Vacation 2013: Gulf Shores

Last week we took our first vacation as a family of 5 to Gulf Shores, Alabama!  It was such a great week and we had a great time together!  It was our first time there and we'd definitely go back.

 

We decided to drive through the night on the way down and the girls did pretty well.  We had to make several stops to feed Maddy and the girls unfortunately woke several times...so not the most restful night for them.  Nana and Papa were able to join us for a few days at the beginning of the week.  We even talked them into staying an extra day and a half!  It was great to have some extra hands, especially at the pool, beach, dinners, etc.

 

The weather ended up being perfect for us!  When we arrived on Saturday it was raining, but it stopped by early afternoon and it was clear and sunny the remainder of the week.  We spent the week swimming, playing at the beach, outlet shopping, going out to dinners and relaxing in the condo.  Kensley made huge progress with her swimming skills!  By the end of the week, she was swimming short distances, pausing only to breathe and then taking off again.  She met a little friend halfway through the week that was independently swimming without floaties.  From that point on, she was determined to swim without hers...peer pressure at it's finest!

Since we had an extra day (Labor Day), we decided to take two days driving home and stayed overnight in a hotel in Franklin, TN (just south of Nashville).  The hotel was great and the girls of course wanted to take advantage of the indoor/outdoor pool. 

 

Here are lots of pictures from our week (of course the majority were captured on my phone).

 

On the road and ready to go.  They were SO excited about sleeping in the car.

View from our condo

Morning chat with Nana

Reading with Papa

Our little daredevil

View from the balcony

Ferris Wheel
(sorry about the tiny picture...it's blurry when I make it bigger)

Ready for the dolphin cruise

3 different opinions about the cruise...excited, indifferent and relax (Avery also fell asleep on the boat!)

Quiet morning on the beach

My beach/pool buddy...just relaxing in the shade

Her pouty face

My view one afternoon

Unfortunately the only picture of the three girls together...and Maddy slept right through it!

Sunrise from our balcony

The water was SO calm (with the exception of the first two days)



What a goof!

Dolphin siting off our balcony

More dolphins...they swam up and down the shore line

Merry go Round ride at the Opryland Mall in Nashville

We go to great measures to keep them entertained in the car (blue ring pops)

The girls had been talking and looking forward to vacation (or 'cation if you asked Avery) for weeks.  We're so thankful we had the week together and chance to get away.