We definitely moved here at a fun time of year - Mardi Gras! We had no idea how big it was here. Apparently, we learned that Mardi Gras originated in Mobile, so they take major pride in it.
Thought this was too cute one night before bed, saying their prayers.
We have spent SO much time outside since being here. On average, the temps are bout 5-7 degrees cooler than in Houston which makes a huge difference. Also, the breeze coming off the bay is really nice. The kids have spent a lot of time on the driveway and beg to be outside all day, everyday. We recently bought them a swing-set which Wes is in the middle of building. I'm pretty sure they will never be inside again once it's completed.
Charlie LOVES his scooter.
I walked Ryan to and from the bus stop the first few days, and then I started letting him walk down by himself and just watching out for him.
Charlie loves Bradley's glasses and will always pretend he is wearing a patch. He will cover his eye with his hand and say "I'm wearing a patch like Brabley." Then, he will cover his other eye and say, "look, I have two patches!" We had some pretend glasses that he found, and he thought he was hilarious.
The Skechers have arrived!!!
We ventured down to Fairhope one of our first weekends here and now go back almost once a week. One of our favorite places to eat outside, Panini Pete's. I showed the boys how I used to like sprinkling sugar packets on lemons and then sucking on them. They had to try it out for themselves. B was not much of a fan. Ryan however, seemed to like it.
I just love watching them have fun with each other playing outside.
Their first time in the jacuzzi tub!
CoCo and Poppy were so sweet to send Valentine's for the boys. They just love getting mail, especially mail that involves candy!
I had B put on his coat one morning before school and had to capture this....
my first thought was totally - fat guy in a little coat!!
Then for the next two weeks, we were all about Mardi Gras. We kicked it off with Ryan's parade at his school. The entire first grade was dressed up with a little float for each class and participated in a parade around the campus. They went around throwing beads, candy, and stuffed animals to the entire school. It was so much fun!
Love being able to see him having fun at his new school!
He took his job very seriously. Can you tell he wasn't too excited about me taking so many pics of them?!?
The teachers made shirts for each kid and even painted their faces!
Mrs. Goodwin's First Grade class
Here's what Ryan had to say about Mardi Gras
We went back down to Fairhope for breakfast one morning at the Warehouse Bakery, and the kids hammered a lot of donuts!
That night, we headed back down to Fairhope for our first real parade. I think we were all in shock at how extravagant and elaborate the floats were. The kids were completely mesmerized, and once they realized that candy and stuffed animals and beads were going to be thrown, they were really in Heaven.
There were a lot of marching bands, armed services, high school dancers, erc. between the floats.
B has his skepticism going into the evening as he is not a fan of "mascots" as he calls them which is basically anyone dressed up in costume or as a character. He quickly got over his fear once he realized loot was involved.
Charlie was so cute and caught on so quickly. He would hold up his hands and scream to get things thrown to him. He was successful every now and again which made him pretty proud of himself!
I think this was the last I saw of Ryan that night as he was too busy trying to grab and catch as much stuff as he could.
Begging for junk.
You have to be pretty bold and not afraid to push throw crowds to get what ya want. People aren't messing around out there! These are our new friends, the Hills next to us. He works with Wes and they just so happen to also have 3 boys!
B was pretty pleased with himself.
I convinced someone to throw this crown to me and Bradley just went ahead and assumed it was his.
After the entire parade makes their rounds, they usually drive back through to make sure and throw out any remaining stuff. We caught a second lap on our way back to the car. Unfortunately, we should have just called it a day. I got smacked with beads right in the eye as did Ryan and B. Tears were quickly wiped away once they remembered how much fun they had!
Wes was invited by a co-worker to attend one of the Mardi Gras balls in Mobile. Along with that, came an invitation the weekend before to go to a "float party" where you can walk the warehouses of the floats for that particular parade. They had food and drinks and bounce houses for the kids. It was really fun and neat to see them up close.
The following week, Charlie and B started swim lessons at the Y. I signed them up for a private lesson for just the two of them after my workout classes on Tue/Thur. This was Charlie's first class ever, and he hopped right in the water as if he had been doing it for years. I was shocked there weren't any tears or pleas for me to get in the water with him.
He really had so much fun, and Ms. Rachel's pretty sweet, too, so that helps!
Successful first lesson! We have now completed about 14 lessons with 6 to go and their progress has been awesome. Charlie can swim a few strokes (more like doggie paddles) to the wall and grab on! Bradley can swim about 15-20 yards unassisted.
