"Over the sandhills and through the swamps, to Mamaw's house we go..."

Sunday afternoon after church, the whole family, including Duncan, loaded up and headed over to Mamaw's and Bompa's.  We stayed overnight, and celebrated my 23rd birthday, and Frank's 1st birthday.  It was a fun time!

Warning:  This is a long post with lots of pictures.  I had lots of fun posting them; partly because the day is still fresh on my mind, and partly because I got to it before Savana!  :)

Frankie started a new workout program.

(Isn't he just as cute as he can be?!)

"If I faithfully lift weights, I will be strong.  This is serious."

"You know, Mama, you should lift weights too!  It's good for everyone."

I came pretty close to this Pygmy rattlesnake when I was walking on the path around the house.  I ran inside and got Evan (very discreetly, as I thought) and he came out to deal with it, but almost instantly everyone else also stampeded out to watch.

It's amazing how quickly news spreads...

 "He's about this long, Daddy."

(I'm not sure where Savana was standing to get this angle, but I think it was somewhere above ground level.  I don't blame her!  That little rascal was feisty!)

But feistiness was of no avail.  Bompa's home is not a healthy place for rattlesnakes; especially with all the grandchildren running around the yard.

Mamaw and Farrah made these two cakes and decorated them.  They were pretty and fun cakes, and there was plenty to go round!

"Is that for me?"

"Oh my, what is that?"

Later, I tried to resurrect my (non-existent) chess skills so I could teach Justice how to play.  We ended up both going to bed around 10:30 and letting Evan and Bo finish.

:)

Daddy and the boys helped Bompa clean up a fallen tree, then we all headed over to Yate's Creek.

This is a nearby creek that empties into the Gulf of Mexico.  The mouth is a boat landing, and also makes a pretty good swimming hole.

It was low tide when we got there, so it was really more like a wading hole.  This is a little side stream that flows in.

I was blessed to be able to bring Duncan with us.  He is scared of the car, and needs to be socialized more, so this trip provided an opportunity for him to learn that leaving home can still be fun.  And he loved the water!

The FL-MI Daily Post is in full swing.

We decided to move to the other mouth of the creek since that was a better wading area and not as mucky as the first place.  Duncan and I took care of Russell and Emaline on the cargo platform on the back of the van.  We were considered too wet to go inside.

These pictures tell the story of a curious puppy,

 

and lots and lots of fiddler crabs.

First he trails them around, trying to figure out what they are.

Getting as close as possible for a better look- I mean, smell...

Wow, those little pincers can move fast!

This little guy absolutely loves the water!  Since the tide was all the way out, the water was shallow enough for him to crawl in.

(Don't worry, someone was always within easy reach of him, so he was perfectly safe.)

I have to laugh at this sequence of pictures, and hope you will too:

First, Russell decided to take a catnap in the water.

Then Pirate Frank arrived.

"I just have this feeling that something's about to happen..."

"Yep, I'm right- I know I'm right!"

"Take careful aim..."

"Grab..."

"And TWIST!"

My wonderful parents.

Captain Franks is still exploring.

Little missy and her fiddler crab.  (She wanted to take it home!)

"Sea you later!" 

"But please come back!"