More from my trip home

I'm back in DC.  Just posted a few more pictures, and I'm about to falllll asleeeeep.  But here are a few quick stories from the trip.

First of all, I LOVED swimming and going to the beach with Ben.  He is absolutely fearless around the water.  I had already heard of his adventures in the pool: he loves to jump into the water from the side of the pool and even the diving board, loves to be thrown and dunked, and even puts his face in the water and holds his breath for several seconds.  But none of us knew what to expect in terms of how he would take to the ocean.  Uh.  He loved it.  Absolutely loved it.  When we first got there, I was left on the beach with him by myself while my sister went back to the car for a few things.  Naturally, that's when he decided to make a friend (a few years older than him, and --of course -- better able to steady himself in the waves) and Ben wanted to do exactly what that little boy did -- run straight out into the ocean and start jumping waves.  Ahhh ... Aunt Erin, in the meantime, is left scrambling to hold on to fearless Mister Ben ... praying that nothing happens to him while his momma has stepped away.  (Good LORD, that was a scary -- but fun -- couple of minutes until she returned.)  Anyway, the only downside to Ben's exuberance around the water was the fact that he hadn't quite figured out the whole shut-your-eyes-under-water thing.  So the saltwater was stinging his eyes, and we had to cut ocean time a little short.  Lesson learned, though:  next time, we'll bring Ben some goggles.

We headed to Demopolis on Sunday, and I really enjoyed my time there.  Went to Tuscaloosa for some shopping and lunch on Monday with my mom (got some fabulous shoes, among other great finds).  And then Janie -- my best friend from college -- came to Demopolis for a visit on Tuesday.  We had the best time!  We went on a mini tour of Demopolis (took all of 15 min ... hee hee), and headed out to Jesse's parents' house to spend some pool time with Andrea and Ben.  When we arrived, we stumbled upon a little bird, who we promptly named "Twitter."  (story below the pic)

while janie was visiting me in demopolis, we came across this little baby mocking bird. he seemed pretty abandoned (and it was really hot) so we scooped him up and "rescued" him. he was a pretty happy little fella. loved soggy dog food (easy to keep happy). once back in birmingham, janie dropped him off with a vet -- an avian specialist -- that her mom knows. i'm sure he'll be strong enough to fly off on his own in a week or so.

So Twitter added an exciting little twist to the trip!  We capped off the visit with a wonderful (BIG) dinner with all of our Demopolis family.  It was so nice to have everyone over and visit with folks.  I think Aunt Mary and Ben -- and everyone, really -- got a kick out of our little birdie friend.  And Ben and I played guitar for everyone at one point.  (I think Andrea has some pictures of that she'll be able to share later.)  Speaking of pictures, here is the entire album from my camera.  I didn't take a ton this trip.  But the memories more than make up for it.  :)