First baby photoshoot

philip-BW
Originally uploaded by 5fifty5

Here is my sweet nephew. His name is Philip and the funny thing about that is he really did Fill-Up this bowl. I was feeling guilty, apologizing and clicking away. He and his mommy were such good sports and didn't protest at all during Na Na's first baby photoshoot.

football

Branson decided he wanted to try playing football in the place of soccer this season. We signed him up, went to the weigh in where he received his shoulder pads, helmet and other gear. We also found out who our coach would be and when practice started. Just so happens it was the following day and it was a scorcher. The boys warmed up and did a couple of drills. Branson has been at QB, running back, defensive back and rt guard. I think he really wants to be the QB but when they gave him the ball he scored 3 touchdowns in a row. I could tell by the fist pump afterwards he got a taste and I hope the adrenaline gives him the fire he will need to endure. He is finding out that football is tough and learning to shake off the pain isn't coming quickly. Luckily, our coach is enthusiastic and seems to know when a laugh will bring more motivation than discipline. It won't hurt them to sweat a little because most of them have spent the entire summer inside playing video games.

Wild Adventures

We spent the 2nd weekend of August over at Wild Adventures theme park with our friends Jack, Missy and their boys. We planned the trip as a back to school treat for the boys and turns out it was a treat for the adults too! Jack, the oldest one of us, gets on every possible ride. This work out great for those of us who have outgrown the ability to go round and round.
The park has lots of fun family rides, some big, fast coasters and even a few I wouldn't dare ride. Having Spencer there to ride with boosted Branson's bravery and he surprised us by being all about any ride he was tall enough to ride. Mr. Cautious was raising his arms
in the front seat of the coasters like an amusement park pro. We enjoyed a train ride through a safari animal attraction, we watched a high-dive act and were waterlogged from splash island
by the end of day two. The boys took their turn in life size Rock um-Sock um robots
and we ended a long, hot day by cooling off in the arcade. Fun was had by all and I will confess it took me 3 days to recover.

weekend adventures

We had a fun family weekend beginning Friday night. We rented Diary of a Wimpy Kid, turned out all the lights and finished off 3 bags of popcorn. On Sat, we went fishing in the lake in front of Granmommies house taking advantage of the slight break in the 100 degree temps we have been experiencing. I was the only person who caught anything and that included a good size snapping turtle.
I thought I had caught the biggest fish in the lake and Branson was blown away. Granmommie stayed behind to put together her famous lasagna and we all ate like little piglets later that night. We bought a new game called Fact or Crap at ToysRus earlier in the day, so we played for an hour or so before we headed home for the night. Michael won, of course!
I called my parents to invite them for supper but they had 5th Sunday with another church in town so they wouldn't be able to come. So I drove over to their place instead and spent a few hours. We sat out on the screened in porch talking and watching butterflies enjoy the butterfly bush. On my way home, I stopped by the Market Place to pick up some chops for supper and let me tell you they were some kind of fine. Branson said that was the best steak he had ever eaten and I guess thats the ultimate compliment.

Third Grade

School got off to a late start this year due to the opening of the new high school. We were officially back beginning Aug 23rd and we are very excited at our house. We found out during open house that Branson would be in Mrs. Bryant's class. I thought maybe she was a new teacher but to our delight it was Mrs. Chamber's. She had gotten married over the summer and I was ecstatic. She is an awesome teacher and probably the most coveted in the 3rd grade. I had been praying for Branson to get a teacher who would be able to make it fun and keep him interested in learning more. She made me cry, of course, during her welcome speech by saying the kids were part of her family now and they would forever be. Branson came home on Fri. saying she let them scribble on side B of their math sheet(side B is the homework side) in class and I could tell he thought that was about the coolest thing ever.

New Nephew

My sweet nephew was born on Tuesday, July 27th. He was born rather quickly so both sets of grandparents missed the birth. My parents stayed a few days and my sil's parents stayed through the next week to help out. We headed up the following weekend arriving there on Friday night. We planned to stay in and enjoy an easy visit by cooking at home instead of trying to eat out. I cooked spaghetti and meatballs with side salad and garlic bread. Everyone enjoyed it except for Charlie, he was having none of that meatball. No offence taken little man. We had a good time and baby Philip is too sweet. Branson seemed taken by Philip and asked to hold him many times during the weekend.

birthday-wish

birthday-wish
Originally uploaded by 5fifty5

Here is some of the work I've been doing on photoshop. I still have plenty of catching up to do on this blog, but I'm getting there.

