Tampa Bay Breast Cancer 3 Day Walk

Many of you know that this past weekend my Mom and I participated in the Tampa Bay Breast Cancer 3 Day. We walked 60 miles in three days with around 2000 other men and women to raise money for breast cancer research and prevention. The first day we walked was Friday and it was brutally hot. However that was not the part that was bad. The bad part was that around lunchtime most walkers - including us - got caught in a torrential downpour and our shoes and socks were soaked! This led to - you guessed it - tons of blisters. My feet were covered when we got back to camp that night. But we hardly had time to worry about the blisters because when we arrived at the camp we found out we were being relocated due to impending bad weather. Where were we being relocated to you ask? A parking garage! Yep, we spent Friday night in a tent on the seventh floor of a downtown parking garage. I bet that's not something many people get to experience! Anyway, the next morning we were transported back to camp to begin our second day of walking. Saturday was the hardest day for me personally because of the blisters, but with the help of the 3 Day crew and the many local citizens who came out to cheer, we made it through, and that night at our campsite the grassy ground actually felt like a luxury compared to our accommodations the night before. Sunday, the third and final day, was actually the best day. By then my blisters were feeling better plus the route was the prettiest. We walked through beautiful old neighborhoods and by the water. It made the day pass by much quicker and before we knew it we had reached mile 60! Seeing that sign was the most amazing thing - I couldn't believe we had done it. The whole weekend ended with closing ceremonies were all the walkers got to walk as a group listening to the cheers of friends and family. The most special part was when all the walkers who were breast cancer survivors walked in and all the other walkers took off one shoe and raised it in salute to them. Knowing what they had been through made the whole 3 day experience seem easy. All in all the people who walked the Tampa Bay 3 day raised a little over 5 million dollars which will stay right here int the local area to help the fight against breast cancer. It was an amazing event to be a part of and I would encourage each one of you, men and women alike, to consider being a part of it in a city near you at some point. Thank you so much to all the people who sponsered me: Frank and Andrea Shealy, Wes Shealy, Adam and Andrea McKee, Bobby and Priscilla Deets, Babby and Jessie Thomasson, and my Mom's friends David and Carolyn. We couldn't have done it without you!

Sleeping in a field of thousands of hot pink tents was pretty cool!

Wes and Noah came to cheer us on Sunday morning.


My Mom and me right after we finished the walk - tired but happy.

Raising our shoes to honor breast cancer survivors.

Playground

If you've viewed this blog at all, you are aware we recently sold our house and moved into an apartment. Lots of people ask me how Noah has adjusted to the move and if he likes the new apartment. I could lie, but he loves the new apartment and it is mainly because of the playground that is located directly across the parking lot. He likes it so much in fact, that he will get his shoes and bring them to us demanding we put them on his feet. Once he has them on, he runs as fast as he can to the door and yells, "Out! Out!". We either take Noah out to play on the playground, or endure an amazing screaming fit until something distracts him from the hope of going outside to play. Sometimes we get annoyed by his demanding to go outside, but we just remind ourselves how great it is to have a child who wants to be outside and who wants to be active! Here are some pictures of the playground and the fun Noah has outside.



It might not look like much to you, but to a parent with a kid who wants nothing more than to go outside, it is a grand sight!





That face will take care of any bad day!!

More Pictures from Gulf Shores

Nobody really cares what Jeremy has to say, they just want to see pictures! So this post will focus on more pictures from our time at the beach.

"would you guys quit taking our pictures!"

Look out Tiger, here comes competition!
If you have seen Wes golf, you know Amy has a much better chance of beating Tiger!

Jeremy dubbed this Noah's look of consternation!
Gee, I wonder where Noah gets it!


"Chillin"

Rebuttal to Wes's account

Every now and then we will allow guest writers to contribute a post to our blog much like large newspapers allow op eds from people like the President or First Lady. This is Jeremy's response to Wes and I believe it warrants its own post and not just a spot in the comment section.

Jeremy said...

First of all, I just love seeing my son in his Gamecock pants, rooting on Spurrier and crew as a beat down was laid upon the Kentucky WildRats.

Second, as an eyewitness, I must speak to the events in question regarding Noah's fall into the pool. Wes' account, though very favorable toward himself, must be contradicted by sound reason and accurate truthtelling.

First, let us note the clear Biblical injunction that a man cannot be convicted on the testimony of just one person. Rather, he can only be convicted when at least two witnesses agree on the account (see Deut. 17.6, 19.15, II Cor. 13.1, I Tim. 5.19, and Heb. 10.28). Since Kelly has provided one account, I will be the convicting second witness to indict Wes on attempting drowning of his son!

