October Beach

A couple of weeks ago, we took a break from all the renovations and activities we have going on and took a family trip to the beach. If you've never been to the gulf coast in October , it's a WONDERFUL time to go!!! The water is still fairly warm, the days are warm enough, average 85 degrees - you can actually walk on the sand that's back away from the water barefoot without scorching your feet!!!! The crowds are minimal and it's just a fun time!!!! We took the children on the Pirate Cruise

All the children LOVE this - Henderson is our "slow to warm up" child, and I wasn't sure how he would react on this ship with these "real" pirates!!!! It started out very good - he handed his ticket to the pirate and skipped aboard!!!!


THEN he saw the pirates in action, climbing the ropes to let the sails out and that was enough for him - he kept saying I want to go home, I want to take a nap and then he would hide his face on my shoulder. Just pitiful. My camera card became full after these pictures and it was to bright to try and delete any pictures, so I was able to actually enjoy the fun without a camera attached to my face!!!!

By the end, Henderson had somewhat warmed up and was dancing a little and brave enough to get his own treasure out of the treasure box!!! Everyone had a blast and I highly recommend this for anyone in the area!!!!



I took my camera out to the beach only one day - I really just wanted to relax and enjoy the vacation and the moments without the pressure of taking good pictures!!! Here's what I got:

These are canonball jellyfish - they were out in abundance - the great thing is, they don't sting!!!! Unless you try to kiss them, then they will sting your lips - apparently human lips are the only thing that is sensitive enough to detect their sting!!!! So, DON'T kiss them!! :) They are really neat, and sea turtles feed on them!!!!

Buried alive!!!!

In other happenings around here, Emma Claire is getting new glasses -rimless ones, so she'll have an entirely new look soon!!!! Wilson had his eye appointment yesterday, he has intermittent exotropia (one eye turns out at times and "shuts down"). The fix for this is surgery and as his parents, we have to decide when to have it. Our doctor said the time to do it is when the eye turns out more than it is straight. Whew, what a tough decision. It has definitely gotten worse over the last year, but I wouldn't say it's all the time. Has anyone out there had any experience with this? Also, we are looking into Human Growth Hormone for Wilson also, we have an endocrinology appointment scheduled, but it's not until May 2011, unless they can work us in earlier. He has been off the growths charts since he was about 2 months old, and is still very tiny. With a dad that's 6'4", we just worry about the emotional effects this may have being so small. Anyone have any experience with this? I'm doing my research, but I'm not finding much.

Happy Fall, ya'll!!!!!

Finally...Before and Afters

I know it's been a long time.. I have missed blogging, but I have also enjoyed lots of fun times with my family - Wilson turned 4, we've been to various tailgating events and a beach vacation and homecoming at the University of Alabama. The thing that has consumed most of my free time lately is our house renovation. The exterior of our home was in GREAT need of some TLC and repair. We decided to brick the front, to match the addition that is on the rear. The front of the house gets blasted with the sun each afternoon until the sun sets completely and it has really taken a toll. We knew if we just repainted, we would have to do so about every 5 years.
We have also undergone a renovation on the interior - we took a major load-bearing wall down between the kitchen and den. I think it was a much greater task than any of our workers imagined. It is almost complete and once I get around to painting the kitchen/den myself, I will post those before and afters.
Last week we took a trip down to Panama City for a week with Will's side of the family and it was the most perfect week ever! The weather was phenomenal and the children had SO much fun in the gulf - they REALLY love each other and they REALLY love waves and sea creatures!!!!! Hopefully I will get those pictures up soon as well. For now, enjoy these before and afters. I am off to the Bama Theatre for the final dress rehearsal for Tuscaloosa Children's Theatre's performance of Stuart Little, which Emma Claire is in - she's a River Creature - how fitting!!!! The school shows start tomorrow morning and public shows are Friday - Sunday. It's sure to be a treat for the entire family - I hope you'll make it!!!!!

Okay, here are the pictures!!!!

BEFORE:

notice the wear on the front door and peeling paint and rotten wood

notice the broken window sash on the middle dormer

if you look carefully behind the boys to the right, you'll notice that below that window, the wood is white, not even painted!!!!!

AFTER:

We added the front porch and the brick and painted remaining wood, we still have some trimming to do of those center bushes, but that will come with time!!!

we used the same brick that was used on the rear addition - it's called Alamo brick and it coordinates with the brick that borders the driveway and is on the retaining wall and patio floor called Old Chicago (see picture below with boys sitting on ground)

This is the rear of the house that was existing when we bought the house.

We are enjoying this blessing God has given us!!!!