The (really long) beach post

Early Friday morning, July 8, we headed to Gulf Shores to meet LeLe and Paw, Aunt Alye and Olin, and some special friends from Louisiana.  We arrived by lunch time, so we had time to play a little bit on Friday afternoon.  Aunt Alye and Olin took Tucker down to the beach, but the water was really rough, so we all met up at the pool.  The next morning everybody came up to our condo for breakfast.  We had a little wedding shower for Johnna, who is getting married in September!  Tucker wanted to be a waiter and served LeLe some fruit...

Alye and I grew up with Jenni and Johnna, we have been friends for probably 25 years, so it was so special to get to spend time with them and Johnna's baby girl, Gia.

After breakfast we got ready for some beach time!  Aunt Alye was definitely the cutest one...and that cute baby doesn't hurt the ensemble. ;)

How gorgeous is Gia?!  She looks just like her momma.  This was her first time on the beach! 

Aunt Alye and Tucker spent a lot of time "hanging ten."  Tucker got a cool boogie board, so he wanted to surf!

Tucker also go a sword (because we don't already have 1,000 at home).  It's okay, though because he absolutely loved it.  He actually lost it, so Daddy went and bought Tucker a new one...and himself one so they could sword fight.

I am so glad that we got a picture of all of us.  I really wanted to go down to the beach and take some, but I am happy with this.

I love this picture...Tucker thinks it's so funny to "get Paw."

Still "surfing," this time in the pool.

It is hard work to take a baby to the beach!  I am soooo thankful Alye, Mom, and Dane were there to help so that I could enjoy beach time with Tucker!  Thank y'all so much!

Sunday night, after dinner at the Hangout, we went to ride go-carts.  Last year I didn't get to ride because I was pregnant with Talon, so I was excited to ride with Tucker this year!  I let him pick out the cart...

And then we rode around the track screaming and laughing, it was so much fun.  The best part: every time we would go around Tucker would say, "I can't beleeb I'm dribin a car!!"  Precious moment.

He rode with Daddy next....

And then Aunt Alye.  He got progressively more tired with each ride, but he LOVED it.

Talon loved the mirrors behind the couch so he could watch that cute baby and laugh at him ;).  When Olin pulled out the iPad and turned on the video he REALLY loved that!

One day it was a little cloudy, and we could see that a storm was brewing out in the ocean, but we went down to the beach anyway.  Alye and Olin came with us and Mom and Dane stayed up with Talon.  We  stayed and built a sand alligator and enjoyed the cooler air that the clouds brought.  As soon as the lightening started we headed inside.  Tucker, Cameron, and I decided to take the opportunity to go eat some lunch at the new Tacky Jack's on the canal and then stopped by the Hangout so Tucker could play on the bungee jumper.

We were really proud that he was brave enough to try it!  He had a blast!

This was such a fun beach trip!  Extra special for me to be with so much of my family and get to share my babies with them!  REALLY looking forward to doing it with the other side of my family next month!  We are SO blessed.  And I know that phrase is so over used.  But I literally could fall to my knees each day and thank the Lord for the way he has blessed me and my family.  In ways that I never even knew I needed or wanted to be blessed.  Not with money, not with things, but with people and family and memories that mean so much more to me than any of that could!