Smores

 Got to roast marshmellows for Smores when you're camping.

 Ben painted this pictures of John grilling burgers over the fire pit.

Monday night it got cold so the kids were in warm pajamas snuggled into their super thick sleeping bags.

Bicycles

 What made this trip super fun was that we took our bicycles.  The campsites are about 3/4 mile from the beach and no cars are allowed down the beach road.  The only way to access the beach is by trolley, bike, or walking.  In May, we rode the trolley which runs on the hour.  Having our bikes gave us more freedom to come and go on our own schedule plus they were just fun to ride.  We spent so much time on our bikes that Ben gave them names.  He named John's bike Rocky, mine Hazel and his Johnny or sometimes Raffi.  (Florida state law requires that children wear helmets so we had to buy Ben one for the trip.)

 On Monday evening we took a bike ride down a paved nature trail.

 We stopped to admire the view of the lake and the dunes.  Ben picked wildflowers for Mollie and me.

 As we were riding back our campsite, Mollie said, "I've got a whawhawha (imagine Charlie Brown's teacher) in my nose."  I said, "You've got a booger in your nose?  Don't pick your nose."  Mollie. "No, I've got a whawhawha in my nose."  Me, "You've got a bug in your nose?" I had gotten two bugs in my eyes so that seemed reasonable.  Mollie, "No, I've got a flower in my nose?"  Me, "YOU'VE GOT A FLOWER IN YOUR NOSE.  GET YOUR FINGER OUT OF YOUR NOSE!!"  Mollie had stuck her flower in her nose, we're on bicycles, it's nearly dark, and we're still about 1/2 a mile from our tent. Once we got back to our tent, I grabbed my makeup bag which has a pair of tweazers in it and took Mollie to the bathhouse.  I only managed to push the flower farther into her nose.  I returned to the campsite and called Aunt Connie to ask if we would need to take Mollie to the emergency room if I couldn't get the flower out of her nose.  Cara answered and suggested using a bobbie pin. 

Finally I was able to get it moving with a bobbie pin and Mollie blew this out of her nose. That's John's pointer finger as comparison.  Every time Mollie gave a good blow, I would say, "Awesome job, Mollie."  After we got the flower out of her nose, Mollie walked around saying, "Was that awesome, Ben?  Was that awesome?"  We explained that sticking things in her nose was NOT awesome.

Monday

 We woke up Monday morning to find racoon tracks all around our campsite.  You can see where one tried to open this storage box.  It wouldn't have found anything to eat since this box had things like batteries and clothesline in it.

 The water was amazingly warm for mid-October.  We had not planned to even take our swimsuits until we talked to friends at church the Wednesday before we left that had just got back from Florida.  I'm glad we talked to them because it was perfect beach weather.

Evening at the Beach

 Sunday afternoon we left Jim and Fran's and headed to Topsail Hill State Park to camp for two nights.  After we unloaded and set up our tent, we were able to spend about an hour near sunset wading and playing in the sand.

 I'm not sure what Mollie's doing.  It looks like a karate kid move.

 Digging a big hole.

 Waiting for the wave to fill the big hole.

 Mollie loved the beach this time.

Racing.

Saturday Night

 I love this picture of Mollie and Janey swinging together.  They look very similar with their blond hair, blue eyes, and maroon Mississippi State t-shirts.  The kids were all supporting the Bulldogs as they played Tennessee Saturday night.

 Ben thought it was very cool that MV and Janey decorate their swingset with chalk.  He has, of course, been coloring our swingset since we've been home.

We put them to bed faced in the same direction, but this is how I found them sleeping Saturday night.

Vettes at the Village

Jim and John headed to Vettes at the Village.

 Jim's car.

 John's car.

Family pic.

 All the kids decorated hats while we waited for lunch.

 Mollie's hat.

Ben was particularly proud of his hat.  I didn't realize that he wanted to take it with us and left it on the table.  By the time I realized that it was important to him and we returned to the restaurant, our table had been cleaned and another group was seated at the table.  Ben was sad.

John's car won 2nd place in the C4 class.  The awards were given after we left and Jim took this picture.

Fall Festival

 On Friday night, Fran and I took the kids to the fall festival at MV's school.  They got their faces painted, . .

 ate popcorn, snowcones, and candy, . . .

 and played games.