Goodbye, Biloxi

This post could also be titled "In Which I Rave & Also Complain About Our Year on the Gulf Coast."  And, true to Sykes family form, I found this post easier to compose by making lists.

In short, this year was crazy awesome, tricky, eye-opening, fun, well-spent, & exhausting, both mentally and physically.  We can't say we hated our time in Biloxi (parts I absolutely LOVED), but we definitely can say we don't plan on settling there.  Mostly, just like any other location, there are great things and there are not-so-great things about Biloxi.  The other day, I talked to my mom on the phone and she asked if it felt nostalgic yet.  I said no and explained by saying that I was still in Biloxi so it was just reality but that maybe after I left I would feel a little more sentimental.  Well, then that same night I went to a Relief Society activity with all the women I had grown to love and, in my 30 minute car ride home, I got thinking.  I started reminiscing and then the nostalgia set in.  I thought about all the horribleawfulannoying things we dealt with this year.  Then I thought about all the crazyfundon'teverwantittoend stuff we experienced.  Let me expound a little bit in both areas.

Things we most definitely will NOT miss:

• Bugs.  Lots of bugs.  For example, there were baby spiders near the windows (one day I killed 26), silverfish in the closets, termite season (aka swarming termites), and cockroaches everywhere (we had an infestation that never went away). 
• Climate.  For Will and me, the summer was hot.  Really hot.  Yet Emerson didn't seem phased by it.  He still wanted to be outside morning and afternoon for a good amount of time.  To his dismay, I could only handle about 10-15 minutes a couple times a day.  The humidity only made the heat worse and I got pretty tired of always being sticky.  Also, I never liked chiseling away at my sugar when I wanted to bake something.  The humidity made some things like salt, sugar, etc, become just one big clump in my container.  Not so fun, although I realize there are worse things.  At least my food wasn't bug infested.  
• Apartment complex downfalls.  The bug infestation, as mentioned earlier, probably takes the cake for the list of apartment downfalls.  But there are others such as the 3rd floor location (got a workout just bringing in the groceries), our closet shelf collapse, the odor coming from the dishwasher/sink (which maintenance blamed on diapers in our trash can although we never had a problem with the diapers before), the dryer that smells like smoke causing our clothes to as well, and the gym that was never fully functional all year long.  I could go on, but I don't want to sound more ungrateful than I already do.
• Neighbor. About half way through the year, someone moved in next door.  He is a young single guy who walks around without anything but shorts and, as far as I could tell, doesn't have a job which means he's home all day long.  Just like me and my baby.  He also has a giant dog who makes giant poops that for some reason were magnets for Emerson's shoes.  (Our complex features a fenced pet area complete with doggy bags yet he can't seem to find it.)  And, in addition to leaving his garbage can outside his door thus attracting flies and providing a horrible stench, he also listens to awful music that I could hear on the opposite end of our apartment.  This guy seriously gave me the creeps and, while I don't know anything about him or his situation which means I shouldn't judge, I just couldn't stand being near him any longer.  So long beyond-annoying-and-creepy man.
• Lack of family/friends.  We sure did miss our family and friends while we were away. Skype definitely made things easier, and we had fun making new friends in the ward, but there's just something about that face-to-face interaction with those we love that we couldn't wait to get back to.
• Train.  This one is on the negative list because it prevented my boys from sleeping.  I could sleep through a rollercoaster but the men in this family require dark and quiet, yea even silent, sleeping surroundings.  The train was closer to our apartment than our mailbox.  Seriously, it was literally a stone's throw away.  The only thing I didn't like about the train was that, because we were so close, all our stuff shook when it went by.  We all jiggled a little bit while it passed.  #miniearthquakes

Now, if I were to end this post now, I would do so with a quote from an an old favorite:

"Let's not say goodbye, let's just say au revoir."

"No, let's say goodbye."

But really, we loved so much of our time in Biloxi so I can't help but rave about the South and all it had to offer.

