Hannah & Connor Photos

Hannah Video: Christmas Musical Compilation

 (Dec 2011)   Hannah's school puts on a big Christmas show (and spring play) each year.  The whole school is involved, and many parents help.  All the kids seemed to have a great time. 

Video clips from the filming of Jade Sanders "Tell Me" music video

(Dec 2011)  Short video clips of Hannah during filming of the music video of "Tell Me" by Jade Sanders (www.jadesandersmusic.com) They had to take mutiple "takes" of Jade singing the song.  These clips are from some of those "takes".  This video also has Jade singing Happy Birthday to one of the extras. Hannah and her friend Stevie did make it into the final video.  Yahoo!

Connor: November 2011

Wow, my third Thanksgiving!  I had lots of fun assisting Sissy in dissecting the turkey heart, but I refused to eat any turkey.  Mom says that’s because I am a picky eater.  Camping this month was especially fun since Dad let me help with the campfire!  Decorating for Christmas with Mama made me very excited for Santa’s visit.  Should I start being good now?

Hannah: November 2011

Yahoo for good grad!  Dad gave me a choice of our normal fishing trip, or riding a horse.  Guess which I choose?  We rode the horse around a big park in the heart of New Orleans.  I am thinking that that a horse would be a great Christmas present!  J  Thanksgiving was fun this year cuz’ I helped Grandma make the turkey.  It was “delicious”, so I am thinking that Grandma and I make a great cooking team!  Oh, almost forgot, Grandma rocked at Wii bowling.  She blew the rest of us away.

Connor & Hannah: Dissecting a Turkey Heart at Thanksgiving!

(Nov 2011) Give a girl a scalpel and what is she to do?  This is Hannah’s idea of helping Grandma cook the turkey!   I think we will all be shocked if Hannah does not turn out to be a doctor or a veterinarian.  Not squeamish on bit, not our little girl!  Give her needles, blood, whatever.  (Hear that Uncle Bub…nothing to worry about with an IV)

Camping Trip (November)

Our Thanksgiving getaway of 2011 deserves its own posting.  Why?  It was a blast.  The family visited Natchez State Park and the City of Natchez, MS just prior to Thanksgiving.  The weather was perfect, the trees colorful, and the city and state park were a lot of fun.  Lots of bike riding and playing at the campsite!  While in Natchez we were able to visit two civil war era mansions and took a tour of the city by horse carriage.   One of our favorite events was the visit to the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians.  The kids really enjoyed the Indian village; they walked around the mounds and displays and loved walking the nature trail that ran by the village’s sacred creek.  This creek provided the Indians with fish and water.  We also visited the nearby Emerald Mound, which is the second largest Indian mound anywhere (and it is big!).  We returned home just in time to spend Thanksgiving Day and the following weekend with Grandma and Grandpa.

These links have more information about the Indians and Natchez:

http://mshistory.k12.ms.us/index.php?id=4

http://www.visitnatchez.com/    (Note: has a great video of Natchez)

Jade Sanders second video "Tell Me"

Tonight, 12/21/2011, Jade Sanders had her premiere of her second video "Tell Me" and Hannah, Connor, Mom, and Dad were there! Jade did great, and Hannah was in the video! Hannah is in one scene in the athletic field sitting with her friend Stevie and another scene where you see her walking behind the bleachers that Jade is sitting in. Small parts, but WOW, Hannah was in the video! One of the still pictures that Dad took even made it into the credits. (It is the picture of Jade's manager standing by the camera.) At the premiere Jade sang a new song and several of her other songs. She did great. Jade also sang several Christmas songs and really brought the house down! Connor was even singing along and dancing in his seat. Special thanks to Jade (and her family) and Tim Alamsha (and his wife) for including us. Dad will post the new video shortly! 

"Tell Me" has now been released on YouTube!  Hannah would like your help in making this video go “viral”.  Look for Hannah at the following time marks: 2:06 sitting with her friend Stevie (Hannah's back is towards you);  2:16 walking behind the bleachers from right to left);  3:37 is the photo Dad took (Dad was sitting in the bleachers clear across the field); and finally at 3:57 (Hannah and Stevie are in the top row "getting crazy" as Mr. Tim instructed).  If you find any more let Hannah know.

Here is Jade’s website with information about Jade and with an additional song there: http://jadesandersmusic.com/

Let's go viral with this video!

