All About The Alberts

Mardi Gras Party

2011-03-07T14:38:00.000-06:00

Saturday we went to a Kid-friendly Mardi Gras Party at our friends house. It was a lot of fun. The kids did crafts, played dress up, jumped in a bouncy house and played Mario Kart. Here are a few cute pictures from our fun day!

Pink Rollers

2011-03-07T14:36:00.000-06:00

I told the girls that when I was little if I wanted curly hair I had to sleep in pink rollers all night long. They decided they wanted to try them too. Here is a picture of them sporting their smiling faces with pink rollers in their hair.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

2011-03-07T14:33:00.000-06:00

Maesyn's school also celebrated "Read Across America" week by eating Green Eggs and Ham during snack time and by making Dr. Seuss Hats. Since Madison didn't get to go to school because she had the stomach bug, Maesyn wore her silly hat to school. She looked adorable. Then she actually ate the green eggs and ham (which shocked Mommy)! She got to wear a little badge that said, "I ate green eggs and ham". She was so proud of that badge. What a fun day!

Read Across America Week

2011-03-07T14:29:00.000-06:00

Madison's school celebrated "Read Across America" all week by dressing up. Monday was tourist day. Tuesday was Twin day. Wednesday was wear a silly hat day, but unfortunately Madie had the stomach bug that day and had to miss school. Thursday was Silly Sock day. and Friday was dress up like your favorite book character day. Madison dressed up like Fancy Nancy and brought the book Fancy Nancy Bonjour Butterfly. Her costume was so cute that she was a 1st grade finalist in the costume contest. Great Job Madison!!!

Sleepover

2011-03-07T14:23:00.000-06:00

Maesyn hosted her 1st sleepover on the last weekend in February. She had 2 of her friends, Savannah and Zoe, sleep over. The girls had lots of fun. We made crafts, baked cookies, put together our own pizza's, ate popcorn, watched a movie, did karaoke and jumped on the trampoline. It was a Super Duper good time!

Sleeping With Daddy

2011-03-07T14:21:00.000-06:00

Maesyn has been sleeping with her daddy doll every night! She really misses her Daddy!

Girl Scout Cookie Booth Sales

2011-03-07T14:20:00.000-06:00

We dedicated a lot of Saturday in February to Girl Scout Cookie Booth Sales. Madison's troop has done a great job selling cookies and Madison has performed exceptionally well at all the booths. I wouldn't doubt it if she has a future in sales!

Lily's 8th Birthday Party

2011-03-07T14:17:00.000-06:00

Our friend Lily had her 8th Birthday party at All About Art. The girls had a good time expressing their inner artist by painting ceramic keepsake containers.

Fun Factory Fabulous Friday

2011-03-07T14:14:00.000-06:00

Maesyn's preschool went on a "Fabulous Friday" Fieldtrip to the Fun Factory. Here are a few pictures of her and her friend Zoe playing in the soft play area and roller skating. Maesyn was very a very independent roller skater and did very good for her first time on roller skates. My little girl is growing up too fast!

Are We Scary Or What??

2011-03-07T14:12:00.000-06:00

While sitting around the campfire with some friends the kids starting telling silly scary stories, and this is what they looked like.

First trip to the beach in 2011

2011-03-07T14:09:00.000-06:00

The weekend of February 12, 2011 we headed to the beach for some fun. It was a great way to distract us from missing daddy too much on his first weekend away from us. It was a little bit chilly, but the sun came out and we warmed up quickly. We played in the sand and splashed with our toes. However, the water was just to cold to take a swim.

Daddy Dolls

2011-03-07T14:06:00.000-06:00

For Valentine's day Cameron sent the girls Daddy Dolls so that they could cuddle him and talk to him when theya re really missing their daddy. The girls loved loved loved them!

We Made the Newspaper

2011-03-07T14:04:00.000-06:00

On Thursday February 10 Cameron attended "Donuts for Dads" at Maesyn's preschool. Little did we know that on Sunday their picture would be posted in the Enterprise Ledger section of the Dothan Eagle Newspaper. How Exciting!

Beauties

2011-02-08T15:41:00.000-06:00

We Love Our Dad

2011-02-08T15:38:00.000-06:00

Order of Saint Michael

2011-02-08T15:31:00.000-06:00

On February 3rd, Cameron was awarded the Order of Saint Michael from the Army Aviation Association of America for all of the contributions he has made to Army Aviation. We are so very proud of his accomplishments!!

