Christmas in Alabama

Picture this...Late December, almost Christmas and we are wearing short sleeves and sweating. This is a scene I would have never imagined growing up. It is Christmas time in Alabama where we eat Lasanga and Coconut Cake on Christmas eve and Ham, Turkey and green bean and corn casserole on Christmas Day.

On Christmas eve, we ate 2 meals and opened gifts at Cayce's Meemaw's house. As you can see Brad (Lindsey's husband) got a new Christmas tree wife-beater. Doesn't he look thrilled? Just kidding. The two that made out the best were Preston (Lindsey's soon to be born son) and Logan (Brittney's soon to be born daughter).




On Christmas day the Logan family traditionally heads over to Virginia and Erle's (Great Aunt and Uncle) house. We again eat 2 huge meals and play cards. This year we spent most of the day with Brittney and Matthew (Lindsey was working and Caryn was cruising). After Matthew and Brittney compared stomach sizes, Matthew won by an outey, we took this picture.


Caryn arrived after returning from her cruise the weekend after Christmas and we were able to take a rare family picture.

It was a quick weekend but we had alot of laughs. It is great to think that next year there will be two little ones running around. It is even better to think about how this time next year Logan will be bossing around Preston and he will cry when she comes into the room.

Thanksgiving in Snowy NY

We went to upstate New York for Thanksgiving. It was the first Thanksgiving that Jason spent with his family in several years. We landed in Syracuse on Thanksgiving afternoon with several inches of snow on the ground. On Friday, both sides of Jason's family were invited up to his parents house. Almost everyone came to visit including Jason's younger cousin and great uncle who are both battling cancer. We had a great time. The King of the party, by far, was Dylan. He is our (almost) 3 year old nephew. Dylan is a ham and full of energy while being well behaved (quite the opposite from his father). On Saturday morning, we woke up to run with lots of snowflakes falling. It was a beautiful scene and made for a fun run. Even though our stay was short, we thoroughly enjoyed our holiday!

Our New House

It has been a long time since we posted a blog. I have many excuses, but one in particular is of merit. We have purchased a new house. We closed on our new home on November 14th and spent about 4 weeks doing projects before we moved in. It has been a great home for us so far. It backs up to some woods, so Jason feels more at home. Here are some pics:

As you can (somewhat) see, we have plenty of room for visitors. For all those who expected a Christmas card from us this year and did not get one, this house is again our excuse. Please come visit...Birmingham has lots to offer!

On Wisconsin

Last weekend, Cayce and I went to Madison, Wisconsin. Cayce had never visited Madison and I wanted her to experience real football weather.

We saw my old house and the view of the stadium from it.






Saturday morning, we went on a jog along the Menona Lake Trail. It was awesome!





The view from Picnic Point (1/2 way through the run)









The Wisconsin Student Union Terrace.






Following a Heisman Winner. Ron Dayne walked down the hill to the stadium with us.

Wisconsin played Ohio State and lost. #2 is true freshman QB Terrelle Prior who is going to be a stud.

No Wisconsin football game is complete without Jump Around in the student section!

The capitol building on Sunday morning.












We had a great time in Madison. We stayed with my friends Bart and Suzy and we were able to meet up with great old friends. The weather for the game was in the mid 40s and it was perfect. On Sunday, we were able to go to the new Blackhawk church building (this is the church that Jason attended in grad school and where the friends who helped lead him to Christ still attend). They just built a huge new building on the west side of Madison and we heard a great message!

Mad-town is a great place and if you ever want to go to a game up there, let Jason know and he will try to meet you!

Jeff and Elena's Wedding

We went for a trail run the first morning in Phoenix. It was a beautiful morning, but as usual, Jason got us lost. We were trying to find a road that did not exist. It was a beautiful, although stressful and hot, run. We made it back in time for Jason to shower quick and head out, still sweating, in his tux.

The wedding ceremony was neat. All the music was performed by a mariachi band. The ceremony was in a beautiful missionary-style church.

The set up of the reception was amazing. There were huge flower arrangements on the tables and a great band. We spent most of the night on the dance floor and Jason had some great laughs with old friends.

The Bride and the Groom...looking Dapper.

For those that do not know, Jeff and Jason were classmates, fellow troublemakers, and most of all great, great friends in college. Elena has made him a better man.

