The Powells Went Down to Georgia

To my one or two faithful readers who are not family...bear with me on this one. It might be kind of long and boring for you. To my family members, I hope this post stirs up some nostalgia.

We had a great time down in Georgia during the last week of July. Kim and I hadn't been there since 1999. I'm glad we went down the same time as the Andersons. Owen absolutely loves spending time with his cousins.














The first day was spent exploring Dad's property.















We found a moth the size of Chloe's hand.















Then we found a turtle.
Garrett wanted to hold the turtle.















Walker wanted to hold the turtle.















Chloe wanted to hold the turtle.















Owen wanted to hold the turtle.
(Morgan was probably sleeping.)
(Brock was probably eating.)















That night we met some old friends, the Bolands, at Herb's Fish Restaurant.
(Don't ask me why I didn't get a single picture of any of the Bolands.)















How can you not smile when the smell of fried catfish is in the air?















Earlier that day, Kim, Mindy, and Morgan went shopping. Owen and I scored some cool Georgia Bulldogs hats.















The view behind the restaurant was amazing.















Peeing outside is pretty amazing too.















The next day, I got to go flying with Dad down to Mobile, Alabama.















I was pretty impressed with how effortlessly Dad flew that plane.















He couldn't control the weather though.
We had to avoid some rain clouds.
Motion sickness.
Not fun.















We couldn't land in Mobile soon enough.















After a quick bite at Po' Boys Chinese Palace, we were headed back to Georgia.















Then it was swim...















swim...















swim.

We probably spent as much time in the water as we did on land that week.

Owen is becoming quite the excellent swimmer.















Sunday afternoon, we went to visit Grandmother in the nursing home.
She just turned 99. She doesn't remember anyone anymore, but she seemed to really enjoy being around the kids.















4 generation picture















Uncle Daley and Aunt Mary just happened to show up the same time we were there.















After visiting with Grandmother, we went to Uncle Daley's to ride his 1930s restored tractors.















The kids had a blast.















Luckily, every kid got to ride on every tractor before a bone-rattling thunderstorm rolled through.
(Notice the dreary sky above the scary green-eyed cow.)















Tuesday, we went to Grandmother's house.















Driving up the dirt road brought back many memories.















The house where Dad was born.















I had to get a picture of the tree.















Front porch















Back porch















The pond















After Grandmother's house, we drove down to Warner Robins,the place of my birth. We stopped to put new flowers on Jeff's grave.















It's hard to believe he would be 40 years old. I wonder what he would have thought about his 16 nieces and nephews.















We had to drive by the old house...















...and the old school.



















We wanted to eat at Po' Folks for lunch, but they went out of business.















There are about 100 other pictures I'd like to post, but it is getting late, so I will leave you with this message that was so eloquently put on a billboard on the road to Dad's house.

Tagged

Holy shnikeys. We got back from Georgia last Wednesday, but I have been working 11 hour days since then. I am at our Cedar City store right now, and there's no customers at the moment, so I thought I'd finally do another blog. I was tagged on the Oh Me Oh Myers blog to do this one word response thingy. I'll ease back into the blogosphere with this list. I promise I'll do a post about our many adventures in Georgia as soon as I can get some free time at home with the digital camera. Enjoy this fine instrumental by my favorite band while you read. (The moron that made this audio code spelled the title of the song wrong. It's supposed to be Arco Arena.)

Yourself: surprising

Your partner: dependable

Your hair: waterproof

Your mother: gentle

Your father: concerned

Your favorite item: piano

Your dream last night: eating

Your favorite drink: chocolatemilk

Your dream car: this

Your dream home: mortgage-free

The room you're in right now: store

Your fear: roofs

Where you want to be in 10 years: healthier

Who you hung out with last night: Adriana Costa

You're not: mean

Wish list item: this

Last thing you did: activated

What are you wearing: tie

Favorite weather: Autumn

Favorite book: Holes

Last thing you ate: grapes

Your life: swamped

Your mood: anxious

Your best friend: wife

What are you thinking about right now: selling

Your car: lame

What are you doing at the moment: breathing

Relationship status: hitched

What's on TV: sports

Last time you laughed: 12:30pm

From St. George to Georgia

Forgive me once again for being slothful in my blogging duties.

Our lives are somewhat in order enough to take a vacation down to Georgia. I will report on all the swimming, fishing, etc. upon our return.

