For the past couple of years, whenever Lucy came across reference to the beach, seashells, or waves, she would suggest that "it would be really fun to go to the beach sometime." Her little heart's wishes prompted us to research some beach options for our May vacay. We settled on Gulf Shores, Alabama, rented a VRBO and started prepping! The kids were so excited when we announced that we were beach-bound. We counted down the weeks and we finally got to hit the road after a full weekend of Mimi & Pa's visit, baseball games, graduation, and dance recital.
After an 8 hour drive, we arrived at our little condo. It was great! The kids had agreed that Noelle would get to have her own room while Isaiah & Lucy stayed together. Noelle often dreams of the joys of having her own room, so she was super excited. The rooms were perfect for everyone. We quickly unloaded and threw on our swimsuits. I don't think there could be a better end to 8 hours in the car than arriving at the beach and jumping right in. I was nearly in tears watching the kids' excitement. As usual, Lucy voiced everything she was thinking, "I didn't know the beach would be like this! I didn't know there would be so many birds! I didn't know the sand would be so soft! I can't believe we are really at the beach! I can't believe I am finding so many shells!" The big kids just ran and laughed and got straight in the water. It was truly delightful. We stayed until the sun was starting to set before heading home We spent the next 2 days at the beach from morning until mid afternoon when we were all hot and tired. Among the treasures we discovered were many shells, stingray egg sacks, and jelly fish! We had no injuries other than Lucy stepping down on a sharp shell in the water. She screamed and we thought she had been stung. Luckily, we were able to deduce that it was just a minor scrape before I tried to pee on her! She later confessed that she was super scared because she thought a shark was biting her... After that, she was a lot more cautious, but everyone still had fun splashing in the shallow waves. Lucy's favorite part was probably the sand, though. Her fear of glitter is still real, and I think the issue is that it is hard to get it off once it is on your skin. I'm SO glad she wasn't bothered by this fine brown-sugar-consistency sand. She couldn't have loved it more, covering every inch of her little body and squirming around as a shell-finding worm. Isaiah spent his time digging big holes, looking for creatures, and trying to body surf. Noelle and Isaiah had a good time together in the water. At home, the sibling lines very often draw between the girls (doing "girl" things) and Isaiah. But, when we are out adventuring, it is more often "big kids" and Lucy. The perks of being a middle child :) Both days, we cleaned up, rested, headed for dinner (shrimp!!), then went back to the beach for crab catching. That was pretty awesome, too. The kids had a good system. Lucy would spot a crab, Noelle would throw the bucket down, and Isaiah would scoop it in. In between, there was plenty of squeals, laughter, and jumping around on the dark beach. So fun!! The third day was a bit rainy, so we planed for a hike instead. We hiked about 4-5 miles on sand (!) and found a baby gator at the "Gator Lake". We only got a bit of rain and ended up back at the beach for a final swim that afternoon. Before our last dinner, the kids each chose their souvenier. All three were very age/stage/personality appropriate. Isaiah chose a few real shark teeth in jars. Noelle chose a necklace with a tiny shell and a little green stone. Lucy chose a hot pink sting ray stuffed animal that she named "Rosie." Our finale dinner was Lambert's "Home of the Throwed Rolls". Way too much food, but it was a yummy finale!
After an 8 hour drive, we arrived at our little condo. It was great! The kids had agreed that Noelle would get to have her own room while Isaiah & Lucy stayed together. Noelle often dreams of the joys of having her own room, so she was super excited. The rooms were perfect for everyone. We quickly unloaded and threw on our swimsuits. I don't think there could be a better end to 8 hours in the car than arriving at the beach and jumping right in. I was nearly in tears watching the kids' excitement. As usual, Lucy voiced everything she was thinking, "I didn't know the beach would be like this! I didn't know there would be so many birds! I didn't know the sand would be so soft! I can't believe we are really at the beach! I can't believe I am finding so many shells!" The big kids just ran and laughed and got straight in the water. It was truly delightful. We stayed until the sun was starting to set before heading home We spent the next 2 days at the beach from morning until mid afternoon when we were all hot and tired. Among the treasures we discovered were many shells, stingray egg sacks, and jelly fish! We had no injuries other than Lucy stepping down on a sharp shell in the water. She screamed and we thought she had been stung. Luckily, we were able to deduce that it was just a minor scrape before I tried to pee on her! She later confessed that she was super scared because she thought a shark was biting her... After that, she was a lot more cautious, but everyone still had fun splashing in the shallow waves. Lucy's favorite part was probably the sand, though. Her fear of glitter is still real, and I think the issue is that it is hard to get it off once it is on your skin. I'm SO glad she wasn't bothered by this fine brown-sugar-consistency sand. She couldn't have loved it more, covering every inch of her little body and squirming around as a shell-finding worm. Isaiah spent his time digging big holes, looking for creatures, and trying to body surf. Noelle and Isaiah had a good time together in the water. At home, the sibling lines very often draw between the girls (doing "girl" things) and Isaiah. But, when we are out adventuring, it is more often "big kids" and Lucy. The perks of being a middle child :) Both days, we cleaned up, rested, headed for dinner (shrimp!!), then went back to the beach for crab catching. That was pretty awesome, too. The kids had a good system. Lucy would spot a crab, Noelle would throw the bucket down, and Isaiah would scoop it in. In between, there was plenty of squeals, laughter, and jumping around on the dark beach. So fun!! The third day was a bit rainy, so we planed for a hike instead. We hiked about 4-5 miles on sand (!) and found a baby gator at the "Gator Lake". We only got a bit of rain and ended up back at the beach for a final swim that afternoon. Before our last dinner, the kids each chose their souvenier. All three were very age/stage/personality appropriate. Isaiah chose a few real shark teeth in jars. Noelle chose a necklace with a tiny shell and a little green stone. Lucy chose a hot pink sting ray stuffed animal that she named "Rosie." Our finale dinner was Lambert's "Home of the Throwed Rolls". Way too much food, but it was a yummy finale!
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