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We took advantage of having Rosh Hashanah off of school to head to Alabama. The girls have wanted to go to an Auburn game for a while, and we decided this would be the year. So, we planned to go down to Alabama to see Jen's family, and all of us would go to the game on Saturday.

We flew into Birmingham Thursday night. Friday morning Emmie had school, but the rest of us adventured to AirWalk for some trampoline fun. Leah got the hang of the big jump into the foam pit very quickly.

Everyone got in on the jumping action, even G’Mom.

Molly and Jen did some synchronized jumping.

We headed back to the house for lunch, and the kids got in a little porch play before lunch.

JJ doesn’t need to look at me to throw toys at this photographer. Duck!

Emmie was in for a surprise when she got off the bus to such fanfare.

And we were in for a surprise when Emmie told us she’d lost a tooth at school that day.

We then headed over to visit with Grandma Dot.

Molly had plenty of stories to tell Grandma Dot.

Leah must have told Grandma Dot something shocking to elicit this face. Either that or she’s become a vampire in her old age and is about to take a bite out of Leah.

The girls then put on an impromptu dance show for Grandma Dot.

That evening, we had an Auburn parade. Both Jen and G’Mom had made new Auburn outfits for all four kids. So, they showed them off, accessorizing them with megaphones. JJ might need a lesson in how to use a megaphone.

Here are the Auburn clothes Jen made. She made JJ’s shirt, Emmie’s dress, Molly’s skirt, and Leah’s dress.

G’Mom also made the kids Auburn clothes. She made all 3 girls’ dresses, as well as JJ’s shorts.

Then it was early to bed, as we had to get up early the next day to head to Auburn for the game.

We’ve debated taking the girls to a full-size amusement park (as opposed to one for little kids) for some time. We’re also debating a trip to Orlando, and thought this might be a good low-cost experiment to see how they handle a full-size park with full-size rides. So, we spontaneously (yes, shocking for us, I know) decided to go to Hershey Park, then headed up a couple days later. The girls are very excited to be in the Sweetest Place on Earth.

Leah was very excited about a boat ride, so our first stop was the Coal Cracker - a flume boat ride with a big plunge at the end. Molly sat with Jen in the front of the boat.

And Leah sat with me in the back of the boat.

Jen took two Dramamine in order to be able to ride rides, but she still wasn’t going to get on the tea cups. So, it was me and the girls. And Molly got sunscreen in her eye, which meant she had trouble with the sun. So, she stole my hat and covered her left eye.

Molly and I went to the bathroom to wash out her eye while Jen and Leah stood in line for the Skyview. We got back in time to watch them soar above everyone.

Eventually, I convinced the girls to try out a roller coaster. We went for the little Cocoa Cruiser. It’s so small that they let you go around three times before you get out. Leah handled it well and did not freak out or get scared, but afterward calmly said she did not like it and did not want to do another roller coaster. Molly, on the other hand, was excited to do a bigger roller coaster.

As a reward for trying the roller coaster, we got ice cream. Molly went for a Pepsi float, and Leah got a cup. Both were comically large.

This is the Sweet Swing, and it is just a giant swing. It is a very simple, but the girls loved it. They did it twice, and would have kept going all day if we’d let them.

Second time, still fun.

Next, Molly and I went to try out her first big roller coaster - the Comet. It’s a wooden roller coaster (which I love) that seemed like a good first coaster. Molly was very excited.

What we didn’t realize was that the Comet began with a 96 foot drop. As you can see, Molly got scared. But she recovered quickly and had a great time on the rest of the ride, smiling and yelling along the way.

Here’s proof that Molly was smiling at the end of the ride. She said it was great, and wanted to ride on another roller coaster.

While Molly and I waited for the Comet, Jen and Leah went back to the Skyview. Here’s the two of them high up above the ground. They actually saw us on the roller coaster from their high-up vantage point.

Jen and Leah then headed to the Carousel while Molly and I sought out another roller coaster.

Molly and I next rode the Trailblazer, a steel roller coaster with no big drops (though some pretty tight turns and good speed). She loved it.

After being separate for a bit, the girls were excited to ride something together again.

