School, Sparring, Road Trip, Wedding, Coon Dogs, and Natural Bridges

This past week has been busy in the Tavares house. Jon had two finals to complete for the summer semester (his fall semesters starts tomorrow). Both kids started Hillcrest Middle School. Since the tax system is a little screwy in Alabama. We had to pay "fees" for the kids to start school to help cover costs at the school. Jay will be on the 8th grade football team this year. He plays strong safety and his number is 47. First game is in a few weeks. Jay said his first week of school was good. Elisa had a better first week of school. She LOVES middle school. Now she doesn't have to stay in the same class with the same boring kids all day long. Her most favorite class is choir. I start two online classes at the University on Wednesday.

Friday night the kids had their karate award ceremony. They are now officially green belts. Now the fun begins, they get to beat up other kids. Of course, they have pads to protect them. Saturday afternoon the kids had to attend a sparring clinic, where they got to try on their pads for the first time. I have two good pictures to share. When Elisa put on her helmet it smashed her face and with her tony tail popping out of the top of the helment she reminds me of a chipmunk.

After the karate, we drove home and started the round of showers. Kara Beth was one my graduate students last year and was getting married. The wedding was in 5.5 hours with a drive of 3.5 to go. And we were driving up to Muscle Shoals for the first time. It was a peaceful drive. We didn’t listen to the radio, no cell phones, no tvs, and no computers or game players. Just our usual chatter about goofy things. Like who farted? The majority of the scenery on the highways are trees. We always remember the movie line from Disney’s Brother Bear…I spy something….tree!

We arrived in the Muscle Shoals area around 6 pm, plenty of time to check in our room and relax. Kara Beth’s wedding was at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Shores. It was an outdoor wedding with a view of the Tennessee River. It was a clear evening. A little warm and muggy, but we can’t complain for Alabama weather. One of the best parts of the evening was seeing Sara Beth, she was my undergraduate student from last year. It was a wonderful ceremony and I know those two will be together for the rest of their lives.

Sunday morning, I decided I was going to sleep in. I actually slept until 8 a.m., quite impressive for me. Once everyone woke up and showered we checked out of the hotel and went in search for breakfast. We did find a real donut shop, but all they had left was glazed. Glazed donuts are still better than Krispy Kremes. We pulled out our tourist maps and discussed how we should get home and what to see.

We had several options locally, but since it was a Sunday, they didn’t open until 1 pm. So we choose to go to the Coon Dog Cemetery in Northwest Alabama. Here is a link to the website http://www.coondogcemetery.com/ It was open all day and free! We had to drive nearly 5 miles off of the main highway on a poorly maintained road, but Elisa discussed how it was a trap like in the movie “The Hills”. We did get a great shot of the scenery.

Our next stop before we came home was Natural Bridge. Here’s a website that mentions the place http://lampton.home.mindspring.com/naturalbridge.htm Jay was leading us on a bunch of trails trying to get us to the top of the natural bridge, but we couldn’t find our way up there. We did see a black snake, water seeping out of the rocks, funky mushrooms, and other creatures that crawl. Jon and I were covered in sweat after Jay lead us through the area. We plan to go back one day, when it isn’t soo hot and humid.

Overall the trip was great, we got back into town before Jon’s 6 pm class. (Yes, a 6 pm class on a Sunday) I enjoyed our weekend without the distractions of the home. The kids had me laughing so hard by time we got home I could not breathe or stop crying. 

Proof that my kids like each other and they don't need electronics to drive long distances with them. 

I have more photos on my facebook account.