One last stop...to see the Holts!

On Saturday morning, we got up and got all our stuff loaded up and ready to head home. Except we still had one stop to make before making the long trip back to Texas..... MOBILE!! There was no way we could be in the south without seeing the Holts for a night! Especially since the kids thought that's where we were heading after Disney. So we made our way (slowly but surely) from Destin to Mobile.

 The traffic was horrible, since every one who was at the beach the week before was traveling the same road we were to get home. The Mobile tunnel felt like it might just be the death of me. Finally, a little after lunch, we rolled into Byron and Bit's house! I had two happy little girls on my hands. (ok ok- I was one happy BIG girl too! An Aunt Bit hug is pretty much the bomb.)
And the best part about hanging out with family? Taking pictures to send to other family members across the country to make them jealous!

It's all in good fun though, no worries. We all do it, and it is pretty much expected.
It was so good to just BE together. I love my family. We have so much fun. We laugh hard, love unconditionally, and support in good and in bad. It's what families do. And mine does it best.
We hung out for a while, then the girls and I went with Aunt Bit to get ready for Sunday morning at her church while the guys went to run errands. The girls loved helping their Aunt Bit and seeing her church. And of course there were sno cones involved!
That evening we went to hear Grayson play his guitar at a restaurant. I was SO glad we got to be there for that! Grayson is so talented. I could sit and listen to him all night long!

Unfortunately sitting still in a chair and listening to music isn't on the list of "favorite things to do" for 9 and 6 year olds. But they were really good sports for a while. Any time they have their Aunt Bit, they are content to do whatever.

If only they loved her. ha! It's pathetic really.....
But soon they grew weary of sitting at the table. And since we expected this outcome, Josh and Uncle Byron took a separate car so that they could stay longer than us. And us girls left and headed to get some fireworks!
However- fireworks had to come second to a trip to our favorite place.... KRISPY KREME!!!! The holy grail of donut stores! And in Mobile- the HOT light is always on.

Brenna insisted on taking a picture out front to send to Carter and make him jealous.
And even though they have seen it many times, standing and watching them make donuts never gets old for these two.

Our main goal was to get donuts to take home for breakfast the next morning. But you can't go into Krispy Kreme and not eat a HOT one right then!!

Sometimes it's so good that you just can't let that one little fleck of icing that dropped on your arm go to waste!

And in true Aunt Bit fashion, she can spoil any kid faster than you can say "Donuts and fireworks"!

They had so much fun going into the huge firework store and picking out their own sparklers! And they were the envy of everyone in the store with their hats on.
We then went back to the house and did some sparklers.

It was all FUN- until Macie got popped by her sparkler. Then it was OVER.You would have thought it burned her entire hand off instead of barely sparking on her. She was tired, and so far beyond DONE. We had packed as much fun as we possibly could into the last two weeks, and she was all funned out. So she was quickly whisked away to bed, and was pretty much asleep before her head hit the pillow.
The next morning we got up and gathered our things and left shortly after we finished Krispy Kreme-round 2. (I felt that that fact deserved a special mention).
It is always so hard to say goodbye. I find myself practically in tears anytime we have to say goodbye to family that we don't see regularly. If I had my pick- Oklahoma and Alabama wouldn't be so far away from Texas!! We would all live in the same town. That. Would. Be. Awesome! However, I'm not sure I could deal with my children if they had their Aunt Bit and Taron just down the street! We would never see them, and they would be spoiled beyond return!
Thank you Holts for hosting us for the night!! We thoroughly enjoyed our short time with yall!!
Next up..... survive the trip home. It was going to be long, but we were so ready to be back! The kids did really well, once again. Y'all- they can give us a run for our money many days, but they really are so good. And they are great travelers! The whining, fighting, and complaining was kept to a minimum, and their parents were eternally grateful!!!
I was so glad to finally see this sign....

God Bless Texas!!!!
We grabbed a pizza and the dog on our way home and went straight in and CRASHED! It felt great to sit in my chair, in my house, and to sleep in MY BED!!!! It's the little things that you miss the most!
But I wouldn't trade anything for the memories that were made on this vacation!