This past week we took a girls only trip to the beach!! Mom treated Emily, Annie, me, and herself to a wonderful trip to Romar Beach in Gulf Shores! Dad and Jeffrey made the long drive to Lexington, VA to visit with Elizabeth and Alex and Brad stayed home and worked. I hated that he didn't have any fun and we missed him so much!
Annie took this one from the back seat in Gaga's "mini mini car!" Annie was an excellent road tripper and enjoyed watching Mary Poppins for the first time ever! We thought she would sleep since she kept saying she was so sleepy and wanted to take a nap, but she never did fall asleep?!?
Annie was so excited to see the beach that she insisted we go to the beach before ever even getting to our condo. We first had dinner then hit the beach about 8:30pm. I loved her enthusiasm to see the beach and play in the sand!
Sunday was an unexpected gorgeous day!
The forecast was warm but stormy. Instead it turned out to be a perfectly beautiful warm and sunny day! I tried to get Annie to nap on the beach but with no luck. We gave up and enjoyed the sunshine!
Surfer baby!
"Ta-Da!"
Annie loved the sand, playing in the little shallow pool of ocean water you see in the background of this picture, walking on the beach, collecting shells, and talking to the girls. She is at a great age to enjoy the beach without being quite so busy for the grown-ups!
I love the new Waterlogue App that turns simple snapshots into watercolors!
Annie did not mind rolling, scooting, sitting, or sliding in the sand. Ick!
While we were at the beach, Dad and Jeffrey enjoyed a stop north of Knoxville to a very cool archery. They loved it! Then they enjoyed a couple of days in Lexington together.
Dad treated them to skeet shooting!
Manly men!
And a girl with a big gun!
Looks like good form, but she said she closed her eyes while shooting and therefore did not hit many skeet!
That night they cooked a steak dinner!
The girls did our best to cook as little as possible :) That's a real vacation for us!
Unfortunately, Sunday was our one and only great day at the beach. The weather was cloudy, cold, and windy, most of the rest of the week. We had a few hours of sun again but never the good warm temps.
In Lexington, Dad left to go to his work meetings in Blacksburg and then drive the long drive home. Jeffrey stayed with Elizabeth and Alex to enjoy the law school life!
I think they had a great week together!
Worn out after attending law school classes!
Elizabeth sent this one afternoon. It will NOT stop snowing in Lexington.
The winters are way too long up there and I think this one has been especially long and cold and snowy.
After a cloudy morning, we got out to the beach Monday afternoon to enjoy the sun!
And, after a few nights in the pack 'n play that is TOO small, we decided to try out a big girl bed with bed rails for Annie! She was so excited and signing to herself in the mirror in this picture!
All on her own, she decided that she would wake up and get out of bed, put on her play clothes and pink shoes, and go out! Oh my! The big downfall of a big girl bed...freedom!
And the worst part of the big girl bed...this girl didn't go to bed until 3:30 AM. I have no idea how she can keep herself up with my laying in the bed with her, signing, reading books, both being quite and trying to sleep, watching a movie, etc but she is the great "stay-awaker" when she wants to be. It was a rough night. Thankfully, naps and bedtimes that followed were better but still not great. I was so glad to get home and back to her own room and bed for some easy bedtimes like we are used to.
***
Tuesday was sunny but with 20 mph wind gusts. We all endured the sun and beach as much as we could enjoy! Wednesday was not any better.
Jeffrey and Elizabeth made the trip to Charlottesville, VA to take a tour of UVA and to see the charming downtown. They said the tour was pretty standard and not all that helpful so they defected and enjoyed Thai food instead!
Love this pic!
#Briefinternationalexcursion per Jeffrey Jones!
Finally, they enjoyed a night of bowling
and snuggies and milk back home!!
***
Thursday morning we had to check out of our condo, but we decided to go to the beach one last time to enjoy a little more sunshine. It was pretty chilly but nice to be out!
I love this series of pictures that Emily took of Annie!
They capture her little toddler body and personality so well!
I think she was singing in this one!
Love this one!
Em also took this one of Annie and me and turned it into a beautiful watercolor!
Annie looks like quite the bathing beauty!
More watercolors!
And Mom took this similar series of Annie playing! I love these too!
One last look at the ocean before we said our good-byes!
It was a semi-sunny day but very windy again so we were freezing!
I am so sad we didn't get Gaga in this pic. She was there too and the one who treated us all week! Thank you Gaga for a great girls trip!
Mom took these sunrise pictures early one morning from our balcony! So beautiful!
Annie did great on the way home too! By the end of our trip, I think we had watched Mary Poppins 10 times. Annie says she wants to be "magical" and has enjoyed singing all the Mary Poppins songs and dressing up like her too!
Jeffrey flew home Friday night and just like that Spring Break was over.
Until next time...we love you Spring Break!
