Bongo's Place

Day at the Museum

2007-08-28T21:05:00.000-07:00

B had a rare day off during the week, so we took a short road trip to Birmingham to a kids museum. They were hosting a Bob the Builder exhibit, and we had been repeatedly asked when we could go see him and his crew. The musem is all hands-on, there are 3 stories- it is huge and a lot of fun. M really is interested in weather now, so this water vapor cyclone held his interest for a long time. E had a great time just wandering around touching everything she could- it must have been a refreshing change to her to be someplace she could actually touch stuff! B & I had fun playing, too. B tried this cycle that is suspended in the air, the counter-balance keeps you from flipping over. (he was the only one into this!) After we were played-out we went to the Whistle Stop cafe for lunch. This is the cafe the Fried Green Tomatoes book & movie were based on. We all love their food. It is a great place for southern fare- the dessert we all love is chocolate chip pecan pie. A great part of eating there is that you sit in the window and watch the trains go by. Mostly freight trains go thru, but sometimes we get lucky as see the Amtrak Crescent en route to New Orleans. It was a lovely day, we all enjoyed a change of pace and seeing the sights.

Bowling Team

2007-08-28T20:31:00.000-07:00

I am very behind in blogging. A few weeks out of town in July and 15 plus days of truly uninspiring 100+ degree days have kept me less than motivated to sit and write. Now that it is downright fallish-- in the 90's I am feeling a skip in my step and am once again ready to share some details from our summer.
We were looking for something different (and air conditioned) to do on a Saturday night when we thought about bowling. We can walk to the alley in less than 5 minutes. M seemed very eager to go try it so we headed over and got set up on the lanes. It is all computer controlled- once you had put the names in and indicated that M is a child, the bumpers automatically popped up during his turn. He was delighted to pick out his own ball and to get a pair of really snazzy shoes :-). He was a good sport and finished the whole game. It was a lot of fun. M nearly beat his dad- and he did beat me! We celebrated our game and M's natural skills as a bowler with beer and pizza (maybe a little lemonade, too.) E did great just hanging out. She was definitely along for the pizza! I can tell she is ready for her turn at bowling in the near future. We are busily designing bowling shirts for our team when that day comes.

Beach babies, Beach babies...

2007-06-23T09:07:00.001-07:00

B's choice for how to spend father's day was to drive to Florida to buy lottery tickets. (this is not the first time we have driven a long way to buy lottery tickets- ;-) So, we decided to make a day of it and brought along swimsuits and plans to go to a great place called Lamberts for dinner. We headed out and had a great, smooth drive (3 .5 hrs) down to Perdido, Fl - this was the closest gas station to the Alamaba state line -so that we could buy the lucky tickets. Then we headed back to Gulf Shores, AL and found a beautiful public beach near a boat harbor/inlet. We got out and spent a good twenty minutes getting all sunscreened-up, into swimsuits, and gathering up our beach gear to head to the water. Before we left the van, we realized that there was no place to shower when we were done playing, so we loaded up and moved to another spot where I got the van stuck in the sand-oops! With a little luck and a few boards B was able to maneuver us out. Then we decided this was just not the place for us so we drove down the road to the state park beach-- and finally got down to the water. M and E both had a great time in the water, playing in the sand and looking for shells. E was interested in tasting the sand and licking the salt water off my shoulder. She was getting the full beach experience! It was a gorgeous, warm and sunny day and the water couldn't have been better. I had serious bathing suit malfunctions- because typically my swimsuit never sees any waves! And during that B sat on the beach trying out his action mode on the camera where he took about 50 shots of me and M as my suit as misbehaving and I was stuck in the water with M till I could fix it. Needless to say, it was not near as funny to me as it was to B! After all the fun we showered off and headed for a nice meal at Lamberts (http://www.throwedrolls.com/) where they throw tasty rolls across the room for you to catch. Sounds weird, but the food is good, the kids love it and it is fun. After dinner we were off for another long ride home. Everybody was worn out, but we had a super time-even with the hiccups here and there. When we got home B said he really enjoyed himself and his Father's Day adventure, he felt like he'd had a little vacation.

