Why the Radio Silence?

Hey there folks!  Golly, geez I've been gone from this blog for over a month now!  Why the radio silence?

Spring has sprung around here!  We have been so busy! Here is a quick sampling of what life has been like around the Morris house.  First up, I really got the gardening bug this season.  That's a problem for multiple reasons.  Primarily because I am totally an "end result" kind of dreamer.  I know what I want before I know how much work and/or financial responsibility will go into producing said result.  It is also a problem because I have a HUGE, VAST list of allergies most of which are Spring-related.  Pine pollen, Bradford Pear tree blooms, etc.  So this is what I have been doing while working in my yard:

Oh yeah.  I am in full-fledged take-no-prisoners, war-against-weeds, pollen-proof mode here, folks!

On a side note, if you remember my post here about redoing my front porch bench, I finally got around to accessorizing it this spring (yes, almost a yr later).  Have a look:

What else have I been up to?  Well, I got together with one of my besties, Lorie.  She came in town and we had a blast going out for a girls' night out right here in Pelham.  If you haven't been by Tyler Navarre's, you should check it out.  It's a fun li'l place. Here we are (from L-R Lorie, Jenny and me pulling our best "Cheeeese")

Rob has had a great Spring! He is still loving his 4K program at school.  But recently he got to play hookie so he could attend a very exciting event: He went with his Mimi and Rocky to Talladega so Rocky and their next door neighbor could do the Dale Jarrett Driving Experience.  Rob also got to do the coveted "Gentlemen, Start Your Engines" call!

I am getting really busy with upcoming Relay For Life of North Shelby.  This charity and this event has captured my heart.  Yes, I have watched friends and loved ones become Survivors and I have also lost friends and loved ones too soon.  But there is just something so powerfully hopeful and so emotionally moving about the whole Relay experience.  Our Relay will be at Pelham High School on Friday, May 20th at 6:00 PM.  I am the Ceremonies Chairperson which -- if you ask me -- is the, ahem, most important.job.ever.  Nah, I'm just giving a selfish plug there.  But I am the one responsible for writing the night's ceremonies and scripts and coordinating with the Entertainment Chair for speakers, emcees, etc.  In addition to my role on the committee, I have been raising funds for my own team.  We recently sold knockout roses as living memorials.

I would be so honored if you would take the time to go here to check out my team's page.  If you find it in your heart to donate, remember it is tax deductible.  You can even use your debit/credit card and securely donate online here.

Rob has been playing his 2nd season of T-Ball.  We have a totally new team this year.  It is wild that Rob is considered a "veteran" but I can tell he has so much more confidence in the batter's box and just overall.  It may help that Rob's daddy is our Head Coach, too!  I have no pictures loaded right now, so I sense a separate post solely T-Ball related coming soon!

I've been squeezing in family time whenever possible! Squeezies!  Love you Laura Jean!

Wow, the above is a rough shot of me!

Ahh.  That's much, much better!  'Cause, you know...it's all about me, right?

Lastly, we have realized that Miss Caroline is quite the Miss Priss!  She is a hot mess, I'm tellin' ya!  Don't believe me?  Well...

...believe me now?

...or now?

Well, I guess that is it for now.  I am so very lazy sorry for the Radio Silence.  Hey, how did that error get in my sentence?  Anyhoo, hopefully I am back.  I have been following all of you religously.  Reading my blog family pages is definitely a guildy pleasure of mine that I cannot give up.  I'll try to be returning the favor more often!

What's More Springy Than a Trip to the Zoo?

Hiya folks!  Are you as excited about the Spring thaw as I am?  When I woke up this morning, the day's outlook was leisurely.  As I was getting ready for church, my wonderful Sister-In-Law called asking if we wanted to take an afternoon trip to the zoo. Well, I'll just say she needn't ask me twice!

HOLLA!!!

So, Kristy and Josh joined Rob, Caroline and me at The Birmingham Zoo.  I know there are waaaay better zoos out there.  As someone who loves to visit a zoo, I plan to see a couple of the "great ones" before I complete my bucket list.  But I am so proud to be a resident of the 'Ham (okay a ham-suburb) so I just love TBZ!

