Trip to Alabama

From June 2nd to 19th, Alabama was our world. We drove out there (yes, drove) to celebrate big moments with Andrew's siblings-- Don graduating from dental school at UAB, new baby Kaitlin's blessing, Rachel & Drew's wedding--and to take plenty of time to fully enjoy being with our family who live in a distant land that keeps us from seeing them very often.

Here's Taylor and Russell with Jeff and Faye's kids (Andrew's brother and his wife) eating popsicles on a day so hot that they could hardly eat them before they melted off their sticks! It was SO hot in Alabama. And check out that sea of red...University of Alabama fans take things seriously out there...even in the summer! I tried my best to "walk the walk" by keeping my boys appropriately outfitted. :)

We arrived just shortly after the horrible tornado season that hit the southeast had ended. Portions of Alabama received some of the worst damage. Andrew's parents (in the blue suburban pictured here) gave us a tour of the devestation nearest to them. Can you imagine if that house above were yours? It's amazing to me how powerful tornadoes are and how quickly the damage is done. The neighborhoods you see above took only minutes to destroy.

Another uniquely Alabama experience we had was getting caught in one of their summer rainstorms. I thought that I had seen rain before this. For those of you who haven't seen a southern rainstorm, I'm telling you, this was nothing short of DOWN POUR. Large waterfalls poured off the roofs of houses, rivers formed in the streets...and if you took one step outside...well, you'd probably have the time of your life. Taylor and Andrew played in the rain for what seemed like ages on the night that it rained the hardest.

Russell played hard too. During this trip, I learned how much he loves to be pushed in swings. Love this easy baby secret! I chatted with my sister in-law Mindi for a long time while I pushed him in the swing you see above. He was so sweet and quiet that it took me by surprise when I noticed this complete pass-out. He rarely falls asleep outside his bed! I had to take a picture.