A Belated Father's Day Note

My Father's Day dedication is a little late, but only because I had the joy of being with my father on this Father's Day.  Randy and I rode with our friends, Russ and Heather, to Nashville on Friday night.  Saturday morning we went to Center Hill lake for a picnic with the whole family.  We set up picnic tables, played cornhole, ate really, really good burgers, and got to go out on our boat and wakeboard on the beautiful waters of Center Hill.  Other than being insanely hot, it was perfect.  We had to leave earlier than we would have liked to go to a Southern Supper in honor of my cousin, Will, and his new wife, Maggie, who got married a couple of weeks ago at Martha's Vineyard.  Think good food, a beautiful pool, and tons of hydrangea blooms in a picturesque backyard.  On Sunday we went to church with my parents and then had a Father's Day meal with my dad.  The only thing that would have been better is if we could have spent time with Randy's dad too.

When I was younger, I would probably have been described as a "daddy's girl".  Always riding in the middle seat of his beaten up truck and falling asleep on his shoulder once the sun hit, I oftentimes was his little helper.  I remember summers where I would help him build decks or shingle roofs.  My job consisted of handing him the tools when he needed them.  As I got older, we became huge lovers of the lake and enjoyed going even when no one else would.  The cold month of November didn't even stop us one year.  With all of our similarities, it is easy to say that I looked up to my dad a lot and we were very close.  It was, however, a bit of a struggle once I got to high school that all of the guys I knew wanted to be my dad's friend, which usually meant it would be "weird" to date his daughter.  He also was an excellent track coach while I was a runner, and everyone assumed I would be good, but it was quite the contrary.  It was probably not a surprise to most people that I followed in his footsteps in pursuing his own career: an art teacher.  What is so ironic about how much I love my dad is that he was quite disappointed in my birth if I remember correctly.  He wanted a son pretty bad...and after trying to turn me into a boyish shot putter, I think he decided to embrace the fact that I would not become a boy or even a tomboy.  Last year, I saw the humble and emotional side of my father as he had to "give me away" to Randy, a yankee who does not like Nascar.  As hard as I know that it was for him, we both knew that I would always be his little girl, the big cheese.  

A father is such an important role in a family, and I believe my father made us the family we were through his strong faith and dedication.  There are so many correlations between our heavenly Father's love and our earthly fathers' love, and I am thankful that I have seen this firsthand.  

I also have my Pa (my mom's dad) who has a huge faith and lots of love for his four grand daughters.  He amazes me with his health-he skydived several years ago!  Unfortunately I never met my dad's dad, but my Lulu married Mac, who has stood by her side and shown much love for our family over the years.  I also have my new father-in-law who I like to call 'D'.  He travels all around the world and appears to be a genius (even though I'm not quite sure what he does).  He is one of those selfless people, always helping others, and I've been able to see him as a leader at their church.  The best part of having him for a father-in-law is that we share the same love for food!  What could be better than that?

Happy Father's Day to you all...

LOVING my Job!

(All those reading this that are currently working, please don't hate me.)

I have recently discovered how teachers end up teaching for so long after enduring so many days of just barely staying alive.  The answer to the mystery of teaching is simple: SUMMER.  Just when you don't think you can handle one more inappropriate comment from a middle schooler, you get to choose your own daily schedule and go on vacations while the county still mails in the paychecks.  I have to admit, it feels pretty good....really good.  And, at the same time, I do think I have deserved it!  I know that other teachers feel the same way too, and that anyone who is not a teacher despises us during the summer months.  I would probably despise us too.  

Anyways, I will be going back to work the first of August so I have to live it up while I still can.  The best part of June has been that Randy is off too!  Our days consist of TV, movies, laying out at the pool, and playing with Jack.  After gorging ourselves at the lake, Randy decided we should do something productive, so we have been doing a workout five days a week.  For the first time since high school (and even then I found some way to cheat) I am lifting weights and using the actual "machines" that are in the weight room.  I'm so proud of myself!  I still fear I might get "big"...even though both Randy and my dad say that won't happen.  Our friend Heather has started to do the workout too and we were saying how we wish we had taken 'before and after' pictures...or maybe not.  In addition to all that, I've also gotten to read more than usual which I have enjoyed.  I finished Marley&Me and have now started the Shack.  If anyone is reading this that has a fun beach read suggestion, I will need one when we go to Mexico!  

And, of course, I have to share my favorite picture of our handsome son, Jack.  Randy and I joke that he would be worthy of a kitty calendar with this shot!

