Skye's Banquet

She got a new haircut the day of banquet. It is much shorter, but she really likes it. Her boyfriend brought the flowers for her.

Here they are...the lovely couple!

Kapooka got dressed up to get pictures taken with Nana too!

We loved the back of the dress! Pretty good for getting in on clearance at the end of last year. She was told over and over that she had the prettiest dress at the banquet (and the most modest too). My heart was really happy for my girl Skye.

Raising Girls

I really loved Dr. Dobson's book Bringing Up Boys. I am ridiculously excited to read his newly released Raising Girls.

In the latest Focus on the Family magazine, they printed this article. I have not found one with which I agree more. Check it out!

http://www.thrivingfamily.com/Family/Media/2010/may/girl-power.aspx

Final Vacation Post

The kids spent a lot of time looking like this during the week. They had wet hair, a little sun-color on their cheeks, and big smiles on their faces.

We stopped to take this picture as we left the island. We wouldn't mind coming back again!

When we went to the outlet mall, they had a great outdoor play area that included the typical slides and climbers. There was also a carousel, and this water area. Kapooka loved it, and Wildcat had a good time too. The older girls liked shopping. Paul was worn out from watching the young ones on the play area.

The Estuarium

Kapooka loves this picture. She loves to say turtle!

Wildcat trying on an oldfashioned diving helmet!

The esturarium had an awesome touch and feel area. All of the kids enjoyed touching this whelk. They said it was soft.

The Estuarium had a nice quiet little area for kids Kapooka's age. The older kids got in on the act. Here they are pretending to drive a boat.

Dauphin Island is a barrier island, so it plays a pretty important environmental role. There is a lot of wildlife both birds and sea life. The estuarium is an aquarium on Dauphin Island that explains the island's unique role in the environment. Of course, the aquarium didn't talk about God's creation, but we talked with the kids about how neat it was that God had put the island where it was, sort of like a gatekeeper. Today, I have been praying for Dauphin Island. The oil spill is due to hit their shores today. This isn't a political post at all (because I am not sure if an occassional oil spill is just the price we have to pay, or if more should be done). The Alabama coast region has many employed in the oil industry as well as commercial fishing and tourism. All of those industries are suffering currently as well as God's natural world.

A couple of interesting facts we learned at the Estuarium....

1. An octupus' ink is toxic even to itself, so an octopus needs to swim away after it expels its ink.

2. There are small shells that are often found with holes in the top that look like they are ready to put on a necklace. There is one type of marine animal that has a sharp snout that drills that hole and eats what is inside the shell. God's creation is amazing!

Fort Morgan

Paul worked some might computer mojo, so I am back in the blogging "business" with pictures. I really love that guy, and not just for his computer skills either!

One afternoon, Kapooka really needed a long nap since she hadn't napped for 3 days. I volunteered to stay at the condo and nap with her. Everyone else went to Fort Morgan. This fort was key in the Battle of Mobile Bay. They all had a really good time, but were glad a toddler wasn't along. She would have been bored.
Here you can see one of the cannons that looks out onto Mobile Bay. It was neat to see a fort right on the water. That was something I had never seen before. Later in the week, we all went to the aquarium, so I did get to see some of the outside of the fort. Aquarium pictures will be the next post.

On Wednesdays a blacksmith demonstrates his craft. Evidently it was fascinating to watch.

In all honestly, this particular sight was one of Wildcat's favorites on our whole trip. He still talks about the gigantic potty that the soldiers had to use at the fort. The tides came in twice a day to clean it out. All that is missing to make this picture complete is reading material.

I just love this picture! It is at the entrance of the fort.

Blogging Frustrations

For close to a week now when I click on the upload pictures button in Blogger, nothing happens. We think this may be a mouse problem. Hopefully this weekend, Paul will get a chance to figure it out. Until then, posting will just have to wait.

Alligator Alley

Alligator Alley is a place where alligators that are dangerous to humans or have been injured can go and live instead of being killed. The owners have built raised boardwalks through the swamps so visitors can safely observe and feed the alligators. The alligator food looks like big chunks of charcoal or dog food.

Near the entrance of Alligator Alley they have built a viewing station. The owners feed the alligators deer and pork several times a day. This is just one of several pictures we got of the alligators eating.

We thought even alligators like pillows?

The kids all got to hold or touch a year old alligator. The alligator had his mouth taped shut with electrical tape. Even at that age he/she had a lot of sharp teeth!

The kids were more brave than mama. No way was I going to touch an alligator. I had the willies the whole time we were there. However, we had a great time. None of us had seen an alligator before, and we got to see them as up close and personal as you would want to.