If I wanna go to the beach today...

...then maybe I WILL.

What started out to be a normal day in the boring city of Jacksonville, turned out to be a VERY eventful day for the entire family! So we left this afternoon with the idea of running to Walmart so the kids could pick out their Christmas presents and make lists for family and then jettin over to Lowes to grab a needed item for the garage (my new favorite "catch-all").

After we finished these errands I turned to Austin and said, "wanna go for a drive and see where my friends live?" He replied, "Sure, but how bout we go to Wilmington instead?" Whats Wilmington you might ask? Well let me tell you! Wilmington is about 45 minutes south of Jville and it's a very touristy town with GREAT shopping, GREAT food, and SIMPLY FABULOUS beaches. Go to Wilmington for the day? Are you kidding? I quickly scanned the contents of Isaak's bag in my mind wondering if he had sufficient food for the day. Luckily I always pack him about 22 bottles even if we only plan to be out for an hour so YES, he was set, I was set...LETS GO!!

On the way there we crossed a big bridge that overlooked the USS North Carolina Memorial. It's a battleship that is inactive and used for tours now. The kids thought it looked awesome so we decided to drive closer to it for a better view. Driving closer wasn't enough and the kids were begging to go ON the ship...what the heck! We pull in, pay and walk aboard!

Jake loved the guns. He was fascinated that this ship had actually seen real battle in WWII.

Kora and Miah were very cautious at first. Kora needed to know that we were NOT moving and that we were NOT going to sink. Miah kept asking for someone to "please hold my hand!!"

There were a lot of things about this battleship that I loved and would like to add to my dream home. First of all...a butchers block this size would be LOVELY. It's even big enough for children to lie on it if they become a little rowdy and need their limbs restrained.

My never ending issue of me being done having kids...or not would be SOLVED if I had beds like this in my house. I could finally have all the kids I wanted and just keep stacking them on top of each other.

With four boys, I need stalls. One for each.

I thought it was neat that ships earn ribbons just like the military. If you'll notice to the upper right of Kora's head this battleship's ribbons that they paint on the boat as earned.

While touring the inside of this ship I not only felt REALLY EXTREMELY claustrophobic, BUT I had a strong sense of spirits on that ship. It was kinda freaky.

Izey and I WERE both there. Austin was sweet enough to think to take a picture of us to document our presence. (Don't look at the zit on my lip and YES I know I wear this shirt too much but I don't have much to choose from so give me a freakin break.)

The best part about the entire ship was the alligator we saw when we leaned over the side of the ship. I started having scary and bad thoughts about accidentally dropping Isaak in the water and then freakin out as I watched the alligator quickly jerk his head to the sound of splashing water as he squirms back in to get a sweet taste of fresh Izey. *shiver* WHY does my mind come up with these horrible scenarios?? I hate that!!!! Ugh...isn't he freaky though?

Yea yea...more guns.

After the battleship detour we got back on track to visit Wilmington's beach. It was beautiful...seriously, like GORGEOUS. Miah was very overwhelmed by the ocean as usual. I think he has a hard time comprehending something so massively extreme. He starts shaking and getting all quiet, no joke...he seriously freaks.

The three biggest kids, Austin, Jake and Kora went down to see the water.

While me and Miah and Izey watched from the sand.

(Again, the zit, stop looking and pointing.)

On the way out we saw this very inviting church sign.

My favorite part was the "Crazy Horse" strip club we passed. In this area of town, passing a strip club every 10 miles is about as common as your dirty underwear landing crotch up when you throw it on the floor...it's BOUND to happen. So when we saw "Crazy Horse" Austin proceeded to tell me he bets Indians go to that club and the girls wear moccasins and headdresses as the background music is a pow pow. I wish you could have heard the original imitation but since I wasn't quick to catch it, I tried to get the second version for you when he wasn't paying attention to the camera.

Here's to many more days of spontaneity!