July 17th Part Eight...The Heat is On

July the 17th
Eight years ago
I married a girl
She did not say no



We ran out the door
Our day was so nice
Look very close
There is no rice

In Vegas that day
There was no breeze
The forecast was right...
113 degrees


Now in St George
It is still just as hot
I'm thankful each day
For the wife that I've got






Just like the heat
On that sweltering day
I'm with you forever
I won't go away


My heart will not falter
My love won't grow dim
Happy Anniversary
I love you Kim

Congraduations Owen!

Owen has just recently graduated from swim lessons, and we are very proud of him.














Owen started swim lessons with no apprehension about getting into the water, but he was terrified to go under the water.















He started to get used to the whole thing by doing spider walks along the wall.














Then he did alligator crawls on the big step and put his face in the water.














He ventured out with the teacher doing motorboat swims.














And before we could say, "Don't pee in the pool, son," he was going underwater...














...and swimming all by himself.
















I guess we were a little late getting Owen into swim lessons compared to other kids, but it fueled my competitive side to see him display pure domination over the other puny toddlers in his class. Way to go Owen!

My New Favorite Movie

I don't have much time right now, but just know that I have found my new favorite movie. Transformers transformed me back into a 7 year old. I was smiling the entire time I was watching it. Even if you know nothing about the Transformers, go and see this movie.

Robots in Disguise

I have been waiting my entire life for a non-animated movie about the Transformers. The day has finally arrived. I will be watching the movie at 6:15pm on July 3rd with my beloved wife. I will blog again with my reaction.

(I really do have a life besides watching t.v. and movies.)

Happy Father's Day To Me

I had never seen the show 24 until about 8 weeks into last season. Kim was up in Salt Lake City doing Life Flight training. JoEllyn was in town to babysit Owen while I was at work. We flipped on the t.v. after Owen went to bed one night, and came across 24. Kim said everyone in her training raved about it. (Side note...One of the people Kim was training with was going to go to Trolley Square at the exact time of the shootings, but then she remembered 24 was on, so she decided to stay home and watch that instead. She says Jack Bauer saved her life). JoEllyn and I had both heard 24 was a good show, but neither one of us had seen it before. I was instantly hooked. I set the DVR to record the remainder of the season. I hate to admit it, but I have never been so involved with a t.v. show. I love it more than Ed (the bowling alley lawyer show, for those of you who don't remember). I love it more than Blake Lewis and American Idol. I dare say I even love it more than the Transformers cartoon from the 80s. I compare this addiction to my mom watching Days of Our Lives 20 years ago.

So being the wonderful wife that she is, Kim bought me seasons 1 through 5 for Father's Day. (They were on sale). I was done with season 1 by that Wednesday (1,152 minutes), and I am currently halfway done with season 2. Yes, that means I stay up until the wee hours of the morning. Ask Kim, I cannot stay awake through a movie anymore. When I am watching 24, however, I am wide awake. My man crush on Blake Lewis has vanished faster than a box of Krispy Kremes at a Weight Watchers meeting. Jack Bauer is the new man in town.

Man, I'm pathetic.

Fight #5 and Fight #6

Owen jumped into our bed this morning and screamed, "Daddy! Let's play fight #5!"

"How do you play that?" I asked groggily.

"Punching, grabbing, and smunching," Owen answered chirpily.

"What is smunching?" I responded.

"This!" Owen yelled, as he proceeded to do a cannonball on my chest.

"Ouch," I uttered.

"Let's play fight #6!" Owen continued.

"How do you play fight #6?" I inquired.

"Bock, sock, knock, and boop!" Owen replied.

"What is bock, sock, knock, and boop?" I wondered.

"This!" Owen belted, as he rushed me with two jackhammer fists to the neck.

"Ouch," I exclaimed.

Memorial Day Weekend

This post is a couple of weeks overdue, but I still wanted to report on our most recent trip to Colorado. Kim's younger sister, Melissa, who just graduated from jump school, was able to come home from the Army on Memorial Day weekend.
This is Owen and Emily proudly waving their flags at the airport.

Ryley wanted to get in on the action too.



Melissa's birthday was May 11th, so we celebrated that a little late as well. This is a replica of her wings she received for completing jump school. (One of only 8 girls to finish.) She'll be reporting to Germany later this month as part of the
173rd Airborne.



Every Memorial Day, the Kunz family runs the Bolder Boulder, a 10K road race that has over 50,000 runners. This is Owen giving Kim a congratulatory hug for finishing the 6.2 miles.



