Hug it out

We went to the beach with Jared's family for our second annual trip. Since one of the two booked condos in Gulf Shores flooded prior to our arrival, we were upgraded to nicer condos in Orange Beach. Score! We had two beautiful condos with great views and beds more comfortable than my own. 

Hunter was thrilled to see his cousins, Connor and Carly.

He is quite the hugger lately and our new mommy/son game is to spread our arms open wide while he toddles/runs into my arms for a bear hug. It makes my life. 

We had a beautiful first day on the beach and Hunter loved the sand. He crawled in it and played in it. The waves were quite strong so he didn't spend much time in the ocean and the pool was a bit cold for his liking. 

The hotel did have a splash pad though which was perfect for him. 

Hunter spent three days at the beach and splash pad and had three full changes of swim suits and swim shirts. He was a well dressed kiddo.

This trip felt better to me than the ski trip for several reasons. One, I tried to have more realistic expectations about my ability to do everything. Two, Hunter is no longer breastfeeding and slept fairly well throughout the nights. Three, everyone hung out in our condo in the evenings so I'd put Hunter to bed and then we'd all sit around and talk for a couple of hours. The television was never turned on and the kids were not attached to any electronics. It was lovely. Fourth, there are other little kids so the activities are built around children and Hunter had someone to play with. They ate snacks together and we read stories together each evening. 

I'm glad we did the ski trip, but it felt really hard. Between the illness that swept through the condo, the sleepless nights, and the inability to watch Hunter and snow ski simultaneously, I felt discouraged that it wasn't the trip that I'd hope for and was used to.

(kids sharing fruit loops from the box and the chair and the floor)

Hunter slept like a champ on the beach with the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. He also ended up with some pain from new teeth coming in and a little summer virus. He wasn't quite up to snuff and didn't care to have much to do with anyone besides me, Connor, or Carly. He wasn't even all that happy with his daddy whom he adores. 

The boys and I went deep sea fishing on our last day. Here is my handsome husband working on a cigar and a beer at 7am. I apparently should have joined in because he was fine the entire trip while I ended up puking over the side twice on the six hour trip. There were rough seas and three out of the six of us chummed up the waters.

Hunter stayed with Grandma and Pop during the deep sea fishing trip. Pop told us that Hunter was playing around on the floor and then fell asleep on the blankets. He was passed out when we got home.

Hunter is not one for sitting at dinner for very long so Carly was happy to keep Jared or me company while we walked Hunter around. Kids will find something to play with.

We made the long trek home. We stopped at one Chic-fil-a and bought lunch so we could use the play area. I think Hunter would have stayed there forever. Other than play areas, the options for crawling around are limited as gas station floors are nasty, so we made two stops to play around in the truck and let Hunter push every button on the radio/air conditioning/cruise control.

It's been a lovely weekend getting life back in order and relaxing. I do wonder sometimes why we are in such a hurry to grow up. I never remember feeling tired after vacation as a kid, but now, as an adult, there is so much to do. Unpack, laundry, mail, bills, grocery store, cook! I always feel bummed on Sunday evening when I have to pack my lunch. It's my official signal that the weekend is drawing to a close. The chicken salad is made and ready to the weekend and vacation must really be over.