The Beach...again...

Here begins the journey of our beach trip last weekend...


I am starting this post in the car on our way to the beach. It is raining. DS is asleep and Scotty is driving. I'm hoping we don't get stuck inside for the next 4 days. With 8 adults and 4 kids from 9 months up to 20 months, staying in one condo, patience could be tested. Orange Beach is our destination for what we call Law Vacay. We've been making this trip for several years now with three other couples -- some of Scotty's friends from law school, hence the name of the annual trek -- The Devilliers, The Truxillos, and The McVeas. Year before last, two of us were pregnant. Last summer, we put the trip on hiatus b/c two of us had smaller babies and the other two were in the later stages of their own pregnancies. So, this year we resumed our trip -- cutting back the distance and going to OB rather than our usual Destin...and with all 4 kids in tow.


I love the beach. Hopefully the kids will play well together and DS won't act alike a heathen. Unlike in years past, we will be eating in every night. I love, love, love going out to eat on vacation, but I know how my child has been acting in restaurants lately and I wouldn't wish that on our friends. It is still raining. If it's still raining when we get there, we plan on going to the outlet mall. Yes, it is outside. I have my umbrella just in case. I also have my blue jean jacket and my new shades. I pretty much look awesome/trendy (big change from the usual) during the trip over. By the time we can check in to the condo, I'll prob look like a wet dog. Oh well, we'll all look like wet dogs together....in our one condo...with 4 kids.




I will try to make updates to the end of this post as I am able.


THURSDAY RECAP
As mentioned in the post from our trip over, it rained most of the day Thursday. Luckily, we were able to check into the condo early so we met up with the Devilliers and Truxillos and were unloaded by 1:00; the McVeas arrived a little later. We didn't do much because of the rain, but I took DS to the indoor pool during the afternoon when the guys went to the grocery store. The babies were down for naps so the timing worked out for a little one-on-one time swimming. David Scott continues to amaze me with his fearless jumps and love of the water; he's like a fish kicking and moving his arms in the water. Once we got back up to the room, we/he "played" with the others to get to know them better.  We did get to go down to the beach once the weather eased up.

For dinner, Kevin cooked an amazing pork tenderloin with risotto and salad. He is an amazing cook, and he enjoys it so he usually cooks dinner. We were eating too late for DS to wait, so I went ahead and fed him something else and we put him and the other kiddos down before the adults ate dinner. We did as we always do and split up -- girls in one area and boys in the other so we can eat, talk, etc. It was a relatively early night since the boys had an early tee time in the morning on Friday.


FRIDAY RECAP

Since the guys got up early for golfing, the girls decided to take the kids down to the beach mid-morning on Friday. To say we had a bunch of crap is the understatement of the year. Somehow, we managed to get down with all the kids, but almost all of the beach stuff (save the big ice chest and a couple of chairs) in one trip. Yep...one trip. We were all completely loaded down.

After an hour or so, we went staggered back up to the room for lunch, naps, etc. DS had played very hard at one of the outside pools and at the beach, so he took a good nap. The guys made it back early afternoon, right after DS went down, so I was able to go down for an hour or so of peaceful tanning before the rest of the crew came back down with all the babies and such. "And such" is my nice way of referring to this:

And no, I'm not referring to the shades or the cute kid...

The afternoon was filled with more pool time and playing in the sand. DS had become more comfortable with the ocean that morning, so we were able to show Scotty the progress that had been made. Too bad there were tons of jellyfish in the water-- I mean everywhere-- so we didn't venture out too far past our knees. But hey -- at least we got in the water.

3/4 of our daddies and babies...

Poor Kevin and Kara-- Ava had gotten sick after lunch, like projectile, so we were all concerned, when she got sick another time or two since she is only 9 months old. She never ran fever, so we didn't think she was contagious or anything. Needless to say, they stayed in the remainder of the day. That night, the guys grilled hamburgers and baked fingerling potatoes. Again, yumm-o.

SATURDAY RECAP

Scotty woke up and shaved his face...finally...the pedophile/biker look was not becoming of him, although he begs to differ. Ava was feeling much better, so Kara was able to go as planned with us girls to get our massages. Much needed. The guys stayed at the condo with the kids. After we got back to the condo post-massages, Scotty told me that he and David Scott went to the pool AND the lazy river and had a good morning. My little man was napping but woke up a short while later and was ready to eat lunch Everyone else had already gone down to the beach, so DS and I headed down after he ate.

We had a big afternoon filled with the guys playing Bag-o, multiple trips to the pool, playing with everybody in the sand, playing in the water, getting stung by a jellyfish (DS and me simultaneously, on our foot and ankle, respectively), and a group meltdown towards the end of the afternoon.

The chain reaction of cries...

We ended the day by making a few rounds at the lazy river. Turquoise Place, where we stayed had just about everything you could need/want -- multiple pools inside and out, a lazy river, tennis courts, a playground, each unit has its own grill and hot tub, and our 4 BR/BA condo was a great size for our group. We decided this will be our destination for Law Vaca from now on. Once the kids get older, we'll be able to do more stuff off-premises like the water/amusement park, the Wharf, putt-putt golf. But for now, and even in the future, this was the perfect place to stay.

Our last night was capped off with another awesome meal cooked by Kevin: steak, garlic mashed potatoes, and grilled zucchini and squash. Delish, as per usual. Again, we had the great divide with girls eating on the patio and the guys inside. Then we switched when they came out to get in the hot tub, apparently. I say apparently, b/c I was in our room putting my sweet boy back down since he'd awoken towards the end of the meal. The girls had an earlier evening than the guys and we called it a night around midnight. I don't know how late the guys stayed outside.

SUNDAY RECAP

We headed for home on Sunday, stopping at Waffle House for our traditional vacation trek there. While there, DS told Scotty, "I poo-pooed" as he grabbed his behind. Sure enough, he had -- he's been getting pretty good about notifying us of these body functions after they happen, so we'll see if anything comes of that. We're not putting any pressure on him, though, so our expectations are low. Kind of like this trip. We had low expectations with having all 4 kids in one condo, and we thought it was great! Scotty and I spent a large amount of time trying to keep our son I line, but overall, he was really good. Busy, but good. Kind of like our life.

Amendment to my original post:  On the way home, DS threw up in the car.  Yes, we'd gotten the stomach virus as he was sick again Monday, went back to Daycare on Wednesday, and left early today (Thursday), b/c he got sick again.  Stomach virus relapse confirmed by the pediatrician b/c he was having a few other symptoms that were concerning to me -- complaining that his head hurt and had fallen a couple of times (not totally unusual, but given everything else, concerning).  He had a little fever (below 100 degrees), which is probably why his head was hurting him, and was probably a little dehydrated which contributed to his loss of balance, per the ped.  He's eaten nearly 25 popcicles this week alone and can continue to live off them through the weekend if he wants to said Dr. K.  Our little sick boy seemed to perk up when Daddy arrived home this evening, but was cranky again before he went to bed.  He and Daddy are going to have a relaxing day at home by themselves tomorrow.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad