Lookouts Game & Apartment Hunting

Here is a nice sunset at a Lookouts game I went to with Jason and Eric and 2 of Jason's friends on Thursday, July 26.

A view from the 3rd base line where I sat with Eric of the scoreboard. The Lookouts won 7-0 vs. the Mississippi Braves. Evidently the Lookouts are better this year as they were in 2nd place in their division out of 5 teams. I'm going again tomorrow night.

A nice view from the down the right field line. Unfortunately, I didn't catch any foul balls at this game like I did at the Burlington Royals game.

A beautiful sunset on the lake on Tuesday, July 31. It was the 2nd straight day we went boating and we have been out four times in the last 7 days!! The boat has been overheating though, so until it is fixed the boating will be on hold. At least my jet ski is still working great!

Another great picture of the sundown. We have sure enjoyed many sunsets on Harrison Bay and Wolftever Creek.

Here is one of the apartments I have looked at on Tucker Rd. The apartment for rent is on the bottom floor of the house.

Here are the new apartments about 1 mile from Southern called Chestnut Hill.

A nice duplex on Sandy Ln. where Katie used to live as well as Eric's brother and Don and Tim J.

The Winding Creek apartments are right next to the Greenway and are very nice inside and only about 8 years old. I'm seriously considering them as well as an apartment off Ooltewah-Ringgold Rd. Well, after another 2 days of more touring and calling maybe I will have more of an idea where I'll be headed. I should also have more good pictures to post from another baseball game and who knows what other activities this week.

Carrie comes to Collegedale

Well, since I have last posted I have started my job teaching in Hamilton County last week with 3 days of school and 2 days of meetings. It has gone well and I'm excited to be back in Collegedale. Carrie came this weekend and we went boating on Friday. I also gave her a tour of all the apartments/ houses I've been viewing and thinking about this past week. I have already seen 8 and will be viewing another tomorrow afternoon after new teacher orientation. After tomorrow, it's back to full time teaching until summer begins on Friday afternoon, May 23, 2008.

After church on Sabbath we took some nice self portraits!

Notice how happy we look to be getting ready to eat spaghetti for lunch!!

Another picture by the fireplace. It was so hot we were happy to stay inside Sabbath afternoon and visit while Carrie helped me label and arrange hundreds of pictures for my photo album.

Here is dad, mom, and Carrie inside a Winding Creek apartment by the Greenway. I have been doing serious hunting for multiple hours this past week and have found some good options.

Our neighbor Jim Ashlock has been working for hundreds and maybe thousands of hours on building this car from scratch. We got to see it on Sabbath afternoon before lunch.

Carrie models her new flip flops on Sabbath afternoon!

More self portraits wearing our red shirts on Sabbath afternoon.

Another great self-portrait! This morning we went and looked at a house/ apartment and then went shopping for the Tax Free weekend. Then this afternoon Carrie had to take off for Indian Creek from this evening to Wednesday early afternoon for KY-TN Teacher's Meetings. This evening mom and dad and Jason and myself went out wakeboarding, skiing and kneeboarding. Then I came back and played basketball with Jason and Eric. Stephanie came over for a surprise visit after she had come for a wedding in Collegedale from MPA where she is Assistant Girl's Dean this year. Tomorrow evening after my New Teacher Orientation and another apartment viewing, I'll be going with the CA Faculty to a Lookouts game.

Zoo & Car Show

On Friday afternoon we went to Wet n' Wild @ Emerald Pointe. It was great fun but unfortunately we couldn't take any pictures of the rides. We went from about noon until 4:30 p.m. and the weather cleared up and got sunny with temps. probably in the low 80s.

I had fun playing with all the animals. I can't tell which cat this is. Weezer was a lot of fun to play with because he is so young and has lots of energy.

Weezer trying to get the toy. I stayed up later than everyone else playing with the cats who never ran out of energy.

The Iverson's house where we stayed from Friday, July 13 through Sunday morning July 22. It is shaded nicely so it is hard to tell what the weather outside is really like. It also made it easier to sleep in. The week was a blast and went by way to fast.

Here is a rare picture of the whole family. This is at the Ashboro Zoo on Saturday afternoon. The weather was great for the adventure. It was low 80s for the high and low humidity. Notice Carrie's Red Sox shirt that she got earlier in the week. It is a jersey for Jason Varitek. Boston, New York, and Toronto have all won 3 straight games.

Two rhinos from up close.

