Mississippi trip

We made a quick trip to MS for the kids to visit their grandma, Nick's mom.  We brought my mom along as well.  She a lot of fun to travel with, so it made sense.  While we were in the south, visiting the beach multiple times was a must.

The kids loved going through photo albums that their grandma put together of them as youngsters.

Xander loved playing with their dog

Our happy place

Until you get chased by seagulls 😂

While we were at the beach, I texted Nick's mom to ask if she'd like to come to the parade with us.  The Mardi Gras parade was happening that day and if we went and she didn't, we wouldn't have spent any time with her that day.  And that was our only full day with her.  I was happy she agreed and the kids were really excited too.

On the way to the parade, the kids were obsessed with this tree, so we took the picture after the parade was over.

The kids quickly learned how to get beads.  Nana helped too, I was glad she came with us on this trip.

Rare moment.

All their loot

Sterling wanted to watch the sunset, so I suggested we go to the spot Nick and I love to go when we visit his mom.  It's right down the road from her place.

We planned to head home the next morning, but after dinner we decided to stay another night and go to Gulfport and explore instead.

First stop was to see the Friendship tree.  It was pretty neat.  We loved exploring the ground of the campus it was on.

We walked up to this bell and a grounds keeper told us to push hard.  The kids loved making the bell ring.  Over and over.  The man probably wished he didn't tell us, ha!

Sterling's in a phase of making hearts with her hands

We also hit up the beach.  Again.  First, we went to the dollar store in hopes to find sand toys.  They didn't have any, so we made due with what was available.  Buckets, utensils, bowls, and funnels.

And this boy was itching to get in the water.

They had so much fun

Until someone fell in the water and was cold and miserable.

Good thing the day before, grandma gave them some clothes and they were in the car.  Quick outfit changes and then we played some badminton.

And grabbed coffee on the way back up to our room to warm up.

After dinner, we walked over to Michael's and this bunny asked for a picture 😉

On our way back to Atlanta we stopped and the kids bought mustaches out of the quarter machines.  

We had a lot of fun on our trip and lots of memories were made.

Have a great day!

Seven, going on seventeen

Sterling's SEVEN!  Happy Birthday, little one!  Ah, why does time need to fly right past us?  She's the sweetest girl you'll ever meet.  Really.  She's kind and always wants to make sure everyone feels welcome.  She's my planner.  She's been talking about her birthday for months and has been counting down for the past 45 days.  She loves to play with her brother, and defends him like no other.  She always has a piece of gum in her mouth, she loves math and reading, and she has the most grateful heart of any 7 year I know.

She woke up yesterday morning SO excited for her big day.  

As she was sleeping her last few hours of a sweet six-year-old, I wrapped gifts and decorated a little.

She loved her door setup and that she had to crawl under it to get out.  

She requested hot waffles and strawberries when she woke up.  So I was up early making her request come true.

I emailed Nick and he called so he could watch her open her gifts too.  Xander picked out this doll for her and she loves her.

She's always so grateful.  Look, even Lulu wanted a hug ☺️

Xander helped her read her card

I mean, she's kissing a puzzle.

I was just as excited for this gift.  We're going to have a blast making bracelets.  I remember making bracelets when I was a kid, without a machine, so I'm excited to show her how much fun it is.

The big gift.  She loves playing school, so I thought the perfect gift was a school room for her dolls.

Lulu wants to play ball

We put together the school room and played before picking up the cake.

We ordered her cake from Harris Teeter.  Honestly, I didn't know what to expect when we picked it up.  I received a call the day before saying they didn't have white cake, what we requested, but they had yellow.  So I agreed to yellow.  Then yesterday morning the bakery called again saying they didn't have yellow, but they had white.  So white was back on.  Sterling was excited by all the colors.

We then headed to lunch and the mall.  She requested we go to Jimmy Johns for lunch, and the mall to pick out an outfit and pair of shoes.  She's hard to shop with.  She knows what she wants and I'm glad she's not afraid to tell me she won't wear something.  Saves me money, even though I think something is adorable.

After shopping, both kids were ready to get home so they could play with their neighbor friends.  I'm so happy they finally made friends with the neighbors.  It took forever, but now it's the highlight of each day.  And these two sweet friends made homemade birthday cards.  The sweetest girls all together!

Cake time!

The kids played outside for over 12 hours this weekend.  It was a beautiful weekend for a birthday.

The day before her birthday, she finally gained the confidence to ride her bike without me pushing her off.  I was a bit mean about it though and told her she knew how to ride it, could touch the ground, so she can push off on her own.  So she did and she hasn't stopped.  I love it!  Now we just have to pray for no injuries this summer.

We almost forgot to blow up her '7' balloon, but we remembered just in time.

The cake.  I'm not sure how I feel about it, ha!  It's two tiered, the frosting is thick, but it was okay and passed the birthday girls wishes for her cake.

She had the best day as a seven year old and was sad when the day came to an end.

And now I have two seven-year-olds.  Ah, I just love birthdays.  Fifteen more days and we'll celebrate Xander.  He's excited, but he's not counting down.  He is looking forward to his cake.

Sterling, I hope you have the best year yet and continue to grow in great friendships.  Continue to be kind, respectful, confident, grateful, and the ray of sunshine that brings happiness to those around you.  You make us proud and we look forward to watching you grow to try new things.

Have a great day!