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Yesterday was a first for me: I went to the movies twice in one day. First, I took Zack and Pete to watch Shark Boy and Lava Girl. They loved it. From a grown up point of view, it was pretty bad. A weak plot, choppy scenes, no character development. I had a headache by the end from wearing the 3-D glasses for so long. None of that matters. The boys had a great time and that was the whole reason we went. It was full of stuff kids love (brain farts that make a persons head inflate like a balloon, a land of cookies and ice cream, etc.)

The second movie I saw was with Chris and Richard (lithiumbedrooms, my awesome brother in law). We saw War of the Worlds. I loved it! It was sci fi at its best. I liked the perspective of earth's attack from a "civilian's" point of view. Usually, in these "alien attack" type movies (think "Independence Day") we see the action from the leadership or military point of view. Also, I liked the unexplained parts of the movie. What was that orange liquid? We don't know. That's cool.

We are off to the beach for a family fun day. Actually, we're hitting the bay. These shark attacks have us all a little freaked out.

Southern Livin'

I snapped this picture as I was stuck in traffic today. Don't misunderstand me. I love the South. But there are some aspects of it that I don't understand. The need to still fly this flag is one of them. It reminded me of an experience I had a few years ago when I worked at Wal-Mart pharmacy. I was chatting with a Pharmacist about the Civil War. His great, great grandaddy had fought in the war, on the Confederate side. As he was telling me about his ancestor, I was counting pills and sort of just half listening. Suddenly I realized that he was crying. The story he was telling me about his grandaddy was so special to him that it had moved him to tears. This is what he told me: His grandaddy had been held in a Northern prisoner of war camp. When the war was over and he was released, he walked all the way home to Alabama. When he arrived at his home, he didn't go immediately in. He got the attention of one of his slaves and had the slave bring him clean clothes. Then he proceeded to clean himself up before he allowed his family to see him again.

Colours

My mother in law loves colors and I find it wonderfully refreshing that she is not afraid to use them in her home.

This is her upstairs hall.

This is the downstairs bathroom. I don't know if you can tell, but the door is painted the same color as the frame.

The Sistas

Here I am with my four sisters. We have a brother, but he wasn't able to be there. We are standing in order of age. As much as I'd like to claim that's me in the middle, I can't. I'm the first one, then comes Shannon, Holly, Wendy and Bonnie. I love having so many sisters. As we get older, it is more and more precious to me to have these wonderful women as my friends and family. I really am blessed to be part of such a great family.

We tried to duplicate the picture with all the kids, but they didn't quite have the same attention span....

Tuskegee

The weather was beautiful on the day we went to Tuskegee. I learned so much while we were there. I wanted to go there because I studied Booker T. Washington last semester and read Up from Slavery.I was very impressed by the great things he did in establishing the Tuskegee Institute and I wanted to see it for myself. However, I will admit that I was nervous about going to Tuskegee. I had no reason to be. Everyone was so polite. People actually went out of their way to greet us. It was an odd feeling to be a minority (I know that may sound horrible to say, but it's true.) I knew very little about George Washington Carver and they had a very informative museum dedicated to both him and Booker T. Washington. What a man! He did so much to better the people of Tuskegee and in turn the whole South.

This is the Tuskegee Court house. It is the only courthouse in Alabama with Gargoyles on the tower. It was also where a famous lawsuit concerning the Tuskegee Syphilis Study was filed.

The Oaks: this was Booker T. Washington's home. It was designed and built by students of the Tuskegee Institute. The bricks were also made by students.

Summer fun