Not Scared...

This afternoon I was unpacking Anna Lauren's bags from our trip, and I was certain she was playing on her bed. Two seconds later when I turned around she was on the other bed in her room, and I asked her how she got there...she said, I jumped...I said, show me! And sure enough...she can jump from one bed to the other. My cousin Carrie always had twin beds, and I can remember us doing this, but at 2...I don't think so!

Of course, we were the bad parents that let her continue enjoying herself by jumping over and over and over...remind us of this when we call you from the ER reporting she has injured herself.

And for your enjoyment, here is a clip of our little monkey jumping on the beds!

Mr. and Mrs. Joey Demarco...

We just returned from a few days in New Orleans celebrating the marriage of Matt's first cousin, Katie, and Joey. Matt and I enjoyed a few days away celebrating this special occasion and hanging out with his family that we don't get to see but maybe once or twice a year. And Anna Lauren...oh...she was just having a great time in Brookhaven with her Nanny!

The Happy Couple...Mr. and Mrs. Joey Demarco...

Matt, Mom, Sister Kelly, and Dad...

Matt's Mom, Mandi, and Kelly...

Mandi, Kelly, Katie, and Lisa (Andy's wife)...

Siblings: Uncle Mike, Uncle Al, Matt's Mom, and Uncle Bill...

Cousins: Andy, Deb, Kelly, Katie, Paul, and Matt...

Cousins with Maw Maw...

Siblings / Matt's 1st Cousins: Paul, Katie, Andy, and Deb

Funny Story...after the reception, the plan was for everyone to go to a near by hotel with a fabulous front porch for everyone to hang out a little longer. Matt and I followed Andy who acted as if he knew exactly where we were going. After we walked about a mile, Matt asked someone getting out of their car where the "Columns" was located. The lady looked at us and said...hmm...your a good ways away, turn around and walk back that way and you'll see it on your left. Andy decided to call his sister who felt sorry for us and sent the bride along with her limo for the evening to pick us up and take us back to the "Columns" which oh don't worry was literally across the street from where we started. We walked right past it and even noticed the "party" on the front porch...Andy was so mad...Matt and I just thought it added a little more fun to the night and we got a limo ride out of the deal!

Pumpkin Patch...

While Matt and my brother, Brad, rode their bikes some 40 plus miles this morning, the rest of us headed to the pumpkin patch. I took Anna Lauren, Reid, and Jake to the pumpkin patch, and we enjoyed a gorgeous day of taking a hay ride through the farm and picking pumpkins!

Look what I found at the pumpkin patch...Jake the Scarecrow and Reid and Anna Lauren the Sunflowers!

Jake and Reid waiting our turn to load up for the hay ride...

Anna Lauren ready for the hay ride to start...she has her camera ready!

Only in Rankin County / Mississippi will you see a Zedonk (1/2 donkey, 1/2 zebra)...don't ask...her name is April because she was born in April. Again...only in Mississippi!

You cannot see her hands but Anna Lauren was waving bye bye as hard as she could to this donkey...she waved and blew kisses...not sure what made her so interested in this particular donkey. There were several other donkeys and goats at this particular stop, but she was only interested in this one.

Anna Lauren with her pumpkin...she got the first one saw and only went back for another one because the stem broke on the first one. Her pumpkin picking was a total of 10 seconds and then she was off to play.

Ok mom, if you insist, I'll take a picture by my pumpkin, but would you hurry? And be sure to check out the outfit...she was determined to wear jeans with her dress...I offered leggings and no, only jeans! It actually wasn't too bad...she got lots of compliments so I guess I was worrying over nothing.

I love this look...she was having so much fun!

Reid and Jake with their pumpkins...they went for the big ones while Anna Lauren and I went for the little ones!

Big Girl At Our House...

Back in March / April, Anna Lauren started climbing out of her crib and nothing we did would keep her in the crib so we took the front off the crib and made it into a toddler bed. She refused to sleep in the toddler bed and spent 4 months sleeping on a pallet on the floor in her room. We finally took down the crib / toddler bed and put up a twin bed to see what she would do...and guess what, she slept in it and has been ever since. So...we finally got beds, bedding, etc. and now she has a "real" big girl room. It is so cute but so hard to believe that our "baby" is now a "little girl"!

Happy Birthday John...

Yesterday, we celebrated John's 3rd Birthday! John had a swimming party, which was so fun for all the many kids that were there to celebrate his special day!

John ~ The Birthday Boy...

Anna Lauren "loves" diving boards...

Love that smile on her face...she is getting ready for her big jump...

Parker, or as we call him, the P-Man...

Anna Lauren jumping again...she could do this for hours...

Drew...he was so sweet...he just sat there for the longest time and watched all the other kids play...

Not sure what is happening here...it looks as if Jake is pushing Anna Lauren off the diving board, but I know he is not doing that so who knows...they were all just having fun!

Emily and Mallory...

All the little kids got out of the pool to eat so Jake thought it would be fun to see how many of their floaties he could wear at one time...

Day 4 ~ Last Day at the Beach...

Monday ~ Day 4 ~ Last Day at the Beach...

Monday was our last day at the beach so we wanted to make sure we made the most of the day. We were at the pool when it opened with cousin James and Aunt Kate, and we played until it was time for Kate, James, Mary Martin, and MeMe to head to Gulfport. After a relaxing afternoon, we headed to the beach to build a few more sand castles, ate dinner, and went to the outlet mall to buy Anna Lauren a few things for Fall.

We had a fabulous "family" vacation and look forward to going back again...

Anna Lauren wanted a boat like her new friend Landon had, but she decided on this Gekko instead...it was lots of fun to ride down on the slide.

And yes, even Mommy enjoyed the Gekko...it really was lots of fun!

James going down the slide...toys of the day...ball and dive stick...he held on to them just like the toys he held onto the day before.

James playing in the sand...

Anna Lauren and Daddy going through the waterfall on the lazy river...

James and Kate having fun in the lazy river...notice...he still has the ball...too funny!

Look at this...is this the life or what...just floating down the lazy river...

At the beach to build one last sand castle...

Look at me...I found a stick! And yes, this stick slept right beside her and had to come home with her. I did manage to get it in the garbage can today...almost a week later.

Day 3...

Sunday ~ Day 3...

Anna Lauren running from one thing to the next at the pool...

Anna Lauren playing on what we call a "floating" playground...

Anna Lauren fighting or should we say having a discussion with a little boy at the pool. She only wanted her new friend, Landon, to slide...yes, she thought she owned the place! Needless to say, we had to leave the kid area for a little while because she was not being the sweetest to the other kids that were there that day.

Mommy and Anna Lauren headed to the sand to build some sand castles...we did this to get over her "nobody but Landon can slide" fit...

Building sand castles...

Kate (Matt's sister), James, and Mary Martin stopped and spent Sunday night / Monday morning with us on there way to Gulfport for the week. The kids loved riding on the cart as you can tell by their smiles. Not to mention that Matt made it a fun ride for them!

Our newest niece and Anna Lauren's cousin, Mary Martin...she is 2 months old...

Enjoying blowing bubbles with James on the condo balcony...

Back to the pool with James...he was so funny...he picked 3 things out of the toy bag and did not put them down the whole time we were at the pool.

James with his 3 things ~ Bucket, Shovel, and Ball...

Anna Lauren helping take care of Mary Martin...she was so sweet and just wanted to help...a little too much at times, but she was good for the most part.

And after a wonderful dinner of steamed shrimp, we celebrated Pop Pop's birthday a few days early...

Look how many people it takes to blow out candles...

Pop Pop, James, and Anna Lauren after the birthday celebration...