Things we most surely WILL miss:

• Wildlife.  On a regular basis we saw beautiful butterflies, salamanders, and squirrels.  On a few occasions we saw and played with toads and frogs and, once, a turtle.  And remember that spider web I found?  Stunning. 

• Climate.  (This one belongs in both categories for good reason.)  How could someone not love having 70 degree weather in November?  I mean, come on.  And also, when it wasn't hot, the humidity was fantastic (other than the crunchy sugar).  Emerson's eczema cleared up and didn't pose any more problems all year and my skin didn't require lotion every day.  
• Our ward family.  We loved the ward.  Our bishopric was fantastic and, despite it being an incredibly transient ward due to the military base, we felt so welcomed and embraced during our short stay.  This ward provided a lot of opportunities to serve others and I am so thankful for these opportunities.  I was able to babysit other children a lot, help a sweet lady who was wheelchair-bound, and make meals for the missionaries and families who were in need.  Will got to help many people move and also went to serve Hurricane Isaac victims in Slidell with Mormon Helping Hands.  What better way to make and keep good friends than through service?  Also, those in the military seem to have a different mindset about making friends.  It seems like they think, "Hey, we're only going to be in this place for 7 months so if we want any friends we have to make them quickly."  And they do.  I saw people who, having been there for but a few weeks, acted like they've been best friends forever. They just have a different way of thinking and I loved it.  I plan on keeping that same idea.  Who says that it has to take a while to get comfortable around people?  Cozy on up and make some friends already!
• Walmart.  Walmart was practically in our front yard.  And it was a new one and didn't even open until we had been here a couple months so it wasn't laden with dirt like lots of others out there.  It was so convenient to have a superstore just down the stairs and around the fence, and we loved the ease of having it justrightthere.
• Cuisine.  One of the things we were looking forward to experiencing was the local food.  I mean, you can't beat fried food, right? We were able to try out quite a few new restaurants and loved almost all of them.  Some favorites were The Shed, Mugshots, Blowfly Inn,  The Tegarden (now closed :( ), and Aunt Jenny's Catfish Restaurant.  We also fell in love with Waffle House although they have these all over.

And now, we have some superlatives to award:

Bravest Moment: Emerson was a little tentative to pet the baby alligator on our trip to the alligator farm, but he did and thought it was pretty neat.  We all loved seeing the alligators and highly recommend this inexpensive adventure to anyone visiting the Gulf Coast.

Most Romantic Date: Our 5th anniversary was celebrated at home over a delicious steak dinner.  It was complete with candles, decorations, and scattered rose petals.  

Biggest Fire Hazard: Will's 30th birthday cake did have 30 candles on it, so disaster was just minutes away if anything went awry.  

Most Emerson-Approved: Emerson loved the beach.  And because of the shallow water and tiny waves he was able to just play play play. 

Most Likely to Visit Again: Chattanooga!  On our 10-day Tour of the South roadtrip we went on, we spent a couple days in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  We fell in love and would so love to go back.  Maybe someday :)

Most Likely To Be Accused Of Being Photoshopped: This photo is a preview for y'all from our family photos on the beach.  And no, it wasn't photoshopped.  My man just has hops.

(photo by Heidi Shurtliff)

Best Sign: We found this hanging in a store in New Orleans.  Wait...really??  Is anyone else just as confused as me as to why this needs stated?

Most Likely to Get a Headache: On our visit to Fairhope, Alabama, we stopped at a small toddler park to break up the driving a bit.  Fun was to be had for all ages apparently.

Worst Weekend "Getaway" Ever:  We wanted to spend some time in New Orleans, and, having it only an hour and a half away, we packed up and decided to spend a fun weekend there.  We were slated to see the Blue Angels and tour some neat ships, but inclement weather cancelled the Blue Angels show and made it too wet for us to want to tour the ships.  So instead, we walked through a bit of the French Quarter and then drove all over kingdom come in the rain trying to find something else to do.  Overall, it was a poorly-planned weekend, but for more reasons than that we were anxious to get back to Biloxi.