Pre-school Pizza Party

2011-02-08T15:26:00.000-06:00

The FUMC preschool held a field trip at Mellow Mushroom. All of the kids made their own pizzas. There were probably over 100 kids making pizzas and making messes. What an adventure!

Doctor Appointment

2011-02-08T15:21:00.000-06:00

Here is a cute picture of Madie wearing a "paper dress" waiting to see Dr. Sucgang for her 7 year old physical.

Change of Command

2011-02-08T15:17:00.000-06:00

On January 13th, Cameron gave up command of A Co. 1-13th AVN. He was very successful in his command and was a wonderful mentor to many young soldiers. There were over 100 people at the ceremony that was held at the Army Aviation Museum. It was very special that the girls got to attend his Change of Command and hear all of the nice things that people said about their dad.

Christmas with the Canadians

2011-02-08T15:01:00.000-06:00

This year we had Christmas dinner with our Canadian friends the Fedaks. Their family was visiting from Canada and it was so nice for them to invite us to celebrate the holiday with them. They also invited the Australian liason's to Fort Rucker. The kids had a good time playing Wii Karaoke and ZhuZhu pets with Chase. The most amazing part of the day was when it started to snow flurry. Our kids and the Fedak children all ran around outside like maniacs screaming, "It's snowing" and trying to catch snowflakes on their tounges. Ben and Thomas, the kids who live in Canada, just watched laughing at how excited we got about snow. It was a holiday we will never forget!

Christmas Morning

2011-02-08T11:38:00.000-06:00

We got up bright and early on Christmas morning to see what Santa had brought us. I am pretty sure that Santa had just left the house about the time we got out of bed at 5 am. Santa left us everything we asked for. We played with our new toys for a little while and then we ate a big breakfast and went back to bed for a cozy Christmas nap before we headed over to our friends house for Christmas Dinner.

A Little More Shopping

2011-02-08T11:34:00.000-06:00

Mommy Graduates

2011-02-08T11:31:00.001-06:00

On December 18 we drove to Birmingham to attend Mommy's graduation from University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her friend Mary Kimbrell also graduated with Mommy. We were really proud of mommy and cheered REALLY REALLY loud for her as she walked across the stage to get her Masters Degree in Nursing to be a Family Nurse Practitioner. It was a day we will remember for a really long time!

Going to see Santa

2011-02-08T11:25:00.000-06:00

We went to the Wiregrass Commons mall in Dothan with our friends the Fedaks to see Santa Clause. After waiting in line for about 45 minutes we finally got to see the jolly old fellow. Maesyn sat on his lap and asked him for a doggy that walks on a leash. Madison asked santa for a Karaoke machine and a basketball hoop. Good times are always had with our friends the Fedaks!

Christmas Shopping

2011-02-08T11:21:00.000-06:00

Just a cute picture I took while we were Christmas shopping in San Destin.

The Virgin Mary

2011-02-08T11:06:00.000-06:00

Every year Maesyn's preschool performs a nativity play and Christmas program during the holidays. This year Maesyn was chosen to be the Virgin Mary. We were so excited for her and she did a Super job. She sat very still and followed directions perfectly on the stage. Her friend Judson was Joseph and there was a "real" baby Jesus in the manger. She had lots of fun and is a born star. Hmmmm....What's next for Maesyn? Maybe Hollywood?

Sunday School Christmas Play

2011-02-08T11:01:00.000-06:00

The girls each had a part in the FUMC Christmas Play. Madison was a beautiful angel in the choir of angels. Maesyn was a cute little cow in the stable. You will see her if you look closely in the middle of the bottom picture. They both did a really good job and made some sweet Christmas memories.

Fort Rucker Family Retreat

2011-02-08T10:54:00.000-06:00

A couple of times per year the Chaplains sponsor a family retreat for Fort Rucker families. We have gone on a couple of these retreats before and always have a good time and learn some good lessons to strengthen our family. This December we got to go to the Marriott hotel in Panama City Beach for the retreat. It was chilly outside, but the girls didn't let it stop them from sitting in the hot tub and swimming in the indoor pool.

Upward Cheer

2011-02-08T10:45:00.001-06:00

Both of the girls did cheerleading this fall at First United Methodist Church's Upward program. Upward is a great program offered at various churchs that evangelizes to the community through youth sports. Our girls have cheered for upward for 2 years now and always enjoy it. And I appreciate the lessons that the girls learn about sportsmanship, faith, determination and salvation.

Girl Scouts at the Christmas Parade

2011-02-07T17:30:00.000-06:00

Our Girl Scout Troop rode in the Enterprise Christmas Parade. It was really Chilly that night. It was only about 40 degrees and the wind was blowing. Madison was really excited to ride in the Parade. Cameron, Maesyn and I watched the parade from the street and drank hot cocoa. Look real hard to find Madison on the float.

Pizza Party

2011-02-07T17:25:00.000-06:00

The Girls had fun making Pizzas at Mellow Mushroom for Savannah's 5th Birthday Party.

A Little Pampering

2011-02-07T17:23:00.000-06:00

Every woman needs to pamper herself a little bit.

Can you tell who we are?

2011-02-07T17:22:00.000-06:00

The girls love Bubble Baths.

Goofing Around

2011-02-07T17:01:00.000-06:00

Madison and Maesyn are goofing around with our friends Tyler, Chase and Hunter at the Santa Fe Steakhouse.

Family Pictures

2011-02-07T16:59:00.000-06:00

While we were visiting California we had our family pictures taken. Here are a few of them.

Thanksgiving

2011-02-07T16:57:00.001-06:00

For Thanksgiving we traveled to California. It was great to see all of our relatives. The girls especially liked meeting their new cousins and playing with the ones they already knew. The highlight of this trip was when they got to have a slumber party at Uncle Clayton and Aunt Mary Beth's house. Uncle Clayton and Aunt Mary Beth took them to Chuck E. Cheese and to the movie theater to see Twisted. They had lots of fun. So much fun that they crashed out on the couch at 6 pm and slept until 6 am. WHEW, I guess they were tuckered out after all of that fun!

Headed to California

2011-02-07T14:45:00.000-06:00

Great Grandparents

2011-02-07T14:40:00.000-06:00

At Thanksgiving we traveled home to Ripon, California. Here is a picture of the girls with their Great Grandparents Leonard and Ann Schemper. It was so good to see them!

Wildcats

2011-02-07T14:38:00.000-06:00

A picture of the girls sporting their Enterprise Wildcats T-shirts for the trip to their 1st Football game.

Canadian Thanksgiving

2011-02-07T14:34:00.000-06:00

In Retrospect, This weekend was probably one of the best of the year. Once again, we headed to Topsail State Preserve to stay in some cabins while other friends of ours were camping. We all met up on Saturday evening and had a big Turkey dinner to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving. Our old friends the Atkins drove down for the weekend. And we met up with our Canadian Friends The Fedaks. There were also families representing Australia and the Netherlands at the celebration. It was alot of fun. The weather was warm. The kids enjoyed the beach and the pool and the adults enjoyed everyones fantastic company.

Veterans Day

2011-02-07T14:28:00.000-06:00

This picture was taken at the Fort Rucker Veterans Day Ceremony. Cameron had his soldiers at the ceremony to honor all of those who have served and fallen for our freedom. I just think this picture is adorable. The girls sure do love their Daddy and are proud of his service to our country.

Pumpkin Carving

2011-02-07T14:25:00.000-06:00

Just a few pictures of Daddy helping the girls carve pumpkins.

Halloween

2011-02-07T14:23:00.000-06:00

The Festivities keep on going. We celebrated Halloween at the Thomas Families Halloween Party on Oct. 30th. Halloween actually landed on a Sunday this year. And since there isn't trick-or-treating in the bible belt on Sunday, the city of Enterprise had trick-or-treating a day early. It was a beautiful night. About 85 degrees and sunny. It was perfect weather for a fantastic evening. We really trick-or-treated. The kids walked at least 2 miles. The girls had tons and tons of candy. We had a lot of fun at the Thomas's party. As you can see there were lots and lots of kids there. We trick They also bobbed for apples and jumped on the trampoline. What a great night!

Madison's Class

2011-02-07T14:18:00.000-06:00

Madison's school had a Halloween Parade. All of the kids came to school in their costumes and Maesyn and I went and handed out Halloween Candy to the kids. It was a lot of fun to see all of the costumes. I may be partial, but I think Madison's was the best!

Halloween Parade

2011-02-07T14:13:00.000-06:00

Maesyn's friend Clare had a Halloween party at her house. The kids all dressed up and had a parade around the neighborhood. It was a lot of fun. They also played games and ate lots of Halloween Treats. The bottom picture is of Maesyn winning the pumpkin rolling contest. HOORAY!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-02-07T14:09:00.000-06:00

We got to go on another fun field trip with Maesyn's Preschool to the Aplin Farms Pumpkin Patch in Wicksburg, AL. Here are a few photos from that great day!

