Sweet Home Alabama!

We have been back in Alabama for three weeks, and are just about back into a routine. I returned to work last week, and I can honestly say that it is good to be back. The kids are having the time of their lives, sleeping over several times a week with friends and cousins. Things are MUCH more spread out here in 'Bama - the thirty mile drive to the next town tends to really eat up the petrol!

It has been a busy two months since the last post - since then, I've gone to India and South Africa, both David and I have gone through commencement ceremonies, we've driven 1200 miles across the Eastern US, both Sonja and James have celebrated birthdays, the kids have gone to Vacation Bible School, we've moved into our new house... the list is long, and it's all good.

Here are a few pictures from the last few months:

Grannie (Brenda) visited for graduation, and brought us all presents!
















The obligatory cap & gown pic...
















David and Ethan's favorite painting at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts:






















We took Grannie to the Sky Walk observatory at the Prudential Center, and found that yes, indeed, Boston is the hub of the Universe!





















David and Ethan graduated from Trinity Covenant Preschool:






















































And we finally got a picture of Sonja and Susan!
















Sonja thought we needed a picture of the family from the BACK STEPS as we departed (since our arriving picture was on the FRONT STEPS - see the post last June...)
















We're getting ready for a three-day, 1200 mile Odyssey:
















The kids REALLY liked the truck! Too bad only James could ride down the road with me!
















We arrived in Hartselle, ALABAMA at about 5pm on Monday, 16 June, and found our lovely remodeled house. Sonja loves her new kitchen, and comes to me about every other day and says, "Have I mentioned recently how much I LOVE my new kitchen?"
















We even got entirely new rooms - the dining room was not functional before - remove a couple of walls, a fresh coat of paint, and TA-DA!
















James was thrilled to have a music room to continue his pursuits (he had a similar keyboard in Belmont...)
















Rachel LOVES her new room - great for a growing girl:
















Complete with a chandelier and canopy!
















James thinks he has the coolest room in the house; with a four foot long red-eyed tree frog, he wouldn't get much argument from me:

















All of you guys in Alabama have already seen this - but here's a picture of Taj McKelvy for our Boston/global friends:
















Michael C. - you thought BRIAN had a lot of grass to mow!
















For my non-Southern friends - yes, those are Crepe Myrtles and Magnolias planted in the flower beds, mulched with good old Southern Pine straw...
















Another shot of the front yard - somehow the picture above doesn't convey very well how big this yard is!
















And the back yard of course - this is where we watch the sunset everyday. Tough, but somebody's gotta do it :-)
















For his birthday, James had a sleep over with the guys, and they rocked out on the Wii "Rock Band" - until almost 3am !
















Of course, when DAD came in to wake them up at 0700, they were not happy campers!

















David, the quintessential morning person, seized the opportunity created by groggy big brother to join the band, putting his own style into the mix. Of course, the big guys really didn't want to rock out to the Wiggles!

















All in all, it has been a great, if hectic six weeks. Time to catch a deep breath, enjoy the last few weeks of summer, and get ready to kick off another school year in early August.