Week Two in Mobile--We Played Hard Too!

The restoration company finished up boxing up Mom and Dad's savable belongings on Monday. After that, they were (and still are) at a standstill while the insurance company bickers with the construction company. So the waiting began.

I met up with some of the old gang at the park to play. It had been a long time since Archie had seen any of his old homeschool friends. He told me more than once that everyone looked so much older than he remembered! It took him a little bit to warm up to the kids again, but I think he and Lina's children found common ground at the baseball field!

I have to say I was a bit nervous meeting up with everyone again. I have had not so good experiences in the past trying to 'rekindle' friendships after a long period of time. But I keep up with this group pretty closely via blogs and Facebook, so it turned out like another fun day at the park and I hadn't been away for two years at all! One of the things I've missed most about Mobile (except for family) was our homeschool group. It is great to be able to still be a part of things via blogs, emails and Facebook.

In trying to get a little better in the photography department, I was taking a few shots of my kiddos against the green grass of the park. Suddenly an over-enthusiastic puppy bowled Archie and Lawrence over. This was taken just before the attack. Archie must've seen it coming!

In the end, I liked this shot of them the best:



Lawrence really enjoyed being pushed in the baby swings by his big brother:



Mom and Dad's first homeless stint was to stay in their RV for the first week after the fire. Their neighbours across the street graciously let them park there and use all the necessary hookups (water, sewer and electric). We played cards and enjoyed some good ole togetherness while they were there.

This one is one of my favourites:


While Archie was (and still is) my thumb sucker child, Lawrence is my toe sucker child.

Their RV is very nice, however, it is a living space encompassing all of twenty-something feet of space. At one point, Archie felt that perhaps Bumpa needed some quiet time, so he shut us all up in the 'bedroom' area so Bumpa would be able to be alone.

We played cards too. I love playing cards with the family! Here is Archie and Regular E trying out our newest family game acquisition: "Zigety" by Cranium. Archie looks a little distressed because he was having to come up with numbers that add up to eleven. AGAIN!



On Wednesday, we met up with our friend Dr. Joe to visit and playtime at Chick-Fil-A. One of the few times I was without my camera. I think my friend Lina must live at Chick-Fil-A. Every time we meet up with Dr. Joe at Chick-Fil-A, we run into her as well!

Wednesday evening, we met up with Regular E at Buccaneer Yacht Club to sail on his boat. There were really big waves and some high winds out there, so instead of going out on his boat, his friend took us out on his larger boat. We had a lovely time and a very enjoyable sunset cruise.











We played some cards while 'slip sailing' on Regular E's boat, after returning to the Yacht Club. Here is Archie hiding in one of the cubbies.

On Thursday, we went to Bienville Square downtown to feed the already way-overfed squirrels and pigeons. There were no pigeons out at all. But lots of fat squirrels to come and take peanuts out of our hands!

The Bienville Square fountain:



We went to the Police Museum. Archie thought it would be funny to pretend to poop in the mock jail cell's potty!



No downtown trip is complete without some Three George's Candies. Grownups got truffles and pralines and kids got suckers. Lawrence is having his first sucker taste. He was pretty greedy with the sucker after that. Archie kept trying to explain how it was his sucker first and he should share.



On Friday, Julie was going to have Jim's birthday celebration at their house in Foley. I thought it would be nice to make a day of it and do the beach. We went to Dauphin Island first. My plan was to look around the East end, check to see about hermit crabs, perhaps check out Fort Gaines, walk on the beach, and maybe do the Estuarium. Archie got so excited about being near the water, that he decided he MUST have a swim. So we didn't have time to do the Estuarium before the Ferry to Gulf Shores.

There were no hermit crabs about on the east end near all the big rocks. Which is strange, because there were always hermit crabs there. However, there have been big changes to the beach on that end, so perhaps the environment didn't suit them anymore. Or maybe they flew South for the winter!

Here is Lawrence's first experience with sand between the toes. He wasn't really a big fan at first. However, by the end of the trip, he LOVED the sand!

This is my current Facebook profile picture. Archie likes it because Lawrence is sticking out his tongue!

My Mom may have had a house fire, but she can make an awesome picnic out of just about anything! It's magic! This was at the public beach part of Dauphin Island. Those condos in the background are a relatively new addition. There used to be nothing there except for these few beach pavilions.



Here, Lawrence decided that the sand wasn't too bad after all. I must admit it was sure nice to be at the beach in a tank top and shorts at the beginning of March! I think it was in the twenties in Cincinnati at this time.

Dad and Lawrence:

Archie did swim, despite the frigid water temperatures. I wonder at what age it happens...the water finally gets too cold to swim!

I really liked how this picture turned out. Lawrence decided around this point that sand is as good to eat as it is to feel on your feet. It was kind of hard to get a picture without him shoving fistfuls of sand in his mouth!

Mom and Lawrence talking.

We rode the ferry from Dauphin Island to Gulf Shores. It was a bit chilly on the water, with the wind blowing. Archie and Dad went to the front of the ferry to perhaps make nautical observations? They came back both drenched from a rogue wave that splashed over the front of the boat.

Here is Lawrence enjoying his first ferry ride.


A highlight of the trip for Archie was checking out Fort Morgan at Gulf Shores. He just loved it! We could only spend a few short minutes because it was getting too close to closing time. I told him we will spend lots of time exploring this fort when we come back to Mobile in a couple of months. It'll give me some time to find some books and information on it and the time period so he'll enjoy it that much more when he can relate it to a period in history. Homeschooling!! Learning opportunities at every turn!

Here we are celebrating Jim's birthday. Julie cooked a fabulous Lenten fish and Jim cooked his infamous chili.

On Saturday, I helped Mom do some shopping and Archie played with his cousins at Phillip's parents' house. The kids got the idea to make something with pinecones. This is what they came up with:





How cool is that??? My Dad-in-Law and I were mystified at how they got it so perfectly round! With all the azaleas blooming, and the green leaves placed here and there, it's just beautiful! They even had the idea to rake up some pinestraw to place in the center, like a nest. Such a creative project!

We left Mobile early Sunday morning to come back to Cincinnati. It was one of the more painful goodbyes since we've moved. It was so hard to say goodbye to my parents on Saturday night and Archie cried and cried. Which made me cry and cry. So I decided to leave very early on Sunday while everyone was too tired and bleary-eyed to focus on the goodbyes. Plus having the kids sleep for the first few hours was beneficial for me!

We had a pretty good drive back. The kids did a great job riding again. After we hit Kentucky, I bought some juice and water so Archie could give it to Lawrence in the bottle so I wouldn't need to stop and nurse again. We made great time. It was really windy that day, so I kept having to fight the wind, but that was my only trouble. Not bad!

Despite the reason for our visit, we had a lovely visit with our family. Both mine and Phillip's. It was really nice to sit with Granny (Phillip's grandmother) in the mornings and get to know her better. It was good to see my inlaws in a better place than the last time we were there.

We had a great time playing cards, visiting, and just being together. I enjoyed finding out that even though Marty and Sara play pool once a week, every week, I'm still not that much worse than they are! Much thanks to my Mom-in-law and Dad-in-law for putting up with us for the two weeks. I'm really glad I went. I think it was a positive for all of us.