Family Visit in Alabama

A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it.~~George Moore

We surprised my Mom and Grandma by showing up on Saturday morning unexpectedly. My Grandma was to celebrate her 91st birthday on Sunday. We made the trip and didn't tell them we were coming. My Mom was busy making spaghetti sauce for Sunday. Jeff noticed the newspaper and saw an article mentioning the Honda Superbike Classic at Barber Motorsports Park while we were in town. Jeff and I both used to ride motorcycles but Jeff did the motorcycle racing schools and track days at a variety of tracks. Barber is relatively new and it opened years after we sold our motorcycles so we had never visited it. Since my Mom was busy cooking, and we knew Rachel and Anna would not be able to handle being in the apartment all day, we decided to go to Barber and check it out.

Barber Motorsports Park

Had we planned a bit better, we should've brought our RV and camped out at Barber. They had a nice spot for the RVs perched on a hill overlooking the track. We'll definitely try to do that next year.

We had expected to buy our admission tickets ($45 per adult, children 12 and under were free). However, they noticed my Air Force sticker and told us that military personnel were being admitted free on Saturday. So, we were in luck! And, thanks to Barber for doing that. Although, we spent that money and more on admission to the museum, t-shirts, paddock passes, food, etc.

We paid for the paddock passes but we missed the autograph time period for the most part. Although, Rachel did get Johnny Rock Page's autograph (his picture is below).



The Barber museum was awesome and a must see for anyone who likes motorcycles. Plus, you get an awesome view of parts of the track. It's a way to watch the race in air conditioning with an unobstructed view. We took a picture of a really cool Triumph on display for our friends in the U.K.

I think Rachel and Anna enjoyed the event. They probably enjoyed the food and venue area more than anything else. Jeff enjoyed looking at all of the motorcycles. Although, we had the "talk" before we arrived. You know....the "don't even think about getting one" talk that you have with your spouse anytime you enter a facility or event that has electronics or anything with a motor.

I have to admit that I miss our motorcycles from time to time. But, I also have to say that seeing my children on the back of one scares me to death. They would probably love it. I, on the other hand, would be stressed out. And, even though I know Jeff is a great rider, it would still make me have a heart attack to see my children riding on the back with him. I guess that's just part of being a mom.

We had a great time and a very full day. We couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather. And, Barber is a very nice track. We were all exhausted though after the activities and chose to retire back to the hotel for the evening.

Grandma's 91st Birthday

The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together. ~~Erma Bombeck

It's hard to believe that Grandma just celebrated her 91st birthday today. She's still as sharp as a tack and as feisty as ever. Her request for her birthday was for my Mom to make spaghetti and she did.

My Grandma had five children; my Mom, Anthony, Lena, Josephine, and Johnny. Lena lives in Texas and was not with us this weekend. Shown below is Grandma with her children (except Lena). Before and during the meal, it was the usual family banter. My Mom and Grandma arguing like an old married couple. Johnny picking on everyone; even noting that if Grandma kept shrinking, we'd have to get her a booster seat to eat at the table. Josephine, Kim, Michelle and Jennifer trying to keep all of those little boys from dismantling the house or getting into trouble. After several warning yells out the window, I think the parenting quote of the day was Jennifer yelling out of the back door, "I'm going come out there and spank some butts and I don't care who you belong to." It was her quickest solution to interrupt the boys who were scaling a fence and doing something questionable with a hose pipe and a jump rope while balancing a infant's jungle gym on top of a picnic table for climbing. The meal was just as chaotic but that's just life in our family. I wouldn't have it any other way. Surprisingly, no drinks were spilled and everyone got a plate of what they wanted (spaghetti with short or long noodles, with or without sauce, with water, juice, or tea, etc.) One thing is for sure, it's never boring (or quiet). And, all of the kids weren't even there for that meal.


After we ate spaghetti, we bribed the children with cake and ice cream. My Uncle Johnny said if someone says "cake" in their house, you'd better get a piece quickly. His birthday was recent and he didn't even get a piece of his own birthday cake. Poor fella. So, we told the children they had to pose for a family photo before we'd have cake and ice cream. I took one timed photo. I couldn't believe how well that one photo turned out (see below). Everyone was looking forward, smiling, and eyes open....no children picking their nose or making a funny face. I usually can't get that with just the four of us much less the whole group. I guess the cake and ice cream bribe worked.

This photo below doesn't include all of the family; just the ones that were in attendance. Missing are: Lena and her children, my brothers and their family (spouses, children, and grandchildren), Josephine's son and two of Kim's children, Johnny's other children and wife, and Anthony's children and grandchildren.

It was fun watching the children all play together. I remember when I was little, it was me and my cousins playing together. Now, it's our children playing together. I hate that we don't live closer as Rachel and Anna don't get to spend as much time with family as I did growing up. And, Rachel seems to be bothered by it the most. She's always sad when we leave from our visits with family. Tonight was no different. I promised her we'd be back to see them all soon.

Jeff enjoyed playing sports with all of the little boys. He is surrounded by estrogen in our home. When he visits here, it's baseball and basketball. In my generation of grand kids, the girls greatly outnumbered the boys. However, with the great-grandchildren, the boys greatly outnumber the girls. Rachel, Anna, and Isabella played together while the boys did their thing. The main attraction for the day were a few unsuspecting caterpillars that were their source of interest.

All good things must come to an end though (and the "end" is shown below) and this trip was like the others....it was time to return home. But, before I close, and only because Jennifer was so paranoid that I had snapped photos of her when she wasn't looking and because picking on one another is the surest way that families show how much they love one another, I am closing this post with this one last photo.

The end....

We love you Jennifer! :-)