Over the River and Through the Woods...

To grandmothers house we go!  Last weekend our little family of 3 decided to make the journey down south to visit my family in Orlando.  John William hadn't met many of Floridian family members, and we thought it was time!  John William was a trooper in the car, becuase it is quite a hike from Tuscaloosa to Orlando, especially for a 6 month old.  We did end up having to stop both ways over night, the little guy had just had enough, and 8 hours was about all he could handle at a time, and we learned that he didn't like traveling at night!  He, like his mommy, wants to be in a bed at bedtime and nowhere else!  We also learned this mommy is pro at going from front seat to back seat en route!

A little Baby Einstein was watched

His Grandale was very excited to meet the little man!

They quickly became good buddy's!

He wore his Blue shirt just for his Grandaddy Mel, he surely wouldn't do that for just anyone!!

Check out that handsome man!

We all enjoyed a wonderful fresh shrimp and fish meal from my dad and Robin!

Miss Robin was the sweetest!

Grandale found a really cool truck for me to play with while we were there!

Granny Annie and I go waayyy back ;)

we enjoyed our stay at Grandale and Granny Annie's house!

His favorite thing to do with Grandale was to sit outside and look for the squirrels!

checking out LOTS of new people at Great Aunt Melony's house!

4 Generations!  My dad's mom, dad, me and John William!

that trip wore us all out!

We really had a great time, it was just too short!!  Thanks to everyone that visited with us and working around a short time line!!  It's always so good to be with friends and family!  Now... it's time for all those Floridians to make a trip to Alabama!!

Roll Tide Roll

A little late on this post, but wanted to make sure I got some of these pictures on here for when I print this blog out at the end of the year.  One of our favorite things to do in the Fall is to tailgate.  We've been doing it ever since we moved to Tuscaloosa (umm- almost 10 years ago- crazy!!) and we've only advanced it through the years!!  We have a great group of friends that we tailgate with, and if you're ever in the area you should stop on by!!  We love our tailgate spot, we are just off the quad and have lots of space.  We aren't right no top of anyone and there is plenty of room for the kids to throw the football and run around.  We have a nice space for our tents and can spread out.  We're sad that we won't be able to stay at 'our spot' after next year due to the expansion of sorority houses, but we will enjoy the rest of our time there.  John William has made it to 2 tailgates this year, and I look forward to the years to come of him enjoying this time like we do.  Here are a few pictures of our last tailgate from the Alabama vs. Ole Miss game....

ok, this was actually from the first game!  John William wasn't feeling a picture

my fav men!

Roll Tide Roll!

A little mud never hurt anyone...

But what about alot of mud?!?!  This past weekend Brett and I did the "Warrior Dash" near Birmingham.  Brett and I, along with a large group of friends all from Crossfit Tuscaloosa, made the trip, dressed the part, and HAD A BLAST!!  I have be honest and say that I was pretty nervous going into it.  We had to sign a waiver that basically said we were doing something incredibly stupid and we couldn't blame them.  It said something like be prepared for uneven terrain, barbed wire, climbing high hieghts, crawling on all fours, jumping over fire, and swimming through murky waters (to name a few :) )  I knew I was going to be dead last, and made Brett promise that he would hang back with me!

 Afew members of Crossfit Tuscaloosa at the Warrior Dash

 before we hit the mud

we were "pirates" 

And after the mud

don't be confused, we were once all COVERED in more mud, but jumping in the scummy pond water rinsed most of it off

after the 'race'.. celebrating at Chuy's of course!

we really had a great day, and even ran into a few highschool friends that now live in Mobile!!!  Thank you Mrs. Sharon for coming up to spend the day with John William!

The Baby Bullet

Well today was my first attempt at making baby food... and I'd like to say it was a success!  We got the "Baby Bullet" as a gift, so it was time to put it to use.  After reading many articles about home made baby food vs store bought baby food in jars, I was totally sold on fixing it at home ourselves; and after doing it today, it wasn't nearly as hard or time consuming as I thought it would be!

First the supplies

I did 1 avocado, 1 squash, 1 cup of rice, and 1 cup of peas

we followed the very easy recipes

steamed our veggies

placed them in the cup

pulsed a little

added a little more water and viola!! Fresh peas for John William!!

now for some squash!!

and avocado

and finally, we milled some brown rice!

 so what was my helper doing during this...

he was just a swingin'!!

And what did he think of his new food...

He loved it!!!

and here's what we got.. a full bowl of squash, 5 servings of peas plus an ice tray full in the freezer, 3 servings of avocado, 6 servings of rice plus an ice tray full in the freezer..

not too shabby for our first attempt!!  this really was so easy and didn't take long at all!  Next time I will probably try to do a little more and stock up our freezer for the month!  I look forward to planting some of our own veggies in the garden across the street next spring and heading out to our local farmers market for some more fresh produce!