GULF SHORES VACATION

we embarked on the biggest adventure with the little one, a 12 hour roadtrip/beach family vacation! I wish I could say it was smooth and easy but I'll save that for another post ;)

I booked a beach house back in December. I found a 3 bed/3 bath duplex right on the beach which was perfect for us. There was 6.5 of us going so I didn't want to waste money on a bigger house. The house I choose was actually on a HGTV remodel show last year, which I thought was too neat. 

We left west texas after church on fathers day and went straight to my parents where they were having quite the fathers day party. we munched on food, caught up with family, and then packed our things. I had ordered us t-shirts from Uber Prints a few weeks ago and loved how they turned out and how comfy they were!

Monday morning we woke up at 4:30 and loaded up the van we rented so we can all ride together. It was fun but I bet some of our family would beg to differ ;) We stopped in Monroe, LA because it's not a trip through the town unless you stop at Duck Commander.. right?!

we finally arrived at our beach house at at about 6:30pm and got out to stretch our legs! Cody ran around and let Ev touch sand for the first time while my dad and brother went through the chaos to get pizza. Us girls got settled in to the house. 

the next few days were a constant flow of 

6:30 wake up/coffee

unfortunately the sun was up and shiny at 6:30 everyday so most of us were up! that made for long days + a fussy babe!

8:00-9:00 breakfast at the house

10:00-1:00 beach

1:00 lunch at the house

2:00-4:00 beach

4:00-either beach, make dinner, get dressed and run into town/out to dinner/ etc.

then back home to watch the moon rise

Evynn tried a whole slice of watermelon this trip! it took her some time to realize she could hold it herself but then she was a pro ;) and called for a bath afterwards ;)

sandy blonde hairs :)

we at the hangout one night. It was a lot of fun but more of an experience than for the food-overpriced and not a lot of sea food options. But they had a great live band and a huge foam pit that the kids loved playing in. 

note that her outfit is a beach scene ;)

sharing a homemade popsicle in our matching swimsuits

dad, cody, and steph caught a jelly fish! ahh!

we had her in cute swimsuits all week then day 3 she fought us and we settled on a backwards swim diaper and hats that she kept on for 5 minutes

on the morning we left, we ate at brick and spoon in orange beach, al and oh my word was it delicious?! Each couple shared a breakfast appetizer (because, vacation) either beneigts or these banana foster egg rolls. Yum. I got the gulf shrimp omelette and cody got the crab cake eggs benedict. I definitely recommend this place!!

Uncle Cody entertaining Ev... with pictures of reveille hahahahaha

We were approaching dinnertime as we entered the Texas border so we decided to stop at Cody's sisters house and eat there and let Ev see her cousins/run off some energy. It was the best idea! It was little whirlwind for about 30 minutes but then back on the road to the final leg of the trip!

Back at my parents house on Saturday morning we had to indulge in Momo's donuts-maple bacon, turtle cheesecake, fruity pebbles, and more. Evynn also LOVES my parents cat Jake and followed him around saying his name and petting him. As silly as it sounds I'm glad she got to see him in person since sweet boy has a tumor and won't be around much longer :(

All in all it was a great trip! We left with little to no sunburns and a whole new appreciation for our house/our routine/people traveling with kids. I am very thankful for our family who graciously dealt with us this week and helped out in any way (like walking around at 3am).