Florida Jam details

So, leaving off from G'ville post, we hopped back in the Yukon and zipped on down to Land O' Lakes to see all our Moomba friends. After one gi-normous melt down at a restaurant (good grief, I thought someone would have called the cops), we went to Laurie's house to see everyone. They have a pool so the kids were having a great time. My nerves were shot out pretty good because Bug only knows one speed - wide open - even though he is sprinting on slippery pool decking. LaneBug and Tanner loved petting the dogs too. God bless those doggies,they were so patient with 2 two year olds.

We got to bed around 11:00 and then up at 7:45 - ready to hit the water. The weather was a bit tempermental during the AM hours. You can see the clouds here. But we didn't let it dampen our spirits too much. At lunch, the clouds disappeared and gave way to a gorgeous Florida afternoon.

And right after lunch was RAFFLE time! See all the boards they had to give away??? Man, everyone was itching to get through the raffle to see who would take home those beauties.

We didn't come home with one of those (and that is okay, Monty just bought a new one) but we did come home with this little jewel - a new pad for our swim platform!! This saved us about $300 because we needed a new one! And here is LaneBug, patiently waiting for his raffle ticket number 3100003 to be called.

Well, it didn't get called. So when Dave finished the raffle and I went up immediately and whispered to him that I didn't care what he gave Lane - a boat brochure would be just fine - he just needed to call out his raffle ticket number so he could come up and get a "prize". Well Dave obliged. Lane got a beach ball (he loved it) and he also got this poster to hang up in his room. I looked at Dave like he was crazy. All he did was laugh and say that Lane would keep it A LOT longer than he would the beach ball......I would tend to agree.....

Next was the Big Air contest. I guess I was too busy watching these teenager kids do those amazing tricks that I completely forgot to snap pictures. Man, they were really good. Our great friends Ed & Tammy (see pic below) let us pile up on their boat and they did some surfing.

Monty enjoyed surfing behind Ed's Moomba whereas he was 1400 pounds of water in "fat sacks" to produce a really awesome wake! I wish I had taken a picture of the wake itself. Good grief - it was massive.Then we went and participated in the "float-zilla" where all the boats anchored down and tied upt together for one big floating party. We came in kind of late some many boats had disbanded at this point.

Here is LaneBug "swimming". And that about wraps up our day. I will certainly miss all our Moomba friends and look forward to seeing them next year!

Ah, Football is ALMOST here

Hey Y'all,

We are back safe and sound! Whew, traveling is fun - fun to leave and fun to get back home too. Gee, we have so much to tell about our trip. I guess it is fair to start at the beginning and what I personally enjoyed SO MUCH - our stop in GAINESVILLE! Wow - this was my first time going to the stadium with it empty. Needless to say it is much different than when 90,000+ fans (no exaggeration, that is capacity and most games are sold out and there are plenty without tickets in the parking lot tailgating). Monty and I had differing opinions. I thought the stadium looked smaller without it filled with people and he said it looked bigger. Either way, it was good to be there and although the smell of bleach was strong - they were cleaning the concrete and the seats (you can tell it in the pictures whereas parts are clean and others are not) we sure did enjoy our visit. Also, it was odd to see the field "naked". The goal posts were not in and the lines were not drawn in either. Bug just chattered on and on about football players, helmets and tackles. Unfortunately, he is very much into tackling right now. And running the risk of sounding like a complete wimp I will state that it usually hurts. Bug has watched enough football games and DVD highlights to know the correct way of tackling and the incorrect way to tackle. So therefore, he latches onto your shoulders like grim death and doesn't budge until you are fully laid out on the floor. Of course, with the our height differences I am "standing" on my knees and not able to break my fall backwards too well. So, yeah, it hurts. I am kind of dreading flag football now. I think he will be ejected for tackling. So anyway, we walked all through the stadium and then went into the office where the coaches are located. The foyer has all the trophies and flat screens showing highlights. You can navigate which years and games you want to watch. It was funny to stand there with complete strangers and watch the footage and celebrate all over again on the outstanding plays and wins. Of course Lane would remark in his timid voice (note sarcasm here) "OOHH that hurt", "Oh man, fumble", "TOUCHDOWN". My Dad was so impressed - a few months ago we were out at the farm and Lane would "stop play" when he dropped the ball. He told my Dad it was a fumble. The look on my Daddy's face was priceless. He was amazed he knew so many of the rules on the game.

So, here are some pictures. Enjoy!

The boys were excited....they were traveling at a good pace!

Here is the view when we stepped in! (Florida Field originally was built below ground level so when you enter there is seating halfway below you and above you)

My handsome boys - please bear with the crack smoking camera woman - the picture is whoop sided.

Bug standing at the field looking over the wall. He wouldn't let me hold him so he could see over it better.

Still don't know why Bug didn't sprint across the grass and cause us to be detained. But whatever the reason, I am thankful. He posed by the gate and we moved along without any problems.

My baby boy standing in the tunnel where the players run out at the home games. This gave me chill bumps (corny, yes I realize) but it was unreal to think about all the players and coaches who had stood right where we were. Of course, Monty says this is the picture ESPN will show as they run stories on LaneBug before one of his games at UF.....time will tell.

The view as you are standing at the tunnel. Pretty cool, huh? I thought so.

I tell ya, Bug was nervous at first. He wouldn't completely turn his back to the gator for the picture. It was really cute.

