1st grade school pictures

School pictures are always interesting. I promise I did Trace's hair before he went to school, but by the time they were taken, you really can't tell. Good thing the little man is cute as can be no matter how his hair is done. Such a good smile too!

Family Birthday Celebrations

The weekend after school started, we got together as a family to celebrate Trace's birthday and tell everyone about his first days at first grade. He liked it because he was also the recipient of several more birthday presents! Liam tried to help him a little bit, but he did just fine by himself. There were times where Liam thought it was his birthday, but Trace was quick to remind him it was HIS day. Cute little fella, sure do love everything about him.

Liam likes to talk on the phone lately, sometimes it's upside down, but it is still cute.

Look at the look on Liam's face!

"I no no".....(I don't know)

Look at the present that Liam brought to Trace, it's as big as he is!

Somehow, Tamara and Rob both got Trace the same Lego

Clothes.....meh

Okay, this piece of clothing is cool!

Close your eyes! Nana and Papa are bringing in your present....

What?! A new bike! So cool!

Perfect size!

A new yo-yo!

A Lego Guy Cake! Made specially for Trace from Daddy!

Rob's dog "Winny" had her puppies the same day that we celebrated Trace's birthday. Such cute puppies! Winnie was being such a good new Mommy! I'd never seen puppies that young before...very sweet.

Happy Birthday and First Grade

Coincidentally, Trace's first day of First Grade was also his 7th birthday. His 6th birthday was also the first day of Kindergarten and his teacher, Mrs. Goodwater moved from Kindergarten to 1st grade this year, so I'm pretty sure Trace thinks that this is just how things will be from now on. I asked him if he thought Mrs. Goodwater would be his teacher in second grade and he said; "yeah, she'll be my teacher until college right Mom?" Anyway, it is an okay thing because Trace likes having treats for all of his classmates on the first day of school. It gives him a good ice breaker for new kids and new relationships too. He was excited to start 1st grade, but a little worried about going to school all day. When I told him he would be eating "hot lunch" at school, he was a little concerned about how it would go, but after a week he wasn't worried and had the system down pretty good. When he arrived at the school yard, he recognized several kids that were in his kindergarten class. He seemed to be at ease and easily chatted with Matthew, Camden and some other kids that he knew from last year. Then, Mrs. Goodwater came out and lined everyone up and he was off. Sometimes, I wish I could just go with him and protect and help him all day.
Since his birthday was on a Wednesday and the first day back to school, we just got him a couple of presents that he opened after school and then we told him he could go to dinner wherever he wanted to and he said he wanted "wobster". What he meant was crab, he doesn't really like lobster, but we cannot convince him that he's eating crab not lobster. Anyway, it was a nice day even though it ended a little early in order to prepare for school the next day.

Star Wars Kylo Ren new backpack

Red Lobster was the restaurant of his choice

A Visit to Alabama Part Seven

While we were visiting Nanny and Granddad, we went to some of their favorite places to eat, met some dancing friends that they have lunch with every Sunday, visited with Nanny's old boss and his wife who stopped by the house and on and on. We saw where they take their walks, where they go to church and lots of other things that we had heard about on the phone, but finally got to see in real life. We helped Nanny retrieve several of her paintings that were in storage and too high up for her either of them to access. Kevin stained the newly installed stairs that Granddad's son built. He also added reflective tape to each step so they can be easily seen and also added grip tape to each step so that the chance of slipping would be minimized. We also did lots of yard work and trimmed trees, pulled weeds and removed old unwanted items from the yard. They have a large lot and lots of mature trees which provide a lot of shade, but grow to the point they need to be trimmed so they don't hit the ground. I feel so bad that we are so far away, I wish we could go to Alabama every year and just help them with things they need done around the home. I was overwhelmed with gratitude that we were allowed to go to the other side of the country and visit our last remaining grandparents. It was so special to me to see Nanny and Trace interacting and getting closer as a family. Really a reminder of what is most important in this life.

A Visit to Alabama Part Six

The day after the Space and Rocket Center, we paid to take a bus tour onto the Redstone Arsenal where the testing took place for the first space rockets for the very first astronauts. We got to see the training facility that is designed to match the International Space Station EXACTLY. It is where they send the astronauts before they head into space to get familiar with the facility and where everything is located. It was kind of like a TV show set. All the doors open and contain the exact things that can be found in space. We got to visit the payload operation system building that is the actual place that the astronauts that are currently on the International Space Station interact with. They have employees who monitor the astronauts 24/7 and are there to answer any question or situation they have. They have a huge wall of screens that monitor weather, radio frequencies and a million other things. They talk to the astronauts all the time, we got to see an astronaut exercising on the space station, and see how they coordinate with Houston and Cape Canaveral. They talked to us about how the employees have the most strict working schedules. They cannot leave their station ever. Not to eat, not to use the restroom, nothing. Of course, there is several people who do the same job, but I loved to learn about how the on earth support helps with all that is being done in space.

Our tour guide

Love the flags light covers on the ceiling!

 They brought in empty metal shipping containers and buried them in the hills near the testing sites so they could watch what was basically a controlled explosion go off and see how to modify it for the next time. Eric Willey, Nanny's husband or "Granddad" as we call him now used to work on the base and it is the reason he lives in Huntsville. Shortly after we returned home, we watched the movie "Hidden Figures" about some of the real life ladies that helped the space program get off the ground and were invaluable in sending the first men into space. Pretty cool that we were able to see it first hand and imagine what it was like to be a part of history.