Homeward bound!

The kids weren't as wired for this early morning wake up call but were very good with all that we had to do in order to head home.  On the first flight they each got a window seat (it was a small plane, one side had one seat, the other side had two).  They all had on their new Alabama shirts.  Olivier insisted on wearing his new "Big AL" blanket.  Happy boy!

 Anna!

 And Mason!

The Houston airport has a fun tram.  The kids were happy to get up front!

Happy to see the last plane we will be taking arrive, so that we can take it home!

 We were all very tired for that last flight, and I think this photo sums it up very well.  He crashed moments before taking off and slept though take off, the flight, and landing.

Happy to be home!  A wonderful vacation full of wonderful memories!

Last full day!

We had planned on going to the beach.  The kids all went straight into the water (even Mason!!) but within a couple of minutes Mason walked out complaining that the bottom of his legs "hurt".  He couldn't really explain how but he was bothered by something.  He wanted to hang out on the sand for a bit so I went back into the water as Anna started walking out while grabbing her arm.  She said it was stinging and she shook off what looked to be a thick hair.  I walked to the shore with her and noticed you could see a spot on her arm.  

Mason mentioned that he wanted to go on the bodyboard again so I asked Anna if she was okay and headed out with Mason.  Olivier grabbed the other board and convinced Matt to take him out as well.  As we were getting the boys situated I had a sudden stinging sensation on my leg just as Matt said "I think I saw a jellyfish."  Uh oh!  That is what was going on!  Sure enough along the beach we saw two that had washed up.  We all got stung or a strange red spot.  Given that, we headed to the pool!

In order to protect their toes which had gotten raw from the pool sides, the kids put on socks which to them was all very funny!  The boys enjoyed doing cannon balls into the pool.  I managed to get Olivier mid jump on the first try.   

 It took a lot (okay, that is a bit of an understatement!) of photos before I got Mason in midair but it was well worth it!

 Anna wanted nothing to do with cannon balls but had a blast being a mermaid in the pool!

Happy Father's Day!

What a great day for Father's day!  We enjoyed the beach in the morning, and much like our first beach trip, Mason didn't jump to go into the water, but Anna and Olivier sure did!

 Anna was the first to ask to go "way out" with Matt.

 Then Mason asked to go out on the bodyboard, yeah!  

 Yup, that's him!

 After an early lunch, we went and got on the ferry!  The kids were excited to drive the car onto the ferry.

 And once we got going we went along the railing to enjoy the view!

 Every once in a while we saw lightning coming from this cloud formation.

 And here is the other ferry we passed by.

 Olivier was being rather silly!

 We took the kids souvenir shopping in Gulf Shores.  They got a kick out of walking into a sharks mouth.

 And under a giant octopus.

 They pretended to be a pirate!

In this particular shop Olivier went up to a display of shell night lights that were turned on (to show what they look like) and turned off the ones he could reach.  As he put it "they are wasting electricity."  And yes, we let him!  

Hot and raining???

This morning we had a little bit of rain.  The kids were so excited to put on their swim suits and get wet in the rain, but they weren't cold!  

 We visited the pool in the morning.  This photo shows the pool, a bit of grass, then it is the beach.  It was a great location!

 After rest, we went back into Mobile to visit with Matt's aunt, uncle and cousins.  We visited the alligator walk.  We saw two, this one was what seemed to be a "normal" alligator size (like I know what "normal is!).

 We kept walking and saw a turtle cross the sidewalk.  It seemed to be wanting to get back in the water.  Matt picked it up and put it near an opening.  Once it made it's way through the opening it fell into the water.  It was funny to see it drop down!

 And this was the big (in my comparison, HUGE) alligator we saw.  We had seen it swimming farther away when we first arrived but it wasn't close by so it was hard to tell just how big he was.  Once he stopped swimming in a location close to the path we saw just how big he was.  Matt's aunt estimated he was 18 feet long.

 Yup, "Gator Alley"!

Fort Gaines and Visit with Great Grandparents!

We took the kids to Fort Gaines to learn some of the history of Dauphin Island.  

 Olivier was excited to try and fit in one of the cannons.

 They enjoyed climbing on a real anchor.

 (Info about the anchor)

 A view of the lighthouse from the fort.

 And Mason wanted me to take his photo with the cannon, can you tell?

 A silly moment of the trip, seeing what the latrines looked like.  Thankfully they aren't used anymore!

 After Anna saw this sign she mentioned, "didn't it smell bad?"  Um, yes!

 They had two blacksmiths working on projects.  The kids really enjoyed watching them work (even though it was even hotter in the building).  One of the projects was turning a horse shoe into a heart shape.

 And after naps, we headed back into Mobile.  We saw a lot of these signs when heading off the Island.

 That afternoon/evening we visited with Matt's grandparents.  It was wonderful to be able to see them and although the kids may never remember the visit, Matt and I will, as I am sure Matt's grandparents will.  It was the reason for the trip after all!

Visit to New Orleans!

We took a day trip to New Orleans!  Matt and I had visited ten years ago, days before Hurricane Katrina hit.  It was nice to go back and see it, and much of what we remember (including the crazy streets!).  

 The colors on some of the fish were amazing, and in this photo it you can't really see the glass!

 And much like ten years ago, the weather felt much more like the rain forest outside than inside!

 The kids really enjoyed this frog that they could climb on.  And so I had to take each of their photos with the frog...  I am sure you are surprised as I am!  Olivier was first.

 Then Mason.

 And the boys joined in for Anna's.

 Olivier liked pretending he was driving the boat.

 Mason was excited to touch the rays in the tank.

 They had an oyster (looked a bit like a hamburger though if you ask me) that Anna wanted a picture of.

 And I think they all mentioned the pearl is like the pearl in Grandpa's book!  It was so cool to hear them connect what they were seeing to the book that Grandpa wrote!

 They had the giant jaws...

 And I liked this photo more, seems to fit them!

 After we finished visiting the aquarium we went walking down to find the cathedral.  It was a very hot and muggy day!

 The kids were fascinated by the boats.

 And we finally caved and stopped for some cold water.  It was rather yucky out!

 We all needed it!

 I took the kids into the cathedral.  Shame on me though, I did take photos inside which you aren't suppose to do (although the sign stating such was facing the inside of the church, not where you come in from).  At least I didn't use the flash!  It is beautiful.  The kids were very good and asked a lot of questions about what things meant.

 This is the organ in the back of the cathedral.

 And the kids wanted me to take this photo of Mary with baby Jesus.

 A nice photo of the cathedral.

 In Jackson Square (right in front of the cathedral).

 Each of the kids took our photo in the square.

 And Anna wanted me to take this photo.

 And this is what the base of the statue notes.  It was beautiful and overlooked the Mississippi river.

 And even though I am far away from work, there is still an RTA.  :-)