MVP: Will participated in flag football on base and made some pretty cool moves.  He was a good quarterback and had lots of great catches and touchdowns.  Emerson loved running around with a football while Daddy did, too. 

(photo by Heidi Shurtliff)

Most Organized: Emerson is our little organizer.  Remember this post full of cute pictures?  Well he is still at it and is just a little organizing master.

Cutest Boy Scout: Halloween was way fun this year.  We all dressed up as the characters from Pixar's "Up" and had such a great time together.  

(Photo courtesy of Many Moons Photography)

All in all, we had a fantastic year.  We can't believe it's over already and part of me wishes it wasn't.  We'll definitely miss so many things about our time in Biloxi, especially the friends we made.  

And now, to quote a different old favorite:

"So long, farewell

Auf Weidersehen, goodbye" 

Doo doodle-oo do do do do, Doo doodle-oo do doooooo  :)

Goodbye, Biloxi!

Thanksgiving Prep

We'll soon be heading to Utah with all our junk belongings and we'll soon have a long and sentimental (and a little bit snarky) post saying sayonara to Biloxi, but in the meantime, here's what we're up to:

I'll own up to the fact that this guest has been in our light for a few months.  Call me crazy for procrastinating cleaning this bulb.

And now I should stop procrastinating other things I need to do and go pack another box.  Over and out.

Date Night

Will & I have been able to go on a few dates lately while some friends watched Emerson (thanks to Jodi, Vance, & Nate/Cassie!).  We got dolled up and went to the Hard Rock Casino Buffet one night.  It happened to be seafood night (!!) so we got to load up on all things oceany including king crab legs.  Will got a free birthday buffet, and the deal for me was that if I spent $20 in the slots, then I could get a free buffet and keep whatever I won from the machines.  So we won $5 back which meant we paid $15+tip for $48+tip worth of food. Then we ran out like bandits because we stole such a good deal from them.

Nice photo bomb from the head sitting on Will's shoulder, eh?  If he only knew what kind of a deal we got he may have had a worse glare, although I don't know if that glare can get any worse.

It was such good food I apparently had a glistening tear on my cheek...or at least that's what my sparkly make-up looks like in this pic.

Another night, we planned to go to a new favorite called The Tegarden, but upon arriving we learned it had recently closed.  I can't say we were surprised since it was hiding from the main thorough-fair and the first time we went we were the only ones there.  Still, though, the food was amazing and we were sad to have to pick a different restaurant that night.  We landed ourselves at a Longhorn Steakhouse and drowned our sorrows in crab-stuff filet mignon.  Boo hoo.  And we also took the camera and got a real picture instead of grainy and ill-lit phone pics.

Oh, how we love date nights.  It's always fun to have a toddler in tow, but it's especially fun to have some couple time alone where we're not trying to find fruit snacks under the table or gathering thrown toys.  Anyone else have any hot dates lately?

Bucket List Revisited

Remember the Biloxi Bucket List?  Of course you do.  We've only mentioned it about 15 times since first posting our list.  Well, we're happy to report it is completed. Done. Over.

We were able to knock out everything on the list with about a week to spare before heading back home to Utah.  Here's a recap of all we accomplished:

• Ride the carousel at the mall

• Visit the alligator farm
• Eat at the Half Shell Oyster House and The Shed (which is the BEST bbq we've ever had so far)

• Go to the blue water beaches
• Have family pictures taken at the beach (I'll post some after the next couple weeks of packing and moving are over)
• Go to the temple
• Watch "The Frog Princess" (We saw this when it came out and didn't particularly like it, but thought it would be fun to give it another chance now that we have experience in the south.) **UPDATE: We loved it!
• Visit Fairhope, Alabama (recommended to me by my previous boss)
• Go to Mugshots monthly (For those who don't know, Mugshots is a burger restaurant that has been awarded 'Best Burger in Mississippi' for 5 years in a row.  The award speaks truth.  We have yet to find a better burger anywhere.  We'll greatly miss Mugshots.)

