To the beach!

The umbrellas, swimsuits, and beach towels were packed and ready to go. The first week of August, we headed out of T-town for the beach, to celebrate the 'almost end' of summer vacation, along with Terry's birthday. We went to Gulf Shores, Alabama for a few days to relax and enjoy the water, the sun, and each other. With the start of school looming, we were more than ready to get away for a few days before the "routine" of life started again. (By the way, this mom is a big fan of NO routine!)

On the trip down, we had bottled Cokes that were a treat! When we got to Mobile, AL, a small flash flood hit and our car was actually making a wake as we drove down the street. We were excited to get there, get into our condo and check out the beach. We had a great view, a neat condo and were ready for some beach time.

Avery takes a swig!

The flash flood in Mobile, AL

Look at the wake our car made! Cool!

Look at the wave!

Our condo view from the beach - we thought "fewer floors - fewer people".

Not this trip! It was crowded!!

The view from our balcony

During our stay, we hung out at the beach each day - unfortunately, amidst many LSU people! ha. There were many LSU fans there with their tents, hats and license plates. We thought there must have been a discount given to anyone who could prove they cheered for LSU! As Rebel fans, it was hard for us to not shout out a "Hotty Toddy!"and remind them that the Rebels beat them last season! :) The beach was very crowded! More crowded than we had ever seen it from our previous trips in August. But we found our spot and camped out there for the week.

Only part of the crowds on the beach

The kids had a great time scooping up seashells with nets, riding their boogie boards, building sandcastles and throwing the football and frisbee.

Tanner catching a wave!! Anna cheering him on!

Terry immersed in a book. (The tshirt is because of a sunburn from the previous day!)

Depositing a seashell - on the run

The start of collecting seashells

A sandcastle Tanner and Mama made

Side view

Wow! Mom got in a picture! Thanks Avery!

Just because I think this is cool

Still reading - he has taken a break!

Tanner's turn with the camera - we were crammed in our little spot due to the crowds!

Enjoying a snack

Avery-11 1/2*Anna-9* Tanner-6 1/2

Late one afternoon, we explored a little bit at a pretty place where the Gulf comes inland and saw some giant jellyfish! YUCK! Luckily, we had no jellyfish stings this trip. Can you imagine being stung by that? OWWW!

Several giant jellyfish in the water! Look close!

Minus the giant jellyfish, this place was really pretty!

There were tons of people out here, all in white shirts and khakis, taking pictures. We were just exploring and I had my camera with me, so 'formal' beach pictures weren't planned. We did take some, but notice - no white shirts and khakis! The kids had a ball climbing on the rocks and were even patient with me when I wanted some pics!

At night, we loved eating seafood and going to our favorite place - Adventure Island! Putt-putt and go-carts are a MUST for our family when we go to the beach! So we checked out Adventure Island - twice! Playing a little skeeball and some video games was pretty fun too!

Just for the record (since it will probably never happen again!), I beat Terry in putt-putt the second round that we played! Woohoo!

Anna and I had a super fast go-cart! We ruled on the track!

Avery did awesome driving by herself! We couldn't catch her!

Tanner and Terry got lucky and passed Anna and me the second time we rode. We got stuck behind a slow-poke. ha!

Ready for bed at our condo. Yes, that's Tanner with a gun. That's what he wanted for his souvenir. It's a boy thing.

Terry and Avery catching up on their emails

This is a bowl of sweet tea. We are some sweet-tea-drinkin' folks at our house and, believe it or not, this condo did not have a tea jug! So we had to improvise! I had to take a picture of it!

On our way out of town, we made a stop to make our traditional picture with the 'Shark', stopped at the Happy Shack, and checked out the Nike outlet store. Then it was homeward bound. We had a great trip and a ton of fun family time!

The first time we came to Orange Beach/Gulf Shores, we took a picture like this in the shark's mouth. It made me laugh so hard every time I saw it, that the next trip, we remade the shot. It still makes me laugh!! The kids are always troopers and jump out there and make their 'scared' faces. It still cracks me up!

Outside the Happy Shack - a little hippie store

In the Hippie bus