Pina Coladas: Tim's Ford '09

Summer would not be complete without a trip to Tims Ford Lake.  

Since I was about 12 or so, my family has been extreeeeemely blessed to get to spend time at my Mom's boss' lakehouse.  We have watched it transform over the years, too.  What once started out with a couple bedrooms doubled in size, then more boats were added, and now a whole separate house AND tree house (not just your ordinary tree house) have become part of this amazing space in Winchester, TN.  

Waking up and eating a home cooked breakfast, followed by a mid morning boat ride, tubing and wakeboarding...lunch, afternoon lake run, then more amazing home cooked food and being lazy on the couch.  That pretty much sums up the time spent at the lakehouse over the years.  This year's trip consisted of my mom and dad, Randy and I, and Jodi and Matthew.  We had such a great time.  Of course, it wouldn't be a Tucker vacation without a few glitches, and we did experience a few minor misfortunes this trip.  Yes, the gas cap sank down to the bottom of the lake and the tip of the boat got chipped, but worse things could have happened.  One part of the trip that Randy introduced was the daily pina colada (non-alcoholic of course).  Every day was the same- "Who wants a pina colada?"  He put blueberries, strawberries, basically any fruit we had in the drinks, and they were delicious!..hence the title of this post.

One day we were there was unfortunately cold and not a great day to be in the water.  Instead, we went into town.  Downtown Winchester has lots of old-town charm with old buildings, the "square", and little stores and coffee shops people have really fixed up.  And there is also Hammers, an auction-type store that we have been to each summer for cheap clothes, tools, and homemade jam.  This year I also found a fabric/art store that is in a building that was the first gas station in Winchester.  

Other than wakeboarding, which everyone participated in except Mom, we also got to tube (Randy is much more of a risk taker than me on those things) and we got to play on the old rope swing in one of the coves.  The only thing we didn't get to was taking the boys to jump off the bridge into the water...guess we'll have to wait until next year.  We also did the usual dinner boat ride to the marina to eat seafood.  Of course, everyone ordered seafood except Randy who had a burger.  I'm still convinced he'll come around one of these days.

I'll stop rambling now with a simple but true statement:  I think going to the lake is as good as it gets.  Honestly.  Yes, I still want to go to Hawaii and Italy and Scotland and Australia and.... but give me the lake and I am perfectly happy!  (and I think I'm starting to turn Randy into the same type of lake lover as the rest of my family)

'I Do's' in the Park

It is now officially summer.  All of the hard work and teenage crap that I have dealt with all year seems absolutely worth it when realizing that I now have a little more than two months OFF!

On Friday night, Randy and I headed to Nashville for my Aunt Sandi's wedding.  On Saturday, my mom, dad, sister, and Randy, and I all head out to Edwin Warner Park to set up for the 5 o'clock nuptials.  When we arrived at park #11, a Korean church was having a cookout and playing games.  Because we had already gotten a late start, it was not a good thing to find someone in our territory.  Thankfully, my mother is very good at being in charge and getting what she wants.  All it took was a flash of our park permit and the group was gone--slowly, though.  

The wedding consisted of a little more than 30 of Jack and Sandi's closest friends and family.  It could not have been a prettier day for a wedding (much cooler than the day Randy and I got married) and everything went extremely well.  My cousin Autumn (Sandi's daughter) made the cake which was very yummy.  We did have one tablecloth set on fire when it blew up onto the candle, but that was easily fixed with no harm done.  As the reception was winding down, Randy, Amber and I decided to go wading in the Little Harpeth River.  As we were trying to walk through the extremely slippery moss-covered river, my dad thought it would be funny to throw a log into the water.  This was no ordinary log, more like a giant tree stump.  Needless to say, I got soaked (somehow Randy and Amber did not) and was also covered in slime on my backside.  

A year ago I would have just let it go.  But now, I have a husband who stands up for me...my partner in crime.  Randy told me quietly, "we'll get him back".  About thirty minutes later, as my dad is just lounging in a chair with family, Randy hands me the gatorade ice bucket and my dad gets SOAKED.  You would have thought his track team had won another state championship.  It was pretty sweet revenge, and fun entertainment for all those watching.

As Sandi and Jack left, we decided to send them out in style by throwing leftover m&m's in place of birdseed or bubbles.  One landed in Randy's shirt pocket.  

A quaint and personalized wedding in the park, Congratulations Sandi and Jack!