Before I get to the real facts, we must dispute part of Wes's account. Wes claims that he was in 3.5 feet of water when the incident in question occurred. All of us who have stood beside Wes know that he could not be 'standing' in that depth of water. Instead, due to his height, he would have had to be 'treading,' meaning that he would have been unable to 'run' to Noah's rescue; rather, he would have been swimming and thus not getting the water on his face frequently caused by running in a pool. Also, one point must be clarified. Even Wes acknowledges in his post that Noah was in only one foot of water (it was actually more like 9 inches) and then fell "backwards," meaning that he fell into less shallow water, and thus proving Kelly's description correct.As to the facts of said incident, here we go...Unlike Wes, I was actually paying attention to my son, and thus preventing the drowning on the front end rather than Wes' method of somehow coming to a rescue while simultaneously engulfing your son with waves of water. But, as Wes indicated, I was only 4-6 feet away when the near drowning occurred. I saw Noah do a "Wes Waddle" into about 9 inches of water when he slipped and fell backwards. However, he actually did have the cat-like reflexes to catch himself on his elbows and keep his head from being submerged. You'll note that Kelly (the mother) and myself (adopted uncle) did not get alarmed by this situation, as there was no need for alarm. We watched to see if he would sit up and we readied ourselves for calm, non-water drenching assistance IF the need arose. Suddenly from the corner of my eye, I see Wes with a panicked look on his face rushing toward Noah as if he were in slow motion in a bad Chinese movie (his mouth was moving but different sounds were coming out). This unabashed rush to Noah's side led to a wave, the kind which has not been seen since the intro to Hawaii 5-0. In other words, I looked on as poor little Noah, just about to rise to the occasion and sit up was suddenly overtaken by a Tsunami. His head plunged under the title wave and he began to take in water. After three more waves from Wes' high-knee adventure washed over him, Wes finally reached him and pulled him from the water. At this point, we all waited with baited breath to see if Noah was still alive after such a barage of water. Somehow, the crying which was unleashed by the wave attack, allowed him to breath again, much like the doctor smacking a newborn on the rear end. He was alive, but his face was covered with water, bringing about the much heralded look of consternation seen below! Those are the facts Wes!

Jeremy

Pep Talk

On Thursday night of the South Carolina vs Kentucky football game, Lou Holtz gave his weekly "pep talk" and directed it toward the Florida Gators. Jeremy and I couldn't stop laughing and enjoyed it so much that we watched every half time show on Saturday that we could find on ESPN and ESPN2 so we could experience it again. If you haven't seen it, it is a must see. If you have, it just gets funnier the more times you watch it. Judge for yourself on how Lou did...I agree...he did it perfectly!!

http://www.gatorcountry.com/football/article/lou_holtzs_pep_talk_for_uf/

Fun in the Sun Part II

This is the first time I have gotten on here to post anything and I thought I would give my perspective on our trip to Gulf Shores with the Bedenbaughs. I thought I would start by explaining what really happened with my dramatic rescue of Noah. So, I was standing in about 3 and 1/2 feet of water and Noah was walking from the edge of the pool into the water. When he reached about 1 foot of water he slipped and fell backwards. Everything blurred and began to go into slow motion. Kelly was sitting a mere 3 feet from Noah and Jeremy was about 4 feet in the other direction. I watched as Noah's head bobbed in and out of the water...no reaction at all from Kelly or Jeremy. I was left with no choice. Like superman leaving a telephone booth, I ran to my son and rescued him from drowning. In the process he might have gotten a little water on his face from a wave I sent in his direction, but he thanked me for my cat-like reflexes!

Anyways, we had an excellent time with Jeremy, Amy, and Jude. It was the first time we had seen them in exactly a year. Kelly and I are constantly amazed how easy it is to reconnect with our good friends from college and their families. Jeremy and I had a great time watching college football, watching the kids play together, and reminiscing about days in Charleston and our hope to get the Shealy, Bedenbaugh, and McKee families back in Charleston and together again!

One of the things I love about both Noah and Jude is how happy they are (most of the time)! Here are a few more pictures.

Fun in the Sun

Wes, Noah, and I just got back from a fabulous vacation in Gulf Shores, AL. We spent a few days at a beachfront condo with our friends Jeremy and Amy and their little boy Jude. Noah and Jude had a blast playing together - once Noah decided to be friendly that is! We spent most of our time down by the pool or on the beach. Everyone was a nice golden brown except for me and Noah - and of course Jeremy was the most golden brown of all! All in all the trip was very relaxing except for one hair raising moment in the pool. We were all hanging out in the (very) shallow end when Noah fell over on his back. For a moment it looked as though he would go under but he did as his mama taught him and used his washboard abs to hold his head up. Since I was only a foot away this method would have worked beautifully and I would have been able to grab him without his head getting wet at all, except.....Across the pool Wes watched his son fall and everything turned to slow motion. In his best baywatch lifeguard impersonation Wes ran as fast as he could across the pool to save his son from "drowning". However in his haste, he proceeded to send waves of water rolling across the pool and his son's face. In trying to "save" Noah he only managed to make sure he sank further into the water. Wes' dramatic rescue was of course met with a huge cackle from his good friend Jeremy and Wes never quite heard the end of it the whole trip. At least we know that if there is ever any real danger Wes will be on top of things! Anyway....I am including some fun pictures of the cutest little boys in the world - one of them is obsessed with ducks and the other likes to read Dr. Suess' Wacky Wednesday! They both have the sweetest little personalities. Hanging out with them on vacation - what more could you ask for?

Jude enjoys some football with his daddy - go Gamecocks!

Noah's "look of consternation"

Noah and Jude enjoy some sun and

snacks - and watch their parents play a riveting game of paddle ball!

Good fun with good friends!

A Whirlwind Move

A lot has happened since I last wrote! We actually put our house up for sale, got a contract ont it, and closed last Friday - all in the course of 3 weeks! We were totally shocked that it sold -we really thought that in this market it would take at least 6 months. Of course then we were totally stressed to have to move out so soon, but all has worked out for the best. We have found a really great apartment (that is almost nicer than our house!) and we have moved in and are in the process of unpacking. Noah has been "helping" as I unpack boxes, so as you can imagine I'm getting tons done. Can you sense the sarcasm? Anyway, we are finally starting to settle in and are very excited to get to go on vacation this week to destress! We will be heading up to Alabama to see our friends the Bedenbaughs and their little boy Jude. He is only 4 months older than Noah so we can't wait to see how they play together!