Beach Time!

 Sunday morning, we awoke to sunny skies and another beautiful day in Gulf Shores.  By mid-morning, everyone was ready to go check out the beach.  I took our kids while Jared went in search of some breakfast. More on that later...he did good, though!

Such cute surfer kids.

Everyone was a bit nervous about Cameron's reaction to the beach.  We remember, all too well, her awful aversion to the beach the last time we were in Florida.  Tears every single time I said it was time to go play there--no lie.  So many tears and so much crying.  I am pleased to say that she has officially outgrown that stage!

Only smiles for everyone this go round!

This beach had so many cool shells, too.

And really awesome waves, as well!

This girl has always got a ready pose.  How do you not just love that?!

She was so content to run back and forth with the waves.

I think it's safe to say, we were all loving life.

My girls were building sand castles...

while Jackson and I were chatting about how cool it was to finally be back at the beach.

"Ice cream, mom?"

I did have a scoop of "ice cream" and then Jared arrived at our chairs with the greatest breakfast.  Waffle House, delivered to us!  Genius.  I love him.

Jenny and Dusty arrived with Dylan and JP a little later.  Yay!

Then Reid, Cooper and Beau showed up as well.  Having friends at the beach is simply the BEST!

We enjoyed the next few hours tremendously...

Lila helped Dylan brave the waves.

Cami boogie boarded with Beau's oldest sister, Linnae.

Lila got some help hopping over the biggest waves from Daddo... 

and these baseball boys played catch all afternoon.

They could play jackpot for hours on end.

When Beau and Reid had to go in for lunch, Jackson and Cooper tried out their boogie boarding skills.

Not a bad little scene!

And when Dylan and JP went to take a nap, Cami convinced Cooper's brother, Carter, to let her bury him in the sand.  One thing is for sure, nobody ever ran out of friends on this trip!

Three cheers for vacation!

We took a vote and decided that we could get used to this scene every day.

By mid-afternoon, guess who was back at the beach?

I just love this girl!

We found a little place for dinner that night...

which just so happened to be right next to an Ice Cream Shop!  Very, very good!

After we got home, it was time for the final event of the day--crab hunting!  We got out our flashlights and nets and headed down to the beach.  While we had a good time, the crabs were nowhere to be found!  No worries, though.  We still love you, Gulf Shores.

Road Trip! Destination: Gulf Shores, AL

We missed going to the beach SO much last year, that we were bound and determined not to let that happen again.  When we got Jackson's baseball schedule, we saw that their last tournament of the season was set for Gulf Shores, AL.  That sealed the deal!  Gulf Shores, here we come.

This time, we made the trip in one day.  These kids were little Road Warriors, and were super thankful for a pit-stop at Dairy Queen for some blizzards.

When we started getting closer to the beach, this nut rolled down her window so that she could breathe in the salty air.

12.5 hours after we had left Murphy, TX, we finally set foot inside our condo! 
I loved the master bedroom...

as well as the other two bedrooms.  The girls definitely approved of their sweet set-up.

And our view wasn't bad, either!  

Oh my goodness, we just love the beach!

 Jared and I couldn't wait to spend the next 9 days in paradise.

Family time is the BEST.

We met Jenny, Dusty and their boys at Lulu's for dinner.  This place knocked our socks off right away.  It's a restaurant that has a ropes course and sand volleyball pit, as well as so many other activities!

While you are waiting, you can do the ring toss, or go shopping in their gift shop.

Thank goodness we didn't have to wait too long for our table. 
We enjoyed catching up with our sweet friends...

and then Jared, Jackson, Lila and I played some volleyball!  We were a little bit rusty, but were able to show the kids how it's done.  Afterall, I did play on the volleyball team in 7th, 8th and 9th grade, and Jared took volleyball for one semester in college! 

Mama Lila got some good snuggles in with adorable JP...

and the kids finished up the night in the arcade.  Like I said, this place was amazing. 
We vowed to make it back there again before we left Gulf Shores!

Cheers to a fabulous week!

Welcome to the world, Lilliana Grace!

On June 20, 2018, Lilliana made her grand entrance!  

She was a few weeks early, so it was a bit of a surprise.

7 lbs. 3 oz. with dark brown hair

Madison fell in love with her baby sister from the start.

Lila loved holding her, too...

 

as did Cameron.

Sweet baby girl just got passed around so much!

Well, hello, baby girl.

These four were so very happy to meet her.

Check out her hair bow on day one!

 

There's 11.5 years between these two.  He's so sweet with his new cousin, though.

We came back to visit the next day and got some more baby-holding time in with her.

Lila is such a natural with babies.

Precious Lilliana.  I sure do love you.