50,000 questions

Watching part of a movie with Olivia today went something like this:

O: Who's that?
O: What's his name?
O: Is that his wife?
C: Yes.
O: What is she doing?
O: What is her name?
O: Is she happy or sad?
C: I think she's happy.
O: Is she going to her house?
O: Is her house gray or pink?
O: Does she have a puppy?
C: ...uh...
   (there was no house OR puppy in that scene)

Quiet for a few moments, then:

O: ...Are you happy with me?
   *This is Olivia-code for "are you mad at me"

C: (laughing), Yes, I'm happy with you. Silly goose.

Pensacola Beach

About a month ago, the whole family had a day off when asked what she wanted to do, Olivia replied "Go to the beach!"  Now, Olivia has only been to the beach once in her life and she was 8 months old so likely doesn't remember it, so we weren't sure where she got the idea from. However, that started the idea of squeezing in one more fun vacation before Charity's residency is over. It would had to be a quick trip because of Charity's work schedule - she wasn't able to take off more than 2 days at once in the month of May.  So the idea of going to Pensacola Beach was born.

Olivia's Grandpa and Grandma (Tim & Kathy) joined in the fun, too.

We have to take a quick detour and say that the first time Levi and Charity lived in Nashville, in 2001-2002, they took a trip to Pensacola Beach for Levi's birthday. This remains one of their all-time favorite vacations...except for one thing: Getting stuck in a huge, interstate-stopping traffic jam outside of Birmingham, AL. Surely, the same thing wouldn't happen twice. Right?

Well. The Jacksons left Nashville at 11am, the earliest that Charity could get off of work on Friday. They loaded in the car with swimsuits, buckets for building sandcastles, and a Big Box O' Stuff for Olivia to do on the 6 and 1/2 hour drive to Pensacola Beach.

 

They got through Birmingham, and started thinking about how nice it would be to have a seafood dinner on the beach...when all of a sudden I 65 came to a halt. The entire interstate was rerouted through rural Alabama for several miles! Along the way, they went through a town (at a rousing 5 miles per hour) that was mostly abandoned but one sign in particular stood out:



Bakery and Thrift Store? How does that work, exactly? Maybe it's not a surprise that it was out of business...

Anyway...four hours and 60 miles later, a very grumpy Jackson family re-entered I65 and began to head toward Pensacola Beach at a much quicker rate...but they still didn't arrive until nearly 11pm, which made a 6 1/2 hour trip nearly 12 hours instead.

The next day was much better, and spent entirely at the beach. The hotel was about 50 yards from the water, and had a balcony. Olivia was very impressed.

After a very early breakfast, they went to play!

Obviously, Levi was very excited to be back at his favorite vacation destination!

"I'm not so sure about this...."

Maybe just sit here instead...

By far, Charity's favorite picture of the trip. :)

whee!!!!

Building sandcastles with Mommy!

Arrrrrr! Eating lunch at Peg Leg Pete's.

Olivia had lots of fun at the pool...no waves to crash against, no salt water to taste, fun fountains and toys!

Levi and Kathy decided to kayak in the ocean - crazy people!

Olivia just wanted to ride in the kayak...thanks Grandpa!

fun trip! Easier ride home, and a much needed nap for Olivia...

Definitely hard to go back to the real world after that!

Conversations with a Three Year Old

O: Who makes the cars?
C: The car factory.
O: Who makes the lights?
C: The light factory.

(this goes on for a while) Then...

C: Who made Olivia?
O: *silent, then glares* I don't want to play this game.

...
This morning at 6am, while sitting on the potty:

O: Why did God put my head here? *points to head*
C:  I guess He thought that was a good place for it.
O: Why did God put my eyes here? *points to eyes*
C: So you can see.
O: Why did God put my neck here? *points to neck*
C: To hold up your head.
O: Why--
C: Shhhhh...it's time to peepee.

Destination: Austin!

We found out today that the start date for Charity's new job at Austin Regional Clinic will most likely be in mid-August, rather than in July as we initially planned on. Mostly due to time to get credentialled with the local hospitals and to have verification of education...

The planned move date is still the end of June/beginning of July. We figure that will give us time to settle in and explore our new city - and for family to come and visit if they want to before life gets too far underway!

We're excited!

Welcome Post

Our family is new to Blogger, so please bear with us as we get things started! Soon to come - picutres, videos, links, and fun updates on what we're doing!