The Boys. Tim, Jeff and I were trouble in college and some slight resemblance of those old days peeked out during the weekend.

Sunday morning we decided to hike to the summit of Squaw Peak in North Phoenix. It was another beautiful morning. We saw huge, movie-like, cactus everywhere. It was a great hike and there were alot of people on the trail.

At the summit of Squaw Peak. The hike was 1.25 miles to an elevation of 2,608 feet.

Phoenix was awesome and we can see why so many people want to live there. If only it was 30 degrees cooler in the summer, we might consider it.

Jason's New Blog

If you are intrested in hearing Jason's ramblings go to jasongotothecorner.blogspot.com

Our First Alabama Adventure

We decided to take a hike over Labor Day weekend and we had many options. I had no idea there were so many outdoor things to do here in Alabama. We made the 2 hour drive up to Little River Canyon on Monday morning. Little River Canyon is a national park located in Northeast Alabama (about 20 minutes from the place where all the unclaimed airline baggage goes to be sold in a huge warehouse). The canyon itself is known as the Grand Canyon of the east. It was a great day for a hike. There is a 50 foot waterfall that we had easy access to and a great hike down the side of the canyon to the river below. This is where the adventure began...we stumbled upon a couple of nude bathers. They were actually suprised to see us and asked us to stop walking while they put their clothes on! Our reaction was to continue to walk and basically ignore them as best we could. Maybe if we were born and raised in Alabama we would have been shocked, but we just came from Austin where nudity is an acceptable form of expression at public pools and social events. Below are some pictures of the day.

Last Ireland Pictures

Hey all,

Here are some final pictures from our trip to Ireland. It was a great time and we will have ever-lasting memories. I will continue to update the blog from time to time with our current adventures. Please keep in touch! Cayce and Jason

Back in the USA

Well, we have landed in Chicago and we were only an hour late. It was a great flight (mostly because we flew over Greenland, which was ice and snow covered). We really enjoyed the trip but we are happy to be back home.

Tomorrow or Friday, I will update the blog with more pictures and a description of the last few days we were there. Mostly, the trip was about driving (1200 miles in 11 days), food (lots of potatoes, sausage, bacon, potatoes, fish, eggs, potatoes, and fried stuff), clouds, and friendly people. The Irish are proud of their country and they should be (it is an amazingly beautiful, diverse, and rugged country). There were many times where we would arrive at a spot that our tour book told us about and all we could say is: WOW!

There was one instance in particular that we haven't blogged about yet. We were driving to a place that our tour book described as a 'photo op heaven'. As we navigated the one lane road that is actually a two way street, we passed a parking lot where some people had pulled off to hike the rest of the way. We knew we were near the coast and the car in front of us continued on the road toward the spot. As we climbed up a 30 degree incline on a one lane road in our 3 cylinder, stick shift, Toyota Corolla, we rounded a blind turn to find out that we were now on a one lane road with no guardrail on the left protecting us from a 500 ft. cliff and a cliff side on the right leading up. As a person who is terrified of heights, this was an unpleasant finding for me. We did arrive and it was mostly worth the stomach distress and nauseating feelings.

Cayce has had plenty of chances to laugh at me and has taken advantage of all opportunities! We are looking forward to talking to all of you and thanks for the funny comments that made us feel loved and missed! Have a great Wednesday and as they say in Ireland, 'tanks a million'.

Day 8- Inisheer and the Cliffs of Moher

On Day 8, we decided that we were going to drive as little as possible. From the town we were staying in, Doolin, we were able to catch a ferry over to one of three small islands off the coast of Ireland. We went to Inisheer, the smallest of the three. Life on these islands reflects what life was like in Ireland's past. The people speak Gaelic and there are few cars. For the most part, what we were told was accurate. There were few cars and just a small bit of tourism industry.

One of the interesting sites on the island was an old church that was mostly buried under a sand dune. It was in the middle of a graveyard and was the first church on the island. The missionary's tomb was not far away buried under about 4 feet of sand. The doors of the church were only about 3 feet high.

We also came upon an old rusting ship wreck. You can walk right up to it and into it, if you want. We didn't get that brave, but it was impressive. It is just sitting on the beach rusting away.

