was a very nice visit, and I think Grandma had fun, too… so much fun that she fell asleep during the first two minutes of the IMAX movie on space exploration. :)

I think Mom and Dad are still sore from the rides, but it sure made for some fun memories. We traveled 630 miles in less than 48 hours… talk about some fun, family bonding time!

Mission Accomplished

Well, I would say we’ve succeeded in our mission to stay busy this week in an effort to get back to as normal of a routine as possible.

Monday night we started our softball season. We lost 12-5, which wasn’t too bad considering our little team is much like the Bad News Bears most of the time. Plus, it was the first game, so everybody needs a little warm-up. We were actually down 12-0 until the very last inning, so it could have been much more embarrassing. :)

We had too many girls (which hardly ever happens), so Katherine and I traded out as catcher after the second inning. I think I caught every single pitch Derek threw somewhere other than my glove. I have bruises everywhere and even got hit in the face with a foul ball. The other team offered me a face mask, but (not to be rude) I’d rather get hit in the face than put on some stranger’s dirty, sweaty, germy mask. I’m STILL sore, and that was three nights ago.

After the game, we went to the Bulldog for some team morale-building over pitchers of beer and fried food. It was good, but we didn’t make it home until almost 11 and were totally worn out.

On Tuesday, Derek played his first tennis match in his mixed doubles league. His partner is our friend, Kristin, so I think they had fun. They didn’t win, but they played pretty well, and as we learned Monday, everybody needs a warm-up. I had plans to go watch since the court is just down the street, but I didn’t want to distract Derek and Kristin OR “intimidate” the other team with my cheering, so I stayed home and caught up on some laundry. :)

Last night Kristin and Drew came over to help us finish the rest of the lasagna they brought us on Sunday, and we had a few cocktails on the deck. Man, it’s getting hot… and the mosquitoes are out in full force. Derek’s cousin Wes and his wife, Elise, stopped by, too, so we had a mini party-o on the patio.

I think we may get together with Neighbor Ben and Mom-To-Be Tina tonight since Ben actually has the night off from work… and then, what do you know, tomorrow’s Friday and we’ve made it through the week. Mission accomplished.

Forever at Firefly Hill

As most of you know, Derek’s mother passed away last week of a brain aneurysm hemorrhage. She was only 53. I’ve had a lot of time to think the past few days, and I knew I needed to take a little break from the blog. Then the more I thought about it, Candee was my biggest fan, so I decided to return to the blog world and share my feelings with you.

Where to start? I am absolutely heartbroken and can feel it physically for myself, for Derek, for my niece, for our future children, for all the Greys and all the Turners, and for all others who knew and loved this wonderful woman. Many wives don’t get along with their mothers-in-law. I didn’t have that problem. I was so extremely lucky to have the perfect mother-in-law. If there was a fault to be found, it would only be that she loved us all too much.

We laid Candee’s memory to rest at Eagle Lake on Thursday. It was her favorite place on earth, and she nicknamed it Firefly Hill. It was amazing how the name never really caught on until we were up there last week and saw an unbelievable number of fireflies floating around. They were everywhere, and I’d like to think it was her spirit letting us know she was happy now and would always be there.

I’m sad for my children that they will never know their Grandee. They’ll only hear stories and see pictures, and we’ll try to do her justice. I’m sad for Ryan Hadley, that even though she’s two, she likely won’t remember her.

I’m happy that we had a great family vacation to Dauphin Island only weeks ago. It was very special, and I don’t think any of us would have traded it for the world. I’m happy that she ended every conversation with, “I love you.” There was never a doubt. I’m happy that I knew her for six wonderful years. It just wasn’t long enough.

Like Uncle Rusty said, I’m looking forward to the day when the mention of her brings a smile to my face rather than a tear to my eye. That day will come.

I think I speak for everyone when I say thank you for your thoughts, prayers and kindness this past week as we trudge through this. We’ve felt the support more than you’ll ever know. It’s been overwhelming. We have wonderful extended family and friends, and we love you all.

So, Candee, may you rest in peace on your Firefly Hill. We know it’s where you want to be.

I wanted to end with this special tribute from Yore Country Store on the way to the lake house. I can see her smiling and clapping with joy as she always did just reading it. She was a special lady.