Asheville, NC

Since football has finally come to an end for Matt, we decided to take a few days off and visit Asheville, NC for a quick anniversary getaway. We dropped Zoey off with Sam on Thursday . . . thanks again Dave & Sam . . . and headed up to a trail at Bent Creek. It went up for a long time then back down really fast which seems to be typical for trails in the mountains! It was a nice day, a little shower falling in the sunlight. We finished riding and headed into town to find a hotel before dinner and seeing the Biltmore by candlelight. The size, detail and furnishings of the Biltmore were amazing . . . and the Christmas tree in the dining room was huge and had gift packages hanging from the tree as ornaments!



On Friday, we had a great breakfast at The Corner Kitchen and headed back to Biltmore to explore the garden, farm and of course the winery! We've been talking about visiting Asheville for many years and plan to go back in the spring so we can see the Biltmore garden in full bloom.



Once we were done at Biltmore, we headed to Chimney Rock Park for a little stair climbing . . .




We got to Chimey Rock a little late, but we didn't let litle roadblocks stop our site seeing. Chimney Rock is famous for having scenes from "Last of the Mohicans" filmed there.

Decking the halls

It's been a while since my last blog. I'm just not very disciplined about sitting down and writing my thoughts. Quite frankly, you don't want to hear some of what I have to say, it is boring and meaningless drivel.
Becky and I can officially say we missed the Kicklighter Thanksgiving festival. It hit me hard the Friday before, when after the football game I knew we would not be traveling back to Bellevegas. I really wanted to see the kids and hang out with the brothers we don't see as often. Well there will be other times. Thanksgiving was nice and quiet over at the in-laws, food was great as usual and it was peaceful and quiet. Becky had the week off so we spent time together decorating the house. I mostly sat, drank wine and directed Becky on what look best. In the end she did 90% of the work and I think it looks great. See if you can spot Gizmo.
I'm really looking forward to Christmas. Our time off to enjoy them will be sporadic. We'll probably do the rounds. Down to Savannah and over to the in-laws in Oakwood on Christmas day. It will be nice to have Mom and Dad around too. Dave and I plan to pass them back and forth. I may have to come up with a to-do list to keep Dad busy. Anyway I have to head to work for more football practice, yep we won again, and hurray it's raining.

Finally, a little rain and ride in apple country

Well, we finally are getting some sustained rain down here in Georgia. We are in a severe drought and every bit of moisture helps. We are something like 16" below normal precipitation. There is an outdoor watering ban and if you are caught watering outside, then your water is shut off. We have something like 80 days of water left. So the rain we are getting is very welcome.
The weather was beautiful this past weekend, so Becky and I headed up to Ellijay, Ga for some riding and to maybe take in the apple festival. Ellijay is the apple capital of Georgia. We rode the Bear Creek trail, which is in the Cohutta National Forest. The trail, like most trails in the mountains, climbs up the mountain and then back down. This trail is famous for a 400 year old Gennet Poplar tree
The ride was about 7 miles to the top were there is a gorgeous overlook. It took us a while to find (I got confused on the directions), but it was well worth it.
We ended up climbing the mountain twice, due to my misdirection. We met some nice hikers along the way. Riding in the mountains is so different than hitting our local trails. The natural landscape is so vast, your senses take some time to adapt. I love riding in the mountains, I wished we lived closer to them. We ended up with about 3 hours of riding with an elevation change of about 2500', that's up, then back down.
After the ride we headed to one of the orchards for some apple goodies. Hwy 52 provided us with an assortment of orchards to choose from. We picked the first one we saw, because it was busy, and that is usually a good sign. I bought a fried apple pie, which was ridiculously delicious and sugar free to boot. We also got some apples and some pecan apple butter. We then headed home with another stop along the way for some hamburgers and fries (we needed to refuel after the ride). I think next time we go, we will camp or rent a cabin. Ellijay seemed like a nice little town and the riding is excellent in those parts.
Other than that... nothing else exciting going on. Looking forward to Thanksgiving, even if Becky and I can't make it. I just figured out that my football team will have to lose on the first round to avoid missing t-giving. We are currently undefeated. Things don't look good.
Later all,
matt

