Alabama Trip Day 5 - Monday

Our drive home from Alabama was a long one.  We spent the night with Gran on Sunday to be able to get a head start on the drive.  It is further south than my parent's house so it would help with the timing.  But - it was storming.  A lot.  We got up later than we meant too. 
By the time that we were up, had baths, and had the car packed, it was about noon.  Then the storm sirens started to go off so we delayed a little to see how the weather looked.  I had mentioned to Taft that we needed to stop and buy mayonnaise on the way home.  When I got him in his car seat, I asked him where we were going.  I thought that he would say, "home" or "to see daddy", but he said, "to buy mayonnaise".  This is only important if you know my love of Bama brand Mayo.  I can't buy it in Florida so I stock up when I get home and have people bring it to me when they visit. 
Taft and I didn't get to Columbus, GA, until around 2 pm.
We stopped at Wal*Mart in Phenix City for mayo and then to get some lunch at a drive thru.  The drive was not too bad even though it rained almost the entire time.  I kept the radio on local stations and every county that we went into was under a storm and/or tornado warning.  It was a little crazy.
We did stop at the little store between Columbus, GA, and Albany, GA.  The Merritt Pecan Company has homemade jerky and lots of pecan candy and pecan logs.  Plus - they have very clean bathrooms and gas.  Taft and I stopped on the way in and out of town. 

It was after dark when we got to Florida and Taft was tired.  So was I.  We called Daddy when we got to Jacksonville, FL, so that he could order us some pizza for dinner and have it ready for us.  Taft was very excited to see his daddy and tell him all about his trip.  He wanted to show him all his new toys, clothes, and shoes, and talked about the fun he had until he fell asleep.

Alabama Day 4 - Sunday

Yes - another post that I have had started but not finished.....

Sunday was our last day in Heflin.  We all had breakfast together and then Taft took some photos with his family to use in his collage at school.  Here are just a few...

 Taft with Uncle Patrick (my brother) and his new wife, Aunt Lori.  Taft really loved Uncle Pack.

 Taft and Mawmaw Geneva (my grandmother)

 Taft and Shemar.  Aunt Kristi's cat that is living with Mawmaw.

 Mallory and Travis with Shemar.

 Taft and Mawmaw (my mother)

 Taft and Pawpaw (my daddy) and Bit Bit, I think.

 Aunt Kristi (my sister), Taft and Mallory

Taft wanted to get his picture made with Pawpaw's car aka Lightning McQueen.

Taft completely fell in love with a weed eater toy at Mawmaw and Pawpaw's.  Pawpaw gave it to Taft and brought it out the car for us.  Taft was so happy that he held it all the way to Gran's house.  He even held it as he slept in the car.

When we got to Gran's, it was dinner time.  Mrs. Betty came to eat with us.  She is one of Gran's friends and the mother of Shane's best friend from school.  We always love to see Mrs. Betty.  We also ate with Scott, Izzy, Evan, and Jenna.  Aunt Chelsea wasn't feeling well and didn't get the house until later.

I can't believe that I didn't get anymore pictures at Gran's house.  Taft had a ball!  He loved Jenna's new fish and wanted to kiss the tank.  He also loved her new hamster (or mouse as he called it) and loved for me to get it out of the cage and let him kiss it too.

We also go to spend some time with Aunt Chelsea.  Her and Scott got married in March but since we had not been to Alabama in a year (gasp) we had not gotten the chance to meet her yet.  Hopefully we will get to stay longer the next trip and get to know her a little better.

Alabama Trip Day 3 - Saturday

On Saturday, we were awaken before 8 by Mallory to let us know that breakfast was almost ready.  We ate breakfast each day at my parents house with the entire family.  Taft and I went over in our pj's.  Uncle Pack was dressed and said that he would take Taft for a 4 wheeler ride before he and Lori left for the day.  I wondered how Taft would do this time.  He got right on and told me by.  They took a nice long ride and Taft loved it.  Later when we got dressed, he wanted to wear his camo shorts because they were just like Pack's.
Then we got ready to go shopping with Mawmaw, Kristi, and Mallory.  We went to a big Thrift Store in Oxford and to Kohl's.  Mawmaw got Taft 8 new shirts and a pair of shoes.  Now he just needs pants to get started for fall.  We also go lunch at Arby's.  "Roast Beast" is a favorite of Taft's.
By the time we got to Mawmaw Geneva's, it was time for a nap.  Taft and I laid down in bed but didn't get a lot of sleeping done.  Shamar kept wanting to sleep with us and could not be still.  I knew then that we had to lock him out for the night.
When we got up, Pawpaw was cooking dinner.  He did tuna steaks on the grill, salmon, and shrimp.  He also did pork chops for Mother since she is not a fan of seafood.  It was delicious.  We also had garlic bread and potatoes.  Pawpaw and Mawmaw had gone to the Fruithurst Winery while Taft and I napped.  We tried the strawberry wine, blackberry wine, and muscadine wine.  All were very good, but I loved the strawberry.
After dinner was over, Mawmaw took Taft and I for a ride on the Rhino out in the pasture.  Taft loved it since it was starting to get dark and he could see the moon.  He also thought that we were going very fast.
Somehow, I didn't take any photos on Saturday.