Day 6: Hello D-Rock!

As our 5-day sojourn in Jasper came to an end, the Lamps jumped into the old covered wagon, better known as a Chevy Malibu and headed north to Decatur.

The schedule was packed for the days in D-rock…supply run when we got there, 18 holes for Joel on Thursday/pedicure and shopping for Bonnie, Steven's third and final birthday party on Friday night, trip to B'ham for Bonnie to introduce Steven to her college friends/trip to Oxford to see Nate and Allison and meet Palmer, then three days in Decatur to hang out with the family before returning back to Jacksonville.

So where do we begin? How about with lunch.

We left Jasper around 10:30 that morning as Steven was fighting his morning nap and it was a good time to make a run in the car to get him to sleep. So off we went, and Steven was asleep about a block down the road.

With the little one soundly sleeping, we sat back and enjoyed the scenic drive through the back roads of north Alabama. There was the drive by the cock-fighting ranch (didn't know that was legal and I'm pissed I didn't take picture of the sign), the cell phone dead zone near the cell phone tower and the drive over Smith Lake.

Once in Decatur, we quickly unloaded and made a bee line to the home of some of the best, if not the best, barbecue in the country – Big Bob Gibson's.

Another delicious barbecue meal was consumed, with Steven getting in the act and enjoying some barbecue pork with his parents and grandmother.

It was back to the house where Steven got his first gift – a John Deere ATV. He jumped on it immediately and has barely left it alone since his Grandmother rolled it out.

After a few minutes at the house, we made the trip up to see Mimi – Steven's great-grandmother, along with his cousins and great aunt and uncle. Steven was wired by all the people who wanted to watch him and he put on a show, eventually succumbing to a nap with Mimi, who decided to join him in Sleepland.

From there, we all got dinner at Cracker Barrel – where Steven put on a clinic. He ate all of his macaroni and cheese, while gobbling up some his mother's roast beef. He ate and ate and ate. It was the most he had ate since he got sick, so it was great to see him get his appetite back.

What's the best way to work off dinner? Shopping of course – time for the supply run at Target. That got us this epic image that wreaked of Alabama (or Arkansas or Mississippi)…

From there, it was back home and Steven went to sleep quickly, setting up what would become a memorable day.