Lynn Meadows Discovery Center Children's Museum!

While on the MS Gulf Coast, we spent a morning at the Lynn Meadows Discovery Center in Gulfport.  It was amazing!  Ellie and Abby (and Mommy & Daddy!) had a ball exploring the fun children's museum!

Captain Ellie on her ship

Ellie and Abby in the art room.  They did crayon rubbings, then painted them with watercolor paints.  We left them in the art room to dry while we explored the rest of the Discovery Center.

A submarine!

Little Bird!   This reminds me of Big Bird's nest.  Abby spent a while in the nest, reading books.

At the airport!  Ellie was an excellent gate agent and Abby flew the plane.

The Cajun Cafe!  Frying up a turkey, checking out the customers, and a crawfish boil!

This climbing sculpture was 3 stories tall!  Ellie climbed up to the very top all by herself.  She loved it and kept going back to climb up and down between floors.

Construction workers -- they used a crane to move sandbags from the truck to the loading dock.

The grocery store and seafood stand! 

Kayaking!  The girls climbed in the kayak (which was in front of a tv green-screen) and watched themselves going down a river.

The Hacienda -- cooking up Mexican food and serving it to Daddy!

The science area -- pulleys to lift your own body weight and watching a cartoon in the drum.

Victorian Era -- playing piano, a sweet tea party, dress up and an old-fashioned hotel!

Here's Ellie manning the cameras while Abby and Tim do the weather report!
(Tim finally found his calling -- he never misses the weather report on tv).

Outside the museum, there was a creek to explore and several playgrounds.

A treehouse, wooden train, and an old fashioned cabin!

 Kids Village -- big playhouses constructed by local builders.  Inside were displays on different forms of construction and building materials.  I'm still trying to figure out how we can get one of these gorgeous playhouses in our own backyard!

We had a wonderful morning at the Discovery Center!  We will definitely visit it again -- there was so much to see and do, we couldn't possibly see everything in one morning.  Even the parking lot was polka dotted -- so super fun!

Spring Break Mini-Vacation

During the girls' Spring Break, we took a little mini-vacation to the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  We didn't really make any plans, only hotel reservations, so it was fun to just relax and make our own schedule.  Abby entertained herself in the car with her gold coins (a true pirate princess never leaves home without her gold doubloons). 

And Abby was totally enthralled with the hotel!  It was a typical Hampton Inn, but she was fascinated with the idea of a fridge in our bedroom, the big giant bathroom, and going down the hall for a serve-yourself breakfast (so many breakfast food choices all at once!).  Seriously, if we had just camped out at the Hampton and done nothing else, Abby would've been completely happy!

Our first stop was downtown Ocean Springs.  It's such a quaint little town with several interesting shops.  We loved the Walter Anderson shop, and Ellie and I found a shop completely devoted to CHEESE.  Yum!  Cheese is our favorite food group, ha!

Then we went to the Ocean Springs pier and beach. 

Our little beach babies!

I love sandy toes!  My girls are half-Californian after all!

We saw a gorgeous beach sunset then headed back to our room to pile up in bed and watch lots of Food Network.   The perfect way to start our mini-vacay!

Mississippi Country Girls

Saturday afternoon, while I caught up on some painting orders, Tim took the girls to Copiah County to visit Mamaw at the nursing home and then roam around the old family land.  It was Abby's first time to hike around the farm and she was totally excited!! 

And then Abby spotted the cows which made their hike even more exciting!

Cows!!  That one looks like she's running straight toward Ellie and Abby! Yikes!  But really, the cows are kind of big wimps, running away when the girls would try to get close to them.

They hiked through the big pasture, all the way down the slope to the creek.

 They both stomped in the creek in their rainboots and came home with pockets full of interesting, smooth stones from the creekbed. Tim said he used to find arrowheads in that creek when he was a little boy.  He spent a great deal of his childhood helping Papaw and happily exploring in the creek, woods and pastures.  Now the land is even more special to Tim since he can explore it with his daughters.

Two cute girls on a log!

This was Granny and Pap's house (Tim's great-grandparents).   It's down the hill from Mamaw & Papaw's house.