Bama Jam 2010

We went to Bama Jam again this year and it did not disappoint. We had a little rain but not enough to dampen our spirits. I must say the Zac Brown Band brought down the house on Thursday night. In my opinion they should have been the headliner for the entire event because they were totally awesome! ( Now if that doesn't sound like a girl who grew up in the eighties nothin' does.) I also enjoyed Gretchen Wilson, Miranda Lambert and Randy Houser. One of the highlights of the weekend was seeing all time great, Buddy Guy. The man is 73 years old and still playing better than most.

We had a great weekend with our friends and the boys enjoyed themselves too! Branson spent most of the weekend without a shirt so he fit into the scene perfectly. Michael came through, as always with some great burgers, butts, and a yummy shrimp boil. Missy made the ever popular redneck caviar and we all ate like kings and queens for the entire weekend. Michael and Jack made friends with our neighbors as usual and hung out until the wee hours of the morning. Missy and I are the sensible ones if any of you were wondering and hit the bed as soon as we get the kids settled. Needless to say at the end of each night we were proud to be back at the camper where the air was a cool 65 degrees.

Flickr oops!

I didn't have the link to my flickr page set up correctly on the post labeled Catching Up. I apologize to anyone who tried to follow the link. You can find me here. Let me know what you think.

School's Out

School's out for summer and Branson is headed for 3rd grade.

Branson had fun and learned alot of things in 2nd grade. They took field trips to the fire dept and to Gulf World. They had Mexican fiestas in their classroom, multiple parties for meeting AR (reading)goals and many more exciting times together.

Earlier in the year we learned Branson had been accepted into the gifted program. This means he will be spending 1 day per week in a classroom with other gifted children. They will be learning many new things by spending time on the computer doing research, field trips, experiments and creative arts. We are hoping this will help to channel some of the energy that tends to get him into trouble in the typical classroom.


We attended the annual Awards Day where he finished the year with a bang earning certificates for all A average, creative writing and the National Physical Fitness Award. Branson delivered a gift basket to Mrs Robinette on his last day of school containing homemade chicken salad on a croissant, frozen grapes, lemon cheese squares and a few gifts for her desk. I got the idea for the basket here.We are so proud of him and looking forward to what 3rd grade has in store for him.

Memorial Day

These trips are beginning to turn out like the Griswold's family vacations. This year we had kidney stones, equipment failure, boat trouble, violent winds, stomach problems, firewood and charcoal shortages, etc, etc!

Here's how it went. Before we ever got there my Dad had a kidney stone and spent the night in the hospital. He came back to the lake with a stent in place and lithotripsy scheduled. He spent the remainder of the trip moving very slowly and needless to say no more trips into the water.

Daniel hurt his foot playing softball the weekend before so he was taking things slowly too. He had to take Daddy's place riding the kids on the jet skis and tubing because we have misplaced our boating licenses.

Michael ate too many fried squash and suffered through the night with appendicitis(over dramatized upset stomach, that is)!
The jet skis practically quit working again this year and the boat prop had been damage during a weekend outing to Lake Gant.
To top it all off a storm blew in quickly and ripped the awning from my parents camper sending the metal down bars flying across the top then slamming back down against the side of the camper while we were inside. I thought a tree had fallen on us and we were trapped inside by the drooping awning filled with water. Michael and the Martin boys showed up to rescue us by removing the awning from across the doorway. Michael climbed on top of the camper and the next thing I heard was a loud crashing sound. My heart stopped beating and my legs literally went weak because I thought he had fallen off the roof. The crashing was the awning being jerked from his hands when the weight of the trapped water got too heavy. It came flying over the camper to the ground and luckily no one was in its path. Naturally everything was soaked and several thing had to be thrown away, which we did when Daddy wasn't looking.

All in all we had a fun trip and great memories last a lifetime. If I had to guess we won;t have those jet skis next year!

Baseball

Branson wanted to play baseball at the Rec this year where the games are a little more serious than the ones we've been involved with at the YMCA. We were chosen by the Whitesox an our team went undefeated during the season due to lots of hard work and great coaching. We were really fortunate in the coaching staff we had in that they love baseball, they were spot on with their coaching and they both treated our kids with respect.

Branson played right field during most of the games and made several great plays to 2nd base. He really has a good arm and he is fast as lightening when he puts forth the effort. He has always had great hand-eye coordination but struggled at the plate after being hit in the elbow by the 2nd fastest pitcher in the league. I hated to see that happen to him and hope the memory will fade for him so he can keep that foot in the box.Some of his best games were played when only Michael and I were there to see him but Gram, Papa, Granmommie and Mama Walker were there to show their support as much as possible.