Tales from a Korean Restaurant

2007-06-11T07:32:00.000-07:00

I will first say I have not felt well the past week, a cold, ear infection, etc. Just not up to snuff. That said, I may not have been up to any adventurous eating to begin with. I am afraid that even on a great day I still may not have been up to this. We typically eat at home all week then eat out once on Sat and Sun. I definitely look forward to the cooking break and to some good food. Saturday B says to me "I am ready for something interesting to eat. I want Indian food or Korean food this weekend" I took a pass on Sat, but he persisted Sun, so we drove to the local Korean place- it looked closed, but alas it was open. We went in and I still was feeling a bit-um-uncertain? The only experience with Korean food I have had was at Dayton, Oh where B and I chose to eat for a date night. On that occaision I chose noodles, the "safe bet" and when they arrived they were STRANGE, chewy and gray, and to be indelicate- reminded me of brain? So, needless to say I had good reason to be apprehensive during yesterday's visit. We get the babes situated and then take a peek at the menu which has photos beside every entree. As I browse the menu I spot beef, pork, chicken, GOAT!!!!, beef entrails, OX tail, fish cakes, etc. Hmmmmmmmmm, so B gets a bbq pork and I choose the "safe" chicken bbq dish. The meals are accompanied by 6 side dishes- 2 kim chee, boiled peanuts?, sprouts, fish cakes, odd cucumbers --red in a marinade. E is begging for a taste, (since she lives to eat as you can see in above photo- & B doesn't believe in bibs!) I gave her a taste of the odd cuc which she promptly spits out. Fortunately, she is pacified by frosted mini-wheats and water since everything else was SPICY! Meanwhile M could care less about food because he has chopsticks which delight him, not for eating, but for being a walrus, alien, spear fisherman, etc with. The entrees arrive and mine is suprisingly plain chicken with steamed rice. Phew! I was glad to see it. B on the other hand had a big-ole plate of spicy red colored meat- we hope was pork. (I kept worrying that by some terrible kitchen mixup it was bbq goat!) He ate it all and as we left he said it was interesting-- BUT WE NEVER HAVE TO GO BACK. So, I guess he fulfilled his wishes for his interesting meal. Unfortunately, he spent the rest of yesterday alternating between pepto bismal and pepcid ac! I guess next weekend we are off to the Indian Palace. At least I know they have great bread there :-).

Soccer Star!

2007-06-11T06:51:00.000-07:00

I spent last week getting a taste of the soccer mom's life. M was incredibly enthusiastic about being signed up for soccer camp. The first day he and his pal C were the only two there for the late class, so they got a lot of 1 on 1 attention from British Coach David. The rest of the week was spent with the early class filled with 3-5 year olds. One teammate was Max's gal-pal from Mom's day out. They spent a lot of time sitting together on their soccer balls chatting and watching grasshoppers. The coach had more patience than I thought was possible for a human to have, because watching this group learn games and soccer skills truly gave meaning to the phrase "it was like herding cats." M had trouble learning to tap the ball with his foot rather than kick it with all his might. B & I always kick hard when we play kick ball with M, so it took about three days for him to figure out it was ok to tap it. Also, you are not supposed to use your hands on the ball. You can tag it with your feet, head, stomach or elbow. I could always tell when M was getting tired or frustrated, he would always pick up his ball and walk away. He loves his special small ball, he even slept with it last week. On the last day they played a game Cougars vs. Jaguars (with a little help from the dads) with the Jags pulling out a victory 2 -1. (M was a cougar) Then we took a team pic and the kids were presented with their team shirts. It was fun, but with the hot weather, I am glad we are finished with being out on the field every day! Our neighbors hosted the coaches at their home for the week, and we had them all to dinner Friday night. That night at dinner M told his coach that he loved soccer. We drove by the soccer fields today and M asked where the coaches were because he wanted to play. I think it was a hit for M overall. (even though his favorite part may have been the popsicle breaks!)

Kids

2007-05-23T18:44:00.000-07:00

Since the Wishful Knitter seems to be my one and only regular reader, I am going to just show pics of my bambinos. And say they keep us entertained constantly! B was putting M to bed and M said" Daddy, your air stinks." B said "My breath?" M said, "yes Daddy, your air stinks like a dragon, you could burn stuff with it" B laughed and shared that with me when he was done. The kid pics below are from our two trips in May. You can see how dirty they and the car seats are, in the first pic L-dawg is in the center bent down vaccuming crumbs as we drive along. Well, that's all for now. I hope to be more inspired next time with some great nuggets of wisdom to share.