Saying Goodbye

2011-02-07T14:07:00.000-06:00

In the Army we often have to say goodbye to good friends. This year was no exception. Our good friends the Pieper's had to move to Fort Riley, Kansas. The Pieper's have been wonderful friends to us. Miss Brittany was Madison's teacher for 2 years in pre-school and we have grown to love their family and thier kids Ashlyn and Tristan. This afternoon we got to play at the park with them for one last time and then eat ice cream sundaes. We will really miss the Pieper Family, but know that one day our paths will cross again.

Magic Show Birthday Party Extravaganza

2011-02-07T14:04:00.000-06:00

We had a Magic Show to celebrate Madison's 7th birthday. The magician was fantastic and had the kids totally engrossed in his tricks for over an hour. Of course, it started raining at 2:30 which is exactly the time that the party was supposed to start. But that didn't take any of the fun out of the party. Sure, we were all a little wet, but the show must go on. The magician did lots of cool tricks. He pulled a rabbit out of his hat. He got a white board to talk. He put swords into our friend Nathan's head without hurting Nathan. And he even levitated Madison with the help of his little assistant (Maesyn). After the show he tied balloons and everyone made their own ice cream sundae's. It was a party we will never forget!

Levitation

2011-02-07T13:36:00.000-06:00

More Birthday Party Pictures

2011-02-07T13:34:00.000-06:00

Fat Pig

2011-02-07T13:31:00.000-06:00

I had to post this picture. This is the infamous fat pig at the Jones Family Farm. She is so fat that she can't open her eyes. Every year the kids love to stare at her.

Farm Field Trip

2011-02-07T13:27:00.000-06:00

Maesyn's school has a field trip every year to the Jone's Family Farm. Here are a few pictures from the HOT HOT September day.

Newspaper

2011-02-07T13:25:00.000-06:00

Look who made it into the Enterprise Ledger! Cameron went to school to eat lunch with Madison and the newspaper happened to be there and took a photo of the two of them. Madison and Maesyn are so lucky to have a dad who does things to show that he cares about them. And we thought it was so cool that the newspaper recorded it and put it on the front page of the Sunday Paper.

Trike-a-Thon

2011-02-07T13:21:00.000-06:00

Every year Maesyn's preschool has a Trike-a-thon to raise money for St. Jude's Children's Hospital. This year they raised $3,000 dollars and had al ot of fun doing it!

Labor Day

2011-02-07T13:17:00.000-06:00

Labor Day we got together with a bunch of old friends from Flight School. The Atkins drove in from Fort Campbell, Kentucky. And the Philyaws drove up from the Tampa Florida area where they are now stationed in the Coast Guard. We met at Topsail State Park and stayed in some cute little cabins. The kids had a lot of fun playing together. It was the first time we have all been together since the guys graduated from Flight School in 2003. We hope to all get together again next year!

First Day of School

2011-02-07T12:50:00.000-06:00

At the end of August the girls had to go back to school. Madie started 1st grade and Maesyn started Pre-K. Madison's teacher is Mrs. Green. She live in our neighborhood and is a wonderful friend to us. Maesyn is following in her sisters footsteps and attending Pre-K in the same classroom that Madison went to Pre-K in. Her teachers are Miss Andrea and Miss Loretta. We are so blessed because Miss Andrea was Maesyn's 3-K teacher and Miss Loretta was Madison's Pre-K teacher 2 years ago. They are all wonderful teachers!

Mermaids

2011-02-07T11:35:00.000-06:00

The kids buried themselves in the sand and we molded Mermaid tales around them. They thought it was a lot of fun. But the best fun was when Daddy dug a HUGE hole with tunnels leading in and out of the hole. All of the kids climbed in and pretended the hole was their Fort. They played in the hole for hours before it collapsed.

We Love The Beach

2011-02-07T11:26:00.000-06:00

This was an overcast windy day at Topsail State Preserve Beach in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. They had the advisory flags out for rip currents so we couldn't swim. But the girls still had fun searching for shells on the sand and goofing around with Daddy!

Camping

2011-02-07T11:21:00.000-06:00

In August we went camping with our friends the Fedaks. It was a lot of fun. But boy was it HOT in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. Thank goodness we weren't really roughing it. I guess it was kind of like "cheater camping" because we had air conditioning in the RV. It was our first camping trip. The girls loved it. The highlight of the trip was bike riding to the beach everyday. Madision finally was brave enough to take off her training wheels. She spent much of the week bleeding from her knees and her hands, but she was a tough little cookie and mastered the 2-wheeler. I was really proud of her dilligence!