We ended the season with a pizza party at Pizza Hut. The kids gave the coaches a collector style baseball signed by each player and a coffee mug listing the games and scores.

CATCHING UP

I need to take the time to catch up on my blog since I've been gone for a while. My excuse is simple, Photoshop. Learning and playing can and did become an obsession so all my extra time was directed to my pictures. Now all I need is to up my grade my camera. If anyone is interested in checking out some of the work I've done check me out on flickr. Here is the link . Leave me some comments to tell me what you think.

42

Michael turned 42 on January 2nd. We spent the day on the paintball field in a tradition we started 2 years ago. When Michael turned 40, I surprised him by getting together a group of friends for a game of paintball. We spent a couple of hours shooting each other and a serious addiction was born. We have since bought numerous guns, gear and sported a few serious wounds. We play almost every weekend during the winter on 2 fields we've established. One is a woods ball course, the other is set up with pallets and plays like a speed ball course. Here are a few pics to show you what the action is like.

National Champions

Could we ask for more as Alabama fans? An undefeated season, the SEC champions, the Heisman trophy winner, and the National Championship. The reason we are the most successful college football program is because we don't wish these things would happen, we expect them to happen.


Roll Tide

Happy 2010

We rang in 2010 by spending the night up at Lake Eufaula. Michael and I, along with three other couples watched ballgames, played battle of the sexes, munched on bbq sandwiches, mexican and spinach dips, popped fireworks and toasted champagne as the clocked struck 12:00. We had great fun acting young, dancing like we know how, laughing at things that wouldn't be funny if you weren't there and staying up too late.Here we are trying on each others boots. We did get up early the next morning to head into town for breakfast. We went to the Waffle House because there is nothing better than the last high calorie, buttery breakfast before its back to watching everything we eat.

Branson spent the night at Granmommies where they watched a Three Stooges marathon. He was all animated showing us how the Stooges act toward each other. He later said he never thought he would be into b/w movies but he thought they were pretty cool. We spent the remainder of the day napping, playing games, watching football, and eating. We wanted to get it right because you know they say whatever you do on the first day of the year, you'll be doin' all year long.

Merry Christmas to all

Well the Christmas holiday is over and things are returning to a normal pace here in the Helms' house. I can't say it's all organized but we did manage to fit everything in the house. The food was yummy, the tree was beautiful, the gifts were abundant, but most importantly the family was together.

We spent Christmas eve at my parents house as always. My brother, sister-in-law, and nephew were there as well as a short visit from Big. We helped Mother finish preparing the meal and sat down to ham, dressing, corn souffle', broccoli salad, mac-n-cheese and the famous carrot cake for dessert.

After dinner we worked off a few calories with my mom's new Wii. She happened to get it a little early because my brother thought it was for Branson and handed it over to be wrapped saying "Mom, here's the Wii". Much to his surprise, she said "what Wii?". She said the look on his face was priceless as he was mortified, no doubt. If only I could have been there to take in the moment because it is few and far between that Daniel does anything out of line.

We opened our presents in round table style as usual, each person taking a turn so that everyone else can see what was given. Papa, Branson and Charlie have a little trouble in the patience department and couldn't always wait for their turn. I guess it worked out good because Branson and Charlie had the biggest pile to open. Charlie really got into it this year and helped me keep the paper cleaned up too! Maybe wanting things to be clean and neat is what he inherited from Aunt Na Na.

We all got an extra present from Daniel and Melissa with news they are expecting. Daniel announced it as "we have some big news" and I knew instantly what was about to be said. We all clapped and cheered and I got tears like I usually do.

Snow?

We've been experiencing some really cold weather in the past few days. We had a slight chance of snow in the forecast but it doesn't look like it will make it this far down. Branson seemed disappointed so being the good mother I came up with a digital solution. I guess this is appropriate with the high tech life we are all living these days.

~my husband rocks~the gas pump

You know how we are rocking along in life taking almost everything for granted? Well, every now and then it dawns on me how lucky I am to have a husband like Michael. He is constantly doing things to make my life easier so I guess I'm just used to him taking care of me.

Here's the story...

On a whim Sunday night we headed to supper at Mellow Mushroom. We were headed home when a mile or so down the road Michael noticed my car was almost out of gas. He quickly turned the car and headed back towards town. Now it wasn't so close to empty that I couldn't have made it to work the following day, but he said "I don't want you to have to pump gas in the icy weather we are expecting this week." I just looked at him and thought "Wow, what an awesome, thoughtful man."

I am truly blessed. I thank God for allowing me to have this man in my life. I know a few of my girlfriends who aren't so lucky and their relationships really help me take inventory of my own marriage.