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!!