Shell Island with Friends

2010-08-08T23:27:00.000-05:00

We were lucky enough to take some friends of ours out on our boat this past week. We voyaged over to Shell Island in Panama City, Florida. The water was extremely warm in the harbor. We estimated it was about 100 degrees. It felt like a bathtub. The kids brought their buckets and nets and scavaged in the tide pools catching a few little fish. When we got to the Gulf side of the Island the water was GORGEOUS. It was a crystal clear baby blue and was a little bit cooler. We estimated the gulf water was probably about 87 degrees. We all snorkled and hunted for sea life. We found a few complete sand dollars and saw some fish. We all had a lot of fun and after we showered off we headed over to Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville for a post-boating feast! It was SUPER-DUPER YUMMY!

More Shell Island

2010-08-08T23:17:00.000-05:00

Dolphins

2010-08-08T23:12:00.000-05:00

I know this isn't our boat, but I wanted to make sure I recorded this memory anyways. Last week we took our boat out to Panama City. It is not unusual for us to see dolphins swimming out in the harbor. They usually are in groups of 3-4 dolphins and swim away from theo boats. However, what we saw on this day was amazing! There was a single dolphin who kept swimming up to the boats as the boats were waiting their turns to load up on the dock. We are not sure if the dolphin was injured because he had a scar on his dorsal fin. He could have just been hungry. Although we don't see any oil in the Panama City Harbor, we really don't know how the spill has effected the larger Gulf ecosystem. It is possible that the dolphin may have been released from captivity and was comfortable with people. Because it appeared as if he had some type of training. Whenever someone in a boat would whistle or tap the side of their boat he would swim over to their boat and put his mouth up like he wanted the boaters to give him a reward. People in the boats were petting him and feeding him. We didn't the feeding was a good idea, but the dolphin seemed to like it. Regardless, it was quite a site to see; and I don't think the girls will ever forget it.

Panama City

2010-08-08T22:58:00.000-05:00

Just a cute picture of the girls with our friends the Fedak's.

Girl Scout Boating Trip

2010-08-08T22:56:00.000-05:00

One evening this summer we took the girl scout troop out on the boat. The girls absolutely loved it. We ate pizza and fruit salad while cruising around Lake Tholocco. Then they all tried their hand at tubing. Everyone had a blast. It was a lot of fun to watch the girls all have the courage to try something new and adventurous!

California Yogurt Craze

2010-08-08T22:52:00.000-05:00

The kids have a new favorite hangout. It is called California Yogurt Craze. It is this awesome yogurt shop wehre the kids can create their own sundaes by picking their yogurt flavor and adding all kinds of mix-ins to their crazy concoctions. In these pictures I think Maesyn was eating birthday cake yogurt with gummi bears, chocolate chips and skittles. Doesn't that sound delightful?!?!?! Madison sticks on the more conservative side. She had birthday cake and oreo yogurt twisted together with oreo cookies, chocolate sauce and cookie dough mixed in. YUM YUM!

Girl Scout Investature

2010-08-08T22:43:00.000-05:00

Here are a few pictures from Madison's Investature into Daisy Scouts.

A Few More Tee Ball Photos

2010-08-07T21:35:00.000-05:00

Maesyn's 1st Tee Ball Season

2010-08-07T21:33:00.000-05:00

Maesyn played her first season of Tee ball this summer. She got to play with all of her friends from her soccer team and that was pretty exciting for her. She especially loved being on the team with her buddy Hannah. Maesyn has a courageous spirit and has some natural athletic talent. She had a lot of fun this year playing tee ball and Audra had a lot of fun coaching her team. It will be fun to watch her continue to try new sports and other challenges.

Madie's Softball Season

2010-08-07T21:28:00.000-05:00

Madie moved up to the Coach Pitch league this year. She struggled a little bit at the beginning of the season, but really practiced hard and improved a lot. This was the first time that I have really seen Madie work hard at having to improve at something and it was awesome! She is a perfectionist at heart, and doesn't like to try new things unless she knows she will be the best at it. But Madie had to work hard at softball and it was good to see her try her best and get better at something!

