Alabama Vacay: Beach Walk (the best day)

This is the hardest part of our trip to put into words - the pictures barely do it justice.  We decided to take a long, long walk up the beach before sunset today.  We wanted to walk as far as we could with the kids, heading east along the beach where the nature preserve was.  No hotels, no houses, just nature everywhere you turn.  It was the best walk, the highlight of our entire trip if I was forced to pick just one thing to recommend.  We set out from our hotel and had an adventure together:

The sand dunes as we hit the beach - Greg took an amazing picture but its easy when its just so perfectly beautiful here.

Our little beach walkers were off to a running start

Before we started our walk, we did stop to play by our umbrella and splash in the water.  Rather, daddy splashed.  He started a little game called Daddy vs. the Jellyfish.  He found a net at the beach house and would take it out to catch jellies and dump them on the shore.  He thought he was clearing the water for the kids, I hated to point out there were still hundreds floating around.  He was entertained and the kids were too.

Our mighty Jellyfish hunter

Our beach walk started with crabs - the water is so clear that you can see everything and tonight we found little crabs walking around.  This little guy got close before scampering off.  Daddy caught some in his net but released them after the kids got a close look.

This is a BABY SHARK!  One of our vacation friends who's umbrella sat next to us on the beach loved to fish in the ocean.  Before we left for our long walk, he called over to us to show us what ate his bait: a BABY SHARK!  It was a fierce little guy, he didn't stand for being caught and fought the whole time but I managed a quick picture before he was released back into his ocean.  How neat is that?  AJ thought it was the coolest.

After sharks and crabs, not to mention jellies, we decided to walk up and down the sand bars at the start of our big adventure to see what else we might find in nature.  Of course, AJ decided he has already had enough walking and nature, so Mommy carried him and held KK close.

Love my babies

KK searching for sea shells and playing in the water

The difference between boys and girls: AJ throwing sticks and shells back into the ocean... hehe. 

As we were walking and exploring, I decided to take some pictures of the kids as they played.  The lighting was just right and I wanted to capture the carefree play as I knew as I watched, these moments are the kind you want to replay in your heart long after the day is over.  I didn't want to forget the joy on their faces, the sound of their laughter and the feeling of my heart just full full full.  Thank you Lord for moments like this!

This crane was with us the entire trip - so it was fitting that it came up the beach to us and was fishing as we frolicked on the sand.

Two sets of sweet little toes covered in sand - who doesn't want to remember those little feet...

The boys coming back from exploring up a little further!

Our sweet KK was just sitting in the sand playing with shells when I captured these pictures - a natural beauty (I am not biased at all).

She posed by herself with this one - I just snapped the shot with the sunset behind her.  This is my favorite shot of her during our trip. I love my KK!

Our beach walk wasn't just pictures - nature followed us (or else we ended up on top of it). On our way home we saw sting rays swimming right along the beach between the sand bars!

Here was our view as we returned home.  The kids chattered away about all the sea life we witnessed as our pockets were filled with shells and sand.  They were not keen on walking in the water as the jellies still scared them, and they both got tired and had to be carried several times, but it was the best adventure regardless.  Memories that we won't forget.  After this, we are definitely coming back for another vacation here again.  This.place.is.awesome.

Alabama Vacay: Day 4

After the crazy nature incidents, we found we loved our new house the Limelight.  It was nicer than what we had before, so we took that as all was as it was meant to be and not let anything get in the way of our vacation fun.  Of course, the fun is always enhanced when you get a LIMO for a golf cart. 

The limelight limo (loved the custom plates)

The kids loved this cart - I mean do we sit in the front seat, the middle, the back back?  The options were endless and every seat was to be tried out within the first day.

Picture of our new beach house

Two cuties ready to hit the the beach

Ahh - right where I wanted to be, in the shade with the sand in my toes, a snack in my hand and this cute face for company next to me....

While the beach was fun as always, we decided to cut it short and spend some time in the pool (in some jellyfish and nature-free water). 

We returned later that night (after our beach walk - see post here Alabama Vacay: Beach Walk) to relax our sore legs from all our walking in the hot tub.  It was pretty cool at night after the sun went down, so the hot tub was a nice way to stay outside a little longer while we watched the stars come out over the water.

