KNOX GIRLS WIN SECTIONAL!

Biz gets a special WKVI radio interview on the night the Knox High School Girls Basketball Team won the sectional championship. Here she talks with local radio personality Harold Welter. Mr. Welter, whose Sports Talk show is broadcast every Saturday, was present to broadcast the game.

PLAYING IN THE SNOW AT THE LAKE


After taking care of the chores at Yellow House, we hopped in the truck and headed down the road to Bass Lake and took care of the drives and walks at the Sanders-Ratliff-Aykens-Ontiveros properties (whew!) so that people would realize that cottages were being taken care of, if not for the illusion that someone is always around.

Here, DeeDee the snow dog is having fun creating a new path through the snow. With only six inches, to her it feels like a blizzard.  But, she's not one to shy away from a challenge. It only takes a few times back and forth and snow dog will have a path laid through even the heartiest of snowpacks.

Then, there's Becca. We've never seen a more snow happy kid in all our life. She longs for the snow to come, and when it does, not only does she love playing in it, she loves helping shovel walks. Bundle the kid up and away she goes.

After awhile, though, Becca and Bizzy took a walk along the shore and Bizzy snapped these wonderful shots of her in different pose.  We have one of the best views off our meander land and can look across the southern part of Bass Lake (the shallow end) and when it is frozen over, for however brief a time, it's a sight to behold.

Enjoy the pictures Bizzy took and we hope you all are enjoying your winter as much as we are!

SECOND "MAJOR" SNOWFALL :)


We say it is the second major snowfall of the year, but we received less than the significant snow precipitation amounts we were supposed to get, i.e., six inches as opposed to the 8-12 inches we were supposed to get. I think the storm dumped most of it on Illinois.

As you can see by the pictures, Charles had a great time piling the snow he plowed off the drive, as well as creating a drive to get the trailer out so he could haul the 4-wheeler to the lake and plow the drives there.

The rest of the pictures show Becca enjoying "the hill" and having fun. The temperatures have not been too bad. On this day they were still in the 20s, so it wasn't as chilly as it could have been. And, we have had some unusually warm days before and after, with temps on some days reaching the high 40s and the low 50s.

Enjoy the pictures!

FIRST MAJOR SNOW OF SEASON


Just two short days after outfitting Dad's 4-wheeler with a snow plow, a major storm cut through the midwest. Because we are a little further south of Hwy 30 than we were in Plymouth, we got much less than the expected foot of snow the northern part of the state received.  We only got about 5 inches of snow . . .

Which was ENOUGH for Charles to - YES! - get out the 4-wheeler and plow the driveway. Here he is on the 4X4 pusshing snow out of the way so that we can get our cars out.

As you can see in the bottom picture, we have a much longer driveway than our house in Plymouth, with a much larger parking area. With a two-stage snow blower with a 28-inch mouth, it takes Charles nearly 3 hours to clear the driveway.

With a 50-inch plow blade and Dad's 4-wheeler, it took Charles about an hour - that includes all the playing around he did:)!

READY FOR SNOW WITH DAD's MODIFIED RIDE!

Charles and Barry stand next to Dad's Honda 4X4 with the snow plow attachment Barry is letting us use for the winter. 

After two hours of mounting brackets and wiring the winch, the Monster Garage team was able to relax, that is, after Charles hauled the 4-wheeler back to Yellow House.

Don't worry Dad! Everything mounted can be removed without ever presenting a scratch.  We are going to have SO MUCH FUN this winter!

Thanks, Barry!

MONSTER GARAGE TIME!

Barry uses a grinder to trim a metal support piece that will be used to help hold the winch on the front of Dad's Honda 4X4.  We enlisted Barry's help to mount a snow plow on the front so Charles could have less time clearing the driveway.

Barry effectively trimmed a corner off the piece so that it would fit on the front rack without scratching the body.

BECCA WINS GAME BALL!

Although our beloved boys basketball team suffered a heart-wrenching loss to Winamac, a positive note resounded at the break between the third and fourth quarters. That's when the courtside announcer reads off the winning ticket number for the game ball.  Tonight's number happened to be located in Becca's hand.

