Weekends

 One benefit of getting up for early morning Saturday races is you have plenty of time the rest of the day to play.  One really wonderful thing about our time here is that if Tom doesn't have any major studying to do, we really are free to just go and do what our heart's desire at any given moment. That's kind of how we spent the rest of the weekend.

 After running a few errands, hitting a few retail outlets and dodging a killer rainstorm (I'm telling you, when it rains here, IT RAINS), we headed into downtown where they were having the book festival in Old Alabama Town.  We shared a burger off the grill then took the opportunity to check out some of the buildings on the grounds.  I saw some of them when Jeff and Karen visited but Tom had never been there.

The Cotton Mill

Cotton Gin...."gin" being short for engine.  Who knew?

The General Store

He beat me.  In checkers, that is.

They had local authors there signing books but nothing looked too interesting so we headed over a few blocks to the Montgomery Street Fair.  Some art vendors, live music and performers.

 So we've read about Chris' hot dogs.  I think they're famous because they've been around a long time and because Hank Williams supposedly used to hang out there.  They're located right downtown but had a tent out on the street so we decided to give them a try. Um, apparently their "special sauce" is what makes them, well, special.  In our opinion the special sauce was a cross between bbq and tomato soup.  Not memorable but still glad we tried it.  Once.

We much preferred the sampler dish of Greek goodies including baklava, wedding cookies and some other dessert.  THAT festival is next weekend.

Got this freebie plastic hat from a realtor booth but the best fun of the day was watching Tom chase it up the street every time it blew off.

Sunday was much the same.  Got up for church then after the service decided to drive to Selma for breakfast.  We're listening to the book UNBROKEN by Laura Hillenbrand on CD and the only place we can do that is in the car so a 45 minute drive for breakfast is killing two birds with one trip.  Yes, we did have a waffle as a matter of fact then took a quick drive through town before heading back.  It really is a gorgeous green drive and a relaxing way to spend a Sunday morning.

Back in time for a couple of hours of reading then off to Floyd's obedience class.  He's doing very well but his social skills are lacking.  He does not like other dogs.  Big, little....it doesn't matter.  He thinks he's a person.  But he likes treats so he's willing to learn commands pretty quickly.

Fixed Tom dinner then I headed to a women's function at church where we each brought an appetizer. That's my favorite type of meal.  Sampling.  Lots of good munchies and desserts, a fun ice breaker then a great biblical message about struggles.  As always timely and something we can all relate to.  It came down to three things:

1. Study your bible.  Go to the concordance and find what you're struggling with and go to those specific verses that deal with your particular struggle.
2. Pray.  Get down on your knees and talk to God about it.
3. Talk to someone else.  Someone you trust.  Depending on your struggle pick someone who will hold you accountable or someone who can just give you support.

  We were also challenged to memorize one scripture a week. That is something I need to work on.  The speaker picked one for us to memorize on the spot as a group, and out loud.   Psalm 119:11 I have hidden your word in my heart, that I may not sin against you.  It was a lovely way to end the weekend and I'm always thankful for supportive, godly women in my life.

April 5K

Mr. Chick-fil-a cow was there.

My friend Molly....who beat me!

This month's 5K was held at Prattville Elementary and was a fundraiser for their tech needs.  There were several runs going on but we decided at the last minute to go ahead and do this one as it was local, just down the street and our boot camp friends were doing it.

Tom, Kim, Nancy and John....boot campers AND big winners!

The weather was supposed to be crappy but at 7 AM it was fine.  Because it was a smaller race they weren't as organized as the bigger ones.  No mile markers so we had no idea how far we'd gone.  In fact they had someone yelling out our time as we passed them which usually happens at the 1, 2, and 3 mile mark.  When I heard the time I thought "yikes, why am I even bothering?!"  But it turns out the time caller was at the halfway mark so my time wasn't quite as bad as I thought.  Finished with 37:30 which is faster than some of my other races but not my best time.  Tom and the other boot campers all placed in their categories.  John Boone took first overall.  If they had broken down the age groups in this race like they have all the others, I would have placed in the 50-55 age bracket.  Unfortunately they just did a 50+ category and there were some speedy older women.  Dang it!  Oh well, just more motivation for next time.  They ran out of medals anyway so none of our group even got one.  How do you run out of medals when you know exactly how many people will get medals?  And how does the first place finisher NOT get a medal?  Alas.....we all had a good time and a little Saturday morning exercise so it's all good!

