Allen family adventure: Gulf Shores Part 1

We're back!! We had such a great time at the beach this past weekend. We travelled down to Gulf Shores, AL, which is NOT four hours away as I thought. It was actually more like seven hours after stopping to nurse. With Tristan screaming in the car part of the way, it felt like fourteen! So, we made up our minds to REALLY enjoy our few days at the beach to make up for the trauma of getting there and back! Mom and I left on Wednesday morning. We travelled through Alabama at the height of lovebug season and the front of my car may never be the same again! When we finally got there at about four in the afternoon we were SO happy to be done driving and so ready to get to the beach.

I was so excited to have both my kiddos at the beach. I could hardly wait to get down there with them, but we figured we'd better unpack and organize first. So, poor Tristan got taken out of his car seat and placed in his infant seat. He wasn't too worried about it. Somehow, the infant seat is at about the same angle and snuggles him in similar to a car seat but he loves it as much as he hates the car seat. Go figure. Maura busyed herself with playing peek-a-boo with Tristan while he sat. He loved it. I was a little afraid that she'd clock him in the head with the edge of the raft, but she was as gentle as she could be and they both had a great time.

Peek-a-boo! The center of the raft is just over Tristan's legs which were pumping and kicking as fast as he could go. He LOVED it. I love watching my kids play together. Something about it is just too sweet and makes my heart melt!
After a quick dinner, we headed down for our first look at the water. Maura could not have been more excited. She's talked about the beach for weeks, and has been so excited about playing in the water and the sand. She headed right for a tidal pool and stopped dead to survey the scene. The beach and boardwalk were pretty torn up after Hurricane Ike a few weeks ago, but it left nice big tidal pools for the kids to play in.

Tristan getting his first ocean experience. The water was pretty warm, so he enjoyed his little dip in the big blue sea.

Tristan, aka Popeye the sailor man! He looks pretty stoic, but I think he liked it.

Grammy tried giving Tristan a feel for the sand, but Maura would have none of it. She wanted him in the water and went over to make him move on in.
Sweet little baby foot. He loved scrunching his toes in the wet sand. Is there anything better?

Grammy and Tristan enjoying the beach together. Is there any doubt that he's getting huge? He just looks so tall in this picture!

Mommy, Tristan and Maura taking it all in. We were all looking forward to the next few days of rest and relaxation.

Maura getting a start at sand play. She loved the seashell too and collected them all week long. She was also a huge fan of seagulls and asked all week for me to catch one for her. I'm not sure what she would have done with it if I had been able to catch one! She also loved the sand crabs and couldn't wait for her daddy to catch one for her.
Sweet girl testing out the water. Sunset at the beach was such a lovely time to be there.