All the burgers are 8oz of juicy goodness.  I get 'Da Big Kahuna which is amazing.  To. Die. For.

• Do the local driving tours of downtown Biloxi
• Buy a Dusti Bonge print (Dusti was a local abstract artist whose art I have fallen in love with.)
• Survive a hurricane.

After all is said and done, we've loved having this little list to keep us having fun and inexpensive adventures during our time in the south.  We love the memories we've made while here.  And if you're one who likes to see lists crossed off (we are definitely an it-feels-good-to-cross-off-lists-so-we-make-them-for-everything family), then go check out the original post where everything was crossed off as it was completed.  

Anyone have any lists you've recently completed?  Any goals that have taken a few months (or longer) to complete?  Doesn't it feel good to cross them off?  Oh ya.

Temple Day

Living in Utah made going to the temple a breeze compared with living in Biloxi (or almost anywhere else in the world for that matter).  In Utah, I could wake up one morning and decide that I may want to go to the temple in the evening and bam!  Babysitter? Always. Travel? 12 minutes. And if I happened to forget my recommend, it was only a 20 minute inconvenience and I could catch the next session.  No problemo.  

Well, with the nearest temple being 3 hours away in Baton Rouge, a little more planning is required.  Do we take Emerson with us and just trade off watching him in an unfamiliar city while the other person works?  Or should we maybe take another couple with us and swap all the kids between couples?  Also, reservations are necessary since sessions are few and far between so that makes timing interesting.  And if I were to forget my temple clothing, it would be a no go since they don't have spare clothing.  Memory and preparation are key for a temple trip now so this was the only time we got to go since moving to Biloxi.  We decided it would be best for our family to leave Emerson with a babysitter and just go as a couple.  My angel of a visiting teacher was kind enough to watch him for 8+ hours.  What a trooper she is, especially since she has a one-year-old of her own and is pregnant, too.  

So I made reservations for a 12:00pm session and we planned to leave around 8am and be back around 5pm.  We woke up as usual and got ready for the day.

How can a day not be great when it's started with Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch?  

We planned on eating in Baton Rouge before going inside the temple, but brought snacks just in case we ran into some sort of traffic or car trouble.  Or just plain got lost.  Thanks to Will's newest toy TomTom (whom he named Lizzy) that scenario wasn't much of a concern.  

Sidenote:  if you haven't ever tried an Asian Pear (they are the ones that come in this weird foamy thing), you are seriously missing out.  Will insisted they were great and he's completely right.  They are so good....crunchy like an apple but taste like and have the texture of a pear.  Delish, I tell you.  I have since gone back to the store and gotten 6 more.

I meant to hem Will's temple pants before our actual trip but never did (I told you memory was key, and this minor detail escaped mine.  Luckily we had a few hours so I could sew on the way).

Not too bad for a quick fix in the car, but a good ironing would sure help out.  I sat on them for the last 30 minutes of the ride hoping my bum-heat would act as a psuedo-iron-job.  It seemed to help for the time being.  

We stopped at a Mexican restaurant about a half mile away from the temple.  It was great food and totally hit the spot for us.  Anyone heading to Baton Rouge should stop at La Carretta.  You won't be disappointed.

We made it to the temple with plenty of time to spare so we snapped a few pictures.  Our session was more full than we were expecting, although we didn't really know what to expect seeing how this was new for us.  I'd never been through a smaller temple before other than to do baptisms as a youth so I was enamored with the compactness of it everything inside.  The locker room is teeny and each room inside can be accessed from the main hallway, including the baptismal font.  

We thoroughly loved the time spent at the temple and were blessed to have a nice spiritual experience.  Sometimes exactly what we need is a break from the world and a few moments alone with the Spirit and our thoughts.  I have greatly missed having the temple in such close proximity to my home and admire those who don't live close to one.  Much effort is required for most to visit the temple, and even our day-long trip was nothing compared to some.  Any visit to the temple is worth the work, though.  We were so blessed to spend a beautiful day together as husband and wife in the house of the Lord.