Maesyn at the Beach

2010-08-07T21:15:00.000-05:00

Just some cute photos of Maesyn on the beach

4th of July

2010-08-07T21:06:00.000-05:00

We spent the 4th of July in Destin at Topsail State Preserve. We rented a little Bungalow and met up with some friends who were camping that weekend. We spent the day on the beach until a really dark rain cloud rolled in and literally "rained on our parade". But we didn't let the fun stop. We moved inside to the Bungalow and had a cook out. The kids played and played and played until late into the night while the adults indulged good food and good conversation.

Grandma's Visit

2010-08-07T21:00:00.000-05:00

Grandma came to visit this summer. She spent 2 wonderful weeks with the girls. They loved having her around to dote on them. It was wonderful to have her hear helping out around the house and playing with the girls. While she was here they were able to share lots of exciting things with her like T-ball, Swim Lessons, Softball, Tennis Lessons, Maesyn's birthday party, shopping, shopping and more shopping. They shed quite a few tears when she left, but are looking forward to visiting her in California in the fall.

Swim Lessons

2010-08-07T20:55:00.000-05:00

Madison and Maesyn completed another year of swim lessons at the YMCA. They have turned into little fish. Madison has been a good swimmer for a couple of seasons, but continues to take swim lessons to strengthen her skills. Maesyn on the other hand has just taken off this summer. She is jumping off of the diving board by herself and can retrieve rings from the bottom of the pool. We are really proud of both our little swimmers!

Crab Island

2010-08-07T20:47:00.000-05:00

Crab Island is an incredible clear and shallow area in the Destin Harbor where boats congregate and people have lots of fun. We spent a few hours their over memorial day weekend. The water was gorgeous. It was as clear as the Carribbean and so warm and calm. The girls snorkeled and found tons of hermit crabs. One of the most unique things about Crab Island is that there are boats that deliver pizza and boats that serve ice cream. The girls thought that was just incredible. Probably the highlight of this day was when Cameron decided that he had to take our boat out of the harbor and actually put it into the gulf. This is the first time our boat has entered the actual gulf. We have been told to avoid putting the pontoon into the gulf because the waters are rougher. It made Audra a little bit nervous, but thankfully there were not very many waves that day and our pontoon boat successfully navigated the choppy waters past the Mid-Bay bridge through Destin Pass and into the Gulf of Mexico. The final photo is a photo of Cameron with a Giant Smile on his fave and the Mid-Bay Bridge far in the background as he cruises the Gulf Waters.

More Crab Island

2010-08-07T20:36:00.001-05:00

Maesyn's 4th Birthday

2010-08-07T20:32:00.000-05:00

Maesyn celebrated her 4th birthday party at Johnny Henderson Park. She wanted a playground and bounce house birthday party. It was a lot of fun. She had about 30 of her friends at the park to celebrate with her. There was a bounce house shaped like a giant birthday cake. However, the highlight of the birthday party was the balloon tieing magician. He made little mermaids with little bikini tops on, swords, flowers, butterflies and all kind of other fun balloon things. But something else made Mae Mae's party very memorable. The heat and the rain. It was 100+ degrees at her party and extremely humid. Then all of the sudden right in the middle of her party the sky opened up and there was a terrential down pour. But no one seemed to mind. Everyone gathered around inside the park pavilion and the kids actually enjoyed running through the rain to cool off. It was a tremendous day. We had lots of fun and made some great memories!

End of the School Year

2010-08-07T19:56:00.000-05:00

The 2009-2010 School year has come to an end. The Girls shed some tears on the last day of school. The pictures above are from their end of the school year programs. Maesyn graduated from the "Duck" pre-school class at First United Methodist and will be promoted to the Pre-Kindergarten class. Madison graduated from Kindergaten and will be moving to 1st grade at Pinedale Elementary. She had a FANASTIC year at Enterprise Early Education Center. The 3rd picture is of Madison receiving her diploma from Mr. Martin the EEEC principal. Madison should be very proud of herself this year. She read over 500 books this year. That is the most books by any Kindergartener. She and Maesyn will both dearly miss Madison's teacher Ms. Kristen Green. Ms. Kristen was a bright ray of sunshine everyday to her Kindergartener class. She was very enthusiastic and energetic and Madison loved her dearly! She always let Maesyn come to the classroom if their was a special program or party. Maesyn especially liked this because going to a "Big" Kindergarten party was "so cool"!

