Gaines' First Football Game

Gaines made his football debut this past week - Tuesday, September 8, 2009. He started for the defense, at the tackle position. He said he was a little unsure at first, but then got used to the flow of the game. He even made a fumble recovery in the second half. Marc has been helping out with the team and worked the first down markers during the game. It has really been a lot of fun.

Labor Day Weekend

We spent Sunday night and Labor Day at Orange Beach with friends. It was a nice getaway.

The kids kept busy by digging a giant hole:

Flying a kite at sunset:

Digging a sand tunnel:

Jumping over the hole:

We really had a nice time and the weather definitely cooperated after an "iffy" forecast.

Mardi Gras Break

This post is a little bit out of place as I haven't posted to this blog in a while.

We went down to Orange Beach for Mardi Gras Break. The McGehee family joined us for a couple of days. I had borrowed my friend's camera and we tried to get some nice photos down on the beach before sunset.

Gaines and Andrew with their friend Bennett in the middle.

The boys were threatened to hold still and smile - they wanted to run off and play.

Laura McGehee and I watching the kids play. It was still cold in February/March.

We cooked good food, swam in the indoor pool, played at the beach and even got to walk/ride in a Mardi Gras parade with the local Methodist church!

Easter

Here are some photos from Easter. The boys are hunting eggs in my mom's backyard.

At church, we had a cross where everyone could place a flower. What a joyful day! He is Risen Indeed!

Dauphin Island Trip

We rode down to Dauphin Island last Sunday afternoon. The boys took their friend, Bennett. It was a nice, warm day (gotta love Coastal Alabama in February!) and the kids actually got in the water. A friendly guy with a cast net gave us some fresh mullet, so we came home and fried it up for dinner along with cheese grits! The boys had a great time.

Bennett and Gaines balancing on a log.

Trying to pull it into the ocean takes a lot of effort.

As Sand Island has moved, the fishing pier is not too effective...

Whoa!



Loco!

Gaines - holding still for about 1 second.

Andrew showing dad a shell.

Trying to get some nice shots of each boy.

How's this for closeup?

Thanks to Kristin Smith for letting me borrow her wonderful camera!

Elberta

My Grandmother, Olive Keller, lives in Elberta. We went to visit her over the Christmas holidays. She lives on a dirt road near the main highway. Here's her property.

There are cotton fields behind her house.

She loves to garden and used to grow many vegetables. Here is a satsuma tree in her yard. The boys enjoyed getting to pick "as many as they wanted".

MLKing Holiday - Trip to the Battleship

For the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, we went with our friends, the Elders, to tour the Battleship. It was a lot of fun and the kids enjoyed it. They even rode a motion simulator.

The view from the very top:

Gaines is making his mom nervous by climbing out to the end of the gun on this tank.

Andrew "steering" the submarine (on display next to the Battleship).

Andrew actually took this photo of the guns on the front of the Battleship USS Alabama. Pretty neat shot!!!

Andrew "firing" a gun off the starboard side:

It was a beautiful very cold and very windy day!

The usual group of suspects!


Gaines working a cannon.

We had a good time. It was an affordable "trip" for the family.

Bella

Looks like Miss Bella is settling in quite nicely!

Christmas Brunch at Mom's

We go over to my mom's (Suzy's) house for Christmas morning brunch. Here, you can see the table set and the great food. The small packages above the plates are the English poppers that are a tradition over there. You pull the ends and it makes a loud pop and opens to reveal a small toy, a paper crown, jokes and trivia.

My brother Gene, my nephew Jackson (just turned 1 year old) and Gene's girlfriend Jenny and her son, Jamison.

Jackson enjoying his new truck.

Jamison wearing the aforementioned paper crown.

Gene showing the boys how to operate the new remote controlled helicopters he bought them (aka - he really wanted to play with them as well!).

Jenny and mom discussing Jenny's new pottery career.

Family photo in front of mom's "mini" Christmas tree! (Just her size).

Early Christmas Morning

The boys actually woke up at 6:30 am (much later than we thought) and ran in to look at their gifts. Looks like a sleepy Andrew is opening games and a case for his Nintendo DS.

Papaw always makes the rounds bright and early to see what everyone got.

Andrew's big gift was a dog! Bella, a 9 month golden retriever has joined the family.