Marturello Farewell Tour, Part One: Monroeville, AL

Two weeks after moving to Alabama I heard Monroeville mentioned on the radio in connection with Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird.  I was floored.  I LOVE this novel and I hadn't remembered that it was set in Alabama.  It led me on an internet search and I discovered..

 1. Harper Lee is alive and well and still living in Monroe County

 2. Lots of other great novels and authors have Alabama roots. Among them... Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe - Fannie Flagg, Forrest Gump - Winston Groom, and F.Scott Fitzgerald, Author of The Great Gatsby and his wife Zelda. 

 3. Monroeville, Lee's Maycomb, was only 2 hours away from Dothan,(Although it was two hours to the middle of nowhere and not exactly "on the way" to anywhere except the Lousiana border, but my family didn't need to know that..." 

The magnolia leaf wreaths on the courthouse doors were exquisite.

The courtroom is the exact room Harper Lee used to sneak into as a child and watch her father. It's also the model used for the set in the Movie "To Kill a Mockingbird".

Boo Radley's Tree.  Apparently the exact tree is no longer in existence, but no one seemed to know the exact story on how/why.  Notice all the treasures Jem and Scout found in the tree.

Twenty minutes into our trip Dean paused the audio book and sheepishly admitted to never having actually read the book..... wait, what? yes, you heard right, Dean never read To Kill a Mockingbird.  'How is that even possible', you ask? 'It's un-American!', you exclaim! I turned my head to the window. There may have been tears....  He passed  10th grade English due in part to Gregory Peck's phenomenal performance in the movie. 

I hope some day, in their own 10th grade English classes, my kiddos might remember a hot summer day in Monroeville.  To Kill a Mockingbird was the first novel that really resonated with me that wasn't written by L.M. Montgomery.

After his confession our little detour to Monroeville basically turned into a trip just for me.  The kids had no idea why I kept "oohing" and "ahing" and making them stop for pictures. And Dean just followed me around and indulged me.  We had "Radley Burgers" at the little cafe across the street.  Pretty much the only 'touristy' thing you can do here.

And then we got in the car and drove two hours back down the same little highway listening to Sissy Spaceck's beautiful Southern drawl as she told us all about Jem, and Scout. Atticus, and Boo Radley. And hate, and love, and justice, and ultimately, redemption.  

Dirt Magnet

You know that line from Pride and Prejudice.. "There is a truth universally acknowledged..." well, today it applied to boys and dirt. They will find it. They will play in it.  They will roll, slide, jump and practically eat it.  

They informed me they had found a new clubhouse.  Clubhouses are a dime a dozen around here, so I didn't think much of it until Sadie and I went to see it and I realized it was actually a ginormous mound of fresh dirt in a lot around the corner...

When I left they were naming it and deciding the rules.  Two important things all new clubs must have.
At the end of the day, whats a few dirty bums compared to hours of sheer dirty joy?  

How to Kill an Hour

Most Wednesdays I find myself joining Sadie for a quick car nap while waiting for the boys to finish piano.  There are a few weeks, however, when sleep fails to find her on our drive across town and then I know exactly what to do with that precious hour.  We hit the thrift stores that are so conveniently located by their teacher's house.

It's a quick break from our normal routine and the thrill of the hunt is always exciting.  Three finds from today... Leather booties, a twirly dress (possibly for Halloween?) and a funky yellow lamp. Everything for less than $15. 

We always end up back in front of the house with a few minutes to spare.  Precious minutes I use to knit or read.  Today, both were in the car.  It was a tough choice.  Next time I need to bring a book on tape.  That way I can do both.

An Impromptu Waterfall

(Blogging again now that we're settled... most of the future posts will be from our adventures over the summer, but for now, some of our recent experiences...)

 We have a waterfall. Well, our city has a waterfall.  It's an impromptu cascade that only runs if the rains are prolonged, something we hadn't experienced yet in our month and a half of living in the desert.  But today, after watching it run all afternoon we decided we needed to see it up close and personal. We tagged along with some friends and got more than a little wet, but it was well worth the time and effort.

