Gulf Shores 2016

Get ready for picture overload!  Pearce and I headed to Dallas to spend the night with Auntie Ashy before leaving early in the morning to drive to the beach.  We followed Mama and Papa and made several little stops along the way, including a picnic lunch at a rest stop.  The car was packed FULL, but Pearce was so content just watching movies and getting to be with his cousins!  Ash and I loved being able to sit up front and just talk.  We drove halfway to Jackson, MS and stopped to spend the night there.  We met Lisa and Taylor and Victoria there, too!  The kids had fun swimming in the pool!  We left bright and early the next morning and drove the rest of the way to Gulf Shores and picked Wayne up at the airport on the way.  The kids really were great travelers!  As soon as we made it to the beach, we were quick to put our things away, get our suits on, and head on down!  Daddy met us there late that afternoon and Pearce was so excited to see him, too!  Due to a tropical storm near Florida, the waves were HUGE Sunday and Monday, and then a little teeny bit calmer Tuesday, and then very calm Wednesday and Thursday.  They were so big that they would knock us down and totally had us tumbling underwater!  It was fun, but at times, was a little scary!  Pearce LOVED being with the big girls, Allie, Taylor, and Victoria.....and Ash and I loved them because they were soo sweet with the kids.  Papa got two really nice, big codos for us.  Me and Ashley and our families stayed in one, and Mom and Dad and Jen and Lisa and their kids stayed in the other.  It was really nice to have so much room and since our condos were right next to each other, the kids would just go from one to the other by themselves.  Our condo also had 2 really nice outdoor pools with a twisty slide along with a lazy river and also an indoor pool.  We all really liked the lazy river!  The kids loved swimming in the indoor pool in the evenings!  Pearce did so great swimming without his floaties in the indoor pool.  And ever since we've gotten back, we've gone swimming several times and he is a total fish now WITHOUT his floaties!  Several nights, we went crab hunting.  The first night we went, we didn't have a whole lot of luck and only found 4 crab.....it was still really fun being out on the beach at night and just exploring.  The second time we went, it was just me and Pearce and Allie and Victoria and we caught 12 crabs!  It was so fun!  One evening all the adults got to go out to a fun dinner while Mama and Papa kept the kids.  It was a win-win because we loved getting to hang out together and talk and have REALLY good drinks and food AND the kids got to go with Mama and Papa to ride rides!  At the beach, Papa and Chris and Wayne would set up the tent every morning.  It was great to have a big area of shade.  We all loved just sitting under there and watching the little kids run and play and chase the waves!  At one point, we saw some cute, young adults playing volleyball right next to us.  Mama told Victoria she should go over there and ask if they needed another player because Victoria plays with her church.  Well, Victoria being the confident young lady she is, walked right over and got in the game.....and was AWESOME!!!  It was so fun to see her play!  We all just had the best time at the beach.....there's no way you can't have fun!  We got to see Pops and Mimi one evening for dinner because they just happened to be there the same time we were, so we invited them over to the condo for a taco night!  The last day we were there, Mama and Papa surprised us with an opportunity to go parasailing!  Ashley and Wayne and the kids had left the day before as well as Chris, so me, Allie, Lisa, Victoria, and Taylor went.  Pearce stayed home with Mama and Papa and Auntie Jen  The parasailing was sooooo fun!!!  The guys that took us out were really funny....and a little cute :)  Allie and I rode together and the other 3 girls rode together.  The best part was when we got dropped into the water!  We just really had such a wonderful time at the beach and the only thing that would've made it better was if Missy and her family could have come.  We missed you Missy!!!  Going home, Pearce and I rode with Mama and Papa.  I borrowed a portable DVD player from a friend to have for the ride back since Mama and Papa don't have a movie player in their car....and since Pearce lost his iPad privileges for the trip :)  Well, my little Pearce was sooooooo good in the car, that I never even had to get out the DVD player.  He slept, looked out the window, and talked and talked.  We made several little stops along the way, so that helped too.  We drove 12 hrs back to Dallas in one day!  We spent the night with Mama and Papa and then drove back to Austin the next day after going to visit Grandma...which of course, Pearce was so very sweet to Grandma!  She had just had a birthday, so we brought her a gift and we all sang Happy Birthday to her.  Going back to Austin, Pearce slept the whole way except for the last 45 mins!  Mom and Dad, thank you so much for taking us all on this awesome beach trip!!!!  We had so much fun and just loved being with our family!!!!