Lanie's new sounds...

Now she's making some great noises...so just listen.

Lanie on the beach

Only in a campground...

Okay...so we (all 9 of us) were riding bikes last night and this truck came cruising by with this big statue strapped on the tailgate. I had a quick flashback to the Kiss statues in Dazed and Confused that ride in the back of one of their trucks as they all cruised to the 'party at the moontower.' However, this statue wasn't Gene Simmons or Paul Stanley. Even with full make-up and tongue sticking out, those two don't hold a candle to this most unique creation I have ever seen carved out of wood or any other carving medium! It is a life size carving of a Polynesian warrior in a loin cloth standing on a body of a man missing a head...which is in the warrior's hand. And strapped to his belt is another head of another unfortunate Western explorer that must have crossed paths with this ticked off dude. Turner saw it and said...'wow, that's pretty... (long pause and confusion on his face turning to disgust) GROSS! I must say it is pretty strange but hard NOT to stop and stare at, hence the reason they brought camping with them. Now, the proud owners have it posted at the entrance to their site, complete with some decorations like some sunglasses, a coke in his hand and a chair for you to sit in if you want to have your photo taken with the proud warrior. And just think, some folks think campgrounds are boring! I asked the owners about it and the told me it is 20 years old and was purchased in Polynesia many years ago. Was it really? Who knows? But Wow...I am gonna keep my eyes peeled for something similar to put at our campsite next year. If nothing else, it makes for some great conversation and one of memories that will forever distinguish this trip from the others. Well, this being the first beach camping trip for Lanie MAY be the way we remember this one...but the statue will be part of it too!

Much anticipated vacation!

After 4 days of packing, a few trips to walmart and answering the question of 'when do we leave again, daddy?' at least 30 times, we are finally here at St. Andrew's State Park in Panama City, Florida. The pictures are of the camper and the view from our site on the bay. Turner and I drove in the truck and pulled the camper while Clay, Lanie and Meghan rode in the 'nice car.' Turner really enjoyed the ride because it was his first time to ride any significant distance in the front seat...since my lovely truck dates back to the days before airbags. He really enjoyed it and loved the unobstructed view! It took a while to get set up, but we are camping next to friends with kids so the boys stayed busy playing in the water and catching critters with their new friends while mom and I set everything up. Some people would call it a chore but I really enjoy camping and the whole setup part. This time I got creative and even built an outdoor shower so we don't have to use the camper bath or go to the sometimes dirty bathhouse! I will get a picture of that up soon as I know you are dying to see it! Meghan did a great job inside decorating...we even brought our houseplants! It gives it a nice homey touch...and they would dead if we didn't bring 'em. We are set up right on the bay and having a great time. Lanie got to bring her swing and bouncy seat so she's doing pretty well with camping. We also brought a big screen house we set up right next to the water, so we have been hanging around in there with Lanie so we don't have worry about bugs. Its pretty hot, but with a fan out there it's pretty comfortable. My neighbor asked if we brought the kitchen sink. But that's the beauty of having a big camper! I made sure to bring anything I thought we may need. And so far, we have had everything we need, which is nice. From a toaster to an icecream maker, we are set. Now I need to go see what the kids have in their buckets. More to come...

Snakes, Tadpoles and Icecream

The boys took an excursion to Moss Rock (the boys now call it snake rock...which will be explained in a sec) to scramble on the rocks and check out the waterfall. It's really a beautiful spot and only about 5 miles from our house. Well, the creek was almost dry but we did find some small pools full of life...tons o tadapoles (as Clay calls them) and mudpuppies. We caught a few tadapoles to take home to our pond and also saw two snakes! That was pretty exciting for all of us...and after seeing the second snake we decided it was time to head back to the car. Next stop...Ben & Jerry's for 2 much needed milkshakes! Yummy! Now we are all cool and just having fun talking about the snakes.

A Great Father's Day!

So did we have a good father's day around the Richardson house? You bet! I got to sleep in a little bit, which was nice...and then the father's day festivities began. Well, there weren't really any festivities, but I did get some really great hugs and cool gifts. It started in my bed as I awoke to 2 very excited boys carrying crinkling plastic bags and telling me "happy father's day." Each carried a Walmart bag stuffed with the wads of paper, at least 20 of 'em, that they had used to "wrap" the presents. What was hiding in the bags? Well, Clay had me open his first and I found a neat little yellow airplane that he picked out for me. Of course he told me what was in it before I even got all the paper out. He isn't much on keeping secrets. He also gave me one of his finer pieces of art. It's a pencil/paper creation complete with the Krusty Krab and a few Spongebob characters. I was told I could frame it. Next came Turner's bag with a similar wrapping style, except this time the bag was tied in "triple pretzel knots," which I was promptly asked if I knew how to untie by the tie-er. Well, it wasn't easy, but after some tedious finger work and good laughs, I discovered Turner's contained a big ol' bag of peanut M&M's (my favorite) and an IPod speaker so I can listen to my IPod without headphones. Very cool stuff! But that's not all! Then the boys lugged in a really cool camping chair that I have been wanting ever since our neighbors got one. It's one that reclines way back and will provide a place for many a afternoon naps under the shade of the camper awning. We leave in just a few days for our much anticipated annual beach camping trip, so I know it will be put to good use. And then the really big smile came when I saw Lanie wearing her cute pink onesie sporting "Daddy's Girl" across the front. I can only hope she lives up to what it says! I really do want her to be a daddy's girl...since we already have two momma's boys.

Wow...what a great mommy and kids who obviously love their daddy very much! And I don't just say that because of the great gifts they gave me, but because everyday I see their faces and realize how blessed I really am to have such great, healthy kids and a beautiful, caring wife. I know I take things for granted way to often, but I think that's what days like this are for...to help us stop and take some time to remember what really is important. Now I just need to live up to my end of the deal and try each day to become a better dad.

Don't worry, the 60's & 70's are alive and well...

Five T-Shirts From Craft Store: Ten Dollars

Tie Dye Kit: Seven Dollars

Looks you get when you go out in matching tie dye gear in 2008: Priceless

Ratty old Grateful Dead T-shirts, check. Framed 'collectible' Jerry Garcia stamps from Tanzania, check. Long haired hubby, check. Hacky sack, check. Assortment of VW collectibles to keep your VW enthusiasm alive because your wife made you sell your VW camper van many years ago, check. Granola in the pantry, got it. Are we a bunch of hippie wannabes around here? I guess so... In keeping with that theme I decided to spend a day teaching the boys how to tie dye, which actually turned out to be a lot of fun. The boys are SO proud of their creations that I suspect we'll be doing this again sometime soon!

Our first official trip of the summer

We got to enjoy a very relaxing few days at the beach with Jeff's family last week. Here are Turner & Clay with their cousins Savannah, Bailey & Erin. The kids have a great time playing together and their favorite thing was our trip to "The Track" to ride go carts and bumper boats. My favorite thing was having so many people who wanted to hold and entertain Lanie, it was nice having a break and just a lot of fun to be there!