Cross Off...

Number 26 from my List of 33 Things to Do in the Next 33 Years. Saturday I swam and completed the Lowcountry Splash, a 2.4 mile swim in the Charleston Harbor (Post & Courier article here). Wow... definitely like nothing I have ever done before!

Since I haven't been able to run much because of my knee, I have started swimming again (I started swimming competitively at age 6 and got serious about it in high school, swimming year round for a USS team). Tracey mentioned the Splash about a month ago, and I figured I'd try!

The race was organized amazingly well, but I guess it has to be to accommodate 300 people swimming 2.4 miles in the harbor! We picked up our race packets around 7:15... inside was a brightly colored swim cap with a huge number written on it, a Popsicle stick with the number on it, as well as a race bib with the number. We then headed to a woman who wrote our number on both of our arms... we were very well marked!

After a bus ride to the Hobcaw Yacht Club, we waited for a huge tanker to pass by (can't imagine swimming in that wake!). We were instructed to put our race number in our caps and hand our popsicle sticks to the volunteers at the dock where we were entering the water. (The popsicle sticks were the way they knew exactly who entered the water... if there was a stick turned in with the number 001 on it and swimmer number 001 didn't show up at the end, they would know that someone was missing.) From there, we headed to the end of the dock to take the plunge into the 72 degree water (pretty chilly jumping in, but we warmed up quickly once we started swimming!).

The dock was about 100 yards from the starting line, and once the starting gun went off, Tracey and I were still at least 30 seconds from the start. We said goodbye, put our heads in the water, and we were off. The sounds of the other swimmers, the boats in the harbor, and the waves quickly turned to silence as we started the swim. A swim race is nothing like a road race, as there is no chit chat with other competitors, no iPods, no cheering bystanders... you are totally in your own head, pushing yourself to keep going.

I have to say, I was a little nervous at the start and had a couple of nervous moments during the swim. There were kayakers all along the course, huge buoys to mark the way, and boats anchored every 250 yards for swimmers that needed help. However, there were several times that I felt completely alone in the harbor... I didn't see any kayakers or other swimmers. I really felt so small! I think my biggest nervous moment was just before I went under the Cooper River Bridge. Everything got darker, I really didn't see anyone else around, and I had to swim by a huge barge. All I could do was to put my head down and start swimming my tail off to get under it!

From the bridge, there was about a mile left, past the Yorktown aircraft carrier and into the chute at the Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina. We were pulled out on a jet ski ramp by volunteers (I felt like a beached whale!) and congratulated with a medal. Tracey was there waiting for me... turns out we both finished about mid-pack (no official results yet, but we think it was about 55 minutes). Not bad considering I was sure I was going to finish last! It was funny to watch the other swimmers (and myself) walk down the dock... we were all walking a little funny and swaying after fighting the wake for an hour!

I can't tell you how glad I am that I did it... it was such a huge confidence builder and such a great event. It was definitely an experience I've never had before, and definitely one I'd like to do again.

Still Here

I promise that I haven't disappeared. I have just been so frustrated with the computer issue, so I haven't taken the time to blog. Not to mention that I haven't figured out how to get my newest pictures onto my laptop.

I guess I haven't updated with the latest on my pictures... the computer geek said that he can see pictures on my hard drive and that he thinks he can get 60-70% of my files off of it... for $450.00. Yikes. DuBose has said that he wants a chance at it, so I am going to bring my poor computer home and let him try. He is on vacation for the next two weeks, so I will bug him when he gets home.

I am going to try to be better about updating... I promise. I even have two posts in the works, but I just hate posting them without pictures. Be patient with me... I will be back up and running full force in a couple of weeks...

Nightmares

for sure tonight... I watched The Last King of Scotland and the last hour of The Bachelor finale. Not sure which will give me worse nightmares...