After our long walk (long day really), the kids were in bed in no time sleeping sweetly.  Mommy and daddy decided to indulge a little with some amazing homemade cheesecake we found a this place called "Hope's Cheesecakes".  They made literally fifty kinds of cheesecake, all fresh.  The hardest part was picked just a few to sample.  We went with classic cherry, turtle cheesecake, and tuxedo cheesecake (chocolate mousse).  YUM!  Great end to a great day!  Sweet dreams!

Alabama Vacay: Dolphin Cruise

We decided to surprise the kids with a cruise at sunset to find some dolphins ~ it turned out to be the best.night.ever. Our morning (which will be blogged about in detail later with the title "The Great Outdoors NOT" at a later date), started out very rough, but this ending made up for it in spades. The kids 1st time in a boat and the 1st time to see dolphins up close and personal. So we packed a cooler of snacks and headed out for an adventure. Some nice people in line took a family picture of us:



As I am the official picture taker, my hubby made sure to catch a shot of me with the kids. I loved it as it was one in which we were actually sand free :-)



Below: KK and AJ posing by the pretend dolphin. KK made sure I was clear this was not the real thing. Also shown: our boat and the sign of the cruise we took.



After roll call (yes they did yell out last names to ensure all were there), we boarded our ship. Much to AJ's dismay, all kids under 7 are required to wear a life vest per state law. I think the picture here shows you exactly how he felt about this rule. He kept saying "its not my vest". I think he wanted his lion floatie...



Don't panic... the tears lasted only a moment as the boat left the marina and we were off for an adventure. Nothing stops tears like getting to be on a real big boat in the bay, headed off for Florida waters to find some real dolphins!



Aren't they cute little sailors! They loved standing up and riding the waves on the boat ~ there were smiles and giggles for the first five minutes straight.

Before we knew it, the dolphin's were spotted and the captain got the waves going behind the boat. Apparently, these fun-loving creatures love when the boats make certain waves. They jump and frolic in the waves as they chase the boat. And they did not disappoint!

The captain jumped down from above and announced that all little kids should go to the back of the boat to watch up close. KK and AJ jumped up and made a beeline for the bench, they wanted a front row to this action. Here they are, looking for signs of dolphins:



And within moments, they saw this (go Daddy for taking some amazing shots while the kids and I got the up close view):



KK and AJ both started giggling, jumping up and down and screaming all at the same time. They were so happy! It was more fun to watch them at one point. Every time the dolphin's jumped, they both looked at each other and started laughing all over again. AJ would scream "Jump Dolphin Jump" as if he was in charge of the show. I wish I could explain how awesome it was, seeing the bliss on their faces. I had several people approach me after to say they had more fun watching KK and AJ be so happy than watch the actual dolphins. :-) Maybe I should have charged them $15 a person? Teasing!

Below: my babies showing their joy



Daddy got some great shots!


I did take a quick video to show the dolphins and you can clearly hear the kids giggling and laughing. So fun!
Come back later for this -- our wifi at the house isn't strong enough to handle my videos apparently. It will be fixed once we are home!


Below: me and KK right after the dolphin's were done playing.


After the first half of the cruise, we had some time to have a snack and enjoy more "boat" time.



We got to see some more dolphin's jumping before headed back to the marina. It was a wonderful cruise. We got to watch the sunset over the water as we returned home. KK and I were all about the wind on our faces and looking out over the boat (not quite like "I'm the king of the world from Titanic but you get my drift). AJ, despite being on a boat, sat down and decided to take a break from all the excitement by playing with his cars. Typical boy, on a boat, playing cars.



And here I leave you with our sunset...


Oh, wait! And we did totally spoil the kids, as you are supposed to on vacay, by getting ice cream. Did I mention? Best.Night.Ever.



Sweet dreams from 'Bama!

Alabama Vacay: The Great Outdoors NOT

So every vacation has a snag or two... whether its family drama, rain on your beach vacay, losing your wallet. Those things happen. It is when several things happen in a span of a day that make you question it all. Will I keep my eye on the silver lining? Or should I just give in to a huge pity party and cry and pack my bags?