Hannah, Connor, Dorothy and her Daddy, went to the world premiere of Jade Sanders music video titled “My door’s open” .  Jade is a 12 year old singer/songwriter from Ocean Springs, MS.  Her great video, “MY door’s open”, is  autobiographical about a young girl (Jade) who loves where she lives and is heartbroken about having to leave and go to Nashville to pursue her dreams.  The video is a great postcard of the Ocean Springs area and many of the area that Hannah herself has been too.  The video was shot in the auditorium of the Mary C. O'Keefe Cultural Center in Ocean Springs, the same place as the video premiered.  Be sure to watch the last few seconds of the video, it has a good twist.  Hannah has already asked us to get her Jade’s first album when it is released.  Hannah would like your help in making this video go “viral”.  Here is Jade’s website with information about Jade and with an additional song there: http://jadesandersmusic.com/

Jade Sanders shoots her second Video!

(Dec 2011) Jade Sanders is working on her second video.  This one is for the song: “Tell me”  Hannah was an extra in the filming on 12/3/2011!  Jade asked her!  Dad and Hannah spent several hours at the park where they are filming some of the group scenes.  They had a segment where they filmed another little girl and Hannah as they walked down a path at the park.  They also filmed Hannah and her new friend Stevie sitting and playing in the park.  Hannah REALLY hopes some of these scenes make it into the video.  For another part of the video, on the 4th, they are filming a pep rally/concert at the Ocean Springs middle school.  Hannah will be there along with probably 500 other kids for that scene filming.  UPDATE! Filming went well on Sunday the 4th.  It was a long day for all the kids.  They even asked Dad and a few other parents to sit in the stands too.  Dad says all the kids did really well and were very calm the whole time.  There is a good chance Hannah and her new friend Stevie will be seen.  They are up high in the back.  Hannah brought crafts and her DS game to keep her entertained.  Jade and her family, as well as, Tim Alamsha  and his wife were very nice to Hannah.  After the filming of "Tell Me" Hannah and about 20 other girls stayed while Jade filmed some yet to be released songs.  It was like a private concert!

PLEASE, if you have not viewed the first video (below) please do so.  If you have not asked a few of your friends to view the video, PLEASE do so as soon as you can and ask them to ask others.  It will really help.  Jade has had over 65,000 views from approximately 15,000 computers for her first video “My door’s open”.  (The numbers show those who view the video are watching it more than once.)  We need to double or triple the number of computers viewing the You Tube video. 

Thanks for your help!

Hannah

Hannah & Jade Sanders

Hannah Video: INSTA-GATOR Ranch and Hatchery

(Oct 2011) Hannah was asked by the guide to help him catch a "gator".  What is not shown on the video was that she took her coat off and was starting to climb the wall to get into the pit with the guide.  The guide was taken aback as nobody had ever reacted that way.  Usually they back away or hold onto their parent.  Not our Hannah!  She was ready to join the action.  http://www.insta-gatorranch.com/

Hannah and Connor Video: October Compilation

A short compilation of videos only a parent could love!

“Oopsie I cut the cheese”

“Chicka-Chicka boom-boom”

“First time in a hamster wheel”

Hannah: October 2011

Don’t be scared of the Werewolf pictures, it is only me!  Mom made this great outfit for me for Halloween.   Many people liked my costume, and I scarred a few, so I guess the costume was a hit!  Fall Festival, New Orleans, the alligator hatchery, vacation to Disney…yep, October was busy!  Did I mention I got to help with the “show” at the hatchery?  See my other October post which has the video.  Lots of pictures of Whiskers because, after all, he is my cat and Dad says this is my web site so post the pictures I want. 

Connor: October 2011

Wow, what a month!  Besides our trip to Disney (in another post), we had Hannah’s school Fall Festival, a spur of the moment day trip to New Orleans, school Halloween outings, and even a trip to an alligator hatchery!   My speaking is getting much better, Dad and I “wessel” (that’s how I say wrestle) on the floor allot.  Life is good! 

Dad’s NASCAR Race Experience!

(Oct 2011) Dad's birthday present from the wife and kids. Dad was supposed to do approx 15 laps. When he got there they made him a "deal" to also do 6 laps with the "PRO". WOW-fast, fast, fast! To add excitement, the "PRO" accidentally spun the car coming out of a turn. Dad saw his life pass before his eyes! After his pro ride he then drove his laps in the #88 car. The cars are very fast (but not as fast as the pro's) and the power and acceleration was incredible. Dad got out of the car and was wiped out--totally exhausted. Mom told him to "suck it up" until a friend they had made there got out of his car (the one with the flaming exhaust) and told us he was beat too. They are sending me the video from the little camera that is mounted on the top of the car. I hope to add it to this video soon. Connor was upset the whole time because he wanted to "drive." He kept telling Mommy "please tell me I am big enough!" DriveTech's motto is "where adventure goes for the weekend"--that is an understatement! http://drivetech.com/i

For a good idea of what the ride along with the PRO felt like go to http://youtu.be/Oi79-9o7bUQ after watching the ride along, imagine spinning at that speed!