Here is the long distance view of the rhinos and elephants. The zoo is very spread out with lots of animals to look at, and too many 2 see in 2 hours time.

I liked the 3-D pictures on the walls. There were lots of different ones.

A different pictures of polar bears.

In the shadows behind the rock stands a black bear. He was pacing nervously along the whole time and it was hard to get a good picture of him.

Here is the rock Grant climbed on and and others attempted!

After the Zoo on the way home we spotted a Car Show. It was my first one to see since August in Mt. Vernon last year. There were tons of nice cars. How is this for my dad's next station wagon?!

This was of special interest as the Iverson's used to have a car very similar to this but one year different.

Another classic car with nice whitewalls.

An American muscle car, just my personalized car on Need for Speed Carbon we played during the week at home! I'll be hopefully posting more pictures of the 2 week trip north earlier this summer later this week. Today I've spent a lot of time signing stuff for Hamilton County for Hardy Elementary.

Job Hunt Over

This week has flown by here at Carrie's parents in Winston-Salem, NC. I will still be here until Sunday morning when we drive back to Highland and I pick up my car and drive back to Collegedale. I accepted a job at a public elementary school in Hamilton County called Hardy Elementary. They have around 670 students and the school looks fairly new. I will be starting sometime next week. After the Interview at Orlando Junior Academy they offered me the job of Physical Education and After-School Sports Director, but I decided to stay closer to family and friends and move back to Collegedale. I am excited to be teaching at the elementary level. I did part of my student teaching at Wolftever Creeek Elementary which is also in Hamilton County and really enjoyed the age level and the enthusiasm the students have. Look for another post later with pictures of the school and gym. When you walk in the front door of the school, you see the gym right in front of you through glass doors. The trip from the Nashville Airport home last Thursday night to Interview on Friday morning was definitely worth the time.

Baseball Fun

Here are 3 cats on top of a bookshelf that is at least 8 or 9 feet off the ground. They can jump pretty high. The only name I know is Wheezer in the middle. There are 8 cats and 2 dogs here that have been a blast to play with.

I got to Carrie's parents on Friday, July 13, and here is some great entertainment with the PS2. Carrie and Grant are battling away on the Need for Speed.

Taco Bell before the game, where I only had a drink before and then 2 bean burritos after the game.

During the 1 1/2 hour rain delay at the game Carrie and Grant and I went down and saw how the teenagers who were playing the game entertained themselves during the delay. Probably the average age of the players was around 19. They fielded terrible and combined for 5 errors, 20 runs and 30 hits. Johnson City (Cardinals) played Burlington (Royals). The game was classified Rookie League, which is below Single A League.

Our seats at the beginning of the game, where we stayed for a total of about 2 innings. I caught a foul ball and so did Grant during the game down the foul territory on the right field line. Then we played catch with the baseballs we caught and one of the balls rolled right into the dugout! No one would get it for us so Grant yanked open the gate and went in and got the baseball back!

Before the game Carrie showed some pictures to Ken, Jaclyn, Stephanie and Renee. It was a lot of fun to see the Fords all together. I hadn't seen Ken and Renee since last summer at Nosoca eating out. It felt almost like a family reunion! We went shopping before the game for a little bit at the outlets.

I went shopping with Carrie this afternoon in Winston-Salem. I found some nice jerseys, but I haven't bought them yet anyway. And Carrie finally has a Red Sox shirt now! To find out whose name is on the back, call her and ask! Look at the sky after we finished shopping.

This is right before the first pitch of the game. Ken noticed I wasn't wearing a shirt from Canada. Just for the record, I wore a Toronto shirt on Saturday, a Blue Jays shirt Sunday, and now another Toronto shirt today! Carrie says I probably have one Canada shirt for every day of the week.

Here are Jaclyn, Stephanie, Grant and Carrie down the right field line watching the game and waiting for a foul ball. The Royals ended up edging out the Cardinals 12-8. I was cheering for the home state Johnsin City Cardinals. Before the rain delay, they were behind 7-0 after only 2 innings. And they actually climbed back within 9-8 before falling behind. Since I've gotten here we have also gone to Stone Mountain sliding down the rocks and plenty more fun stuff I don't have pictures to show on the blog. I will be staying here until Sunday, July 22. I have been home in Collegedale a total of 1 night since Sunday, June 24. It has sure been a fun and relaxing summer. Look for a terrific blog update from my mom on Sunday, July 23, as they will be getting back from their cruise on that day.

