Mobile weekend

This past weekend we took a family trip to Mobile, AL for a couple of days to see a baseball game and go tour the USS Alabama Battleship. We left when Barrett got off work on Friday and made it to the Hank Aaron Stadium for the beginning of the game between the Mobile Baybears and the Mississippi Braves. The kids enjoyed it for the most part although it was a late night for them. Caleb kept saying, "I'm tired, I want to go to bed," but we made it through the whole game until the firework display at the end. At first, Isabelle was excited about "pink" fireworks, but then buried her head in my chest for entire show. Caleb brought our binoculars and enjoyed watching some of the game close up. The highlight of the game for the kids, I think, was getting to eat cotton candy!



After the game, we went to our hotel (the kids were very excited about that, especially Isabelle) for the night. We didn't get that much sleep, however, since Isabelle woke up screaming in the middle of the night and pushed me off the bed for the rest of the time.



Saturday morning we ate a hardy breakfast at Cracker Barrell and then went to the Alabama battleship. We had a lot of fun walking through the ship below decks and above and seeing all the guns and how many people it took to run a ship of that size. We had to climb a bunch of narrow staircases that were almost completely vertical as we made our way to the upper parts of the ship. We also got to see and tour the submarine that is part of the museum. For lunch, we met up with Barrett's mom and sister and our nephew who were shopping in Mobile that day. We didn't tell the kids that we were going to see them, so the looks on their faces when they saw Grandmamma and Aunt Sue was priceless! Caleb had a strange look that said, wait a minute.. you don't belong here!, and Isabelle just stared at them for a while. It was pretty funny. We then took the kids to their favorite store- Toys R Us (which we don't have in Fort Walton Beach) before heading home.

Kayaking

What a beautiful day today! We all went out on our kayak this morning for a peaceful ride along the shores of our bay. We paddled down to the marina and looked at the boats, and then on our way back we had a wonderful surprise. We got to see about four or five dolphins swimming and catching fish! We saw them in the distance and paddled closer to see them better. We could see fish jumping out of the water and splashing all over the place. At one point, we were only about ten yards away from the dolphins, and the water was really clear so we could see them swimming really fast and we even saw the fish they were chasing trying to get away. It was an awesome sight. I almost wished we could have gotten even closer, but it was a little nerve wracking to be in the middle of a feeding frenzy! It was definitely a real treat for us to get to see that. Isn't God's creation amazing!

Water play

The hottest part of the summer means water activities are a must! We have been doing just that with our friends. Just this past week we went to the Drown's house for some fun on their really cool water slide. There were a total of eight kids, including four Drown girls, Caleb and Isabelle, and Katie Jerome's kids, John and Madeline. The kids had a blast sliding, playing in the little water pool, and making mud cakes.

Another day we set up our slip 'n slide in our backyard and had fun playing with our twin boy friends down the street, Jack and Wyatt. I am sure we will continue to have many more water days before the summer is over!

Catching fish

Bryanne's parents came for a visit the last weekend in July and Pappy took Caleb fishing. Most of Caleb's previous fishing experiences ended with him throwing rocks into the water after about five minutes of not catching anything. However, all that changed with Pappy's knack for catching fish! :) All on his own, Caleb caught a bucket full of pin fish. He casted the hook and reeled them in all my himself, and boy was he ever excited. Pappy took him fishing while Barrett and I were away in Pensacola for a little getaway, and Caleb called us ecstatic about his newfound love for fishing. They put his fish in a little bag in a small refrigerator on our porch, and Grammy said he went out there every 30 minutes or so all day to admire his catch! The next time they went fishing, he caught even more. Now he's our little fisherman! We had a great time visiting with Bryanne's parents and it was so nice of them to watch the kids for us so we could enjoy some time on our own.