Blount Cultural Park

 Tom changed what is the equivalent of "home rooms" at the first of the year so he has a whole new class of people I don't know.  The first class got together a few times as did the wives so we got to know them. This class had a St. Patrick's Day party but we couldn't go so I've never met any of the wives except Jessica who sometimes teaches our yoga class.  Yvonne, arranged for a few of us to get together last week at Blount Cultural Park for a picnic which was a wonderful idea!

 Mary's little girls spent some time feeding the wildlife but one of her little one's wasn't feeling so good so after we watched the ducks and turtles in the water, they headed home.









Karen, another wife, was pointing out the different types of turtles (including snapping) and it turns out she has a master's degree in biology and has worked as a park ranger and at a zoo. Hence, all the turtle knowledge!

 Yes, the park is this gorgeous and houses the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and the Museum of Fine Arts.  Every time I go there I wish I could paint because there are so many beautiful views.  There are trails for walking or biking and plenty of trees for just plopping under to daydream.

After Mary and the girls left, Yvonne and Karen & I brought out our own little picnics and visited for about an hour at one of the picnic tables. It was nice to get to know at least a few of the spouses and I'm hoping to meet some others at a BBQ next weekend.

This and That

Things seem to be slowing down at school or maybe everyone is just getting tired but it feels like the end of it all when they start having the equivalent of field day.

Tom competed in some activities last week including a bike ride & run then this past week they had the international students compete against the Americans in futbol or as we like to call it....soccer.  After that match, the combined other services played flag football against the Air Force students.  It had looked like it was going to rain all morning but it turned out just cool enough to make it really comfortable.  The different classes had brought canopies and plenty of food and drink aka tailgating goodies so with plenty of beer flowing they were having a great time.

We used the time to check up on all the cute babies and visit with the students we don't see that often so overall it was a couple of hours of good fun.






Oh, and I don't want to brag but we had our last night of bowling this week and um.....yeah, check it out!

Happy Birthday Taylor!

At Farmington Pond with Grandma Lola

With cousins Danielle & Jordan

The baby boy turns 19 today so I thought I would just share a little Taylor with y'all.  He has always had his own sense of style.  Even when he was small he would wear a hat as he said it gave him confidence.  Now he just has a flowing mane of hair to do the same.  He was a darling baby and toddler.  He loved to sing and dance to the Jungle Book and could do a killer dinosaur impersonation.  He was on that dinosaur kick for a LONG time.  He plays guitar and bass.  He is funny.  And smart.  And did I mention funny in a sarcastic, dry sort of way.

In China with high school friends

On one of many trips to Washington DC

In some ways he's been like an only child so he's been dragged around with us and has been (for the most part) a good sport about the travel.  We kept reminding him that someday he would be grateful for those opportunities.

He tried snowboarding but ended up going back to skiing.

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He started as a guitarist at The School of Rock but they made him step out of his comfort zone and do vocals as well.  He was awesome!

In Branson with dad

We were sure he would think these were hilarious.  Not so much.  This was the one time he wore them.

Taylor worked very hard on his Eagle project and did a great job with the help of friends and family.  We are so proud of him!

When you travel with him you always get second looks, especially if he's got his guitar because people think he's a rock star.  It happens doubly if both Taylor AND Nic are together.

His trip to Alabama at Christmas

He went through a period of photos that had "this" pose

His awesome grandparents are taking him to lunch for his birthday.  They already had a party for him and cousin Eryn (they always get to share the April birthdays) at their house on Sunday.

He's a cute, cute kid and we're sad to not be with him on his special day but are sending love to Utah!  Happy Birthday Taylor!