2017 July 4, Tuesday, Day Trip to Huntsville, Alabama

Hubby and I rode into Florence to eat breakfast at Cracker Barrel. I ordered one scrambled egg, two slices of bacon, and two slices of sourdough toast with strawberry jelly. I also ate Hubby's fried apples.
Hubby ordered the big breakfast...
We traveled Highway 72 east to Rogersville, stopping at Foodland to pick up a couple of canned drinks.
We rode to Rogersville Park, where they had just installed a splash pad for kids.

Splash Pad Rogersville 

Playground and restrooms, Rogersville Park

In Huntsville, we rode through Providence Town Center, where we saw statues of Darth Vader and R2-D2 standing in front of the Mellow Mushroom Restaurant. (Characters from the Star Wars Trilogy)

Darth Vader and R2-D2 

I wanted to see the construction work where the Old Huntsville Mall was once located, so we rode there next.
The mall is gone, with its piping and wiring all dug up, leaving only dirt remaining.

No longer a mall 

Next, we rode through the Twickenham District to Monte Sano Mountain.
We paid the admission price to enter the park, stopping at the restrooms at the campsite. We stopped at the overlook near the one-room CCC Museum, which was closed. 

Overlook near Birding site 29 (overcast day)

 CCC Museum (one-room museum) 

We stopped, and I took pictures of the Burritt Museum and Trough Springs Markers. 
We rode down the mountain onto Governors Drive, passing the Hospitals. 
Next, we rode to Brahan Spring Recreation Center on Ivy Avenue Southwest.
We stopped at the park, where we saw the  Merrimack Marker.
The marker mentioned the Merrimack Manufacturing Co., the Huntsville Manufacturing Co., and Springs Industries Inc., from 1899 to 1991. It also mentioned the Merrimack School and the Joseph J. Bradley School, established in 1900 and 1967.
Next, we stopped at Brahan Spring Park for a few pictures and to use the restrooms.

We started home, stopping in Athens at Zaxby's to eat dinner.
I ordered boneless wings and a side salad. My husband ordered a boneless chicken wing meal.

Boneless Wings 

Side Salad

We were home for about an hour when my husband got a call to go to work.
Another trip to Huntsville. 
The job didn't take long, and we were home by 7 P.M. 

My son, Andy, called and said, 'Mom, we're going to shoot fireworks at 8:30 P.M.' So, at 8:15 P.M., we rode to my son's house.
We sprayed ourselves with bug spray, grabbed our fold-out chairs, and off we rode to my son's house.
We had a great time with family, watching them shoot off fireworks.
These three bulldogs hated the sound of the fireworks, and we had a hard time keeping them away from chasing the fireworks.

We were home by 10 P.M., and both of us dropped into bed from exhaustion.

2015 ~Thursdays, June 4-August 6, Summer Movies with the Grandkids

June 4
Took one grandson to see Rise of the Guardians, we ate popcorn, and drank a coke during the movie, after the movie we went to Sonic, I ordered one Peanut-butter Milkshake for my grandson, a waffle cone for myself. 
June 11 
Took two grandsons to the movies to see How to Tame your Dragon2, we ate popcorn, and drank a coke during the movie, after the movie we went to Chick-fil-A, I ordered three kids chicken strips and a large peach milkshake. We came home the boys swam, played videos and spent the night.
June 18 
Took three kids to the movies to see Monsters vs Aliens we ate popcorn, and drank a coke during the movie, after the movie we went to Chick-fil-A, I ordered four kids chicken strips. We came home the boys swam, & played videos.
June 25
Took three kids to the movies to see The Croods we ate popcorn, and drank a coke during the movie, after the movie we went to the mall than on to Zaxby's where I ordered a family meal, 20 pieces of chicken strips and three large fries. We came home ate, the boys swam, & played videos. Enough for my husband's supper.
July 2
Took four kids to the movies to see Megamind we ate popcorn, and drank a coke during the movie, after the movie we went to KFC, I ordered a bucket of chicken and sweet tea. We came home ate, swam, & played videos. Enough chicken for my husband's supper.

