Another fun weekend

Other than the fact that we almost died on the way to Albany on Friday, we had a wonderful weekend. Seriously, we were inches from death or at least being very, seriously hurt. We had only been on the road a little over an hour when we met a car going the opposite direction in our lane (left one)!! Highway 280 is a divided highway with 4 lanes across. We noticed a car that had been traveling far in front of us get over in the right lane, but just thought they were changing lanes. As we started to top a small hill, there was a Tahoe barreling down the road at us like they were supposed to be there. I was going 70 and they were at least going that speed. God's hands directed our car off the road just enough for them to miss us. Matt and I both said we couldn't believe they didn't hit our mirror or at least the right front side of the car. I was going 70 down the median and never once lost control. That is all by the grace of God. Friday night I didn't get much rest replaying everything in my head. Of course Satan likes to get me thinking about all the "what ifs." There are SO many! If there had been a car in front of us, we wouldn't have had time to get out of the way. Same if there would have been a car directly behind us.

We stopped at a McDonald's in Dadeville just about a mile or two down the road to check out our tires and calm down a little. A man pulled up behind us that had seen the whole thing happen. He had been in the right lane. He asked if we were ok. I told him yes, but that I was shaking. He said, "you were all in that ditch!" I told him we were praising Jesus for our safety. He then told me he was praying the lady didn't come into his lane. I never saw a lady...just a big shiny grill. I WISH I would have thought to turn around and try to get a tag number or something. I'm praying they didn't hurt anyone else and quickly learned they were on the wrong side of the highway.

Whew!! We went to Albany to celebrate Allison's 3rd Birthday and Father's Day with Bruce. Saturday morning we met the England's early so we could take the kids to the Riverquarium. We all enjoyed that. We then ordered pizza and had YUMMY birthday cake. Allison got a little shy when we were singing to her, but she blew all 3 candles out by herself. She opened presents with Bryan's help, of course. :) It was then time for Bryan's nap so while he slept, I swam with Mary Lynn, Nate, Allison, and our friend Kim. It was good to spend time with all of them. (click pictures to enlarge)

After naptime the Soles came in to town. They got a new boat so we went and tried it out. It was Bryan's first boat ride. I think he really enjoyed it. I always love riding on a boat. Now we have one in the family! :) We probably would have all loved it even more if it wouldn't have been soooooo hot! We went back to the Baker's house for supper and had a chance to visit with Punkin and Uncle Huck. Always so good to see them! :)

Saturday evening we went to Phenix City to go to church with mom and dad for Father's Day. We enjoyed lunch at El Vaquero. Mary Lynn and Nate were coming in around supper time to spend the night so we got to have dinner with them before we came back home. Thankfully, our trip home was uneventful! We were so glad to spend time with so much of our family this weekend.
(Papaw popped popcorn for Bryan. I think it's his favorite food. We eat some almost everyday. Anyway, he gets so excited hearing the "pop pop pop" as he says.)

Kentucky

Our car has been having air conditioner troubles for almost 2 years. We've had several people look at it and have already spent almost $1,000 on repairs. Last week we were told the condenser was leaking and would need to be replaced. Before we spent another $1,100 dollars we wanted to see what my uncle, Big Daddy Bill, thought about it. So I decided to make a spur of the moment trip to Kentucky. Mom went along with me and Bryan. We also had another passenger....Margo! Margo and Bryan had a great time together. They really kept each other entertained and played well together for 2 two year olds :)

We arrived Tuesday night in time for bed. Wednesday we stayed inside all day and played, with the exception of going to eat Roy's BBQ. (it's the best!) Thursday we went to Bowling Green to Chaney's Diary Farm. There we had wonderful sandwiches for lunch and ice cream for dessert. They make everything right there at the diary. After lunch we took Margo and Bryan over to see their baby cows, goats, and rabbits. That afternoon they took very long naps and in the evening played hard outside. (you'll see Bryan's sweaty head in the pictures) We left to come home this morning and wish we were still there.

Here are our pictures!

Chattanooga Trip

Last weekend we went to Chattanooga for Ross' graduation. We didn't actually go to his ceremony because we didn't think 2 babies would do very well trying to sit still for a couple of hours! :) So, while Ross was graduating we visited the Chattanooga Aquarium. Bryan and Allison (and the rest of us) really enjoyed seeing all the fish, turtles, sharks, penguins, etc. Bryan tried to reach out and grab the fish through the glass. It was priceless.

Anyway, Ross' graduation party was at Pa's house. We got to visit with lots of family that we haven't seen in quite some time. It was great to see everyone. I wish we could have stayed longer!!

Oh, and Bryan did WONDERFUL in the car for 5 hours! He's a trooper, that's for sure!

Graduation Party

Above Collage:

Top left to right: Allison with 3 year old Anna Kate-- Aunt Sherry (head cut off...SORRY!) and Kelley-- the graduate Ross and Kennon.

Middle left to right: Ross, Kennon, Zane, and Aunt Beth--Matt, Bryan and Nate--Ross and his wonderful cake!

Bottom left to right: Pa (ain't he cute?!), Ross, Matt and Bryan

Aquarium Pictures

Tennessee Aquarium

More pictures to come....

Fun Trip to the Farm

Sug and Pops have a farm in Webster County. We loaded up the car Friday and traveled up there for a fun and relaxing weekend. Matt and Sug spent Saturday morning fishing while I, Aunt Lou Lou, and Sug fished that afternoon. All together we had 45 fish. (mostly brim)


While there Bryan learned how to sit up all by himself! He's also creeping very well. I'd say in about 2 weeks he'll be a pro at crawling! I see baby proofing in our very near future.


Today (Sunday) we went to Sherwood Baptist Church to hear Kirk Cameron speak on "The Way of the Master" evangelism. AWESOME!!! He is STILL so cute but most importantly has such a huge heart for God and a passion for the lost.

Merry Christmas from the Bakers/Soles Clan

Bottom left to right: Bruce aka "Pops", Jamie, Bryan, Matt
Top left to right: Uncle Ferrell, Aunt Lyndi, and Penny aka "Sug" 

Thanksgiving Week

Trip to Phenix City

Mary Lynn and I loaded up Bryan and Allison Saturday for a fun weekend at Granna and Papaw's. They did soooo good and were very interested in each other! Allison is almost 4 months old and Bryan is a little over 2 months.

Our Trip to Apalachicola