Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!! Yes, the boys got the swingset done. Thanks to everybody that helped out. It was quite a project and somewhat stressful with the impending deadline, but Matthew loved it. I'm sure it will get quite a bit of use!


Of course, Santa was not such a big hit......


But the toys sure were!

Swingset Update

Matthew is getting a swingset/fort for Christmas. We've had so much going on lately, it's come down to the weekend before Christmas to start assembling the set. As if the holidays weren't stressful enough already.

Here's what Five Days 'til Christmas looks like.....

The guys have put in a lot of hours to get it ready.

Four days to go......

And it's time to Raise the Roof!!!!......

Don't know how much each side weighs, but there sure are some funny faces being made when they lift it.

Well, here we are Monday morning. It's DANG COLD outside, Don has the crud and still a good bit left to build. Looks like Christmas Eve is gonna be an all-nighter!! Wish us luck!

Holidays 2008

Thanksgiving was a great time. Matthew rode his tractor all over the yard and even entertained us by wearing his dirt bike helmet. The weather was awesome!

Once the turkeys were all fried up, we loaded up on the big tractor and headed down to MiMi and Grandpa's house for all the fixings. Matthew's a good driver!!

Our next task was getting our Christmas tree for this year. I think Matthew is wondering why in the heck we cut down a perfectly good tree.

And this is the final product. It looks really pretty at night with all the lights lit up. Hopefully Santa will bring some gifts to put under it!

Hangin' On To Summer

Last weekend was a blast. We met Todd, Margaret and Stevi at the condo and they brought their friends Michelle, Gina and Brian with them. First we hopped on the boats and rode out to Robinson Island.

After having a few on the beach (even got Martha to shoot some Patron) we headed over to Tacky Jack's to watch the Alabama football game.

Roll Tide Roll!!! We totally pigged out on healty fare like nachos and fries while we watched the Tide roll on to yet another victory. Check out Stevi's haircut - how cute!!!!

Matthew wouldn't let me take his Roll Tide shirt off Saturday night to put on his jammies, so he just slept in it. Don cooked breakfast Sunday morning. As our friend Jamie would say - Everything should taste like bacon! I think Matthew agrees!!!

Matthew's 2!

Matthew had quite a day on his birthday. We took him to Chuck E. Cheese's and ate tons of pizza. He wasn't quite sure about the big mouse up front, but sure did love the whack-a-mole. I made him an Elmo cake that he dug into. That black food coloring sure is potent!!!
After chowing down on cake and ice cream, we went outside to get the big birthday gift. Mimi and Grandpa got him a tractor to ride around. It even came with a trailer to help pick up leaves and sticks. He LOVED it! It was hard to get him off of it to go home.

Labor Day Weekend

Shelby's first day back to work was the Tuesday after Labor Day this year. We planned a big Labor Day throw down at the beach and had a fun time on Saturday, but Hurricane Gustav had different plans for us on Sunday and Monday. Fortunately, he didn't get too close to use, but it certainly wasn't beach weather.

Matthew's birthday is this month and what do you know - Elmo paid Mobile a visit. MiMi and Grandpa took him to see the big Elmo show and he had the best time. Mimi got him an Elmo balloon and he wore his favorite Elmo shirt. He had quite a day!

Well, it has been forever since I have updated. We've had quite a run of bad luck, but won't get into it here. This blog is for the fun stuff!!!!!

We went to Ed and Anne's wedding in Texas back in July. Anne looked fabulous as did all of the bridesmaids. The dresses were awesome and everybody just looked great. What a gorgeous wedding! While we were in Texas we stayed in a lake house on Lake Austin with the Alonso's and had a fabulous time. The kids stood in line for their turn on the jetski - no matter how cold the water felt! I think Matthew enjoyed playing with all the other kids, too.

A couple of weeks later Heather and Jamie came to visit for a weekend. We went down to the beach and did some boating and jetskiing. I think the kids initially were a little concerned about sharks since they had just watched Shark Week, but gradually overcame their fears and got in the water. The guys took them fishing one morning and Heather and I got to relax in the condo. Unfortunately I think I sent them home with this terrible cold I've had. So sorry!!! I didn't mean to!!!!

The following week was Thunder on the Gulf. We went back down to the condo and took Trip and Kristen with us. Back out on the boat we went. I think Charla was a little scared of the jellyfish, but once she discovered a way to scoop them out onto the beach, the hunt was on! Emme and Matthew played together and Kristen and I hung out on Robinson Island while the guys anchored offshore and watched the race. The weather was awesome and we couldn't have asked for a better weekend.

We weathered Tropical Storm Faye this past weekend. It was really much ado about nothing. I think we see more severe weather during a normal afternoon thundershower. We did get to visit the new Bass Pro Shop in Spanish Fort and had a nice lunch on the causeway.

I have been the world's worst at taking pictures recently. I promise I will do better and post some new ones soon.

Happy Birthday Phyllis!

Saturday we drove to Jackson and helped Andy throw a bash for Phyllis' 50th birthday. Don was in charge of crawfish and they turned out quite yummy. There was tons of food and beer. I think everyone had a great time and got plenty to eat.

Now we are getting ready for our trip to Texas to see Ed and Anne get married. We plan on leaving Tuesday night and just seeing how far we get. We should be in Austin sometime Wednesday. We'll be staying in a lake house with Heather and Jamie and family. We are so looking forward to it!

We Love You, Jesse!

We made the decision yesterday to have Jesse put to sleep. He lost weight every week the past month, and the cancer just continued to grow. He was in pain and was not going to get any better. Surgery was not really an option for him. The tumor was too large and the cancer too aggressive. It was such a hard decision to make, but there was no reason to have him suffer any longer.

Goodbye Jesse. You brought us so many smiles and laughs over the years. You will be missed!

Happy 4th of July!

The 4th turned out to be a great day. Lots of friends came over and we swam, ate and enjoyed the pyromaniacs at work.

Don brought the massive MAE grill home and it handled the task quite well. Of course, with these two as head grill gurus, how can you go wrong?

Once again, Matthew was completely outnumbered by the girls. Sean was either sleeping or invoking a fight with the ladies as to who was going to hold him next. From the looks of it though, Matthew didn't seem to mind being outnumbered. Such a ladies' man!!!

Margaritaville

Earlier this week we invited some friends over on Sunday to swim. Unfortunately, on Sunday morning the pool was a nice shade of green. Somewhat Margarita-ish. But the kids didn't seem to mind and we still had a nice time and ate lots of food.

Normally the girls outnumber the boys around here, but that wasn't the case today. I think Matthew was still feeling a little outnumbered, though since Grant isn't quite walking yet and well, Sean is only a week old! But hang in there Matthew - help is on the way!!!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day Don! He is enjoying himself by tinkering with his boat. Unfortunately, Matthew has been a tad under the weather this weekend. He's been running a fever on and off since yesterday. I can tell he is feeling really crappy.

CONGRATULATIONS Scott and Shelby!!!! They had their baby Friday evening! A real whopper at 9 pounds, 7 ounces! A beautiful little boy to add to our group of little ones. Looks like Matthew and Grant have a new companion to help terrorize all the girls.

Shelby is doing well - already checked out of the hospital and headed home!