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.

Christmas Eve Brunch

Christmas Eve Brunch

We normally spend Christmas Eve with Marc's parents and exchange gifts with them and the cousins (Marc's brother's children).

Below, posing nicely before the unwrapping chaos...

Let 'er rip!!!

The boys got waterskis and a kneeboard for summer on the river!

Nothing like large firearms for Christmas! :)

Gaines' 9th Birthday Party
December 21, 2008

Gaines woke up early on his birthday morning ready to open gifts. Among several smaller items (books, movie, toy), he got a new bike. It's a X-games moto-bike, so he's got to strike a cool pose while riding it.

Gaines invited a few friends over in the afternoon to celebrate his birthday. It was his idea to have orange and blue with the Gator flag and football cupcakes.

Gaines, like Andrew, had to save his own money for a handheld video game. He asked for "cash" from his grandparents and added it to the money he had saved and was able to buy himself a PSP and a game. We are proud of him for making his goal.