Beach Week

We just spent the last week in Gulf Shores with my family. Warning...lots of pictures, but I 

can't resist a good memory making photo opportunity. 

We arrived last Saturday to a rainy day. But we didn't let that stop us... we 

went out to the water anyways. 

This little guy couldn't wait to get his toes in the sand. He enjoyed it so much more than last year. 

They went right to work breaking in all the sand toys. Of course Pops was scoping out all the other kid's toys and had to make a run to the store later that night to make sure Fulton had all the cool stuff like the others. 

Saturday night we had dinner at Tacky Jacks and then happened upon this awesome little playground for Fulton. It kept him entertained for a while.

Sunday was a little overcast too, but we were determined to tough it out, even sitting under the umbrellas for a bit while the rain drops fell. 

But the clouds actually kept it cool and we had a fun day of playing. 

Sunday night we went to dinner at The Shrimp Basket, one of our faves. We tried a family picture and waited forever for someone to walk by so we could ask them to take the picture. I almost gave in and asked the 12 year old boys playing baseball, when finally someone decent walked by. Grumpy refused to smile. After dinner we went to the marina to look at the big boats where a group of boys were getting off a fishing boat carrying the dead shark they just caught. Lovely. 

Praise report... Fulton finally decided to sleep at the beach. This is his fourth time to the beach and all the previous times he wouldn't sleep at night. It wasn't a pleasant experience and I will admit I was a little nervous going into this week because of his track record. But he came through for us!! Finally!!! But, he didn't give up those early morning risings, but it gave him more time to work on the computer with Pops. 

Monday the sun finally came out!!! Hooray. 

This little stinker was everywhere. He absolutely loved the sand and the ocean. We had to keep a close eye on him because he would just take off walking into the ocean by himself. No fear. 

Monday night led us to The Track. It was entertainment overload for Fulton, but he rode the carousel, some of those cheap 50 cent rides, and shot some basketball. The adults played way too many games of skeeball, but we racked up enough tickets to get these two measly little squish balls for Fulton. 

Tuesday was another gorgeous day and we played at the beach all day. We cleaned up and had dinner at The Crab Trap. That name and outfit suited Fulton perfect, because he was in quite the crabby mood after playing so hard all day.

After dinner we made a stop by The Pier to watch the fishermen and see the beautiful sunset. Oh and I can't forget the stop at Dippin Dots afterwards. Oh how I love those. 

Wednesday this little guy enjoyed watching the waverunners come in and out. He was determined to try to get on one of them, but we stopped him just in time. 

Wednesday was our 9th anniversary and that meant we had a house full of babysitters. We took advantage of it and had a nice dinner out (at a restaurant that actually had tablecloths and didn't include a playground out front). We shopped around, looked at boats, and listened to some live music. We ended with a stop at Hope's Cheesecake for not one, but two pieces of cheesecake. It was one of those things where you walk in and say you are going to share a piece and walk out each with your own.

Thursday was a rainy and cloudy day, but it gave us a chance to visit the outlets. We were also sad because Aunt Keri and Uncle Pete had to go home today. We had dinner at King Neptunes and by the time we got back the weather was nice and we went out to the beach for a while. 

The best attempt at a family photo. Precious. 

Fulton had a ball running towards the water and back. Although he got a little too close one time and we ended up with some wet clothes, but oh well, he had fun. 

Friday was perfect. We got out early and stayed until after 5:00 because we didn't want it to end. 

We had dinner at Docs and we couldn't call a trip to the beach complete without a stop at the souvenir shop. We had such a fun week at the beach!!