February Made Me Shiver...

So what went on around the Junkin house in February...Finishing up a fun basketball season.  By the end of the season, Sam and Davis' team was down to just 5 players, so they got more playing time than they were ready for.  Davis had a fun game of 2 backcourts in one game when he took off for the basket that looked like it was wide open.  Sam had 6 points in the first quarter of the last game, and we were hoping for a breakout game, but it stopped dropping in.  And I picked up a large crowd from church for their final game at the community center on a Wednesday night...

AHG was busy with an awards ceremony and badge work.  Our explorers working on the "Living in the USA" badge, and learned alot about the state of Alabama.  All the girls were "excited" to sing the state song of Alabama with me.  We were also doing some prep and planning for the Bonfire, and they thought it was super funny that my old man bones kept popping during class, and then even funnier when we were playing charades and Avianna drew the word OLD from the pile.  Her first thought on how to describe this word was to point at me, and Anabelle (sweet daughter of mine), her first guess was OLD.  Yep, they seemed to think this was quite funny...

The girls at church are learning some wonderful leadership skills and how to help around the church...

I got to spend the day with Bella while they were down visiting, and after an adventure to the gift closet, we picked out some Sofia friends to play with.  I loved getting some time with that sweet girl, and loved every laugh I got when I could not remember clover's name, just kept calling him thumper...

The youth group all went to watch American Underdog about Kurt Warner together.  I don't know if they liked it as much as I did, but they enjoyed being together...

Ruby got two more of her teeth pulled in a very traumatic dentist visit with shots.  Then the next morning with a sad face because the tooth fairy had forgotten yet again.  But the following day, the tooth fairy brought extra dollars for her being 8 years, and the dollars were folded in the shape of hearts.  So this made Ruby much happier, and we wondered together about if the tooth fairy could have gotten COVID, or just maybe was a boy fairy and forgetful, or just had a busy night.  I would go with option 2 if I were guessing...

I was excited to visit with Ruby for lunch at school, and we had planned a time together for about a week and a half.  I also remembered to pick up some McDonalds on the way to school, with a fun happy meal.  Then the office lady told me they were not yet letting parents eat with the children since the latest Omicron variant COVID issues.  So I went back to my car sad...then I thought...I guess I could just check her out, and we did, and had some fun daddy ruby time at the old park we used to go to often.  We had some obstacle courses we were running and seeing who could be faster.  She always won because I just can't get thru those tunnels like I used to.  At one point of our obstacle she told me "You can start higher up on the third step because you are old".  Oh well, Anabelle 1 and Ruby 1 this month...

Fun times on Facetime with Eloise...Fun times with Ms. Lisa at her 40th Birthday Party...Fun times with Ivy singing "Do you want to build a snowman"...Valentines day surprises for the grandparents, and a visit to Bellinis for me and Magan...Magan spending some time with cutie girls while Shay and Katie shop...a return to frisbee golf...And while I did not get a picture, Ruby showed me her "safety bag" full of first aid needs she takes to school each day, and shared with me an idea of making her backpack into a heater cooler with buttons she could push depending on the weather in the morning...

Sam's College Hunt - UAH

Our first college visit was really fun.  Sam and I traveled up to UAH in Huntsville during a campus event for potential students.  It was an early morning leaving the house before 6am, and our tour began around 9am that morning.  Luckily it was not raining, but it was a lot colder than Sam and I were thinking, and neither of us were thinking that the tour would be mainly outside.  Really cool small campus 1 mile from the Space and Rocket Center, and surrounded by every engineering super power in the country.  He would be close to Uncle Marcus, close to Uncle John, and could be at Granny's for supper during the week.  A lot of pros that we talked about on our drive back home.   

We also got the opportunity to walk around some booths for the different schools on campus.  He was able to talk with some students in Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering, and Electronic Engineering.  And the cool thing to me is the cooping opportunities that are right in Huntsville, so he could stay on campus for work.  We added this to the list of perks.  It was also fun to pick up some swag while we were here...he scored 2 UAH t-shirts, and I got 1...and some knick knacks for the sisters.  

On our campus tour, we went to one of the residence halls, and saw the living quarters.  And he would have his own room, which was nice, and I am sure they had the show room on the 6th floor because of the cool view of the Saturn V rocket visible from the window.  But as a Dad that would be paying for this, I started being overwhelmed at college in general.  For some reason, my mind had not started processing costs above and beyond tuition...so when I heard $4700 for housing I was blown away, then they said per semester, and ... well, I think that was when Sam helped me up to my feet.  

Later we enjoyed the all you can eat cafeteria, which was really nice and me and sam ate way too much.  I went to get just some bacon for a waffle and the lady thru like 12 pieces of bacon on the plate.  No way I can eat that much, but then it was gone, and I probably could have eaten another slice or two.  Sam got to chat with some of the students that sat at our table here as well, which was fun.  Then later we found out about the required $1700 meal plan and I was blown away, then they said per semester, and ... well, I think that was when Sam helped me up to my feet again.  

After lunch, we ran through the rain back to the "Union" and watched a slide show from a student on the benefits of UAH.  Really good presentation, and hit alot of the highlights Sam and I had already spoken about.  But I was disappointed there was no hype video.  That to me should be key in a prospective student tour.  I remember my Mississippi State tour where the key message was "And we beat Alabama last year".  

And on our own, we went over to the Mechanical Engineering Building and gave ourselves a tour, which was pretty neat.  The Engineering Building was somewhat separate from the rest of the campus, but still a short walk away.  And when you are this close to the Space and Rocket Center, and your dad is a space nerd, then you at least have to go into the gift shop, and that was all we did, but we can say we went there now.  

Aladdin Jr - A Whole New World in Hartselle

It was great getting to see our family perform at the Aladdin Jr Play up in Hartselle.  Marcia did an excellent job directing the play, and I captured a few pics of her with the official director headset.  She called in all the audibles for any play changes.  I think we all looked for the old guy with a deep voice behind the curtain when Eli starting singing his portion.  And Stella and Addy did great with all of their scenes as well.  And I will have to admit that I had forgotten Sylus was in college, so I thought he was Jafar for most of this play, ok all of it until he did not come and talk with any of our family afterwards.  

We did get to enjoy a wonderful meal at Cracker Barrel afterwards with most of the family.  I loved getting to see Marcus at a table full of girls, as he kept talking about how much he loved playing with dolls, I figured this must have been what it was like as he was growing up.  And Happy Birthday to Emily who got like the hugest piece of chocolate cake I have ever seen as a free dessert...or maybe it wasn't free...but if it was...I know where I am going on my birthday.