Hurricane Isaac

Well, Hurricane Isaac has pretty much come & gone for us, and we're glad that it's over! It didn't do much damage here, just several lost tree branches and one of our shutters flew off, but we did lose power several times & the wind sure did howl!  We're so thankful to live in an area that takes storms so seriously. Even though all the closures & delays might have been a little much this time, we know that our local officials really do have it's citizens' & guests' safety in mind. And even though we aren't big fans of Facebook, it was a great way to keep up with all the news from the municipal pages. What we're really looking forward to now is some sunshine & collecting new seashells from all that have washed ashore!

 

 waves coming up over the Gulf Shores pier

the flooded parking lot at the main beach in Gulf Shores, right beside The Hangout

Bo & Hampton goofing off....the way we spent all of our time!

Camp Cars

Since Hampton has gotten into the Cars movie, we thought it would be fun to set up his tent & sleeping bag that he got for Christmas. We put it in the living room, and he had lots of fun pretending to be asleep in the bag, as well as climbing in & out of the tent.

What we didn't expect, though, is how much Harrison would love it. If we turned our backs for just a minute, he was in there checking it out. We did have to put it away, though, when he got stuck under it trying to drag it down the hall! Don't worry, though....no one was hurt & we know we'll be getting lots of tent time in the future!

Bubbles & Boba

 A few weeks ago, Bo's mom came to visit, along with Mrs. Slater. Boba & Gigi were only here for a quick trip before moving Bo's sister home from college, but we had a great time catching up & playing with the boys.

While they were here, we headed down to The Hangout for dinner. They have a wonderful play area for kids, with a huge sand pile, a tunnel, a "gold mine" area, and a MASSIVE bubble machine. We were still eating when it first revved up, but once we got out there, there were the perfect amount of toddler-sized bubbles. Hampton had a blast running around in them, while Harrison checked them out from a distance & got lots of loving from his grandmother & great-grandmother.

Even though it was a fast trip for them, we were so excited to see them. We're already looking forward to our next Boba fix in October!

Big Brother Day

Today is a day we've been dreading & looking forward to for awhile. Today is registration day for Hampton at Mom's Day Out, which we have mixed feelings about. We know he'll love it, but we're not thrilled to see him go just yet. It helps a ton that it's at our church & we know so many of the families involved.

It's also the SEC Beachfest, which is a big football kickoff party w/ coaches & concerts. Since Hamp is now a big boy, we thought we'd make a fun day of it & take him to the festival after sign ups. We had a blast! We're headed back with him tonight for the concert, and we know that will be fun, too. While Harrison has fun at P&Js, we'll enjoy the day with our favorite Big Brother!

Pensacola Naval Air Museum

It rained most of the day on Sunday, but we wanted to get out and have a little fun, so we decided to head over to the Pensacola Naval Air Museum. Hampton had been once before with Granddaddy & Grandi & loved it, so we decided to drag them along with us (especially since we know nothing about the significance of most of the planes!). Well, it was definitely a hit! Both boys had a great time...they sat inside some of the planes, peeked in others, and Hampton just ran around in circles in the wide open area. Since Hamp is already asking us to go "see the planes", we know we'll be back very soon. We're so lucky to have such a cool & free museum so close to us!

Today's the Day!

We woke up this morning to find 2 tiny baby teeth had arrived. We're happy to know that all the misery as of late has a purpose! As you can see, he also has a new trick he's working on....standing up in his crib. Just wondering about what is next for this little busybody!

Icky Sicky

We have been a bit under the weather this week. Hamp woke up with it first last Friday, then Tanner got it, and on to Harrison. Hampton is mostly better now, but Mommy & Harry are not quite there yet. So far, Bo is a-ok, which is good, because someone has to deal with all the whiny people! We're hoping that this isn't a sign to come of what our fall & winter are going to be like!

The World According to Hampton

Hampton is so funny & he's always coming up with new sayings. Currently, one of his favorites is "You're killing me!", to which we try not to laugh. However, some of his mommy's favorites are the things he doesn't say quite right. According to Hamp, Cars Land is at "Disney Califorty" and "Harrison is a baby. Hampton is a toggler". We know it's wrong, but it's too cute to be right!

More Camping Pics

And We're Off!

We knew it was only a matter of time that Harrison would be crawling. He's been up off his belly for weeks now, doing various poses including military push-ups while he figures out how to go forward...especially since he's a pro at getting around backwards. Apparently, all we needed was the right toy motivation!

Home again, home again

We made it home from glamping late last night after playing all day at the beach & in Seaside. As always, we had a blast while camping. We worked on our frisbee-tossing skills, ate grilled cheese sandwiches from a food truck, toured 30A, shopped at the outlets, went for walks, and swam in the pool. Now, don't get the wrong idea....we have no intention of sleeping in tents, but hopefully we'll be headed out in Grandpa's 5th wheel again very soon!

Beached Well

Glamping beach break on 30A!

Jump Around! Jump Around!

Harrison loves his door jumpy, and Hampton loves it just as much! They both jump at the same time, Hampton squealing while Harrison eats up the attention from his big brother. Sometimes we have to intervene, though, when Hampton tries to "help brother jump" by pulling on the straps. It is funny to watch though, especially the look on Harrison's face. It's like "there is no way I'm doing all this bouncing by myself"!

Catching Up Is Hard To Do

For whatever reason, we just can't seem to get our to-dos under control! Partly because Tanner just finished the busiest month for TMM ever, partly because Bo is going non-stop working on commercial projects, and mostly because we just have too much going on!

This week we're preparing our lists for tax-free weekend, going glamping again, getting ready for Bo's mom to visit, and trying to survive without Tanner's work computer while it's being fixed. We've also sent Bo's car to the shop & H1 cracked the screen on Tanner's brand new iPhone. We do have some plans in the works for streamlining things, including shipping directly from home. At least that will take one constant errand off the list!