Spring Break 2017 - Ripley's Aquarium

We were glad to have the Aquarium to visit on another cold and rainy day.  It was a great way to spend the afternoon.  Isaac was fascinated with everything and the kids enjoyed showing him around.

I am very grateful to have another pair of arms to lift Isaac up to see!

Mommy and Isaac selfie

Frogs!

The Lionfish is awesome and always reminds me of Eric Carl's book, Mister Seahorse

The most impressive exhibit was the Shark Tunnel... mostly due to how long it was!  You get on this very slow moving sidewalk and it just goes on and on...  I got a hammer head shark swimming above Lia in this shot.  She looks a little nervous if you look closely.  Isaac thought it was cool, but got really scared due to its length.

 Lia had no issues touching these Rays...

And Mr. Smiley was happy to find a little play place just for him and a big sister willing to play with him.

I am always fascinated by the jellyfish.  I just think they are one of the coolest of God's creation. These are particularly interesting to me.

Spring Break 2017 - A Pirate's Journey

 The Pirate's Journey show was probably the highlight of our visit.  We did the whole family picture thing to remember it by.  :-)

Normal pose:

I think we are all saying "Arrrr!" here.

This is the pirate who greeted us at the door.  David only agreed to be in the picture because he got to hold the sword.

This is the pre-show.  We are watching from the balcony.

Yes, that's a sea lion.

Isaac likes the sea lion because it stuck out his tongue.  :-)

And this is the view from our front row seats!  It was awesome!

Spring Break 2017 - Myrtle Beach State Park

While it was rainy and cold when we arrived at Myrtle Beach, we did get one beautiful sunny day.  It was still very cold... in the 40's but nice enough to check out the local beach park!  Emily promptly found a tree to climb and Lia joined in too.

This guy was all smiles that there was a park for him to play at.  He clearly doesn't get cold.

There's a great boardwalk and pier here too.

Local flora...

No... they didn't get in but it is always nice to put your feet in the sand.

Little Daddy time.

And yes, happy children running!  (my favorite)

Isaac tried very hard to get those birds!

Spring Break 2017 - Wonder Works

We made it to Myrtle Beach but unfortunately the weather was very rainy and cold.  Luckily, Myrtle Beach has lots of indoor attractions so we took full advantage and started with the Wonder Works museum.

David spent a lot of time at the artificial intelligence machine...  This is right up his alley.

Isaac helped too.

Giant bubbles!  Yes!

Boom boom guns and loud noises!  Does it get any better?

Oh yes, just like in the movie, Big.  I'm pretty sure he ran across the piano about 300 times.

And who is this mysterious Nelli?

Kinda creepy, eh?

Spring Break 2017 - Count on Cracker Barrel and Sonic

So yes, two full days of driving and eating was a bit more of a trial than I realized it would be but we survived.  Thank goodness for Sonic because that makes our kids happy!  And yes, we love Cracker Barrel too.  It almost feels like home whenever we go there... no matter where we are!

Spring Break 2017 - Ocean Springs

We had a good long stop at Ocean Springs, Mississippi and what a delightful surprise that ended up to be.  I would love to return and spend a few days here.  It is a really cute town by the sea with great shopping, restaurants and this amazing park.  Yes, let's put this on the 'do again' list!

Spring Break 2017 - Black Cafe, Lafayette

Our lunch stop was Black Cafe in Lafayette, LA.  We use Yelp while travelling to find good places to eat and this one did not disappoint.  This place had everything we wanted and I especially enjoyed trying their sweet potato biscuits.  They were more like cake... but the perfect "dessert" for sure.