Bird Nest?

Unusual place for a bird nest. A wren decided that Julia's bicycle basket would make a great place for her new family. 

Strange beast

A day in the life of Julia

I spent some time with Julia today. We started the day by going to Shipley donuts, then we went to the vet school where she got to hold a baby racoon. We went to the craft store where she made Beth a bracelet for mothers day. The day ended with a ballet recital where she saw her friends dance.

Piano Recital

The kids had their piano recital at the church Sunday afternoon. They all did well. Jeanie and Gray came up for a visit just to see them play. 

In front of the Sipsey river

Michael and I went hiking into the Sipsey Wilderness for a weekend with the Boyscouts. It was the first time I ever camped primative and we hiked in 3 miles with a backpack. It was a tough hike for me, easy for Michael and as you can see it was well worth it.

Snapshots from Sipsey Wilderness

 

Turtle and Banana

Never saw a box turtle so hungry.

 

 

Paint Ball

Phillip's youth group from our church went to Lake Forest Ranch for the weekend. We visited Saturday afternoon and they were getting ready for the last game of paintball. They needed another player so I was talked into it. I had a great time.

60lb Grass Carp

Michael's friend caught this 60lb record breaking grass carp in our local pond. 

Eli on the wet slide

 

Sack Race

Drawing heavy competition, even the dog gets involved. 

Honey Island swamp tour

Crank up the Evinrude Maw were going on Dr. Wagner's Honey Island Swamp Tour.

14ft Gator

This photo doesn't do him justice but I wanted to show the whole length of his body. Most of him is under water.

We never knew where this guy would pop up next. I forget his name but I remember he really liked marshmellows. 

At the Air Show

 

In the Cockpit

Sitting under the wing of a very large plane helped shade us from the sun while we enjoyed the show

Shadow fun

 

Amazon Michael

Michael cuts his way through our back yard trail. 

Desoto State Park

There were so many photos of our trip I just couldn't post them all. We climed rocks and hiked trails. It was very scenic. This photo is of Laurel Falls.

Enjoying the evening

Beth and I enjoy our last night by the campfire.

photo by Michael Thompson

Little River Canyon

Michael, Tee, Aaron, Phillip and Julia pose on top of the falls.
Phillip and Aaron placed a large stone across an area of water so we could cross over and experience the waterfall up close. Tee traveled quite a distance and camped with us the last two nights.

The sun goes down while Tee cooks and Michael tends to the fire.

Desoto State Park

We stayed in a cabin the first night.

Frodo

Michael took this photo of Frodo rolling in the dirt. This was one of a series he took while Frodo was having fun. 

Power Outage

The electricity went out for a short while but that didn't stop Michael and Julia from reading. 

Julia with straight hair

Julia wanted to straighten out her curls so we had a friend over to show her how to do it. She was very happy with the results. :-)