More of Orange Beach...

We stayed at The Turquoise. It was huge (plenty for our gang) and was very nice! When we arrived, Dad and Clark went to the grocery store and everybody else hit the lazy river. If you notice in the picture, Elizabeth is the only one wet! She's the only one because as she was climbing in hers flipped over--it was hilarious!

The first night we made fish tacos. I'm going to include the way my sister does them, because they were SOOOO good!

Get tilapia or a similar fish and coat it in olive oil and blackened redfish seasoning. Grill it about 5 minutes on the first side and 3 to 4 on the next. Pull it apart in chunks when done. Put it on a tortilla with shredded cabbage (or lettuce), white cheese, and guacamole. It was supposed to be served with rice and black beans, however, I put both of these things on my tortilla.

For the black beans:canned black beans, rinsed. put them in a pot with a little water and a couple of tablespoons of chopped cilantro and 1 1/2 teaspoons of cumin. (both my kids loved them)

Guacamole:2 avocados; 1 tomato, seeded and chopped; 2 tsp garlic; 1/4 cup of so of cilantro; 2 tsp cumin; pinch of salt; juice of whole lime; mix and chill

My May and Bo Bo took the kids to the beach at 7 a.m. every morning. Soon, everyone else would straggle down. (notice they are in their pjs still)
After beach time, we hit one of the pools. Here Bo Bo and Baby Leigh are getting in some good snuggle time while watching the older kids!

The second night we ate a Lu Lu's. The food was good (don't get fish tacos--make them--Elizabeths are much better) The kids had a blast dancing and playing in the sand.
They had a great park on top of the 4th floor. All the kids had fun!
This was so funny...Leigh was sitting on the raft and would kick her feet as hard as she could. Then, she would pick her feet up and look at the bottom. And laugh and laugh...
We got to see Justin, Rebecca, and Graham for a few minutes! I'm so glad they were down at the beach and had time to come over! It was fun to catch up!
Since we didn't go to Atlanta for Katie's birthday this year, we celebrated again--a little late!
Leigh's favorite thing was jumping off the side--I wish I counted how many times she did this! Gotta be in the hundreds!

This was the slide at the indoor pool! I have no idea what changed in SB, but she became quite the swimmer! She raced down the slide and swam under water and had an absolute blast! So glad I paid for those "swim play" lessons!
The third night we went to Calypso Joe's--another good place to take kids! My oh so neat SB got very dirty! She thought it would be a good idea to jump over a puddle--well, she didn't make it! Fortunately she acted very mature and didn't freak out--she just wanted her hands clean! I'm glad it was on her backside where she didn't have to look at it the whole time!


Calypso Joe's has a great place to look at boats and feed the fish! Here the fish were getting some leftover coleslaw--yummy!
The last night we got steamed shrimp from Lartigues--delicious! They did a very good job seasoning them. I ate at least a pound myself! We also had all the usual things with a shrimp boil!

Anyway, so much fun...can't wait for our next family vacation! Mom, Dad, and Sara (who aren't used to daily chaos) may not say so, but I thought it was kind of relaxing--even with 4 little ones!

Beach Pictures

We went to Orange Beach with my family last week. We had a great time! The beach pics weren't too successful!

Leigh did not want a thing to do with sand. This was the 5th and final day and she still wouldn't touch the sand.

Since the sand wouldn't work, we tried a beach chair--not working either because there were grains of sand on the chair.

The best we could do were individual ones...

And we got one of the four of them on the balcony!

Happy Birthday, Honey

We hope you have a wonderful birthday and a wonderful year! We love you!

The girls are proudly wearing their Michigan shirts that Daddy brought them home. This is Leigh's first t-shirt and she loves it. For now, the only time the girls get to wear t-shirts is to sleep. The next morning when we woke Leigh up, she was pulling on her shirt saying "shirt, shirt"!

While Daddy is away, things are wild...

Zeb was in Michigan for 8 days at a Pediatric Board Review Class. So, to pass the time, Jen and the kids came down for a visit. We had a great time! It was good to catch up and the kids had a blast! Plus, we got a lot of sewing done!

The babies were so cute playing together. For the first time, they were interested in each other and not just chasing (bugging) their sisters!
My May and Bo Bo came over one night--Bo Bo is reading them their good night story!
They are so big! I will have to go back and find the picture of them in this exact place about 18 months ago!
Leigh (who was insistent on wearing this big yellow bow one day--don't worry--I did get a smaller green one in later) was a mess--again! She decided that this would be the week where she actually got her diaper off--a dirty one mind you--and become an artist! Now, this happened after Sara Beth had been up 2 nights with an allergic reaction and fevers of 104 plus! So, I was very tired! After a few tears (from me) I got it cleaned up easily and sent all the kids out to play! A few minutes later, all four were crying! We rushed out to find the rain gauge had been dropped and broken and SB stepped on glass and cut her foot! Thankfully, she only had 3 small cuts and Jen was able to get the glass pieces out of her foot! This was the night that My May and Bo Bo brought dinner and came to visit! It was perfect timing because it was all I could do to hold it together! Zeb came back the next day and all has been well!

