The Rest of Our Cross-Country Drive

Here are the lost pictures from the rest of our trip.  I left off with our night in St. Louis, I think.  The next morning we decided to do something fun and take the boys to the zoo for a little bit.  It started out as a good idea and we had a nice time for the first hour or so.  Jackson was obsessed with checking the map to see where we needed to go.  

Emmett was obsessed with walking in every single puddle he found.  :)

We soon remembered that we were not in the dry, cool West anymore.  It was as hot as Hades without any breeze at all.  Totally stagnant.  Ugh.

Aahhhh... the sweet, cool relief of the penguin exhibit.  Gotta love that Antarctic air!  :)

The boys actually weren't really that impressed with seeing the animals.  Most were far away from us and as soon as we would see them J and E would be like, "Okay, let's go find the _____!!"  They were more interested in running from exhibit to exhibit.  They did love the penguins and Emmett was just in awe of the chimpanzees and orangutan.  They were right up against the glass, which was so cool!  I loved them too and could have sat there and watched them all day (in the air conditioning, of course).  I'm always amazed at how similar they are to humans.

Oh, he loved this orangutan.  He put his head down there and said, "Ohhhh, I like you."  And then just sat there with his face up against the glass and stared at him.  So adorable.  I wanted to take that orangutan home with us... he was so cute and looked so sad.  :(

I don't even remember how long we were there, but it felt like a long time. We took this pic right before we left the park, and also right before Emmett threw the most atrocious fit of all time.  I don't even remember what he got so mad about.  It wasn't just that we were leaving... I do know that.  There was something else that set him off, and I'm sure being super hot and hungry (and overtired from a week of short naps in the car) didn't help.  Ohhh, it was ugly.  Phil basically had to carry him out of the zoo over his shoulder as E was screaming at the top of his lungs.  Yes, we were those people.  Emmett's fits were pretty bad on this trip, but thankfully now (a month or so later) they seem to be almost non-existent.  Knock on wood!!  Praying that he has outgrown this phase, because Reid has started throwing some good ones lately... sigh.

Reid conked out right after lunch...

Then we entered Kentucky, and in Paducah we stopped for a break at the mall to let the boys run around and for Phil and I to get a coffee.

By this point in our trip the boys had started to recognize certain restaurants (other than McDonald's), and E spotted Chick-fil-A (by shouting "CHICK-FIL-A!!!!" at the top of his lungs... he's just like his Mama) so we stopped for a snack.  Reid LOVED having his own cup with a straw just like the big boys.

That bun was my go-to "I'm living in a trailer and haven't washed my hair in four days" hairstyle.  :)

Then we sped through Tennessee...

And made it just over the border into Alabama for bedtime.  This was the best pic I got with my phone because the flash went off... but you get the idea.  :)

That night there was a HUGE thunderstorm that woke Phil and I up.  I just laid there praying three things over and over... 1.  Please don't let the camper get struck by lightning (as we were parked out in the middle of a field).  2.  Please don't let the thunder wake the boys up.  3.  Please don't let the power go out!  I was also planning in my head what we would do if the power went out because there was no way we could have stayed sleeping in that camper with the air conditioning off.  Miraculously, the boys all stayed asleep and the power stayed on!  I was very thankful.  :)

Then the next day we stopped for lunch in Montgomery at a really nice Panera Bread.  Yum.

I don't know why Jackson always juts his chin out when he smiles!  He does it all the time lately.  :)

And then a few short hours later we reached our destination!  Hooray!!

That was Phil's fourth time driving across the country and my sixth.  Hopefully we don't have to make that trip again for a LONG time.  And next time it will be in a posh motorhome or something... and with NO CHILDREN under the age of at least 10!  Haha!  :)  All joking aside, though... the trip really went well considering our situation.  The boys had their moments but were really, really good overall... much better than we had expected.  And that camper was truly a lifesaver.  And so was my patient, resourceful husband. Thank you to everyone that prayed for us along the way!

Beach Babies

Is anyone still reading my blog?  I'm not too sure after this long absence, but then I never really thought anyone read it anyway so what's the difference?  :)  We've been so transient these past two months and without our computer for a while so I wasn't able to put together any posts.  I have a bunch of pictures but I figured I'd just start up again with this post and then work backwards.  :)

We are currently raising three beach bums!  The boys are just absolutely loving all the beach time we're getting.  We are currently living in a furnished condo on the beach (thankfully we moved during the off-season so we could actually afford it) for the next four months, and we've been going down to the beach almost every day.

These pics are from when we first got to the base after our cross-country trip.  We went out to the beach for the first time our second evening there.

And then a few evenings later we went out to Mexico Beach after dinner...

Jackson surprised us so much because the last time we were at the beach (last year) he was pretty afraid of the waves and didn't go very far into the water, but now we can't keep him out of there.  Loves it!

 Excited face!!

It is so beautiful on the beach in the evenings... perfect temperature and gorgeous sunsets.

And here are some shots from the 10th floor condo we are staying in.

We had a big storm the first night we were there... then the next day after the storm passed the water was so super calm and there were dolphins everywhere!

After-dinner popsicles on the balcony...

I asked for bigger smiles and this is what I got...

We've also been going out in the mornings on the weekends before the sun gets too intense.  It's so nice that the gulf is so shallow at the shore... it's like a big baby pool for Reid and the big boys can wade out deeper with Phil.

Running races on the beach...

Can't believe how big J is getting!  And still so skinny!  :)  I couldn't get him to stand still and look at the camera for very long...

The condo has this great wash area right after you walk down from the beach... hoses for feet and showers for bodies.  And Reid loves turning the hoses on and off.  :)

We always leave our shoes here before we get to the sand...

It's been fun so far!  And it's great to be able to come home to the relaxing sounds of the sea after all the driving Phil and I are doing lately (but that's another post).  Although I did make the mistake of watching a show on Discovery the other night called "Mermaids: The Body Found" about a group of scientists who claim that a few mermaids have washed up on shore and the Navy is hiding it.  But these mermaids didn't have beautiful flowing hair and voluptuous bodies... they had big bug eyes and scales and looked like aliens with fins.  And they supposedly make shivs out of stingray barbs!  I was totally freaked out... and even more so when Phil teased and put the vision in my head of a mermaid out in the gulf poking out of the water and watching us in our condo with his big bug eyes!  AAGGHH!