Summer Vacation Days

The boys and I have been busy the last several days.

I already mentioned our trip to Hoover for the Birmingham Barons/Huntsville Stars baseball game on Saturday 7/8/06 and eating at Krispy Kreme afterwards. Sunday 7/9/06 we went to church and hung out at the house. We also spent a lot of time taking care of the kitten and we watched the MLB "Futures" game on ESPN. Monday 7/10/06 we spent the entire day cleaning the house, packing for our trip, watching the MLB Home Run Derby, and taking care of the kitten. Tuesday 7/11/06 we finished up packing the car and cleaning. Then we brought the kitten with us to Huntsville. Joe cooked cheeseburgers for all of us except David who had a couple of hot dogs. Right after that we watched the MLB All Star Game. Once again, as has been the case every year since 1997, the American League defeated the National League. My boys, who are all NL fans, are not old enough to remember the last time the NL won the game back in 1996.

Today, Wednesday 7/12/06, we had a really big day. I took the boys to the free movie at the Madison Square Theater at 9:00. Actually the movie didn't start until 10 and the doors did not open until 9:30, but it was a good thing that we got there at 9 because it seemed that every day care in Huntsville was there too. We got good seats, though. I really enjoyed the movie "Kicking and Screaming", starring Will Farrell, Robert Duvall, and former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka. After the movie we drove across town and ate at the Wendy's on Highway 72 East. David saw a Service Master Truck and accidentally called it a Pricemaster truck. For some reason that struck us all as funny and I could hardly stop laughing. David took all of our ragging real well. I then tried to take the boys fishing at Madison County Lake, only to find that it was closed on Wednesday. I started to tell them that we would just go to the house because we had lots to do, but they were so disappointed. Joe was especially disappointed because he has really been wanting to go fishing. I surprised them by driving towards Scottsboro. I stopped at a Williams Gas Station just inside the Scottsboro city limits and bought some redworms. I then took them fishing most of the afternoon under a bridge on Highway 72 just inside the western edge of Scottsboro. Nothing significant was caught, but the boys all had a lot of fun anyway. Strangely, David, who loves bugs and creatures of all kinds, hates to put a worm on his hook. I did it for him a few times but I finally made him start doing it. I'm sure he'll get over that as he gets older. Joe and Matt don't have any problem with it. My main problem with taking them fishing is that I spend so much time untangling lines and replacing bobbers, weights, hooks, and bait. I didn't even try to fish myself today, which made it much less stressful. I was just there to help. After our fishing excursion, we came back to Huntsville, bought drinks and snacks for our trip at Kroger and came home. I rested a few minutes while the boys watched the Disney Channel. Then we all ate spaghetti that my Mom and Dad made. Yum! After cleaning up, I got them to help pack a few last minute things and organize our stuff in the vehicle. We then went down to Oak Park and played basketball and ran laps around one of the ball fields until nearly 9:00. We were all exhausted and covered in sweat, but it was one of those good feelings of exhaustion that you get when you know you have made the most of your day. We came back to the house, cooled off, took baths, and I got them to bed with prayers by 10:00. Whew! What a day!