Day 3: Headed to Memphis

By day 3 of no electricity, the allure of bonfires, grilling, clothes lines and candles was fading, so we headed to Memphis. Since we had never visited the Memphis Zoo, we decided that we would see what it was all about. We were impressed by the gorillas, elephants, and sea lions, but the panda stole the show. The
boys were so excited about seeing the panda and the panda even seemed to come by and say hello.

Although the animals were great, I was excited about a warm chili dog since we had been feasting mainly on room temp entrees without electricity. I think Charlie and Jackson agreed.

We then headed to the hotel where a warm shower was very appreciated and the boys were super excited to have a working television.

Day 2: No Electricity

Charlie got tired of walking around in the dark. Yes, that is a head lamp.

I Have My Limits

Yesterday a series of deadly tornadoes moved through Alabama leaving a wake of destruction; thankfully our home was spared; however due to the storm, North Alabama was left with no electricity for several days. Since I was off yesterday, I was trying to get some of the weekly projects done, mainly laundry. Just before the storms arrived, I had started my last load. Following the storms I was left with a load full of wet cloths and no prospects on when the electricity would be restored, so we had to dry our clothes the old fashion way. Luckily Joe had a long length of rope and I found some clothes pins that had been purchased for a shower and we made our first clothes line. Joe was extremely excited about the clothes line and went on and on about how "fresh" clothes dried outdoors were suppose to smell. He was not afraid to hang all his items on the line and encouraged me to do the same; I drew the line at my underthings while Joe's flew in the breeze. Joe was proud of his survivalistic solution but this survivalist has her limits.

Hippity Hoppity

The Easter Bunny didn't skip the Morton house this year. Jackson announced that the bunny had visited early this morning because he peaked out when it was still "froggy" outside and he saw purple and yellow eggs.

The boys were excited about their goodies the bunny had left them; Charlie was especially excited about his Spiderman mask; which required an outfit change for him to get into full character.

After church, we had a cookout and egg hunt with the boys and my friend Alicia's girls.

The boys had a great time searching for eggs and would declare "sneaky bunny" if the eggs were hidden in any way.

We finished our day with a gardening and baseball time.

What a wonderful family day!

Easter Eve

With me heading to work, Joe and the boys had planned a day full of Easter festivities. To begin the day the boys opened an Easter package that Joe's mom had sent earlier in the week. The boys were extremely excited about the Star Wars bobble heads and books.

Afterwards the boys tried their hand at dyeing Easter eggs. With eggs ready, Joe went to the pantry to retrieve the vinegar only to return and discover that Charlie had decided to eat

one of the dye tablets. After a quick call to Poison Control it was decided that the tablet wasn't "poison" as Jackson had declared and Charlie would be okay.

The boys finished up their Easter Eve by participating in an Easter Egg Hunt hosted by our church. The boys had a fun filled Easter Eve and as the day is coming to a close Charlie is not demonstrating any ill effects of the "poison" tablet that Charlie said was flavored strawberry.

Feeding the Ducks at Big Spring Park

I have a feeling the ducks were glad to see the Mortons leave.

Wacky Tacky Day

Jackson and Charlie's school has one day a year that is set aside for Wacky Tacky clothing. We wait to tell Jackson about the upcoming occasion until the last minute because he will talk about different outfit options endlessly until the actual event. After several ideas this here is the end result...

Royals Mania

With the Royals actually winning this year, there is a little baseball excitement around the Morton house. Just about every night for the past week, Joe and the boys have been outside until after dark throwing and hitting baseballs. The boys really enjoy the fun and Joe really gets a kick out of teaching the boys baseball. I must admit I got a little into the fun as well.

School Picture Day