Here Duckies....

The last day we were in Fairhope, the weather warmed up and the sun came out. So... it was time to feed the ducks!!
 
 
 
 

More Fun....

 
Ben and Mary Elizabeth playing on the DS.
 
adorable and spunky, Sarah!!!
 
Uncle Todd using Ben as a automatic weapon... with sound effects and all... Ben loved it!

Family time!

For Christmas, the girls gave Katie a potholder maker, where you weave fabric... sooo.. Aunt Ann was so sweet to help Katie get started on her first one. As I post this, I remember Ann saying.."you better not put that on the blog" soo...sorry, Ann... I thought this was a sweet picture. Katie loves her Aunt Ann, (and so do I)


 
Katie and Ann
 
Me and my sweet niece, Mary Elizabeth (Ben took this shot!!!)
 
Slumber Party!!! Good ole Ben, just hangs with all these girls, even under a HOT pink blanket. They were watching some girlie movie. Ben is going to be the best husband, he is learning to tolerate all the girl stuff while still being a tough little boy!!!

A little Wii with the Cousins...

We made the trip down to Fairhope this past weekend. It was a great time for the cousins to get together. They got along great... which is alot to say when you are talking about 4 girls and a little three year old boy. Most of Saturday was spent inside playing the Wii. Caroline(12) and Craig had a bowling competition going on.. and Sad as it is, Uncle Craig got SMOKED but Caroline!! Here are a few shots from that day...



 
Playing a little DS... Ben learning!
 
Caroline concentrating on her next move!!!
 
Look at the form,,, ;) what a pro...
 

Beautiful Caroline!! When did she get so "grown"??????

Fairhope trip... coming soon!!!

Finally an update on my blog....

Finally, I am back here to update the blog... (this is for you Tritia... hee hee). To say that we have been busy is an understatement. Getting back into the routine is hard but very welcomed at our house. WE have all adjusted back into it and are going strong. I have gained a student teacher this week and it seems like she is going to do an awesome job. I almost forget what it was like to be in her shoes... learning so much etc. I am welcoming the added help and set of hands in the classroom as well!
THis past Friday, we had our STELLAR program celebration for those who attained National Board Certification. My parents came up for the event but after sitting in traffic, stopping to let Ben go potty, and trying to find a gas station that sells diesel for mom and dad's car.... they decided to forgo the ceremony and take the kids to mcDonalds and let Craig and I go by ourselves. Although, I really would have loved to have had them at the ceremony, after getting there I was so thankful they had taken the kids... they would have been miserable, hungry and BORED. SO thank you mom and dad for helping us out and giving Craig and I a nice evening out (dinner included).

Here is a picture of the group of teachers that went through the National Board process with me at my school. I think that our school had the most achieve this certification at one time!!! GO GSES!!!! Don't we all look fabulous in our black and white? totally not planned!!!


 

Felt a little like Graduation

Nothing like walking in front of a couple hundred people!!! hee hee... I do not think I walked as fast as I did back iin 93 at my high school graduation... I was very proud to walk across this stage! boy, am I glad it is over!!!


 
 
 

TAMPA!

Craig took me along for his trip to the Outback Bowl in Tampa. Since I will not be able to make it to Miami for the National Championship, this was my trip for the season. It was gorgeous weather and a great time! We stayed on the water which was beautiful and were able to drive out to Clearwater one day. We had a great time eating and eating and exploring and eating some more. THe game was not so hot since South Carolina got slaughtered by Iowa but it was a nice little get away for both of us. We were able to really talk about stuff (I think we planned out the next 20 years of our life)hee hee. We had a great babysitter keep the kids in Birmingham. Unfortunately, Katie got sick the first night we were gone but she bounced back just fine!
The next couple of pictures are around the hotel we stayed at and our little walk on the beach!!!


I did not take a lot of pictures... I kept on forgetting the camera...
 
 
 

THe Columbia

Craig did a great job picking restaurants for our mini-vacation. I love it when he takes me somewhere he has already been to and tries out everything! On New Year's Eve he made reservations at the Columbia a very historic, Cuban restaurant in Ybor City. He is very aware of my passion for Latin America culture and food and just knew I would love this place, and love it I did!!! We had great seats right up front for their latin dance show which was amazing. For New Year's Even they offered a 5 course dinner and it was sooo much food. I had empanadas for my appetizer... yum!! (I had not had those since Panama days), shrimp and chicken Barcelona for my main dish (WOWIE!!!), some yummy sangria and incredible chocolate cake (which I was only able to eat like 3 bites). I did not mention the plate of little treats at the beginning and the really yummy house salad. You could have rolled us out of the restaurant. I loved it all and it made me want to get on the next plane down south!!! After we ate, we walked around Ybor City (very interesting) and then headed to our 3rd movie in 2 days!!! It was a great New Years Eve!!!



 
 

Trolly Ride

We rode the cutest trolly to and from our dinner on New Years Eve.... It was great and easy and a lot of fun to people watch... Wowie... some funny folks on that thing!!!


 
 
 

RainForest Cafe

We had a great time at the Rainforest Cafe. It is very interactive and lots to see and do during dinner. There is a thunderstorm every 30 minutes which Ben really loved (that is sarcasm). We were lucky to sit under the swinging monkeys that came alive every 15 minutes... which Ben actually liked a little. As we left we saw these cute animal bar stools that looked like animal legs and tails... so I had the kids sit in them for a quick snapshot...:)


 
 
 

GRITS: Girls Raised In the South

Where can you find a girl whose hair bow matches her ATV perfectly... and pink at that??? This was taken at the Bass Pro shop in Nashville... classic southern girl... or just plain redneck...not sure which!!! HEE HEE


 

Everyone...but Ben

The Oprylan Hotel had a beautiful Huge tree and we all wanted a picture in front of it...well... except Ben, of course. He would have nothing to do with pictures... so of course Katie agreed to have her picture taken...really, not sure who she takes after... hee hee