Fun in the sun (and dark)

2007-05-16T06:41:00.000-07:00

I am a bit behind in posting after two weeks out of pocket. So, I thought I would do a bit of catch up. I have added a few pics of a day we spent with a couple of friends at DeSoto caverns in Childersburg, Alabama 2 1/2 wks ago. Childersburg is the oldest continuous settlement in the US- and one of the prettiest parts of AL I've seen. The caverns have all kinds of outdoor entertainment for the kids. So, M had a ball exploring with his pal! The part that was the least favorite of the day was the "total darkness" bit that all cavern tours include :-). It almost turned us off the idea of touring it completely. But, once the lighs were back on it was OK and we enjoyed the stroll and sightseeing. It was a great time. We intended for the kids not to get soaking wet in the fountain, but you can see how well that worked out!

M & E keep changing everyday. E is getting around so well, she is a very steady walker. M gets funnier everyday, his observations astound me & the kid's great memory surprises me as well! It is fun watching them grow. Next entry I will add some pics from our trips to share the fun we had.

Saturday Night Fev-a

2007-04-21T20:26:00.000-07:00

Ah, the weekend. How we look forward to them. Today found us searching for a masculine looking statue for B's office. His squadron mascot is the guardians and they have this VERY feminine Romanesque statue. They are slated to be planted into the courtyard and B was adamant that this little guy NOT represent them. So, off we went to Northern Prattville searching for some warrior/guardian type thing with the look we are going for. But, anyone who has been to concrete decoration stores knows that most of their sales are for homes and gardens. And, as a result, the statues are fairly gentle. I told him if he would just choose Rabbits, Turtles, or Angels for a mascot we would be golden! Even the nude mermaid (because I knew if she was the mascot it would be the most popular squadron) would be a quick fix. But, no, B insists he has to stick with a guardian. So we are still searching. So if anyone sees tough and angry looking warrior statues, drop us a line! M & E rather enjoyed strolling through the concrete place- and Moma LOVED being in a store where nothing could break!!! Then, tonight, we met our pal Mr. K for dinner at an Italian place. They didn't have a high chair for E, so it was like having dinner with a hungry, wiggly cat on my lap. Of course, I ordered something with red sauce and as she wiggled and danced in my lap she smeared it all over the two of us. I was glad to finish that meal. Then we all loaded up and headed to show our pal the bamboo forest. M's highlight was that we heard a hoot-owl in the woods. We had tired out kids when we got home- yipppeee!--that is always our goal! :-) (((BTW- Yes, wishful knitter, of course I know who you are!!!! Thanks for the comments.))))

Visting Family

2007-04-19T19:09:00.000-07:00

We are just now getting back in to our old routine after a fun trip to visit family. Being with everyone last week just reminded us again how much we miss being near family and friends. The kids adored all of the attention lavished upon them. M especially had a great time with his cousin and the Barbie jeep! He is still going around asking people if they know his cousin. While we were there we visited with friends, and celebrated at a Mexican resturant. We went to Hershey World -M's favorite place in the world now, and just ran around having a great time the whole week. (we don't have any pics from Hershey because we were too busy eating chocolate and watching cows sing to bother with it).

Easter Fun

2007-04-17T20:21:00.000-07:00

We were in PA for the big Easter egg hunt and family get-together. We had a great time-- except for the cold weather. Nana hid hundreds of eggs and all of us had a ball hunting for them. There were a few hidden so well that we couldn't find them.

There were also four family member birthdays in April, so we had a birthday party with a delicious chocolate cake to celebrate!

First Blog Ever

2007-03-26T19:30:00.000-07:00

Well, since keeping up with everyone is harder than we would like, we thought blogging might be a fun thing to try. We owe our friend Cindy the credit for getting us interested in doing this. (This is from March 26th-- it has taken me a while to actually post this one!) Today was a big day for B, his Change of Command ceremony was today. He is a Student Squadron Commander now, he is excited about the new job and nice office. The kids went along to the ceremony and did pretty well. We were seated in the front row and told to stand when the guidon (def. A small flag or pennant carried as a standard by a military unit) was presented to B. E was in my arms and began jumping up and down raising her arms and making lots of noise to get her Dad's attention. M was our miniature photographer, so there are about 20 pictures of the carpet and the Colonel that sat next to M got a pic taken of the side of his head. He took a terrific, although blurry, shot of his Dad smiling at him!