Ocean Springs, Mississippi

Look out Mississippi, here come the Benhams! For this weekend we decided to go to Ocean Springs to visit Kyle's aunt Janae and her family. I have never been to Mississippi, so I was excited to check out another southern state. I know this was an area affected by hurricane Katrina so I really wanted to see any monuments or memorials they might possibly have remembering that catastrophic event.

When we pulled up to the Black's home, they all came out to greet us. Janae, Kaycee, and Autumn were cute enough to make us a welcome sign, but since it had rained earlier it all started falling off the side of the house. At least it was the thought that counts. 

We wasted no time and after chatting and catching up for about an hour we hit the road to go exploring around the town. Our first stop was downtown main street. Now when I say down town this is a very small place so it was more of a quite little street with "ma/pa" shops along the way, not a hustle and bustle city. We tried some delicious popsicle's, and ate some yummy home made donuts at the Tato Nut shop. It was a perfect day because it was overcast, yet still humid and warm so we didn't have to worry too much about getting burned from the sun. 

Once we were satisfied with our main street exploring we went to the ocean front and checked out the area and the location where the hurricane did the most damage to. It's amazing how life has picked back up since that devastating storm. It has been over a decade now and the greenery all around has regrown, the houses are all fixed (and raised up on pillars which is smart to prevent further damage from future storms), and life has continued to move forward in that particular area. They did mark the trees where the water line had been as a sort of memorial or reminder of the tragic event. 

The kids loved running around on the beach and up and down the pier. They enjoyed chasing pelican birds and trying to get close to cranes. I wouldn't say it was a particularly pretty beach, especially having just been to the emerald coast a couple weeks prior in Florida, but it's sunset did not disappoint. There is something about a sunset on the water that is truly magical and breath taking.

Janae had gone above and beyond to accommodate us and went out and bought a bunch of little kid treats and foods such as mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, juice boxes, fruit snacks, and go-gurts. Since her youngest is now 10, she said it was kind of fun to get little kid food again since she never has the chance to do so anymore.

We fed the kids, got them in their PJs and then decided the adults, Janes, Steve, Kyle and myself, would sneak out for some southern cooking at a craw fish boil restaurant. Kaycee and Autumn were more than happy to babysit the kids and put them to bed for us. Score! Parent's night out and we didn't even have to pay for a babysitter, thanks girls!!!

Neither Kyle or myself had ever tried craw fish before so we were intrigued and up for an adventurous night out. I really like sea food so I was really excited...until that is when they brought out a big platter full of craw fish, eyes, legs, and shell still intact. I will admit it was a little gross to look at. Then to make things worse the waitress gave us a little tutorial on how to crack them and eat them. First you twist off their heads and suck out the juice (yuck!), then you peel the legs off and the shell comes right off leaving the small piece of meat inside for you to eat. I was a little mortified, but once I tried it I realized how delicious it was!!! It kind of tastes like crab, but there is a cajun flair to it with the spices they cook them in, and they also toss in boiled potatoes and sausages as well for flavor. It really was delicious, and we felt like we truly had experienced southern living after that meal. I mean craw fish boils is a way of life down south, it's not only tradition and culture for them, but often pushing religion for some people lol. It was a night filled with trying things for the first time and fun. Eating craw fish will definitely be a moment we remember forever.

The following day we all went to church, came back to pack up, and then hit the road again for our Alabama SOS home. It was a quick trip, but so nice to catch up with family again. We got to see 4 out of the 5 Black kids (Courtney is serving a mission on Temple Square), and create lasting memories. I have really been loving these little weekend get aways while we have been in Alabama. So far we have made it to Florida, Mississippi, and Georgia. Having been raised on the west coast my entire life, and never living further east than Oklahoma, I am slightly intrigued with east coast living, including the south. I am always down for exploring and an adventure, and Mississippi proved to be just that for our little family.

Once we made it back home, Brayden immediately started getting a fever and I could tell he wasn't feeling good. Later that night he threw up. The following morning I started to throw up, and then Connor and Abby did that next night along with Kyle. It was miserable, we were all so sick and hurling in pain. What happened?? How did we get it?? Janae called us asking if any of us had gotten sick and I immediately answered "Yes!" and asked her why she was asking. She told us they were all sick as well with the stomach bug and she felt so bad that we had picked it up as well. It wasn't any off their faults, and we still don't know who had it and spread it to us all, but at least we have all cleaned out our systems and are all on the mend. It wouldn't be a family gathering without everyone getting sick, hahaha.