Can Spiderman save us from the Pirate?

Our local Chick-fil-A has Family Night every Tuesday. Children get a free kids meal with each adult meal purchase & there is usually a special attraction to sweeten the deal. Several weeks ago Starshine Faces was there and we took advantage of their talented artist. Instead of Little I and Mr. C we came home with Spidey and Jack Sparrow!

Cool Summer Pix

Now that our boys are over the age of two, I've become remiss in seeking out and responding to good photo-ops. Fortunately, Mom E has picked up the slack and, between the two of us, Mom E and I have managed to capture a few funny, cute, and amusing moments this past summer. Here are a few of our favorites that especially stood out.

Icing on the noses.

The beach (lake) in PA.

Little I trying on my ear protectors.

Full concentration--Mr. C painting a birdhouse.

Rough and Tough.

Don't worry, there are more; these are just a sampling. We'll post an update from Mr. C's birthday celebrations and probably some zoo pics soon!

Summer Vacation in PA - Lake Tobias

They boys & spent 2 weeks in PA this summer. We enjoyed the cooler weather (at least for the 1st week!) and I had fun taking them to places I enjoyed as a child. We played on the playground at my old elementary school, went to story time at the library and played in the green fields. One of our bigger trips was to Lake Tobias Wildlife Park. The boys had so much fun seeing the zoo animals, feeding the animals in the petting zoo and feeding the buffalo, deer, and various large cattle you encounter on the safari tour.

Here the boys are checking out the alligators- a current favorite!

Little I, Mr. C & GG with the zebra they could pet and fed a cracker!

The boys feeding an Alpaca.

A Watusi, prized African cattle, which Mr. C bravely fed resulting in a VERY saliva covered hand. Thankfully the Watusi preferred crackers to fingers!

Summer Garden

We planted our first garden this summer. Little I and GG planted green beans in May. We then added 4 varieties of tomatoes (red zebra, brandywine, marzano & what was supposed to be grapes tomatoes but must have been labeled incorrectly) some herbs and a sweet baby watermelon.

Here the boys are picking the green beans. We had a nice crop and while they will not claim green beans as a favorite veggie they ate them. Victory!

The red zebra tomatoes have done very well, the brandywines are delicious but the plant grew so tall & heavy that we have had a hard time keeping it upright, the marzanos were disappointing and the mystery tomato is a mystery we would probably not repeat but we can now plan better for next year! We currently have two grapefruit sized watermelons growing and the boys are faithful to check on them anticipating the day they get to eat them!

Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

This past weekend was the inaugural Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. We love all things car and we love all things fast so this seemed like a great family outing. The advertisers promoted it as a family event and Friday tickets were quite affordable so we decided to check it out. The big race was on Sunday & Friday's schedule was mostly practice which suited us just fine.

After a day of clarifying that we were going to see "Indy" cars not "Indian" cars we headed to the track. There was lots of grass for the kids to run around on and a children's area with inflatables.

The cousins trying out an Indy car.

Little I watching the track.
I am not sure which car is passing by but please appreciate the difficulty in timing a shot involving a car going 150 mph!

Little I playing on the hill during practice.

Mr. C getting his first taste of cotton candy.

MomE and the boys.
It was impossible to get them to look at the camera because of the noise. They couldn't hear the person shouting to look at the camera!

Easter Pics

Happy Easter!

At least we are all looking in the general area of the camera! Little I is holding out his hands to catch the football we used as entertainment while trying to get a family picture.

Mr. C playing football before lunch.

Go deep!

Aunt A & Puck were here for Easter. We had a great visit with a trip to T-town to watch some Alabama baseball, Little I went to his first movie at the theater and Puck survived another visit with two preschoolers!

Here for a Visit

DadD's parents came for a visit last month. They were just in time for the beginning signs of spring. We enjoyed a great visit including some time playing outdoors, riding the carousel & of course eating!

No pinching allowed!
Little I is sporting his green shirt as he helps granddaddy with the potatoes for our traditional
St. Patrick's Day meal.

Mr. C enjoyed some special time working on a puzzle with granddaddy & grandma.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the fun visit we had with our GA & NM cousins. We were all together for a couple days and managed a quick trip to Atlanta before everyone headed their separate ways.

Winter Summary

Mr. C shows off the new football he received for Christmas.

MomE and Aunt A dressed up in reindeer antlers and elf hat on Christmas morning

Our cousins came for a fun visit right before Christmas.

What a treat! Aunt B and Cousin K came for a visit over New Years!

We projected the National Championship Game on our family room wall.
The boys had fun making shadows before the game.

We cheered for the Crimson Tide while munching on chips!

Snow ball fight! Little I challenged everyone to a battle.

Mr. C was just glad to be outside in the snow!

We were very excited to cheer on Bama at a couple of basketball games this season.

I wanted to catch you up very quickly on all our winter fun! Stay tuned for signs of spring!