Our Spring Vacation (Days 4 and 5)

Before we left for the beach, we checked the weather forecast and were so excited because it was supposed to be a rain free week. Well, that didn't happen. Our last full day was mostly rained out. When we woke up and saw the weather forecast, Robert and Bryson headed to the beach early so Bryson could enjoy one final day at the beach and pool before the rain hit. I stayed in and did a little picking up around the condo. About an hour or so later, I headed down and they were already at the pool. It was so windy, cloudy and chilly. We decided to go ahead and call it a day, head in and shower, and go eat lunch at Lulu's. I was hoping we could make it there before the rain hit so Bryson could play but not long after we sat down the rain started. The food there was pretty good. Bryson was too busy to really eat though. After lunch, we were going to go back to the condo but Bryson fell asleep in the car so we decided to just drive around for a little bit so he could get a good nap. We drove through Orange Beach and into Florida. We bought a lottery ticket (which sadly we didn't win) then headed back to Gulf Shores for some ice cream. Bryson woke up just in time. After some yummy ice cream, we headed back to the condo to enjoy a relaxing afternoon. The rain never let up so we decided to go get a quick pizza for dinner then head back to the condo again. After dinner we wanted to go get some cannoli's but the restaurant that normally has them was out. It was kind of sad. When we got back, I started packing because I wanted to get everything loaded in the car before we went to bed that night so we wouldn't be so rushed the next morning.
When we woke up, we were able to take our time leaving the condo since we had packed everything the night before. The sun came out so we walked down to the beach one last time to tell the beach good bye. Bryson kept waving bye bye to the beach and when we headed to the car, he cried because he didn't want to leave. We let him go to the elevator one last time to say good bye to his "worm" friends. Since we got an early start, we stopped for lunch at Lambert's. I had never eaten there before so I had no idea just how much food they gave you. I knew they threw rolls at you but I had no idea that they also walked around and served you other types of food too. Needless to say we had a ton of leftovers. We made great time on the way home and stopped at the peach park to get some peach pies, oranges and boiled peanuts. I wanted to get some peaches but Bryson wanted to get oranges. The peaches didn't look all that good anyway. We made it home before dark and were able to relax. I was so sad to see our vacation end so quickly. Bryson had an amazing time which I was so happy about because I wasn't too sure how much he would like it since he hated the beach last year. Hopefully we will be able to head back to the beach at least one more time before Summer's over, or at least be able to take one more family vacation.

 All cuddled up after the pool. It was really chilly.

 Lunch at Lulu's

 Sleepy boy

 We brought home a little souvenir

 Bye Bye "worms"

"Bye Bye beach. See ya next time!"

Our Spring Vacation (Day 3)

By the 3rd day, Bryson was more anxious to get down to the beach sooner. He asked to get on the elevator basically when he crawled out of bed, so we ate a quick breakfast and headed down. This time we remembered his beach toys so he could make a sand castle. He didn't really care to make a sandcastle, he just wanted to dig and throw the sand. If one of us started building a sandcastle, he would knock it right over. After playing in the sand and the ocean, Bryson wanted to look for some seashells. We found a bunch of them. At first I was putting them on my beach towel since we didn't have anything else to put them in, but for some reason, Bryson didn't want them there. He took each one of them off of my towel and put them on his. If I tried to put a seashell on my towel, he would say no and put it back on his. It was hilarious. After the beach, we made a quick trip to the pool while Robert started cooking his lunch. There was a little boy there that had a monkey float and Bryson was obessed with it. The little boy let Bryson play with it and he cried when he had to leave it. When Robert headed out after lunch, he tried to find one, but couldn't so he got Bryson another float like the monkey one, and Bryson loved it. He wanted to buy some shrimp on Sunday when we got down there so he could have his own mini shrimp boil for his birthday but of course they were closed too. He ended up getting him a bunch though and was able to enjoy his birthday lunch on the balcony overlooking the beach while Bryson took a nap. After his nap, we headed down for a quick swim  in the pool before dinner. We decided since we had so many leftovers that we would just stay in for dinner for go get some ice cream for dessert. Of course Bryson loved the ice cream. We let him chose what he wanted and he chose the "happy cake" ice cream. We then headed to all the souvenir shops. We didn't find anything so we headed back to the condo to share some of Robert's birthday cake before heading to bed.