(my camera battery died like 15 minutes into the wedding so I didn't get half the shots I wanted)

Memphis in May

May has been one busy month for Randy and I here in Memphis!

He finished his first year of dental school pretty early, and the first picture is of him and his friend Josh.  Josh is a D1 too who happens to live in the Estates and whose wife happens to be a Shelby County teacher...needless to say, they have become good friends.  I have had a rollercoaster ride this month with my job as a teacher.  First of all I didn't know what next year would hold and had to go through transfer applications and interviews.  I am still not out of options completely, but it looks as though I will be doing the same thing next year (that is, traveling between two different middle schools each week).  It took a LOT of patience, trust, and faith in God that His will would be done for my job.  I might not be happy with the outcome, but at least I know that it was prayed about and that it is where I am meant to be.  For those of you who don't know, I interviewed for a full time position at the one school that I have had trouble with this year.  All through the interview I wondered if I even wanted or could handle the job, but hearing that it was given to someone else was a hard thing to hear.  No one ever likes to fail at something, regardless if it is the "best" thing or not.  Now that it is over I can honestly say that it was an answer to my prayers.  I am still waiting to hear if a full-time position opens up at Arlington, the school that I would love to be at (and who would love to have a job available for me).  Until now, it's all about faith...

Well, May has apparently always been a damp and soggy month, and this year has been no exception.  The Music Festival was at the beginning of the month and my sister and brother-in-law came in town for the long line-up of bands.  Unfortunately, it rained non-stop Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  It was still great to see family and spend time with them, and the rain was actually kind of fun...except for the fact that Sunday was not only rainy but cold.  Until this year, I do not think I have ever drunk hot chocolate in May.  With all the rain came a flooded Mississippi, which most of the pictures show above.  Randy and I live on Mud "Island" which is technically not an island but along the Mighty Mississippi River.  In the pictures, look at the trees in the water because those trees are normally way up on shore with benches underneath the shade of the tree.  Randy got curious about the depth and strength of the river and waded out one afternoon...thankfully, he didn't get washed down the Gulf.

This past weekend, Randy went to Cincinnati for a friend's wedding (and of course Reds games) and then also got to help his brother and sister-in-law move into their new home in Louisville.  To keep me company, my bestest friend and big sister came to Memphis.  We had so much fun just sitting around and talking..and eating.  On Saturday we took a fancy picnic to the Sunset Symphony, which unfortunately was also soggy.  It never rained during the show (a plus) but the ground was wet and it kinda smelled.  Still, it was a very neat experience to sit on the river and listen to a symphony...and we also heard the oldies band Three Dog Night ("Joooy to the world, all the boys and girls, Joy to the fishies in the deep blue sea, Joy to you and Me").  The night was perfectly topped off with fireworks, and Joda and I went and got the best cheesecake ever to take home.  On Sunday she came to church with me, we did the usual Central meal, and then went shopping.  The weekend could not have been any better...it was exactly what I needed.

Randy came home on Monday night and helped me clean out my classroom the next day when he found several brown recluse spiders.  Tomorrow is my last official day of my first year teaching!! All I have is inservice and then I will take much advantage of summer BREAK!

Oh, and I also took a "Senior Portrait" photo session today with the PE teacher at Bon Lin who is working on building her portfolio to pursue photography.  So if any of you stumble across pictures of just me on Facebook, there's the explanation.  And just remember that I had a FULL day of school before taking those pictures.  They're not the best (of me that is) but I was happy to help out a friend.

More Jack Videos

Randy is at it again.  Tomorrow he leaves for Cincinnati for a wedding and gets to watch the Reds play, so I don't think I'll be adding too many more.  

These are videos of the "normal" Jack...how he acts on a daily basis.  The first is how he will jump up and attack you, the second is him attacking our first cat that Phyllis sewed together before even knowing we would end up with a sandy orange kitty cat.

Jack: A Swimmer?

Well, as my last post stated, Randy is out of school.  While I am hard at work trying to tame anxious middle schoolers, Randy has been playing tennis, renting movies, going to baseball games, laying out, working out, and sleeping in.  I think he deserves every bit of it, too!  But today he got a little too ambitious.  He has been wanting to teach Jack how to swim (well, I guess he knows "how" so he wants him to "like" swimming).  Jack already loves water, so he thought it might work.  I wouldn't say it was a complete success, but I think he can handle a few more attempts....after all, we go to the lake in a couple of weeks and we want Jack to be on the boat and jetskis.  (just kidding, mom)

Anyways, here is Jack's first experience swimming...as told by Randy.