Mini Vacation!

Last night we got back from our mini vacation. We have had a hard year with me working full time on my first year of Ph.D. courses, Mari being in the hospital, James having to travel for work and then the stress of the bad ecomony on his work environment with lay offs, cut backs, etc. Also, now, just when things are starting to look up at James' (and Daddy's) work and I was starting to see the end in sight with my course work we are surprised by Baby Carr #3! Needless to say we wanted to take the kids somewhere where we could all relax and have fun, that wasn't too far away and that we could do without cutting into James remaining vacation days so he can be off with us some at Christmas (Mari being in the hospital, and she and Jake being sick ate through a lot of vacation days for him). We decided to plan a trip to Ship Island, which is a national sea shore off the Mississippi Gulf Coast (boat leaves from Gulfport) and then to the Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans (among other New Orleans attractions weather and attitudes permitting). Labor Day was the best time option we saw, but we were really worried about weather (that is kind of peak hurricane season). We decided we would just do it and I am so glad we did. Despite forcasts of thunderstorms we did not encounter many problems with the weather at all. We got rained on leaving the aquarium, but apart from that and some heavy rain while driving, the weather was beautiful! We could not have asked for better beach weather! New Orleans was a little too hot for a four month pregnant woman pushing a double stroller (although James helped a lot with the pushing when I got to hot/tired). We will definintely do both again. We just might try New Orleans again when the weather is cooler, like one December or when I am not pregnant! Mari is a good age for traveling now, but I do not anticipate taking any long trips for awhile with the new baby. Maybe by next summer we will all feel more adventurous again! I love the group picure they took as we boarded the boat to Ship Island as it really captures out live right now! The kids are in pajamas because we put them in the car at 3:30ish so we could get down to the coast at a decent hour and so that they would sleep in the car and not be too fussy! I am carrying their shoes, while James is carrying them because we were incredibly lucky and arrived JUST in time to catch the first boat (9AM) instead of the noon boat we anticipated leaving on. We decided to go straight to the marina and check to see if they had room on the boat (it never hurts to ask) because we figured if they were under capacity they would probably not leave on time, waiting for possible last minute travelers. We were in luck and ended up being the last to board the boat! They were so nice about it, the man in the background saw our car tag and realized we when he realized we had driven straight there, he even helped me unload our stuff (and carry it) while James got the tickets! I am a strategic packer and so we were able to jump out of the car with what we needed and on the boat in about five minutes (kids included). We dressed the kids on the boat! Jake and Mari had a good time, Mari more obviously than Jake, but I think Jake walked more than he normally would and so that is part of why he was a little fussy (Mari had the luxury of being carried a lot of the time). I was worried that he did not enjoy the beach very much, but when he realized we were going home (he started recognized the road around West Point) he cried and told us to turn around, he wanted to go back to the beach and the trolleys. Tons of pictures to follow, of course! I will divide them into Ship Island/boat/car ride down and New Orleans/trip home.