M*I*SS*I*SS*I*PP*I

John is wrapping up his time in Mississippi. Raeli and I were able to go visit him late May early June. How did I forget how complicated it is to travel with a toddler...Holy Moly!. She was a great traveler, but everything is planned around nap time and eating time. And trust me, although you can fudge on the timing of the sleep - don't mess with Raeli's eating schedule! We flew to New Orleans and it was a two leg flight. Raeli was grumpy for only a small portion of the flight (mostly because I was holding her and she wanted her own seat, which she got once everyone was on the plane).
I have not really traveled anywhere East (I did stop in Newark on my way to Italy - but does an airport count as being there?) Anyway - I was excited to see a different part of the country. I knew nothing about Mississippi except that where the base is there are a lot of casinos (really?!). There is also a beach less than a mile from the base so that was really nice!
A couple things that stood out in Mississippi - 1) it is a bit humid 2) there is as much green there as there is brown in AZ 3)porches, porches - oh how I loved the porches!

Happy just being independent :)

I loved this - she kept looking over at John it was so cute! (side note - if you click on this picture it may open up larger and you can see the moss on the trees. I thought that was cool. Also this is pretty much the only brown you see and it is sand in the park)

This is when she thought the water was "cool". Shortly after I took this picture a small wave came and it made her wobbly so she fell getting a little water in her mouth - but salt water is always an unwelcome surprise. She was done being in the ocean.

LOVED the sand! Raeli could have stayed here all day playing with the sand.

She thought this was fun. It was really cute because Daddy is shoveling lots of sand on her and she would pinch some sand and sprinkle it on as her contribution. She got the hang of it after awhile. (another side note: as John was digging he started to dig up oil stained sand - it was was very disappointing and quite shocking)

I am convinced she will be a dentist - she has always loved sticking her hands in people's mouth - Daddy is the only one that lets her do it like this though.

I know Raeli seems angelic and perfect in every way - so I put this in here to show you she is perfectly normal and has actually master the skill of throwing a tantrum :) We love her no matter what though.

She loved the sand but did not want to be anywhere near the water

After an hour at the beach Raeli took a mid morning nap

These cupcakes were awesome - Raeli took her time enjoying.

So this is THE place for donuts. I am not a fan of donuts but these were pretty awesome - even the cake donuts were moist and yummy.

One of many beach front homes that I absolutely loved! I could just sit on the porch all day (well maybe not ALL day - but it did look inviting)

Another beautiful "southern" looking house

Raeli was not feeling good - she refused to eat or drink anything. So on the 90 minute drive to the airport she asked for a drink. Daddy stopped and got her blue juice - all I could think was if she throws up it will not be an easy clean up :). Lots of silent pleas to Heavenly Father on our airplane ride home and there was no incident (although I did grab the puke bag twice).
We loved visiting Daddy and wish we could have visited more. I enjoyed seeing John and seeing Mississippi and eating fresh seafood. I can't say I fell in love with Mississippi, at least not Biloxi - but it was enjoyable :)