Tornados

That would be the title of the front page of Thursday, May 10th’s newspaper. None of my neighbors prepared me for this, in fact, they told me it was hurricanes I needed to be prepared for. There were never any nearby tornadoes. Well lucky us, it happened on Theodore Dawes Road. It touched down & destroyed a gas station we had just visited last week before we hopped onto I-10 to go to Fairhope. It happened just 15 minutes from our house.
I have to say Wednesday morning brought a pretty awesome & scary storm. The sky was like that of nighttime, the lightning was so vivid & wicked looking, and the thunder seemed as if it were just right above our roof. I told the boys that we would take cover in the closet under the steps if necessary. So of course, every 5 minutes brought the question “should we go now, mommy?”
When the storm had finally passed, I got the question, “when’s the tornado coming?” Like it was some welcomed visitor. They seemed a little disappointed when I told them, I think the storm has passed and we don’t need to worry about anymore tornadoes. That is when I decided to tell them that it did visit this area and I took them to the actual sight it touched down. They were amazed, especially DJ, by the destruction it caused. I’m not sure if I did more harm than good. I guess I will have to wait & see if they run for the closet with the next bad storm.

Taken with Blackberry while stopped at the Corner of Theodore Dawes & Old Pascagoula Road

Pictures of our House in Mobile, AL

Since Uncle Mark was in Vegas & everyone else was asleep, I decided that now was a good time to take some pictures of the house. I learned that Jake wanted to see DJ & Jack’s house with their stuff in it. Here are some of those pictures for you buddy. I hope you & the rest of your family are doing well & surviving the northeast weather. Looking forward to you coming down to visit us! Love Aunt Natalie

Back to School

Seems like it has been forever since the boys were in school- like summer break. School started again on Jan 4th & not a minute too soon. They were ready too. DJ received his report card- He got 4 A's & 1 B. We learned that Crispy Creme will give him a donut for every A. We will be capitalizing on that. January 18th is Hutchen's Honor Assembly. DJ will be recognized for his academic achievement, perfect attendance, citizenship & accelerated reading. He has also been making time for basketball every Thursday evening @ Christ United Methodist Church. So far, his team is undefeated, but we are not supposed to keep score, so you didn't hear that from me. His coaches are wonderful & they both live in our neighborhood. I am sure the boys will have many friends to play with this summer at the pool.
Jack has been working hard too. He is doing really well with all of his sight words. His handwriting is improving dramatically. Now that he is excited about it, he wants to keep practicing. He has also gotten interested in a series of books called the Magic Tree House. I have actually gotten into them too. They are fun. DJ enjoys them too, but he says he still prefers non-fiction. Both boys are getting signed up for T-ball for this Spring. I am glad that they will both be involved. I believe Jack is getting tired of sitting on the sidelines for DJ's basketball practices & games.

DJ's 1st Grade Field Trip- Hutchen's Elementary, Mobile, AL

I am so glad that I get to stay home with the boys, especially when I get to go on fun field trips. DJ’s school trip was downtown at the Exploreum, a science center/museum for children.
It’s hard to believe that it’s Feb 22nd & it was 77 degrees. I shouldn’t complain since back home they’re getting snow & ice, but I did find it a little too humid! I am sure anyone back home that is reading this is feeling bad for me right now, aren’t you?
The Exploreum is currently featuring a giant bug display as you will see in the following picures. DJ showed me all the bugs he liked and then posed for me as I took pictures of him with all of them. The children just finished learning about butterflies, so I got to hear all about them. I hope that DJ continues to be as excited about learning new things as he is right now!

DJ & his classmate then got to run around & explore the hands on science center. For lunch, we walked across the street to the bay to sit with our brown bags. It was great not only were there trains going by behind us, but we could look ahead & watch the boats on the water. They really do have some nicely planned out field trips. Everyone seemed to have a good time.
Jack also had a good time. He got to spend the morning & part of the afternoon with his friend Emily. I feel so fortunate that we have met so many nice people since we have moved down here!

There's More to do out in the Backyard

The weather has been warming up down here for the past week. We are now spending a lot more time outside in our backyard. With t-ball beginning next week, Mark felt the boys needed some work. He went out & bought a few things to help them practice.

Tomorrow DJ & I are going on a school field trip to the Exploreum. Jack is excited since he gets to go to Miss Lindy’s house & play with her daughters Emily & Kristin.

Can't Believe my Last Posting was in January

It's been cold & we have been pretty busy. I know I can't really complain about the weather while all of our friends & family are trying to get out from under all the ice & snow. We did get to see some sleet come down. While all the other children are indoors, my boys have no problems being outside playing. They are truly the only ones out there when the mercury drops below 40. The busy factor is no excuse, I am going to try harder to keep up this blog in a more timely fashion!
We all still sound like we're from the north. The boys haven’t picked up an accent as of yet, however, I have noticed little things. For instance, DJ now refers to me as mama. Mark finds this to be hysterical, especially since he knows I am not too fond of this term of endearment. Mark’s favorite phrase from the south is “fixin”. He loves to say we are or he is fixin’ to do something.
Now that I have vented about the words my boys use, I will continue to update you on our life down here. The weather is very unpredictable at best. We have been lucky for some really nice days. We went to the Senior Bowl on Jan 29^th & it was sunny & 70. The south won! DJ loved his first college game, unfortunately, Jack just wanted to know when it was time to go.
We went to Luke's birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. We were not looking forward to it since our last experience at this establishment in Harrisburg was not very good. We were, however, pleasantly surprised to find the one down here was very clean & nicely kept and no security guards manning the door like in Harrisburg.
We finished up an undefeated basketball season for DJ. He had a great experience with a wonderful team & coaches. Now both boys are signed up for T-ball. I am glad that they will both be involved. I think poor Jack is tired of being a bystander and ready to play.
Mark and I were able to have a nice adult night out since we have found a sitter. Ally, the sitter, came highly recommended by our new friends- Jen & Gordon (Talus's parents). We had a nice evening at Cirque de Soleil & drinks out with friends afterwards- Lindy & Dave (Emily & Kristen's parents).

Happy 2011

We got to ring in the new year with our friends & their 2 boys across the way.
This was a really good week. Not only did we have Mark home, but we also got some decent weather to go out & do things around the area. Mark & DJ got some golfing in at their favorite spot- Magnolia Grove. DJ also beat his dad for the first time- DJ shot a 72 & Mark a 73. I don't know dad- this may be the start of something. Mark said DJ is really doing well with his new clubs.

swinging his new clubs

They are hoping that they will be able to get one more day of golf in tomorrow. Jan 2nd forecast- sunny with a high of 55. Not bad considering what we were used to. Today it is raining, but it's okay since it's in the 70's & Alabama is playing on TV.
The boys had a great time ringing in the new year with their buddies Chase & Luke. They were playing hard setting up all of their racecar tracks & train tracks. They took a break only to eat party snacks & drink wassal that their mom made for the first time. It came out pretty good. They also watched fireworks that Mr. Jason set-off in his driveway & walked around holding their first sparklers.