Spring Break 2011

Woo hoo! Spring break at Gulf Shores, AL with our friends the Kelly family and the VanTassels! After an overnight stop in Memphis, home of the BEST BBQ EVER, we headed to Gulf Shores. To get to our beach accommodations we had to take a ferry.

Here's what the GPS looks like when your car is at sea!

The beach was gorgeous, no evidence of an oil spill here!

Those aren't oil rigs out there.

They are collecting natural gas.

The water was mostly shallow close to the beach. Much safer for play.

Seems everyone enjoys the sand bar.

The only possible danger we encountered was a loose croc on the beach!

My BFFs, Blake and Taylor.

The Kellys

Another BFF.

And another.

We're one happy group!

Can't wait till next year!

Happy St. Patrick's Dog!

You just never know . . .

. . . what the universe has in store for you. It's supposed to be the last decent beach day of your visit, by normal peoples' standards anyway. So you carry your chair out the boardwalk and arrange it in the sand. You've got your towel, your book, the camera and a couple of beverages. You read a bit and then take a walk up and down the beach to pick up some shells. You settle back into your chair and decide to amuse yourself taking photos of the beggar who's hanging around waiting for a morsel to come his way.

You vaguely take notice of a couple of young women who've appeared up the beach with a handful of small children. Soon they are joined by another young mom with her son and his grandpa. Interesting . . . they're not dressed for the beach and they've brought no chairs, no towels, no coolers. They're just watching the water.

Your attention diverted by watching the humans, you don't notice this until it is right in front of you. A Coast Guard cutter. With a big gun. Cool!

Soon another Coast Guard vessel follows along behind the first.

Hey, wait a minute! What's this? Looks kinda military, eh?

Whoa! Isn't that -- why, yes it is! A submarine!

Do you believe how close they are to the beach?

Incredible, eh? A once-in-a-lifetime happening, I'm thinking. All because we decided to skip doing errands and go to the beach.

You can read more about it on the Military Sealift Command website. Oh, yeah -- the small group of women, kids and the grandpa? Their husbands, dads and son-in-law are on the sub.

A visit from the Keenan boys . . .

. . . is always welcome. We think the boys welcomed the diversion as well since Mom was in Zambia working on her A to Z Literacy mission. On Saturday morning we walked through the riverfront farmer's market where Cole brushed up on his hula hoop skills; we left with a bag of fresh, ripe and yummy tomatoes -- the kind that actually taste like tomatoes.Following lunch at Old Chicago, the boys opted to visit the Lakeview Museum to view the current exhibit, The Art of the Brick. Go to the website of the artist, Nathan Sawaya, for info on what this former lawyer does with legos!
Of course I forgot the camera and the photo of Cole (above) was the only one good enough to post. Sorry Cade!

After the museum we went to the pool to relax for a bit and then home to cook dinner on the grill.

After dinner we settled down with some icy treats and watched "The Tooth Fairy."

Did I mention there was work on an art project? Much as I'd like to show photos of the resulting masterpieces here, they are hidden away until Mom's birthday.

Thanks, guys, for visiting!

It's been raining Legos . . .

. . . or so it would seem. Earlier this week I posted a comment on Facebook noting that Lego now makes cool board games which you first build, then play. Of course we had to get one! Blake and Taylor have spent HOURS during their visit playing with vintage Legos courtesy of Denise (thanks again!).Coincidentally, our local Lakeview Museum is currently exhibiting Lego art so we thought we'd take a trip over there yesterday. Here are Taylor and Blake at the museum:

The exhibit is called "The Art of the Brick" by a talented, full-time artist named Nathan Sawaya.


This is entirely made of Legos, including the reflection in the "mirror."
It was difficult to capture in my photo that this dude's head is separated entirely from his neck.
Everything in this photos is made of legos. Yes, even the floor, cabinet and easel.
After viewing the Lego exhibit, we had just a bit more fun at the museum.

Yours truly. Have I ever looked better?

Rhapsody in Bloom . . .

. . . was the title of the art fest held at our local Luthy Botanical Garden this past weekend. Close to 50 artists exhibited their creations including jewelry, garden sculptures, pottery and many other items. It was hot, hot, hot! Nevertheless, it was a great show where we met lots of nice people, received many compliments and much of our jewelry inventory found new homes. Here's a pretty necklace my sister snagged from Janet of Free to Bead:
Beautiful, eh?

"And all the monkeys aren't in the zoo . . .

. . . every day you see quite a few." Here are my two visiting monkeys, Blake and Taylor. As a reward for outstanding final report cards, each child was granted his/her own special day. Taylor chose a "pajama day," one of my personal favorites. Together we made jewelry and played Dino-opoly while Blake played "couch potato." Blake chose a visit to the Peoria Zoo on his special day. Here are a few photos!



Who doesn't love an elephant nosed shrew?
Last, but not least, always my favorite -- the meerkat.