Apparently, so do the kiddos!

The Bham Zoo is proudly hyping up the upcoming grand opening of their new Trails of Africa exhibit.  It has been years since TBZ has had an elephant.  New waterfalls and wading ponds, as well as a 14-acre recreational area, will welcome the pachyderm.  For now you can just enjoy this:

Can I get a "What, What"?  Can I get a "Roll Tide"?

One of my favorite areas is the Social Animals (i.e. the Monkeys and Primates).  They did not disappoint us today.  In fact, the male gorilla was very active.  He was just walking back and forth, posing for pictures, etc.

At one point, I asked Rob to say "cheese".  This is the face I got instead:

I think he likes the monkeys, too!

Because the Zoo's layout doesn't exactly follow the layout of God's great earth, right across from the Savannah is the Middle East.  Once we saw this:

...we decided the boys simply had to do this:

Fun times!

The Zoo recently lost its beautiful white tiger.  It does still have lions and a Bengal tiger.  I'm a little worried about the tiger.  He looked so thin.  Someone throw that cat a nice steak!

Rob, who loves Madagascar, was super excited because first we saw Alex (the lion).  We had previously seen Gloria (an unphotographed hippopotamus) and Melman (the giraffe).  Once we rounded a corner, here was Marty!

Awesome! 

Have I mentioned how much fun Caroline was having? The day was almost done; however, no trip to the zoo would be complete without this:

Train Time!

On our way out, we passed a large gaggle of gorgeous flamingos.  Question: do they really, always prefer standing on one leg?  Looking back to my cheerleading days, they reminded me of bright pink liberty-performing gals.  Gosh, that standing leg must have a strong quadricep!

Okay, that's all for now.  I had a great time.  Hopefully you will take the time to support your local zoo.  They are great educational outlets.  Many of the species are endangered and are treated wonderfully so that our children's children will be able to observe them for years to come.

Under The Big Top

Ladies and Gentlemen...Children of All Ages...The Morris and Jones Families went to The Greatest Show On Earth Today!  It was great!

The excitement was bubbling over before we could leave the house.

Like what Caroline is wearing?  You can read all about it here.

Alright, so we left super early for the circus in order to attend the Pre-Show Meet and Greet.  Too bad we didn't realize all 10,000 other circus attendees would have the same idea!  Both Rob and Caroline got hit with severe sensory overload as soon as we got there.  However, we did manage to have one quick meet and a very brief greet before taking our seats.

I love, love, luuuurve this picture above.  Rob is the best. brother. ever...

I'm not scared of clowns and I usually don't understand how/why some people are.  But you should know the whole time we were sitting with this guy, he never spoke a word.  His smile changed sizes and his lips would open and close, yet not one word.  Freaky?  I think so...

I mean, must it be completely impossible to take a normal-looking picture with the 2 most beautiful children born?  Neither can sit still and look happy simultaneously.

Speaking of beautiful children, my nieces, Lauren and Micah arrived shortly before showtime.  Okay, Micah is going through this phase where she doesn't want her picture made.  So you will have to trust me when I say she, too, has natural beauty.  But her love for cotton candy is as close as a smile as I would get today.

Caroline was awestruck and Rob, though I didn't take a picture, literally sat on the edge of his seat the entire time!

I wasn't sure how well my pictures of the actual circus would turn out.  I simply haaaadddd to snap a picture when they shot a burning man from a human-sized cannon thingy. 

And the elephants may be my favorite part of the circus always!

Not sure what Caroline's favorite part of the circus would be, but she will certainly "dream" of this day for a while...Ha! Yep, she fell asleep shortly before intermission.  Good thing she didn't require a ticket, huh?

Well, this year's circus has come and gone.  Looks like the kiddos had fun:

Lots and lots of fun:

Once more with feeling, peeps:

...aaaaaaaaand we're outta here!  That's all the ado this family Bobby can stand for one day!