We are having a great time on our vacation.  We got here Monday evening.  Tuesday we went to the Mississippi Museum of Art*. 

(By the way, there are a lot of clickable links but I can't get them to show up underlined on my page for some reason, so I will put an * after them.)
We enjoyed it, though I think we were there a bit long for the kids and lost their attention toward the end of it.  We saw these exhibits:
Between God and Man: Angels in Italian Art
and
The Mississippi Story
We were going to go to the planetarium but we weren't there at the right time so we will have to go back later.
We went to see the Bee Movie and we all liked it.  I do agree there were a few parts that may be questionable, but they were all things that totally went over my kids heads.  We had a nice dinner of popcorn and lemonade, LOL!  We rarely go to the movies, so this was a nice treat for our vacation.
Yesterday (Wednesday) we went and visited a couple of my friends at their work (I used to work with them at a different store) and it was nice to see them again as it's been a few years.  Then we spent the rest of the day shopping.  :D  We went to Target (love it, don't have one where we live now) and we bought fall/winter clothes & shoes needed for the kids and a new electric razor (he's had his old one for over 17 years :eek: and it is finally time to get a new one as it's been making funny sounds lately).  We went to Sam's where we pulled a few sneaky maneuvers to buy some Christmas presents for the kids.  I took them to look at books while DH went back & got a couple of things for the kids, bought them and took them out to the van (in black plastic trash bags, LOL!)  (They didn't know he was doing this.)
Then DH took the kids to the bathroom and out to the van while I went to pay (and picked up a couple more kid things along the way that are also surprises for Christmas).  We mostly had to buy for Michael as we've already got a few things set aside for the girls that have been bought previously.  Last June, we bought scrapbooking kits for kids from Sam's.  Two years ago, we bought these* dolls at a cheap price (and some clothes):
After Christmas last year, we bought some clearanced tea sets and art sets.
These are the things we bought at Sam's this year:
Black & Decker Play Workbench*
Tonka Real Rugged Vehicles* 
Boy's Dress Up Trunk (like this* one, but with boy stuff)
The girls have been into Littlest Pet Shop lately.  This* is definitely going to have to be a shared gift.
They are also getting two sets of American Girl books (Samantha and Felicity).  Sam's also had sets with the cook book & art set, but I thought my girls were a bit young for that yet.  The book sets we did get each come with a small doll (about 6 inches tall).  Katie doesn't yet read well enough for the books, but she probably will before next Christmas, or maybe one of us can read them to her.
I also bought Elizabeth an American Girl magazine for her stocking and a My Little Pony* game for the computer that she'd been eyeing in the store (ssshhhh, she doesn't know she's getting it, LOL!)
This* girl's makeup kit is something else she was eyeing, but we discussed it and I think she is really too young for makeup of any kind.  It does seem like they are marketing it to young girls, but I don't really think that a young girl needs that much makeup, even if it is just for fun around the house.  What do you think?  And, do you let your girls wear makeup (just around the house for play) at all?
We also looked at these* toy vehicles as potential gifts for Michael, but they don't look to be well made and it seems like the doors (which do open) could break off pretty easily, plus we just don't like buying toys that have lights and sound.  We prefer them to make their own sounds (unless they are babies, then we make some exceptions).
Finally, the kids pooled all their money and bought this* Lincoln Log Set. They've been playing with it here in the hotel and love it!
I have insomnia in hotels sometimes and can't sleep too well, hence being up at this hour (in the lobby so I don't wake up the kids).  By the way, if anyone is ever passing through the Jackson, MS area and needs a hotel recommendation, we give this one 5 stars.  We always stay here when we are in town.  They know us by name even when we call on the phone, LOL!  They allow us to have 5 people in one room which is nice.  We get two double beds and the sofa pulls out into a twin-sized bed.  There is also a refrigerator and microwave in the room (on the rare occasion we've gotten a room that didn't have one or the other, when we asked, they brought us one from another room that wasn't being used, if we asked).  There is a really nice breakfast, which includes sausage biscuits you can microwave, boiled eggs, danishes, fruit (limited), cereal, oatmeal packets, coffee, orange or apple juice, milk, toast and waffles.  It's in Clinton not far off I-20.  It is called Best Western Ridgeland Inn.  If you want to use the wireless connection, you may want to ask for a room not too far on the end.  They are also wired though and you can use that if you just want to sit at the desk when you get online.  The rates are very reasonable.  This* link goes to the hotel website.
Later today we are going to the Agriculture Museum* and the Museum of Natural Science*.  Then tomorrow we are going to visit friends at their small hobby farm.  ;-)
Lastly, we plan to go to the zoo* and the planetarium* this weekend, and to see my family on Sunday.
We are having a great time!  I'll try to post pictures later.