Heartbroken

So, something happened here that I never thought would... my computer crashed. Really, not that big a deal in the whole scheme of life. However, it is a big deal in that I had at least a year of pictures on my computer that I had not backed up. So stupid. SO SO SO stupid. I had thought about backing them up several times and always decided to do it later. Now there might not be a later.

I immediately called a computer geek to come try to fix it. He wasn't able to do it here, so he took it back to the shop. All he told me at that time was that he couldn't tell if there was data on the hard drive or not, but that he would do his best. The last I heard was that there appeared to be something on it, but they hadn't been able to get to it. They also said that if they couldn't get to it, they could get an estimate for "serious data recovery". An estimate that is usually in the thousands of dollars. Thousands.

I am so sad at the idea that my boys won't have these pictures. They are important to me, yes, but eventually they will be more important to Jackson and Harris. I want them to be able to look at them and remember all of the wonderful things we did and places we went and friends they had. Please, if you have any pictures of my family in the past couple of years, will you, in your free time, please email them to me, or put them on a disk for me, or even upload them to Snapfish or Shutterfly or whatever service you use? I would be incredibly grateful.

I find out the verdict tomorrow as to whether or not I will get them back. Either way, this means a new computer for us. I can't say I am excited about it... maybe had it been different circumstances. However, I have learned my lesson and will not ever ever ever put off backing up my pictures.

Karate Man

Yesterday, Jackson's karate class had a little demo so the parents could see all that they had been learning... way too cute! The kids were all so excited to be showing off. Mr. Reggie, their teacher, has an amazing way with them, and they all listen to him so well. He has even taught them a definition for self-control that each of them can recite when asked!! My proudest moment, though, was when he got up in front of his class and all of the parents to do his favorite karate move all by himself (unfortunately no video of it)!! I know there are a lot of videos, and you surely don't have to watch them all (I promise they are short!!), but I just have to show off the karate ability of my big boy (hee hee!).

This first video is of Jackson showing off his favorite move. You might notice, too, that he accidentally gets whacked in the face by an over-zealous karate man... he was a trooper, though, and moved right on past it! He is the one in the light blue shirt and white karate pants, just in case you can't pick him out.


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Punching

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Blocking

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Kicking

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While I Was Away...

While I was on my trip north with Dad, Jason took the boys to visit family and friends. His first stop was at the Black's house in Hartsville to visit Will, Joye, Matthew and Bennett. All of the boys (big ones included) had a great time grilling out, jumping on the trampoline, and riding 4-wheelers.

Harris had no fear... jumped right on and took off.
Jackson has always been terrified of Jason's 4-wheeler, so this was a huge step for him!! Maybe he will venture out even more and try the big one next time!

The next day, Jason packed them up and headed to Florence to help Grandaddy celebrate his birthday with Granny, Aunt Amy, Uncle Scott, Lindsey, Kaila, and Connor.

It was another big day for the boys with more trampoline, lots of playing, fun in the sand box, lots of good food, and dirt cake! Harris overdid it a little bit with the dirt cake and red soda... from what they tell me, he had a sugar hangover the next day.

A picture of sugar shock!

It sounds like they had a great weekend... many thanks to the Blacks, the Ayers, and the Barfields for taking care of my boys while I was away!

Happy Birthday, Grandaddy!

Sorry this post is a little late, but you deserve a huge happy birthday post!! The boys LOVED being able to celebrate your big day with you (I'm sorry I missed it!) and had a great time. We hope it was a great day with lots of hugs and laughs from the little ones!

We love you lots,

Amanda, Jason, Jackson & Harris

Traveling North

I'm sorry about the lack of posts this week... I was headed north on the Progress with my dad! Once again, it was an amazingly beautiful and relaxing trip... just what I needed to recharge. The weather, scenery, and company were perfect, and I was a bit sad when it was all over.

