Tucker and his 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Rambus. I think that they only called her Rambo behind her back!
Tucker and his SPACE teacher, Mrs. Hill. I don't remember what SPACE stands for, but it is essentially an excuse for the kids to ditch class and do fun stuff.
Tucker, Bridgette and Gabe at graduation.
Heyden has been learning to play the violin at school. Her class has a violin teacher from the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra come in twice a week. They had a recital this week to show off their skills.
Anjili is either copying Heyden's stellar style, or keeping an eye on her. I'm not sure which!
Heyden and Gabe Chiri. Gabe has been the kids' tutor for a few years, and likes to come to their events.
Did I forget to mention that they had the violin recital on Challenger Elementary's Pajama Day?
Tucker Graduates from Space Camp
The Space Shot ride at the Space and Rocket Center. Notice the absence of Bridgette from the ride!
J-2 engine, from the Saturn V vehicle. It doesn't get much better than that! And the thing hanging over their heads is a Saturn V, suspended from the ceiling.
The climbing wall at Space Camp.
Colton's Symphonic Band concert.
When they said that it was 'Tacky Day' at Challenger Elementary, I don't think they were planning on Tucker...
Maybe we need a bigger couch.
Guess what story the kids heard at bedtime every night while Papa was here? The Papaphiles reading this blog will have correctly guessed, "The Raintree Bloody Hand Story!" Obviously it scared them senseless.
Tucker had this piece of his artwork displayed at our local arts festival, Panoply.
Everybody (except the camera-shy photographer) at Panoply.
Fun for the kids at the Polish tent. Er, keep the jokes to yourself!
Where do the Polish keep their armies? Apparently not in their sleevies.
Ready to do the polka.
Tucker doing an ankle crushing Philippine game.
Tucker at one end...
and Colton at the other. They beat these long poles together in a rhythm, while people jump between the poles. A particularly painful version of jump-rope.
Waiting for the fireworks show. Notice thirsty girl is double-fisting.
How stable is this configuration?
No wonder Heyden and Daniella smell like wet dogs. They wash their hair in the dog pool!
Bo is wearing Tucker's shirt, because we just got back from 'fishing'. Bo's version of fishing is chasing minnows. Apparently you catch them best when you roll around in the mud.
Holy smokes! Three years from now, I'll be turning him loose on the roads. Maybe I'd better let him practice with something a little slower...
Easter egg hunting in the front yard with the Taylors.
I hope Ava likes being in a headlock! (quickly tell me where I got the quote, "I will hug him and love him and name him George. And feed him three times a day!" Somehow this picture reminds me of that line.)
Easter egg addicts. Can you get high on jelly bellies, peanut butter cups and swedish fish? Look into their eyes and you be the judge.
Summer storms in North Alabama. I guess this one killed three people in Tennessee, but we just played in the rain.
Of course, Heyden got the umbrella, so Tucker is improvising. That looks more like a hardhat than an umbrella. Maybe he got the better of Heyden, since it started hailing...
Southern Rain
Tucker is amazed at the Great Ice Cube Maker in the Sky.
Whaddayathink? A future weather girl in the making?
Awards for all A's and Perfect Attendance.
Bridgette threatened that I would come home from work one day and find that she had started putting laminate down in the house. Thursday I came home to find the tile in the entryway half demolished. I guess we're getting laminate soon! Bridgette and Colton did the bulk of the work, finished up last night at almost 1am, and now it looks like this. I should have gotten a picture of the two of them with gloves, sledges and safety glasses.
The tile's current location.
Thanks Linda, for the tip on crocheting flowers. They are super-cute!
We headed south to the Redneck Riviera for spring break. Apparently we didn't feed the kids enough, because they were foraging at the beach.
Is it possible to go to the beach without burying someone?
We went with Diana and Nate Hornsby. He must be the only one without a shirt...
We can't do yardwork or manual labor, but we can dig a huge hole in the beach.
We went to Fort Morgan on the last day of vacation. Fort Morgan is an old fort that guarded the entrance to Mobile Bay from the War of 1812 through WWII. The kids didn't want to go, but ended up loving it. Here's the kids with an old cannon.
Looking over the ramparts across the entrance to Mobile Bay.
The family at the entrance to the Fort.
Are you sure this thing doesn't work, Dad?
Four little monkeys, sitting on a..... cannon?
Yeeeehaaaa!! Slim Pickens rides again.
