the kids... (picture overload)

Ron started feeling sick around 7:30 last night and is still nauseated and feverish. So when I woke up this morning and discovered I'd not only be taking care of the kids alone, but also trying to keep them quiet, I decided we wouldn't be staying around the house.

We left for Aldridge Gardens in hopes of spotting some birds, walking the trails, sniffing some flowers, and maybe even getting a few pictures. (I rarely take the time to get good shots of the kids)

First up is Sam. These captured him perfectly. He is often smiling big, but almost never lets me take a picture of it. I normally get him very solemn or barely smiling like in the pictures following.

Then there's Luke. He knows how to flirt already at such a young age. And he loves to squinch his nose up when he smiles.

Laney KILLS us with this smile. We love it! Her two top teeth barely poking over her bottom lip with her little chin dimples plumped up. Ron especially falls for her when she makes this face. She seemed to enjoy the camera this morning a little more than the boys.

They enjoyed standing by the lake and watching the ducks.

We went thru the Chick-Fil-A drive-thru and took it to eat at B and Pops' house. Pops has a tree that he's added 2x4's to...the kids love getting up there. They call it their treehouse.

Sam and Luke decided they needed bananas. That way they could pretend to be monkeys. They didn't have to pretend too hard. ☺

a family visit in Montgomery

We drove to Montgomery Friday, January 20th for a little surprise birthday party for Rebekah. It was nice having good family time...

The kids created a band.

And then they all showed off their new shirts...given to them by Grandee and Pappy just back from their recent cruise. They thought they were hot stuff.

my little laxers

Pickles loves his Lukey... and Luke loves his Pickles. Here they are watching TV together.

Daddy time... P90X style

The Doors of Philley

I had an idea...wouldn't it be fun to make a print of all the doors that Ron and I have lived behind. It's like the "Doors of Auburn" or "Doors of Alabama"... So after 5 months of planning and working on it, I finally got pictures of ALL of the places we have lived. From Monroe, to Pelham, to Mobile, to Huntsville, to Birmingham... I tackled all the cities but Mobile. Thank you Turnbulls and Ladners for taking those pics for me. ☺
Here they are:

7/99 - 10/99 1619 N. 3rd Street

10/99 - 4/00 4 Stubbs Ave

4/00 - 6/01 307 1/2 Roselawn Ave

6/01 - 6/02 115 Hidden Creek Cove

6/02 - 8/03 3700 Carlyle Close

8/03 - 9/04 423 Carondolet Court

9/04 - 1/07 2606 Little Cove Rd

1/07 - 3/07 2708 Regency Plc

3/07 - 6/08 1503 Governors Dr

6/08 - 11/08 5007 Montauk

11/08 - 8/10 7075 Jacks Creek Ln

8/10 - ... 2715 Lakeland Trl

And we finally feel like we are home!

Mercedes Marathon Weekend

The weekend started with Sam finishing his marathon. He trained 4 months prior to the kids marathon, running 25.2 miles. On Saturday, he got to run his last mile with all of the other kids who participated. He was so excited!His plan was to have his daddy run the last mile with him. When he found out he could get in the front of the line if he ran without a parent he decided he was up for the challenge. Ron said he felt a tear in his eye when Sam proclaimed he wanted to do it by himself.

And he's off...
They were greeted at the finish line by cows, an elephant, a dog, Captain America, and more. He was LOVING it!

Thanks to Pops, we got a nice family picture afterwards.

And the boys got to meet Spiderman when we went into the BJCC to warm up.
By eveningtime, cousin Jackson and parents had arrived to spend the night. They hung out with Ronzo after their baths for a little TV time.
Uncle Big Mac ran the half marathon the next day and did great! We have since found out that he has a stress fracture, so his running is on hold.
Ron ran the marathon in 2 hours, 52 minutes...it was quite a disappointment for him. He had trained and was prepared to run sub 2:40. Little did we know that the weather had different plans for him. Hypothermia began to set in during the last 5 miles and we spent a good 2 hours after the race trying to warm him up. The nice medics on duty ended up wheeling him off to the ambulance. I was scared. He was talking nonsense. But he was taken care of and got "released" to go home. At least he looked good crossing the finish line. ☺
And so, even after my brother-in-law is diagnosed with a stress fracture and my husband endurred hypothermia, I'm still training for my first marathon. We'll see how it all goes down in October.