Vacation 2010

This year we took our first vacation since we had children. We went down to Gulf Shores, AL and gave some support to the people down there while their businesses are being hurt by the oil spill. Before you think that we are these wonderfully noble people, I have to admit that we already had this planned before the oil spill started.

Before we arrived in Gulf Shores, we stopped in Mobile at the Science Museum.

They had a great play area for L. He was ready to move around after riding in the car all day!

He loved the climbing and running and playing with other kids.

The Science Center had a huge dome IMAX theater inside. The boys had never been to an IMAX movie, and we thought that they would enjoy it!

But once we got inside, E was a little scared. He stayed this way until the movie started. It was a movie about dolphins though and once it began he loved it and watched the whole thing.

There were alot of fun gadgets to work and play with at the museum.

This section was about the body. E stood on here and it showed him how much blood was in his body.

This is L as we were walking back to the car. He was jumping over these lines every time we got to one. He looks at life with such a carefree attitude!

We arrived in Gulf Shores around dinner time and went to eat with my parents. This is all of us outside of the restaurant.

The next day we drove to Pensacola to see the Blue Angels. It was VERY hot!!

It was also very LOUD, but we all enjoyed it!

I would recommend going to see the Blue Angels if anyone travels down that way.

After the show we went to the Air Museum that was on the base. There were tons of planes everywhere that we enjoyed looking at.

The boys liked seeing some of the old trucks and the space stuff.

There was one section that showed what life was like during the 40's. This is an old washing machine.

These were planes like the pilots were flying during the Blue Angels show.

After watching the Blue Angels and going through the museum, we went to the beach in Pensacola. At that time, it was safe to get in the water and it felt really good!!!

This is L checking out the waves.

E rolling in the sand. What a mess!!

More sand.

More sand.

We had all of the sand that we could handle! It was everywhere! That was our only day at the beach, but it was enough. After this point, if we wanted to cool off we just went to the pool at the Ho and Tell. (that is what L called it all week!)

The condo had a wonderful pool area with a mini waterpark.

This kept the boys entertained for a long time.

We went to eat at a place called Lulu's. It is owned by Jimmy Buffett's sister and it is outside by a river. It was a little warm, but the food was really good!

We tried to go one night and there was a 2 hour wait to get in, so we tried earlier the next day and were able to get seated right away.

While we ate we watched a barge go through the river pushing several large boats full of what I think was coal.

After dinner we went to the pier. We could see the oil and some fish. It did not smell like we thought that it would, and we did get to see a sting ray in the water along with some jellyfish and other small fish.

This is our family on the pier.

Looking in the water.

Mom and Dad looking in the water.

That night L called grandma with some very exciting news! He pooped in the potty!! This was the first time, and he has not done it again, but we are hoping that we are getting closer!

On our last day we went to see the USS Alabama.

This is a hard one for mama's to see!

They are to little!! But I know they will be men someday and that is hard to take!

This is the bakery inside the ship. The boys thought of grandma and all of her bread baking while we were here!

There were a ton of stairs on this ship. It was kind of difficult, but we made it!

Here are the beds that the men slept on while they were on the ship.

This is where you went if you were causing trouble on the ship. This made a huge impression on the boys!!

It was very tall. You can see us in the bottom right side of the picture!!

The guns on the outside of the ship!

This chain was huge!

And this is the actual propellar that was used on this ship during WWII.

This ship was amazing! It reminded us of a different time in our nation's history. I took a picture of a sign that was inside that basically said that "We are in the war now, and through it all, the good news and the bad news, we are in this together." I honestly think that people back then were different than people today. Better even. Seeing things like this ship make me want to be a better American.

So after touring the USS Alabama we decided to drive all of the way home! It was a long day, but we were so ready for our beds!!

It is nice to be home!!!

Happy Father's Day!

I am a little busy right now, but I could not let Father's Day go by and not post something! I have a wonderful husband and he is an even better father. He is always willing to spend time with the boys and he loves to teach them things.

If my boys grow up to be like their daddy then they will be wonderful husbands and fathers!

Just Like Grandpa

See this sweet little guy??

Isn't this one a cutie too? Sweet? Angelic even?
Even with a water gun in hand, the smile is still sweet.

But then he does something like this.

And like this.

And you begin to wonder......where is this behavior coming from???

And now we know.....remember the first little boy in the cowboy hat?

The older L gets the more resemblance I am seeing to his grandpa. After keeping L for a few hours, Grandpa is usually quick to tell us the lastest L story of the night. Like the time L was supposed to share M&M's with E and he proceeded to grab all of them. When Grandpa told him to put them back on the table, L in a defiant way, raised his hand above his head and let the M&M's drop where ever they landed. As if to say, "you wanted them, you got them."

