Warning...PICTURE OVERLOAD of our family! This will be more of a pictorial post than reading. Can I just make a plea for some sympathy first? It is a joke among Johnny's mom (Granny) and my dad (Papaw) that the boys have to go to grandparents to get rest. No kidding...they are always up by 6:30. Jack is usually out by 9. John is usually down by 10. How they can get on the beach by 7:30 and play (active play) ALL day, evening and part of the night without collapsing....I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND! They will go to grandparents house and sleep until 8 sometimes and just lay around the whole day! I told Johnny we went wrong during those early years--we should have been more boring! Just kidding-we only have a few more years to cherish these boys at home. And as of right now-I have over 15,000 pictures documenting the process. I tell the kids I have to have these memories in case I get old and can't remember them all! Enough said, here are some of the highlights of this trip:
Heart calm down...I love watching these three guys play!
Easter Sunday, the place where we were staying had an egg hunt. The boys planned their strategy. Jackson was going to run and get this large egg and John...
He was going to get the large stash hidden under the steps!
I love that my 11 year old still has no shame in hunting eggs and playing!
After an egg hunt and playing in the ocean and sand, we drove over to 30A and attended an Acts 29 church called Reedemer for an Easter service. They rent a barn/tack room on Sundays and meet in the building. We really enjoy visiting other churches when we travel. One of their regulars was from Tupelo!
After church, back to the beach it was!
Time be still...I don't want these boys to outgrow walking on each side of their Moma. And I don't want their daddy to get too old to fall behind and snap a picture!
I love my husband. We will be married 20 years this Wednesday!
Army men...you can't really tell, but they are strategically placed throughout this fortress.
These boys, they love each other immensely and are best friends. But they will fight in a minute! It is nice during those moments when they are laughing and enjoying each others' company!
John took a break with me a few minutes while
these two went for a run. And yes, Johnny still gets his running in when we are at the beach. It wears me out just thinking about it!
Alright...personality picture here. Most of you know we have two very different boys. One-a risk taker like his dad; The other-safely positioned and ready to bail if necessary.
While that picture is a good display of their personality differences, don't let John fool you. If he feels confident at something, he will go full on as well! I tell him all the time I will push him to try--I wish I had been pushed more to try new things. I always let the fear voice win!
Did I tell you all that I love my husband?
Jackson had to find out what all this guy had found with the metal detector. This particular day-a whopping $0.26!
We spent a day on a deep sea fishing trip. The boys were bursting with excitement!
I love this guy.
We spotted an interesting pelican.
Here we are--all smiles and excited!
Here we go!
Absolutely one of my favorite pictures!!!
We all caught fish.
After the fishing was over, the boat turned around to make the excursion back to shore. The boys and I headed to the top deck by the captain to eat. I just happened to look down and behold...there was Johnny. He was hanging over the rails of the boat spewing vomit into the whipping wind. Bless him... At some point, the captain came over the speaker announcing to his crew, "I have a man over the rails, and I am trying to gain speed." For those of you who don't know: 1. My husband is absolutely the strongest man I know. 2. He is not a fisherman. 3. He has a very weak stomach. 4. He has has a very visual brain. 5. He is obsessive about washing hands. So, we were fishing with squid. For the most part, he took on the role of baiting hooks for the boys. Did I mention we were fishing with squid. They smelled, squirted stuff all over you, and were squishy. Did I mention they smell really, really bad? I guess he had just taken all he could. Even hours later back at the room, he would get quessy if he started thinking about it! We all made fun of him and laughed until we hurt on the drive back to the room. Here are the fish that were caught from all of us on the boat. We caught several other types of fish but many were out of season or were not long enough, etc.
The boys took turns turning in our catch at each fishing stop.
Here we are at the top--this is where we got an overhead view of Johnny's vomiting episode! In hindsight, I am grateful he didn't climb the ladder with us! Wouldn't that have been a mess!
The water was beautiful.
Here was our family's catch!
One day, I left the guys for a couple of hours and visited some thrift stores. Johnny told me to stop by this beach store and buy the boys each a little surfer guy. Come to find out, HE wanted to play with them. Every time we go to the beach, he gets him some play time in with them! We also enjoyed some good beach paddle ball tournaments.
These boys have made several friends during the week. John Gannon is an extrovert and loves talking so that combination always work well in the befriending department. But this time, I really think it was more related to his gulf strategy. You see, he is our safety monitor and resident animal expert. So knowing the threat of shark attacks balanced with the knowledge of how unlikely it is based on statistics, he navigated the gulf with strategy: "My plan is to stay near people. It will just bite one of us, and I plan on that one not being me." Johnny and I laughed on more than one occasion knowing this was what he was doing as we watched him in the water. He had no shame busting right into the middle of a family in the water.
A couple of nights we went crab hunting.
It was always fun watching them scamper away when they were released.
The water, weather, and company were absolutely wonderful!
For this trip, that is a wrap. So excited that traveling season is here! It won't be too long and my foot will be the smallest, only one more to outgrow it (and it isn't too far behind...)
Live a Meaningful Life!
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