Amazing!!

This is what it would probably look like if Wise and Fuller ever got in a fight (and Day jumped in at the end and teamed up with Wise).

A Little Getaway

Em and I had a sweet little three-day getaway recently. Unfortunately, it ended in tragedy.

We met up with Em's bro and his wife in the Smokies on Sunday. They live in Raleigh, so its about halfway. We did a fairly rough 11-mile hike, then set up camp and had some dinner and drinks. The next day, we headed to Asheville, NC. We all shared a room at the HoJo, and spent time checking out the town. I had been told Asheville was cool, but it was better than I imagined. The streets were lined with little shops and privately owned restaurants and bars. Street performers played bluegrass on the major corners, and I was shocked to see how many people had their dogs with them. There is definitely a "hippy" vibe going on in that town. On our second night there, Em and I went to The Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company. Basically, its a brewery that serves amazing pizza and shows recent movies on theater size screens. It was three bucks to get in to the theater, and there was a bar in the back where you placed your orders. It was super layed back and relaxing.

There's nothing like a weekend getaway to revive your...wait a minute! I forgot to tell you about the tragedy. Lets back up a minute.

I mentioned being in the Smokies. The day after we camped, we decided to do one more short hike up to a waterfall before we headed to Asheville. I saw a gas station that had a huge Slush Puppy sign out front. I decided that we needed to stop in and get some, so we did. I had a Cherry/Blue Raspberry. It wasn't as good as Slush Puppies I remembered from my childhood. I drank about half of it and sat the cup in my cup holder, where it was promptly forgotten.

Two nights later, Em and I are headed back to our hotel after the movie/pizza/beer thing. I'm messing around with my phone when I drop it, it bounces of my chest, then my leg, and lands right in my two-day-old Slush Puppy. I couldn't have done it again if I tried. A sad ending to an otherwise wonderful trip.

Actually, I'm just kidding. Its not sad at all. that phone was a piece of junk, and I'm glad I have an excuse to get a new one. The real point to this story is that if your reading this, I need your number. All of my contacts are shot. And, if you have tried to text me in the last couple of days and I haven't responded, well, now you know why.

The Circle of Life

Well, I am now officially an uncle. As many of you know, Chad and Nicole had a beautiful baby girl, Phoebe, on Monday night after about 24 hours in the hospital. I was on my way home from dropping my other brother-in-law, Brent, off at the airport when I got the news that it was a girl and everyone was healthy. Obviously, I couldn't have been happier.

While driving home, I couldn't stop thinking about family, the miracle of birth and how huge of a life change a child is for a young couple. I thanked God for this special gift.

So, I'm feeling pretty high off of this good news when I walk in my front door and what do I see? My algae eater, Colonel Suckie Britches, had passed away.

He lay there lifeless on the bottom of the aquarium, and all I could do was stand there in shock. Now I know what they mean when they say that the good Lord giveth, and the good Lord taketh away.

Well, I guess its not a bad trade. I mean, the colonel was a fine fish and he did a great job at keeping my aquarium clean, but I think that Phoebe is probably going to be a little more fun to have around.

Congratulations Chad, Nicole and Phoebe!!!

We'll miss you, Colonel Suckie Britches.