August Beach Trip 2011

This post is long with lots of photos!

A while back, Kristen and I started talking about taking a trip to the beach together to get away for a few days.  Kristen has had a lot going on these last few months and with my surgery last month taking a toll, we both felt like it was time to take a break from reality and just rest.  And in my opinion, the beach is the best place to do that! 

We left out on Wednesday and came home Sunday.  Of course, Jordan, Clay, and Will were with us and my mom joined us too!

Wednesday, we drove all day and didn't arrive at the beach until late.  Jordan and Kristen were already there so as soon as we pulled in, we headed out for dinner.  We went to this little beach side cafe that Clay and I like and it was the perfect place to kick off our stress free trip!

There was a little place out front, where the kids could play and it took Will all of three seconds to kick his shoes off and jump in the sand. He was in heaven. 

Thursday, we got up and headed to the beach. It was such a nice day and we couldn't wait to relax on the beach all day. The water was a little yucky from seaweed, but that didn't stop us from having a good time.  Also, Jordan beat his ADD beach record. He said normally he only likes being a the beach for like 20 minutes and then he is done, but because Will was there to entertain him, he stayed out there with us the whole time.  After some beach fun, we headed back up to the condo for a nap. 

That night we ate at Doc's (mom's favorite!) and then played putt-putt golf (Will's favorite!).  We ran into some friends from church at the putt-putt course and played with them.  It was fun!  Will even got his first legitimate hole-in-one.  He placed the ball at the start of the hole and hit it--it rolled right into the cup!  He was so excited and so were we.  I am sure everyone there thought we were nuts!

Friday we woke up and it was raining.  We weren't going to let that stop us, so we went and grabbed some breakfast at Waffle House until the rain stopped. By the time we got home, the weather had cleared up and it was time for another day at the beach. Jordan and Clay joined us for a little while and then they headed out to play golf.  We spent most of the day on the beach and then went to the pool for a little while. Will was really brave and jumped off the side of the pool to me.  I was so proud of him.  He is growing up so fast.

That night, we decided to go to a Japanese steak house.  We thought it would be fun and that Will would enjoy it. Guess what?!? We were wrong. As soon as the chef did one small fire trick, Will was done and wanted nothing to do with it.  I took him in the bathroom and tried to calm him down.  He just kept telling me "Mommy, let's go sit in the car."  It broke my heart but I knew there was no reason for him to be scared so we stayed.  Thankfully, right behind the grill where we were seated there was a little 2 person table. The restaurant allowed us to sit there so Will and I had a little date, and he seemed fine as long as we were at the little table.

One dinner was over, we headed to The Track to play in the arcade.  Will loves the "racecar store". He calls it that because of the go-carts.  Kristen, Jordan, and Clay won some tickets so that Will could pick out some prizes.

Saturday was our last full day.  That morning we got up and Marlin (John's Auburn roommate) came over to visit us. He is a police office in Gulf Shores and we hadn't seen him since football season. Will thought it was so awesome that a police officer came to see us.  Will even got to see the police car. This was probably the highlight of his life!

After, Marlin left, we headed to the zoo. Gulf Shores has a small zoo called "The Little Zoo That Could."  Will has never been to the zoo before and since this one is much smaller than the Birmingham Zoo, I thought it might be a great place to go for his first zoo experience.  The zoo was so cute and had lots of different kinds of animals.  The only down side was it was 5,000 degrees outside. It was seriously the hottest I have ever been in my life!!!  Will really enjoyed it. I think his favorite animals were the baby goats.  Kristen fell in love with a sheep that we saw and now she claims she is going to get a sheep. HA! 

We officially drained ourselves physically at the zoo due to the heat, so we decided to head over to LuLu's for lunch. Kristen and Jordan had never been.  It is a fun place to eat with kids because there is a lot going on.  After we finished eating, I took Will down to see the boats.  He told me "I want to ride on the big boat (aka yacht)" and I told him he needs to become a doctor. Maybe one day!

We spent the afternoon at the beach soaking up the last bit of sand and sun before our return home.  Will had fun playing. I was so happy that he really enjoyed the beach this time. Sometimes it is hit or miss with him. We all had a much better time because he loved it so much. 

Will was really tired on Saturday afternoon. I think he was worn out from all the activities. We planned to all go to eat at the Oyster House, but Will kept telling us he wanted to stay home.  My mom (who is the best mom ever!) agreed to stay at home with him so that me, Clay, Kristen, and Jordan could go out to eat.  It was a nice way to end our trip.  A meal with only adults.  As usual, something funny had to happen.  Our waitress was obviously from another country and every time we asked for something, here reply was "yes, please".  That became our theme for this trip "YES, PLEASE"!

Sunday, we woke up and packed our cars to head home.  We only got about two blocks from the condo when Kristen called and said their car wouldn't start. It took us about an hour to get the battery charged even for the engine to turn over. 

We got on the road and headed to Lambert's Cafe for some lunch.  After lunch, it was a non-stop trip to the house.

It was great trip with great people. I am so happy that we have friends, like Kristen and Jordan, that we can do things like this with. Not only are we all great friends, but they love Will so much and that means the world to me.  And of course, I was so excited that Mom went with us.  She helps me and Clay with Will so much and Will loves his Mawmaw.  Great trip - Great people - Great fun! Can't wait to do it again soon!!!!