Next, we took the same ferry to the Cliffs of Moher. They are 700 ft. above the ocean and an impressive sight. We met some other tourists on the boat. One couple was from Australia and their grown daughter was with them (she works in London). The conversation was nice and of course we had to inqure about their holiday (vacation). The rest of the world has it right, if you ask me. Europeans get about 5 weeks of vacation, 4 of which they have to take between June and August. Most take this time consecutively. In Australia, workers start with 5 weeks and after 10 years with a company you get 12 weeks a year. This couple had been out of Australia for 5 weeks when we met them.

Part of the tour of the cliffs took us to this rock which acted like a huge bird sanctuary. There were thousands of birds: sea gulls, penguin looking things, and huge black raven looking things. There was bird poop everywhere!

After dinner in town, we drove out to the cliffs again so we could see them from land and watch the sunset. It was an amazing view. The only issue of the day was the sunburn suffered by Jason, between the direct sun and the reflection off the water in the boat, his face was roasted. Go figure! There's not much sun in these parts, but Jason always manages to find it!

On to Galway...

Day 7- Ring of Dingle, County Clare

On Day 7 we drove the Ring of Dingle, think of a miniature Ring of Kerry with more cliffs and less other tourists.

Ireland is full of wildflowers. We found these next to a beach we stopped by.

Our first stop on the Ring was an old stone fort that was probably first built around 1200 BC. It was made of stone and the most recent improvements were during the first 200-300 years after Christ.
We had another hike to the top of a mountain and as you can see, the wind was blowing hard. I think Cayce should look into getting some hair products that would help her maintain this look when we get back to Alabama.

The view from this mountain was great. The clouds were high, so we had a clear view. The wind was really making the ocean choppy, and as you can imagine the sound of the water hitting these rocks was awesome. There was a large boat trying to make the trip back from the largest of these islands with some tourists on it, and we dubbed it the "vomit cruise".

Later in the afternoon we arrived in Doolin, our destination for the day. Doolin is on the coast and is known for its traditional Irish Music. We were able to see two different musical groups play. The first group was just 2 guys, one with a guitar and the other with a banjo. They were excellent. The 2nd group was at least a fiddle, a guitar, and a banjo. We couldn't see them because there were so many people around, but they sounded good. For dinner, we ate at our Bed and Breakfast, which is also a restaurant, and Jason had one of the best desserts he has ever eaten (a chocolate truffle flourless cake with mint ice cream!).

Day 6- Ring of Kerry, Dingle, Connor Pass

Day 6 was the day we tackled the Ring of Kerry (along with every other tourist in Ireland). It is a 200 kilometer, 2 lane (which in America would be wide enough for only one lane) road with spectacular cliffs, mountains, and green pastures. It is the most popular tourist attraction on the island and there are large tour buses that can hardly fit in one lane. Cayce rode in the bushes quite frequently.



This is the highest peak in Ireland, it is called the Carrontuohill. Driving toward is was a good way to start the day.

This is off the side of Carrontuohill, looking over Dingle Bay. Gorgeous!

On one of our side trips, Cayce suggested that we walk along this rock beach to see if we could get around this point to see the open ocean...boy did she regret this suggestion when Jason made her scale up the side of a dirt wall to get to the vantage point. (This is Cayce, and not only did I make a poor suggestion, I was mainly irritated that I had to wear my purse attached to my body because I was in charge of the Passports. Nice of Jason to take pictures.)

On another hike, we went to the top of another small mountain and had a beautiful 360 degree view of the ocean, Dingle Bay, and other greenery.

From the top of the small mountain...can you find us? Stupid Auto timer on the camera! (This is Cayce, and this picture makes me laugh out loud!)

After we left the Ring of Kerry, we went to a small town called Dingle. Along the way there were pasture lands and mountains in abundance. Cayce has an infatuation with sheep and couldn't believe how many there were and that they climb to the tops of the mountains to graze. They also traveled onto some of the main little roads.

I'll leave this last picture for Cayce to fill in the details:

OK. So, this picture just shows the road (you can see the reflector in the middle indicating there are two lanes). There is not enough room for two cars. On the other side of this rock wall on the left is a steep cliff. We traversed this Connor Pass, as it is named, around 9pm and the fog was setting in. We got to this point in the road, and Jason rearranged his seating position. He was sitting crazy upright, with both hands gripped tightly on the wheel. I felt badly for him but couldn't help but laugh. I am such a mean wife!