Gee family visit

Daniel's parents visited this summer for a long weekend. It was great to have Sherry and Thomas and their dogs come and stay for a while. Daniel and I were able to take advantage of having a sitter and we went out one night. The first night they got here, I had plans to go out for my birthday with my girlfriends, so I missed dinner with them. It was really nice to be able to do that and know that the kids were fine and Daniel had some backup! The following day was my birthday so me and Sherry went out with Sidney to go shopping and have lunch. We got the kids birthday shopping done and had some down time while Thomas and Daniel planned out how they were going to build a pergola for the pool. And the kids love playing with Scout and Cody!
Daniel has all these ideas for the backyard. Some we agree on, some not so much. I was ok with the pergola and was thankful he had someone to help him out! Thomas likes to stay busy so that was a win for all of us!
Sunday was the end of summer Club pool party. They had all kinds of bounce houses, slides, face painting, music and food. It was lots of fun and the kids loved all the extra things and people to play with!
It was a fun weekend, the kids enjoyed getting read to, fingernails painted, having someone to swim with and playing Candyland. We enjoyed some relaxing time while the grandparents did all that! And the pergola turned out beautifully!Me and my angel baby girl on my 33rd birthday!Oh Georgia, queen of accessorizing and layering, only you would layer on bathing suits!!

SPI in the summer

Last stop, New Orleans!

SO we made it to New Orleans, which is easy because it's only an hour from Aunt Jennie's house in Gulfport, and on the way home..It was just a quick, few hours stop. We shopped, ate, walked around and took in all that NO has to offer. We didn't make it away without Hayes busting his lip open or taking a stroll down Bourbon Street. It is always interesting to go with kids! We bought Hayes a Bama belt, which he loves and tries to wear all the time. And Daniel got a fun tie out of it too!Emmaline lost her 2nd tooth while we were driving..the fun never ends I tell ya!!On our way home, when I stopped with the kids by myself, Hayes and Georgia started dancing to some music at the restaurant.. She said, "Hayes, come take a dance with me! I'm the wife and you're the man!" And I didn't get the picture in time but they were doing the traditional hand on hip and shoulder and they knew what they were doing. Me and Emmaline were cracking up!And that is how our tour through the south went...it was a great time and I really appreciate my parents and Aunt Jennie for all the help and fun and memories you help make!! We love you!

and back to Mississippi

After a fun time in Alabama, we went to meet back up with Aunt Jennie in Gulfport, MS. She was kind enough to host all 7 of us at her house and she was a little under the weather. We tried to let her get some sleep by leaving and doing some things around town. The weather was just not cooperating and it was raining. Luckily, we still checked things off our list and were able to have fun. Right after we got there Aunt Jennie had a little early birthday celebration for me. She was so sweet to get one of my favorite desserts.. mini strawberry cheesecakes! They were amazing and went really well with the fun gifts she had for me. She got some really cute serving pieces that are perfect for parties!! Thanks Aunt Jennie..I loved it all!!
My dad and aunt were adamant we try this new place, the Halfshell, so we did during brunch when it wasn't so crowded. It may have been 11am but I had to try the famous Pearl martini..and it did not disappoint. I had 2!! The BBQ shrimp was amazing but the shrimp and grits were kindof blah...too much sauce. After brunch, the Stevens took home Sidney and me, my mom and the older kids went to our favorite children's museum, Lynn Meadows. The kids loved it and we played there easily for hours. Just as we were going outside to check out the massive playground it started pouring rain. We made it home for late naps and a low key afternoon. Our last evening there was spent drying down the beach..trying to all agree on a restaurant..I have this thing where if I'm somewhere that's scenic and I can eat outside and enjoy, no matter how hot, I want to..kindof have to sit outside! So there was no way I wanted to eat inside a restaurant when I could sit on the beach and watch the sun go down and hear the waves..NO WAY!
We made it to Shaggy's and while we waited on our table (outside) me and the kids played at the beach. It was perfect since we hadn't had time to go to the beach yet..the kids loved it and didn't really listen to me when I told them not to get completely wet in the water. The tide was going out so we could see the ocean floor and found lots of crabs. It was one of those perfect evenings. And we could hear the karaoke going on, which is another thing I love to listen to! We ate in the breeze and the kids who were completely wet and sandy were freezing so we snuggled in beach towels we had in the car. I think we got home at 10pm but everyone slept wonderfully and it made for great memories!
The next morning we packed up and left for our last stop of our vacation..New Orleans!!