It may not be quite as bad as a certain someone we know (grandpa) who, unbeknownst to his mom, bought all of the nieghborhood kids ice cream and charged it to his mom's grocery account. No doubt Grandpa was a popular kid in the neighborhood until the store owner called Grandpa's mom and felt the need to tattle on him!!

L is an onery boy, but so is his grandpa. And they seem to be quite a pair because Grandpa is rarely surprised by L's mischievous behavior. There have already been a stand off or two between L and his Grandpa and L is not even in Kindergarden yet!! Grandpa...since these are your genes (because this behavior could not possibly come from me or his dad!!) coming through we have decided to let you deal with this one!!

I love this picture of Grandma, by the way.

L is also the boy that when the GPS tells us to turn right, he says, "But I dont want to turn right!"

He is a handful, but he and Grandpa also have a loving side. Memaw (Grandpa's mom) told me one time that whenever Grandpa would get mad at her and they would have a fight, he would always come back to her and apologize or write her an apology letter.

In the same way, my L is always quick to say he is sorry and give me hugs and kisses. He is very affectionate.

Mischievous or not, I guess we will keep them both!

A Visitor

We had a visitor in our yard the other day. We saw him as we were getting ready to leave the house. Obviously we had to get out of the car and check this little guy out before we could go anywhere!

We put him in our large recycling tub with some grass and water and went on to town.

When we got home, the boys were so excited to get back to the turtle before naps! Anything to get out of naptime!!

E was very brave and picked him up!

I just dont think that the turtle liked it! I am sure if he could have reach E's hand, he would have bitten him!

He was fun for a while! The boys wanted to keep him forever. They had named him Todd. But I thought that it was mean to keep him locked up in our recycling container for to long! So we put him in the back yard and he managed to escape one afternoon! But he was fun and I am glad that the boys had a turtle, even if it was only for 2 days!!

Swimming Lessons

We started our summer with swimming lessons this year. The boys both went to the Swim Ranch every day for a week. L was in the Water Babies class and I was in the pool with him. He did a great job and LOVES the water. He also loved it when the teacher would pick him to be the example. I am hoping this is a good sign for when he starts preschool! This is L with his teacher Ms. Kim.

L learning to climb out of the pool. The teacher always explained why it was good for the children to learn the different techniques. Most of it was for safety! You never know what could happen when you get around a pool!

Doing the Doggie Paddle to the side of the pool. He would always tell me to "let go of me" so that he could swim on his own.

This is E waiting for his turn to swim.

E's class was next. He was in Lane 1 with three little girls. His teachers were wonderful! He has always been afraid of getting his face wet, but he started to overcome that fear during swim lessons. He will now put his face in the water and not freak out if he accidentally goes under the water. He even jumped off of the diving board and swam in the deep end of the pool without his floaties. YEA for E!!

E did not want us looking at him while he did his lessons so he would turn his head away from us while he was swimming!!

Practicing the kick board.

After L's lesson he was always "starbing." So here he is eating his sandwich and playing while he waits on E to finish.

Overall this was a great experience and I wonder why I didn't start doing this a few years ago. It was a long week going every day, and we would not have made it without our helpers. Daddy, Grandma and Nanny each took turns coming out and sitting with E while I was in the pool with L. I can already see the progress that they boys made while at swim ranch and hope that as the summer continues they will make even more!!

Sewing

For a while now I have been going to a sewing class. It is my way to get out and do something for myself, and it allows Cale to spend some quality time with the boys.

Our latest project was a little girls dress. Since I do not have a little girl, I made this dress to fit my niece, Brynlee. I could not believe that it actually fit her perfectly and looked really cute!!

The back of the dress, including the zipper. That was very difficult!!

Sassy girl with her Auntie!!

The girls!!

I am very proud of this dress!!

Brynlee makes it look beautiful!!

Slippin' Slidin' and Swimmin'

Now that all of the rain is gone I am trying to keep the boys away from the tv and outside. It has been really hot lately and so that means WATER!!! Before my parents opened their pool we played in the Slip -n- Slide at home. The boys loved it!!

Running through the water.

Getting out more water.

Having fun!

He loves making that water spray up over L's head.

Mom and Dad opened up the pool and the water has been tolerable. We have been swimming several times.

Sassy girl!!

Laughing and playing! L loves to play with other kids!

Hopefully after swimming lessons we can get rid of the floaties!

Getting in the pool by himself.

Cousins

Blowing bubbles

It is shaping up to be a pretty wet summer around here! We are all getting pretty brown from being outside so much! But that is not a bad thing!