Eleven Years of Anthony

Anthony turned eleven sometime in the middle of the busy month of April.

It was a pretty low-key affair. So much so that I can't seem to find any pictures to prove that it really happened.

Here's a semi-random shot of Anthony with is two younger siblings at a rest stop on our way down to Pensacola. He looks like he's eleven, right?

Oh wait, I do have a few pictures. I just hadn't pulled them off the camera yet. Duh! :-P

Anthony's buddy Josh came for lunch and an afternoon of general silliness.

Eleventeen candles. And no, the cake is not melting.

Happy birthday buddy!

This evening we went to Anthony's band and choir concert. That doesn't really have anything to do with his birthday, but I got a picture anyway.

Pensacola Beach Spring Break

Pack up the kids ma, we're a-goin' to the beach!

Pensacola Beach that is, for some Spring Break surf and sun.

We pulled our little camper South and set up at the Pensacola Beach Campground, located in the Gulf Islands National Seashore.

Then we hit the beach.

When momma's happy, evr'body's happy!

The weather wasn't the greatest for the beach while we were there, but was fine for some sightseeing. We rode our bikes down the island a ways to the historic Fort Pickens. Very interesting.

The fort was built before the Civil War to help defend the entrance to Pensacola Bay and was a Union fort during the war. One corner got blown up by accident at some point in it's history, but most of the rooms and passages are in pretty good shape. All brick, all laid out for a method of warfare that has long since passed.

When the fort was active, every hole in the wall had a cannon sticking out and a crew to man it. Today there are still lots of holes, but only one cannon. And kind of a motley looking crew.

The layout and construction of the fort was fascinating to me. We seem to have taken quite a few pictures while we were there, so maybe they will show up in a later post.

Paxton stands next to a massive smooth-bore cannon perched on top of one of the outer walls, pointing towards the entrance of the bay. Imagine the noise when this baby lit off!

As time passed, the brick and mortar fort turned obsolete and the Army started building concrete bunkers, or batteries, with larger and larger guns. Then cruise missiles and smart bombs made the bunkers obsolete, so they turned the whole area into a national park.

The bunkers are still there and one of them has a neat example of one of the guns that was used there. The gun sat on a frame that raised it clear of the bunker before firing, then dropped it back down out of sight again to be reloaded. We couldn't get it to work.

Back to the beach. Kenrick perfects the art of digging a hole.

Paxton works on overcoming his fear of getting his feet wet.

On Wednesday we visited the National Museum of Naval Aviation on the Pensacola Navy Base.

The museum is full of lots of displays, models, rides, an IMAX, and LOTS of airplanes. Very neat.

It's also the home of the Blue Angles.

Our friends Doug and Karena just happened to be vacationing down the Gulf a ways at the same time we were there, so we met them at the museum. It also happened to be the day that the Blue Angles were going to fly their first practice session of the season. Open to the public and free. We found a spot on the grass.

It's hard to capture the sensation in pictures. Goose bumps.

The Blue Angles fly in impossibly close formations.

Sometimes upside down.

Sometimes straight up into the sky.

Always beautifully.

The last part of the week was a bit colder and windy, so that put a bit of a damper on the beach time. Anya still enjoyed digging in the sand, but kept her distance from the water.

The wind did kick up a respectable surf though, so the older kids got a chance to roll in the waves.

We packed up on Friday morning and hit the road just before it started pouring rain.

Everyone was happily exhausted, a sure sign of a successful vacation!

Breath Carefully

This evening during supper Kenrick was complaining of having a stuffed nose and of not being able to eat right because of it. Paxton offered a solution:

"Just breath through your ears!"

Anya Turns Four

It's been four years since the Pink Princess of Pandemonium made her debut and we've enjoyed every minute of the adventure.

Anya enjoyed having her buddy Gwendolyn over for a special night to celebrate.

Happy Birthday dear Anya!

Blowing out all those candles is a lot easier with a little help from a friend.

New clothes! Yay!

More Hello Kitty.

And a piggy bank to paint. Pink of course. What fun!

Finally, with money from Grandma, she showed that she's a girl after my own heart by buying her first set of Lego's! Granted, they were a different style and color than any Lego set I ever owned, but Lego's none the less. Everyone, meet Lego Cinderella and her horse Gus.

A stagecoach fit for a queen!

Teenage Pandemonium

Kenrick turned 13 last month. He's getting taller, more mature, as goofy as ever. The other day at supper I told a joke that went right over the heads of his younger siblings. Kenrick fell out of his chair. Kind of nice to have an appreciative audience.

Birthday supper was a low-key affair.

Cake? Ice cream? How about ice cream cake!

Hard to believe my little guy is a teenager. Happy Birthday Kenrick!

Full of Cheese

Paxton was in the kitchen this afternoon with big brothers, watching them mix some ingredients for tuna fish sandwiches. Full of silliness as usual, he grabbed the bottle of mustard and tipped it up. "I'm going to squeeze this whole bottle into my mouth!", he declared.

Anthony and Kenrick both wrinkled their noses, "That would be gross, Paxton!"

"Why?" Paxton answered, "it's just full of cheese!"

Ice Blanket Continued

Mother Nature seems to be reluctant to turn up the heat. The last thaw-flood-freeze cycle produced some interesting ice formations.

Ice Blanket

This was what met me yesterday after work in the parking lot; about half an inch of ice draped over the truck like a blanket. Fortunately it was pretty warm, so not too hard to chip off.

(Another) Snow Day

A bright sunny afternoon and another half-inch of new snow on top of the four we got on Friday made for another perfect snow day. The sleds (and the snow shovels) are getting a workout.

Paxton uses his head.

Kenrick found out I had my old broken snowboard stored away in the attic and insisted that we drag it out. Looks like it works well enough for the Backyard Olympics.

I thought Anya was trying to roll a snowball to make a snowman, but all she really wanted to do was make a ball big enough to eat. Then she tried to take it inside the house.

Even the cats got out to enjoy the sunshine. They seem to like climbing the trees in front of the house, especially if there's a little bird up in the branches teasing them.

Do you see both cats? They got down eventually. The bird flew away.

Anya Spell

"Daddy, what spells this: 'i, i, i, i, i, i, a, a, a, a, p, a, p, p, a'?"
"I don't know Anya, what does that spell?"
"It spells 'box'!"

Happy Birthday Paxton

Paxton turned six last month. Doesn't seem like it's as big of a milestone as 5 or 10 or 13, but important none the less. Especially if you are the one turning it.

Paxton requested cupcakes this year. Andrea delivered. With rockets.

Dinosaurs are a big deal when you are six. Dinosaurs with armor and claws and guns with a little man that rides on their backs are even better.

And of course, Lego's. Paxton used some of the money Grandma sent to buy his very own set. Then he shut himself up in his room away from his big brothers and put it all together himself.

The finished product, with one minor fix by Dad to get a couple of troublesome pieces in the right place. Great job Paxton!