The Pedestrian Bridge

Sylvia and Jon enjoyed a date night and a nice walk through downtown Rome.

A new pedestrian bridge and downtown plaza had recently opened up.

So we too a walk across the Oostanaula River on the new bridge.
It was pretty nice, and a beautiful night.

The downtown plaza with its shooting fountains was fun to watch.

And we could also see the old train bridge downstream, which was lit up in celebration of Rome's 175-year anniversary.
It was a fun and relaxing evening.

We Voted! Did You?

We did early voting tonight.
We took all the kids and went down to the Civic Center and only waited in line an hour to vote.
Our kids did pretty well, and were good entertainment for the crowd. Friends of ours who'd arrived about 45 minutes before us had had waited 75 minutes to get through the line. We expect Tuesday's lines will be much worse.

Vote Early!

Vote Often!

Oh, wait - you only get to vote once.

Take Me Out to the Rome Braves Game

We went to a Rome Braves game last week.

Syndi got the mascot -Romey - to autograph her glove (the blue one in his left hand).
The game started rather slowly. In the first inning, our catcher was injured by a collision at home plate. At least he got the out, but he left with a concussion. After about 30 minutes, an ambulance circled the field with him and left for the hospital.
Later in the first inning, the replacement catcher was injured by getting hit in the groin. He, too, left the game. The first inning took an hour!
But at least Syndi got her glove signed by Romey while we waited!
We sat on Home Run Hill just outside right field.
Junior spent most of his time near the fence.
Stephen was excited by Romey at a distance, but terrified as we approached him. Romey was kind enough to try to befriend Stephen...
...but Stephen spent most of the game rolling down Home Run Hill. If there is something dangerous to be done, this kid will find it...unless it involves a scary mascot!
Jules had fun watching from her own perch.
Here she gives mommy a "5" - WooHoo!
We left early, since this was bound to be a 4-hour game, and bedtime had long since passed.
We heard that they lost 4-2 the next day.
No, they didn't lose the next day...the game wasn't that long!
We just heard about it the next day.
Silly people.

The Return from Michigan!

Well, the family made it back from Michigan...and just in time for the annual Rome fireworks show. These are a few of the booms we saw just before the spectacular finale.
They pulled into the driveway shortly after 5 PM Friday night. After dinner we headed over to our standard spot on the Oostanaula River levee. We handed out the traditional glow-in-the-dark bracelets and necklaces, then watched the show.
Earlier that evening, within minutes of their arrival home, the kids had found the wall Daddy had painted as a chalkboard. Seemingly 30 seconds later, they had it covered in chalk artwork.
It's good to have us all together again!

Stephen's Birthday ~ 3 Years Old!

Stephen turned 3 a couple of weeks ago, and we had a little birthday party at Ridge Ferry park here in Rome. We set up camp in the main pavilion.
The guest arrived, and they came bearing gifts.
And Stevie was more than happy to help bear the load.
The kids had fun playing on the playground equipment.
Stevie immediately made his way to the biggest slide for a swift ride down the curves, party blowout in hand.
Did I mention they had blowouts?
Noah loved his. Or is that Matthew?
Mary Grace had fun on the playground.
They had cars for racing.
Riley enjoyed the swings.
Stephen shared a cab with JD. Actually it was a police car.
Time for Stephen's first trip downtown? A little young.
They all gathered around for food and the party.
It was a beautiful evening.
We had some uninvited guests. And I don't mean flies or ants.
Two kids thought our party looked fun, so joined in. When we asked where their parents were, they said they'd gone to get a drink. So for about half an hour we had them following us, then joining us at the table.
No problem...the more the merrier!
We just kinda wondered if their parents would return, but someone eventually came for them.
Time for birthday cak....er, um... I mean birthday muffins. (Sometimes going healthy is a little over-the-top for even me.)
Matthew (or is it Noah?) helped blow out the candles on Stevie's muffin.
Now, to be fair, Stephen had tried and failed a few times to blow out his own candles, and I think Matthew finally had had enough.
Then Stephen opened presents.
He got some really neat toys!