2 Country Tour in Progress

Well, this time I don't have any pictures to post because I haven't been home since June 24 and I won't be back to Collegedale again until July 22 at the earliest. I also left my camera in my car at Highland!! I went to visit Carrie at Highland from Sunday, the 24th, through Thursday morning, June 28, when Carrie drove to the airport early to fly to Buffalo, NY. I met my parents there and we walked around Niagara Falls before driving up to Toronto, ON. We were in Toronto and Oshawa from Thursday evening until Monday afternoon when we left. We went to Centre Island in Toronto Friday and took tons of pics. of the Skydome and Air Canada Centre and CN Tower (which will be posted later). Then on Saturday we drove to Oshawa and hung out all day and went to a picnic on Lake Ontario Saturday night. Then Sunday, Canada Day, we went to Monica Strom's wedding and reception and then stayed at Curtis's that night.
Then on Monday afternoon we drove down to Plymouth, MI, in time for my dad's birthday on Tuesday, July 3. So we had over relatives and had a nice birthday lunch after dad, Grandpa and I went golfing 18 holes! We were ready for lunch after that. Yesterday we went shopping and to Aunt Anne's for a grilled lunch and today we are about to head to Comerica Park for an Indians vs. Tigers game. C.C. Sabbathia vs. Justin Verlander in a match-up of 2 potential starters for the A.L. All-Star team in the All-Star game on Tuesday in San Francisco. I'll put up pictures later after I get back from the tour. I will be going to Family Reunion in Kalamazoo, MI, for the weekend and then flying early Monday morning to Orlando to interview at Orlando Junior Academy until I fly back to Nashville on Thursday. Then Carrie and I are going to her parents place in Winston Salem for about a week. What a fun trip!

Six Flags & Turner Field

It has been awhile since I last posted and a lot has happened. I have finished the year at Mt. Vernon Academy and have been enjoying the summer in Collegedale and visiting Carrie so far. I will be heading up to Toronto tomorrow until Monday when we head back for Plymouth, MI, and then for the weekend head to Eagle Lake for Family Reunion.

Jaclyn looks at the giant Tiger Ryan won for her at Six Flags. It was a very hot day on Monday, June 18, but it was a lot of fun.














Jaclyn took this picture of the American Screeen Machine that Carrie and I were on. It was a pretty rough ride, as Carrie can tell you!













Everybody is anxiously waiting to jump onto the Classic Car race that Carrie and Jaclyn drove for. Standing in line throughout the day was a very hot experience as the humidity was very high and the temperature was somewhere in the low to mid 90s.





Ryan survived the wild ride and so did the giant Tiger! I narrowly avoided getting thrown off the car that Carrie was driving! Carrie's car was faster than Jaclyn's so we waited so I could take pictures of Ryan and Jaclyn when they came roaring up behind us.





Our last ride of the day at Six Flags over Georgia was the Georgia Scorcher where you can, "Put your Feet to the Fire." This is the view just before we boarded the ride. It was such a short line we couldn't resist going on it on the way out of the park. Probably everyone's favorite ride of the day was the newest ride, Goliath, which went up to 70 MPH and really expanded over a lot of the park.







Here is everyone finishing the Ninja, which was pretty rough and they told me wasn't worth the ride because of how hard it shook your head around. I rode this a couple years ago and decided to pass it up this time. We should have taken a hint from the fact that there was about 8 people in line when we got there at around 1:30 p.m.

After the day from 10 a.m. til 4 p.m. at Six Flags, we drove to a suspect part of town to eat at Subway, which sure felt great to get inside in the A.C. and get something to drink. We got to Turner Field about 2 hours early to witness B.P. and make sure we got tickets. They raised the price of all their seats to rip us off. So we paid $16 to sit in the upper deck.





Carrie and Jaclyn waiting for a home run ball during BP. Even by the end of the game the temperature was still 28 C.














I moved closer to the infield during the later part of batting practice. The cage they use around the batter looks pretty nice and the sure did take it down in a hurry before the game. You can definitely tell they have had plenty of practice doing that before.

It got a little cooler after dark, but it rained some during the game and so it stayed very humid. Atlanta won 9-4 vs. Boston. I couldn't decide who I should cheer for so I just cheered for every good play for both teams. If only the Jays had been there there would have been no question. Last June Toronto swept the Braves in Atlanta. Just ask John Locke, he went to one of the games and the Jays won that game 3-2. It was a fun day and both the day and weekend were over too fast. Look for the next blog post somewhere around July 9 or 10 when I get back from the trip I'm on, unless I make a surprise trip home.