The ladies outdid the guys this year.



Good job ladies!


Notice Rich, John, and myself are all in street clothes. Derrick is the only guy who didn't wimp out. Kim, Courtney, Melissa, Annie, JoEllyn, and Janice all represented!


We were sad we didn't get to see Scott while we were there. He was doing some training in California. Scott and Melissa, we're proud of you guys!


It was also Scott Kunz's birthday. Happy 31st old man! I shouldn't talk. That will be me in 4 months.


Derrick and I would also like to announce our engagement. We haven't decided on the big day yet, but we'll let you know.


I don't have any pictures of it, but Owen's favorite part of the weekend was sitting in front of his little DVD player, watching The Chipmunk Adventure over and over and over again. Thanks for introducing him to that Melissa. Thanks a lot. You were even so kind to give the movie to Owen when we left. Thanks again. I don't know how to thank you enough for having those songs permanently burned into every part of my brain. Thank you so much.

test picture

Hello everyone. I was just reading in the blog help section that I can send pictures to my blog from my cell phone. This picture was from New Year's Eve. I thought I'd test it out.

Another Adoption Update

For those of you that somehow don't know yet, Kim and I are trying to adopt for our second child. That's how this blog started. I wanted to keep everyone up to date on the adoption process. So here's another update...

The first Thursday of every month, the LDS Family Services here in St. George hosts a support group/class/get together/etc. for adoptive couples, birth mothers, parents of adoptive couples and birth mothers, and pretty much anyone else that wants to come. I finally was able to attend one last night. (Kim had to work.) Three different birth mothers that had just recently given birth and gave away their kids spoke to us. I have a whole new appreciation for these girls. Sure they made a big mistake, but we all make big mistakes sometime in our lives. They had the strength and the courage to give away the one thing they loved the most, because they knew it would be better for everyone involved.

Kim and I have been extremely busy at work recently, and our remaining paperwork for the whole process has taken a back seat. We now have a new determination to complete everything as quickly as possible. So please continue praying for us, and I know I've said this before, but please pray for these birth mothers too. I can't wrap my brain around how difficult it must be for them.

The Mind of a 3 Year Old

First of all, I need to apologize for such a terrible May when it came to posting on this blog. Having to cover shifts for employees, being sick for a week, and traveling to Denver for the annual Kunz family tradition of running the 10K Bolder Boulder left me with little time to be creative. I promise to honor and cherish this blog, in sickness and in health, from this day forward, to provide hours of entertainment for my loyal readers. Here's to a jovial June!

So I mentioned in my last entry that I would do a post about some of the funny things Owen has said lately. Being his parents, these words of wisdom are probably funnier to Kim and I, but I hope you enjoy them anyway:

"Daddy! Can I poke you with my sword? 'Cause you're my boyfriend!"

Owen has been infatuated with his plastic sword since Christmas. Since then, everything he picks up that is longer than his arm becomes a sword. He has become quite violent with all of his swords, resulting in many forms of discipline. I guess this question and statement was his attempt at rationalizing away the abuse he was about to give me.

"We say our prayers, we poop in the toilet, we pee in the toilet."

This was Owen's response when we asked him what we needed to do to get ready for bed.

"I don't want to be a pirate! I want to be Batman tonight!"

Imagine Owen screaming at the top of his lungs, tears streaming down his face, and hearing this proclamation. It was just a very funny thing to get so angry over.

"Look at you! You are mean! You are a Buzz Lightyear!"

Owen decided to say this back to Kim after she punished him for something. We were shocked that he decided to compare one of his favorite characters to a mean disciplinarian.

"The twister is going in my poopie, and it's giving me a wedgie."

Owen felt it was important to explain to us the effects of sitting on a hot tub jet.

"I don't like eye boogers, and I don't like hyenas. They killed Simba's dad."

Owen caught a little pink eye while we were in Denver, and this was what he uttered as I was pulling gobs of goo out of his eyes.

"I am the chicken! I am the chicken!"

(To the tune of "We Are the Champions") Owen got the words mixed up.

"I didn't drill you with my red drill."

Owen was so proud of the gifts he got Kim for Mother's Day. This was one of them.

"Heavenly Father wants you to have some nice, cold ice cream."

Bath time is always a treat in our house. Owen's imagination runs wild as he splashes in the water. In this situation, Owen put some of his bathwater in a cup and tried to force feed it to Kim.