We then ate some dinner and left the park, but not to head home. We headed over to Chocolate World. We took the Great American Chocolate Tour, which the girls claimed was their favorite part of the whole trip. Then we bought a big pack of Twizzlers, a giant Hershey's Kiss, and stuffed toy versions of those same candies.

Finally at 8:40, we were on the tram ready to head back to our car. It was a very long day.

The girls had a lot of fun and were immediately asking when they could go back. I'm not sure when that'll be, but I give Hershey Park a thumbs up as well.

After a few days in Tennessee, it was time to head back to Maryland. As we were packing up to head to the airport, Leah and Emmie decided to have some fun with the makeshift bed Leah and Molly had been sleeping on. It’s a nice cushion for cartwheels.

And for somersaults.

Or to just have fun with your sister/cousin.

As we did last year, and the year before, we went to the Children’s Museum of Memphis. The kids do love some toy fishing.

Leah found the Lego room and didn’t want to ever leave. Which was fine by me.

While Leah was building with Legos, Molly and Emmie were having some green screen fun. Not sure what they see behind themselves, but they’re enjoying it.

Leah and I are still building. JJ even joined us for a short while.

JJ liked the Legos, though he had a little trouble snapping them together.

After a half hour at the Legos, we were finally done. Not because Leah wanted to stop, but because Mommy texted us saying it was time to leave to head to lunch.

After the museum, we headed straight to lunch. We couldn’t go on a trip to Memphis without some barbeque. Lunch at Corky’s was definitely worth suspending healthy eating habits. Yum.

After a busy day, it was nice to relax at home for the evening. We had pizza for dinner, but not just any pizza. This was Papa Murphy's pizza, which we bake ourselves and, in the case of the kids, constructed from the supplied kit.

As they have done before, the girls had a disco dance party where they dance in the dark to music and a disco ball. This must be the belty part of the song.

This was our last night there, and the girls wanted G'Mom and Grampa to read to them. The new stegosaurus from the museum helped.

We went to the Pink Palace, a museum that, despite its name, is not pink. Inside it, we found this large animatronic T-rex. Jen is standing with the girls because they were all too scared to stand close to it for a picture without her.

Less than a second later, Leah was running away.

JJ was way too scared of T-rex to get close to him. This dinosaur didn't move or roar though, so it wasn't quite as scary.

This Mastodon skeleton was big.

In addition to dinosaurs, the museum had a big bug exhibit. This included large animatronic insects that the girls were not fans of, but also this little scientific station which was much less scary.

This was a giant animatronic mosquito head. When you pushed the button, it would stick its needle-like mouth into the giant skin below it to suck out the blood.

It was a fun museum, if a bit scary at times. Maybe next time we'll get to check out the planetarium there as well.

After dinner, Uncle J taught me a few ukulele chords, which of course led to a ukulele dance party before bed.

Nice dancing, Leah.

The next morning, the girls decided to begin our first full day in Memphis by giving a presentation on dinosaurs. Or at least on this dinosaur.

This was the first time that the cousins were together since Jen made them all mermaid dresses. They were excited to wear them to G'Mom and Grampa's church together.

JJ may not have had a mermaid dress, but he wanted to be in the picture as well.

After church and lunch, G’Mom and Grampa took the girls to a playground for some fun.

We went to G’Mom and Grampa’s pool as well (thanks to Coach for admitting us in spite of the rules!). Despite the intense splash pad calling to the kids, Leah wanted to jump straight into the big pool.

The splash pad had a water slide, and Emmie was quick to try it out.

Molly was quick to use the slide as well. If you’re wondering about the mask, Emmie had just given Molly and Leah a snorkel set which Molly had to use immediately.

JJ got his dad to go down the splash pad slide with him.

On the way home from the pool, we stopped by the side of the road to feed a couple of horses some recently mowed grass.

Aunt ‘Chelle put curlers in the girls’ hair to sleep in for the first time. Molly’s ready for bed with four of them. Unfortunately, most of them fell out during the night.

I asked Leah if I could take her picture with the curlers as well. She immediately gave me the over-the-shoulder pose. My little model in training.

Then, after a very busy day, the girls went to bed. The adults stayed up long enough to play a game of Texas Rummy, which Susan dominated more thoroughly than I've ever seen.

Shortly after arriving in Tennessee, we headed to G’Mom and Grampa’s friends’ house to check out their outdoor model trains.