It was a fun adventure for Daddy and his girls!

Silly and Sweet Sisters!

It is so sweet to watch Ellie and Abby play together and enjoy each other's company!  They spend hours together on the deck and porch, in the backyard, and in their rooms, coming up with their own creative activities.   The other day, they came in the kitchen giggling and this is what I saw!  Silly girls! 

Love the fake D&G sunglasses. 

After a quick accessory change, they returned looking just as fabulous!

Today, after several hours on the deck playing with flower pots, dirt and lots of water (hence lots of MUD!), Ellie helped bathe Abby and they snuggled on my bed in their pink robes.

Sister LOVE!!!

Regional Reading Fair in Jackson

Since Ellie was the First Place winner for second grade in the Brookhaven School District reading fair, she was invited to the Regional Fair in Jackson!  She was so excited to present her storyboard at the regional level, and just as excited to ride the school bus all the way to Jackson (Tim, Abby and I followed in our car -- which Abby found hysterical -- she kept a close eye on that bus!).  We had to leave Brookhaven at 6:45 a.m.!  When we arrived at the educational center, the students were asked to set up their storyboards and wait for judging to begin.  Here's excited Ellie with her storyboard.

Ellie rode the bus with Katie, a third grader from Brookhaven.

All the storyboards were amazing!  We had a few minutes before judging to admire the creative work by students from all over the state.  Lots of talented children!

Ellie waiting to be judged. . .  the parents were asked to leave the storyboard area and wait in the hall during judging. Ellie said the children were asked questions about the different parts of their storyboards, and to summarize their story.  She said she was questioned by two judges.  She seemed so calm and relaxed about the whole thing -- we were impressed with her self-confidence.

The hall was packed with nervous and excited parents!  The judging took about 2 hours. 

After judging, we were released for lunch.  Uncle Jeff's office was nearby so we got to meet him at Newks!  What a treat!

After lunch, we waited in the courtyard for the announcement of the winners.  Here's Ellie with her precious assistant principal, Mrs. Robinson.  She was the district sponsor for the reading fair. 

Ellie didn't place this year but she received a certificate and she was so proud of herself for making it all the way to Regionals.  It was an amazing experience and she's already looking forward to entering a storyboard next year.

One proud Daddy!

To celebrate her huge accomplishment, we treated the girls to a delicious supper at Cerami's, an Italian restaurant that we love.    Ellie ate her weight in the yummy Italian salad and Abby was in LOVE with the tiramisu.  All of our dishes were amazing and it was the perfect way to end Ellie's special day!

Skater Chicks

Cousin Morgan celebrated her 9th birthday at FunTime Skate park in Pearl last Sunday.  Tim was super excited to attend the party since he spent many Saturdays as a kid skating and hanging out at FunTime -- totally 80's! (FunTime hasn't changed a bit!).
Here are Mollie, Morgan, Abby, Ellie and Melinda -- all cousins!

Ellie is really getting the hang of rollerskating.  She's been to several skating parties and each time she really improves!
(That's Tim in the background, no skates, helping Abby roller skate).

This was Abby's first time rollerskating.  She usually rides her scooter at roller-rink parties.  Her wheels were tightened down so they hardly rolled -- a safety feature for the little ones.  She kept telling everyone she was "ice-skating."  She mostly shuffled, but kept her balance the whole time!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Last Friday was Dr. Seuss' birthday so we just had to celebrate with a snack!  Ellie and I made Cat in the Hat treats out of marshmallows, white chocolate, sprinkles and oreos (and we consumed quite a few oreos in the process!).  Ellie wore her Cat in the Hat hat all day at school!

Ellie had fun sharing the treats with her classmates in Mrs. Porter's class and Quest.
Her school celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday, too, with "Read Across America Day."  Volunteers from the community visited classes and read to the students.  And, the PTA sold "Truffula Tree Fruit" (blue cotton candy) during snacktime.  It was Stupendous! Tremendous!  Outrageous! and made Reading Contagious!

After school, we joined William, Emma, Lily & Olivia Hodgson at the movies to see the very first showing of THE LORAX!  It was as whimsical and creative as the book -- the children loved every minute of the movie! 
Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!!