Livin it up

Well, I havn't posted in a while and I was feeling guilty. So here goes with the happenings of Matt, Becky and Zoey. Labor Day weekend was great, we had some friends in town from Nashville. We did some boating on the lake and some mountain biking. The first day we went on the lake the weather was a little chilly and it was windy. That made the water very choppy, fun for tubing, not fun for kneeboarding. We got some good photos. Zoey has fallen in love with the water, we can't keep her out, we have to watch her constantly to make sure she doesn't jump out. The second day we were pretty sore so went on the lake for a couple hours and laid in the water then did some more mountain biking.

The next weekend we took Dave, Hannah and Ethan out on the boat. Zoey went too. We had fun swimming and tubing. That Sunday we took one of Becky's friends and her family out on the lake. We had planned to go mtbiking, but were so tired we fell asleep on the couch.
Becky and I have settled into a groove with work. Becky gets home around 6 or 7 and I get home about 8:30 or nine. I usually don't go in until about 11am or noon, not too bad.
Thanksgiving planning will be tough this year. I am working with a football team that will probably make the playoffs. They can potentially play the week of Thanksgiving. We won't know until the day gets closer. We may not know until the week before T-giving. We would love to take the whole week and have a little vacation before we head to Bellevegas. We'll just have to wait and see.

Here are some photos from our adventures. We went to Brasstown Bald last weekend, The highest point in Georgia. You can see North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

HELLO!!!

Hello, Hello!! The Swansea Kicklighter's just want to say hi!! We have been really busy since we have gotten back from St. Simon's! John is still really busy with work and is having problems with employees! =( Thank goodness the season is almost over! Lil Matt is doing good! He is infactuated with dinosaurs at the present moment. We are in the process of potty training, which is NOT fun! He is really good about telling us when he needs to go, so it is a start! (Sam, if you have any advice, please email me!) Natalie is doing really good also! She has started to stand and she sometimes takes a few steps along the couch! She loves to watch her brother do things so I think she will be catching up soon! I can't wait to see everyone for Thanksgiving! Talk with you all soon! Love, John, Kristy, Matt and Nat

Trip to Science Center

work,work,work

Well, I have not posted in a little bit due mostly to work, but I have some other things going on. Football started this week and it has been hot. So hot in fact, that the county decided we could not practice until after 6pm. It makes for late nights, but with this job I don't have to go in until late morning or early afternoon. So days aren't as long as the other job. I work with a good coaching staff and the kids are well mannered and behaved. When I was in Nashville the teams I worked for were awful. The team I'm with now has 2 of the top 150 players in the country and at least 3 returning all state players. Needless to say they will probably be good, which makes for a long year with playoffs and state championships. Athletic training is wearing on me and I have considered going back to school. I am definitely going to pursue some local college teaching jobs. I have enjoyed teaching in the past and would like to do it again.
Becky hasn't talked much about work, but I only see her a few hours a day. We took Dave, Hannah and Ethan out on the boat Sunday. Everyone had fun and was worn out after a couple hours. Dave made the statement that when he was on the boat, he doesn't think about work. Becky and I are the same way.
I haven't been biking much due to a minor injury. I managed to get prostatitis and am off the bike for 3 weeks. It put me in the ER last week, but I am improving with antibiotics and lots of water. Anyway, that's life for Becky, Zoey and I in Georgia. We are heading to Illinois this weekend for a friends wedding. She is a friend of mine from undergrad. I know what your thinking, What kind of ATC schedule's a wedding during football? Oh well, should be fun.