Robert's Birthday (Day 2 of our vacation)

We thought the first week in May would be the perfect time to head down to the beach since Spring Break was over and school was still in, and that just so happened to be Robert's birthday week! When we woke up on Monday, we have a wonderful breakfast cooked by the birthday boy, then he got to open his gift on the balcony overlooking the ocean! As you know we are huge Auburn fans and Cam Newton was Robert's favorite player, and now he's one of his favorite NFL players so I got him a Carolina Panthers Cam Newton jersey! (and I might add at a great deal on Amazon). He loved it! We quickly got dressed and headed down to the beach and the pool. After a few hours, we headed in for lunch and for Bryson to take a quick nap. After Bryson's nap, we headed back to the beach and the pool before heading to dinner at The Hangoout. At The Hangout, Robert got a massive seafood plate (that he ended up sharing with Bryson). It was huge! Bryson loved the little oysters. He kept playing with the shells and calling them Mr. Chompy Chomp. We finished dinner in enough time to hit up the outlet mall. Robert was able to find a few things at American Eagle, and an Auburn shirt at the Under Armor store, but other than that, I wasn't too impressed. We headed back to the hotel to relax and watch some t.v with Bryson before putting him to bed. He did great in the big boy bed again and we slept a lot better since he did so well the night before. Here are some pictures from our fabulous second day and Robert's birthday. Happy Birthday Robert!!!!

 Bryson helping daddy open his present

 New Cam Newton Jersey!

 Bryson was ready to go to the beach!

 He loved the pool!

 Checking out the beach

 He loved the ocean

 One of his favorite things to do, throw sand in the ocean!

 Splashing the waves

 Building a sand castle with daddy

 Our view at The Hangout

 Robert's massive seafood platter

Bryson and Mr. Chompy Chomp

Our Spring Vacation (Day 1)

We were all in desperate need of a little vacation. We had a hard time deciding where to go but ended up picking Gulf Shores. I wasn't too crazy on the idea of a beach trip because Bryson wasn't too crazy about the beach last year, but we found the best little condo down there at a great price, so that's where we ended up going. We were going to head down on Monday April 30 but the owner of the condo gave us a free night, so we headed down on Sunday. We were hoping that by picking this date that it wouldn't be too crowded since school is still in but Spring Break is over, and that it wouldn't be too hot. We were right! We didn't have to drive in traffic, wait to eat, or sit in the hot Alabama sun.
Our plan was to leave by 11am on Sunday since we couldn't check in until 4pm. Of course we were running late and it was about 11:40 before we left. We pulled into the Publix in Gulf Shores around 3:30! We made excellent time! We went ahead and got all of our food for the week, then headed to the condo. The great thing about the condo was that there was no key to use, just a keypad. We didn't have to carry our condo key with us everywhere. I loved it! As soon as we unloaded the car, Robert wanted to head on down to the beach, so him and Bryson went while I stayed and unpacked. I watched them from the balcony to see Bryson's reaction, and he loved it! I knew we were going to have a great week.
Since we had been driving all day, we decided to just stay in that night, order pizza and watch The Amazing Race before going for a night walk on the beach. We had a particular place in mind, but of course they were closed. We ended up getting Papa Rocco's pizza. It was ok, but not as good as the place we really wanted to go to. After dinner, we headed to the beach. Bryson was so funny carrying the flashlight. Once we got down there, he kept throwing the sand in the water. Then he would run to the water with daddy, then run back to the sand and jump on the sand. It was hilarious! On the way back to the hotel room, Bryson wanted to test out the kiddie pool. He hopped right in with his clothes on!
We had brought his Toy Story couch for him to sleep on in our room but he loved the bunk beds so much. We found a safety rail for the bunk beds in the washer/dryer closet and once we put it on the bottom bunk, it was just like his bed at home. He slept so good the first night in the big boy bed!