The day Teresa broke the bank

You may have read in the Daily Mountain Eagle about the car crashing into the front of Regions Bank. Much to Teresa's chagrin, they called her "an elderly woman". Yes, it was Teresa, my sister. Contrary to "speculation" she was not on drugs, drunk, nor did she have plans to rob the bank. It was an ACCIDENT. She left the road in front of Northside church ~ avoided a power pole ~ and the next thing she knew she was listening to the bank alarm. She called me and calmly asked me to come to the Mall because she had had an accident and hit a building. Silly me, I thought maybe she nicked the side of KMart or JCPenney. As you can see from the photos it was more than a nick. She took out the front of the bank! She wasn't seriously hurt ~ just a few bruises and soreness. Her car was not as lucky ~ it's totalled. We are thankful no one was hurt or killed ~ that's why we pay those insurance premiums, right? And the bank manager said they were in line for a little "face lift". Teresa just moved them up the list a bit.

She made it down the hill

and between a power pole and guide wire.

You can follow her path to the bank.
That doesn't look so bad, does it?
Just a little broken glass?

Until you see the night depository

and wall.

A pink umbrella.

Driver's side front

The grill

The lobby of the bank

More glass and metal

Passenger side front

I think the wire attached to the

bumper WAS an umbrella stand.

Pieces of the columns out front.

The front glass

must have exploded when she hit.

A day with Kim and the boys

What do you do when the skies look like this?

You hop in the car with Kim and the boys and head to Birmingham for a day of shopping. We went to The Summit, where I have never been but would recommend. I found a great purse but choked when I saw the price. ($450.00)

First stop.... the book store.

We went to Barnes and Noble where each of the boys picked a book. Kim let them take them in the next few stores where they would sit quietly and read while she and I looked at the merchandise. Very clever!

We stopped for lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. May I just say, "YUM!?" The boys enjoyed a banana shake and a mango smoothie with their meal but Kim and I opted for dessert.

My Tiramisu Cheesecake!

Kim's Red Velvet Cheesecake!
Yummy? OHHHHH YEAH!
Topher was under whelmed.
(he doesn't like cheesecake)

Mine was gooood to the last bite!

And the rains did come

I got WET while feeding the dogs.

The last of the photos

Sarah makes a notation on the 'fridge

while Claire works on the door.

Jennifer's kitchen door is covered in magnetic letters and words, which the girls arrange to their liking. Sarah is drawing on the board attached to the refrigerator. They keep Jennifer company when she is cooking.

One day Sarah wanted me to wear my hair in two ponytails like hers. I haven't worn my hair this way in a LONG time but we looked "cute" together.

What did we do before computers?
Looking for directions, Jennifer fired up the laptop. And to think I used to know how to FOLD a map! And I'm not above stopping to ASK directions.

Kim looks really cute with her new 'do

I think about cutting my hair from time to time but know I would probably NEVER let it get as long as it is now again. My girls all got hair cuts and they look sooooo good, it is tempting to follow their lead. For now, I am going to continue to pull it back, twist it up, braid it, bun it, whatever it takes to keep my hair long through the heat of the summer.

The Denver Children's Museum

Jennifer, Sarah, Claire and I went to the Denver Children's Museum. It was a celebration of sorts since Sarah just finished kindergarten and is now "technically" a first grader! It is a wonderful place with lots of hands on activities for children and their parents.

Jennifer and the girls attempted to build a helicopter. They pounded and sawed. They hammered and screwed. Parts of the project went into Jennifer's bag (it didn't look like the illustration)

Then we moved into the GIANT tree area. There were roots to climb on and holes to climb through. There was a tree house and birds, bees, and other wild life. (mostly the children climbing all over)

Sarah went down on her bottom
Claire posed like a pixie

Both girls relaxed in a giant bird nest

Then we were off to the bubble room. The children donned protective eye wear and could grab a lab coat if they wanted one. The bubble room was a HIT with all ages.

The tube blew smoke into the bubbles

Or you could opt for giant bubbles

Here the girls are showing their shopping skills.
Each of them made some good choices
Fruits and veggies.
Presented by Whole Foods no less!

In the puppet area, Jennifer enjoyed the impromptu performance while filming it for Arie. He would have loved the whole thing! There was a REAL fire truck sitting in an open area that you could climb on.

Sarah gave this fireman and hand

Jennifer got in on the action

although those shoes

probably aren't regulation!
Sarah drove the truck

Claire operated the siren

Holy Cow!

A cow with a chalkboard hide.

Sarah joined another girl in this activity.

While Claire watched from the sidelines.

How about this one for

the one that got away?

The playground had some "unusual" sculpture like this fish head. There were rocks to climb on and a regular playground.

Sarah got a small assist from Mom

Claire couldn't decide what to do first

Claire, Jennifer, and Sarah

time to head home

Always check your facts

Topher is playing travel ball this summer. Yesterday there was a tournament in Lincoln, Alabama. Where is Lincoln, Alabama? Anyone? Anyone? I looked it up ~ it's near the Honda plant. I THOUGHT THE HONDA PLANT WAS IN MONTGOMERY! NOT. . . .that is the HYUNDAI Plant. I had planned to drive to Montgomery and watch the tournament. Kim asked if I would like to ride with her and I was like "sure". When we got to the Atlanta Montgomery split in the road I thought we were going the wrong way. She thought that was HILARIOUS ~ Lincoln is near Talledega ~ in the opposite direction! Just think, what would have happened if I had driven to Montgomery!?!?!

We met James and Jacob Aldridge at Jack's for breakfast. Jacob plays on Topher's team. Skoot and Topher rode with them. Our Jakob is a good sport and goes along to support his brother. His team isn't playing travel ball but his coach has already told him he wants him to play with them next season.

Jacob and Jakob

J to the 2nd power?
Topher with pancakes
YUM!

A day in the park

There is a "lake" near Jennifer's house. I say "lake" because it has a bike/walking path around it. If you know Smith Lake in Alabama ~ this is not a lake but a "pond". But I digress. . . .the girls and I went to the lake one day after breakfast. We loaded the bikes into the truck and away we went. Sarah is riding a bigger ~ no training wheels bike and Claire has inherited Sarah's old bike with training wheels.

It was a beautiful day and the girls worked hard. Sarah has a little trouble starting and stopping but she will get the hang of it soon. Claire is picking it up quite nicely and those little legs were pumping! Jennifer and I walked. . . .it was a great day for that.

Sarah took off on her own!

YEA!

Claire is learning and Jennifer is patient.

Seagulls in Colorado??

Yeah!

Sarah need some work on her

stopping technique.

Heading back toward the playground.

What a great playground

the color matches the sky!

Sarah, Jennifer, and Claire

Ready to head home for a snack and a nap.