OUR BEAUTIFUL BOYS

A few more shots from the beach.

Jackson

Bayley

Brothers...best of friends

OUR FORT MORGAN BEACH FAMILY PHOTOS

On our trip last April we had some beautiful family photos taken by Sun Shots in Fort Morgan Beach, Alabama. We finally got around to ordering the prints and wanted to share them with you.

Bay, Joe and Jackson jumping off of the log. They had a blast shooting this.

Our official family photo for 2008.

I loved this photo...with the sunset and my amazing boys.

Another great shot of my guys.

ALABAMA SNOW

This is the view from our deck . Yep, that's right you see SNOW!! The flakes were so big and beautiful. It rained all day and then turned to snow about 5:45pm yesterday. Just think if it would have been cold enough for snow all day we could have had tons of the white stuff. We are happy with what we got! The photographer we used last spring on our Orange Beach trip sent out an email today telling of the snow that was falling on the beach in Fort Morgan. Wow, can you imagine that!

Of course, my boys had to put on the cold weather gear and get out in the snow. Bay made this huge snow ball with tons of leaves stuck in it.

Sweet Jackson had a great time!

BAY'S BASKETBALL TEAM- SEMINOLES

Well, another sport has begun...basketball! Yeah, a sport I understand. After having the best seat in the house for 6 years basketball is one of my favorite sports to watch. It moves so much faster than football. Joe is coaching Bay's team this year and he has a great group of kids. This should be a great season!

You can see Bay in the yellow shorts and the red shirt with the #4 on the back. He is pouring on the defense, hands up...good job bud! His teammate, Hogan, is to the left. He is a passionate little player.

Bay with the ball making a fast break.

Bay did great with this play. He pulled down the rebound and popped it back up for a basket. He made 4 points at the game.

MORE PHOTOS OF LAYNEE ANN

Thank goodness for digital photography! Even though I am 6.5 hours away email and digital photography from my family keeps me in the loop. Here are more adorable photos of my sister's new baby girl.

Bayley thinks Laynee looks like she is smiling. She looks so content and peaceful.

Remember all of that hair I was talking about...well, check it out!

THE ARRIVAL OF LAYNEE ANN HAMPTON

My sister Tiffany has been expecting her second little girl and called me Tuesday evening to inform me she was scheduled for induction on Wednesday morning. We had a nice visit and I really made me wish I could be there for the big day. We had been eagerly awaiting the phone call to let us know she was here and it came at 7:30pm Wednesday evening. Little Miss Laynee Ann Hampton was born at 7:05pm. She weighed 8lbs and was 20inches long with tons of dark hair. Welcome to the family sweet little girl!!

LAYNEE ANN HAMPTON

Here is Vayda proudly displaying her "Big Sister" shirt.

My gorgeous sister Tiffany and her newest daughter, Laynee Ann. Look at all of that dark hair on that baby girl.

The first family photo of Tiffany's beautiful family. Vayda looks so excited in this photo.

CONGRATULATIONS RICHIE, TIFFANY AND VAYDA!!!

MORE PETS.....FIDDLER CRABS

The summer we moved down here the boys had been begging for a pet. They say Riley is great, but they want a pet they can take care of. We looked at gerbils, hamsters, fish and well, the list goes on and on. I had decided if we could find small turtles or small frogs then that would be ok. Well, last July Larry, Joe's dad, found a small land terrapin on his farm in Hoosier. Needless to say we brought it back to Alabama with us and it became our new pet. Soon after Larry found another for Jackson. I'll post photos of them soon. This brings me to today....a few weeks ago Bay's science class had the opportunity to adopt a millipede or fiddler crab. I had the chance to be there with him when he picked them out and we came home with a girl and a boy. The boy has a large claw and the girl has two small claws. So far they are great pets.

This is their home complete with a tree for climbing and a reservoir of salt water. The crabs are in the upper right corner of the photo.

It is much easier to see Bubba and Bubbles in this shot.

