Grandmother’s Birthday Dinner January 25, 2007

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, we had a special dinner to celebrate my grandmother’s 80th birthday. Many of her kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids were able to be there to wish her a happy birthday. Here’s a picture of Grandmother in her birthday corsage.

Here’s a photo of everyone who was able to be there, except for my sister-in-law, A, who was actually taking the picture.

Here’s Grandmother with the three great-grandchildren who were there. H is on the left. C is sitting in Grandmother’s lap, and M is on the right. You can see my cousin, A, on the left, and barely see me on the right, waiting in the wings to corral H and M if they decided it was time to run off and play some more.

M enjoyed visiting with her Aunt C who sweetly held cups so M could fish out ice chips to munch on. M’s little hands were so cold, but she just kept dunking them in the cold water for more ice.

My Aunt B made Grandmother’s birthday cake. It was delicions. M turned down a bite when I offered it to her, but later helped herself to her Auny A’s piece when no one was looking. Luckily, Aunt A was happy to share, and we got some good photos out of it.

Family Photos at the Beach September 17, 2006

Here are some photos of everyone at the beach. T, M, and I didn’t get the memo about bringing a white shirt for the photo, but it turned out great anyway.

Photos of the whole family.

Here are Gran and Paw.

This is Uncle C and Aunt A.

This is Aunt C.

Here’s photos of T and M and me.

On the Ferry to Dauphin Island September 15, 2006

After we visited Fort Morgan, we all decided to take the ferry across Mobile Bay to Dauphin Island. We didn’t get off and explore the island, but just rode the ferry there and back. It was 45 minutes each way, so the trip was a good hour and a half.

It was nice, but would have been much nicer if there had been a shady spot to sit on the ferry. Although the weather channel had predicted thunderstorms that day, the sun was out in full solar force while we were crossing the bay. We were all feeling the effects of the sun by the time we got back to Fort Morgan and piled in the car for a little air conditioning.

Luckily, My sister, C, had sunscreen in her purse, and I had sunscreen in M’s diaper bag which made the rounds. That kept us from getting broiled on the trip. It worked great too, since M wasn’t even pink. I think the fact that I coated her in it more than once helped too. The last thing we wanted was a baked bean.

Despite the sun, the views from the ferry were wonderful.

Eaten Alive at Fort Morgan September 15, 2006

One of the things we did on vacation was visit Fort Morgan, Alabama. There is an actual Fort Morgan that was used by the military from 1833 until 1946. Since it was less than 10 miles from where we were staying, we decided to check it out.

They had a little museum that told about the history of the fort and had a good number of artifacts on display. We were not able to spend a lot of time in the fort itself due to the mosquitos. We were inside the fort for about a minute when we decided that it wasn’t worth fighting them to stay and explore more. I would have liked to see more. But I’m glad we left when we did since M ended up with 5-6 mosquito bites in just that short time. I’d hate to see what she would have looked like if we had wandered around for 30 minutes or more. Nevertheless, we enjoyed it there and took some pictures outside.

The rest of the family (my parents and siblings) took some great photos of the fort which they shared with us. Next time we go, we’ll be prepared with some insect repellent.