Including a Thomas train and track.
The kids checked out their party favors.
The mini kites were a big hit.
Rex worked to get his crew safely on the grasshopper.

(Never realized it was a grasshopper until I had to come up with a caption here.)
Watch out indeed!

If he drives like his Dad, he'll mow you over.

(Actually, he'll make a few quick swerves, pass you and be out of your line-of-sight in 30 seconds! Then he'll make that trip downtown we mentioned earlier.)

What a lovely thing to see!
(What we won't mention is the next picture I snapped, which caught Syndi biting Junior's back because she got --no almost got -- hurt. I say hurt is what you get when you grab onto the back of a moving vehicle. But I digress.)
That's more like it!
JuneBug helped Jules get into the swing of things.

Oh, that was bad. Not even punny.

Happy Birthday StevieBoy!
He's the Big 3 now!

You Know You're from Rome If...

I recently received an e-mail from a coworker, and the e-mail was titled "You know you're from Rome if...." I found most of them quite humorous, so I dropped the ones that I couldn't say I've personally encountered. Here's the list:

You know you're from Rome if...
1) You've ever wondered why your town has two Wal-Marts, half a Starbucks, a Hot Topic, a minor-league baseball team and no freaking Olive Garden.
We've wished for an Olive Garden for 3 years. Guess what - It's finally coming to Rome in another year!
2) You think "Romey" is a really stupid name for a mascot.
I've always thought this, and also feel he's rather ugly.
3) You know who "the naked jogging dude" is.
I have seen this guy jogging along the major road through Rome, smiling and waving at people at "rush hour" (what Syl and I call "rush minute"). I thought it was odd that he did that so often, but learned from my coworker that this is a staple of Rome, and he has been doing this for 20 years. My coworker remembers him even from childhood drives to Sunday morning church. Wow! Oh, and they call him "naked" because all he wears are sneakers and a tiny pair of shorts.
4) You haven't actually had snow on a "snow day" in 5 years.
I saw a few flakes my first winter here...or was it dust?
5) You wonder what idiot decided "Armuchee" should be pronounced "ArMURchee."
Ain't that the truth?!
6) You've ever had to say "No, not the one in Italy..."
I actually had to say this to someone once!
7) You think Mount Berry counts as a "mall."
I think it would be better to call it a "small" than a "mall."
8) You've noticed that the Youth for Christ building looks like a crack house.
We pass this building occasionally. This building is scary looking! No joke.
9) Your parents are from Rome. And their parents are from Rome. And their parents are from Rome. And...
Oh yes...we've learned. Of about 20 high school graduates this past year (at our church), only one was going to go to school outside Northeast Georgia, and that one was going to college in Alabama (we're 10 minutes from the border). People who've gone to our church for 10 years consider themselves "new" because so many have been there for generations. And if you ever intend to speak negatively about someone, make sure you're not talking to his/her cousin, uncle, or other relative.
10) You were really excited about getting your driver's license so you'd be able to go places on the weekend... and then when you got your license, you realized that your problem wasn't that you couldn't drive; it's that there was nowhere to drive TO.
There are few places to go.
11) Someone in your immediate family makes a "Fireworks run" to Alabama every 4th of July and New Year's Eve.
This kind of talk even makes front-page news in Rome.
12) You've ever wondered what qualifies Horseleg and Callier Springs as "country clubs."
I was wondering what even qualified them as golf courses before this e-mail came!
13) You wonder why Homerun Hill is mostly in foul territory.
LOLOL! This is at the minor league baseball team's stadium.
14) You have run into more than 5 different friends during the same meal at Las Palmas.
I would say this is true for any Rome restaurant. We always run into friends, neighbors, coworkers and church folks.

And finally, you know you're from Rome if...
15) You know that even if the devil himself were chasing you while driving, you still wouldn't run the red light in front of Home Depot and K-Mart.
I actually received a ticket at this light! They have a camera that takes your photo, and now if I even THINK I see a hint of yellow, I hit the brakes!