Shrimp, Sand, Surf, Smiles, and NO Sunburn!

I’m still kind of shocked that we pulled it off. 

We took all of our crazy selves to the beach. 

(collective “oh my gosh, they’re nuts!” I understand, I thought so, too!)

We packed up most of our earthly belongings a week and a half ago, and set out down Hwy. 51 into Madison to make a very, very important stop. 

We had to pick up Allie. 

Yes, our sweet friend, Allie, who my kids adore to pieces and who was the reason we all came home reasonably unstressed. She’s 17, funny, smart, sweet, and patient. She fit in with our weirdness immediately, and so far, hasn’t told anybody that we’re insane, to my knowledge. 

We drove to Hattiesburg and had lunch at a very crowded McAllister’s. Then made our way to Biloxi where we found our hotel for the night. Michael had a suite reserved because we had so many people. They made a mistake at the hotel and put us in a smoking room. Now, just in case any of you that read this smoke, that’s your choice. What you put in your lungs is your business. But the rooms stink, and I refuse to stay in one. So the only room they had left was a room with a king bed, a couch bed, and they could bring us two rollaway beds. The room was HUGE. It was more like a studio apartment. The kids jumped from bed to bed for a solid hour. We watched Jonas and Horton Hears a Who. Allie and I bought groceries and Michael went for pizza. It was a fun start to our week. 

The next morning we got up and went to the Lynn Meadows Discovery Center in Gulfport. If you have a chance to go, please do. It’s just wonderful. I really enjoyed it more than the Children’s Museum in New Orleans. It was clean, bright, and very interactive. We stayed 4 hours, enjoyed a picnic lunch, and just had a big time. Here are some of my favorite pictures:

This thing was in the middle of the museum. The kids loved it. I hit my head too many times to be crazy about it. 

You paddle in the canoe in front of the green screen…

And you show up on TV!

There was the play supermarket, where Aidan worked the fish counter. Business is slow at the moment…

Molly had to catch the train. If I had a dollar for every time we sang “Boomerang Express” in this little train…I’d buy the museum.

There was so much more. A science area, an area where kids can experience what it’s like to lose one of their senses. There’s a toddler section, and a huge outdoor area with gorgeous tree houses in the old oaks that are so prominent on the coast. It was a wonderful time. 

We drove through a thunderstorm, but finally made it to Alabama’s coast, and our condo. The rain stopped, so the kids quickly put on swimsuits and headed out. This was Paisley’s first view of the beach! 

And she quickly leaped into her daddy’s arms, because she didn’t like sand on her feet. 

The older kids, however, had a LARGE time. They stayed outside until dark. 

The rest of the trip looks pretty much like this: we played on the beach. I tried to introduce the guy we rented our chairs from to Allie because he was cute. We ate a lot of seafood and sandwiches. We stayed up late because we stayed on the beach until dark. We came in every afternoon and napped. Allie and I hit the outlet mall and I got a great dress and one of those straw cowboy hats that makes me look like I’m going to a Kenny Chesney concert. I packed clothes for a family picture, but it never happened. We got one, though. And since I’m standing behind Michael, it’s the only picture you’ll ever see of me in a swimsuit. 

This was bright and early one morning, before we all got wet. Having Allie there was brilliant, she could play on the beach while Michael and I swam, or could take Paisley to the pool, where she was happiest. It was a great decision to bring her, and I loved getting to know her better. 

This dude gave us his body board, and we LOVED it. The waves on Wednesday were huge, this picture doesn’t do them justice. Michael stayed in the water most of the day. They were easily 10 feet tall, and so much fun!

And this is proof that you can have too much fun. 

I got a sinus infection on Wednesday. We drove home on Thursday and before Michael even took Allie home, he dropped me off at MEA to get a shot and a Z-Pack. I was feeling better by bedtime, but that drive home had been rough! 

Now all the sand is washed out of our suits, the coolers are stowed away. We’ve been home almost a week now and I’m craving just one or two more days of sunshine and sea. 

Summer’s not over yet….