On Monday, March 16, it wasn't officially spring yet, but Brooke was out of pre-school for the week, so the girls and I headed to the coast for a little Spring Break road trip.
We were on a mission to spend the week with our special friends the Remonts, at their new home in Ocean Springs, Mississippi.
It took us a while to get there because it was such a yucky rainy day, but after we arrived it started to clear up and the rest of our week in Ocean Springs was filled with sunshine.
Our sweet friends had tons of fun activities planned for us and we all had a super great time!
Here are some of the highlights of the trip...
Upon arrival, we were greeted with hugs and kisses! We checked out the Remonts beautiful new home and played for a while. Before too long we got hungry and decided we had to have some shrimp. I always need shrimp when visiting the coast!
We went to eat at a cute little seafood place...probably would have made a better date spot with drinks and such...can't remember the name, but we had the shrimp and crab claws. The shrimp were perfectly yummy, but the claws were not so good, so we exchanged them for more SHRIMP! The big kids had a colorng contest and even Miss Bailey had a great time.
After dinner, we got a little tour of downtown Ocean Springs and then headed back to the house. We bathed, put on our jammies, and stayed up late just hanging out. The big kids snuggled and watched The Little's on DVD and they loved it! (Do you remember that cartoon from way back? It used to be one of my favs.)
The next day was St. Patrick's Day...
We had a quick breakfast with another visitor, Mr. Flat Stanley(thanks to our friend Kim and her daughter Caroline) and then headed out for a BIG, BIG Green day!
Our first stop was the children's museum for story time and playtime...the story time was really fun and the museum was even MORE fun! The kids got to listen to stories, sing, dance, do a craft, build with blocks, climb (indoors and out), do science experiments, and participate in tons of pretend play. They were train engineers, boat captains, airplane pilots, restaurant workers, hotel managers, and high tea drinkers~just to name a few. It was a really nice museum...wish we had one like that in Bham!
We stayed for hours and hours until we were sooooo hungry that we HAD to leave or we would have just fainted. Of course, we decided on and headed straight to Chick-Fil-a for some chicken nuggets and since it was St. Patty's Day they had even turned the lemonade green. We love that place!
After Chick-fil-a, we managed to go back to the house for a teeny, tiny nap and then we were off again. This time it was to see Aiden play in his T-ball game. Watching 5 years olds play tee ball is too funny...brings back memories of when I used to be a T-Ball umpire for BREC.
Brooke was a little upset that she didn't get to be an official player on the team...
So, after the game I asked if she could practice batting and run the bases a few times for posterity. She loves baseball and plays with her daddy in the yard every chance she gets. Next year, she will be old enough to sign on with the local little league in our town. We'll see if she is still interested...
We left the field and headed to Aunt Jenny's restaurant for some all you can eat catfish and shrimp and loved it every minute of it! It's a really cute southern restaurant with lots of windows that give a great view of the water~complete with pralines and all! You should surely go if you are ever passin' through. Too bad I was completely stuffed after my first plate and didn't get to ask for a second helping to get my money's worth...maybe next time. We headed home to veg out in front of the TV and have our humongous praline patties for dessert! To see more pics of this super fun filled St. Patricks's Day click here!The next day, we slept in a little later and then woke up super excited...Today was BEACH DAY!!!
We packed a picnic and headed over for some sunshine, sea shells, and sand all along the seashore! It was a little cold, so Bailey and I kept our cover ups on, (which was totally fine by me ~my skin was and still is a lovely shade of winter white) but Brooke and Aiden didn't mind sporting their pasty white buns or the cool breeze. They bared their bellies and even splashed in the water...Brrr. The highlight of their day had to be digging in the sand and looking for sea shells...they mostly found oyster shells, but they thought they were all terrific treasures! Each of us had a lovely time...well except for when Bailey was forced to touch the sand! Hopefully she will get over that soon! ;-)
Click here here to see pics of our time at the beach...On Thursday, we just hung around the house for the most part.
