Our Favorite "Thing"

To celebrate the birthday of Dr. Seuss on Monday, Ashley's school had a "come to school dressed as your favorite Dr. Seuss character. Guess which one is our favorite.

The Emperor's New Shoes

So we are at Payless shoes looking for some shoes for Ashley to wear in her 1st grade play and Ryan spots these Lighting McQueen slippers that he just "had to have"! Guess what his favorite movie is?

Snow ... in Alabama??

Thats right, folks! Snow in Alabama! We had snow falling for a few hours this morning and it even stuck for awhile. This picture was taken around 9:00 AM and by 11:00 it was all gone. But it was nice to start March with a snowy ground cover. Just like Chicago again (nah, not really!) :-)

Chicago style parting gifts

He slid his hand into the outer pocket to fish out the keys while walking towards the car. The day was over and his tired feet were ready for a break. He glided into the bucket seat and inserted the key into the ignition while stepping on the clutch. Turn - nothing, turn again - nothing, turn again- cursing emanates from his mouth.

Yes yes folks, it seems that 3 -4 years of Chicago winters can do wonders for killing car batteries. Not to mention brakes. So after shelling out $450 for new brake rotors and pads (for the Saturn)this last weekend, we have to shell out another $70 for a battery for the Honda. All courtesy of the fine Chicago winters with corrosive salts and ice. Another good thing about moving back south.

Drive to work

As I was driving to work this morning, I am teaching 2 days a week at the Huntsville campus of Calhoun College, I was thinking how cool is it to drive pass this giant rocket on my way to work and to walk out of the front door of the campus and see it as well.

One of the three Saturn V rockets on display nationwide, this is quite a spectacular site when you turn the corner on I565. You can visit the US Space and Rocket Center website for more info. BTW: this is where space camp is held as well.

Our Little Superstar.

On Friday (1/30), Ashley performed in "Eastwood Idol" at Eastwood Elementary School. She sang and danced to the song "Rock Monster" from the VeggieTales Movie "The Pirates who Don't Do Anything". This is a parody of "Rock Lobster" by the B52's. Ashley did not win, but did a great job anyway. She even made the local newspaper (Decatur Daily).  We just might have ourselves a future superstar! 

Home for the Holidays

Well, we decided to stay home for the Christmas and New Year's holiday, but we were not without visitors. My sister Kathy was the first to come by from Dallas and was kind enough to bring us our old full side bed that she was finished with. This was perfect for Ashley so we upgraded beds for the kids. Ashley is now happily in a full size and her twin is now Ryan's first "big boy" bed. Hard to believe that in 3 years, he has not once gotten out of his crib, but it was time for him to move to a big bed and he loves it. He has only gotten out once in the last couple of weeks so it is a success. The kids loved having her around and actually cried a bit when she left. 

Cathy's mom came for Christmas and again the kids were excited to have someone else to play with. And of course, they loved their presents. Ashley wins the best kid award as she was overheard telling people that even though she did not get the one thing she asked Santa for (Nintendo DS), she was grateful for what she did get. I guess we are doing something right! Again the kids were sad when she left.

Lastly, the Appelts from Chicago were able to stop by on their way back from holiday in Florida with their new son, Nathaniel. He was quite the cute little guy and Cathy was enamored with him. Even Ryan got into the act by bring Nate a blanket and saying, "Here's a blanket, baby."

All in all, it was a good Christmas with 2 weeks off and a lot of family time.