Alabama Trip

It feels so good to be home! We had such a fun time with our family in Alabama.

Two weeks ago from Monday, Cannon and I left at 6:15 am and 8.5 hours later, we were there! My goal was to stop once, but I had to take a potty break in the morning (I was really mad that it was me who had to stop!). Then Cannon slept from 10-12. When he woke up we stopped at McDonalds to play and eat lunch. Cannon is a super car traveler! He mostly plays with his toys while listening to his music. He also likes to read. I packed lots of activities and snacks (snacks and treats that he doesn't get at home), but he only went through a few. A couple times he got fussy, but no tantrums. That made driving alone so much easier!

My sister in law grew up in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Her grandparents and her father (who remarried and had four more kids) still live in Alabama. So we did actually spend quite a bit of time in Alabama even though the condo we stayed in (which is owned by Bev's grandparents) is actually in Pensacola, FL. The condo basically was a three bedroom, two bath apartment. Cannon and I got our own room and we shared a bed.

Our unit was on the 7th floor, with an ocean view. Here is the view from on our balcony looking left:



And the view looking right:


And this is what our "backyard" looked like.


We were so happy to see Bev and the kids! Robert didn't come down until later in the trip. Linda (Bev's mom) was there too. She is like a grandma to Cannon and he (and the rest of the grandkids) call her Nie Nie. We haven't seen them since May when they moved to Illinois.

I have never really experienced the true South and I really got a taste of it! Here's a bit of what I experienced:

-I ate gumbo and it was delicious!
-People wondered where MY accent was from!
-Bev's "Alabama" name is Sissy (mostly her little brother and sisters call her that) and Linda is referred to as Nana Jane instead of Nie Nie
-Mardi Gras!
-An every day breakfast will include eggs, bacon, grits, and toast
-Southern hospitality is very nice and little kids better use their manners (yes mam!)

On Fat Tuesday we went to downtown Mobile for the Mardi Gras parades! Bev's dad is a member of the Bienville Business Club. He was able to get us passes to stand on this platform during the parades that way we didn't have to be in the huge crowd! In between parades we would hang out in the restaurant which was on the top floor of the building. This was nice because we were treated to some yummy food and there was a movie room for the kids.


I wore my Mardi Gras colors (purple, green, and gold). Bev colored some of my hair, but it's hard to see in the picture.



There were some great floats and some really weird ones too!




JT and Cannon

For the first parade Cannon was pretty freaked out. He had no idea what was going on, what these weirdos were doing, and why they were throwing stuff at us. But towards the end he understood that it was for fun and he had a good time. We caught tons of stuff! Mostly beads, but we also got lots of footballs, frisbees, stuffed animals, a hula hoop, moon pies, and some candy. Jade caught a giant bag of Hershey kisses! It was a long day, but a lot of fun! I'm glad we got to experience it.

The first week and a half we were there, we mostly did things with Bev's dad, stepmom (Keela), and siblings (Alan Jr, aka "Gippy"-almost 13, Jaime-11, Mary Sue-4, Terry-3). This was my first time meeting them and they were so nice to Cannon and me. Cannon had a blast playing with the two little girls, Mary Sue and Terry. Plus they live in a huge house with lots of fun things for kids! Cannon LOVED playing at their house, especially in their backyard (which is beyond huge!).


Cannon loved to play with their dog Captain.


Trampoline


Jade thought she was pretty cool that she could drive the golf cart by herself.


Here is Cannon waiting for his turn to ride on the Polaris. Gippy was the only kid allowed to drive it.

Later that week we all went to the Gulf Coast Exploreum in downtown Mobile. Cannon's favorite part was the tug boat. He liked to drive, pull the whistle, and ring the bell.




These pipes were neat because they blew out air. Cannon also like to put the balls on them to watch them float.


Mary Sue and Cannon


He liked "swimming" with the fish too!

We found this awesome park just down the street from us called Perdido Kids park. It was fantastic! This park was huge! It's design was intricate in the way the they placed various tunnels, stairs, bridges, and ladders. Even Cannon would get lost in it! The kids (even the big kids) could play for hours and hours!




