Our Trip Down South

We went Down South to visit family. Here, Nate and Sean pose with their cousin at a wild animal park in Louisiana.

We also spent some time at the beach along the Gulf of Mexico. This particular beach was located in Biloxi, Mississippi.

We took a trip across the Mississippi River on a ferryboat. The grass hillside in the background is a levee. That's all that holds the river within its banks when the water rises.

Nate and Sean enjoyed climbing a tree in the backyard of the aunt and uncle's house in Mississippi. It was a great time playing with all of the cousins!

Mom had a running race in Tennessee on the way back. We got to visit the Jack Daniel's Distillery.

Finally we got back home again, with enough time to stop off at Grandpa's house on Easter.

Spring in the Park

Springtime! It's finally springtime! We didn't have a bad winter but it held on weeks longer than usual and we're ready for a change. Saturday was dismal and dreary with a cold drizzle hanging around most of the day. We finally got a nice day on Sunday when it got in the low 70's and we desperately needed to get outside. We walked down to one of the local parks where the creek ran higher than usual because of recent rainfall.


This is a concrete walkway over the creek most of the time but it becomes a ford with a small waterfall after a good rain. Nate enjoyed trying to dam up the creek even further. A small pond with tadpoles provided entertainment on one side of the ford, pint-sized whitewater on the other. Nate and Sean ran back-and-forth until they got soaked. I'm not sure how they could stand the cold water. Kids are immune to that, apparently.



Sean enjoyed digging canals through the small pebbles sand by the side of the creek. He also used small pieces of wood and leaves as tiny kayaks shooting through the two inch whirlpools and hydraulics heading downstream.

Spring has Sprung

It finally feels like springtime. The grass is green, the leaves are filling out the trees and the azaleas in the front yard are in full bloom. Sean wanted to go outside as soon as dad got home from work, to hunt for bugs and show off all the nice plants.

Nate wanted to stay in the house and watch a DVD but dad and Sean eventually talked him into coming outside. He was mostly a good sport about it and even posed for a couple of photographs before retreating back to the living room.

They were particularly interested in this great purple azalea completely covered with flowers. This is probably dad's favorite bush. Every year it puts on a spectacular show next to the house for all the neighborhood to enjoy.