Claire & Sarah's Birthday Party

Shay out cruising.

Claire & her princess cake.

Sarah enjoying her first Birthday!

Here are the cupcakes & princess cake that Michelle helped make. The cupcakes are cake baked in ice cream cones with pink chocolate covered rice crispie treat dresses. The princess cake is pound cake with fondant and icing. Not bad for a first try, huh?

Fun With Dad

Daddy got home from his trip a couple of weeks ago and we have been enjoying some quality family time. We took Shay to Mobile's Exploreum. It's a children's science museum in downtown and Seamus really enjoys going there with his friends. They have an area set aside for younger kids that is made to look like an old fishing wharf and the "water" is a huge ball pit.

Seamus takes his job as Captain seriously. He was too busy driving to look up for a picture.

Part of the museum is set aside for special exhibits that they change out every few months. Can you tell what the current exhibit is about?

Last Saturday, we tried to take Shay to a nearby petting zoo but unfortunately it didn't work out. Luckily, we were able to come up with a back-up plan! Since we were already on the other side of the Bay, we visited the Eastern Shore Centre where they have a kids splash area. The South is big on these fountains and Shay is, too!!

Farmers Market

It's Saturday morning again and that means it's time for the farmer's market. Better yet...it's time to explore the fountains in Cathedral Square!! I remembered to bring the camera this time...here are some of the photos we took.

Anyone who knows Shay, knows that he loves his cloth. Instead of getting attached to a blanket, stuffed animal, etc., he finds comfort in his burp cloths. We can't complain, however, because he isn't attached to a particular cloth...meaning, it's easy to replace if we lose it!! This morning, Shay would not let me take his cloth from him...so it took a dip in the fountain, too!

Along with the fountains, Seamus enjoys playing in the flower beds. I think it makes him feel like a big boy walking along the ledge.

Playing in the water makes a guy very thirsty! When he started trying to drink the water shooting up from the ground, I QUICKLY took the hint!


Shay spied two puppies over by the flowers and decided to go say, "Hi". One of the puppies decided to return the gesture. Puppy kisses!




In the background, you can see a man riding a bike over to the fountain. Shay saw him ride by and got all excited calling out, "Bike!" He ran over to the man to check out his wheels. The man was very nice to Shay and lifted him up to sit on the seat of his bicycle. As you can imagine, Seamus was grinning ear to ear.

As we walked through the market, Shay spotted a stand selling watermelons. I don't think he had ever seen so many at one time. The vendor cut up a big chunk and handed it to Shay to taste. Shay usually gobbles up watermelon, but for some reason, he just decided to carry that piece around and let it drip down his arm.

4th of July 2008

Happy 4th of July!! It's Independence Day and all across America, people are celebrating with fireworks, BBQ's, concerts, etc. Down here in Mobile, we celebrated with a little BBQ of our own! Shay and I headed over to our friends' house where the grill was smokin', the fireworks were poppin', and the fun never stopped. Shay had a great time running around the backyard with all the kids. He played so hard that by the time the fireworks started, he was too tired to lift his head off my shoulder.

Luke, Tana, & Hannah stop the Jeep just long enough to snap a photo.

Anna checks out the action in the backyard.

Z is such a good eater. I wish Seamus would follow his lead!

Merritt & Claire

Mark was the proud "grillmaster" for this occasion.

"What are we waiting for? This is a perfectly good watermelon!"

Check out those baby blues!

The water table was a huge hit with all the kids...

...and no party is complete without Jello Jigglers!

Check out the look on Claire's face as Merritt takes her for a spin.

Josie just wants to be like her siblings!

Ahh! What a life!

Blueberry Picking

Yesterday evening, we went to Betty's Blueberry Farm with our friends, Patti & Zathan. It was a beautiful evening for it, and the boys really enjoyed eating the berries right off the bush. In fairness, they probably should have weighed them before and after because Shay and Z definitely ate their fill!

Seamus and Zathan decided it was time to stop for a snack.

We decided it would be easier to put the "snack buffet" in the stroller for them to graze.

Z found that the best berries were the ones that dropped on the ground.

Is anyone interested in fresh berries? We picked 5 pounds!!