BIKES, BLUES & BAYOUS

As most of you know who read our blog, biking has become quite the big thing in the Pope household in recent months. Jason is pretty much obsessed with it and me—not so much!! I really do enjoy it, but really have no desire to take it to the “next level”. I guess that is the difference in mine and Jason’s personality. Yes, I wish I could say I was a go getter like Jason, but I’ll admit, I’m not. I would be perfectly content with my 15 mile ride that we often do on the Trace. I have gone as far as 40 miles, but I definitely prefer less. Jason, however, has gone as far as 80 miles on the Natchez Trace- WOW!! He is even doing 100 mile race in September.

We recently put our biking skills to the test and participated in our first ever bike ride, BIKES, BLUES & BAYOUS in Greenwood, MS. I wasn’t looking very forward to getting up at 5:00 on Sat. morning and driving to Greenwood, but it was well worth it. We had a great time and many of our Kosy biker friends participated as well. I only did the 20 mile ride, but Jason…..or as I call him now, Lance Armstrong……did the 58 mile ride!! I was so proud of him; he did awesome!!! To finish 58 miles in the HOT HOT MS Delta in August is something to be proud of. Lucky for us, VIKING is based in Greenwood and helped with the race. So after a long hot ride, we were treated to BBQ from VIKING and all sorts of freebies. It was great time and we are looking forward to next year.

**I’m afraid our running days are over…..we’ve realized and read that you burn more calories in biking and it doesn’t take such a toll on your body. So don’t expect any 5K post anytime soon –ha!!

SANDESTIN

We just arrived back from a wonderfuly 5 day vacation to SanDestin. We loved making weekends trip to SanDestin when we lived in Montgomery (and were 3.5 hrs. closer). Now that we have a furthur drive, we thought we'd make the 6 hr. drive worth our while and stay longer.

We stayed at Lasata at The Grand, which did not disappoint. We've stayed in this same unit before and it has a great view of the bay. We were also a short walk to Baytowne, which is so convenient.

Majority of the trip was spent by the pool with a few trips to the beach (yes, I'm more of a pool person). We ate lots of great seafood, shopped at the outlets, rode our bikes from SanDestin to Seaside and enjoyed hanging out in Baytowne. Jason rode all the way from SanDestin to end of 30-A and back (52 miles)...I was sooo proud of him. Obviously the rest of us skipped out on that ride.

We laughed b/c I've NEVER been one to exercise on vacation. I'm the one making morning trips to the Donut Hole or Krispy Kreme. Jason and I even discussed how last summer we saw some people riding bikes and made the comment...who exercises on vacation.?? Well, we are now those dorks riding their bikes :) I must admit, after my ride to Seaside and back I didn't feel so bad eating the fried seafood platter at AJ's.

Since majority of the trip I was either in a swimsuit or on a bike (all w/ no makeup)...the pics are pretty minimal. Here a few...

The Grand @ SanDestin....one of our favorite places to stay!

Spent most of my time in this pool

Ready for dinner!!

Enjoyed spending time w/ my Mom & Dad

On the beach in Seaside after dinner.

sidenote...the TN Titans cheerleaders were having a photo shoot right beside this pic. I think Jason was more concerned w/ their shoot than ours....just kidding!!

Good month for Harper--- new home and first visit to the beach!!

Radley had to come too!!

Worn out from his beach photo shoot :)

Radley doesn't want to go home :( Nor did I.........back to reality now!!

Back to Blogging and New Dog!!

I apologize for neglecting the blog for quite sometime. Although we were home most of July (which is a rarity) we stayed pretty busy. We enjoyed weekend visits from both of our parents, enjoyed getting together w/ our supper club group, biked a lot and tried to stay cool. We did finish off the month w/ a trip to SanDestin, which was much needed. Jason had one of his busiest months at work and I also started a new job in mid-July (same bank--just new position). A trip to the beach came at the perfect time and provided a great way for us to wind down.

One of the primary reasons I haven't blogged is b/c of our new dog, Harper. Yes, we now have 2 dogs!! And yes, they are named after a character and the author from To Kill a Mockingbird. We have promised my mom we won't name our son, Atticus or a daughter, Scout...haha. Little Harper (a rescue Malti-Poo) from New Orleans entered our lives on July 5th :) He is high maintenance like most Maltese/Poodles (reminds me so much of my childhood dog, Cricket, which was a Maltese. However, he loves to cuddle, sit in your lap and gives kisses!! He is about 1 yr. old and thankfully he is not a chewer. He is doing suprisingly well and has adjusted well to his new home. Although he is considered a rescue dog, he actually did have a family. From what I know, he wasn't mistreated, just not given much attention....guess this is why he is so needy.

Here are a few pics below of Harper. Most of my recent nights have been spent playing w/ this precious puppy!!! As a type this he is sitting in my lap....he is a true lap dog :)

"Harper" Lee Pope surrounded by his favorite toys

He has already found the nicest couch in the house!


Loves to play/harass Radley.....Radley could care less about playing and prefers lots of naps!

They've taken over the couch in our bedroom and hopefully sleep peacefully here during the day. However, one day, I'm just waiting to come home to everything on our bookshelves in the floor....so far....so good!!

Radley still considers himself king of the house :)