Cousins, Cousins, and more Cousins!

So many things I want to show you from our trip to Alabama. We are so blessed with our families. Rusty has 6 great-grandparents in Alabama as well as Russ' Dad and my parents so that makes a total of 9, and even Mimi (Russ' mom) was in Alabama this weekend for Father's Day so Rusty had 10 "Grannies and Papas" to spoil him rotten and I think they were successful!

Rusty enjoyed playing with his cousins and riding the tractor with Papa Jones.

Rusty and Madison watching Barney. This was by far the stillest they sat all day!

This is the best picture I got of cousin Tyson. He and Rusty both shared the same desire to go outside EVERY chance they got.

Rusty with his 3rd cousins. Carroline and Jeremiah (on the right) belong to Amanda and Gracie Mae is Tonya's little girl. Gracie sings a rousing rendition of "You Are My Sunshine."

Madison and Rusty playing on Aunt Hannah's bed.

Carroline celebrated her first birthday while we were there. Aren't those the most beautiful brown eyes you've ever seen?

Laughing with Grandma!
This would have been a cute picture, but Rusty was more concerned about the balloons that were stuck to the wall for Neighborhood Bible Time at Mom and Dad's church.

The main reason we went up last week (and not waiting until the end of summer) was because Russ' Dad was being inducted into the local Sports Hall of Fame. He coached for 30 years in the public schools up there as well as was on the State Championship team in '65. He's also a local golf champion of sorts. Pretty neat and quite an honor. They had a banquet and Sonny Smith was the emcee. Sonny Smith coached at Auburn I think at the same time Wimp Sanderson coached at Alabama. Anyways, he was HILARIOUS and quite a good story teller.

Clay (Russ' brother) and Tiffany came over for the banquet, too.

The great thing about going home is you can just relax and enjoy being with family. It is a rule that we have to eat until we are miserable, but I think it's a plot to get us to just sit on our fanny and visit with each other. Granny Jackson and I went shopping one day and that brought back lots of memories, too.

I just thought this was cute.


Riding in the back of the truck to the garden. Notice the little black dot on the road--that's Max trying to catch up.

Papa showing off his cucumbers.

Rusty decides to give the green beans a taste test.

Hanging out with Papa Bowles.

I got a new do while I was up there. :o)

Russ and I went down to the University and looked around. Russ graduated from Alabama in '99. It was fun stopping in the shops. I got a Alabama Santa ornament and Rusty got a t-shirt.

Rusty helping Papa preach on Sunday.

Here are just a few short clips, too.

Carroline inhaling her first birthday cake!

Papa's tractor ride!

Papa and Granny come to Visit!

"Hey, Granny, we're getting ready for your visit to my house!"

"I'm getting all cleaned up and trying to get my hair to lay down!"

"Here you are in front of my house."

"I love my Aunt Hannah!"
"Papa, I loved to listen to you play the guitar and to make you laugh when I dance!"

"Granny, you give the best lovin' in the whole world!"

"I think we all favor a little, too."

"We had fun eating together!"
"Chuck E Cheese was very new to me, but I had fun!"

"You and Granny helped me discover that I like black olives even though my mommy hates them and would never give them to me."


"We are two cool dudes!"

As you can see we had a very good and relaxing week. While Mom and Dad were here Russ and I went to see "The Music Man" at the Civic Theatre. It was sooo good and we had a good time. I'm excited about the summer to just unwind and spend lots of time with family. My parents left this morning (Rusty has been looking for them, too) and Russ' brother Clay and his family is on their way today. Good times. If I can just hold on to my diet...

Mother's Day Love

Happy Mother's Day!!!!
I have several pictures that I want to share, but not many words are coming to mind tonight. We've all been a little under the weather this week, but it's just a mix of allergies and exhaustion. We are looking forward to seeing all of our family soon. Rusty has lots of tricks to show off!

This was last Sunday. There was no hope of that shirt staying tucked in.



Tying his tie :o)

A little puppeteer

The outside of the house is really starting to look nice. We are going to paint it this summer. Every time we go down the road I'm scouting houses to see what color we should paint it.
This is the front of the house now.


Russ in the process of moving the stepping stones. Isn't he amazing?

This is the best before picture I had. Russ dug out all of those thick shrubs and dug up the stepping stones. Looks better don't you think?

Our first sign of home-grown vegetation!!!

These are some shots from the Spring Play--which was a blast as always!
I wish the curtain was open so you could see the set. Russ made an incredible steering wheel for the steamboat. (The name of the play was "Showtime On The Showboat") He used a wagon wheel and screwed in table legs for handles. Patch the Pirate would have been envious!

Working on Captain Lucy.

Samir was a ventriloquist.

Rufus Bilge - the villian!

Backstage--the girls are watching the people come in.

I love this picture because this sums up what the last few minutes before a production are like. Some students have a MILLION last minute questions, (the girls standing up--the Flower Sisters) some are looking over their lines, and some just don't care -- those usually do surprisingly well.