So what, pray tell, happened to us? Well after two days (three if you count the day we arrived), we settled into a great routine of cooking and spending time at the beach, going to the pool, naps. We were having a great time... then Wednesday rolled into town. And I think it almost ran us over.

I walk downstairs to make breakfast for us while Greg and the kids wake up and start to get ready for the beach. I open up the pantry, and decide suddenly: lets eat on the beach. I will grab some cereal bars and some fruit. I reach for the box only to see crumbs all over the shelves... and then I see little brown drops on the floor. Then I look around and see more around the kitchen on the counters... and on the dining room table... and in the living room. I will spell it out for you: a MOUSE joined our beach house. I freaked a little. I also thanked God out loud because I cleaned and put all our stuff upstairs before bed the night before. We pull the kids out of the house and head to the beach to let them play while we wait for the front office to open.

Now while we are waiting... first, I should mention that the beach is beautiful. White soft sand, blue clear waters... We play in the sand and build castles, we take walks, we splash in the water... water with jellyfish. And other marine life I prefer not to think about when I am in the water. We have lived peacefully though with these jellies thus far. The kids scream when they see one on the beach, we walk around it, life moves on. So we are on the beach, taking in the view and trying so hard to make sure that what we just discovered at home isn't going to ruin anything for us and our week. For some reason I cannot fathom at this very moment, I decide to wade out to other side of the sand bar. I am there for point two seconds.. and then I feel it. My leg is stinging. DARN JELLYFISH! I rush back to the beach to wallow for a moment with Greg. He just looks at me and we start laughing. I mean really? Really? It hurt dude.

The front office opens and we immediately decide to move to a house across the street. We tell the kids its time to get our stuff and head back to the car. It is then that we discover another Alabama pest that has picked that moment to attack: the mosquito. Halfway down the boardwalk, we are all running and swatting at our arms and legs. They got us (except for AJ, we still aren't sure how he managed that). SERIOUSLY?

We make it back to the golf cart and we give each other a long look. We can either cry now, or we can make the best of it. And that is why I love my hubby and my kids. We start laughing. We crack jokes about it. What else can you do? Obviously the great outdoors hates us in Alabama.

It wasn't easy packing up and moving everything, but so worth it. We are now in a house that is even nicer than the one we had. We also have bug spray and started bringing a net to the beach to catch those mean jellyfish and we throw them far away. So do your best great outdoors, we can handle it!

In all seriousness, this was just a crazy story to share. No harm done to our vacay. Though we did wait for a few minutes to see if storm clouds would develop and follow us around. So far, its sunny and clear.

Sweet dreams from Alabama... currently rodent, jellyfish and pest free :-)

Alabama Vacay: Day 3

Day 3 of our awesome vacation started out with some great views - sun, sand, blue waters.  We started our day at the beach playing in the sand and walking up and down the shore enjoying the beautiful day.  My view from our beach chairs and umbrella:

There were some visitors that showed up over night.  We didn't notice them right away, but once we did, the kids pretty much avoided the water.  (Jellyfish, see below).  Apparently they came in on the tide or in waves.  They got worse before they left us on the last day, but the beach was still fun.  You just had to be a tad more careful.  Sadly, the kids lost their fearlessness of the water and had to be held a lot, but I don't blame them (I wanted to be held too a few times hehe).

They didn't stop us from building some cool sand towers with moats and enjoy the morning!

After the beach, we did hit the pool and hot tub for a few minutes before going home for some lunch and naps.  Once we were rested, we decided to go into town and do some shopping.  KK and I had a blast and spent some dollars.  Shopping and the beach, great vacay so far!

Daddy took us out to dinner at Lambert's Cafe, home of the throwed rolls.  The kids LOVED it.  I'm not sure they ate any of their ordered food, but getting to stand up in their chairs and catch hot rolls was the best.thing.ever.

AJ impressed the waiters with his catches - and the rolls were quite tasty too!

KK loved hers too - we ate way too much food but it was delicious and there were lots of laughs as the rolls kept getting tossed our way.

After such a filling meal, and since we were in some cute clothes, we decided to say goodnight to our beach with a quick walk and some pictures.  Daddy and KK looked so sweet with that awesome orange sunset behind them.

Me and my sweet hubby at sunset - life doesn't get much better!

Goodnight Gulf Shores - see you in the morning!