VACATION: GULF SHORES, PART A MILLION

beach, beach, more beach and deep sea fishing.

 

during which hallie and max barfed a lot and slept.

 

but still had fun!

 

 (our house)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and then we drove home and i wanted to die.

 

THE END.

VACA: GULF SHORES, PART 4

moar a da beach

 

 

 

 

 

picked up dave from the airport - yay!

 

 

beans!

 

 

and go-karts!

 

 

 

the picture above was right before i was wrecked and tried not to bawl. for realz. i got majorly crashed into and had a bruised back and knee for a week.

 

i am so lame.

 

 

 

VACATION: GULF SHORES, PART 3

okay, so we went on a dolphin cruise. 6 out of 7 absolutely loved it. the one in the rubber life jacket wasn't a fan. it was the only time that seemed *hot*. he was sweltering and miserable.

the dolphins were super cool though. two boats would make a wake and the dolphins would go nuts.

we went to dinner afterwards at cosmos, which was great. henry was a wreck though, and beth and i took turns keeping him occupied before the food arrived. the atmosphere was fabulous and the wine was perfection. much needed after a grumpy, hungry little boy.

 

and then we took some of my favorite pictures ever.

VACA: GULF SHORES, PART 2

we rented a house on the beach. i mean, as close to the beach as humanly possible. it could not have been more perfect.

 

it was four bedrooms, perfect for my brother and his family, plus my family and dad.

 

we watched dolphins and sting rays from the back deck and ate together as a family for every meal. the kids were back and forth from the beach and i did my school work on my bed with the sliding doors open, a view of the ocean and the feel of the ocean breeze. it was heaven.

 

henry wasn't sure about the sand. he held his sand-covered hands out like, "get this stuff off. now." and then he wasn't a fan of being stripped down hosed off in the outdoor shower, no sirree. i mean, come on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 however, the next day and every day after that he was a total beach bum. he loved playing with his trucks and tractor in the sand and even fell asleep while dave walked around holding him in the waves. pretty cute.

 

 

 

 

OH HEY! TOTALLY FORGOT I HAVE A BLOG. VACATION!

where has this last month gone? i'll tell you where! VACATION!

 

we spent some time in gulf shores followed by a week at the ozarks and i tell you WHAT, it's hard to get back to reality. i could just be on vacation all the time, please and thank you.

 

darn those responsibilities. life. i tell ya.

 

anyway, i am sloooowly getting a grip on how many pictures i took on vacation and will share them on the blog for memory's sake. however, going through these pictures makes me WANT TO CRY because i want to be back. take me back! now!

 

****

 

gulf shores, alabama has the prettiest beaches i've ever seen in my life. i've been to floria, hawaii, maine, the freaking mediterranean. alabama takes the cake. white sugar sand beaches. squeaks when you walk, it's so fine. unreal.

 

we left on a friday, arrived on a saturday and immediately settled into beach life. which is the only kind of life, really. i have so many pictures, imma gonna split them out over the next few days.

 

THE DRIVE

 

it was fine. i mean, my dad drives *cautiously* and we had one mishap where we had to re-trace our steps about, oh, two and a half hours when we go to the ferry. but it was FINE.

 

the kids were champs in the car. hallie had a half of a dramamine and then slept for four hours the first day. yikes. i only gave her a quarter the next and she was fine :)

 

henry was...well, he survived. we all survived.

 

we stayed over at a hotel and then conquered the rest of the drive the next day. that was the roughest by far.

 

 

 

 

 

 

but then we arrived at the beach and that made everything better.

 

 

 

 

more tomorrow.