Zoey's first swim

Well Becky and I had the day off and hit the lake with Zoey in tow. We have taken her on the lake once before and she just cowered under the drivers console for most of the trip. We were cruising up to the north side of the lake (we live on the south side) when I saw a tube that had went ashore on one of the many islands. Now tubes don't run cheap and this one looked big. I had to get a closer look see is it was usable. Becky creeped up towards the shore as I on the front of the boat. We don't want the ground the boat (it scratches the hull). So the original plan was to take the boat into shallow water, I would get out and inspect the tube. Well, Zoey joined me on the front of the boat. She looked curious and I was happy she came out from under her cover. Next thing I know she jumps in the water as the boat is moving forward. Bear in mind, Zoey hates the water and has only swam once when I dragged her into the pool. She then realized her mistake as the water was about 6 feet deep and tried to get back on the boat, forcing her under the boat. I told Becky to put it in reverse and I jumped in after her. I directed her to shore and she swam in fine and tried to run and hide. The tube was not salvageable so I had to drag Zoey back into the evil depth from which she had just escaped and then handed her to Becky on scary water machine. Zoey then returned to her cower under the console and Becky and I enjoyed a day off in the sun.

Saturday on the Lake!

Well, we finally had a nice, sunny day here in GA so Matt & I had Dave & Sam and the kids out on the boat. I think it was only the first or second time the kids had been on a boat but they were so excited and I'm pretty sure they had a great time! Hannah was almost immediately ready to get on the tube . . . the first time we were going a little to fast but too her credit, she was ready to go again a little later. The lake was really busy and a little choppy but she was so brave to get out there a second time. She'll be a pro in no time! I don't think Ethan left the bow of the boat during the entire trip other than to swim. The bow is the roughest spot on the boat and he seemed to enjoy it! Jonah was a little reluctant to get on the boat but uncle Matt took it upon himself to throw him in -- "Grandpa-style"! He was all smiles once we got moving though. All adults took a tour on the tube as well, and I think I speak for all of us . . . "ouch". My shoulders, back and arms are quite sore today! Maybe we'll try a knee board next. It was a great day though! Thanks Dave & Sam for lunch . . . we'll have to do it again soon.

Good catch

Me jacob and Aaron went fishing a couple of weeks ago and I just want to brag about my 10lb+ cat. Took 25 min to bring in.

Warwoman Dell

What an appropriate name. It's a US Forest Service picnic area near Clayton, GA about an hour north of us. We started geocaching about 2 months ago, and it was time to up the ante and try one up in the mountains. We went after 3, but the first one was stolen, took the wrong trail going after the 2nd, and found the 3rd after realizing they had added a new bridge and had to backtrack little. We had to drive down a forest service road, ford a stream take one long detour and finally arrived at Martin Creek Falls. We hiked for at least 3 hours but well worth it.

Becky and Matt become boat owners

Well, Becky and I have been toying with the idea of getting a boat. We live about a mile from Lake Lanier so owning a boat is not that far fetched. We did some online shopping for a couple weeks and researched what makes boats good and bad. We were almost over the idea and were ready to wait until next summer, but Becky's friend (works for a boat dealer) got a nice boat in on trade. They were willing to sell it to us for what they gave on trade. So we decided to become boaters. Let me tell you the boat is sweet. The previous owner kept meticulous records and the boat almost seems too nice. It's 18 feet with 225 horses, it can fly. We plan on taking Dave and the Hall county Kicklighter's out tomorrow for some tubing and sun. We'll try and get some pics.
Peace.

kicklighters need to be bloggin

Becky and I went riding this weekend. I was pedaling along at Chicopee ( a trail we frequent) and thinking about what was going in my life. My thoughts wondered to what the family was up too. I spoke with Na yesterday and he had some news about Jacob. I talked to Dave as well, and he was taking to the family to Tallulla gorge for some hiking and geocacheing. I was hoping he would take some pictures. I had not spoken to Mom,Dad or John.
The vacations seem to stimulate a desire for Becky and I to keep up more with the comings and goings of the family. We get so busy with work and what we have going on that take for granted what our families are up to. Becky has signed on with myspace, and it has helped some. I sent an email with some pictures of our trip to NC to update everyone. It is pretty tedious for me to load the pictures paste them and email them. I get annoyed quite quickly.
I decided to start this blog as a place for us to write a little about what is going in our lives, maybe some pictures and some basic announcements. Maybe it will work, maybe it won't. Let's just give it a little effort and see.