Gulf Shores

Okay, technically Fort Morgan. But no one knows where Fort Morgan is, and we drove into Gulf Shores for everything, like dinner and shopping. So close enough.

We stayed at the red thingy.

So this is where our family vacation was this summer! It was the first time the kids had been to a real beach, since we don't count the beach at Trout Lodge. After driving to Memphis Friday night, we arrived at the house Saturday afternoon. The Nordgaarden's were already there waiting for us!

I was most worried about the kids getting in the ocean, and the boys ran straight into it! They went in still wearing their clothes from the ride. In fact, Kevin spent most of his trip trying to boogie boarding. Colin didn't get in much, but he spent the entire time playing in the sand. At one point he wanted to get his hair wet, which was adorable. Gwyn liked to go in with either me or Kevin, but that was off and on. She mostly did was Gwyn does, which is yell at her brothers for running too fast or snuggling. But the main part is that Kevin and I LOVED seeing the kids play in the beach. The boys were constantly playing and building or being buried or swimming. Gwyn playing with Parker and the boys, snuggled, or ran through the water giggling. It was amazing, and easily the best part of the trip.

I am just going to tell the trip through captions. Read them for more information.

 

Napping on the way to Memphis.

Stopping at Lambert's for dinner. And it was strange to drive past the Alabama location the next day.

The boys watched Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief and the Sea Of Monsters on the drive down. Gwyn watched fairy movies. For real.

Chase, Colin and Parker spent time catching fish, crabs, clams and jelly fish.

Daddy and Gwyn on the beach. Gwyn refused to wear a different swim suit for days.

The usual view - Kevin in the water and Colin catching things in the net. I was so proud how much Kevin took to the water!

Gwyn loved to snuggle. How can you say no? We spent a good amount of time playing corn hole with Shaun and Gail or playing with the boys, so she often had the chairs to herself.

Happy girl. She spent most of the time by either me or Kevin, but I think she had fun. She still needed a nap every afternoon, so we took turns staying up in the house with her. The first night there, we woke up in the middle of the night to Gwyn screaming. (She walks around looking for us. She knows where to go at home.) We found her on the deck. Outside. In the middle of the night. Screaming. She unlocked two locks on the door. So we were not going to leave her, even though the beach is right in front of the house.

So many pictures of Colin like this! He looked for so many animals, built things for his own American Ninja Warrior course, and just digging. He loves to explore. He didn't really get in the water much, except when he wanted his hair wet.

The handle to the big net broke. Colin carried it around the rest of the week. He looks like he is hunting.

More digging. I think he is looking for angel wing clams.

Daddy tried to take Gwyn on the boogie board. You can not see her screaming and crying, but it looks cute.

We brought kited from home. We got these to stay up for most of the afternoon!

Kevin was buried three times! He liked it! Every time after this one we gave him a superhero body.

And... this is Colin getting his hair wet. This kid is adorable.

We went to the Navel Aviation Museum in Pensacola, FL. We lucked out that it was one of the 3 days this summer that the Blue Angels trained! We went out and sat in the bleachers for an hour, only for there to be lightning within 5 miles shortly before the show and we had to leave. Luckily, the museum was still wonderful for all the boys (dads included). It wasn't bad for the girls, just less interesting. 

This is what happens when you take a mechanical engineer to an airplane museum. I have more pictures like this one.

So many pictures like this. We eventually had to tell them to stop climbing in each cockpit they saw so we could leave.

But they did have fun in the planes they saw.

We stopped at Flora-Bama for lunch. It was a dirty place, and the food took about an hour to get. But we can now say that we went! And it was on the way home from the museum.We also missed the huge storm while we were there, and didn't have to drive in it!

This was the only thing Gwyn needed when she went out in the water - this raft. It is now her favorite, and thankfully Gail let us keep it! She loved floating in this! It was pretty cute. She would stick her little toes up on front and giggle.

Notice that I am squatting! She didn't want to go in very deep.

One of the few pictures of all 3 kids together on the trip!

The final sand castle. It took about half a day to build. Obviously, the dads helped. I was inside with Gwyn napping while it was made. Our house is in the background. The houses actually own the property up to the water, so the beach is all private. That would have been nice if everyone in the surrounding areas knew that. Everyday people drove and walked to the beach. But it was not really a bother, just busier than we were expecting.

