Just What We Needed

Over the last couple of months my stress level has been building and building and building.  Just life stuff, I can't claim I have anymore going on than the next person.  Family and work and school plus for some reason I have been extra emotional lately (that hasn't helped).  So I have really been looking forward to this vacation with my family!  My amazing mom gave us a vacation for Christmas last year.  Now here we are on the gorgeous gulf shore!!  More than just being on the beach.. we are in the pent house.  I learned a few lessons:
1. If you plan on running near the shore, don't wear your favorite running shoes!  They will get wet and full of sand.  While sand excellently exfoliates your feet.. it is not fun to have in your shoes while you run.  Barefoot is the way to go, just look out for sharp shells
2. Baby powder is a beach essential!  Or so I have heard.. and read.  I haven't actually tried it yet.
3. Seagulls are basically beach rats.. DO NOT FEED them.
4. My daughter wants to be a mermaid.
5. Alabama is serious about their alligators.
6. Building a sand castle is a lot harder than it looks.

This view is amazing!  We are situated so that we can see both the sunrise and the sunset from the balcony.  The ocean when we got here was dark and rough because tropical storm/hurricane Karen was threatening to hit our beach (thankfully it did not).  Throughout the week the water has become clearer and we can see fish and stingrays come up to the shore as night starts to fall.  The sound of the waves is so calming and the constant breeze is refreshing.

We didn't really have any plans for this trip; we wake up slowly in the morning.  I spend some time with my mom and a cup of coffee in the morning.  It's all been very relaxing!

Steve and I have gone running everyday (well I didn't go today because my calves hurt really bad).  And I am being a baby because I broke out with a rash.. I think that the sunscreen is the culprit.  It is so nice to run on the beach in the morning.  Fresh air and the sunrise and every now and then the waves splash up on your feet.  Plus it is a real workout to run in the sand.  It definitely works different muscle groups than running on the road.

While on the beach we noticed several kids feeding the birds.  The seagulls would then follow them around swooping at their heads.  The motions they made to get the birds to go away were the same motions they made to throw food to them in the first place so the birds just kept looking for food.  It's funny when it is happening to someone else.  Although we never fed the seagulls they looked at us suspiciously a couple of times.. just waiting for crumbs to fall and daring us with their beady eyes to feed them. 

The kids LOVE the ocean!  We have had so much fun. I absolutely love seeing the surprise and joy on their face when they play in the waves.  In between swimming we have great beach time either just chillin in the sun or building sand castles.  Mostly they like digging holes and filling them with water.  We have buried a few kids and even shaped Rachel into a mermaid.  Alisa and Hannah informed me that Rachel looked on the internet for spells that would turn her into a mermaid.  LOL my kids make me laugh.  I am proud that she is curious and does her research though!

Gulf Shores has walking trails, well I guess technically its Orange Beach.  So we took a walk there one day; we were introduced to an alligator named Lefty.  Lefty is missing her right eye and leg, according to the park tour guide guy, she probably lost them during her first mating season because she didn't know what she was doing.  He also informed us that Left was upset when the park put up a fence so she started eating people's dogs.  We also learned that "A Fed Gator is a Dead Gator".  Don't feed the gators.. they will continue to expect food and if given none will go after your legs.  At the end of our 2 mile hike we sat for a while at the butterfly pavilion.  It was gorgeous.  I loved seeing the butterflies flit around the flowers as we just relaxed in the shade. 

The kids found some flashlights and have gone hunting for crabs.  The crabs are almost the same color as the sand and you have to careful look for movement in the sand to find them.  They had them in a bucket, then put them in a giant sand arena to battle it out; the crabs weren't very interested in battling. They wanted to escape the crazy kids that kept throwing them into a pit.

Even the elevator rides going back and forth from our room to the beach have been fun
https://vine.co/v/hHBaVJeix7L               https://vine.co/v/hHBWbPgEApD 

 We even took some time to take the kids souvenir shopping since they brought their own money.  Rachel got a shirt and hat that say "YOLO", both Alisa and Hannah got a pearl necklace.  And Elijah.... he gets a hat that says "I pooped today" LOL

 We have had such a great time!  I am so thankful for my family and for being able to spend some relaxed quality time with them.   I have even had time to add an extra three pages to the paper that I have to write for school while the kids were vegging out in front of the TV.  I can not even express how much I have needed not only the down time, but also the much needed time with family! LOVE IT!!

“Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.” -Dr. Seuss