I guess maybe because this gator was smaller he wasn't as concerned? Not sure but he wasn't nervous at all to pose with this one.

BTW, the Florida Jam was completely awesome. I won one of the big prizes. And it was something we were going to buy this winter - so it was perfect! Also, Bug and Daddy made out with some cool stuff. What until you see Lane's......trust me, he will keep this one for years!!

I'll post that tomorrow!

Night-night!

The lazy blogger returns...

...hey ya'll. Sorry to be MIA for so long. We have been crazy here at the Hacienda Johnson. I am off work today (YIPPEE!) and we are about to head out of town (again) to attend the Florida Moomba Jamboree. We went up to Lake Lanier about a month or so ago for the Georgia Jam and it was TONS of fun. So we decided that we would hit the Florida Jam also. Gosh, time sure does fly. I remember leaving Lake Lanier and thinking about the Florida Jam and it seemed so far off. We are going to stop by the "center of the universe" (Monty calls it that actually). Of course, that would be Gainesville. LaneBug has yet to visit the Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. He is going to flip his lid when he walks into the stadium. All he has ever been to are the high school stadiums. And Ben Hill Griffin is one of the larger college football stadiums so there is simply no comparison to good 'ole Thomasville High. Lane and I were watching clips of football hits on youtube last night. That kid trips me out! He really loves football. He loved seeing the videos on the great hits. There was one from 2006 when we played LSU - man, it made me hurt every time we watched it. That guy got his bell rung pretty hard!!
So anyway, off to finish packing and getting dressed. You guys know me, I have to leave the house clean when I leave. And I must brag on my hubby. He was home yesterday and he did pretty much all of the cleaning then. I just need to do a couple of random things today before we leave. I'll get pictures posted when we return. There are good ones from these weeks when I was MIA.

Catching Up

Just so you know, I am still working on getting that insane lemonade funk off my floor. I must admit I haven't tackled it in the last few days whereas things have been crazy but it is my mission to get it off this AM or tomorrow afternoon. We are heading out to the Lake House in a few hours. Bug and his Daddy are outside doing something. So, I am running around crazy trying to cram some of my work into this little window of "alone time". I can get so much more accomplished when I am in the house alone. Oh well, you all know that.
Congratulations to good friends - Alice and Terry - God gave them a beautiful (haven't seen him yet but I know he is!) baby boy - Chandler - yesterday. I will wait and go see them after they get home and get settled. I would love to go see them at the hospital but I am sure it is a little early in the morning for company today....they might throw something at me if rolled up in there right now. I know I would - hee hee hee!!
Today is supposed to be around 100 degrees - YESH! Good thing we are taking the boat so we can stay in the water.
Well, I need to change sheets and do some more cleaning. I'll put up some pictures after the weekend. You know me - lazy blogger - I'll probably post them Monday or Tuesday.
Anywho, tah tah for now!

Chick-fil-A Lemonade - WARNING

OK folks, here is a little tip for you. If you E-V-E-R drop a kid's cup of Chick-fil-A lemonade on your ceramic tile floor - don't try to clean it up. Simply collect all your valuables out of your home and thump a match on the place. It will eliminate much time and aggravation. I have cleaned my floor now 6 times and there are still places were my feet stick to it. I will also purchase a new mop head. I have Chick-fil-A lemonade embedded in the one I have now. I am pretty confident that is the case whereas moppings #2 and #3 merely smeared new sticky spots around the floor where lemonade was not originally spilled. So that leaves the fact that moppings #4, #5 and #6 were done on hands and knees - UGH!
Trust me, strike the match and call your insurance company. I would imagine it is not considered arson but a necessary action to completely eliminate the lemonade residue.

Georgia Moomba Jamboree

Sorry - just getting around to posting today. We had a great time this weekend. Bug did very well considering we covered A-L-O-T of miles in 48 hours. We left mid-day Friday and returned mid-Sunday. It was wonderful to meet other Moomba boat owners. Monty had "talked" to these folks for years on the Moomba website - back when we bought the 1st Moomba - Boomerang. Bug made fast friends with a boy that was his age (only one month older) and his older sister who was almost 5. It was so cute to see them play together.
Lake Lanier was unbelievable! I had never been until this weekend. We saw 130 foot deep on the depth finder at one spot. GULP! That is really deep. Bug and I swam in an area that about 70 feet deep. It was just a weird feeling knowing that it was that deep I suppose. The water was gorgeous - a clear blue, green color - like it was in Sandestin. It was an eerie feeling to see how the water level has dropped there in the last few years. There was about 15 feet of exposed shoreline that should be underwater, the docks that were on dry land - it really drove home the fact of how water is really a big issue up there. You can see one of the pictures below how long the boat ramp is now due to low water levels.
Also, if you don't how Lake Lanier came about click here to learn more. I did not know the history behind it until this weekend.
All the folks we met were really nice and the boats we saw were gorgeous. There was one attending that was yellow and black - it was the prettiest one to me. Those colors just popped on the water. We did win some really nice prizes. It seems Monty was one name draw short of winning a board. Oh well, not surprising whereas that is how our luck normally runs. But we did make it out with a really nice wake board rope and a sweet ladies neoprene life vest. Those two things together retail for over $150 - so it was a very successful luck of the draw for us on the raffle prizes.
We are most likely heading down to the Florida Moomba Jamboree in August. It will be in Land O Lakes. I know....we are INSANE with the fuel costs as they are now. But we had that much fun this weekend.
Enjoy the pictures!