May 10, 2015 - Triple Celebration

This year, my father's birthday, niece's birthday and Mother's Day all pretty much fell on the same day. Instead of three events, we just decided to mix them into one celebration. Everyone met up at a Restaurant in Spanish Fort and it didn't take long to get into the party spirit. Jillian and I brought children's party hats to make sure of that. Even though there were presents for basically every female in attendance (and dad) it pretty much just turned into Allie's birthday party. She seemed to enjoy all of her presents. OH! Also of note: Jillian finally purchased some golf clubs earlier that day.

May 9, 2015 - First Beach Day of the Season

It got just warm enough to make our first beach trip of the Summer. The weather was more or less perfect and so were the crowds. We went to the Hangout (a restaurant on the beach) and parking turned out to be free because they were setting up stages for the upcoming Hangout Music Festival. You can see one of the stages being erected in a picture below. It was a nice day of relaxing and sippin' on Budweiser Straw-ber-Ritas. After the beach we stopped by the grocery store to grab some pizza making supplies. Breaking the norm, Jillian actually made a pizza that was far superior to my own.

April 21, 2015 - USA Golf Tournament

I learned about a new, smaller perk to having a job at South Alabama. Every year, the school puts on a golf tournament to raise money for the Athletic Department. They ask for volunteers to work the event; give them a free shirt and the day off from work to sit around a golf course. Not only do you not have to be at work during the tournament, you are fed and get free drinks (beer!). Throw in the fact that you get to watch rich people play 'mediocre to bad' golf and it's a great work day. I almost forgot to mention the fact that between groups, I was able to pull out my pitching wedge and putter and play a little golf myself. Hopefully I'll be invited to participate annually. If I want to drop $500 some day, I could even play in the thing and be eligible to win some pretty awesome (and expensive) prizes.

April 11, 2015 - Loxley Strawberry Festival

Every year, the city of Loxley puts together a strawberry festival to raise money for local schools. It's usually pretty popular. Despite rough weather the day before, it still managed to pull a strong crowd. Jillian and I were planning on going solo but my parents called to invite us the day before so it turned into a family event. We had a good time while we were there, but the Sun, mosquitoes and aggravating parking situation shortened our willingness to stick around too long. My only regret was not getting some carnival treats while I was there (apart from eating some the fries my Dad purchased before I got there).

April 5, 2015 - Easter Family Gathering

Like most years, my mom invited everyone over for an Easter meal. This year, my niece Allie was old enough to enjoy finding eggs so we followed her around the yard as she hunted. Jillian had also bought her an Easter present; a pink backpack with a handful of acorns in the bottom. She is (or at least was at the time) obsessed with acorns, so she loved it. Aunt Wanda even made a rare appearance.