I left on Friday and drove to Morehead City, NC, which is only about 45 minutes from New Bern (where I was meeting my dad). There was a race there Saturday morning, and I thought I would get in a good run before we left for Norfolk. I am not going to say much about the race, as I did horribly. I felt terrible, my knee wasn't great, and it felt like it was 90+ degrees... needless to say, it was a terrible run for me (I am not even posting my results). The course was through a pretty little neighborhood, but I didn't enjoy it much as I hobbled along... maybe next year!

After the race, I drove to New Bern to meet my dad and head to our first destination... Belhaven, NC.

The scenery was constantly changing, and there was so much to see along the way.

We arrived at Belhaven mid-afternoon, so there was plenty of time to explore this little waterfront town. Problem was that there wasn't much to explore! It was a very quiet town (Dad and I laughed that it felt like we were in Radiator Springs!) with not much to see or do. Instead, we headed back to the boat to rest.
If you can read all of the signs, you'll see that this funny little ACE Hardware store had it all... hardware, cellular service and supplies, books, wine, and cheese!

Belhaven to Elizabeth City

While we were not in church on Sunday morning, I think both Dad and I felt like we were. It was an incredible morning, and with the sun shining through the clouds, it looked like heaven was smiling down on us.
The weather was, once again, perfect, and we were met again with dramatic scenery changes throughout the day.
We took turns driving the whole way, making sure we each got a chance to just relax and enjoy all that was going on around us.

Aproaching the Pelican Marina in Elizabeth City.

Again, we got into Elizabeth City mid-afternoon, so we headed for a short walk into town. It was Sunday, and just about everything was closed, but we could tell that it was also a quaint little sailing town.Elizabeth City boasted the Museum of the Albemarle, so Dad and I checked it out. It is a beautiful building, and as the women working in the museum said, it is a work in progress. There were only two exhibits, but both were interesting... it was a good history lesson on the area!

The Dismal Swamp

We left Elizabeth City early Monday morning, headed for the Great Dismal Swamp Canal.

Again, another beautiful morning and sunrise... we couldn't have asked for better.

It was a very long and straight canal, all hand-dug. There is talk every year of it closing down due to lack of federal funding, so we were glad to get it in before that happens (hopefully it won't... it is too incredibly beautiful to take away). We stopped at the Dismal Swamp Canal Visitor's Center only to find that it was closed (just another excuse to have to go back and do it again...). It was a nice break, though, to get out and walk around after a long morning on the boat. The old superintendant's house.
We felt as though we were totally isolated, far away from anything other than geese and ducks... such a peaceful place.

There were two locks on the canal, but after our trip through the Erie Canal in the fall, these were nothing... we were pros!

The lock-tender in the first lock wasn't so friendly, but the second lock-tender was full of personality. He even showed us his conch shell-playing ability... we were quite impressed!!
This sign was posted in both of the locks and just reminded us that we were moving further and further north. While I know Dad wants to get the boat to Toledo, a big part of me was tempted to turn it around and head to Key West... only 1239 miles away! Sounds like much more fun!

Norfolk

It seemed like as soon as we got through the canal and turned a bend, we came upon this:
Civilization!

Norfolk is a very big port and shipyard. There were cranes, bridges, aircraft carriers, police and Coast Guard boats all over the harbor. It is also a popular stop for transient boaters, so we followed a long line of other boats under the drawbridges and into the marina... it was a very busy place.It was a long day on the canal, so after a short rest and a yummy dinner, Dad and I turned in. I had an early flight on Tuesday morning back to my boys. While I was longingly begging for a few more days, I had missed my boys and was looking forward to their big hugs and kisses.

Jason, once again, thanks for taking such great care of the boys and giving me my Amanda-Time. I know that they had the best time with you (a future blog entry!) and will remember the fun and love you gave them for a long time. Me too... I so appreciate the time to recharge and all that you did so I could. Love you!

Dad, I can't say enough thank you's... I don't know if you will ever know how much I appreciate all that you do to make these trips so perfect. Not only is it a chance for me to get away, it is a chance to get away with you. I hope that we are doing this for years and years to come.