Emmie showed off how much stronger she’s gotten since the last time we saw her.

JJ loves his pockets, though he had a little trouble with these ones. He asked me to help him put his hands in his pockets, and I of course was happy to help.

I had to use an ultra wide-angle lens to get the entire train track in, including the left and right loops and the bridge in between.

Here’s the main loop of the track.

JJ loved to run alongside the train.

JJ stopped running after the train to consult with me on the next photo. He’s got a good eye.

I see the train! It’s coming!

There it is! It’s the train!

Nice work, Mr. Train Engineer. I see you in there.

Here's one of the trains, on the move, after crossing the bridge behind it.

A shared train moment with a father and son.

The girls enjoyed the train, but not as much as JJ. So, after a while, they retired to the swing.

Thanks so much to Mark and Sheryl for all the hard work in creating and maintaining the trains, and for sharing them with us.

Last week we traveled to Memphis to visit G’Mom and Grampa. I’ve got lots to show you from the fun of the trip, but before I do I wanted to tell you about the fun of getting there and back. Hopefully you find our difficulties entertaining.

We try to always fly out of BWI airport, as it is much closer to our house than Dulles or Reagan, and is usually much easier to deal with than the two larger airports. So, when my mom dropped us off at the airport Saturday morning an hour and twenty minutes before our flight, we thought we were in good shape. Once we walked into the terminal, we knew we were wrong.

The place was packed. The line to check in at Southwest wound through the entire maze and continued on for just as long beyond it. We had to check out bags, so we got in line. We were panicked that we’d miss our flight, and as we slowly made our way through the line, we were more and more sure of it. We ended up spending 50 minutes waiting to check in. When we finally did, we were informed our bags were late and might not make it on our flight. We then had 25 minutes to get through security and to our gate. The agent checking us in was kind, and suggested we go down to Terminal C since the security line there was shorter.

We ran to Terminal C security, which was indeed short. We made it through security in 10 minutes, leaving us 15 minutes before our flight was scheduled to take off. Unsure of when they’d close the doors, Jen and Molly started running back to Terminal B while I put my shoes on. I then picked up Leah and ran after them, catching them half way down Terminal B. We made it to the gate 7 minutes before take off time, wondering if we’d be able to get on the flight and get seats together. Fortunately, the flight was delayed, and was just about to start boarding. So, we made it on, not knowing if our bags would make it as well.

When we arrived in Memphis, we went to baggage claim and were happy to find the girls’ booster seats had arrived. Sadly, our suitcases had not. They ended up arriving later that afternoon (after spending a bit of time in Chicago’s Midway airport).

On our return flight, we knew Memphis airport would be less crowded, but we still arrived almost 2 hours ahead to make sure we had time. Of course, the airport was almost empty, and we were through checkin and security in 15 minutes. But we didn’t want to risk any problems since our flight was scheduled to get into BWI at 9:15pm, and we wanted to get our girls home and in bed as quickly as possible. We actually had even more time to wait, as our flight ended up departing 45 minutes late.

We ended up arriving at 9:50 with some tired girls. We headed to baggage claim and picked up our suitcases. Our girls’ seats, however, were not there. It seems none of the special baggage on our flight made it. So, we yet again had to file a report for missing luggage. The girls were not fans of riding home in Grams’s car without their booster seats, but they were so tired at 11:00 that they didn’t complain much. Southwest delivered the booster seats to our house the following afternoon, completing our adventure.

It makes me exhausted just to write this.

We had the beach house for a full week - Sunday to Sunday. Sadly, despite being very early in the hurricane season, the first tropical storm of the season headed straight for us. Then it became a hurricane, and kept on coming. Hurricane Arthur was due to hit us Thursday night, which made it the earliest hurricane ever to hit North Carolina.

We debated whether to stay through the storm or evacuate. We'd been through plenty of hurricanes in Louisiana, and this was only a Category 1 storm at the time (it ended up reaching Category 2 by the time it hit land). But we'd never weathered a storm in a house that was only a few feet from the ocean. Combined with the fact that it would ruin much of Friday leaving us with only Saturday, and the likelihood of losing power and running water, we decided to cut our vacation short and drive home Thursday.