Hope you guys have a sunny weekend!

 

We were so excited to finally make it to the beach!  Here’s a few phone pics to get this week started.

 

 

Cracker Barrel in Louisiana hit the spot!  Noelle loomed it up on the road trip for all her friends we were meeting in Florida!

 

This was the view from our hotel room at The Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Jackson, MS.  Thankful for our noise machine with all these train tracks.  We don’t leave home without it!  With that being said, I never saw a moving train.  Most of the buildings in this picture and on the downtown road leading up to the capital are abandoned and in disarray.  I told Mike it looked like a ghost town.  The girls got really freaked out, so I had to explain what that meant. 

 

The lobby was super fancy in an almost eerie way, considering the broken glass windows and weeds in buildings right outside!  The elevators were golden and there was a grand stair case made out of marble.  It was all a little bizarre.  Honestly, we won’t be back, but it was, as Anna Kate says, “Instressting.” 

We sure are a silly bunch!  One travel day down and half-way there.. we’re getting so close!

  

I remember less than two weeks ago being in these moments, excited and terrified of our first family road trip to Florida.  My parents tried to take us on a beach vacation to Florida when we were little, and we all got super sick from this crazy awful stomach bug, so once we got there, we turned around and drove home.  It was absolutely miserable, and we’ve never been back since.  The only thing I remember from Destin is the pavement, yikes!  Thankfully, the PondFam5 attempt was a success!

On to these pics, I think I should be a professional packer for little girls… is there such a thing!?!  I always line up what the girls are wearing each day and then put all three outfits (one for each girl) in a big ziploc bag.  That way, when we get there, I don’t have to worry about a thing.  Oftentimes, I’ll label the bag, but now that I have the hang of it, I usually remember what I have planned for each day, and if they want to wear something different, no big deal, just grab a different bag!  If we change clothes out and about, I’ll just grab a ziploc and everyone has a fresh outfit ready for on the go!  I do this with swimming suits and pjs too!  When we get to our destination, I line shoes up, and let them mix and match.  They are pretty self-sufficient with a little guidance. 

We had driven 8 hours in the days leading up to our Florida trip, so we were all a little car sick.  The middle picture above is in central Texas.  Texas is so diverse and beautiful!  Right as we came down this hill, I saw on Instagram that my cousin found a sea horse in the ocean in Destin, where we were headed (she lives in Texas too, and it was so exciting that we were going to be there by chance at the same time).  I showed the girls this picture, and we all got a renewed energy to start our trip to the beach the next day.  And just in case you were wondering, the sea horse was still alive, so she put the little guy back in the ocean.  I’ve never seen a wild sea horse or heard of anyone finding one at the beach.  We couldn’t wait to get there!

We had a blast at the Fourth of July!  Next stop, the beach!

 

 

Rose sings constantly!  She has a beautiful little voice!

 

  

  

 

 

Smiley face firework came out of no where, and of course, we all started smiling!

  

This show is really indescribable!  I love how the reflection on the water matched the fireworks.

These are some super fancy, super fun girls right here ready to celebrate our freedom!

 

  

 

 

Did I say we like things fancy around here!?!  Over the top?  Of course!  That’s the fun of it!  The girls were in heaven, flags flying, yelling “Happy Foh-ourth!” in our thickest southern accents and all! 

 

 

3 year olds ready for a nap, but I still love this pic!

 

 

 

 

Poppa was saying, “Nachos!!!”  This is all definitely as much fun as it looks!  Thank you Uncle Andy and Aunt Elsie for having us!

 

 

My youngest, Rose, and my brother’s oldest, Harper, are both 3 year olds!  Aren’t they rockin’ it!?!

 

Every time we get together with our family, we immediately let the good times roll!

 

These.two.

Cousins!

Uncle Mike and baby Saylor!  Rose has been called baby Rose all her life, so she gave Saylor the nickname baby Saylor. 

 

We’re here!  Poppa and Rose make a great team!  Noelle is in love with the 4th of July!  You can see it all over her face!

Go girl!

Couldn’t ask for a sweeter Mom, not ever!

 

Uncle Andy’s shot-ski!

 

Sweethearts.

Happy 3rd birthday to our Queen Harper!  Her Frozen birthday rocked!  We love you girly!

Cutest face of trouble you’ve ever seen!

 

Man, she can turn on the charm!  I will say loving her Daddy comes straight from her heart!

Aunt Elsie scored a huge hit taking all the girls fishing!

Some were more willing to give it a try than others.  Rose and Noelle were the immediate yes girls; Anna Kate and Harper had to work their way up to it!

Who’s grossed out by the worm?

Not this one!

 

Well looky there!  Anna Kate caught a fish!

 

More fishergirls!

 

 

She is so adorable!

 

Then it was on to decorating our fancy schmancy golf cart parade float!  We tricked it up with all things sparkly!

 

 

After lots of playing and decorating in the golden hour, it was time to test out our creation!  Fourth of July parade, are you ready for us!?! 

 

We have been road trippin’ this summer!  Hold on tight, because I am about to flood this blog with cuteness!