Spring Break

Warning: Ridiculous amount of photos

What a busy and fun spring break we had! Cliff had to spend the week in Kansas at the national basketball tournament again this year, and Amelia and I stayed behind. We thought about going with him, but the 17-hour bus ride just would have been too much for Mimi (and her parents. and the bus driver. and the team.) I had plans for a trip to New Orleans to spend a couple of days and take Mimi to the zoo and the aquarium and was bummed when I found out we wouldn't be able to do that. (Of course, still happy for Cliff, Coach Young and the Lady Wolves, but two spring breaks in a row? Dang!)

Since Cliff had to leave on the Saturday night before spring break and wouldn't return until the following Sunday, he suggested we at least go to the zoo on Saturday before he left. We had such a great time! It was actually Amelia's first real zoo visit, if you don't count the little Hattiesburg zoo, which I do not, since hello, no monkeys, giraffes or elephants.

Here are a few of my favorite pics from our fun day at the Audobon Zoo. We all had a great time.

To avoid sitting around and being sad about missing Daddy the rest of the week, Amelia and I decided to pack as much fun into our spring break as possible. This meant lots of fun and great photos, but one exhausted mama when it was all over. But that's ok. One day I will have an empty house and plenty of time to rest and clean and organize my closets. Right now, I am going to choose fun with Mimi every time.


Just a little swinging after church in her smocked dress. She cried when I made her change out of it later.

Fun day at the Children's Museum with Pailyn





We spent some time in Hattiesburg with Aunt Mare and Uncle Justin, and went to Gattitown for a another carousel ride. I discovered a few months ago that a carousel is probably the only thing in life Amelia loves more than swinging.

Then we went to my parents' for a couple of days, and Amelia enjoyed hanging out with Grammy and Papa and helped Papa add some landscaping around the new playhouse he built for her. Well, it's hers for now, but her new baby cousin will be here in a few months and then she will have to share it! (Can you all just start praying about that whole situation now? Ha!)



Isn't it awesome? If you know my daddy, you know that he doesn't just build any old playhouse. It has fancy windows, ceramic tile and electricity, and will soon have running water and a TV that will be hooked up to their satellite. I wouldn't mind living in the playhouse, ha! I will share more photos of the inside when it's all complete.

There's a swingset on the back that Daddy built for us when we were little. I was pretty fond of swinging myself, and it's so fun to see Mimi enjoying something I played on as a child. Papa has re-painted it bright red and is planning to add some new swings to it soon.







Walking in the woods with Papa is one of her fave things to do at their house.

We finished off our week with a visit to Laurel with Katie to see Mimi's great grandmother, Nana. She had a great time, but sadly, I failed to take any photos. I don't know what I was thinking. Then we attended a fun birthday party on Saturday, which I will be sharing some cute photos of as soon as Katie puts them on facebook for me to steal, ha.

Finally, Sunday morning came and we had to go pick up Daddy! He was glad to get home to his girls and we were glad to have him back. They have been loving on each other and catching up ever since, and I have enjoyed getting to take a bath in peace. We made the most out of our spring break this year, but we're hoping next year Daddy will be able to join us.

Trike-a-Thon

Amelia wanted me to thank everyone who contributed to the St. Jude's Trike-a-Thon at Co-Lin. She had a great time riding her trike with her friends, and her pre-school raised money for St. Jude. I haven't heard a total yet, but the last couple of years they have raised over $3000. Thanks again to everyone who helped make it a success!