Thunder on Tholocco

Today was Thunder on Tholocco...boat races at the lake on Fort Rucker. I decided to take the boys...not because we wanted to see the boats but because it was such a beautiful day. They had fun in the bounce houses and eating sno cones. There were tons of people there and again...I'm a lucky mom that the boys are so well behaved. They really could have run off in two directions and been a handful but they were very good. Even when they were standing in line waiting for their turn at the bounce house!


The picture is fuzzy because its through the screen enclosure. The kids were crazy coming down that slide. I honestly don't know how this is safe!?

Max and his sno cone.

Nolen climbing through the cool jungle gym. The first time we went there, I had to climb on it just because it looked so fun. Thank goodness I have kids or I would have looked like a crazy woman!

Max going down the crazy slide without sides. I had to try this out too so I could verify that you won't fall off. It was really a safety inspection! :-)

Mom, I did it all by myself!

Here is Edward all dressed up in his new suit. He has an interview a week from Monday in Lexington Park, MD.

Mini Camp Family Reunion

We had an impromptu reunion on Monday. Dad's cousin Linda and her family are down here on vacation from Alberta, Canada and it worked out for us all to get together for lunch on Monday. We had a wonderful impromptu BBQ and I think everyone really enjoyed it. The weather was awesome and it was so nice to hang out in our backyard even if it is half dirt!

It was fun to hear about the small town they live in and to see pictures of them ice fishing and moose hunting...hmmm...sounds familiar doesn't it? I won't go so far as to say that it made me MISS Alaska but it made me "reflect fondly on the uniqueness of living in such a beautiful place." They were all very sweet and I think they really enjoyed the fresh strawberries we bought that morning at Country Best Farm. I remember how much I appreciated good, fresh fruit when we lived in Fairbanks and I think they felt the same way.

From left to right...Christine (Linda's daughter in law), John (Linda's son, my second cousin and Christine's husband), Linda, Will (Linda's husband).

Linda and her son Dave. His wife was here too.

Dad and Linda

A Visit From Grandpa and Suzanne

Mel and Suzanne

My Alabama boys in their sleaveless shirts!

Frisbee time.

Mel throwing the frisbee...I CANNOT catch a frisbee.

Stolen Pictures

I wish I could say that we went to the beach and took these pictures...but I can't. My Dad took these pictures went he went camping with some friends of his in SW Florida. They took the boat to an island and did some male bonding, and I think the pictures are awesome!

Family Day!

On Saturday we were just hangin' at the hizzy and trying to decide what to do. Edward and I both felt like going to Dothan although we really didn't NEED to go - and then you start to wonder if its worth the gas! Anyway, we decided to pack up and take off. Before we left, Nolen got the bright idea to take his money from his piggy bank with him. We found him in his room carrying his giant crayon bank around. I helped the boys open it and took out $3 for each kid and put it in their wallets (which Nolen later called his purse!). I wanted to only take $2 but they caught me putting some money back in and I didn't have the gumption to argue about it. Note - if you're taking the boys to Dothan it is important to pack snacks, drinks and activities for the car (coloring supplies, Leapsters or a movie). If I fail to pack these things there is A LOT of whining! Grrr... Anyway, I was prepared and we had a nice drive down. The boys drew lots of cute pictures on the way...jellyfish, rockets, aliens and they made a dot-to-dot on their own.

We decided to go to Kohl's first so Ed could look for a suit for his interviewing that should be coming soon! We were probably there for an hour and the kids were really good. Although, they wanted to play hide and seek so I had to explain to them that it is never ok to play hide and seek in a store!!! After dropping some dough at Kohl's, it was almost 5 o'clock so we decided to get a jump on the restaurant crowd and head to Olive Garden. The wait for a table at 5 o'clock was 30 minutes!!! We opted for the Golden Corral next door. Now, I was not excited about this and the food was not great. What WAS great, were the kids! They were adorable. They really enjoyed choosing their food. Nolen kept leaning over to me and making cute faces and saying, "huggy". That is what he does when he's really happy and wants to say, "Thanks, Mom, this is fun!" Max enjoyed it too. He ate SO much I'm surprised he didn't have a tummy ache. He ate 2 pieces of pizza, a piece of chicken, a rib, some potatoes, some corn and strawberry cake with ice cream! After the sugar infusion he could not stop talking. He was hilarious! Max is a talker anyway, but he was just spouting out nonsense just to hear himself talk. He told Edward some story about if you shake him upside down, his brain will fall out and turn into a bug and then you'll have to catch it and put it back in his head...! No more sugar for Max. ha!