MUSCLE SHOALS CHRISTMAS PARADE

Last year we missed the Muscle Shoals Christmas Parade because we were in Huntsville for the Rocket City Marathon. This year we took the boys and watched the parade with our friends and neighbors, the Rudolphs. The weather was perfectly chilly!

Officially ushering in the Christmas season is Santa and Mrs.Claus. It was a beautiful float and very festive.

Bayley, Joe R. and Jackson waiting for the parade to start.

A GLIMPSE OF WINTER WEATHER

One day last week the weather surprised us and got a little chilly. The predicted possible snow was all over the weather forecasts for the day. It was a welcome familiar sight and sound. There was more ice than snow, so it was making "tinging" sounds. I took a photo of our neighbor's roof so that you could see just how much "accumulation" we got. HA! Luckily the roads were no where near slick since it was long gone and melted by the time to pick up the boys from school.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VAYDA AND ELLA!!

Not only do we have lots of girls in our family, but two of them share a birthday. November 30th saw Ella turn 1 year old and Vayda turn 3 years old. Tiffany had a birthday party for Vayda and we were able to stay for a while before leaving for Alabama. I love helping with parties so I was very excited to get to make the cupcakes and some of the food. It's nice to be able to be a part of my family's activities.

Ella Rose with her Daddy, Ryan, on her 1st birthday. That's adorable little Ava down in the lower left corner.

Vayda blowing out her birthday candles.

A sweet little princess sitting among all of her birthday gifts.

Tiffany and her oldest daughter Vayda at the party. Her second daughter is due anytime now. We think she will be named Lainee Anne....We'll see.

BEAUTIFUL THINGS

I didn't have very many photos from the Thanksgiving weekend, but I did snap a couple of cute shot of my nieces. The last photo was a welcome sight....cheap gas!! I seriously thought I would never see gas under $2 a gallon. Ok, so now I am talking about "old people stuff" like the price of gas and the weather. When you drive as far to visit family as we do, you pay attention to things like that. I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend full of food and family!

Maya Grace Ann 1 year old.

Little Miss Vayda Lee turned 3 this weekend. She looked so sweet and behaved so well while at Grandma's. She is really growing up and becoming quite a little lady.

Yeah, cheap gas!!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

A few years ago I made turkeys for the kids in Bayley's class so, of course I had to make them for Jackson while he is in the young grades. I saw the turkeys in a magazine and put my own spin on them. I like the colorful pretzel feathers and the chocolate eyes. They are super yummy! The body is made of coco krispies....gooey goodness! Jackson gave these to his class and some of Bay's friends right before the Thanksgiving break.

GO ILLINI!

We had the great opportunity to see the Illini play against Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee last Tuesday evening. Since Nashville is only 2 hours away we jumped on the chance. Decked out in our orange and blue, ready to cheer for our team we left bound for Vandy. We were running about 20 mins behind what we had planned, so yeah we were feeling a little rushed. Unexpectedly we missed the whole first half. Apparently there had been quite an accident ahead of us and so the traffic was backed up down I-65 N. We saw the emergency helicopter leave and even saw the crunched up vehicle being taken away. You know, I always say God places you where you are supposed to be, when you are suppose to be there. Had we been running on time or a little ahead that accident could have involved us. As much as we hated to miss the first half and then try to find parking that late in the game, we were and are thankful we avoided what could have been. We ended up having a great evening with Illinois winning 69-63. The boys and I were really excited to see it spitting snow as we left the Gym.

A shot of the Vanderbilt mascot, dance team and cheer squad.

I was really excited to get this action shot. I love basketball. It moves so much faster and is more exciting than football.

Illinois coach, Bruce Weber, going over the game plan during one of the timeouts. He is the silver haired man in the middle of the group.

I had taken a photo of the guys and a super nice girl offered to take our photo together. Awesome! I love the chance to get all of us in a shot.

