Weekend in Hattiesburg 2020

We spent Memorial Day weekend in the BEST way possible...in Hattiesburg, MS visiting our dear friends, the Jackson's! We hadn't visited them in Hattiesburg since October 2017 (click HERE to read about that trip!), and hadn't seen them in over a year and it was so wonderful to be together again. 

We left for Hattiesburg on Friday morning, and had a really great drive down. We stopped at Whataburger in Tuscaloosa for lunch (my fav!) and then the kids both slept for a while as we finished the drive. When we got there, Shelley immediately noticed that Caleb and Lamar were matching. Then we looked at ourselves and noticed we were matching too! We couldn't stop laughing! 

Shelley's 30th birthday was the next day, and before COVID-19 she had really wanted to spend the weekend at the beach with friends. So Lamar and I schemed to rent a huge van to fit all 9 of us, and spend the day on the Mississippi coast! Shelley and I took the 2 youngest kids to pick up pizza on Friday night, and when we got home, this was waiting in the driveway. She was so confused at first, but was so excited when we told her the plan (which was really only halfway formulated, as we teased Lamar about all weekend. Haha!). The really special part about this was that I took a beach trip with Shelley's family one summer in high school, and her dad got home with the rental car and it was a huge, white, 15-passenger van! For 5 people! We each had a whole row to ourselves, and although Shelley and I loved the space, our 15 year old selves were mortified to be seen in such a huge van. Haha! So it was SO FUN to get to do another beach trip in a 15-passenger van with our husbands and kids. 

 

Loaded in the van the next day and ready to hit the road! We did curbside orders at Chick-fil-A for breakfast and then headed to the coast. We decided to go to Gulfport, MS which was only an hour and a half away. 

 

This was at a red light 😜

The kids were SO EXCITED to be at the beach! 

We relaxed (as much as you can with 5 small kids in tow!)...

 

...swam... 

 

...played in the sand...

 

 

...ate lunch...

 

...and Florence Anne was the best big sister/helper the whole day! She chased Claire down to the ocean and brought her back up the beach over and over again. 😂

 

Shelley and I cleaned the kids up and changed their clothes to go to dinner, starting with Claire and Wells because they're the youngest toddlers and the least obedient. 😂 After we bucked them into their seats, they both passed out! These sweet littles babies were so tired! They slept for 30 minutes or so while we finished loading up and driving to the restaurant, and then unfortunately

 they wouldn't fall asleep for the drive home. It was a long hour and a half with crying babies! Henry slept for a while and then he woke up and started sobbing, saying he didn't want to leave the beach. We drove by a wreck with firetrucks and Wells cried because he wanted to see more firetrucks. Claire kept throwing toys and then screaming about it. Hattie cried because she's 4 months old. It was a tearful journey home and Shelley and I were basically the jesters in the back, trying to keep everyone happy. Haha! 

We got home and quickly bathed the kids and got them in pajamas. I was reading a book to Henry and FA and Wells came in and wanted to listen too. Caleb took this sweet picture of our little story time. :)

Our only plans for the next day were to swim at Shelley and Lamar's house and eat Cane's fried chicken. Yes ma'am. It's the best chicken on the planet. I should have taken a picture, but I was too busy stuffing my mouth. And that's not a joke! 

Henry was a little nervous in the water the whole time, but Claire took to it immediately (no surprise there!). 

 

Claire only took one nap on this day, and Henry and Wells didn't take one at all. We had decided we'd tough it out with fussy kids and put them to bed early. By dinnertime, the kids were all so tired and grumpy, but we had bathed them while dinner was cooking and we put them to bed shortly afterwards. Then it was time for the real fun to begin! :) Caleb and I had brought our Dirty Marbles board, so we taught Shelley and Lamar how to play and played a couple games. We had the best time talking and reminiscing on our high school days (Shelley and I have been BFF's since we were 10, and we met Lamar when we were 15, so we have lots of shared history!). We stayed up later than we planned, but it was worth it to spend time together! 

The next morning we got packed up and headed out after eating some yummy muffins Shelley baked.  And we had to get a picture in front of the van before we left!  Here are our 5 precious kiddos...

...and here we are! We were quite fond of this van and halfway joked that we just need to live together in a huge house and we can go everywhere in the van. Ha! 

To top off a wonderful weekend, Mamaw and Daddy Wayne met us for lunch in Tuscaloosa on our way home. We ate at Full Moon BBQ and it was delicious. Claire warmed right up to Mamaw and gave her some sweet snuggles and Henry talked their ears off. :) 

It was seriously the most wonderful weekend and it was so refreshing to spend time with old friends, especially in this season when we have been deprived of so much social interaction. We cannot wait to visit again! Love you Shelley, Lamar, Florence Anne, Wells, and Hattie! 😍