The kids had a blast playing out in the yard. They rode the 4 wheeler, the scooter, and jumped in the bounce house. Before too long they had worked up quite an appetite. It was time for lunch, so we went out to The Shed for some good ole' Bar-b-que. 
It was a pretty scary looking place upon arrival...Aiden even called it creepy! But since we had Mr. Aaron with us, we risked it and decided to stay and try it because according to the Food Network, it is some really good stuff! We went on in, found a seat, and chowed down on some Q. I'd have to agree with the Food Network...YUMMY! To see a few more pics of The Shed and our last day of Spring Break click here.
After lunch, we went back to the house and packed up the car. Later, we got on the road and headed back to Birmingham.
The trip home was very peaceful and uneventful...
WELLL, except for the time when I almost ran out of gas in the middle of NOWHERE! Yes...NOWHERE...no GAS or SIGNS in sight AT ALL! The van started sputtering and acting strange. Thankfully the girls were sleeping so they didn't notice and I just prayed and prayed and prayed for miles and miles and miles with the big "E" light shining the brightest shade of orange I had ever seen and it was practically blinding me! I have no doubt that my Heavenly Father intervened and carried our little silver mini van to that gas station that appeared out of nowhere, so that I wouldn't be stranded on the side of the road and I am so grateful that He did. I am thinking it was just not my time to go and God just knew that my hubby would have killed me if I ran out of gas...FOR SURE, so He carried us! Thank you Jesus! It was truly a miracle...I was sweating bullets and shaking like a leaf by the time we made it to that little gas station for refueling! Seriously y'all, I am so grateful that we made it to the gas station...such a blessing! (Oh and if you wouldn't ever mention this little mishap to my hubby I'd appreciate that, kay!)
The girls continued sleeping throughout the entire ordeal and didn't wake until Montgomery. When they woke up, they requested Dora on DVD and that kept them occupied for the last hour. We eventually made it to Alabaster where hubby met us and then we headed over to ???? (I'll give you 1 guess) for a late dinner reunion. What a lovely end to a great trip!
Yesterday, I read an article about enjoying the season that you are in and not always looking to or worrying about the next season of life and it really got me to thinking....I am always planning or worrying about what is next and I think that sometimes I may miss out on the now. So I am going to try to enjoy each day to the fullest and learn what God has for me today. Thank you God for the blessing of sweet friends and even better family. I am so grateful for this sunny season in my life and I pray that I can and will be even more thankful for the rainy season as I know it will eventually come because it says so in Your Word! I love you almighty and powerful Lord of heaven and earth...thank you for choosing me and giving me ALL the seasons of my life and what a beautiful life it is!
"To Every Thing There is a Season, and a Time to Every Purpose Under the Heaven ..." -Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Oh and one more thing...since it is March 30th after 10:00PM, I guess you would like to know the winner of the Spring Giveaway!!??!!
OK, so I loved, loved, loved ALLL of your comments and I couldn't possible pick "the best," so I just I just asked the number generator to go ahead and pick two random winners...the first number will win the grand prize...pearl necklace and bracelet and the second number will win the runner up prize...not a pearl set, but a really cute silver butterfly set. It is a sterling and iridescent beaded bracelet with a butterfly charm (made by me) and a matching sterling silver necklace. It's very springy..hope you like it!
This is so much fun!
Are you ready to know?
OK, OK, I will stop stalling.
I entered in the comments from the January 1st entry until the March 20th entry...there were 94. The number machine picked and the winner is...
Congrats to #32 Bridget (grand prize) and #69 Kent (runner up)...woo hoo!
Random numbers generated Mar 30 2009 at 22:8:29 by www.psychicscience.org.
Thank you all for the sweet comments and for joining in on the fun...now don't be a stranger...y'all come back and visit anytime...besides you never know when I will be giving away another prize! :-)
Today is the day, spring has officially sprung! And when I start seeing all the plants blooming around town and in my yard, it puts me in a generous mood....hence the giveaway!
