Thanksgiving

I spent the Thanksgiving Holiday with the Collin's Family in Coal Valley, Illinois. We had a great time. The food was delicious and the company was great. We spent a lot of time playing games, going to the movies (James Bond, Bolt), shopping, and spending time together. Jim and Bonnie always make everyone feel at home and make sure there's plenty to do and PLENTY TO EAT! Unfortunately, I had to leave earlier than expected because of the snow. To make sure I made it back to Georgia on Sunday night I took an earlier flight...I didn't want to take the chance my later flight would be cancelled. Jewel was very happy to see me when I got home...here's a picture of the snow at 9:00 a.m. in Coal Valley...




Here's a quick look at one of the games we played...I think it's called Band Hero...you play the drums, guitar, and sing...listen...I'm sure you'll be very impressed with my talented family...well actually you probably won't be impressed but it was fun anyway...you might even want to turn OFF the volume on your computer before listening to it. On the guitar is Kelsie, on the drums is Cameron, and singing is my niece Shayna...



Before we left to go to Coal Valley I cleaned out the basement and I took pictures of most of my pictures...

The Grand Illusion

This will not be my typical poll but I would like for people to guess what this is a video of:

1. The Rock Band Styx in concert playing The Grand Illusion...

2. The church service I attended last week - the band was teeing up the Pastor's messege...

3. A YouTube video of a local Georgia Band...

4. My nephew's band - he's the lead singer and they are touring Europe in the Summer of 2009...

5. I've decided to leave UPS and become a rode (?) for Styx...

BTW, the woman sitting in front is an interpreter for the deaf...

Breakfast w/Cameron - His philosophy of grammar

Cameron and I go to McDonald's every Saturday. This weekend we also went on Sunday....we have the most interesting, in depth conversations about everything from the Greatest Super Heroes to Politics to...grammar...here's a conversation we had recently about the shortcomings of our English language and his recommendations to streamline it...

Best Looking Feet Competition!! Vote Early...Vote Often...

Alright, I'm sure you're wondering why in the world I have pictures of feet on my blog. Well, it's because during my parent's visit my father made the assertion he has "the most beautiful feet in the world." Now, anyone who knows me knows my feet are the John Merritt of feet (In fact, no one other than my two children have ever seen my feet - true story), however, I am thankful to say the ugly feet gene was not passed on to my son. As I sat and listened to my father boast about how "beautiful" his feet are I couldn't take it any longer and so I challenged him to a "Best Looking Feet Competition"...but instead of competing against me...I asked him to compete against Cameron. Before I knew it my father and Cameron pulled off their socks and they said almost in unison, "Bring it on homey - you're going down!!!!"

So that is the story of the Best Looking Feet Competition and a little insight into my very odd family...

Foot #1:


Foot #2:


Foot 3:

For those of you confused about the John Merritt reference...John Merritt is the actual name of the "Elephant Man"...

Big Canoe...

On Thursday my dad and I played golf at the Big Canoe Resort...a resort community nestled high in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia...the leaves were beautiful autumn colors...it was overcast and misting...it was 58 degrees...there was barely a breeze in the air...we had the WHOLE course to ourselves (except for the deer and wild turkeys)...we both shot in the 70's (I'll leave out the number of holes we played...that's not important)...if you've ever wondered what a perfect day of golf is...well, this was it...

Helen, Georgia

We took my parents to Helen, Georgia. A village nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains on the Chattahoochee River. This Georgia village has a rich history linked to the Cherokee Indians and Indian burial mounds as well as early settlers who arrived to mine for gold and cut virgin timber for a thriving lumber industry in the early 1900s. Helen is a re-creation of an alpine village complete with cobblestone alleys and old-world towers. They have shopping, camping, both rustic and luxury mountain cabins, restaurants, bed and breakfast inns, mountains, theater, recreation, romantic getaways, beautiful scenery, family activities, waterfalls, museums, history, art, fishing, tubing, golf, and more. Something for every member of the family. (I copied and pasted this from Wikipedia...)


This guy was amazing. He played Beethoven's 23rd Symphony with this contraption on his back...

We ate at a genuine German Restaurant...the kids ate on the way home at Wendy's...

Here's a picture of a couple of German kids we bumped into as we were walking around...

After a day of shopping, eating, and having a good time we decided to take a horse and carriage ride around the village of Helen...

Kelsie and Grandpa Hand driving back home...Kelsie's on the left...

Bavarian Water Fountains...

The Bavarian Village in Helen, GA had one of the most beautiful Water fountains I have ever seen. Cameron was particularly stricken by its' beauty...here are several pictures of Cameron admiring the water spouts which shot out from several areas...

Invaded by the HAND Family...

My Mother, Father, Gena, and Philip arrived at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. They intended to stop off at their condo first but their GARMIN kept telling them..."Recalculating, recalculating, recalculating..." finally it screamed, "I'm not going to freaken recalculate anymore!!!! I'm sick and tired of you NOT LISTENING TO ME!!! If you don't want to follow my directions why don't you just turn me off!!!!????? What is so difficult about following my directions. When I tell you 'turn left' that means TURN LEFT!!!"

We were glad to see them earlier than we expected (except Philip)...here's the picture of the Motley Crew after a long drive...



Here's a picture of my parent's Condo looking down from the loft. It's located in Marble Hill, Georgia, right on the 14th hole of the Bear Creek Golf Course...



Here's the beautiful view from their deck...



I think this is a very funny picture. To really appreciate it you need to click on it so it enlarges. I'm not sure what I said to my parents for them to both have such confused/bewildered looks on their faces. I put down a few things I might have said to them...I need you to come up with what you think I said to them...



* "Mom...Dad....Philip's pregnant again..."

* "Mom...Dad...you know that "little procedure" Richie had done? Well, he now wants to be called Richacita and he now has a "very good friend" named Bob..."

* "Mom...Dad...I voted a straight democratic ticket...GO OBAMA!!"

It's lucky Ron is the greatest UPS Driver...because he's the WORST camera man!!!

Ron Klaus' best side...

It got a little wild on Saturday Night in our hotel room (women, wine, and song!!!)...here's just a small example of the craziness...

The First Annual Ron's World Invitational Golf Tournament

The "First Annual Ron's World Invitation Golf Tournement" was held in Nashville, Tennessee over the weekend. My golfing buddies from St. Louis, Mike Kotlarczyk, his son and my future son-in-law Michael Kotlarczyk, and of course, Ron Klaus met in Nashville and we played golf all weekend long.

Below are some of the highlights (lowlights) of the weekend...

"No Ron, this only has 12 balls in here. This will only last you for two holes..."



We played Gaylord Springs Golf Course...only REAL men and men who are comfortable with their manliness can play golf at a course called Gaylord...



It was a beautiful course...before t-time they gave you a bag of balls to warm up with on the driving range...



It was a tough course; there was a lot of water, a lot of bunkers, and a lot of narrow fairways...

We stayed at The Embassy Suites...and pigged out on eggs, bacon, pancakes, and potatos on Sunday before our 9:10 a.m. T time...

Here's a picture of Michael hitting one of his many 285 yards drives...straight down the middle of the fairway...

Mike...Ken(ny), Michael, and Ron...