TRICK-OR-TREATING 2018

We made our way back to the Chambers Street neighborhood for trick-or-treating this year and had a great time walking the streets, talking with friends, and watching folks realize our costume theme!

CUB SCOUT HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL

Tonight was the annual Cub Scout Pack 104 Halloween Carnival, where the boys (and their siblings) dress up, play carnival games, eat candy (and donuts), and end with a costume contest. James had so much fun with the boys from his Den and all the other Scouts!

Dabbing with Coltin:

Playing the "Cake Walk" game. He won a whole box of donuts (that Cora was very pleased to receive when we all got home, since she and Jay were at soccer and couldn't party with us).

Doing the crab walk and other silly tricks to earn candy at one of the games:

Bear Den (Ethan, James, Isaac, Derrick, Coltin, and William):

SURPRISE VISITORS

Robyn and Sandra surprised me Friday when I showed up to Cottonwood for lunch only to find a pair of dancing dinosaurs on the nearby stage. Jay told me to go over and take a picture with them for the kids and they handed me a bag of adult beverage components and a card telling me to quit adulting and spend the day with them. It was such a shock that I didn't even know how to respond at first, but obviously I was beyond thrilled to see them! We went inside for pizza and beer, then headed down the street to the Secret Garden Spa for massages and cupcakes (that Robyn brought over from Waco, TX and The Silos), went home for a bit, then back downtown for dinner at the newly opened Mississippi Barbeque Company. It was such a fun day from start to finish!

Saturday was filled with party prep and a late night of hammer swinging, then Sunday was a much quieter start followed by some more girl time. We had a late lunch with a view at 10 South before Sandra had to head home.

Robyn and I went out later that night to check out the most haunted house in Mississippi, the McRaven house. We weren't scared, and we didn't see any ghosts, but we were surprised that our tour included ghost actors telling the history of the house.

I'm a lucky girl to have such great friends willing to take their time (and money) out of their schedules to travel to Vicksburg to help me celebrate the big 40! Thank you SO MUCH for helping me extend my birthday festivities and for showing me so much LOVE this weekend!!

SPACESHIP SPACESHIP SPACESHIP!

Completed! Thanks again Auntie Margie!

HALLOWEEN BASH 2018

We had a pair of awesome T Rex welcome greeters at the party this year!

Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!

I didn't take many photos during the party... but the girls team won the Scavenger Hunt!

The Donut Drop was another success (albeit a very quick game...)

Bobbing for apples was also a hit (and took lots longer!)

Me with Ursula and That 70s Girl, and with a unicorn and Mrs. Potato Head after they changed out of their T Rex costumes:

Tallying the costume contest votes!

And the winners are...

Most Original: William in the Alien Abduction costume (not pictured)

Most Obscure: Blake as the Man of Mystery

Highest Creation Effort: The Beanes as the Farmer and his Chicks

Best Theme: The Hearns as the Addams Family

Wayne and Garth:

Robyn the Magical Unicorn learning to play Hammerschlagen:

RED RIBBON WEEK 2018

Wear Red Day, Crazy Hat and Socks Day, Pajama Day (their favorite), Tacky Tourist Day, and Jersey Day (Cora wore a USA soccer player jersey and we let James' design his own).

NEW AGE GROUP PERKS

Being 40 has it perks (especially in small races)! I ran the Corps Day 5K today as part of my long run (a few miles before, and 5 miles after), meaning I ran slow and walked as needed, yet I still won my age group (and earned some points for our lab in the overall competition). Pictured above with the other EL winners (we should have won the participation award too!)

OPEN HOUSE 2018

Cora had a double header tonight, but after her first game and James' practice, he and I rushed over to school for Open House, where he showed me his Leadership binder (well, PowerPoint, on his ChromeBook) and some of the crafts and work he's done in class. We talked with his teachers and some of his friends and their parents. It was a fun night and I was bummed we didn't get to go with Cora to her classroom!

(his Leadership folio has a title page filled with cat memes...)

40TH BIRTHDAY BEACH TRIP

When Jay asked me how I wanted to celebrate my 40th birthday (other than running 20 miles), I told him I wanted a beach weekend with my favorite people. So we found an AirBnB in a beach town I've wanted to visit for years (Santa Rosa Beach, about an hour northwest of where Hurricane Michael hit - they were lucky and sustained very minimal damage) and took off after school on Friday. We arrived in time for a late dinner, followed by a quick walk on the beach (both within a block of the condo) and a swim (with a champagne / Sprite toast in the hot tub), then bedtime for the kids and a quiet evening for the adults beside the fake fireplace:

New MineCraft pajamas and the fake fire that they found fascinating:

The next morning we walked back to the corner for coffee and donuts (after a brief stop to fawn over a dying baby gecko they found in the condo complex), then back across the street to the beach so the kids could build sandcastles while we enjoyed the truly magical sunrise.

Jay found a ghost crab on the walk to the water and we all found a rainbow:

Next up was a kayak adventure a bit further south at Grayton Beach State Park. The place was gorgeous (and nearly deserted, which is always a bonus). We paddled for almost 2 hours before our arms gave out, then we hit the beach only to discover red tide... Needless to say, we couldn't handle that for long, so we wrapped it up and headed over to Grayton Brewing Company's Brewpub for a late lunch and some flights.

They were a bit scared due to the alligator caution signs, but we promised them we'd keep them safe:

James and I had a tiny visitor pop up out of the kayak about halfway through our trip. Can you see it on the tip of the boat?

There were a few very shallow spots...

And lots of gorgeous, sugary white sand...

After lunch we ventured even further south to Seaside, a very cutesy, touristy town that was extremely crowded and very much not our style (though the many restaurants and food trucks were pretty awesome... especially the cronuts, or "100 layer donuts", which is what we'd traveled down there to try).

Since we're all about eating and drinking when on vacation, our next stop was the other coastal brewery, which happened to be just a short drive north. Idyll Hounds had REALLY good brews and a really fun atmosphere (lots of games and outdoor seating), so we stayed there a couple hours just chatting and playing.

When Cora tired of the games, she started catching frogs (which were everywhere) and "moving them to safety" away from doors and pathways:

Of course there was more swimming at the condo before dinner:

I honestly would not recommend the restaurant we chose for dinner (though we picked it based on seat availability - small town and off season or no, the seafood restaurants we attempted to go to before deciding on Pig and Pint were PACKED). It was expensive, the portions were really small, and the food was just so-so.

Later that night, I opened the many "world tour" gifts that Robyn sent for my birthday!

(Candies and other items from different countries! We dug into them right away!)

The next morning we slept in, and while we'd planned to swim again before leaving the condo, the temperature had dropped to the 40s and we had zero interest in the pool (or even the hot tub). Instead, we took our time and drove north along the coast (rather than back to I-10 as we had come in on Friday), stopping for fancy donuts along the way and for a swim break in Destin (where it was still cold outside, but the water was warm and there was no red tide).

The was was SO clear and blue... we'll definitely need to make a trip back here sometime when it's a bit warmer (but hopefully not too much busier!)

It was worth it, but they were super cold after their little dip. They're good sports though and stood still long enough for a photo in front of the pretty sea oats:

Since we had time and I've been wanting to take the kids for a few years anyway, we stopped at the USS Alabama for a (longer than planned) tour. We also got to see the USS Drum (submarine), which was new to us (we toured the USS Alabama with Jean many years ago, but the USS Drum wasn't there at the time). The kids thought it was the coolest thing, so it's definitely worth a stop if you have kids near our kids' ages!

They're not behind glass here,.. just weirdos ;-)

All in all, it was a too short, yet super awesome 48 hours away with my crew!