Orange Beach in Alabama

We set off for the Gulf Shores last Saturday morning at 6 a.m.  As soon as we woke up, Macie was talking nonstop.  She was so so excited and asked pretty quickly when we would be there.  Our trip was about 8 hours because we stayed in Tyler the night before.  The kids slept only 30 minutes the whole time but were AWESOME!  What a success!  We tied Weston's lovie to a string which came in very handy because he likes to throw it.  We arrived at Orange Beach and sadly it was raining!  However, that didn't stop us!  We changed into our swimsuits and hit the beach.  Macie ran right into the waves with the biggest smile on her face.  That moment was priceless for Zack and me.  We were wishing everyone could see her delight and joy to be back at the ocean.  (She has talked about going to the beach since last summer's trip.)  Weston was a little more cautious but walked in.  He then discovered that the waves kind of make you feel off balanced and it was a little rough so he got knocked around a bit even holding my hand.  Macie didn't mind one bit.  She was diving it, getting pushed by the waves, and would always come up grinning.  We then headed to the indoor pool and hot tub which was lots of fun too.  The mornings' were spent at the beach and then we would head to the pools before lunch.  Weston napped and we would rest or play.  Each day was overall just PERFECT!  Towards the end of the week we had a few more meltdowns due to being tired and we did have some rainy, cooler weather our last day that kept us mainly at the indoor pool. I also had one trip to the eye doctor because Weston accidentally scratched my eye. However, that final night after dinner once the rain stopped, we walked the beach and then swam in the lazy river pool and slide pool for a long time.  It was the perfect ending to a great week.  I would have loved to have shared the week with other family because it is so much fun and so relaxing; however, I loved getting a week with my favorite people.  It won't be long until we had our sweet baby girl to the family so it was important for me to really get great quality time with Zack, Macie, and Weston with no worries of the normal everyday routine.  God's creation of land and water is so beautiful!  

Some of my favorite moments....

Weston loved being buried in the sand.

Our friends we met and played with the whole week had boards which Macie liked trying out.

Macie wasn't sure about being buried in the beginning but once she tried it, she was then buried several times.

Love that these two could play together in the water.

Weston is definitely more of a pool kind of kid than an ocean fan.  He stayed right by me when we were by the water.

Watching the storm come in

Most days of the trip, the kids got a little something new...like their vacation jobs, bubbles, or little craft things.  Macie didn't change pajamas the rest of the week because she and Julie matched.

Weston liked his Jake pjs.

These two loved their towels to wrap up in.

Macie asked one morning while the sun was rising if we were the first people to see it since we were on the edge of the Earth.  Again I love seeing the world through her eyes.

 Here are Macie's friends we met the first day.  Kate and Robert were lots of fun to play with and we enjoyed their family too.  Here all three kids are mermaids/merman.  They even had shells for decorations.

Weston's feet

Another precious moment Zack and Macie shared was they were up before Weston and me(he had gotten up at 5 so I went in his room to keep him to sleep..that was a rough one).  Anyway, over toward the north there was a recent storm.  Macie spotted a rainbow.  It was actually the first rainbow she could clearly see.  Zack said she was so excited and was amazed by it.  She then talked about Noah never flooding the Earth again.

This is the first time I remember ever being buried in the sand myself.  Weston wanted to be buried...he was one sleepy boy at this point.

Golf was a great indoor activity for Weston...he had the long hallway to hit the balls down.

Macie was thrilled to discover she had her own bathroom with a blow dryer.  So she would blow dry her hair often.  She also liked that she had a tv in her room but actually never watched it.

We had some rainy weather time and this craft came in handy.  Weston liked to put the beads at the end of the pipe cleaner and "throw it."  Does that sound like him?  Macie made all sorts of jewelry.

All stickered up and using the can opener like it was a tool.

This was an awesome place that we ate at called The Surf.  There was a bay area on the other side of this picture.  We got to see several boats pass through.  One boat was like a pirate's ship so we thought Jake might be on there.  Macie had to burst Weston's bubble and tell him that "Jake is only pretend."  Weston wasn't convinced though.

Weston would say "waves big" or "ocean."  Macie and Zack's saying was,"They waves don't get us, WE get the waves."

On Wednesday Zack went to the beach while I stayed in our condo during nap time.  He called and said the women next to us just saw two sharks.  I didn't believe him but he told me to look out and I noticed there was no one in the water.  MY FEAR!!!  Anyway, the next morning we were out on the balcony because we would eat out there and just relax.  I saw all these seagulls diving down and catching fish from a huge school of fish.  Well, were there are lots of fish there are apparently lots of sharks. First there was one and I panicked.  Then there was another and another.  We saw up to six sharks at one time.  We told Macie they were dolphins.  It was one of those experiences that is kind of cool because we weren't near the water but it was frightening.  The day before there were a lot of fish around Zack and that thought kind of makes you shiver.  Plus, the water wasn't very clear so being by one would probably be harder to see.  After that point, Zack stayed right by Macie in the water.  I tried to zoom in and get the best picture from way up high and I also tried to show how close they were to shore which is right where we played in the water.

 As we worked on digging this whole Macie would tell us "to keep working."  Weston would repeat, "working" over and over.  So we worked and worked on digging.

 View from the 27th floor.

 As Macie and Weston were walking out, she took his hand.  She told me that he is "no longer her baby brother but her Big brother because he can potty in the potty and swim."  She was so happy to help him cross the parking lot.

 Popcorn and seagulls need I say more...tons flew in as soon as he started throwing it.  I took a video but it didn't upload.  Oh how much fun Weston had.  I thought it was fun too unless the birds swooped down to close to us.

My mermaid!!