2011 Vacation Trip & Disney

(Oct 2011) We took a somewhat spur of the moment trip (dad had some vacation time he had to use) to see Grandma and Grandpa.  We had a really good time!  This post shows our three main activities, the petting farm, Disney World, and the Tampa Aquarium.  The petting farm is a long time favorite or ours and the aquarium was a new experience.  Hannah surprisingly decided she wanted to go to the aquarium in lieu of the Tampa Zoo (which is one of her favorites)!  We also had the chance to go to Disney for free and could not pass that up.  This was the kid’s first trip to Disney and they loved it.  Hannah hates costumed characters, so we avoided any we saw.   Hannah even rode on Space Mountain…only because we did not tell her what it was.  

          Green Meadows Petting Farm            www.greenmeadowsfarm.com

          Disney World

          The Florida Aquarium                        www.flaquarium.org/ 

Hannah: September 2011

We had a visit from Hurricane Irene.  She ruined our Labor Day weekend camping trip to Destin Florida.  We had been planning that trip for almost a year.  Can you believe that Dad let us go out play in all that rain?  He even let us swim in the pool.  Dad made up for our canceled RV trip by taking us to Fontainebleau State Park in Louisiana.  Other things I did  in September included joining the girl scouts and also played with my cat Whiskers!  (Dad says it's called torture.) 

Connor: September 2011

I finally got to go to “Connor’s school”.  My friend Natalie is in my class, but my teacher knew better than to sit us together.    I camped out in Mom’s room for the first time because of Hurricane Irene.  Not the same as sleeping in the RV, but fun anyway.  Later in the month, Dad took us to a great state park where I rode my “big boy’s bike” all over the place.  The whole family rode bunches and bunches.  We even swam at the beach on Lake Pontchartrain. 

Hurricane Irene Rain Showers

(Sept 2011) Hurricane Irene dumbed over 11 inches of rain on the MS/LA gulf coast over a two day period.  We had to lower the pool water 3 times to keep it from overflowing. 

Connor: PIXAR Dance

(Aug 2011 ) Connor loves this part of a DVD. We finally caught him on video!  If you turn up the volume of your speakers you can hear his feet stomping the floor.

Hannah: August 2011

August marked the end of summer break.  Boo Hoo!  Dad took us on a really cool swamp tour to take my mind off school.  The tour guide was a comedian with a deep south French Cajun accent.  We did not see any swamp monsters, but we did see a whole bunch of gators!  Raccoons too!  We knew gators liked marshmallow, but learned that raccoons do too.

Connor: August 2011

Sissy went back to school at the end of August.  Although I missed her, I had Mommy all to myself.  More importantly, I had all the toys too!  As you can see I took over Hannah’s doll house (which used to be Mommy’s) and turned it into what it really was meant to be…a high rise parking garage.  Sissy was not happy.  I really missed Daddy when he went to sea, but fortunately he was only gone for the night.  I can’t wait to go to “Connor’s school” in September. 

Dad: Riding the SRP on NSC trials (angle 1)

(Aug 2011) Dad rode the SRP during testing.  He is seated behind the driver.  This is way out in the Gulf! SRP stands for “Short Range Prosecutor”.  They did this several times.  Dad said it was better then Disney World

Dad: Riding the SRP on NSC trials (angle 2)

(Aug 2011) Dad rode the SRP during testing.  He is seated behind the driver.  This video shows the actual capture of the boat.  The procedure jerks you pretty good when it snags the boat.

Hannah: July 2011

Playing with my friends was high on my list of July activities.  I did manage to sneak in some time with my family doing exciting things like swimming, fishing, and bowling.  I loved when Grandma and Grandpa came to visit.  Mom, Connor, and I went on a road trip to Mamaw and Papaw's house too.  (Those pictures are in another post!)  We made it home just in time to make Dad a really cool snake cake.

Connor: July 2011

July was a good time to stay at home and take it easy. We spent a lot of time in the pool. I wanted Daddy to teach me to swim like the other kids...no arm floats and no float swimsuit! I did well, getting more adventurous every day...even jumping off the side and swimming back to the steps. Dad is teaching me to drive the lawn mower. He says it will be fun for me to know how. I think he has other motives.