Forest Fires

Sunday evening we were hanging out at home expecting a couple friends for dinner. Joe was grilling and I was baking a cake. The kids had gone fishing with Grandpa! The neighbor to the west of us comes over and asks Joe to help put out a fire he had just started to burn. He was burning some brush he's cut down in his field. He tells Joe that the woods behind our house are burning! YIKES Joe asks me to watch the ribs. I am telling you, they were burning so close, I could see the fire. It was probably 100 yards away, but that is too close for me! The firefighters had a bulldozer go through and create a firebreak and that was pretty much the end of it. As of yesterday afternoon, Tuesday, there were still hotspots! It started four houses down from us and consumed about 40 acres.

What Happened to February?

It seems like just yesterday was January and now, already March! I didn't even blog and pay homage to Cupid!

Nothing much going on with us, getting settled in Chattanooga, catching up with friends! It is nice to be home. I just feel like we haven't stopped and don't have any real schedule or plan. Here are some pictures of Caden, Coy, Kain and Kylie (my sweet niece and nephew) preparing for a Valentine's Day party we had for "The Daddies."

Crashed

This is Caden sleeping in my bed yesterday morning! Notice the arm, the leg and Cooper! I am sure Cajun was buried under covers or some where close!

This is Caden sleeping in his bed last night! Notice Cooper at the end of the bed and the little doggy butt sticking out from under the covers. See Caden's leg over Cajun! Man. . . those boys can sleep!

Saying Goodbye to LaGrange

On Thursday, January 22, 2009, we tearfully left our friends in LaGrange. We have made so many lifelong friendships in LaGrange. We love y'all! We were there a few days short of eleven months. LaGrange and all of our friends there will forever be in our hearts. Thanks for the memories. We are currently back in Chattanooga. Who knows for how long, but we are glad to be here! Here are some pictures of our sad goodbyes!

This is the cake that Taylor decorated for us! *kisses*

All of the Hale's minus Paw, plus Shelby!

Lynn, Andrea, Tony and Joe

Miss Bonnie, Caden's Surrogate Grandma

Trip Summary and Some Favorite Photos

This has been a great Christmas trip. Many dreams came true and things were seen that we never thought possible. Chase said it best this week. Coy asked if next year for Christmas, he could have a dirtbike. Chase said, "You would rather have something that breaks than make a memory?" It makes driving a total of 30+ hours with three kids all worth it.

Here are some of my favorite pictures of the week:

Christmas Trip - Last Day

This morning, we got packed up and headed out to Arlington National Cemetary to see "The Changing of the Guards" at the Tomb of the Unknown. WOW! What a moment in our lives. It was really cool! Of course, you can't visit Arlington without visiting former president, JFK and Jackie. We just didn't have the energy to trek up the hill to see Bobby. We'll catch him next time!

I am blogging on the road. We will be back in Chattanooga in about 2 hours. We will be home tomorrow!

Christmas Trip - Day 4

The unblogged about day! Poor Philly! It was a great city. We definitely want to spend more time there!

We went into Philadelphia with Liz and family. We saw the US Mint, The US Supreme Court from 1791 - 1800 and the Liberty Bell. We also went to the Art Museum and allowed the kids to run up the steps like Rocky did! The plan was to visit Independence Hall, but they only allow 2500 visitors a day and oddly, the max visitors was achieved at Noon, so no visit for us.

The US Mint was cool. The kids were kind of bored. The highlight for them was seeing pennies being made. Sorry, the US Mint allows no photography. If you visit Philadelphia, make sure you see visit the Mint. It was a very informative self-guided tour and set up very nicely.

I can't even tell you how cool it was to see the Liberty Bell. For me it is way on the top of the list of things to do before I die! It was maginficent!