A trip to the park

We took a trip to this cool park near Montgomery on Saturday.
It was nice to get away for the room for a little while.

Some of the play structure

Trying the swings.

Anna liked swinging too.

The cool alligator tunnel

Going down the slide.

Anna tries the slide.

Matthew loves anything that has a steering wheel these days.

Anna had some smiles for us. We all had a good time.

Laughs

Matthew and Anna interact more and more as they both get older. Today Matthew was playing peekaboo with the curtains to entertain Anna. I rushed to get my camera so I could capture it.

Bounce House Adventures

Matthew at a bounce house.
To read a long boring story about our trip to the bounce house, read on.
Or just scroll down for pictures.

A few weeks ago there was an organized trip for the spouses and kids (from Scott's class) to a bounce house place in Montgomery - an indoor place that has a lot of big inflatable bounce house type toys. I thought Matthew would like it so I decided to take him. I didn't have a map or directions, but I had the address so I looked it up on the internet (in our hotel room), saw kind of where it was and then decided just to drive down there thinking I'd see it. That was my big mistake.
I got to the road it was on and could not find it at all. I drove back and forth all over, looking everywhere. Nothing.
Now, I don't have a cell phone here in the states and I'm not used to operating without one. I quickly realized I had no way to call the place or directory assistance or anything. The place was only open for toddler play for an hour and a half and that time was quickly ticking away as I drove around lost. I was so mad that I couldn't find the place that I decided then and there that I was going to find it or die trying. I had to resort to archaic, pre-cell phone methods to find the place. I drove to a gas station to ask. No one there had ever heard of it. So I got some change and went looking for a pay phone - not as easy to find these days since everyone has cell phones. I called directory assistance and after some frustration with the automated voice not understanding me ("You said, 'Game Zone', if this is correct press 1") I got to an operator who gave me the number. I called the bounce house place and the guy proceeded to give me the most confusing directions in the world that involved U-turns, weird landmarks and street names I don't know.
Even with the crazy directions, ten minutes later I was at the place. It ended up being in some industrial area on a street with no name behind a bunch of buildings that were behind other buildings on the main road. I never would have found it on my own. Amazingly, we still had 50 minutes of play time when we arrived and that ended up being plenty for Matthew.

Matthew shoots a basket, or at least tries.

He loved running and running in circles in this one

Saying hello

Kiddie climbing wall

Matthew after going down the big slide. He loved the slide...and he had fun.
Mission accomplished.

When I finally got to the place, only one other spouse was there. No one else came from Scott's class. And she was leaving 'cause her son wasn't having fun. I'd already decided we were going to have fun or die that day, so we stayed. I had to help Matthew go on the big slide, which meant leaving Anna in her car seat at the bottom alone. I could see her the whole time, but it was still a little scary. I wished Scott was with me...and I wished I had a cell phone...one with GPS.

Cars for All

Matthew was playing with his cars this morning and he lined them up and then proceeded to tell me who drives each car.

From the left to right the drivers are:
Daddy (tractor), Mommy (Ford Mustang...ha ha), Uncle Dana (gas tanker truck), Uncle John (Volvo Sedan of some kind) and Bulldozer (I guess no one drives that one).

Anna is still sick. In fact last night was one of the worst "kid being up in the night" nights we've had ever. We were all in that little room and Anna was waking up every half hour and having a lot of trouble getting back to sleep (crying a lot) so Matthew would wake up too and be afraid every time he heard her cry. Scott was feeling sick too so that didn't help. Poor Anna. Here she is a day or two ago in her snuggly outfit that my sister's mother-in-law (one of our people), Else gave to her. Thank you Else for thinking of us. I've been dressing her in this a lot while she's been sick. She likes wearing it - it's very soft and snuggly. Hopefully Anna and Scott get better soon.

Operation Flickerball

We got to watch Scott's flickerball game today. For those of you not familiar with "flickerball" think kinda ultimate frisbee but with a ball, a basket like goal and a lot of rules. It combines the bureaucracy of government with the fun of sports.

Scott is #40 on the left. Their team won today - woohoo - and Scott played really good.

Here we are watching the game. It wasn't too cold today so that was good.

It was warmer today (the past few days have been below freezing) so Matthew got to play on the toys.

Matthew was so happy to play outside.

Bonus Photo: Matthew was playing with his toy cars in the room this afternoon and after disappearing for a minute or two came to me and said, "Cars in potty." (NOOOOOO!!) I rushed into the bathroom to find this:

He was so pleased with himself.

Baking Cookies (sort of)

Matthew helped me bake cookies tonight (the pre-made dough kind...nice and easy for living in a hotel!) He was very excited about helping.

Once the cookies were ready to go in the oven I moved them away from Matthew, much to his dismay. To see another picture go HERE.

But he found a way to get at them. He slithered up on the table on his belly to get the cookies back. Matthew is acting very casual about the whole thing. You can see Scott laughing in the background.

Bass Pro Shop

We took Matthew and Anna to Bass Pro Shop this weekend to let them see the fish and all the stuffed animals they have on display - and by stuffed animals I mean the kind that used to be alive. It is a "man space" type store. They sell gear for hunting, fishing, camping and other outdoorsy activities. It's a sportsman's paradise as they say. The also sell boats, hunting and fishing licenses. It's a big place. I'm not big into hunting but I do like going there to see everything. The one in Prattville, Alabama (just outside of Montgomery) is new and has a shooting gallery, a restaurant inside and a giant fish tank.

