Bama 08

So, I typed up this long elaborate post updating about our trip to Alabama over Spring Break last week...but decided against posting it. I was having one of those "deep thoughts with Jamie" moments and later decided it was a little mushy. That bugs me a bit. I use to blog as if no one were watching (well, almost) but lately I'm a little hung up on whether or not some topics are too personal for the likes of the bloggosphere, which seems to be VERY counter-bloggy.
I'm still sorting this one out.

What a week this Urben family has had. We made the trip to Alabama for the kiddos spring break last Saturday. The drive was fairly uneventful. Dogs and children behaved, and once again we are dumbstruck trying to figure out how four dogs and two kids can travel 13 hours in such a small space and not drive our sanity completely out the window. Knock on wood.
We arrived in Alabama just in time to watch the magic of Spring unfold. As we left home, and headed North, it was as if we were winding back the clock and actually watching the progression of Spring occur. At home, the trees had already bloomed, and moved on to budding new leaves, however, by the time we arrived in Alabama, we discovered that the blooming had just occurred. Wild pear trees, with their full white blooms covered the rolling hills and decorated the path to Granny Frannies, almost as if they paved the trail just for us. They were gorgeous scattered amongst the deep green pines. Just gorgeous.
And the birds! They were JUST amazing! Grannie Frannie and Papa Jack love, love, love their birds. They have several different types of bird feeders, filled with all sorts of yummy bird treats. I'll tell ya, if I were a bird, this would be my heaven. Their feathers looked as though mother nature had painted an entirely new fresh coat of birdie feather paint just to compliment the growth of the new season. I don't know a lot about birds but I assume their bright feathers are new growth and somehow serve them during mating season. Speaking of mating season, the ducks were also in full swing, busy as ever, poor females! The males are RUTHLESS I tell ya, RUTHLESS! On more than one day, Papa Jack took the kiddos hunting for duck eggs throughout the property, where they found enough eggs to feed an army. This made for great Easter conversation on our drive home.

Despite our three trips to Urgent Care to treat a non-broken toe, two fractured ribs and upper respiratory virus, we all really, really enjoyed our time in Alabama. We were thankful to be able to spend a little time with Mark's grandma, who isn't doing well, and is showing signs of the end stages of Alzheimers. Watching Mark spend time with his grandma was so, so special to me, as I'm sure it was for him as well. And because of Mark's current work situation, we decided that he should stay behind to help his mom care for his grandma for a few weeks. She has her hands full, and could certainly use the help, not to mention the emotional support.
Our week in Alabama was incredibly relaxing and we were no where near ready to leave come Saturday morning.

I will update with pictures as soon as humany possible.