Pardon me boy...

We spent the first part of our Spring Break with a quick getaway in Chattanooga. It was great! We were supposed to go back in October, but it was the beginning of the eartastic winter we've had and the week that the stock market tanked- so we postponed until now. Although it was a rainy weekend- we had a great time!

We started with a visit to the Tennessee Aquarium and were pleasantly surprised at how much we all LOVED it! Dawson could have stared into the water for days, and David was identifying all of the animals in the water by days end. I had not seen the sharks myself- and BELIVE ME- this is as close as I EVER EVER EVER want to be- they were scary looking-I am talking Mike Tyson tatoo face scary. We also loved the penguins, otters, stingrays, and catfish, we even started looking for the dogfish...:)

Did I mention he could have watched for hours????

Next up was the Children's Museum- which was good, but going on no nap for the day kept it to a brief visit. But the highlights for my boys were yet to come. We stayed at the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel in an old train car- they have permanantly parked them and converted them into hotel rooms. Thanks to a recent Facebook post, I had low expectations of the quality of the room and went into it with the attitude of a campout- I guess not much can be done to air out an old train car on a rainy weekend. However, my boys did not notice my predjudices one bit- they were beyond themselves to sleep on a train!

One side of the train car...

The other side of the train car...did you notice the luggage bars and individual lights still on board? We did, and subsequently wanted to turn on every light! Yes, I had to turn off about 30 lights when we left for dinner that night.

Our front door for the night!

The Chattanooga Choo Choo!

And if that weren't enough excitement for my train enthusiest boys, we went to the Tennessee Valley Railroad for a ride on a train. There was a yard full of trains, all of which were identified by engine type. Then they had the most charming train station- though seemingly new looked straight out of the golden age of rails. We then waited for our engine- which was a bona fide steam engine (one of the last built of its kind). We had a lovely ride through a wonderful tunnel and some other scenic views, to another station and trainyard. There they had a turntable where we watched the train turn around (like the one outside Tidmouth sheds for you Thomas fnas). We then had a tour of the repair shop and saw some wonderful trains being restored. The conductor who led the tour made a point that stuck with me- it is important to preserve the history of the railways as they were an essential part of the Manifest Destiny of the 19th century that made America the country it is today. I thought I was simply taking 2 little boys on a joyride...who knew it was the first of many (possibly to their dismay) educational adventures! A pictorial highlight of events:

Won't you choo choo me home???

David's FOURTH Birthday: Mickey Mouse Bowling Party!

The last four years have been the fastest and most wonderful years- they have absolutely flown by! This precious little boy is growing so fast and is continually amazing us! What joy David has brought to our lives!

So...enough waxing philosophic and on to the party! David has wanted to have a bowling party ever since we went to Will's 4th b'day. He recently decided that he wanted it to be a Mickey Mouse bowling party- and so it was! I will add, that in the future, we may not let him have so much knowledge and input on the party- as he did not sleep the night before and asked EVERY day how much longer to his birthday! Hoever, we had a very special day filled with family and friends. David is a blessed little boy!

Just after he blew out his candles- I wish I had video of Dawson- he still is singing "Happy Day to You" to David on a daily basis.

Bowling with our cousins, Will and Ryan!

The cake from Publix with some Disney friends added on.

His Indiana cousins, Lindsey, Grace, and Reid, made a special trip down for the day- just for the party! What a special treat! I don't seem to have a picture of any of the grands or aunts and uncles, but we had a family full house!

What a special treat- David's teacher Miss Dele was able to join us. He adores her and was adament about inviting her. Even when we were putting the treat bags together, he realized that there wasn't a bag with her name on it and I had to scramble to find a suitable treat for Miss Dele:)

Bowling with our friends from school. Have I mentioned enough what a PRECIOUS class they have??? They are awesome and everyone but one was able to make it to the party! Thanks everyone for making the day so special!

Christmas Party and Program

Let is Snow!!!!

Breakfast with Santa

Getting ready to see Santa...

As close as Dawson would get to Santa- David on the other hand marched right up and asked for a crane (and a baby crane for Dawson).


The best effort at a family picture.

Cousins with balloons...

There was bound to be mayhem and mischief!

Meme and Johnny and their boys!

CMA's

Tom finally said yes to tickets at the office- and he picked a GREAT one! The CMA's.

How time flies...

So I am trying to catch up- with strep throat, 7 ear infections, 4 cases of the stomach bug, and the holidays in general- 2008 seemed to end by just getting by- but here are a few highlights from the fall/Halloween festivities!

The fireman and the pony (with our finished jack-o-lanterns).

The Otter Creek Fire Department and their puppies:)

Superman, Batman, Fireman, The Pokey little Puppy- a Powerful Foursome of cousins!

At the Pumpkin Patch with some of our favorite girls!

Dawson was so glad to have Hannah join us- he may have fallen in love with her like the rest of us have!!!

David and his best girl friend Emma- she was showing me some of her cheerleading/dance moves- they were AWESOME!