These were modeled after the Blue Angel jets. We would hear the real jets fly over us almost daily.


This bridge was Cannon's favorite part of this park! For some reason he is really into bridges right now. This bridge is near the back of the playground and it's kind of weird to get to. Cannon kept getting confused about where everything was since the park was so big. He kept asking where the bridge was, but he learned to find it on his own.


He also loved this bell.



Cannon doesn't like slides right now, but Ally does!


Cannon called this the "motorcycle bee." It's just a ride on bee thing. There is also a ladybug which he calls the "motorcycle bug." He really likes motorcycles right now too.


The kids liked it when Linda pushed them.


Another bridge.

Then we went to New Orleans! It was only about a 2 1/2 hour drive from where we were. This was also my first time in New Orleans. We left the little girls (Ally, Terry, and Mary Sue) home with the nanny and just took the big kids and Cannon (and of course Bev's parents). Cannon did awesome! He was great in the car and didn't complain much even though he missed his nap. He didn't have any tantrums and was so flexible with everything. I should mention that Bev's dad payed for everything for us! We were really spoiled on this trip! Not pictured below is our lunch at Mothers where I ate my first "Po Boy" sandwich with the debris! Yum!



Our first stop was Cafe Du Monde for beignets and hot chocolate! Oh they were so good! Cannon has been really into powdered sugar lately, so this treat was right up his ally. He got powdered sugar all over the both of us.





I love these pictures!




While we were waiting for the older kids to have their caricatures drawn, I took Cannon into a little toy store. As we were walking in I knew that I wouldn't be leaving empty handed. Sure enough, Cannon spied a train that he has always wanted, Hiro. So I let him get it. Half of me felt happy inside knowing how happy Cannon was, but my frugal other half felt guilty spending $23 on a train! He is still playing, eating, and sleeping with that train so I guess it was worth it.

We went on a carriage ride through the French Quarters. Our tour guide gave us the history of the area that I found really fascinating. He also pointed out Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's house, as well as Johnny Depp's.

Other things you might see in New Orleans:


Bourbon Street


Jackson Square with various "artists" (musicians, sketch artists, fortune telling people, etc).


You might also see a wolf playing the violin in front of Cafe Du Monde. You never know! And by the way, Cannon was and still is fascinated with "the wolf."

As you can tell, that first week was pretty busy!


Cannon certainly had his fair share of sleeping in the car.

When we weren't out a about we did other things like swimming and just spending time together. I was able to meet Bev's other side of the family. Bev's grandparents (Linda's parents) live about 20 minutes from the condo. We went there one evening to celebrate Linda's birthday, even though her birthday was in January. I met Linda's siblings. I also met Bev's brother, David, who is just a couple years younger than her. He is married to Tiffany and they have two boys, Grant David (13) and Turner Max (9). Again, everyone was so nice to us! Cannon really felt at home with the family. I met some other relatives too, but I can't remember everyone! Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of them and now I regret it.

The condo had an indoor pool which worked out great since it was usually foggy and drizzly most days. We went swimming almost every day that we were home.


Cannon used arm floaters for the first time and did great!


But his favorite was this blue swim ring. He can take it on and off himself and swim around the whole pool. This was a relief for me that he could finally be somewhat independent in the pool.


One side of the pool was shallow enough for him to touch the bottom. He liked to walk around and bounce.

So I've got to mention Cannon and Ally's relationship. At first they were very happy to see each other. They played very well together for the first little bit. Cannon and Ally are both accustomed to playing by themselves. Although Cannon has playdates often, he is not used to having another "peer" around all the time. Cannon learned very quickly how to tease Ally. And Ally gets sensitive about things like that, which makes Cannon do it even more! Luckily, both Cannon and Ally had their Woody and Buzz dolls because that would have been a huge battle! Here are some classic examples from the trip:

-Ally would say, "Woody" and Cannon would respond by saying, "Wooda." This was an intentional mispronunciation which would upset Ally, which made Cannon do it more!