The 'heart rock' they found for me

She was nervous the whole time.  I'm not sure if we've ever hiked in the rain...

This gate served as a prominent reminder of the ferocity of mother nature.  

You can see the flooded road here.  
There are three areas where the road is covered.

Chasing his 'boat'

We found a taste of fall and a rushing river...two things we didn't anticipate this far south.  Our friends mentioned that every time they visit the waterfall it's a different experience.  Good to know for next time, because there will be a next time. We're anxious for Dean to see it and to be able to see it when it's not as fierce.  Maybe find a place or two where we can slide down some rocks without danger of the river washing us away. For today, it was soggy and perfect.

Ch Ch Changes

Ode to the South...
Your fried green tomatoes wooed me.  
Greasy, green, goodness. 
I didn't want to love you with your complicated history and humidity
your 

slow 

Southern 

drawl.

I'm leaving just as I begin to get your country lyrics and your pride, 
your banana puddin'
best served warm

Thank you for your patience with this Western girl. 
I'll be trading cotton for cactus soon, 
but taking dear friendships back to my mountains with me. 

AL to AZ, the adventure begins in June.

I logged onto my blog today and realized that a huge, major, life-altering change hadn't been documented.
If I'm keeping this blog for posterity then this move really should be on here.  It all happened so fast. We're waiting in Utah, a state of limbo, while we wait for licenses and home inspections.  We've seen so many tender mercies and know this will be a good change for our family. I may catch up someday with the blog posts of this summer.  For now, Instagram will have to do. 

PS. I need a new name for this space since we will no linger live in "the land of cotton".  I was thinking something like, Party of 5, or On the Border... Borderline?  Agh! Help, the few of you reading this. I'm open to suggestions. 

Blogging again soon from Arizona, 
Brooke

Assembling Avengers

It started out as a conversation around the dinner table.  Alan and Ben saying all the things they wanted to do in Utah when we visit for the summer.  Ben started whining about how "Alan ALWAYS gets to have his birthday in UTAH...."  Alan approached me quietly after dinner and asked if he could have a party in Alabama before we left, instead.  I agreed and told him to go make a list and decide what he wanted to do. Then I promptly forgot.

The Thursday before Memorial day he came to me with his list and reminded me of our conversation.  I started to list all the reasons why it just wasn't going to work.  The holiday weekend, moving, packing, etc... but then I saw him losing all confidence in me and so I grabbed that list and started texting some moms.

I'm usually a planner, especially for birthdays... This year Ben did most of the planning for his but we pretty much started working on the thought process right after Christmas, so I was way out of my element pulling this off in 24 hrs. Alan wanted a, "swimming, baseball, Iron Man", birthday.  We borrowed a dodgeball slip n' slide from a friend. Swimming?, well at least there was water involved, CHECK.  Baseball? um, dodge ball is almost the same, right? CHECK.  And Saturday morning, Alan and I headed to the party store at 8:30 a.m.  Would you believe they had NO Avenger paraphernalia? Zero, nada, not even plates.  We ended up at Walmart where we searched for an Iron Man piñata, the last of Alan's requests.  We ended up purchasing a large cupcake, determined we could DIY it into Tony Stark.  

Masks and t-shirt capes were all from the dollar store. Store bought cupcakes and a box of ice cream sandwiches.  Ben even scrounged a tiny Iron Man toy from the bottom of the LEGO bin to put in Alan's cupcake along with the #1 candle I convinced them both was actually a #7. I thought I was done.  
Alan - "mom, what about my shirt?"
Me - "what shirt?"
Alan - "the birthday shirt you always make"
Me - "ummmmmm......"

I think it was still wet when he put it on, but he didn't care.  He told us later it was the "best not real birthday ever".

Impressions

Alabama isn't a warm and fuzzy state.  Not everyone gets awards on awards day.  He was the last name called.  I was sweating.... by the hair of his chinny, chin, chin, he met that AR goal.  There weren't any trophies, or ribbons, or medals like his brother, but he seemed satisfied just to hear his name once.  First grade, CHECK!