Phil Hits the Big 3-0

Thanks to Josh & Sum we were able to have an entire night without kids! We went with friends to eat at the Half Shell Oyster House- SO yummy. Then bowling + ice cream but the best part was an uninterrupted night of sleep and sleeping in! Happy Birthday to Phil and I love it when I get a present on Phil's birthday too.

Then since Phil's birthday is February 8th and Mardi Gras was Feb. 12th, we decided it would be fun to have a little Mardi Gras bday party for him with some of our friends. We even ordered a king cake and guess who got the baby? Mardi Gras is a BIG deal down here. The kids usually get at least 3 days off of school and every city from New Orleans to Mobile, AL has their own parade.

 They give beads out everywhere. Here is Caitlin at the library:

 Those are beads! And you just drive over them until they get cleaned up a few days later.

Caitlin's Turn in "The Dress"

       

Disneyworld!

So we weren't going to go because Caitlin is 2 and crazy and we have a newborn but we decided since the military resort and military tickets are SO cheap and we will probably never be down this way again, we just did it!

And we are glad we did. Caitlin had her moments, especially waiting in lines, but overall she did awesome and Sawyer was an angel as usual. Caitlin LOVED meeting the princesses, Minnie and Tinkerbell. When it was almost her turn, she couldn't even handle it and wanted to run to them. It was so sweet!

Sophie wanted one of those autograph books and she designated a page for each character and they HAD to sign that page. Periwinkle did not sign the right page and Sophie was so mad she scribbled out her signature. Crazy kid.

They loved all the rides and we did most of them as a family. That is the best part about Disney, they are so family friendly!

Met Merida

Met Ariel

Caitlin realizing her time with Ariel is over.

Sophie chose these sparkly Minnie ears.

 At Epcot

Met Minnie

 Swimming at the resort's pool.

The boyz.

The cousinz.

The family pic.

Riding the teacups.

Met Periwinkle

Met Tinkerbell

Group pic with Goofy & Minnie

Sophie FINALLY getting the cotton candy she wanted the whole time.

Caitlin FINALLY taking a nap.

Check out the sweet stroller we borrowed. Thanks Patricks!

 This didn't last long...

So excited to be here!

Met Sleeping Beauty

Riding It's a Small World

Caitlin loved riding her "pony"!

Met Rapunzel

Met Mary Poppins

This is how Sawyer spent most of his time there.

Rode the Finding Nemo ride and checked out the aquarium.

The castle at night.

Met Cinderella

 Riding the bus to and from the park.

PHEW! We actually did everything we wanted to. It was super fun but super exhausting. Glad to have a couple of weeks of "downtime" before the move!

The Moms Visit

My fabulous mom, sis & aunt came to visit! They were here for 9 days and I didn't want them to leave, I've missed them so much.

 We spent some time at the beach:

We had "Christmas" with grandma:

At Tato-Nut:

 Looking for dolphins on the pier:

At the Biloxi Visitor's Center:

Checking out the huge Mardi Gras store:

At the waffle house: 

Exploring and climbing trees on Dauphin Island:

Explored the French Quarter and yes that is powdered sugar all over my coat. Fat kids can't help it! 

 At Darwell's Cafe (as seen on Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives!) YUM

Some random pics of the kiddies being cute: