How I spent my summer vacation (obviously NOT blogging!!)

My goodness - where did the summer go!!  I must say, it seems like just yesterday, I was celebrating my anniversary, having a Memorial Day cookout and stressing over whether or not my embroidery machine was going to be repaired in time to finish
the t-shirts, towels, quilts and the butterfly panel AND I still had to pack for my beach trip!! 

Oh my where oh where do I start.  

How about where I left off in May - the week before the trip.

Well, before I start, I'd like to say that today (August 29th) I am thinking about the lives lost in my beloved state of Mississippi.  7 years ago today, Hurricane Katrina devasted the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  It is sadly still called the forgotten coast.  New Orleans was just as deadly however to this day, they still take front and center stage, it is like the direct hit on Mississippi never happened.  Most people may not realize that Katrina hit Mississippi full force and knocked Waveland right off the map with Bay St Louis not far behind.  Today Issac (below) hit and thankfully it was not as bad.  I still want to retire there and continously look for a home that I can fit all of my machines into!! 

If I repeat anything from a previous blog, consider it a refresher ;-)

The butterfly panel turned out beautifully!! My little sister loved it!! 

Finally...it was time to gather my stuff together for the trip I have been planning for since the fall of 2011!!  I was so excited and yes, let the packing issues begin!  Seriously - I was going to the beach, I didn't need anything but flipflops and a bathing suit..but still...there are some things in life that will never change.

Over the month of May, I was buying pool/beach toys and snacks for the kids and finally it was time to get them all ready to go!!

Got the quilts for my little nieces finished too!!

I tried something different, on the binding, I sewed it with a decorative stitch - came out really nice.

 I used my frixion pens and drew designs, they sewed out well and the pen marks ironed off with no problem.

Now....Our wonderful beach trip - not in any particular order...

Cheap thrill - riding the elevator at the John C Stennis Space Center - on a side note, y'all know how I always make comments about hating math...Well...when I was buying the tickets, I told them we had SEVEN kids with us (guess I was counting myself)!!

Headed out for a bus tour of the NASA Space Center

Heading out to the beach with my precious nieces and nephews  all in a line.  The 7th kid is invisible...

Checking out the beach at night.

   Chair races on a hot summer evening at our hotel

I was never concerned about safety - we did after all, have our own sheriff!!  He was ready for anything.

Our little guy on patrol - he taught me a lot about police work.  He explained the difference between a shield and a badge.  He also gave tips to my other nephew about how not to be worried, there were always two cops together and he would be safe.  It was great.  He was very serious in his explanations.

Guess it was only a matter of time before he had to make an arrest.  

Having a picnic right outside our room 

 Playing hopscotch

 Wearing their t-shirts I spent hours embroidering!!  They fit perfectly!!

Austin is going to break a lot of little girls hearts!!   Those girls will break a lot of boys hearts too!! 

This probably my favorite picture.  The look on Austin's face is what summer is all about (far left) 

 The other three!!

Our towels hanging on the fence to dry.   They all came out really nice (even though I spelled Zach's name wrong ).  There sure were a lot of us!!

The crew wearing our shirts!!  In hindsight, I should have used different colored thread so the names could be read a little easier 

 I let three at a time ride with me.  We were headed to Mickey D's for lunch.

Yes - we are at Krispy Kreme and yes, we sugared them up really well.  Hey the HOT light was on, could not help myself. 

Sharkheads Store!! 

Now that is one big watermelon!! 

Yes, I resisted the temptation and did not push him in!!  

Katrina destroyed the original Sharkheads store, they managed to salvage this.  They finished the new store this summer!!

Checking out the hermit crabs 

I'll admit it....I was telling the kids not to play with them because they will pinch.  What do I do, I pick one up to take a picture and what does it do, pinched the dickens out of my finger, I dropped the poor thing and the kids just looked at me with big eyes and oohhhhhh I'm gonna tell looks on their faces...I told them, see this is what happens when you pick one up...

I LOVE rocks....it would be awesome if I could get a truck load of these for my flower bed!!

I love this picture too, they were all headed over to the laundromat - kids all in a row...

Waiting patiently for me to tell them they could go into the pool 

 All kids here - now they can go!!

Headed to the beach (after we dropped by the dollar store for sunglasses)!!

I took the three little ones to Mickey D's first - taught them how to dip their fries into ice cream.  That is the only way they eat them now!!   

Once I got back with the little ones, took the older ones for their own treat!!   

Our last day the clouds started rolling in!!  This was around noon or so.  It started raining about mid afternoon and did NOT stop!!  We had a wonderful beautiful week!!

The weather was going to be rainy the rest of the day!!

 My sister and I went out for supper later that evening.  Thankfully we got a table close to the building - it was pouring!!

Well - time to pack and head back home - she to central Mississippi, me back to Jawja.. 
 
One last photo together!!  Can't wait til next year!!

Stopped by the beach to say bye and yes - one of the kiddos came home with me!!  I was SO excited, in all the years I've lived away from home, no one has been able to stay with me.

We had a WILD ride home!! It poured, the average speed on the 70 mph highway was around 35!!

Stopped for breakfast and the entrance was flooded, had to wind our way into the back - the nice lady at McDonald's gave us breakfast for free!!

Oh I'll stay awake and talk to you!!  Asleep in less than an hour after we hit the road!!

Our normally just over 5 hour trip took a little longer in the awful weather!!

You're home - You're HOME!!  I missed you sooo much!!

SNIFF SNIFF WHO'S this??  I don't know that smell

Ok - I decided that since Chewie likes her, I like her too
Head butt love 

I'm sitting on my new best friend.

It was by far one of the best summers of my adult life.  I got to spend time with my sister, her children and their children, I spent three wonderful days with my best friend and the best part, I got to bring one of the creatures home with me.

Stay tuned for part two of my "Slushie Summer" 
We actually got some sewing done!!