Matthew checks out the big fish tank.

A view from the second floor.

My favorite part - The General Store - where they sell candy and fresh made fudge along with lots of barbecue sauces, corn bread mixes and things like that.

The shooting gallery. We were going to try it but were intimidated by all the sharpshooting little kids.

A bunch of bears...I couldn't get them in my flash 'cause they were so far away, so its a little dark. There are displays of stuffed animals all over the store. Some of them have little signs to tell you exactly what kind of animal they are. In the hunting section we saw a little fox lying down looking very dead. Matthew told us the fox was "asleep." Way to put a good spin on things Matthew.

Firetrucks!

Today Matthew, Anna and I got to visit the fire station on base along with some of the other SOS spouses. Matthew loved climbing inside the trucks. His least favorite part was when one of the fire fighters put on his full gear, along with an oxygen mask. He wanted me to hold him during that part, but the rest was lots of fun.

He was very excited to sit in the driver's seat of the firetruck.

They showed us one of the trucks squirting water

Matthew looked so small next to the tires.



Anna felt a little left out. She probably would have liked to climb inside too.

Matthew was sad to leave the firetrucks, but he did get a cool hat and coloring book. It was very cool that the firefighters let us come for a visit.

One Week Down

Anna is working hard at sitting up. If we sit her up she can hold the position for a little while before she tips over. She has been wanting to sit up for quite a while - she is always trying to "crunch" up into a sitting position. Now she can kind of hold it. This video was taken with the video function on my point and shoot camera, not the video camera, so the quality is not great...sorry. Also, you get to hear Matthew politely asking for goldfish crackers and fruit snacks on this video. Lucky you!

So, we've been in Alabama a week. I loved being here until Scott had to go to class...and I got sick (which both happened on the same day). Then it wasn't so fun anymore. I've found it is really hard just functioning normally in this tiny hotel room. The kids are somehow incapable of napping at the same time in this room, they wake each other up. There are places to play outside, but I just haven't felt up to going out much this past week, so we've been in the room a lot. I don't have much to entertain Matthew or Anna in here. Matthew got sick on Friday and threw up a lot. He's feeling better now. We ventured out a little bit this weekend. I just wanted to get out of the room.
To see a picture a day from our week...go HERE

Out for pizza last week...Matthew got some pizza too, not just crackers. :)

Matthew plays checkers - I use the term "plays" here very loosely.

The Daily Matthew

We see a yellow lab...
Matthew says, "Dog!"

We see a German shepherd...
Matthew says, "Dog!"

We see a dalmatian...
Matthew says, "Cow!"

In the south

We made it to Alabama and we're getting settled in here. We already feel right at home.

A snapshot from our travels. We made it. That's all I can say about that.

Scott and I met while we were living in the panhandle of Florida (aka Lower Alabama) and we lived there for 6 months after we were married. So, like it or not, the south now holds a special place in both our hearts.
I always romanticized "the south" a bit when I was younger, imagining it was all like the book Huckleberry Finn, or New Orleans Square in Disneyland. This is the first time I've been back since I moved away in 2006 after living there three and a half years. I think it's become a part of me.
Scott and I have been driving around Montgomery for the past two days excited to see a lot of our old favorites from Florida like Steak and Shake, Tropical Smoothie, Moe's, spanish moss, southern architecture, fried catfish and hush puppies, Chick-Fil-A, Publix, and good ol' southern barbecue.

Spanish moss in Montgomery

Before coming for this trip, I'd only driven through Montgomery, and it's a lot nicer than I remember. Of course, when I drove through before it was after evacuating for a hurricane and the part of town I saw kind of looked like a shambles (or it had been hit by a hurricane). My post hurricane visit really biased my opinion of Montgomery, so I was pleasantly surprised by what I found this time. Sure, there are still lots of old abandoned parts of town (eerie) where the store fronts just sit empty and decaying, and even in January I was feeling uncomfortably warm, but southern hospitality is still alive. There's something about the south that feels slow, ancient and timeless. It's feels like standing side by side with history sometimes.

Sign for the Civil Rights Memorial Center, Montgomery, Alabama

Maxwell Air Force Base is one of the nicer looking bases I've seen, beautiful southern style architecture and a lot of new buildings. Our accommodations aren't new, but they aren't falling apart either. I think we'll be comfortable here. The weather is nice, there is a play structure just downstairs from our room and we've found a favorite grocery store (Publix) within a short drive - I think I need a break from the commissary. Also there is a Target nearby. Hooray!!
The area around the base (like many bases) is VERY rundown and mostly abandoned. It's like a ghost town really, but the base has been there a very long time, and I guess that happens. There are lots of nicer parts of Montgomery to see. I heard there's a zoo and a few museums and if we get a chance, we might try driving up to Birmingham or down to the coast for some "throwed" rolls.
Scott and I got lost on some back country roads on the way home from shopping tonight. We didn't have a proper map and ended up going the wrong way down a back road...we figured it out eventually, but it brought back a lot of memories of driving little country roads when we lived down here. If you were expecting things to be clear cut or straight forward (or for there to be unambiguous signage), you're going to be disappointed. We are back in the south for sure.

Anna vs. Stegosaurus

Question: If Anna and Stegosaurus were to fight, who would win?

Answer: Anna by 5

Who's next?