The Mancinis go to Mississippi

Our good friends, the Whitfields, moved back to Mississippi this year. I was SO sad. I was happy for them because it was a great opportunity for their family but super sad for us. This was a couple that I imagined being a part of our core...the couple who would know what was really going on with us and doing life with us. Their boys are close in age to Luke and Maddie, they are a super fun family to hang out with, and they love Jesus. Come on!

So, when they invited us to spend the weekend at their new house, we jumped at the chance. We loaded up the Jam Van and drove out to Mississippi. They live outside of Jackson...in the county. Eric has built a treehouse in the backyard and horses come up to their back fence every morning. It's so heavenly.

While we were there the kids spent lots of time playing in the backyard, we went to a museum, they gave us the "The Help" driving tour :),  and had a bonfire in their backyard with s'mores. Our kids played so well together and I was so sad to leave.

 Graham, Luke and Ethan checking out the T-Rex at the museum. 

Luke running away from the T-Rex while it eats his friend Ethan.

 Graham and Maddie getting in on the T-Rex action.

A Mississippi swamp. We were a little bummed that we didn't see an alligator.

 Cooking s'mores at the bonfire with Mr. Eric. So fun!

Family Vaca 2012 - Enjoying the Waves

Some people take a sand tool and attack the waves...

Other people, like to dance and relax in the waves...

Two different people, two different ways to the enjoy the beach...both fabulous!

Family Vaca 2012 - Boogie Boarding

This was the year of the boogie board. We borrowed two boards from our friends last year and Luke wanted nothing to do with them. Boo! Since the waves were so fabulous this year, Dan got a boogie board to ride the waves and Luke was hooked. 

Of course, sometimes you need your dad to tow you back in when you get to deep and the waves are over your head! Thanks for the ride, Dad!

The BIG surprise was when this little one decided to join in... 

Maddie really hasn't enjoyed the ocean and being in the water. She hates getting her face wet and it's hard to enjoy the water when you can't go out very far without a wave knocking you over. However, Tropical Storm Debby left a nice sandbar that ran down a good stretch of the beach. This allowed Maddie to get comfortable with going out further and getting use to the sand under her feet...all without the waves. Woo-hoo! She loves to do everything her brother does and her experience with the sandbar gave her the confidence to give boogie boarding a whirl.

Such a cutie-pa-tootie! It was so fun to watch both of the Mancini children enjoying the waves this year. Thank you Tropical Storm Debby for making that possible ;)

Family Vaca 2012 - To the beach!

On Tuesday morning, we were finally able to pack everyone up and head to the beach. Woo-hoo! 

For my birthday, I asked for some beach gear and a cart to make hulling it around super easy. I love creating environments and having a fabulous environment when sitting on the beach is a MUST!  

There were still some pesky storm clouds swirling around the beach. I'm including the picture of Maddie not because it's a great pic of her but it does show the clouds that would roll in. It would look like it was going to storm but it would sprinkle for two minutes and then move on out. Phew!

A red flag of warning was still waving on the beach which meant the current was still very strong. The waves would coming crashing into the beach...

and you would get knocked down... 

which then had you scrambling to get back up on your feet. 

Or, the ocean would have the audacity to get your face wet. 

Maddie thought this was seriously uncool!

Since it was a bit of a workout to be in the water, there was a lot of playing in the sand!

It was a fun day and I'm SO glad we had at least one sunny day with Dan's parents at the beach.

Family Vaca 2012 - Tropical Storm Debby

Well, we started our summer family vacation by meeting Tropical Storm Debby at the beach. What timing! I took the picture below when I was out for a run on Sunday.

Those of you familiar with the Gulf know it usually doesn't look like that at ALL. The tide was so high the waves meet you at the bottom of the beach access stairs. I also saw guys carrying boards to go surfing. Definitely not something you usually see on 30A!

Dan's parents came too and spent four nights with us. So fun! Thankfully, they came armed with lots of games and an iPad which kept Luke and Maddie entertained.

I brought a 1000 piece puzzle and that kept us adults entertainment as we waited to see which path Debby would take.

(This is the top half we completed!)

I was grateful that the eye of the storm didn't pass over us! There was a lot of rain on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday morning but we never had any real scary weather. So thankful. The clouds continued to swirl on Monday afternoon but it never stormed. We spent the afternoon at the pool where I proved that even with tropical storm clouds filling the sky, you can still get a sunburn. Ouch!