Busy Weekend With Stroupes and Stiltners

Hello all. Here we are again for another post to keep you all updated as to what we are doing! We had a busy weekend. Sometimes we sit around and think we don't do anything (like we do on most Sundays), but then we sit back and have weekends like this and we are always seeming to be on the go.

On Friday, Jennell dragged me kicking and screaming (ok, not really, but i'm sure she would have liked to have gone with someone else to make it more enjoyable to her) to the Christmas in the South show here in Concord. It's a long running southern Christmas show. It opened at 10am and we got there at 11am and the place was already crawling with grey hairs (don't be offended anyone). I couldn't believe how many people were there.

Friday night, we went out to eat with the Stroupe family, Dale (my partner in 2 Dudes) and Dustin & Julie. The two boys Zach and Nick are a couple of years difference in age, but have birthdays just a couple of days apart. We met up with Dustin and Julie at The Melting Pot to surprise the Stroupe when they got there. They were surprised, but had already figured something was fishy. It was the second-straight weekend we celebrated a Stroupe birthday. Camie's (MammaStroupe) was last week. The Melting Pot is a fondue restaurant where you cook all of your own food in fondue pots at your table. You also get cheese fondue and chocolate fondue. It was pretty good and the boys love it!

On Saturday, we met up with Danny and Danielle Stiltner, Diane and Johnny Lefler and their daughter Britanni to go to the Renaissance Festival here in Charlotte. I wanted to take Jennell there last year, but never got around to it. Thought this year would get cancelled too because of rain the day we wanted to go, but we ended up getting to go. Danny and Diane both work out at IAA and Danielle did before she left, so we know them all rather well.

The festival was a lot of fun. It is a huge park tucked back in the woods where an entire Renaissance town is built, with all kinds of shops, pubs, food shops and lots of stages for different performers. There are also all kinds of people walking around dressed in part talking to you and selling things and pissing people off, like Jennell. It took only moments for this one group to do a little act for us and then tell her she looked pissed the whole time. It was kinda stupid to say when they are looking for you to give them some money for their performance.

Once we met up with everyone, we just walked around all day and took in shows, ate food and drank beer. I was super happy when i found out they served Woodchuck Cider on draft. We watched a show on birds, a couple of comedy shows (mostly funny, some of it stupid) and two events at the joust arena. It was pretty cool, but the actors won't be winning any awards soon. The "good guy" knight had fake blood running out of his mouth the whole time and totally made you believe he was hurt.... no.... really.... he was. Honestly. He sold it too. But we had a blast and finally headed out after being there for about 7 hours.

After that, the weekend turned to football. Jennell fell asleep Saturday night as the Buckeyes lost a game that they should have won and i got pissed about, then sat around Sunday and watched the Panthers win again and then... shockingly... saw the Seahawks win their second game of the year. it was amazing. Schedule the 49ners a couple of more times this year.

Back to work this week and off to other projects. But it was fun and we love hanging out with our real friends and those who are always going to be there for us. Even when we get frustrated by losing some other people in our life, its nice to have the real friends you have always be there for you and realize how great they are and how fortunate we are to have them all!



At the boy's birthday party! (click the pictures and they get bigger! wow... amazing)



Jousting at the fair.... no wait, the festival.



With all the Stiltners & Leflers at the Renaissance place.

Leave Us Comments

Just for a lot of you "technologically challenged" viewers of our blog... there is a section under each entry where you can "post comments" if you feel the urge. Just click on the comments link and fill it in to the right. You can post with your name or keep in anonymous... but we'll figure out who you are. It will be fun for us to hear your thoughts as we keep this thing updated!

And again, don't get all excited about three posts in the last two days. Probably won't happen that often! ha!

Hello... & Alex's New Website

Hey everyone. Here is my first post, but our second post (Nellie did the first). Don't get used to seeing two posts per day or maybe even per week. We aren't that good! But like she said, this will be a good way for us to keep in touch and let eveyone know what is going on. We can even share a picture or two here and there as well. I know I'm horrible at remembering things to tell the folks or Todd or anyone I talk with, so this way, the responsibility falls on you! Ha! I'm off the hook.

Anyway, here is what I wanted to share. We just wrapped up Alex's new website through 2 Dudes Designs. You can go there by clicking this link or typing in http://www.alexkerslake.com/ in your web broswer.

Well, it is time to get off the computer for now. Hopefully, it will be one of the last time's I'm going to be getting off of this old Sony computer. It's on its last leg (hey, it's 4 or 5 years old, its had a good run) and I'm looking at new laptops. Jennell will be happy just so she can stop listening to me complain about my computer. She'll probably be with me on throwing it out of the window as it has put me in a bad mood more often than not lately while trying to do more web work.

Talk to everyone soon!

Hello All

We decided to try this blog thing...new to both of us as it probably will be to most family and friends that look at it. We hope this will be an easier and better way for all of us to keep in touch. It is hard to remember what you have told who and we don't want to leave anyone out on all the exciting and fun filled adventures in our lives. Ok, you may not really be missing much but regardless this should help. We promise to do our best to keep it updated with new fun things going on.