Our Gulf Shores Vacation!

Is it me, or does anyone else ever feel like they need a vacation to recover from a vacation? We had a blast at the beach but came home yesterday exhausted with neither Drew nor I are feeling very well :( I'm not attributing it all to being gone for a week, a lot of it (for me) is heartburn, but still...crazy!
We went to Gulf Shores, AL with my family; mom, dad, brothers, sis-in-law, nephews, aunt, cousin, and MawMaw. Mike, my aunt, grandmother and cousin left Tuesday so the rest of the week was spent with my parents, brothers, sis-in-law and their boys. It was lots of fun. I love the smell of the beach and salt water. We have been going to the beach every summer since I was a little kid until our college years and this was the first time I got to go with my own child with me, last time we all went, I was 14 weeks pregnant for Drew. He had fun in the sand and waves. He LOVED the pool and showed off his dance moves, of course, but got more and more worn out as the week went on. He was so well-behaved, which I was grateful for since Mike had to come back for work. It was the longest the 3 of us have been apart but you gotta do what you gotta do :) We played in the sun, took long naps, ate waaaay too much junk food, and played games til all hours. I love my family and am so glad we got to spend so much time with them!

My parents insisted that all 3 boys ride to the beach with them. Pretty brave of them, but my mom wanted to have all their grand-sons in one car, going on vacation :) Fine with us!
They got to the beach house before we did and let the boys play on the stairs. This was literally the ONLY thing Drew was interested in if we spent time inside. My aunt bought them these shirts in Disney World so we made sure to take pictures of Things 1, 2, & 3 :) Cutie-pies!
Daddy and Drew a the beach...at some point, sunscreen got on my camera lens so the next few pictures have a blurry spot pretty much right where faces should be! Drew was unsure about the waves at first. He didn't really like how the surf washes the sand out from under your feet and his little toes were gripping the sand! Once he watched the water go in and out a few times though, he thought it was pretty cool! He never tried eating the sand, made faces at the taste of the salt water but mostly, he loved playing in it all!
Parker, however, did like eating sand :)
Playing in the sand
This is the only one I got of Mike and I :( with a sunscreen smudge.
The weather was gorgeous the first morning there. There was a great breeze so it didn't feel as hot.
Pool time! He like jumping off of the edge to his daddy. And he kept blowing bubbles and dunking his head under the water. I was freaking out the whole time, he made me so nervous...yes, I guess I'm one of those moms.

Typical morning playing with his bat and ball, only this morning, he was looking out onto the beach hearing the waves! Love it!Playing in the Gulf with Champ (my dad)Playing in the sand with Matthew and M'Lonnie (my mom)

Isn't he the cutest beach baby ever?! I love this boy and I love that he loves the sand :)
Our routine for the week basically went like this: breakfast, beach, pool, nap/laying out reading or playing games, lunch, pool, bath time, dinner, playing inside, bed time.
Drew did lots of reading on our vacation. Sitting on the stairs was as far as we'd let him go. He tried many times to climb over the baby gate but Uncle Billy got him to sit still :)Making his silly face. This is actually really funny b/c Matthew used to do this when he was little and when we came to the beach 2 summers ago, he did it the whole time!Taking a wagon-ride around the pool!
Sweet little Parker Boy!

That Thursday, I made 21 weeks, over half-way there! I'm not looking down for dramatization, the sun was really bright ;) I'm carrying much higher this time which is why I think I have heartburn already. I feel like my tummy is soooo big. She moves a lot and I'm feeling round-ligament pain. When I sneeze, its like I've pulled a muscle! Its crazy! Other than that though, I really shouldn't complain :) I'm excited about this little chica!

This shrimping boat came really close to the shore. Drew watched it from our balcony.Cute Boy!
Last ride to the beach!! I love this picture!
All packed up and ready to come home to see Daddy!
It was a great week! We got lots of sun and had a wonderful time with family. Now it is back to our normal routine, enjoying the summer with my boys and getting things ready for this little girl! Hope you all have a wonderful summer!