Family Vacation Gulf Shores

We are getting back into the swing of things this week after being on vacation for a week. We spent last week in "Golf Shores" as Addi called. She also thought we had to golf while there! lol. We took Aunt Ericka with us for some help and so Josh and I could have a little time to ourselves also. I think if Aunt Ericka never has to watch the Disney Channel ever again it'll still be too soon!

I think the highlight of Addi's trip was pushing the elevator button every time we went to the beach and the pool from our 8th floor condo. And the fact that she could go out in the pool a little farther than she's used to without floaties! Oh, the little things that amuse kids!

Both of our kids are major water babies and they couldn't get enough of the ocean or pool.

We ate at a lot of good restaraunts and the deal of the week with Addi was "you always try something new". This ranged from simple things to seafood. Addi would never touch a cracker. Whether it was a saltine or a ritz, she wouldn't ever touch one. Our first night eating, Addi decided to try a cracker. And guess what?! She actually liked it, and every place we ate at from there on out we had to get crackers. She also tried clam strips, fried shrimp, mozzerella sticks, popcorn shrimp and fried pickles. She liked the clam strips okay, the fried shrimp was a so-so, LOVED the popcorn shrimp, and hated the fried pickles. I think Reid's favorite place we went to was on our last afternoon we went to Hooters. He kept smiling (more than usual) and kept dropping his toys too! haha

We also took some pictures on the beach before going out to eat one night. I thought they turned out pretty good and wanted to share with you...














And then the night that Josh and I went out for a night for ourselves we took more pictures on our balcony with the ocean in the background...

We enjoyed a night of putt putt where Ericka kicked our butts, taking walks on the beach at night looking for crabs and we ran into a guy fishing for sharks that Addi thought was pretty cool and our endless walks in the morning looking for seashells. We had a good time at a neat place called The Hangout and Addi kept asking to go back to to listen to different bands. And of course we had to hit up the outlet malls!

We had great weather the whole trip without any rain! There was a lot of ocean life I guess you'd call it. Saw more jellyfish than we cared to, lots and lots of crabs, an occasional sting ray and our fair share of fish-and some of the fish were pretty big for being so close to the shore.

It was a relaxing week, we enjoyed having Josh around all week, all day long, all to ourselves! I know Reid won't remember any of his first vacation, but we have plenty of pictures to show him. And I hope Addi remembers it and all the fun and laughs we had. And a big thank you to Aunt Ericka for tagging along! Here's a very cute picture of her with Addi and Reid...




We all had a great time and Josh and I came home with many memories that we made with Addilyn and Reid that I know we will remember for years to come...