Happy Birthday

The kids helping Tony blow out his birthday candle.

We just couldn't fit all the candles on his cake. (ha ha) The kids thought the chocolate decorations on the cake were candles too so we were covered.

We got a new car!

Tony is no longer in training and we now have this lovely car at our home. The mail lady already left a note asking him not to park near the mailbox. Hee hee. I especially loved the glow in the dark escape pull in the trunk. If you pull it you have to jump really high & then run, or so it seems to say.

Happy Birthday!

The kids wanted to surprise Tony when he got home from work on his birthday. They helped hang up streamers & balloons & even cleaned up the dining room. They were so proud of the results & the presents they wrapped themselves.

Happy kid & Daddy sandwich.

A few random days in January

Here are a few other things we did in January.

Adrienne playing balloon games at Jill's birthday party. She won a prize for keeping the balloon up in the air the longest. Way to go girl!

Ahhh, yummy cafeteria food. Adrienne and I always have lunch with Eli on Mondays and this particular Monday Tony was able to come and meet us. Eli was thrilled.

We recently read the book Snowflake Bentley about a man who spent his life photographing snowflakes. The kids wanted to see if we could capture a snowflake on film so there you are. Here are some others if you want to see the professional version.

http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/photos3/photos3.htm

Believe it or not I actually had a few tokens left from our visit to CEC in California so I decided to take the kids one morning so Tony could get some sleep. Crazy fun.

Does anyone know what this is? I think it's an elephant or a vacuum cleaner but it has to be one of the strangest kids rides.

What's a visit to CEC without a hug from the main mouse himself?

Bass face

A short clip of Tony playing in one of the sanctuaries at church.

Tony got to play at church for the Christmas Eve services & also for the weekend services. (One bonus to having the week off.) It was fun to watch him play again as his work schedule hasn't allowed it for a little while now. On Saturday & Sunday he played with David Northrup, the drummer for Travis Tritt. David asked Tony where he played & Tony told him "Just here at church when I can." He was surprised & told Tony that he thought he was a good bassist. (He, David, actually brought it up more than once over the weekend.) It's nice to have someone who knows what they're talking about compliment you & I think it meant a lot to Tony. Plus Tony said it was fun to play with him. :)

Academy Graduation!

The day finally arrived! We pulled Eli out of school so he could see his Daddy graduate from the Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy. It's been a long 10 weeks!!

Here he is during the processional.

Shaking hands with all the different heads of agencies. (Sheriff, TBI, Police...)

Actually receiving his certificate!


Most of the recruits rang the bell after graduation. Can you guess if Tony did or did not?

Adrienne and Grandma excited to be there.


Eli tested out his skills against the dummy.

Such proud kids!

Isn't he handsome in that uniform?

Our happy family.

A little taste of Tennessee

Here are some small ways that Tennessee has invaded our life.

This is a drink that is manufactured up in Eastern Tennessee. One of Tony's co-workers brought him some to try. It tastes like a combo of Sprite & Emergen-C. You gotta love the slogan though, especially in this time of economic uncertainty, "Enuf is Enough!".

Eli came home from school with this. I asked if it was a class assignment & he said "No, I made it up myself!" I figured they had been studying Elvis but apparently Elvis has just snuck into his subconscious here in Tennessee. Check out that hip action!

The kids were playing hide & seek with Daddy. I thought this was pretty funny. Notice the daily outerwear. It's been hovering around 45 during the days & 20-30 at night. Brrr!

These are some big pillows I made for a friend. It was my first attempt at making & sewing on piping. I was encouraged by the results & may even attempt to make some new floor pillows for our home now! Even though I am no longer employed sewing at a shop I seem to have plenty of various sewing projects from friends & am able to make $10 here & $20 there. Enough that I don't feel like a "kept" woman. :)

Rollerskating part 2

We had a chance to go rollerskating again after church with a free coupon from Eli's school. Whee! This time Tony got in on the action. We tried to figure out how long it had been since he had last worn skates & came up with junior high at the latest (a long, long time ago). He didn't do too bad considering he was the supporting player for both kids most of the evening.

Adrienne found a friend who helped her skate & gave her encouragement.