Barbour Vacation

 Barbour family beach vacation was a success and Will and I will be recovering for weeks.  I'll give those Barbours credit, they burn it at both ends with a vengeance and it was all we could do to stumble along, keeping up in their wake.  The girls loved being with all their cousins, aunts, uncles and Pop and Sherrie.  We brought home a bucketful of seashells (and quite a bit of sand too).  We jumped in the waves, dug in the sand, built sandcastles, found sand crabs, muscles, fish and stingrays.  And really enjoyed spending time together.  Praise be for sweet family!

Heber Springs

A few weeks ago, we headed to Heber Springs with Will's family.

We hiked to Collins Creek. Daddy is a trooper, he and Laurie splashed in the water.















Explored.















And climbed the rocks.















While Anna Fair and I snuggled on the bank.















We enjoyed a lot of boating on the lake with frequent stops to swim and cool off. (Can I brag that I was the only momma to jump in?)
















Daddy was tired from swimming with both girls, so Uncle Charles was sweet and offered to take Laurie and Meg. My girl loves the water.














Daddy was pretty pumped about fishing, he got up early and fished every morning.















There is an elephant sanctuary nearby, it was fun to see so many elephants up close.















Thanks for a great trip, Pop and Sherrie!

The Love and Rejection of Emma

While we were at the pool one morning, we began noticing Laurie had befriended a little girl and they were buddying up fast.

Me: Laurie, who's your friend?
Laurie: It's Betsy Ball!

Which I found odd that this blond headed child had the exact same name as another blond headed friend we left in Jackson. After investigation, we found from her grandmother that she was Emma and 6 years old. Emma was so sweet to young Laurie, they were sliding, jumping, Laurie even ditched us at one point to hang with Emma and her family in the hot tub.

All was well, until Laurie gave Emma a stranglehold down the slide with a slight drowning at the bottom and Emma cooled a little on the friendship after that. Poor Laurie, she was devastated and bawled over her loss. We whisked Laurie off to the lazy river and have never mentioned Emma again.

Beach Trip - The Beach

Laurie did love the swimming pool, but we did manage to drag her away a few times. I love watching the waves and the ocean smell in the air. Could do without all the sand in my suit.

We built a super awesome castle complete with moat and seashell decor. I can't believe I didn't get a better shot than this.















How do they manage to get so much sand on them?
















Jumping waves.
















I love that when we divvy the children up, I quite often end up with Anna Fair. My little lamb that loves to stay near. Exhibit A, cuddling in my lap while Will and Laurie play in the waves.
















Exhibit B, playing in the shade with her tractor.
















We risked the horrors of staying up late for a little moonlight stroll one night. It never even occurred to Anna Fair to leave Daddy's shoulders, while Laurie ran the beach like a madman. There were jellyfish everywhere and it is only by God's grace that she wasn't stung.
















We spied little crabs with each sweep of our flashlight and we managed to catch one. My fearless child was terrified he was going to jump up and get her.

Beach Trip - The Pool

There are basically two things we did on vacation, the beach and the pool. We thought we might shop more, maybe the zoo, find a playground, but nope, we did the beach and the pool. Here's the pool.

Laurie started the week really struggling in her swimming, but by day 7, she needed very little assistance from Will to make it from the slide to the ladder. So proud of our girl!
















The lazy river was a failure last year, Laurie was furious she couldn't fit in her own tube. She loved it this year and Anna Fair was furious she couldn't fit in her own tube. So, there ya go.






























I can't imagine how many times Laurie went down the slides. She has always been fearless and was definitely the youngest and one of the few wearing a floatie. She loved to boast, "I slide with the big kids!" Anna Fair wouldn't touch a slide with a ten foot pole.
































Laurie may have ruled the slides, but Anna Fair was queen of the shallows, so dear splashing and swimming in her own little area. After chasing fearless Laurie, it was a pleasant change to lounge beside Anna Fair while she sweetly played.
































Ah...the Dora Kickboard, loved by both girls. Good story, I believe we forgot the Dora board at the lazy river, despite looking, thought it was gone. While I was relaxing on the balcony one day, I thought I spied it floating in the pool, even confirmed with binoculars. Will retrieved it, even had a little boy swim out to get it for him. He returns triumphantly, only for Laurie to ask, "Where did the fish go?" It was not our Dora board, though it did sport the same mermaid Dora. We had to sneak it back down to the pool and hope no one witnessed our thievery. We are still wandering who stole ours.















Nice legs.
















Anna Fair was super excited about her donkey float.






























Laurie singing and twirling in the pool.

Beach Sneak Peak

I am uploading and sorting our beach pictures. All 150 of them. And that's after I already deleted all the duds. Who takes that many pictures?! Here's a couple of shots we took of the girls on the beach in their sweet dresses. Aren't they adorable?

At the Beach

One video of the girls enjoying a moment at the beach. Anna Fair ate more sand than I care to know about.

The Week of Family Vacations, Part 2

Next, we headed down to Orange Beach for a few more days with my folks at the beach. We loved the Caribe and will definitely be back. Laurie settled into her own and had a blast on the slide. She slid more times than I can count, that girl is such a daredevil. Anna Fair and the adults even took a turn on a few of their slides.

She begged and begged to play on the beach too. We spent a beautiful morning on the beach, no waves and a slight breeze made it perfect. We saw so many fish swim by, even felt a few nibble on our toes. Laurie and I dug a pool in the sand and came across a funny little sand crab. Laurie wouldn't touch him, but she peered hard eye to eye with him. We finally put him back in his tunnel and haven't stopped talking about him since.

We parted ways with much sadness. Laurie cried several times on the way home for her Bebe. It was nice to have so many to help with our little people, I wanted to cry too. Thank you for a fun trip, Bebe and Grandaddy! And now back to reality!