Our Venture to Bama

Over the weekend, Greg, Tyson and I went to visit my brother, Court, in Alabama where he is serving his mission. (Yes, we got approval from President Tate). He is currently serving in Athens, AL--a 9 1/2 hour drive from Jacksonville. Greg was a little reluctant to make the drive, but Tyson and I convinced him that we'd have a fun trip--AND WE DID!

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We left Thursday night, and made it to Atlanta, GA. It worked out fabulously, as Tyson slept the entire time (almost 5 hours). We checked into our hotel, and crashed. Friday morning we got up and cruised over to the Atlanta Aquarium to see the infamous whale shark. YEA! That was exciting---for Greg. Just kidding.. We all had a nice time.

Once we were gassed and fed, we continued on to Birmingham, AL, which is just 1 hour south of Athens (our destination). We made it there in good time. Our hotel was in downtown Birmingham. This was the best hotel and best location (of the three we stayed in for this little trip)--and it was the cheapest--Thanks Priceline! We stayed at a Marriott that was located in this cool brick building that was connected to the hospital across the street, among other business buildings. My brother said that lots of the buildings are like that (in downtown) so that when/if a hurricane comes, people can still get around in the city. My question is, Would you really want to?? I would be wanting to get home. I wonder if they have tunnels that connect homes to the workplace??? Anywho... Once Tyson was in bed, Greg and I hung out in bed and watched The Devil Wears Prada, while feasting upon Quedoba's chips & queso. It was my favorite night of the trip. Greg thinks it's hilarious that such an uneventful time was my favorite part of the trip. What can I say, I am an easy girl to please.

(This picture was taken while it was still completely dark in our room. I heard Tyson stirring, not hard to do as he was right next to me, and I wanted to get a picture of his little bed. Poor thing, though, as the flash of my camera was probably not what he was expecting. This is how he and I slept every night at the hotels... I was in HEAVEN! He was in pillow prison :P)

Finally, the big day. On Saturday morning we got up and excitedly made the drive to Athens. We found Elder Zulauf's apartment and very sneakily dropped Tyson off on the doorstep with a big chocolate Hershey's Kiss, and hid. Court saw Tyson, smiled, picked him up and took him inside. It was cute... Greg and I followed quickly behind. We took Court and his companion, Elder Larsen, to lunch. We only visited for a couple hours, but it was worth the drive. Court is doing great and my eyes were opened a little more to mission life. Here are some pictures from our visit with our Elder.

Here are the two most handsome boys ever! TyTy and Uncle Courty.

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Here is my boy with Uncle CJ's badge on and his reading glasses... Doesn't he look 'special'

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Tyson begged us to let him sit on Court's bike--the Liahona. So, of course, we obliged.

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Doesn't he look great! We loved our quick little visit with Court. He is doing soo good...

After our visit we headed back home... sadly. One plus, however, was that our hotel finally had an outside pool. So when we arrived, we took a swim. Now, as you know, our boy is very experienced with the salt water--and we are happy to report that he LOVES chlorinated water as well. This was Tyson's first venture in the pool. He loved it.

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Because of the fat to muscle ratio on our little bubby, Tyson Floats [very easily]!

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And here we are--- Doesn't that face say,"Fun Trip"??