Bragg Family South

We had a quiet Memorial Day weekend here. On Saturday, we headed to Little Rock to purchase some remodeling supplies for the bathroom (almost done!). Like Lisa and her family, we also lounged around on Sunday afternoon. Monday, given that I didn't want to do too much on the house, we decided to drive down to Monroe, Louisiana, to see some friends that recently moved there and visit their zoo. The picture above is from the boat trip that you can take to see a number of the animal. A neat concept--if you can get past the color of the water! The "richness" of the water is probably due in large part to fertilization by the animals, which increases the algae content. So yes, it really is that green!! Last night (Tuesday) was picture day for the mightly Monticello Red Sox. Kenny, most of his teammates, and coaches lined up for a group picture (the picture's a little blurry, but Kenny's the third one kneeling from the left). There was also a series of pictures taken fo...

Watching the Weather Channel this morning and seeing the light snowflakes they had swirling around the flowering lilacs of Duluth, Minnesota, made me think of how much we tend to take the late spring of Arkansas for granted. We actually had cooler than normal temperatures last week, which really meant that our days were much more comparable to a Northwoods summer day--in other words, the weather was beautiful! This adorable picture of Kenny and Beth followed a first for them--we had an ice cream truck drive through the neighborhood yesterday (Sunday evening). Kenny is showing off his popsicle-stained fingers, while Beth is still working on her popsicle. The simple pleasures of summer are some of the best of all--whether it is getting a frozen treat, or just hanging out in mom's arms while watching big brother play T-ball... Don't worry, grand parents, the "tattoo" on Beth's arm is a temporary one that has long since washed off... Kenny's been doing very wel...

I'll be the first to admit it--my memory isn't what it used to be, so that is my lame excuse for forgetting to wish brother JoJo a happy 33rd birthday...better late than never!! And before I forget it as well, here's some birthday wishes for the glamorous Lulu--soon to be 31, and spectacular as ever!!

I returned from Alaska about midnight last night. What an adventure! I'm tired, but so glad I went--it was a great meeting, and Alaska is a really neat place. The trip didn't start out promising, though. I got to Little Rock the night before I was to depart because I had a very early flight the next morning. Hope and the kids followed me up to Little Rock (I took a unit vehicle) and we spent some time on the town and at the swimming pool at my hotel before they returned to Monticello. I had just turned in for the night when the phone rang. It was Hope, who had found a message on our answering machine when she returned to the house--the airline had called, telling me the early flight had been cancelled, and that I needed to call and book a new flight! I scrambled to get a new flight via our federal travel agency, which was able to book me into Ketchikan by late Sunday. Whew!! After some last minute schedule juggling at the Little Rock airport, I finally got out of town (three ho...

Sorry if these images look a little blurry, but I had to get creative in making them digital from black and white stills--the scanner we use is temporarily down. Anyhow, we thought y'all might like to have a first look at lil' Lurleen!! For those of you still trying to decipher these ink-blot tests, the head is on the left side of these pictures, the bottom on the right, and the feet and legs are stretched out over the head. Before y'all ask, no, we don't know if "Lurleen" is a girl or boy--we aren't planning on finding out till the critter is born...the knickname "Lurleen" came from a trip we made through Alabama, where we passed "Lake Lurleen State Park". Since we had already used the classic "Bubba" and "Cletis" knicknames for Kenny and Beth, respectively, we needed some new inspiration, and Lurleen was it... Everything looks like it's going smoothly. Lurleen is of the right size and weight (13 ounces) for...

Kenny's first taste of competition (outside of sibling rivalry) came last night. His tee-ball team, the "Red Sox" (no, for all you Brewer fans out there, we didn't get to pick which team he got to play on) took on the Padres at a local baseball field. For those of you unfamiliar with the game, tee-ball is the first level of organized baseball kids usually play in--the ball is placed on a tee, and the kids hit it off of there. The rest of the game is more or less the same, with some differences in how the game is run and where the players are located. Really, it is intended to teach the kids how to play baseball in a relatively safe environment. For those of you that haven't watched a bunch of 4 and 5 year olds try to play, it has some sport to it--at least for a while. I guess I'd say it's also a lot more interesting if you have a kid playing... Anyhow, the picture above is of Kenny and Beth just before the game. He is wearing a red shirt in this pi...