Let"s Fly A Kite Attempt #2 And Missed Events

                                                    
                                       End of March 2015

When we first arrived in Gulf Shores, AL in November, we took Lennox to the beach to fly a kite. We never got it up that day because the kite was defective. With the weather warming up, we bought another kite to give it another try. Unfortunately, when we went to put the kite together, we realized we had picked up a double string handle kite, which is very difficult to fly. All we could do was to get the kite off the ground about 10 feet with it going round and round, tangling the strings terribly. Fortunately the boys didn't care and thought it was great fun running down the beach with it.

After the kite got so tangled, Joe pulled the kite in and tried to untangle it. That was not going to happen until he had more time at home. The boys had fun running back up the beach to where we started to get to our car.

This is a good way to get rid of that extra energy these boys have so much of.

This picture shows you how white Gulf Shores, AL sand really is.

The boys found some sand castles someone had made sometime earlier and just had to be boy and knocked them down. A week after this kite flying attempt, we picked up a regular kite and took the boys to the beach again after school. Finally success, and the kite went up the first try. The boys took turns flying it, but found it boring after a short time saying they liked the one they had the previous week that went round and round!

I found some pictures on my phone that I forgot to post, so this is a quick update of the forgot photos and event. The 2nd day we arrived, we babysat Noah and Maddie for most the day. To keep them busy we took them to the Nature Center in the State Park Campground. The Nature Center has some wild and native animals that have injuries and can not go back to the wild. They let the kids touch and hold some them like the snakes, and the turtles. These turtles were wondering around the center and the male kept climbing onto the female. Noah thought they were fighting, so he kept taking the male off the female and putting him across the room, only to have to separate them later. The male was determined and kept coming back. I didn't know how to Noah they were not fighting. I'll leave that job for mom and dad!

Late afternoon after biking, the nature center, and playing on the jungle gym and swings we found Maddie sound asleep at the wheel of the bus.

My mom came and visited all of us in November.  This is a cute picture of her before she flew back to Iowa.

In November, I helped out at Lennox's Thanksgiving Party at school.

Lennox enjoyed having someone there with him, since his parents never get to go.

In December I attending the Women's Christmas Dinner at our church, Christian Life Church. Twenty tables or more are assigned to women who volunteered to decorate them.

This year Tiffany, Alisha , Hayleah and I attended the event. The year before my mom was here and she came with us. The church provides the meat, and all the women bring a dish to share.

        Alisha's cat Robin keeping warm on the computer.                 We hit the road on Wednesday, April 8, after spending 5 months and 1 week in Gulf Shore, AL., making it the longest stay anywhere in the last 6 1/2 years. On our first day, we left at 11:20 and drove 5 1/2 hour and 250 miles to a Wal-Mart in Alabastor, AL., just south of Birmingham. Today we left at 9:30 and drove until 6:00, with 3 rest stops and lunch, a 7 hour drive and 350 miles. We stopped at the Pilot Truck Stop at Lebanon Junction, Kentucky south of Louisville  Joe did the most driving he has ever done because we were trying to get in as many hours and miles while the weather was good and to get ahead of the approaching rain. We hit a short light rain burst just south of Nashville today, but otherwise it was clear driving all the way. It is going to be a hot and noisy night sitting amongst a packed house of generating  semi's., but the nearest Wal-Mart was either 10 miles out of the way or too far and too late to continue to get there. Mallery hates truck stops, with all their noise, but has enjoyed the rest stops. I know she senses we are getting closer to her old home in the midwest!