Toad Suck 10k 2010 Submitted by: Jim Ford - 05/18/10 9:17 am

Toad Suck 10k 2010 On your mark, get set, GO! I had so much fun last year I decided to compete in my second 10k race on May 1st during Conway's annual Toad Suck Daze. My days of struggling to run 4 or 5 miles are long behind me as I regularly run anywhere between 5 - 8 miles several times a week. In fact, last fall I trained for a half-marathon only to be defeated the night before the race, losing 7 pounds to bad chicken from Pei Wei (I'm sorry staff at Walmart and McDonalds in Sheridan... don't even ask). So I felt actually quite prepared for an easy race with a much faster time than the 2009 race . Please click on each picture to see an expanded view with more detail. Full Article

Print » Email » Comments (2) » Reads: 45

Trace and Martina, First Big Girl Concert Submitted by: Jim Ford - 05/13/10 10:08 am

Trace and Martina, First Big Girl Concert Martina McBride is Haley’s all-time favorite singer and I found out in the fall that she was coming to Little Rock with Dad’s old student, Trace Adkins. I took off from work the first day tickets went on sale in November and got us some great seats. Over the next month and a half before Christmas, during weekend visits we'd pass Verizon Arena with the concert promo on their big jumbotron. I'd sadly lament to her that tickets were SOO expensive. I wish I could take you Haley Beth. Wouldn't that be awesome to go to? She wanted to go so badly but knew our financial situation. She'd sweetly respond like the kind-hearted girl she is, "It's okay Daddy, we'll go someday together". Please click on each picture to see an expanded view with more detail. Full Article

Print » Email » Comments (1) » Reads: 71

Dear Santa, Sign Here - Christmas 2009 Submitted by: Jim Ford - 05/07/10 2:23 pm

Dear Santa, Sign Here - Christmas 2009 It may have been our last Christmas together, at least one in which the wonders of Christmas are magical through the innocent eyes of a child. This year it was my turn to have Haley to celebrate the birth of Christ our Savior. Now that Haley is a self-described "big kid", I relied on her to help her old man decorate the house and get us in the Christmas spirit. If anything Haley has become somewhat of a little "Mom" ensuring our traditions are maintained and keeping Daddy on track. Please click on each picture to see an expanded view with more detail. Full Article

Print » Email » Comments » Reads: 52

Halloween 2009, Rock of Love Submitted by: Jim Ford - 03/05/10 2:25 pm

Halloween 2009, Rock of Love Boo! Halloween is one of my favorite times of year. Haley and I love decorating, carving pumpkins, scaring kids, and generally having a great time. This year we headed out for our annual trek to the pumpkin patch the weekend before Halloween. Then the night of, I went nuts scaring kids and helping throw a party at my neighbor's where we all danced and boogied down till the WEEE hours of the morning. Full Article

Print » Email » Comments » Reads: 67

Viva Mexico! Cancun 2009 Submitted by: Jim Ford - 03/03/10 1:47 pm

Viva Mexico! Cancun 2009 Last summer my then girlfriend Debbie and I planned a trip to Cancun, Mexico to have a little fun in the sun, soak up the culture, eat some great food, and let our worries go for a few days. As it turned out we had broken up by the time the trip came around the first of October. But the passports, flights, and all-inclusive resort had already been paid for and we decided to go as friends anyway! Yes, there were some ups and downs but we had a lot of fun and came back alive so it was all good. Full Article

Print » Email » Comments (1) » Reads: 135

Cancun 2009, una Mas Fiesta! Submitted by: Jim Ford - 03/03/10 1:44 pm

Cancun 2009, una Mas Fiesta! The trip continued and we spent hours and hours in the shops, oceans, and sights in Cancun. We ate and ate and ate, and drank and drank and drank! I highly suggest going to an all-inclusive resort if you can. I thought we were both pretty tan when we began the trip but boy did we ever get some sun. There were many clubs and discoteques you could go to but they were outrageously expensive. The hotel bar may not have been as cool but it was all you can drink for free and we met up with some friends from Chicago and somewhere in England to party down! Full Article

Print » Email » Comments (1) » Reads: 76

Camp of the Pines - Labor Day 2009 Submitted by: Jim Ford - 12/12/09 12:40 pm

Camp of the Pines - Labor Day 2009 This September we headed out for what I think was our 27th annual Labor Day weekend celebration. Our closest friends and family gather at Lake DeGray in Arkansas for. We're just a small group of close church friends and our families and we have a blast! Driving in from Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas, we meet up Friday evening at Camp of the Pines; an old church camp many of us attended as campers and some of our parents either helped build or administor. Read on for lots of pictures from the weekend. Full Article

Print » Email » Comments » Reads: 144

Goodbye Liver, Hello Heartburn Submitted by: Jim Ford - 10/20/09 12:00 pm

Goodbye Liver, Hello Heartburn Time to pull out my flip flops, dust off the ice chest, and break out the sunscreen. Every August a bunch of my old college buddies from Louisiana Tech and me get together on Lake Ouachita in Arkansas. Our mission? Drink, tell old stories, eat nothing but steak and burgers, swim, play poker, relax, and generally let our worries go for a few days. What do we all share in common? We are all alumni of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity, Zeta Chi Chapter. Gentlemen, prepare your livers for a weekend of debaucherous abuse! Full Article

Print » Email » Comments » Reads: 163

Spring Weekend in Ruston Submitted by: Jim Ford - 10/07/09 3:06 pm

Spring Weekend in Ruston This May I went to my hometown of Ruston to see my daughter, tool around my old college, and eat some good crawfish at my old fraternity - Hurricane 2009. Debbie went with me and we had such a great time. It's funny how my friends in Ruston say how much it has changed or grown because of a new fast food restaurant or someone built a house. But to me, it's pretty much still the same old americana small town that I love and remember as a kid. We headed down after work and met up with Haley at the Dixie Baseball Complex. Full Article

Print » Email » Comments » Reads: 184

Hurricane 2009 Submitted by: Jim Ford - 10/05/09 3:40 pm

Hurricane 2009 Every spring my college fraternity Alpha Tau Omega hosts a Hurricane party for members, alumni, family and friends. I think I've made it 16 out of the last 18 years. I also took this opportunity to introduce Debbie to Louisiana food and culture and many of my friends. I have to admit, the college kids party this hard several times a week and I can only do it once a year! I'm pretty tame now compared to my younger days but we still tear it up playing sand volleyball, dancing, going headfirst down the water slide, eating crawfish, hanging with friends, and drinking a ton of beer! Full Article

Print » Email » Comments » Reads: 164