Here's a tip - if you don't like crowds, don't go to the zoo on Memorial Day weekend. Sunday morning, we me Gram & Pop, Chris & Ellen, and Ann, Alexa & Clara at the zoo. It was so crowded and hot that the others only saw about a quarter of the exhibits before leaving. After lunch, Maria and I decided that we had driven too far to not try to at least see some monkeys. We ended up seeing probably more than half of the exhibits, but the combination of fighting crowds, the heat, and covering the vastness of the zoo left us all in need of a nap.
Saturday night we joined up with the rest of my family to eat (and drink) at Carolina Brewery & Grill. We had a good time and Chris picked up some beer to go with our Memorial Day cookout.
On Friday, we all went to the Natural Science Center then to eat at Kabuto's. I wans't able to join everyone until I got off work, but I managed to get some pictures of everyone at the Natural Science Center.
My brother Chris brought his daughter Ellen down to visit. My Aunt Terry came down with them also. The main reason for their trip was to visit with my sister and her girls before they ship off to Okinawa for three years. Autumn, Alexa, and Ellen have been having a blast together. They play together like friends who are around eachother much more than they actually are. Here area few pictures of them and one cheesey one of Chris.
Noah has a special affinity for his grandfather. Perhaps it is Pop’s similar mellow personality that Noah is attracted to. For whatever the reason, Noah has always been comfortable with Pop even though it takes Noah time to warm up to anyone else.
These pictures were taken after their last game. It was quite a season and every one of these kids showed dramatic improvement. I'm so proud of Autumn and the rest of the Kickers!