At the end of the game, she got to go to the announcer's table and pick up her game ball. Bizzy suggested she give it to Colton; her response? "No way! It's mine!"

TAKING AN AIRBOAT TOUR

On the last full day in Florida, we all headed out for an authentic airboat tour of the Florida's waters. In the picture at right, Charles and Becca were able to sit on the boat Captain's chairs.  According to Charles, "This was a big boat!" Besides the Captain on top, 12 passengers could ride in the lower part of the boat. With one sharp turn, which caused the boat to pull a full 360-degree rotation, passengers were likely to get wet.

After the ride, we all posed for pictures on the dock with the new Highway 79 overpass in the background, which really looks cool in the pictures, so cool, in fact, that we took a picture of just the overpass itself.

We also saw some interesting sites on the boat trip itself. We saw these really cool trees that seemed to be growing above the ground and that the roots looked above the ground.

BECCA SHAKES HANDS WITH SANDY, THE DOLPHIN

Uncle Chris and Aunt Leslie took Becca to Gulf World, an exotic animal theme park where Becca was able to shake hands with Sandy, the Dolphin.

Other exhibits at the park included exotic birds, sea lions and shark feeding.

Becca enjoyed the visit overall.

SITTING ON THE ROCKS BY THE BAY!


Becca and Leslie enjoy a few minutes of time on the rocks by the bay while out and about seeing the sights.  Becca enjoyed going out barefoot as often as she could. It was a struggle just keeping flip flops on her feet no matter how cold it got, which it never got below 60 degrees during the day.

For us, that was warm. For others, it was chilly because of the wind.

MOM AND DAD ON THE BALCONY

Mom and Dad enjoy watching the water from the balcony of the seventh floor condo. They had flown in from Las Vegas and landed in Panama City Beach's newest airport.  Bizzy picked them up. At the end, we took Mom and Dad back to the airport on our way back out of town.

VISITING AT THE HOTEL

After a long day of sightseeing, we all hang out in the condo for the night. We were lucky to land a 3-bedroom, 2-bath condo with a full kitchen and living room. There were enough beds and foldouts that the condo accommodated 10 people!  It was an experience.

Here, I am sitting outside the master bedroom, talking with Claude and Dad, who were sitting around the table.  Below, Leslie scrounges in the kitchen for something to snack on.  Not far from her, Chris takes his turn finding something to eat.

ST. ANDREWS BEACH OLD TOWN

The gang went for a ride and ended up on the east side of West Bay, in Old Town St. Andrews, Panama City. This is about 20 miles from the hotel.

Here, Mom, Dad and Leslie pose for a shot with real palm trees and the bay in the background.

DAYBREAK OVER THE GULF OF MEXICO!


By the second day in Florida, the clouds broke and we awoke to a wonderful vista of waves hitting shore. Now, these are not the type of waves one would surf on, as they are low and rumbling toward shore. They do pack a wollop, as Becca found out later in the week while trying to wade the shallows close to shore.

Here I stand on the balcony with a diet Coke and watch the waves come in.  I enjoyed Florida as well and got to go the beach with Becca a couple of times. I liked swimming in the heated pool, however; it was better on my old man bones!

ENJOYING FLORIDA SEAFOOD

The day after Christmas found the Sanders-Ratliff-May family heading out for some delicious Florida seafood. Here, we make our first stop at Sharky's, a local restaurant with a flare for sharks! Here, Becca grabs a hold of Colton and poses for a picture. Colton is a junior this year in Laughlin and a starter for his basketball team. Becca loved seeing her Colton and Auntie Leslie, with whom she is posing with in the next picture.

In the bottom picture, Dad and Leslie enjoy a plate of fresh oysters. Ugh!

GOOFING OFF WITH UNCLE CLAUDE E.!

Becca shows off her Alligator robe her Uncle Claude E. gave her. She was asleep the night before when Claude and Kasey finally arrived, so she didn't get to see her uncle Claude until Christmas morning. First, she tried on the robe and enjoyed wearing it.  Later, she was surprised by her Uncle Claude who took the robe and showed her the proper way to wear it.

Thanks, Uncle Claude!