After finding out Pete, Brian, and Ashley had Labor Day weekend off of school/work, we couldn't resist getting together. After talking about the possibility, Brian whipped up a Google Document with appropriate meeting place options listed, along with rental houses and all the details on them. We're glad we opted for Gulf Shores, Alabama and that Brian and Ashley were willing to drive a bit further than their share of halfway from Houston to Atlanta.
We loved spending time with these two...or should I say three? Ash's itty-bitty pregnant tummy was so cute! We are so excited for Emery and Cameron to get a new cousin in February 2014. Since moving to Atlanta, we've gotten to see Brian and Ashley (who live in Houston) way more than we expected. Pete and I always have a great time with them and are glad they put up with our kids...and us :)
This trip really made me realize how well beach vacations jive with our family. Pete can play in the water til his heart's content, while Emery can dig in the sand and play/laugh with her crazy daddy for hours on end. I, on the other hand, can snuggle my sweet Cameron, play with the other kids (meaning Emery and Pete) at my leisure, and maybe even relax a bit, read a book, etc. The entire family is happy for a cheap cost!
We sure love the beautiful, fine white sand of the Gulf Coast. Definitely something I will miss when/if we head back to the West Coast.
While the sand is nice and the ocean water warm, our party had far too many encounters with marine life for my liking. The dolphins were fun, but Pete and Ashley both got stung by jellyfish, Pete and Brian saw giant stingrays swimming right by them, the fish were abundant and jumping like crazy (I think one almost hit Brian), and on Sunday we even saw a small shark in the shallow water (which made the decision to not swim on Sunday a very easy one to stick to)!
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| dolphin watching |
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| boogie boarding |
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| Sand castle crashing |
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| Sand castle...um, tackling? I love the looks on Brian and Emery's face in this photo. |
Ash mirrored my thoughts when she talked about feeling very grown-up about this trip. We rented a cute little beach house right across the street from the ocean and each Hoyt family planned a meal for one of the three nights we were there. We put the kids to bed at night and enjoyed chatting, watching football, eating treats, etc.
Besides playing at the beach, I enjoyed a non-hilly, stroller-free run with Ash!
On Sunday, we went to Sacrament Meeting at a cute little branch in Foley, AL. Pete and I spent our time outside with cranky/hungry/tired/crying Cam and Emery for most of the hour, but no big deal...made me super grateful that that wasn't the norm for our kids (usually they're pretty good at church).
Here's just a few more photos from the trip:
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| Sharing one of our favorite books with Ash before bedtime |
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| Brothers with matchy-matchy pants |
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| Just hanging out with Cam-man |
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| A spare, newborn-size diaper for Ash! Can't wait to hear what the gender of her babe is. |
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| Emery thinking she's pretty cool wearing Ashley's shoes. |
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| Emery-sized sand castle |
2 comments:
Your kids are so cute Steph! And you look fantastic!
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