PCB is sooooo PCB!

A truer statement could not be said about Panama City Beach. I was never one to come here as a kid, as my family didn’t really do the whole beach thing. That and when we did it was to Myrtle Beach or some beach near Orlando or something. I’ve always heard PCB referred to as the “Redneck Riviera”, but never really been witness to all it’s splendor. Well, now that I am finally here for the week, I can see why they call it that.

Now, I don’t mean to sound all snobby or took good for PCB, but there’s a certain level of people that I have come to expect from the beach trips I’ve been on. Jess and I have gone to places like Cape San Blas, St. George Island or other lesser known beaches and been privy to not only less people overall, but less… for lack of a better word “trashy” people. Now don’t get me wrong, there are actually a lot of people here that are perfectly normal folk, but there are 2-3 rednecks for every non-redneck at least. The good thing is, it makes for some fantastic people watching! There are all manner of people wandering around it varying amounts of clothing. Fun times all around!

So, with that being said, this place is a lot of fun. BLT HATES the beach so far, but it’s really only his first day. He’s been on a beach in the past but not enough to really enjoy it. I’m not a huge beach person, so he probably gets that from me. He’ll warm up to it eventually. Right now it’s a lot to take in. That and he doesn’t really like being dirty so the onslaught of sand is a lot for him. Chase and Jess are having a blast and doing their thing, so that makes me exceedingly happy. It’s only day 1 of 7 so its going to take some time to really find our daily routine/groove.

This place is sensory overload. Between the beach and pool during the day and the go-karts and put-put and “the strip” at night. Its just a lot to take in. Coming from a more quiet beach like St. George where after being there for 3 days we only saw like 10 people to a place like this is a huge leap. I love the time I get to spend with my family and wouldn’t change a thing. This will always be a trip that I remember and can’t wait to see what the next 6 days bring!

Sniper Slow Down!

As you can tell, it’s been a while since the Snipers have had a post! Life is happy, and busy, and lovely. Here’s what we’ve missed….and I’ll try to fill in pics from any of these events if I can soon!

-Jess turned 30 in style! A weekend at the lake with awesome friends and so much fun.
-A week long beach trip with the family. Chase grew fins and Lane fell in love with the water…especially the pool.
-School started! How do we already have a 5th grader? Yikes.
-A little baby who is suddenly a BIG eight month old.
-A car accident with SB that lead to a totaled car, surgery, and a few weeks of not fun times around the Sniper house

So we’ll try, again, to stay caught up!

Babys at the Beach!

We have amazing friends. Honestly. The Friday before Memorial Day weekend SB gets a call asking to go to the beach for the weekend. Um. YES! The last few weeks of school are brutal for a teacher so I was in desperate need of a getaway. We packed, bought sunscreen, and hoped in the car by 8pm that night. 6 sleepy hours and one speeding ticket later we arrived in the middle of the night to the beach house. I could hear the waves in the distance. I swear I could live at the beach. I’m sure having sand in every place possible would eventually get old, but…..nah, it wouldn’t. I LOVE the beach. Chase does too. Also, this was baby Lane’s first trip to the ocean! Now I can’t downplay this next statement: taking a baby to the beach is one of the hardest damn things ever. After lugging chairs and beach tents and bags and coolers (well yeah), and sand toys, and SAND SPURS….well you get the idea. However….once you do make it down to the water, unload the loot, get that baby in the water and open a cold one…all is right in the world. Thankfully Lane loves the water and slept like, well, like a baby for hours on the beach. The fresh air and natural noise maker made for some good Zzz’s for all of us. Kit and Bob were fabulous, gracious hosts and we owe them big time. Their little one is very close to Lane’s age, so it’s really nice to spend time with another couple that understands the ups and downs of infants. Here are some pictures from the weekend. Thankfully, we are heading BACK to almost this same location in July with some of SB’s family. This time for a whole week. That way we can drag the shit down to the beach and leave it there for 7 days. Happy Freakin’ Summer!!

P90x: 40+ days

This post is about 10 days over due. Here’s my 30 day pic for P90x.

P90x - Day 30

As you can see, I have achieved results! On day 30 I had more definition in my arms, legs, back, shoulders, stomach, and smile. I was feeling fantastic and wanted more. This however was short lived. Shortly after my day 30 awesomeness I departed for a 3 day field trip for Chase’s PC class. It’s hard enough doing P90x at home, but it’s impossible to do any sort of exercise while tending to a gaggle of 4th/5th graders and walking around learning about maritime forests and such. So when I got home I was feeling rather bleh. Three days of cafeteria food and sand in my ass had taken it’s toll. However, I was ready to jump back to it on Thursday! I crushed another workout and was back in the swing of things. That is, until the next day when we were invited to hang with some friends at a beach house for the weekend! How could we possibly turn this down?! The beach trip in general is for another post and I’ll let Jess handle that one. I had great intentions and  packed my DVDs and some gear for a few workouts at the beach. Well as anyone who’s ever been to the beach will tell you, that is pretty much a wash and workouts are most likely not going to happen. Tack on a few kids, some wicked sunburn, and a few drinks and I can kiss those days goodbye.

