the perfect storm

lee has come and gone, and thankfully there isnt much damage down on our end.  we didnt change our plans and still headed down to the beach for the entire holiday weekend.  honestly there isnt anywhere else i would rather be during a storm.  i like the beach sunny, rainy, stormy {loooove it stormy}, cold, hot, fall, you get the idea.
stephen was on call in baldwin county so we actually got to see him this weekend, and thankfully it was a slow one so we saw a lot of him!

it was a weekend filled with relaxing, lots of food and snacks, a couple outings {yes even in this weather we were out on the streets}, lots of football, and other kid friendly indoor activities.

saturday morning mimi, doc, and my sister accompanied the kids and i to pensacola to the naval air museum.  this was our "go to" rainy day outing when i was little.  we spent a LOT of time at the beach when i was little.  first at my grandparents cabin in gulf shores and then at my parents house on weekends {no matter the season} and most of the summer.
we hadnt visited the museum in probably more than 15 years but when we realized it would be raining the entire weekend, i knew we had to take bennett {and emory but, you know, mainly bennett}.

honestly we kinda took my dad too bc, like his father before him, he LOVES this stuff.  years in the air force and a general love of every type of knowledge made him like a kid in a candy store.

 

and he and bennett ATE.IT.UP.

they had a great hands-on activities, a kids open play area, and plenty of cock pits for the kids to climb in/on

/for the adults to prop the kids in/on

im sorry emory...i just had to record this phase in life of yours...: whenever hand goes to mouth, at least one finger goes to nose.  it is SO attractive



they also had amazingly flattering curved mirrors

we cheered on our auburn tigers when we got home...and i was a little ok a LOT perturbed when those wanky auburn fans started to leave the stadium at the end of the game bc they thought we were going to lose.  yes, i have left the stadium when we were getting PUMMELED by some high ranking team and there were seconds left....but COME ON the score was SO close and the game was NOT over yet.  obviously.
so, war eagle by the hair of our chinny chin chin!!! whew!
i guess a wins a win at this point, no matter how ugly it was.
{right?}

{above pictures result from camera being on wrong setting, which produced solid black photos, which was thankfully remedied..sorta...in photoshop.  so THANK YOU photoshop bc i LOVE these pics of my war eagle babies}

so, like i was saying, we ate and we ate and we ate.
 
{what we call "little bits of everything"...for lack of any real title.  i give this to bennett for dinner/lunch when he is burned out on his usual/i remember to do it. he always eats EVERYTHING i put in the pan...and he never would if i just put it on a plate!!}

i made these

Source: ohmysugarhigh.com via Natalie on Pinterest

that i found off pinterest and they were not good at all.
i mean the flavor was OK, but they were extremely cakey and mainly dry vs ooey and gooey like all good donut holes SHOULD be.
and, sure, it could be the extremely hot oven we have or just a chef issue {i dont have good luck baking at the beach...remembering hockey puck biscuits}...but i dont think ill be trying them again.
*sigh*

back on the kiddo front, stephen taught bennett how to play "battle" with cards and we played several games.

and if you know anything about that game you know how long it takes to go through an entire deck.
......
{minus the jack, queens, kings, and aces}


the clouds finally opened a bit on sunday afternoon and we were able to take some walks on our little beach.
bennett and stephen went first and, while they were down there, bennett told stephen: "daddy we are seashell brothers" {as they were picking up shells} and continued to refer to him as "seashell brother" the entire little walk.  and when i decided to go join them bennett excitedly exclaimed: "mommy! daddy and i are seashell brothers and now you are our seashell sister!".

emory learned how to cruise along furniture and go from one piece of furniture across to the next and is now trying her darndest to walk.  its happening a little fast for me but, as with bennett, i am not one who subscribes to the "push them down!" "dont let her crawl/walk!" mentality.  {yes i actually have people say that repeatedly when i mention they are about to crawl/walk!}. my kids are so much happier once they can propel themselves in some way and i LOVE seeing those little smiles of satisfaction when they figure it all out :)





tropical storm lee proved to be a fun and interesting "event" for us...lots and lots of rain, water that rose to the bottom of the boat dock but thankfully not over, wind that shook windows and woke us up at night, no loss of power {crazy}, and a wonderful amount of family fun time.
...and eating.
did i mention eating?

{this does not of course take away from the damage that lee DID do to other areas...our little alabama coast has had its share of intense hurricanes/natural disasters so im just thankful this one did minor damage in comparison...}

hope everyone out there in bloggy land faired ok, and all your power is back on!