After dinner we went to Toys 'R' Us to try out some bikes for Nolen's birthday. The boys had fun and the only whining came when Nolen wanted to buy a Wii game. I told him that he could choose something else to buy but he didn't have enough money for a Wii game and if he kept whining about it, I would take his money and he wouldn't be able to buy anything. (He asked me, "What is 3+3?" He wanted to see if he and Max had enough money together. That kid is always thinking - especially always thinking about the Wii!!!) That seemed to work and each of the boys chose 3 Hot Wheels cars.

I think this is the first shopping/dinner trip we've taken with the boys that was truly enjoyable. There were no kid issues, just a fun time hanging out with our cool kids...they're getting so big!

There Once Was a Chair...

For which no one cared
And so I decided to love it.

I brought it on home
And made it my own
And then I sort of destroyed it.

Out of the chair, flew this fine, yellow dust.
"What is this stuff?" I yelled out in disgust!

I pried, pulled and scraped at it, staples went flying,
Pliers, and screwdrivers the tools of my trying.

Deeper and deeper I dug at the chair.
Yellow dust covered my clothes and my hair.

A mask and safety glasses would have been smart,
To protect my eyes, my lungs and my heart.

The carnage was ugly. A mess I did make.
Rotten foam, torn up lining, tacks and a cake. (Not really, just needed to rhyme!)

I made twenty cents in the deal there's no doubt.
Like finding buried treasure amid a pile of gout.

Now all that remains of this once loved chair
Is some wood and some springs and some slightly stale air.

Arts and Crafts

We sure stayed busy today! The boys had school and a field trip (See below) this morning. After school we relaxed at home for awhile and had lunch then we worked on a project for the boys' bedroom. They painted their names so we can put them up on their wall. I think they came out really cute. I'll have to take a picture when its all done...don't hold your breath!

In the middle of painting I realized that we had time left in the day to sneak in a trip to Lake Tholocco and that is just what we did. We spent 2 hours playing at the beach this afternoon and it was awesome! Its always fun to take those first trips of the season after having been away for awhile. The boys should be nice and tired tonight! What a full day!

Return to Tholocco

It was so nice to get back to Lake Tholocco! We had so much fun there last summer...it is a boy's paradise! We have been a few times this spring but only to play on the new playground. Today was the first day we busted out the beach toys! The boys loved it!

At one point they were getting a little too brave/deep in the water so I had to tell them to be careful not to go too deep. Nolen asked why. I told him because you can't swim without your floaties. Well, he corrected me mighty quickly and told me that he CAN swim without his floaties. While I like his confidence...I'm not sure it is well placed! I seem to remember trying swimming without floaties in the pool last year and the kid sank like a rock!



Go Speed Racer! (I love the look of determination!)

He looks so tall here. He is 43 1/2 inches tall now and he'll be five next month!

Field Trip to the Strawberry Patch

Today was the boys' preschool's field trip to the strawberry patch. They went to the same farm we usually go to to pick strawberries. It was a lot of fun. The boys seemed slower than usual and I remembered too late that I gave them Benadryl this morning because Max had itchy bug bites and Nolen woke up with itchy eczema. Oops! I think they still had a good time.

Max showing me his friend.

The chaos of bright green shirts. I kept losing my kids!

All the boys eating their ice cream. I don't know how but they seemed to all sit in a circle together. The little girl standing behind them wouldn't sit down with them.

Me and my boys. Max didn't want his picture taken. Oh well.