Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Alabama 2011 - Sliding

While in Alabama this last Christmas vacation we brought the kids to a local park in South Pittsburg, AL. It's one of our favorite parks to go to. Usually we let the kids run around and the adults just move from bench to bench as we watch the kids have fun. This time we joined in the fun at this large metal slide. Watch and learn.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Kindergarten and Shots

This evening we were discussing with Matthew his progression through the grades and then onto college. Claire inserted comment at the end saying, "I don't want to go to Kindergarten

Jenn replied, "Yeah, I'm going to teach you how to read."

Claire said, "I don't want to get a shot."

Matthew had previously had shots prior to Kindergarten and Jenn had mentioned that they are needed before Kindergarten. So, here it is, perhaps a year later, she is realizing that Kindergarten means gettings shots. Boy, she must really dislike getting shots!

Claire added, "I'll just be stupid."

Of course, Jenn and are are simultaneously laughing and shocked. I said, "Claire, you are smart. We'll teach you how to read and you can be smart."

Claire cried, "I don't want to get a shot."

Claire asked, "Tomorrow I get a shot."

Jenn answered, "No."

Claire concluded, "Shot stupid!"

Our four year old Claire is so intent on avoiding shots that she's willing to throw out her education. Good thing we aren't letting her decide her educational roadmap.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

No Such Thing As Lego Fairies?

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Burnin’ it up at Lake Winnie

It would have been nice if we could have picked a cooler day for roaming an amusement park under the sun; but amidst the humid heat we discovered memories that will last a lifetime. Months later, looking at the photos reminds me of those memories that can be so easily forgotten in the business of daily life.

Lake Winnie is a modest amusement park near Chattanooga Tennesse. The weather forecast predicted it to be one of the hotter days and coming out of the car onto the pavement gave a foretaste of the hot afternoon to come. The heat was so thick it felt like I needed to move slowly and carefully or the heat would somehow penetrate my body too fast. I’m prone to sweat, so I carried a wash cloth with me that afternoon, wiping the waterfall of sweat that was raining from my forehead. I was careful not to put sun screen on my forehead knowing that sweat mixed with sun screen would burn my eyes.

Quite honestly, I remember the afternoon like some sort of survival test. Would our bodies hold up in the heat? Will we survive the several minutes that we had to wait in line? Will we actually enjoy ourselves?

Papa Mike, Nana Lynn, Sammy and Karen drove separately. We didn’t see them until perhaps 30 minutes later. Supposedly they had watched us since our arrival from the other side of Lake Winnie’s man-made lake. Why didn’t they come meet us? Perhaps it was a combination of the heat, the fact that they were sitting at a table they scored in the shade and because Mike had fallen over from a likely heat-induced dizzy spell. Yeah, it was hot!

Time seems meaningless when it’s this hot. The mind only has the capacity to think about right now and perhaps there’s a few ounces of energy to plan where to go next. 

After a few minutes or hours into the afternoon the sound of thunder could be heard approaching and the clouds were building. As a safety precaution, the park shut down all the rides. Rain poured down and we rushed to the parking lot and climbed into our vehicles. Sammy, Karen, Mike and Lynn left for the day while the rest of us stayed in the vehicles and ate a hodgepodge of snacks. We were unsure if this was the end of our day. There was a chance that they would shut down the park for the day and give our money back. After suffering the heat, I was secretly wishing they would.

In hindsight, by God’s grace that thunderstorm came through at the right time. The thunderstorm cooled the air, provided some shelter from the harsh rays of the sun, and was a nice transition into a pleasant cooler evening at the park.

We rushed back into the park and occupied nearly every minute until closing. We rode nearly every ride and enjoyed nearly every minute. I hope the memories last forever.

The photo above was taken as the kids were running to the last ride. Unfortunately, when we arrived, they had already closed the entrance to the ride. The galleries show a picture of Claire crying after discovering that it was over.

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Family, Sunday, October 24, 2010

Swimming In Alabama

Alabama had one of the hottest summers this year, and the best way we survived the heat was to jump in a pool. Our friend Jeannie, brother Sammy, brother Jared, aunt Jean, and Nana Lynn all had pools. Sammy’s pool was the most unique swimming experience I’ve ever had. You can kick back, relax, and wave to the transfer trucks rolling down the freeway.

Matthew and Claire loved being in the pool and their skills as swimmers improved, even though they still need swimming aids. Towards the beginning of our trip Claire was using both a floaty and arm rings, and always staying close to one of us; by the end of the trip Claire was using only one swimming-aid and was roaming the pool on her own.

Matthew jumped off a diving board for the first time in Alabama. He would hold his nose and take such a deep breath that his cheeks puffed up like a puffer fish. At first he wanted me to be so close to the diving board that he would nearly jump onto my head, which brought both of us underwater. As Matthew overcame his fear I would move back a little more so that he could jump more into the water rather than onto me.

Usually in San Jose pools are only refreshing on very hot days, during heat waves, when it’s 95 degrees or more outside, otherwise it’s usually a too cool to be hanging out in a pool. But in Alabama, it was 95° or hotter, with high humidity nearly every day. It was so refreshing to hang out in a pool, take a break from the heat, and play in the water.

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