It was so great to see Aunt Inez again, who turned 97 this year! We all just love her; and Grandma, Mom and Aunt Bev went to visit her after the party to get to see her a bit more! The party was great, though a bit smaller than usual.
The cake was delicious, and no flowers were harmed during it's construction.
Somebody got very creative with this second cake. :)
Fletcher was happy and bubbly---long as Mom was holding him, and was a ball of fire when we went back to the house! There were two live plants in the living room, and he made it his goal in life to either escape our sight...or get into the dirt!
This feller is JD, and he's hilarious! I got a kick out of talking to him, and always do.
This last picture very nicely examples Zeb's behavior. The little bucko was a bit tired the whole time---even after knocking back some soda, and a cupcake! :)
~
|
We stayed at a rental house during our trip. It was a great little place with plenty of beds (the top floor had four bunk beds, plus there were four full-sized beds) and a backyard for the dogs. Dolly and Jill, of course! They came with Grandma, and had a wonderful time sleeping and treeing squirrels!
Dad brought one of our two Xbox 360s', and connected it to the TV upstairs so we were able to play Halo Reach, though I didn't play it at all. We also watched some movies, like X2: X-Men United, Serenity, and Hidalgo. We also caught up on all the newest country music videos on CMT.
There was an amazing climbing tree in the rental yard next to ours, and since nobody lived there, I decided to climb it for a while at my Grandma's request. The tree in the backyard had bested me. Darn, straight little thing.
There was also a visit to Dirt Cheap, starring Mom and Grandma. My sisters and I were not present, but we all got a kick out of hearing the stories.
The barnyard animals not only existed as mascots, but inspired barn-like dressing rooms, as seen in the picture below! :)
There was a funny-looking marshmallow head, stuffed in a jar, and also a marshmallow heart! I guess the black market is into new things these days!
~
|
Consider yourself warned...
|
..And so when a tropical depression comes by, it must be followed by a tropical storm! Our stay in Mississippi was wet, windy, and very memorial. We went down to Gulfport for our Aunt Inez's birthday, as we do every year. It's always a sort of family reunion also, and we got to see a lot of family we don't normally get to visit with.
Though stormy, the atmosphere was classic Mississippi warm 'n sticky, and we went to the beach several times to pick among the trash, wood, and shells with the gulls. We found all sorts of treasures, though it's sad that the ocean is so polluted. It's dirty water, but still managed to be beautiful. It's a breathtaking place, really, especially when the wind picked up and churned up some little waves for us to look at. The coast of Gulfport Mississippi is pretty calm any other time.
Mom and I both took pictures throughout the trip, so in this post I'll post our beach pictures!
We all had a great time; we sought out shells, wrote grave warnings in the sand (okay, that was mostly me,) and searched among the driftwood. We did end up bring home two real cool pieces of driftwood, and were about this close to bring home too wet, stinky coconuts that were covered in live clams.
It was rarely sunny while we were there, but we were lucky enough to get a few good, warm rays now and then!
That little skull was very close to being mine, and was at one point complete, including the lower jaw. It's Willow's now, and Indy broke it before we could take a picture of the complete skull. Of course. :) But it's still pretty cool; Mom says it's a bird skull, though I'm more inclined to think it's a turtle skull.
Mom took some really great pictures of the sea birds with her telephoto lens. I particularly like this one, of a seagull taking flight.
I'll admit I was a little overly dramatic about posing in the wind; however, after the tramatic expeiance of nearly being blown off the pier, I think it's okay.
These pelican things taking flying very, very seriously. Never have I seen such solemn expressions on birds!
More pictures from our trip to come!
~
|
It may be a little lost, but it's still a big idea.
~
|
I found a dead hermit crab on the beach---shell intact. I'm going to scrap the little carcass out, and bring the shell back home. I humor myself by thinking that the shell was intended as a mobile home to the little creature---the travels may as well go on, even if the little nomad is not going any further! ;)
~
|
Gulfport Mississippi is getting some weather! It's been raining fairly solidly the whole while we've been here, and isn't due to clear up for several more days! The wind is fierce---slinging sand, and stinging rain. It blows me away!
~
|