OSAKA

Tonight we all went to the Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar in Florence. I know what goes on there, but I have never been to one. Joe, on the other hand, has been to several. Many of which were in Japan on one of his trips with NAL. So, we thought the boys would enjoy the experience. The food was great and the boys really had a good time. Jackson even said this is where he wants to come for his birthday dinner in March. It was a great way to spend a chilly, rainy Friday evening.

HONORING OUR VETERANS

I wanted to share a photo of my Grandpa Raymond Boose. He is a WWII veteran. Soldiers are proud people that do not want to be singled out for their acts of bravery, but would rather "do their job" and go on. My grandpa is no different. He has seen, smelled, heard, tasted and felt experience that I could never imagine. When I was a young girl I would listen to his stories and once in a blue moon he would tell us about the war. He was honest and told us with hesitation. I'm sure he didn't want us to know the horrors of war or what he went through. What I do know is that he is an amazing man who went to war to make sure his children, grandchildren and even those to follow could live in safety and security. He often tells Bayley that he "went to war, so Bay wouldn't have to". He received many honors including the bronze star and a purple heart. Grandpa would never tell you that, but it's true. At 97 years old he is a proud, independent, wonderful man still living in the home he shared with his wife, Loma and in which they raised their family. You can still find him listening to a baseball game on the radio and watching another on the TV. If you can't tell, I love him very much and am immensely proud of him. I honor all veterans and those serving our country, but I always say an extra prayer of thanksgiving for my grandpa.

Each year the Muscle Shoals fourth grade presents a patriotic program honoring our veterans the week of Veteran's Day. The kids did a wonderful job singing all of the songs and behaved very well while on stage. Bay and Jackson have talked all week about how Great Grandpa Boose is a WWII veteran and a true American hero. I'm so grateful that my boys have had the chance to know my grandpa and begin to understand what he did for our country.

Bay in the hallway at the high school immediately after the program. He was such a well-dressed a young man and is starting to look a little grown-up. As long as I have taught him style, my work here is done.

This is the full fourth grade on stage at the Muscle Shoals High School Auditorium. There are 8 classes and over 250 students in Bayley's grade.

Bay is in the middle looking at the audience. This is where I was waving and he was trying not to smile too much. You know he has to be cool collected when onstage.

MAYA'S 1 YEAR PHOTOS

We recently received an email with access to these beautiful photos of Maya at her 1 year photo session. I'm so glad Wes and Katie send us photos and keep us in "the Loop" as to what is going on in Clay County. Maya is such a doll!

GOLFING AT SPRING PARK

We have been having some beautiful weather and we are trying to take advantage of it. Last Sunday we spent part of the afternoon at the golf course near Spring Park in Tuscumbia. There are only 9 holes so it is great for the boys. Kind of makes me want to borrow my aunt's clubs and give it a try...we shall see....

Bay was quick to inform me that I was not allowed to drive this golf cart "crazy" like I do the one at the farm. He said "mom there are rules" and I couldn't just "drive all over the place". Sure, take all of the fun out of it!

Joe is helping Jackson aim for the hole and read the green.

Bay getting ready to tee off.

Our own little Tiger Woods...Jackson working on his form.

FLAG FOOTBALL- JETS

Last evening was the very last game for flag football...that is until next year. Anyway, Bay played really well this year. This being his second year, you can see his improvement from just 6 weeks ago. He is taking a strong interest in sports and beginning to understand how to not get frustrated, but to play harder and that is how you get results.

Bay with Coach Isbel after the last game. He was a wonderful coach! Watching him work with the kids and teach them not only how to play, but how to be a good sportsman made us very thankful we had such a well-rounded person for our coach.

Bay receiving his participation trophy from Coach Isbel.

The lighting is poor since this was at night in a wide open area, but I wanted to show this to everyone. Bay is usually a running back or receiver, however in this play at the beginning of the game he was quarterback. He threw a pass to Hogan who took it all of the way to the end zone. Coach even mentioned the touchdown pass in the awards presentation after the game.

Good Job Bay!