July 9

Took four kids to the movies to see Shrek Ever After, we ate popcorn and drank a coke, after the movie I ordered two pizza's from Pizza Hut, we ate the pizza at Foodland picnic tables. After we finished I went into Foodland, bought a Frozen Chocolate Pie, brought it home. The kids played video games, we swam and finished off the pie. There was just enough pizza left for husband's dinner and a tiny piece of the pie. He might not have seen the movie or enjoyed the popcorn but at least he got three pieces of pizza and a tiny piece of the pie. LOL
July 16
Took three grandkids and one great-granddaughter to see Marmaduke, we ate popcorn, drank a coke and ate lunch at Chick-fil-A. I held the four-month-old, she was very good, had to feed her a bottle, she took a short nap and watched the movie, she was very good. After the movie we went to Chick-fil-A I think everyone was there, a group of cheerleaders was in front of me. Finally, we got our lunch. After we eat dinner we came home, swam in the pool and everyone found a nice spot to sit and we watched Incredible things that you find in a museum. The grandkids left around 7PM.
July 23 
I took three kids to the movies to see Tooth-fairy we ate popcorn, and we each drank a coke during the movie, after the movie we went to Chick-fil-A, in the mall, I ordered three kids chicken strips and one ice cream cone.
After we finished I went shopping, the boys went to Game Stop.
I took the boys to the Florence Library, we enjoyed listening to Justin Johnson play and talked about stringed instruments. It was a workshop, Justin had guitars made from the shovel, Madock handle, car tag, cigar boxes, wooden Ironing board, he mentioned over thirty different homemade guitars.
The boys took pictures and got a guitar pick. 
July 30 
I took three kids to the movies to see Spongbob2 we ate popcorn, and we each drank a coke during the movie, after the movie we went to Dominos where I ordered a large pizza for $8.99, we rode to Deibert Park where we enjoyed our lunch. After lunch, I took the boys home.
August 6 
I took two grandsons to see Paddington we ate popcorn, and we each drank a coke during the movie, after the movie we went to eat at lunch at Zaxby's, shopping at the mall and visit dad.
The kids will return to school Friday, August 7.

2014 Nov 22-24, Spending time with Grandson's

Saturday, November 22, 2014 

I took Nevada and Montana shopping, and we ate lunch at Chick-fil-A

Both boys ordered a chicken sandwich.

Nevada ordered a lemonade, while Montana ordered a spiced coffee.

I ordered a kid's chicken strip meal, which comes with three chicken strips, waffle fries, a small Coke, and a small ice cream.

We stopped at GameStop in the mall; the boys love video games. 

After a full day of shopping, we returned home so the boys could play on the PS2 and the iPod.

That night, we celebrated Thanksgiving with my husband's family.

The boys spent the night; one slept on the couch, the other slept on the floor.

Sunday, November 23

The boys went to Church with me, and they attended ladies' class with me because they didn't know any of the kids their own age. 

In our class, our teacher was discussing how women are treated in other countries.

In other countries, women are treated as if they only have half a brain.

My grandson, Montana, spoke up and said that his class had been studying the idea that men only use half their brains.

We went to Cracker Barrel for lunch, but it was going to be a twenty-minute wait, so we left and went to Zaxby's.

Both boys ordered a ZAXBY'S Nibbler Meal, I ordered the big Zaxby's Meal minus fries, and added a salad.

After we ordered our food, we started looking for a table, but they were all full, and it was raining outside, so we could not eat outside. 

I spotted a table where a family was sitting, and I  told Montana to go sit at the table while I waited for our food.

Before my grandson could reach the table, a girl jumped in front of him and sat down at the table.

We had to find another table; finally, two booths became available, and we grabbed them. 

The boys sat at one booth, and I sat at the booth across from them.

After lunch, I took the boys home, I worked on my computer, and watched some TV.

I love the time I get to spend with my grandkids.

Rejoice 

Manger Scene

Church 

Butterfly

Hickory Dickory Dock 

Humpty Dumpty

Gingerbread Man 

Gingerbread Man 

Dino

Santa Clause

Christmas Cards

Monday, November 24 

We took the boys on a walkthrough of the Galaxy of Lights at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens.

We picked up the boys around 4:00 P.M., stopping at Burger King Athens for hamburgers.

When we arrived at the Botanical Gardens, there were hundreds of cars waiting in line to park and go into the Galaxy of Lights walk-through show. 

Tonight was dog walk night.

My husband let me and the boys out of the van, and he went to park it. 

While we were waiting for my husband, we walked inside to use the restrooms and browsed in the gift shop.

We walked outside; it was cool, so we stood near the standing heater,             waiting for my husband.

When my husband arrived, we paid and walked into the park.

My knees and back were bothering me, so we had to take it slow. 

We saw a display of Christmas Cards, Several Mother Goose nursery Rhymes, Christmas Lights, Santa, butterflies, dinosaurs, and flowers. 

We bought hot chocolate and cookies for the boys at the halfway point of the walk. It was a nice break. 

We made it to the parking lot, loaded into the van, and the boys fell asleep on the way home.