-Cannon and Ally had their car seats next to each other. Cannon would touch Ally's hand or her car seat. This would make her so mad! Cannon, of course, would do it more which would end up in Ally in tears and screams.

-Late one night Bev and I were driving back with just Ally and Cannon in the car. It was kind of cold so I put a nice big soft blanket across them both to share. Cannon kept taking all of the blanket, which upset Ally. I couldn't take the screaming anymore, so I took the blanket away. Cannon got SO upset, worse than Ally. Finally I told him that he could have the blanket back after Ally went to sleep. About 10 seconds later I hear Ally pretending to snore! I couldn't believe she understood everything going on! Bev and I laughed to ourselves and then I gave the blanket back to Cannon. And then both kids were quiet for the rest of the ride home.

Since Cannon was usually the instigator, I empathized with Ally a lot. I think this bonded us. She would come cuddle with me and sit in my lap. Then she realized that this made Cannon jealous! Sometimes she would come and sit in my lap just to make Cannon jealous!


They were so cute to share this chair. About 5 seconds after I took this picture, Ally decided that she didn't want a hug after all.


Popsicles and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse


I'm sure they were watching Toy Story 2.


We discovered that Ally loves chicken legs! Give her an hour and she'll eat the whole thing!

Thursday of the second week was when Robert and Ryan's parents arrived. Cannon was so excited to see them! I could tell that he missed his Papa because he pretty much cuddled with him the whole time!

Our first item of business was Lamberts! As you may recall, this is Ryan's favorite restaurant. During our move to Florida, we stopped here for dinner that first night. I REALLY wanted to enjoy myself that night, but the circumstances got the best of me. I was exhausted from driving since 5am, we had a 2 hour wait in the heat, Blue was with us, Cannon threw a tantrum the whole time, and the guy throwing the roll hit me in the head (that part would have been funny). I was glad that we got to come again because I wanted a do-over! This time was had a great time! The only thing that would have made it better was if Ryan was there. I felt bad that we were having so much fun without him.


All the kids playing on the train.


I think this in Cannon's favorite restaurant! He really got into the roll throwing! Every time the guy with the rolls came, he would stand on his seat and put his arms up ready to catch one.


I think he ate about 4 rolls! And that was all he ate.


Toni thought she was being clever and ordered a "healthy" salad. I don't think she realized how big it would be!


Ally enjoyed her sausage.

After Lamberts I went with Burke and Toni for a little journey. Burke left his cell phone at the Beau Rivage Hotel in Biloxi, Mississippi where they had stayed the previous night. It was almost a 2 hour drive there. We ended up in the casino and then they convinced me to eat a delicious dessert they had had when they stayed there. I can't remember the name of the restaurant, but it was in the casino. The dessert was half vanilla and half chocolate gelato, covered in a dark chocolate shell. But the best part was the amaretto cherry inside! Mmmmm. Our adventure was fun and it gave us some time to catch up in the car.

We had one day where the weather was actually nice enough to enjoy the beach!


Ally and Cannon


Bev and Toni


Cannon's dream came true! He was finally able to play football with the big kids (T and Robert).


Jade (or Ha-day as Ally calls her)


Ally liked playing in the sand.


We found LOTS of hermit crabs.

Ally also celebrated her 2nd birthday on February 28th. On her actually birthday we had a dinner with Bev's dad and that side of the family. We waited to have a party when Rob was in town. We had Bev's grandparents over, David and Tiffany and their boys. Ally loves Mickey Mouse and she got lots of Mickey Mouse gifts!


I love her pigtails!

Cannon certainly got lots of cuddle time with his grandparents!




Cannon watched a movie quietly while Papa took a nap.


Toni was laughing because Cannon kept putting his feet on Ally!


I can't believe how big the kids are getting! Jade (9), JT (8), and Ally (2).

Saturday (the day before we left) was cold and rainy. We stayed in our pajamas and played games all day! I think it was a nice way to end the trip, just spending time together. It was bittersweet leaving, like always. Hopefully it won't be too long before we see everyone again!