Our Vacation at Orange Beach June 2010

Jacob, Elijah and I left for my mother's house on Friday afternoon. She lives in Marshall, TX. We stayed the night and then left for Mobile on Saturday morning. We arrived in Mobile and got checked into our hotel. We then went to my grandma Ruby's house. I have not seen her in two years and was looking forward to seeing her. She had hip replacement surgery about six weeks ago and was still recovering. Several of my aunts, uncles and cousins came over that evening. Grandma Ruby surprised all of her great grandsons with a joint birthday cake and cards!



This is a video from that evening.

A little bit of chaos, but fun! We crashed hard that night at a hotel and got up the next morning to Krispy Kreme donuts! We then went for another short visit with my grandmother and then headed to Orange Beach!

We have had a great time so far and got two and half days of NO oil and were able to swim. Elijah has NO fear at all went way out into the water with his boogey board. He loved riding the waves in. If he flipped off of the board he just got right back on it and tried again. I have learned to let go a bit and let him have his freedom but also keeping an eye on him. I don't want him drifting too far down the beach with the current pulling him down. He did well though and kept an eye on me too. Now Jacob only made two short vists to the beach. It really isn't his thing. He did spend a lot of time at the pool. My nephew Trent was quite brave and went out in the water quite a few times. He and Elijah have had a good time together!!

There is a video of a sand castle that Elijah and I built today at the end of this blog entry. He is wearing his backup "ears". Oh I have really liked having two sets of ears for him. He wears his new gray "ears" most of the time, but when we go to the beach he wears his back up beige "ears" that have the earmolds. We didn't go in the water today due to the arrival of the oil so he kept them on while we built the sandcastle. The other night we took him and Trent down at night. It was so nice to see him playing at the edge of the water with his ears on. He was able to communicate with his cousin quite well and enjoyed hearing the sounds of the waves! Elijah has still had his tics, but they haven't been that awful. His cousin Trent tried to tell us one of his mad faces was a tic. It was sort of cute. Overall, he has done well. A few spats with his cousin, but typical BOY stuff!

I think Elijah has enjoyed the beach the most. I have really enjoyed it myself. There is something about making a sandcastle and having NO other worries while you are building it. Listening to the waves with the wind off the water keeping you cool. It is so theraputic. I also rode the waves with Elijah and felt like a KID again! My legs let me know the next morning that I wasn't still a kid, but I did it again that day anyway! We have had crab claws for three nights. My mom cooked for two of those nights. OH they were so GOOD! She is such a good cook. We went souvenier shopping today and I got t-shirts for the boys and myself. Tomorrow we are going to go and see my Aunt Peggy! It should be a nice visit. We will swim some more and probably make one more walk down to the beach. We leave for Marshall on Friday morning. We will spend the night with my mom and be home on Saturday. It has been a great trip so far, but there is no place like home. Elijah is missing his kitties and I think Jacob is too!

Krispy Kreme

I grew up with Krispy Kreme doughnuts in my hometown of Mobile, Alabama. Every Sunday, after church, we would go to Krispy Kreme and get to chose two doughnuts. The white powder doughnuts were my favorite. Sometimes we did go to Polman's bakery instead and I would get two cupcakes, but Krispy Kreme was my preferred choice on Sunday. The hot glazed doughnuts were like eating pure sugar! Sinful!

In 1980 we moved to Richardson, Texas and soon found out there were NO Krispy Kreme stores in Texas. Oh it was horrible! How could we stay in Texas without our Krispy Kreme. We did learn to adjust, but everytime we visited Mobile one of our first stops was Krispy Kreme. In fact, we went several times while we were there.

When my exhusband, who was my boyfriend at the time, visited Mobile with us we soon made him a convert to Krispy Kreme. When a store finally came to Texas, in Arlington, he went and stood in line for me for two hours to bring me back a two dozen doughnuts. This was after we were married. Arlington was about 90 minutes away, so it was a trek to get the doughnuts. We actually would make the trip every few months to get our Krispy Kreme fix.

Later a store opened up a little closer, about 45 minutes away. One time, my little brother Alex went with Jacob, Elijah and me to get doughnuts. He was about thirteen at the time and bought himself half a dozen glazed doughnuts. I bought two dozen doughnuts for my dad's family and two dozen for my family. We decided to eat a few at the store and Alex was standing there eating his doughnut when he moved his hand to the side with a doughnut in it. Elijah, who was about three years old at the time, managed to grab half of Alex's doughnuts. Since the doughnuts were HOT at thet ime, Alex never even felt Elijah pull half off the doughnut off. Alex went to put the doughnut in his mouth and HALF of it was gone. The look on his face was priceless. We both looked over and Elijah was shoving half a doughnut in his mouth.

A few years ago a store finally opened up in Plano, which was about 20 minutes from our house. The coolest thing was to stand and watch the doughnuts being made. We went every six to eight weeks to buy doughnuts. Elijah loved to watch the doughnuts being made. We all had our favorites. Jacob liked the raspberry and apple filled. I liked the apple filled and chocolate covered. Elijah liked the glazed(which he called Krispy Kreme) and chocolate covered with sprinkles.

Krispy Kreme doughnuts aren't cheap though and we started going less. Plus gas prices increased and we stopped driving to Plano as much. We went every few months when we were in Plano for a doctor's appointment or to do some shopping. A few months ago, Elijah and I decided to get some doughnuts after a doctor's appointment and the Plano store was closed. Poor Elijah just didn't understand it. The closest store is somewhere in Dallas and we just haven't gone looking for it.

My mom came in last night from a trip to Oklahoma and brought some Kripsy Kreme doughnuts with her. There are now two left in the box waiting for Jacob this morning. Elijah did not hesitate in opening the box this morning and grabbing a chocolate doughnut. I said screw the diet and ate two myself. This summer when we go to Mobile and then the beach I am sure we will stop and get us some Krispy Kreme doughnuts. It isn't just the doughnuts, it is the memories they bring to mind and the new memories they make. We still laugh about Elijah stealing half of Alex's doughnut, who by the way ate all six of his glazed doughnuts, well five and a half, before we got home that day!