John & Annie June 17

John and Annie arrived safely around 3:40 in Birmingham. They brought a cold front with them; it's only been in the 80's, and cools off to 60's at night. They got settled in and met Pele and Tina. We went to the Birmingham Barons baseball game. As you can see, we did not have any trouble finding a seat, and they lost, but it was fun! Greg caught a foul ball, which they will share. Hot dogs were only $.25, so we got 12 of them. Greg ate 4, Annie 3, John 2 3/4, and Sara 2. Wow!

Babysitting Fun with Marin

It's Sunday afternoon, 2:30. Marin has been sleeping for about an hour. Success! Yesterday she didn't nap and fell asleep on the way home from Mass (6:00 PM). When Mom peeked in at about 6:00 AM today, Marin was standing in her crib and said, "Good nap!". So cute! Today we went walking around the lake. Marin was "starving", and ate a great big lunch. Wow! Then to REALLY wear her out (Marin, not Mom), we went to Aunt Leea's to swim. Mom and I are having so much fun with her. I can brag about her when her parents don't, without hesitation. She is soooo cute and brilliant. Her vocabulary and memory are awesome. We think she's a mini-Tracey, with some Boog. Muzzy is well also. She walks me every morning for a few times around the loop. I've decided to stay tonight. Tomorrow I'll head back to Birmingham to get ready for John and Annie Greening! Enjoy the pictures. (I'm probably breaking some unwritten blogger code with too many...)

Note the rain boots. She came out of her room like this - correct feet and everything! We've had some major downpours, but they're short.

Fun in Meridian #1

I picked up Mom at the Birmingham Airport June 11th around 11:00 and we headed to Mississippi. We had Boog and Tracey here Wednesday through Friday morning. Now we're on our own, so more posts will be coming!

reading books
Marin's haircut!
shopping (and shoes)

Sara's new transportation (yes, it's Leea's motorized cooler on wheels - helmet optional)

Marin with two (She says "two ones") hats and shades

Let the visits begin!

Greg's dad, Doug, arrived June 7 and got to work! He's got the Hondas in top shape. To help with my landscaping projects, he replaced some rotted wood boards that border the garden on the patio. You can't see them in this picture, but they look superb! We enjoyed our favorite restaurants - barbeque, chicken wings, and Mexican. On Thursday he headed down to visit Brad's family in Florida, and then will go back to Texas.

landscaping goal accomplished!

I'm sure everyone is on edge waiting for more yard pictures from Birmingham. I worked hard before Mom's arrival June 11th. I did finish the front garden area after about 10 hours of digging everything up, moving soil, and replanting. I don't have a picture yet, but hopefully when I return from Meridian there may be some blooms... I also finished digging up everything (except the rose bush) behind the tomato garden and replanting. It's a nice area surrounded by rock. I made great progress beside the carport/storage garage in the back yard. I'm uncovering the rocks of the mountain It's pretty under there! Also many hours of major sun... (I have a nice farmer's tan.) These are the before and after pictures. Maybe you can figure it out... We'll see how I do.

Next to garage, before

After
Behind tomato garden, after clearing...

Transplanted! (Now there's pine straw so it looks even better!)

Oh, my aching back!

Since Mosey's departure, I have created an enviable (to some) routine for myself. I enjoy morning coffee and news, and long walks with the dogs. I work out at the gym for an hour or so. Then I work out in the yard for a few hours. I am cutting, pulling, digging, raking, planting, replanting, watering, and SWEATING PROFUSELY! I've been blessed with decent weather; it's only hit 90's one day. We've also received a good bit of rain. My goal is to have our front gardens, porch garden, side garden, and maybe even the back area looking good for Mom, John, and Ann. It's very rewarding and I enjoy the encounters with nature. I haven't seen any snakes yet, but I know they're there. I did have a large, black spider crawling up my arm when I moved some big rocks. Yikes! I didn't get a picture of him/her; sorry.

(plural of tomato - e or not? excuse my brain freeze)

I didn't take a picture of the "wild" area before clearing, but you can see where I've cleared only half of that garden area in the first picture.

Ok, so I have to be honest. The last picture with the green tomatos...I bought that separately as it was marked down. They didn't grow that fast...

• buying baby tomato plants & cages- 1/2 hour
• clearing the garden area of monkey grass, day lilies (moved), multiple vines, and other various weeds - 3 hours
• moving the soil and removing roots of previously stated greens - 2 hours
• adding/mixing compost into soil - 1/2 hour
• digging holes where I don't hit rock (remember - on the mountain) - 15 minutes
• planting - 15 minutes
• enjoying tomatos in the future?- priceless or should I state "timeless"! (although at one point I uttered the words "I should have just gone to Publix")

School's Out!

Thursday, May 22 was my last day. Although I was summoned at the last minute to a training session on Friday, my wonderful principal said that the notification was too late. Thus, I was able to pick Mosey (Maureen to her family) up at the airport as planned, and enjoy our weekend! Although the forecast called for scattered showers, we went to the ASO (Alabama Symphony) and Temptations concert at the park with my friend Gail. It hadn't rained all day. As you can see, it poured on us for about 45 minutes. It was like the cartoons where the rain cloud follows one person. It didn't rain one drop at home that night. We still had a good time with our picnic (and wine).

Saturday we made the trip to Meridian to visit the Tom Cronley family. Boog successfully managed his first shrimp boil. It was incredible! I am confident it will not be the last. We predict Mom will love it also! It was the hottest weekend so far, so Mosey got to experience some southern summer weather.

On Sunday, we stopped at Home Depot to purchase tomatoes. I've wanted to try to grow them for years, so Mosey helped me pick some out. Of course, I knew I had to prepare a garden for them. Ouch! We relaxed and enjoyed some great barbeque for dinner at a restaurant called Jim n Nicks.

Monday was a work out! Gail took us on a challenging 5 mile hike at Ruffner Mountain (yes, in Birmingham). It was like Utah with different trees! Luckily, it was a little overcast and we had a breeze. It's my goal this summer to experience more of outdoor Alabama. We were ready for picnic after. (without the wine)

Mosey returned to a chilly Chicago Tuesday morning. From summer to spring in an hour flight!