Toward the end of the month, Ryan and Bradley started baseball with Spanish Fort Sports Association. I will say, baseball is taken very seriously here. I attended B's first practice and Wes took Ryan to his. B was all about it and even got a little aggressive. He was telling kids how awesome he was and even made comments about being better than others. The coaches thought it was funny, but we've since had to somewhat adjust his ego! He's playing in the 3-5 year old league this season, so next season, Charlie will be able to play on the same team as him which will be fun.
He always says how he is going to just "whack that ball" and that he does. I wasn't at Ryan's practice but it was a doozy. First off, they have evaluations for the players prior to being drafted onto their respective teams. I was pretty shocked leaving the ballfield that night because 90% of the players were insanely good. Fortunately, we got on a team with some awesome coaches that have really worked with Ryan and has improved his skills tenfold. Well, before practice even started on the first night, I think the kids were tossing around some balls, and Ryan got smacked in the face. Apparently, the bloody nose that followed will never be forgotten by any and all parents who were present at this practice. We didn't know a soul on the team yet, but everyone was so sweet to try and help. One mom even gave us her baby's bib to help sop up the mess. His uniform was covered in blood when he got home. Wes said he was such a trooper and once he was cleaned up, got right back out there.
The last weekend of February was when we attended the ball with some of his coworkers. Wes had to rent a tux and I used Rent The Runway for the first time, and was very pleased with how easy it was.
Our group we went with
On the dance floor
It was held downtown at the Mobile Civic Center. They brought in two different bands that played side by side. While one band would play, the other would take a break and they would just switch off every 30 minutes or so.
Reminded me of our nights back in Houston at Sammy's pre-children!!!
We have since found 2 neat little parks along the bay that have little beaches you can walk and piers you can fish off of. I love how close to home all of this is, as do the boys.
One of my favorite pics of Charlie to date!
We attended two other parades in Daphne that weekend. The first of which was really neat because they had bands playing in between the floats that were on moving trailers.
The next day we attended the Loyal Order of the Firetruck Parade in Daphne where just about anyone and everyone can pull some sort of float in the parade. There will be anything from convertibles, to boats being pulled on trailers, to trucks, and some people walking.
We went with the Hills again and somehow all of the boys were just as excited as they were for the first parade.
Moon pies are a big deal here and just about everyone throws them in the parades. I had never had one prior to moving here. I have now tried about 2 bites of one and realized, I wasn't missing out. Charlie, on the other hand, was a major fan!
After the parade, we headed to Sunset Pointe at a marina near Fairhope. This place had some awesome views and the boys loved looking at all of the boats. The food was also pretty amazing. We have definitely traded our weekly (and sometimes bi-weekly) Mexican food fix for a a whole bunch of fried seafood and sweet tea!
My parents got Ryan a new bike for Christmas as he was outgrowing his old one. We didn't bother getting it out until we got here. Since he graduated in size, so did his brothers. Now, B has his old bike with the training wheels put back on, and Charlie has the trusty old Cars bike. They LOVE riding them around the driveway and on our street.
Pretty sure Bradley will be doing just fine without training wheels sooner rather than later.
Our last and final Mardi Gras parade we attended was down in Orange Beach. It's a little less than an hour away from our house which has been so fun! We headed down Sunday late morning to lunch at Anchor Bar and Grill for, so far, the best hamburger I've had here (Beef is clearly not as big in AL. We aren't in cattle country like in Texas, so a good burger is hard to find!).
Ready for the parade!
I think they were making fun of Charlie here for not wanting to smile!
I didn't take any pics of the actual parade as it was really hot, and I was actively trying to grab loot for them. These people were the best. There were so many people walking alongside the floats, and if you put some cute kids in front of them, they can't deny just giving you junk! They were so worn out afterwards! I think this was the first of what I'm sure will be many afternoons of letting Charlie skip a nap so we can enjoy the day. He actually did just fine, but they passed out on the way home!
B has been pretty obsessed with all of the junk that was acquired over the month of February. The kids would sometimes have on maybe 40-50 beads at a time. I'm surprised they didn't tip over.
Well, that's a wrap on Mardi Gras season. My kids took to it like a fish to water. I remember B telling me how he'll have to turn 5 before the next Mardi Gras and just how disappointed he was!
Luckily, we've had a lot of visitors since then and a ton of other fun things to occupy them, and Mardi Gras is now a distant memory!