Time for Tea

Sweet Mrs. Davis (our neighbor and church friend) came down for a tea party last week. SB worked very hard on the invitation--notice her stickers are in lines and in a pattern. When Mrs. Davis came, Sara Beth was so excited she could hardly eat. My two little chefs and I made several goodies--vegetable pizza, blueberry muffins (in a bundt pan), sourdough muffins, and brownies. Add those with some fruit and cheese and we had a nice little party! Thanks Mrs. Davis for coming and for always being so sweet to our girls!

Her first day went very well! She was very nervous and asked Zeb several times to pray for her. It was so sweet! When she talked to him, the first question she asked was, "Daddy did you pray for me?" When I picked her up she told me that she "painted and ate Cheezits and played in the gym cause the playground was too wet and Mrs. Nuzzo read her a book and she gave Mrs. Nuzzo a hug." I would consider that a successful first day!

Tea Party

Sara Beth had her Tea Party on Wednesday where she met her 3 year old teacher, Mrs. Lesa Nuzzo. She is wonderful! She seems to truly love the children and she has tons of patience! Perfect for 3 year olds!

Here they are having their tea party.

A quick hug from the Trinity monkey!

For quite a while, SB has been asking me if she can play on the computer at the library. My answer has always been, "No, because Leigh will tear the books while you are playing. We will come back when we don't have Leigh." Well, My May was keeping Leigh so on the way home from school we stopped by the library to play some Clifford. She had a great time!

My little Mess

I walked in to Leigh's room this morning at 9:00 to get her! Yes, you read that right--9:00! If you know my family you know my kids, especially Sara Beth, are early risers--like 5:45 or 6. Leigh woke up at her usual 6:30 and talked and fussed until 7. I was just about to go get her when she fell back asleep (this only happens every couple of months). At 9 she woke up calling "MAMMMMMMAAAA!" This is what I found--notice her hair, shirt, and diaper! How long do you think she had been like that?

On a side note, I really think this child is begging me to potty train her--I refuse! She just turned 17 months. This morning she was dirty and wanted her diaper off (obviously). However, it is a common occurrence for her to do this when she is dirty. She will bring me a diaper and say "diaper, diaper" and wait for me to change her. Thankfully this morning, she could only get it unhooked and not off!

My Nook

I'm finally organized!

Guess Who?

Guess who went swimming?

If you guessed both, you're wrong! Only SB went swimming-Leigh is just sweating!

swimming

Sara Beth has had a great time in the pool this summer--the baby pool that is! She will go under, splash, kick, and is practically swimming on her own in the baby pool. You get her anywhere near the big pool and she freezes. I have no idea what instilled this fear in her, but it is real. Last week while at the pool I decided to ask a life guard to "play" with her a few days and try to get her to get in at all. We were so excited yesterday when she did much more than get in... This was SB's third day to "play" with Abbie. We have a couple days to go!

What happens when...

What happens when boys come over to an all girls' house... one pushes a pink stroller, one in a tutu, and one singing!

We had a lot of fun a few weeks ago when two of Zeb's co-workers came over for dinner. JP (Amy Woods little boy) is pushing the stroller and Garrett and Graham (Jeremy Jacksons kids) are singing and playing the piano.

We went to a tea party with My May at Friends! It was a lot of fun! Leigh likes their muffins as much as I do!

SB and Katie were enjoying their lemonade and food.
This morning Sara Beth went to the dentist--here they are hanging out before she is called back. If y'all are looking for a dentist-Dr. Tiffany Green at Southern Smiles is wonderful!

Sara Beth "teaching" Leigh "If you're happy and you know it" at library time.

Laurie Barbour and Leigh

A few of us went to Easely Amused last Friday and painted a picture--lots of fun--and


we came home with pretty little birds!

Last week our church had a sewing camp. Since this is my new hobby I was excited to join in. We made a make-up bag, skirt, and half of a shirt (which I will finish sometime).

The firemen were checking the faucets (is that what you call them) and Bryson just so happened to be here. The very nice fireman stopped and let Bryson look at his church! This was by far the highlight of his week in Jackson.

**DISCLAIMER**

I have been given somewhat a hard time about getting a picture of Leigh's bloody nose! I took a picture only after I tended to her! I had already wiped her nose five or so times! And she was smiling so she had quit screaming!!!! :)