Maesyn's 1st Ballet Recital

2010-05-23T09:25:00.000-05:00

Last night Maesyn had her first Ballet Recital. Her 3 year old Pre-Ballet class danced to the theme song from Beauty and the Beast. They all did wonderful, but Maesyn was one of the best. And I'm not just a bragging mom. She loved her evening to shine and has a little spark for performance inside of her. She also really enjoyed watching all of the other dancers perform. I think we have many more dance recitals in our future!

Shell Island

2010-05-23T09:07:00.001-05:00

Last Saturday we took out boat out on an adventure. We launched at St. Andrews State Park in Florida and crossed over the Panama City channel to a place called Shell Island. Man, did it live up to it's name. Shell Island was full of shells. You could just put your hands down into the soft sand and close them, let the sand sift out of them and there would be multitudes of shells left in your grips. It was amazing. We found shells that looked as if they had been purchased in a store. The kids spent hours digging and digging and they came home with buckets full of shells. On top of all the shells we found, we also saw manna-rays swimming in the shallow surf and we found lots of big crabs. It was a Super Fun day! We will definately head back to Shell Island again!

Sea World

2010-05-09T19:55:00.000-05:00

We ended our Spring Break Extravaganza with a trip to Sea World. We have been there several times and it hadn't changed much so
our day at Sea World was brief. We saw the Shamu show, the Pets Ahoy show, the Acrobat show, petted Sting Rays, watched the Dolphins get fed and just enjoyed the beautiful lanscaping and sunshine. It was a lot of fun, but the kids actually couldn't wait to get back to the hotel so that they could swim in the hotel pool. It was the perfect end to a FABULOUS Spring Break!

Kennedy Space Center

2010-05-09T19:45:00.000-05:00

After getting off of the cruise ship we decided to take a trip to the Kennedy Space Center. It was an ideal time to visit. The Space Center is preparing for it's last shuttle launch ever. Yes, ever! The last shuttle launch should take place around September. While we were there we met a real life astronaut. Her name was Wendy Lawrence. She was a helicopter pilot in the Navy. Her father was also a pilot in the Navy. She was on the first shuttle flight after the Shuttle Columbia disaster. I thought it was really neat for the girls to see a real astronaut and an imspiration to the fact that women can accomplish anything they put their minds to! We also got to see the shuttle launchpad, an IMAX movie on the Hubbel telescope and see the inside of a command center. It was a very interesting day!

Nassau

2010-05-09T19:10:00.000-05:00

The photos from The Atlantis are also on Nassau. These are just a few additional photos that show the beauty of the Island. The 2 bottom photos are the kids faces inside an elaborate sculputure of a Junkanoo which is a traditional festivity celebrated in the Bahamas.

Freeport

2010-05-09T18:54:00.000-05:00

The Atlantis

2010-05-09T18:50:00.000-05:00

Maesyn's Hot Tub Adventures

2010-05-09T18:48:00.000-05:00

Maesyn could have lived in the hot tub on the cruise ship. Well, I guess she pretty much did live in it. She would bounce around the pool deck from hot tub to hot tub making friends as she went. In fact, she was in the hot tub so much that her bathing suit got bleached out by the end of the trip. Seriously, her lavender flower bathing suit was stark white at the end of the cruise. Yes, she loved the hot tub!

Carnival Cruise

2010-05-09T18:44:00.000-05:00

This Spring Break we did something we have never done before....we went on a cruise. It was a lot of fun! Our cruise ship made 2 stops in the Bahamas. We stopped at Freeport and Nassau. We visited the beaches at both of those stops and we went toured the Atlantis Hotel. It was really beautiful, but I think the girls would have been just as happy swimming on the ship pool all day and eating from the all-you-can-eat ice cream machine. They were in HEAVEN!

Baytowne Whart

2010-05-09T18:38:00.000-05:00

There is a cool little village in Destin, Florida that we love to hang out at. It is called Baytowne Wharf. They have lots of activities for families during holiday weekends. We stayed near baytowne Wharf during Easter weekend and the kids got to take part in some Easter activities in the village. They bounced in the bouncy houses, decorated cookies, made Easter hats, marched in an Easter parade and visited the Easter Bunny. They got to do all of this with their great friends Ashlyn and Tristan so the weekend was all the more special to them. We had tons of fun at the Baytown Wharf!

Easter at the Beach

2010-05-09T18:34:00.000-05:00

We spent Easter Sunday at the Beach and had a beautiful day! We love the beach so much and always make tons of great memories when we are there! We hope that one day we will be able to live at the beach so we never have to leave!

