Last Published Feb. 8, 2016

Milford Sound, South Island, New Zealand

Ugh! Has it really been almost four months since I posted, I am going to do a better job of blogging more lately. Uh, well . . . I guess that makes me a liar. And I hate being caught in a lie. I really am longing for the day when I am not afraid of getting caught in a lie, but just give up lying or trying to make myself look a little better than I really am.

So . . .  what's been happening since early February? That's a whole season and a half ago! If any of you keep up with me on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook then you know that in early March Sondra, me, Shelbi, Mark, Morgan and Wilson made our way to New Zealand. We all arrived there separately (by couples that is) and the kids met up at the airport in Auckland and began their trek towards Taupo, while Sondra and I pretty much headed to Taupo directly so I could get acclimated and situated for Ironman New Zealand. We met up with our friends Dave and Kimberly (Dave was also doing Ironman) at a rental house we secured there in Taupo. Everyone joined up, Dave and I did the race on Saturday, March 5 and we left Taupo on the 6th to start exploring all things NZed. For Morgan's account of our trip, check out this link to her blog. Needless to say, it was an awesome trip and a great time with our kids. We also got to visit with many of Sondra's family while we were there. It was so good to see them. We are a blessed family! Sondra and I did make a couple of stops in Australia coming and going. Brisbane on the way over and Sydney on the way back home. Pretty cool to see the sights there even for a short bit of time.

Everyone in the family is experiencing pretty good health. Sondra's mom has her share of aches and pains, has recovered from knee surgery well, and seems to enjoy living in Middle Tennessee close to us. My dad had some breathing issues but the dr. seems to have discovered that he has more asthma than anything else and is doing pretty well. He and my aunt visited with us a couple of weeks ago and we had a great time together.

Work is good. Sondra's school year is over which means the students are gone but she is a 12 month employee so she keeps working but with many fewer interruptions. All of our kids are doing well. Morgan and Wilson have some major change coming for them in August. Wilson is headed back to nursing school in an accelerated program at Union so they will be in Jackson for at least a year and a half. We are excited for them. They will be about 2 hours away to the west and Shelbi and Mark are still 3:15 minutes to the southeast of us in Georgia.

Gearing up for a busy summer but I will try to be more efficient in blogging. We shall see.