Colin digging for clams. We collected about half a bucket full. He only kept them for a few hours. I didn't want them to die and start to smell. Once he knew they would die in the bucket, even with water and sand, he was pretty protective of them. Chase was trying to open the clams, and Colin protected the ones he caught! He let them go a bit later, saying good-bye to them! It was weird to catch them, because sometimes they come out while in your hand! It looked like a little tongue.

Once evening we headed to The Track, a place in Gulf Shores with all kinds of rides and arcade games. Gwyn started the evening off in the kid area. She loved the little swing and airplane, but not the ferris wheel! She squealed while riding things! The next day everyone but Gwyn, Gail and me went fishing. I took Gwyn back the next day and we rode the boats (She didn't get to ride the night before), and Woody, the big go cart track. She loved that one so much we rode it twice the next day! I like that she got to do something special, and was not left out. We even got photos in a photo booth!

She got to pick all of our poses. I love these photos!

Back to the original night at The Track, they had 6 different go cart tracks. One was perfect for Colin and he and Parker were able to drive. He had fun, even though the track was not big.

There was a track for kids a little taller, which Chase and Kevin could drive. You could tell that Kevin liked the turns. You could see him driving kind of straight into the turns, and then jerk the wheel.

We were all able to ride the big one called Woody. Kevin took Colin, and then on the next time, I drove Kevin and Daddy drove Gwyn. She loved it! (Which is why we rode it 2 more times the next day!)

Here are some pictures from fishing. Everyone caught a fish! And then the fish were cleaned and cooked for lunch the next day! It looked boring in the pictures, but the boys were so excited when they got back. It was only for 4 hours, and they stayed in the bay. (Going out in the ocean would have been twice as much, and a 7 hour trip. That was too much for everyone.)

Apparently, the best part was sitting at the top. Everyone got a turn, but we only have a picture when Colin was up there. Kevin went up with daddy. Colin was the last one up, and was rewarded with the longest turn as the boat was driven back in!

That night we headed to Lulu's. There is a four-story climbing structure. Colin was BARELY tall enough to climb, and I had to stay with him the entire time. Kevin waited with Gwyn while I took the boys up. I told Kevin that he would climb wherever and didn't have to stay with me. That kid was up there for an hour! He took off and loved it!

After about an hour (!) of climbing, Kevin headed down. I liked how they did not allow too many people up at one time, since some corners were a bit crowded. We were the last group that did not really have to wait. Your harness can only come out at the entrance and exit, so Kevin took advantage of climbing where he wanted! He felt fine going up to the 3rd level. He ended up playing sand volleyball for a bit before dinner.

Here are Colin and I on the 3rd level. Colin climbed for about 90 minutes! (Up until it was time for our table.) And he loved it. He did get scared a few times and told me to stay close to him. And there were a few times I was doing my best to not pull on my tether. Those times I was shacking so bad that it was moving the rope or bar we were one. Colin told me I needed to calm down, and to just watch the kid playing the on ground, or pretend I was walking on carpet with a stripe. It was adorable. And he talked the. Entire. Time. I didn't even hear most of what he was saying, but he seemed to be having a good time!

Here it is. Colin braved the top level. He made it all the way to the middle, but the other side was too scary for him, and he turned around. I tried to explain that it was the same distance, but the other side had a single room to walk on, and he never walked on those, even on the lower levels. As scared as heights as I am, by the time we got up here I was not as scared as I thought I would be!

Another shot of Kevin.

Of course, Gwyn enjoyed running around.

This picture has all 3 of us in it!

And here is how much Gwyn loves the fans with misters. Just like at the zoo!

Here is one of the best shots of all 5 kids on the beach. It was too bright for Colin to look up. The boys are both wearing their shark-tooth necklaces. Each kid got to pick out a souvenir from the trip. Gwyn got a mermaid.

Here is the destroyed castle! On one of the last days the kids attacked it, while we protected it. Don't worry, Colin told me that his weapons we all pretend, and I would not get hurt for real. They also had 3 "bombs" that were found on the beach. They were made of small styrofoam balls covered in duct tape. Perfect for the kids. However, this day Colin decided to hide them like land mines - hide them in the sand without marking where they were buried. After hunting for a while he found only one.

This was the battleship that we say when we came out of the tunnel in Mobile. I wish we could have visited it. It was great to see it.

The trip was great, the kids had a good time, and I hope happy memories were made.

Well, I have tried posting this two times already, so I hope it works this time!