We are officially on our way. We were so excited when we left this morning at 11:30. We stopped at the Peach Park for lunch and enjoyed the bbq. We got to b'ham and went straight to Bama Fever. Linwood wanted to purchase a "saben" straw hat. Of course, he then insisted I get an AU straw hat. I must admit we look cute in them.

We went by my house to check on it. It is looking sad because it needs a family to live in it. I hope it sells while we are gone.

We are staying at Scott/Ashley's tonight. We ate at Wings and we ate way too much.

The first pictures are of us as we prepare to leave Tallassee. The last picture is of Scott/Ashley. You can now see a baby bump.

We are home!!!!! We had such a great week. It started with us being with friends of Linwood's in Gulf Shores. They were all friends from when he and Linda lived in Marion, AL. Everyone was so nice and I was glad to meet them and to hear more stories.

We then got to spend several days with Becca and her family. We had so much fun being with them and then ended the week in Bay Minette with Staci and her family. Linwood was so glad to be able to watch Lincoln play ball.

We got home today around 1:30 and found two new pictures on our kitchen counter. Staci had made a print of the picture of Linwood and me at the concert and had it framed. She also did one of the picture of her, Lindan, and Walker. What a great Daddy's Day gift it was for him.

To each of the dad's in our family we want you all to know we love you. First, because either you are our child or because our child loves you and you are the dad to our precious grandchildren. Even though Linwood did not get but 12 years with his dad, we hope to find out more about him on our trip to PA.

My dad was a special man. When I was little he let me dance around on his feet. When I was at that horrible awkward age, he still thought I was beautiful. When it was time to go to college, he made me believe I could do anything I wanted to do. When I first married, he wanted to make sure he stood as straight as he could for all the pictures. When I had children, he always wanted to make sure they had all the love he could give them. When it was time to leave this life, he wanted to make sure my mother was going to be okay. I always knew I was loved and that is what a dad is all about.

I think my Linwood is a wonderful dad and I am so proud of him. I love him on this Father's Day very much. love you all

Friday we had a great time on the beach. Well, we really enjoyed the water. Linwood has decided he does not like the sand. The water was so beautiful and cool. We ate dinner at Stinky Fish Camp and had a great meal. We shared a blackberry pie and ice cream after the meal. Oh, so good. Meg and Thomas went crabbing on the beach after it got dark. They were able to catch three crabs and Meg was so excited.

We really did not want to leave Destin this morning. We had such a good time being with Becca, Thomas, Meg, Mallory. I wish we were closer to them so we could see them more often.

Today we went to Bay Minette so we could watch Lincoln play in the 9 year old all-stars. His team won two games today. He was four for four. One was an inside the park home run. He made good defensive plays at first base also. We decided to get a hotel room after the first game because it was so hot and I do not think I had a dry thread on my clothes. The next game was scheduled for three hours later. We came to the hotel and took a shower and tried to cool off. The second game was not so hot. He plays again on Tuesday. Sorry we will not be able to see him play then. We will head for Tallassee tomorrow morning. love you all

Late this morning we went to the beach. The water was cold until you got used to it. When we were out of the water, we were under the umbrella - thank goodness. It did not feel so hot since there was a breeze off the water. After we left the beach we stopped at the pool so Meg could show us how well she is swims. I was so proud of her.

Meg was not feeling good this afternoon so Linwood and I went alone to dinner. We ate at Capt. Dave's on the Gulf. Of course he had the fish platter and I had crab claws. We are now eating ice cream now and Linwood is loving it. He knows he will not be doing that next week.

We did not get too much sun today because we had SPF 50 on.

Today was HOT!!!!!! Linwood and I let Bec and her family go to the beach without us this morning. We joined them for lunch at Pompano Joe's and we were full when we left. Tonight we went to Baytowne Wharf. Again we had a great meal and then Meg sailed a remote controlled boat and then she got a 'butterfly' tatoo on her ankle. Meg and Thomas have gone down to the beach to catch crabs. She has her flashlight with her. We are having a fun vacation

We had lunch today at the Pink Pony in Gulf Shores. The service was bad but the food was wonderful. I enjoyed being with the Marion group again today. They are all so nice and friendly. We left there around 1:45 and started on our trip to Destin to be with Becca, Thomas, and the girls. Thomas fixed a great supper of steaks, baked potatoes, shrimp, salad, and Linwood and Thomas also had a bowl of rice and gumbo. The girls are already getting a suntan. We will try to go to the beach tomorrow. love you all

On Saturday, June 13th, we went to Doug and Emily's. It was great hearing the children call our names when we saw them and getting all the kisses and hugs. Emma's dance recital was at the Jefferson County Civic Center that night. We were pleased at how good all the dancers were. I do not think Emma missed a single step. Even her hands were pretty. She was dressed as an Eskimo and the second dance she was a tulip.

Sunday, June 14th.: Emily and Doug fixed a large breadfast. When Payton took her nap, Doug, Emma, Nicholas, Linwood and I went downstairs to see his new wii. Emma was good on the Hula Hoop fittnes program. Linwood and I did it and the ski high jump. We need more practice but it was fun. My back was sore that night from making circles from the waist down.

The joint birthday party for Emma and Nicholas was fun and noisy. All the children seemed to have a wonderful time, even some of the big ones - Douglas and Brent. Emily did a great job on Emma's 'crown' cake and Nicholas had a great cake with his picture on it. He was holding a truck. Brent, Shae, Anna Claire, and Mason came to the pary. Stacey, Bobby, Misty, and John David were also there. John David have some icing behind my back. I do not want him to love sweets too much or too soon.

We enjoyed having Staci by herself last night. Linwood loved having the opportunity to talk with her. It is always nice to have our children alone once in a while. We do also love being with the grandchildren. They are so special.

Monday, June 15th
Today is Nicholas' third birthday. He is such a joy to be around and his smile is special. We came to Gulf Shores today to visit with the Marion group. This is the 25th year they have been coming down here to share good times. I was able to meet them tonight at the Sea and Suds. The food was plentiful and very good. We walked there from the Regatta (where most of them were staying) Of course, I wanted to look as good as possible since I had not met any of them except for the McBrides. By the time I got there my hair was dripping wet and the curls were everywhere. God has a way of reminding us what is important. Several of the children from the Marion group were there and Linwood taught seven of them. As we were getting up to leave I heard a voice say "Mr. Erb, Is that you?" Linwood was very glad to see Missy Smith Waldrip. She and her husband were with his parents from Alex City. Linwood had her in the Tallassee band. Linwood said that 90% of the people there tonight had children who were in his band at Marion. They all said such nice things about him and I was so proud of him. Most of them asked about Staci and Scott and were glad to hear about them.

Tommorow our plans have changed. We are going to go to Destin tomorrow afternnon instead on going to Panama City Beach. We will keep you all informed. love you all

Today we went to B'ham. I was finally able to get my front tooth repaired. I do look so much better now and Linwood does not laugh when he looks at me. I will be getting a new mouth splint in a couple of weeks. My dentist said I was grinding my bottom teeth with my top teeth and that was putting too much pressure on the top ones. After we left the dentist office we called Emily and she and the children met us at the Dairy Queen on 280 in Chelsea. It was great seeing them. An added treat was that Doug showed up and surprised us. That made it even better.

First time

This is our first blog. Linwood and I are so excited about our upcoming trip North. We have the map on the wall so we can see all the places we are going. The only problem is that each time one of us looks at the map we see another place we want to go. We are going to b'ham first for Emma and Nicholos' birthday party. While we are there we will see Emma's dance recital. We will write later about our planned trips to the beach.