Ouch!

By Tuesday I was feeling dreadful and wanted to either exercise the toxins out of my body or die. Well, I have a family to look after so I decided to exercise. Again, there were obstacles all over the place. From a sunburn that left me itching all of my skin off to a hand that looked like a zombie attack (an injury suffered while digging a trench from our sand castle to the ocean), it looked as if it was going to be another battle to get my routines in. I would do my best to exercise here and there, but it just wasn’t the same. I felt like I had lost my drive. I could feel myself slipping further and further from my goal and the scale was certainly reflecting this.

Then came the wall. The 215lb wall that I was either going to bust through or let stop me. Some how I had gained 3 more pounds that my starting weight. Luckily I didn’t let it stop me. It took some time and a lot of internal struggle, but as of this morning I feel like I’m back in the driver’s seat. I am now at 209lbs and am ready for my next exercise.

Last nights workout was probably one of the toughest ones I’ve done in the past 40+ days. I did not eat well yesterday and certainly did not provide the right fuel for my body to do a great workout. But with the encouragement of my wife (who is also doing daily exercise routines btw) I got out there and did some Plyo X. It wasn’t easy, and I threw up before finishing, but I finished. I got over that hurdle and am so happy I did. I’m not ready to finish the second half of this program and get to that goal fitness level that I have set for myself. I feel great and I can’t wait for my next routine. I know the next 45 days will bring struggles, hurdles, and all manner of things to slow me down, but I am determined to see this thing through. I may be exactly where I am today in terms of weight and muscle or I may be “fit as a fiddle”, as Tony Horton would say. Only time will tell.

Oh, and as I mentioned earlier my wife is now doing her own daily workouts. She’s stuck to it so far and I am exceedingly proud of her and can’t wait to see her awesome results. I have faith in her and know she will bust through it. Stay tuned for more!

Summer Vacation: Day 3

Day 3 was the beach day, and the day Jess was looking forward to the most. She and Chase just can’t get enough of the sun and water and all the things that come with the ocean. I love the smell of the air and the breeze and just the happiness that comes with being at the beach. Since we were so close to Cocoa Beach (only about an hour) we decided to make a day of it.

The day got started with a quick lunch and some shopping for flip-flops for Chase. After that we headed on out to the Ron Jon Surf Shop. This place was huge and we loaded up with chairs and toys and all kinds of things to occupy our time in the sun and sand. Eventually we mad our way across the street to the beach and set up shop. It wasn’t too crowded and the water was perfect. Chase could hardly get his shirt off fast enough. He had the itch to get in the water. I felt the same way.

We spent the day going from the shade of our umbrella to the sand to build castles to the water for some boogie board action. We buried Chase in the sand at one point, just as the tide was coming in. Luckily he muscled his way out of that. The waves were a bit rough, but it worked out to our advantage. We were smart enough to bring a cooler with drinks and snacks so we didn’t have to worry about losing out spot.

Eventually we were all burned and ready for some real food, so we got cleaned up at the local shower and then headed off for some seafood at a local restaurant that was supposed to be the best around. Well, who ever said that about the place was spot on. It was some of the best seafood I’ve had in a while. So we sat and ate and reflected on the day. It was an awesome was to end our day at the beach.

The ride back to the hotel was quick and Chase was out 5 mins into it. I love me some beach and I love my family. This was the perfect day and virtually the beginning of the rest of an awesome week.

Pics and video coming soon.

Road Trip – NC (Day 2)

Day 2 of NC was a perfect way to wrap up our family road trip!  The boys and I, along with the Bateman’s, headed off to play in the Atlantic for a few hours! After a quick stop at the “Shark Store” for a boogie board, a kite, and sand toys, we arrived at the beautiful beach! As a child, my family typically went to the Gulf for our vacations and the beaches there are gawgeous! I have to admit I was surprised to see how nice the Atlantic was how big and beautiful the waves were. Perfect for boogie boarding and body surfing. 🙂 Chase had the best time playing in the waves. I was a nervous wreck as usual…thinking he was going out too far…worried about the under toe…etc., but everybody had a safe, fun time. We wrapped up the day with some fresh seafood and a great dinner. By the end of the day we were full, tired, sunburned, and happy. We had such an amazing time on our trip, but we all agreed we were ready to be home. One final night in NC and we were heading home to sweet ol’ Georgia. The ride home was nice and quiet for the most part. Chase amazed me as a road tripper and really was an awesome car rider. As we crossed into the Georgia state line we found a Randy Travis station on Pandora that brought me right back to road trips I’ve taken in my life and the trips  I took as a child in my dad’s ‘big truck’. As we listened and sang along I laughed and cried and smiled and shared stories and memories that the old country songs brought back to me. I felt lucky to have had the ‘abnormal childhood’ that I often joke about and to have such great memories connected to song…and even more lucky that my son will have his own road trip stories to tell now. This trip was my favorite part of my summer vacation…and little did I know it would soon be tied with another favorite part of the summer…just a few weeks later…

The Pics:
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