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!

 

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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.

BEFORE AND AFTER.

 

 

ready for summer!

HOW'S HENRY?

wellllllll, henry is getting a little frustrated by our lack of knowing exactly what he wants. he relies a lot on pulling our hands, my apron, pant legs, etc with limited vocabulary.

 

i mean, he knows words. he THINKS he knows lots and lots of words.

 

but many times he ends up head to the ground sobbing because OH MY GOSH, mommy doesn't KNOW WHAT I WANT RIGHT THIS SECONNNNNNND.

 

 

 

 

it is both hysterical and DRIVING ME CRAZY. along with the fork throwing.

but here is now he normally is. like, 60% of the time:

 

SUMMER RIDING.

hallie is still obsessed.

 

 

OBSESSED.

YOUTH GROUP, FLAT TIRES, TORNADOS, OH MY!

a few fridays ago, we took our youth group to six flags for the grand finale trip.

 

we had already cancelled once before, so even though it looked like rain i was all, LET'S DO IT. my phone even said 0% chance of rain. (my phone is a liar. or an optimist.)

 

so here we are on the mason sound bus. all happy. making good time. all was well (except the crappy pictures).

 

 

 

 

and then this happened.

 

 

 

 

but we got through it! called some taxis, headed to six flags - a mere 10 miles from the flags. lame.

so we get there and it poured, so that was stinky.

but then it let up and that was awesome! the park cleared out and we bonced from ride to ride without waiting in any lines.

 

i'm pretty sure someone then made the misteke of saying, "this has turned out to be a perfect day!"(probably me).

 

and then this happened on our way home:

 

 

 

oh, just a tornado, subsequent stay in a mcdonald's cooler with 13 other people, and dave at the cash register after.

 

just a typical youth group trip.

 

we were fine. that's all that's important.

 

we had amazing people praying for us and were able to post up to the second updates on facebook :/ thank goodness for iphones, right?

 

the end.