I Jump party

Mia's 3rd birthday was simple and sweet. She woke up to a streamer covered doorway and broke through with a big smile...
Beckham on the other hand...
We took the kids to I Jump and let them run wild...they've thought of everything...from inflatables to go karts, arcade, toddler room, and yes JUNK FOOD concession!









after lunch and naps, we invited their friends over to enjoy some cake and sing happy birthday to Mia, they were so sweet and brought her her first collectable doll. The children are Egyptian and speak Arabic fluently, it was cute to hear Mia tyring to mimic them and John practice, they actually understood him.

McWane Science Center

Hands down a whole day of serious family fun! My kids loved this place... the McWane Science Center was endless hands on experiments/exhibits, Imax theatres, an aquarium with shark and stingray petting, shark egg hatchery, and a full on food court. We'll definitely be back.

I really need to put the camera down sometimes, what's with my ballet feet position in the back corner? Dorky!

The Vulcan...

or as Mia says the Bungie-Man, it's obvious why! the Vulcan was a really cool outing for the kids, the Vulcan Center was a mini museum that told a great deal of the Vulcan's significance and history. The view of the city was amazing, we'll surely be going again but, with all of the "family fun things" on our list, it may not be any time soon.

Sweet Home Alabama... part 2

Finally I got my fried green tomatoes, deelish! I love all of the southern home cookin, and the fact that John works less than 3 min. away, means trying out different restaurants and...

taking his girls to get manicures on his lunch break

poor little Beck dislocated his arm so we've already made a trip to the pediatrician whom the kids just adore, she's amazing! she popped that bone back in place in a second and he was good as new

There are about 4 library branches within 8 miles of our house...and each one of them has the most amazing children's programs. They get snacks during their storytime, they get library name tags that are waiting for them at the door before the programs start, they have a little theatre just for the kids activities with curtains and seating, and my favorite part is that they have an actual toddler/preschool area that the kids don't have to be too quiet, they can touch, read, and play with anything, love it !

Sweet Home Alabama... part 1

We made it...after 7 hrs and an overnight in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, then another 3 hrs. to Birmingham, we settled in New Years Eve eve. The drive was gorgeous and the kids were absolutely fantastic the whole trip, thanks to lots of snacks, movies, and good music. We are getting used to seeing Auburn and Alabama fanatics everywhere and have been warned not to publicly show support for one team. Hopefully we'll be neutral in our Texas and BYU gear.

With the exception of a visit from "Paul" (our downstairs neighbor, whose uncanny resemblance to Joel Olsteen is quite hilarious being that he has the exact same accent as well) about all of the noise we were making, you know "walking around" and normal things humans do, we are LOVING Alabama and our the corporate housing arrangements. We've got tennis courts, a gym, a business center, and a movie theatre with a popcorn machine that you can either screen movies or play Wii. The kids are not shy around here and have already buddied up with the Ririe kids. We can't get over how cute their accents are and how sweet and inviting they are.

It's usually between 29 and 54 degrees around here, but we've gotten used to it and I love getting to add layers of scarves and sweaters and junk.