Cousin Andrew to the Rescue

My cousin Andrew is a firefighter and paramedic. He welcomed us to one of the Attalla, Alabama fire stations where he works. This was Jonathan's first visit with cousin Andrew. Andrew rescued us from a dull day of travel in the car by providing Jonathan with a great topic for conversation. Jonathan now talks about firetrucks all the time! "Andrew showed me firetruck." "Andrew showed me am-blance." "Andrew let me drive truck." "Andrew let me wear hat." "Andrew put me on stretcher-bed." "Andrew turned on lights on truck." Andrew has quite a fan!

Sweet Home Alabama: 4th of July

We were able to join my parents in Alabama for a 4th of July celebration and birthday party with my Ma Grannie, Aunt Sharon & Uncle Danny, and my cousins, Adam, Tara, Savannah, Claire & Chloe. Ma Grannie celebrated her 77th birthday! We had a wonderful time watching the little cousins play together. Jonathan does not get to see Savannah, Chloe, and Claire very often, but you would not know that to watch them run around the yard together. Aunt Sharon (Granna) is a party planner extraordinaire! We enjoyed a silly string romp, floating duck pond, visit to her beach, bike rides, eat-all-you-want candy dish, cookout, watermelon, & cake and ice cream. Uncle Danny provided a tribute to our founding fathers and a Ray Stevens song festival! It was sweet to be back in my father's home town!

Marrero Family Wilderness Experience

We are not tent, cabin, camper, under the stars kind of people. We enjoy the outdoors, but we love airconditioning and beds without bugs! So, needless to say I would have never guessed that a rest stop at the Bass Pro Shop would be an ideal thing for the Marrero family. I was wrong! Who would not love: a walk down a stocked indoor stream, looking at more stuffed animals than some museums of natural history hold, playing a free round of mini-golf, enjoying a huge aquairum, drinking a cup of starbucks while watching a plane overhead, watching Nascar simulators with an excited toddler, and shopping for Columbia and North Face sportswear? I'm a Bas Pro Shop fan! They won me over with their sleek marketing that must appeal to Yuppie outdoor lovers as well as country Bubba who likes to fish every weekend and kill stuff!