Writing on the Walls

2010-05-09T18:29:00.000-05:00

The girls left their autographys on the walls at Fuddpuckers. They thought it was so cool that they were allowed to write on the walls!

Holy Gators!

2010-05-09T18:27:00.000-05:00

Easter weekend we went out to eat at a restauraunt called "Fuddpuckers". "Fuddpuckers" gimmick is that they have live alligators at the restaurant. The girls thought this was FANTASTIC. One of the ladies who worked at "Fuddpuckers" brought a small alligator out for the girls to touch and pet. Maesyn loved touching the Alligator and was surprised how soft and squishy an alligator really is. And Madison loved putting her head in the giant Alligator statue. She is such a goofball!

Easter Parties

2010-05-09T18:16:00.000-05:00

Easter was full of fun events for us! Maesyn had 2 different Easter parties at school, and was also invited to an Easter Egg dying party at her friend Owen's house. Madie also had an Easter party at school which Cameron was able to attend. They had an egg hunt at the Kindergarten, but we didn't get any photos of that fun event! BUMMER! Here are a few pictures of Maesyn's egg hunt and egg dying party.

Playing Dress up

2010-05-09T18:09:00.000-05:00

I really hope Maesyn doesn't think that she will ever be allowed to go out in public dressed like this!

Maesyn Starts Soccer

2010-05-09T18:07:00.000-05:00

Maesyn played her first season of soccer. We were extremely proud of her. She was the youngest child on the team, but she was strong and mighty. She never complained, never slowed down and never whined that she wanted to quit. She was on the "Pink Pirate" team. The pink part made her extremely happy! She really enjoyed her season and even scored a goal at the last game. We look forward to watching her play team sports in the upcoming years!

Happy Birthday Sir

2010-05-06T08:21:00.000-05:00

I am just posting this because I thought it was cute. Cameron's soldiers wrote out, "Happy Birthday Sir" in sandbags out in front of his office. AAAAH, wasn't that sweet!

Upward Cheer

2010-04-26T12:46:00.000-05:00

This year Madie decided that she wanted to be a cheerleader. First United Methodist has an awesome upward basketball program and cheerleading program that Madie took part in. She loved loved loved it! Her friends Gracie and Lily were on her Cheer Squad and they had lots of fun and learned lots of great cheers. We were glad that Madie had so much fun and put her booming voice to good use!

Maesyn's Ear Piercing

2010-04-26T12:22:00.000-05:00

Well... I haven't blogged in quite awhile because I've been so busy with school, so I am going to try to catch up on the past few months today. I'll just blog the highlights of our winter/spring 2010. On Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday (the end of January) Maesyn decided all by herself that she wanted her ears pierced. We didn't think she would really follow through with it, but we took her to "Claire's" to get her ears pierced. She watched a little baby get her ears pierced, then picked out some "diamond" earrings, and climbed up in the chair. She was so brave. She let the ladies make the dots on her ears and then pierce her ears with only a little flinch. She never cried, never fussed, never screamed. She just had a little flinch. She is a tough little cookie!

A Few More Snow PIctures

2010-02-12T19:52:00.000-06:00

Fun In The Snow

2010-02-12T19:50:00.000-06:00

Well, we had a big surprise today. SNOW! Yes, real snow in South Alabama. In Madie's own words, "This is a miracle in South Alabama!" Yup, it sure is a miracle. It hasn't snowed in South Alabama for 17 years. The girls had a lot of fun enjoying the miracle. They played outside on and off all day. They built a snowman, made snow angels, made snow cones and had fun running through the yard catching snowflakes in their mouth. This is a day that we will remember for a very long time!

Taking Pictures

2010-02-01T10:49:00.001-06:00

Madison got a camera for Christmas and the girls have been enjoying taking zillions and zillions of photos of all kinds of things. Most of the pictures are not appropriate for blogging. But here are a few cute ones that I found when I uploaded thier pictures this week.

Baking Cookies

2010-02-01T10:47:00.000-06:00

It's been pretty wet and chilly at our house this January. We have not been able to get out and about as much as we like. This weekend we stayed home and did some household projects. Baking is always one of the girls favorite activities. Well, eating is actually their favorite activity. But they will bake so that they get to eat! Sunday we made enough cookie dough for 3 dozen cookies, but somehow only 2 dozen cookies came out of the oven. I'm pretty sure some little people snuck into the cookie dough. And if you look closely there is another little guy under the table quickly scarfing up all the dropped morsels. MURPHY!!!!