Gulf Coast life

More November Fun

Grandma and Grandpa's visit was a definite highlight, but a lot more fun stuff happened in November, so I'm back with one more post. Our front yard orange harvest was much more plentiful than usual this year!

orange tree with oranges in front yard, Ocean Springs Mississippi

Some crazy mushrooms showed up in the yard after a bunch of rain.

mushrooms after rain in Southern Mississippi

Afton loves being outside, and she is not content to stay in the yard or driveway. She has no fear and will walk a long way right down the middle of the street without noticing whether or not I'm following (of course I always am, don't worry! ;). 

toddler girl with leaves and flowers

Unlike last year, we didn't have family around for Thanksgiving. Our dear friends the Lillys graciously invited us to join their family gathering at their lovely home. Alex and Tom each prepared a turkey, and they were totally different yet both delicious! As were all the other amazing side dishes everyone made. 

cooking Thanksgiving turkey

The tasty food was matched by the beautiful table Lucy had set. 

Thanksgiving Dinner Table Decor

Afton provided the musical entertainment, with a little help from Lucy. ;)

toddler girl playing grand piano

It was a perfect evening for hanging out in the Lillys' fabulous backyard. The hammock, the fire pit, a few rounds of cornhole... so much fun! 

Thanksgiving Day with ire pit, hammock, woods

Since I was absolutely no help with preparing our amazing meal (just like last year and the year before that...) I figured I could at least offer to take a Lilly family photo as my meager contribution. ;) And Tom even snapped one of us! :)

Thanksgiving Day Family Portraits in Ocean Springs, MS (Uninvented Colors Photography)

Tom and Lucy had been telling me for months that I needed to come to their house at sunset time to take pictures from the dock, and I finally did it! They weren't kidding!

sunset on dock in St. Martin, Ocean Springs, Mississippi

Another thing we'd been meaning to do for quite a while and finally got around to: a visit to the Pascagoula River Audubon Center

Pascagoula River Audubon Center building entrance

The staff at this gorgeous facility were super friendly and showed us all sorts of cool things inside the building. 

interior of Pascagoula River Audubon Center museum

As per usual, I really liked the turtles.

river turtles at Pascagoula River Audubon Center

Afton preferred the skunk skin.

girl playing with skunk skin at Pascagoula River Audubon Center

When we finished exploring inside, we headed back outside.

flowers and trees in nature, Pascagoula, Mississippi

We played on the little playground for a bit...

toddler girl and mom on playground

...then visited the Little Free Library. :)

father and daughter at little free library

We took our time wandering on the nature trail, and it was really beautiful. We'll definitely be back to this place!

nature photography at Pascagoula River Audubon Center (Uninvented Colors Photography)

That's it for my look back at November. It was a beautiful month in so many ways! Thankful doesn't even begin to cover it.