Saturday, May 2, 2009

Grandaddy the Snake Killer

Check out these pictures of the rattlesnake William and Grandaddy killed at our house this morning (well, mostly Grandaddy - William took his gun out but since the snake crawled right up bedside the house, Grandaddy killed it with his hoe instead). Scary!







Thursday, April 16, 2009

Snow in the Deep South?



What a surprise! We got snow, in the South, in MARCH!



As soon as we got up and noticed it was snowing, we grabbed coat and hats and threw them on over our pj's and ran outside to play it in before it disappeared.




We stayed out until our glove-less fingers started freezing and then we ducked inside to find breakfast and some real clothes. Then we headed back out for some more fun in the snow.

The snow didn't stick (of course it didn't stick, the temperature the day before was in the 70's which meant the ground was still really warm), so no snowmen, but we had a fun time anyway!






Wednesday, April 1, 2009

A Welcome Home to Remember








Today we got to be a part of something special.







There is an organization called "Honor Flight Network" that arranges for veterans to go on a day-trip to Washington D.C. to tour the monuments built in their honor. My grandaddy, a WWII vet, got his turn today. Just the group of veterans and some Honor Flight volunteers took a chartered plane to Reagan National airport in the wee hours of the morning and then spent the day viewing the WWII Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Iwo Jima Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery and a few other of Washington D.C.'s famous memorials. Then they returned home.











I don't know what it is usually like for the veteran's of these flights when they return home, but for the guys returning tonight to Valparaiso, FL,
there was a big surprise in store. SO many people had turned out to personally welcome them home, I was overwhelmed...and I think some of the veterans were too (William did say that Grandaddy looked surprised and pleased when he realized that his whole family was there to greet him - I think he was just expecting Uncle Johnie to be there to give him a ride home :).


People were lining the walkway- all the way from baggage claim to the very end of the concourse. Active duty soldiers, retired military, regular townsfolk, family members, airport workers, previous "Honor Flight" veterans - all cheering, clapping, waving American flags and homemade signs saying "Thank You" and "Welcome Home".



We got the honor of walking with Grandaddy through all these cheering folks, which included a walk through the Honor Guard's Saber Arch or the "sword tunnel" as Marshall called it. The kids also loved the small American flags that seemed to be everywhere (and I have no idea how, but we arrived with none and left with about 10- my kids must have been working the crowd with puppy-dog eyes or something ;).

Because I am not the greatest of writers, I cannot capture fully how proud I was tonight - proud of the 100 men and women who were being honored and also proud of my town that turned out in such numbers on a wet, rainy, Wednesday night to simply say "Thank You" to people they had never met. I think it was best summed up by the conversation Marshall had with an active duty soldier while walking in. He told the sodier he was coming to see his Grandaddy get off a plane and the soldier said, "I think I am coming to see your Grandaddy too".

I am SO proud of my Grandaddy! :)


http://www.honorflight.org/

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Jack's First Hair Cut - Disney Style!



My baby is big enough for real hair-cuts these days and he got his first one Disney-style! We took both the kids to the barbour shop on Main Street at Disney World late time we visited my mom. Marshall got his haircut first so Jack could see that it really wasn't that bad. And when it was Jack's turn, he did great! He sat very still and was super-patient, which was amazing since he is only 1 1/2 years old.



When we were all finished, they gave him an official "Certficate of Bravery" and some Mickey ears to wear that were embroidered with "First Haircut" across the back. He did sit for another few seconds for mom to get a picture of him with the ears on and then we got back to the important stuff at Disney World...the rides! ;)

T-Rex Cafe


Marshall is really into dinosaurs these days so we met Aunt Chrissy and Gabriella for dinner at the new T-Rex cafe while we were in Central Florida. Talk about a hit! Dinosaurs, woolly mammoths and a cool ice cave full of fossils plus pretty kid-friendly food - what more could we ask for? :)



Marshall and Gabriella had a great time! Jack liked it too, right up until the time they made the volcano erupt. After that, he was a little bit wary of everything and was pretty ready to get out of Dodge. He did like the erupting dessert that came at the end of the meal though, compliments of Granny.


This will definitely be one we do again (the restaurant AND the dessert!)