Uncle Sandy's Bird Park

Oh no. . . we are not going in there.  Let's turn around.  This place is creepy.  I don't think we will make it out alive.  These were just a few of the thoughts going through my mind as we pulled up to Uncle Sandy's in Pensacola - another one of Brian's crazy vacation outing finds. 

 A woman led us down a very worn, rainbow painted sidewalk and I was honestly wondering if we would ever be heard from again.  But it was crazy cool.

 Each of us got a cup of peanuts to feed to the birds.  They took them from our hands and it was pretty awesome. 

 All of the birds were beautiful!  The peacocks running around was the icing on the cake - although this one did make some crazy noise at Max that made me think it was ready to attack.

 We all loved it and Brian was super excited that I had to admit he was right and that the place was definitely a pretty great find. 

 As we left the employee told us that it was pretty unheard of for a family with three young kids to walk away without anyone getting bitten.  I'm glad she told us that on the way out and not on the way in :)

Dolphin Cruise

One of the coolest things we did on our trip was a dolphin cruise.  I'll admit that it was crazy cold - in fact our tour guides thanked us for heading out on their coldest day of the year - but it was incredible!  The boys enjoyed the boat ride itself, but when those dolphins started jumping out of the water and putting on a show, they loved it!

 This picture totally melts my heart.  I love it!

 A few goldfish helped to keep their minds off how cold they were - although it sure was pretty and sunny!

 Look at them jump!  We are so glad that we took a friends recommendation for our dolphin cruise.  This company sends out two boats at the same time and they dolphins love to play in the wake as the two boats fly through the water next to each other.  At one point there were five dolphins jumping out of the water right there!  It was amazing!

Nonna had a death grip to make sure no one fell overboard, but in the end this was her favorite part of the entire trip.

Fort Morgan/Folley Train Museum

I'm hanging my head in shame because I'm so far behind on my blogging!  I'm hoping to document the rest of our spring break vacation before we forget everything!

As I said before there were some rainy days.  Brian did a great job finding fun outings for us.  The kids loving running around Fort Morgan.  I'll admit it was pretty incredible to think that fort was built in the early 1800's. 

 It is amazing the way the fort just kept going.  So many spaces and hidden rooms.  The kids thought it was pretty cool.  Nonna was a nervous wreck that someone would fall off the top of the fort - or tumble down the 'stairs of death'. 

 We spent another chilly afternoon checking out the minature trains in Folley.  The boys loved it.  William took all the pictures on this outing, so there weren't too many keepers - but he is getting better!

The miniature town was so detailed!  I think everyone's favorite was the fire works building on the left.  It actually looked like it was on fire.  Pretty crazy!

USS Alabama

We headed down to Alabama on the 11th.  Unfortunately the weather was not on our side.   It was cold and rainy the first two days.  Luckily daddy is a master user of trip advisor and he found some great non-beach things for us to check out.  On Saturday we all packed up and headed to the USS Alabama in Mobile.

The ship was pretty incredible and exploring it was a great time for everyone - although Nonna was convinced that someone would fall overboard if they were more than two feet from a grownup. Everyone had a great time exploring. Some rooms kept their interest more than others. 

These beds were a huge hit.  All three boys were amazed at how the crewmen slept.  They couldn't believe that so many people slept in such a  small place.  They could barely sit up on the bunks, and I think that made them appreciate how tough it was on sailors. 

 

They thought the jail cell was pretty cool too. It brought back memories of when we visited Alcatraz when Max was itty bitty. 

I had to include this last picture.  Max was reading to William about this bell and what made it special. I can see glipses of actually being able to enjoy a museum at an adult pace - you know where you actually read to learn a bit about what you are seeing?  Maybe someday this will be the norm!

Happy Birthday, Max!

What a whirlwind birthday for our oldest man!  We spent the week before his birthday in Orange Beach, Alabama for spring break.  I'll post lots of fun things from that trip soon, but for now I had to wish our first born a very happy 9th birthday. 

 

 NINE.  I keep telling myself that I have a NINE year old.  Next year we will be in the double digits.  He is almost 2/3 of the way through elementary school.  He is 1/2 way to legal adulthood.  Oh my goodness.  I'm not ready.  Time needs to slow down!



Max got to pick all of our adventures on Friday.  Donuts in the morning followed by some park time before lunch and a trip to the beach.  Dinner that included chicken fingers.  A round of mini golf and driving his own gokart at The Track.  Top the day off with a double scoop of ice cream with m&m's and it was pretty much his perfect day.

 We celebrated Max as we drove home on Saturday, but we did the whole cake and candles portion on Sunday evening - after his pick for dinner - ravioli.  He is so proud when he tries new things - like when he was super excited to light his own candles.
I love the way his brothers are looking at him.  They both love their big brother so much!  They look up to him and light up when he gives them attenation.  It's the sweetest thing ever. 

I'll say it one last time - I can't believe our little Max Man is nine.  I still picture the newborn that came home from the hospital and was up all hours of the night.  The toddler taking his first steps between mommy and daddy in the living room of our first home.  The big three year old that started preschool and didn't cry.  The five year old that boarded that giant school bus for his first day of kindergarten without looking back.  Now we are here.  Entering the age of inbetweens.  Getting too big for little kids things, but still enjoying them.  Dipping his toes into the waters of the middle kid years.  Growing closer to friends and making plans on his own.  I'm going to savor every last minute of nine, because before I know it he will be ten.

Blue and Gold

This past Sunday we had Max's Blue and Gold banquet for Cub Scouts.  It went pretty well if I do say so myself!

 After some awards were handed out we all enjoyed a pot luck dinner with some pizza.  Of course what event would be complete with out a pack picture!?

I wasn't able to get a good picture of it, but Max was mesmerized by the crossover ceremony for the oldest scouts.  I can't believe that before I know it my baby will be finished with elementary school and a real life Boy Scout!

 We had some special guests arrive at the end of the night!  I organized things and I initially asked for 3-4 characters to show up - they brought 11!  The kids eyes were as big as saucers.

 I will admit that I don't care for Star Wars.  I've never seen any of the movies and neither have the kids, but it was pretty cool even for me!  I mean come on that Chewbacca was nearly 7 feet tall!  I wish we would have gotten a better family picture, but this will have to do.