Family Time on the Gulf

Our last official trip of Bonus Year involved visiting with my (Shannon's) family in Mississippi.  Yes, they live in Illinois, but they were up for a vacation and so we all headed to the Mississippi Gulf Coast for some spring sunshine!

Dad, Mom, me, and brother, Steve at a Biloxi pier

My parents rented a nice condo right on the Gulfport beachfront (thanks!!!), so we enjoyed walking over to the beach and soaking up the sun.  Scott had fun flying his $4 kite (which he later engineered to include a tail, improving flying capabilities).  We also got some stunning sunset views!

This is pre-Walmart bag tail addition. 

Sunset from our beach dinner. 

Other fun family activities included golf.  I want to be very clear that I am not a golfer. There are some pretty hilarious videos of me whiffing on swings over and over.  I also hit a house.  But we had a lot of fun driving around the carts, learning some new golf techniques and enjoying the southern sun.

Girls cart!

Scott, Steve, and Dad assessing the shot. 

Steve and Scott also enjoyed the activity of jet skiing.  Per my experience on our honeymoon, I opted out of jet skiing.  I'm pretty sure they had fun ripping around. When they returned, they referred to themselves as "pirates".

Getting ready to hit the jet skis!

After our time on the beach, Scott and I headed north with my parents to Horn Lake, MS (suburban Memphis) to visit my other brother Corey, wife Jess, and their daughter, Peyton.  Scott and I last saw Peyton during the summer and she has grown a lot since then!  It was really fun to play with her and listen to her call everything "doggy".  She's pretty much the cutest baby ever. :)

Many attempts at pictures later...

We had a great visit with all three Memphis Pearts (Corey, Jess, and Peyton), including a delicious dinner in Overton Park.  Special thanks to Corey and Jess for hosting us in Memphis!

Cute little Peart family!

The end of our Mississippi trip marked the "official" end of our Bonus Year!  This isn't exactly true as we're currently doing some serious job searching and hoping to settle down...somewhere?  We've been traveling around Washington and trying to enjoy the end of our unemployed time while working on the job hunt.  We'll update the blog with those adventures and hopefully soon be ready to hunker down!  Keep us in your prayers as we look for work opportunities and a place to live.  Stay tuned!