Slog Blog #4

This post isn't going to be very long. It's about 10 at night and we've had a long day of packing up stuff and moving things around. The trailer arrives tomorrow and we start loading it up full of stuff. Hopefully we get all of our stuff out of the house by Sunday evening. Notice I keep saying, "stuff". That is how I feel about our stuff right now. And I can't even imagine how other people would feel if they had to do a DITY with the full weight that they are allowed to move according to their rank and be reimbursed for. Yowch. We don't have that much stuff. But it's enough to become really tedious and boring after a few days of putting stuff into boxes. Now it's time for me to stuff it and take myself off to bed where I can stuff myself under the covers and go to sleep. And I can dream about all the stuff that still needs to be put in boxes and all the stuff that still needs to be taped up and all the stuff that needs to be loaded onto the trailer tomorrow morning. And not to forget, once we arrive at the other end of our journey and close on our new house, we will have to unload all of our stuff off the trailer once it arrives and stuff it into the new house. Stuff me and call me done!

Joella's Birthday

For someone who doesn't play or watch baseball, she sure picked an interesting place to have her birthday party. That's right, Joella chose to have her birthday party at a baseball game! We arranged for Joella to have a party with Big Mo and the Montgomery Biscuits during one of their home baseball games. This minor league team has a really nice stadium. The best thing about the stadium for the children is the inflatable playground. The day we had Joella's birthday party happened to be Children's Day at the stadium, so there were all kinds of things going on. The local zoo had some animals at the stadium for viewing. There was a balloon guy who made AMAZING balloons. I am talking wa-aay better than your standard balloon poodle. There were also some craft tables set up and best of all, the children got to run the bases after the game. That was really enjoyed by all. Joella received a game ball signed by various players from the team mascot who looks like an elephant, sort of, named Big Mo (he's really an anteater). She also got to go down on the field during one of the innings to be recognized as the birthday girl. Grandma Timi spoiled Joella rotten and took her shopping at the Biscuit team store. She got some pom poms, a mini pink baseball bat, a case to keep her autographed ball in, and two stuffed dolls. One doll was a biscuit and the other doll was the mascot. Joella was not the only girl to be in the limelight. Noni had her time on the field too! She, along with Ray, were chosen to compete in the Baby races. I must say that Noni did VERY well. I say she should have won because she was the only pre-walker in that group, AND she stayed in her lane!! She was cheated!! :) Joella had such a wonderful time that she is already planning her 9th birthday! So far, she has talked about Paris, French pastries, pink poodles, and the like. Oh boy!

Joella's Biscuits Birthday Bash

Joella's First Communion

Joella's First Communion was the weekend of April 19th. Some special people traveled a long way to attend. Grandma Jeanette and Aunt Summer (Joella's Godmother!), along with Cousin Giulia, came all the way from California to Alabama. Papa Steve and Grandma Timi also traveled to Alabama, though not quite as far. They traveled from Nevada! Joella's First Communion at St. Bede Catholic Church was lovely, and Fr. Carucci celebrated the Mass. It was very well done. Everyone enjoyed donuts and lemonade at the brief reception that followed. We took Joella out for a celebration meal after her First Communion. She chose a tea house for her celebration meal. The name of the tea house is Gracie's. Wow! Everyone had a lovely time gorging themselves on delicious tea and succulent food. It is hard to pick a favorite. I really liked the cinnamon scones and Ray says the cucumber sandwiches were good too. The peach mango tea was wonderful, though my mother says she really liked the Buckingham Palace tea. I think that is what it was called. The kids got to try on hats while at Gracie's. They behaved so well!

First Communion

Grandkids

In April, the kids had a lot of fun visiting with their grandparents. Papa Steve, along with Grandma Timi and Grandma Jeanette visited from the west coast for the weekend.

Grandkids