Alabama

I am lovin it!! Basically I am just lovin the warm weather and sunshine...boy does it boost moral.

I am really tired so I am just going to give you a quick rundown of events plus some pictures. The reason for coming down to AL was to see family. Had a good time visiting them and everyone is doing well.

The first thing we experienced was Alligator Alley. Yep, that is right, 2o0 alligators in one place. It was neat though. All the alligators live in a fenced yet natural swamp environment. Ryan must have really liked it because he told every person who we ran into (the hotel receptionist, people in the elevator, waitress at the restaurant) about holding an alligator.

Ryan and Kali (my cousins little girl) at Alligator Alley

Ry's favorite part, holding a baby alligator

On to playing with a python

I got in on the fun

Feeding of an adult alligator....yikes. Glad there is a fence between him and me.

We went to the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo too but it is a small little zoo. Ryan could feed some of the animals but most of the animals were being lazy so I didn't take many photos. I wanted to take Ryan Adventure Mini Golfing but that didn't happen because he didn't want to leave the beach.

Our family that we were visiting live a few miles from the coast but I had to take the opportunity to stay right on the beach. Ryan and I stayed in a hotel on the Gulf of Mexico. We literally walked out our door onto the beach. I don't know who enjoyed themselves more, me or Ry. We hung out on the beach for several hours every day and I still had to drag Ryan back to the room at supper time.

This is what Ryan did with the majority of his time on the beach. He would race waves into shore. He says his favorite part of the beach was when I took him out to deep water and the waves would knock him over. Just about knocked me over a couple time too.

Bad mom, I bribed Ryan into stopping at the Outlet Mall. I told him we could go to Lambert's (the place where they throw really yummy hot rolls across the room and you have to catch them) if we stopped at the mall first. I am so glad we stopped. I found rack after rack of $1.99, $2.99 and $5.99 clothes. Since Alabama's winter temps are long gone all their winter clothes were on major clearance. I bought Ryan a lot of clothing for next winter.

Sad to go back to cold Iowa weather but looking forward to being home again. We miss Ben too.

A weekend of Basketball **EDITED to add more info**

I never would have guessed that I would be watching 6 basketball games last weekend but I did.

My little cousin, Payton (and her family) traveled up to Ankeny from southern Missouri so she could play in a basketball tournament. Payton is on the Missouri Valley Magic basketball team. I knew Payton was a very talented athlete but she rocked this basketball tournament. It was really fun to watch her play.

Her team played two games on Saturday night, won a game and lost a game. Ryan and I both went to these games plus many family members. I think Ryan enjoyed watching a basketball game. Afterward, we all went out to eat and got to visit a little bit.

On Sunday, Payton's first game started at 8am, they would continue playing games until they lost. I woke up not feeling well but I knew I could make it through the 8am game so I headed back down to Ankeny. Well I didn't back home until 4pm. Her team won the 8am game, won the 10am game, won the 12pm game and were heading into the championship game at 2pm. Of course, I was not going home with all the excitement in the air. So glad I stayed......THEY WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME. It was an awesome nail-biting game too. Not only did Payton's team win the tournament, Payton received MVP of the tournament. I couldn't be more proud of that little girl. We had 22 family and friends attend her games throughout the weekend. She picked the perfect time to shine! Payton has the dedication and determination to be star, she is going to do big things in her life. I am privileged to be one of her biggest fans as she takes this journey.

Down the court with no one around

Family in the bleachers

Ryan and his great grandma

So Payton went home with a plaque and I went home sick. Still battling the bad headache and cough. Had a good weekend though.

***here is the newspaper article that was prepared*** A much more elegant review compared to my mumbo jumbo.

Local 4th grader is MVP on State Championship Missouri Valley Magic basketball team

* - removed last names

Ten-year-old Payton * (front row far right #4), daughter of Pat and Jeff * of West Plains, Mo., is a member of the Missouri Valley Magic, an AAU club based in Springfield, Mo. The girls on the team are from all over south west Missouri. Payton is a shooting guard on the team that won the Iowa State Championship 4th Grade tournament in Des Moines, Iowa the weekend of February 28 and March 1. They played two games on Saturday and four games on Sunday winning the Championship game 35-32 on a last second three point shot against the two-time defending Iowa State Champions. During the tournament, Payton was the team’s leading scorer and lead the tournament in steals. She was voted the Most Valuable Player and to the All Tournament Team by the opposing coaches. The Magic will play about 65 games this year over the central United States with the goal of qualifying for the National Championship tournament in June. Payton is a 4th grade student at West Plains Elementary. Pat * and Jeff * were both raised in and around Washington and graduated from Washington High School. Payton’s Grandparents include Eileen and Harold * of Washington and Sue and John * of Brighton.