It was a whirlwind ten days, but the boys and I had a blast in Alabama hanging out with friends and family. The best way to tell the story is through the photos --- and there are a TON of photos...here we go!
Packed in the car and ready to go see everyone in Alabama!
RF had fun covering his arm in stickers...
And of course, little brother had to cover himself, too...
Little rocking chair during our pit-stop at Priester's Pecans outside of Montgomery...
Relaxing...
RF thought this horse swing was pretty cool!
Ellis decided to nap...
Sunday afternoon I had a meeting at our presentation location and Mr. Ellis decided to throw a FIT with Aunt Haydn came to pick him and his brother up, so he stayed with me at the school and pushed this cart around for a while...
Then he decided to color for a while...
Then he played with the locker locks for a while...
RF went with Aunt Haydn to her house while I was at the school and had the time of his life! There were lots of dogs to play with...
Once Ellis and I arrived at Aunt Haydn's house, RF decided to "show" Ellis this "cool cage"...
Turkey sandwich, veggie sticks, and string cheese for lunch...
And RF got to ride Uncle Nick's tractor --- his day was MADE!
The boys enjoyed some time hanging with Lola and splashing in the water in her front yard...
And we had a fun time at Build-A-Bear...
RF made Nemo and Ellis made a monkey, who he named "OH OH AH AH" (monkey sound)...
We splashed in Papa Tad and Lola's pool...
After a week of work, I took the boys to the Maritime Museum in Mobile to wander for a little while...
RF drove a boat...it was a green screen...
And this is what he saw on the screen in front of him...notice Ellis's hands on top of his head? The shark freaked him out...
But the large magnetic wall with magnets was his jam...
They got to drive remote controlled boats...
And see a pretty cool bell...
The view from the top of the museum was fantastic!
And there was a gigantic captain's wheel...RF LOVED it...
Saturday morning we packed up and headed to Gulf Shores for a long, Fourth of July weekend at the beach...our condo for the next four days...
View of the pool from the balcony...
View of the lagoon from the balcony...
READY TO SWIM...
And swim, they did! RF swam without any adult holding on to him, which is pretty cool considered last year he clung to me like a barnacle to a rock...
Ellis enjoyed himself, too. He enjoyed jumping off the side of the pool into the pool (whether you were ready to catch him or not..) more than anything else...
After dinner, we walked across to the beach for some evening time in the sand...
Ellis's first time on the beach...in the exact same spot as RF's first time on the beach (Memorial Day weekend 2014)...
No where near the water yet and they are already DIGGING...
I asked him where the waves were and he pointed and said, "Right dare, mama!"
Happy as can be...
A beach trip isn't complete without writing your name in the sand...
Ellis, too...
Digging and building a 'drip castle' with my favorite little guys...
Putting sand into the bucket, and then dumping the sand out of the bucket. And then putting sand into the bucket, and then dumping the sand out of the bucket...
One happy boy!
And another happy boy!
Another fun morning at the pool...and snack-time for Ellis...
The beach ZONKS these boys out --- joint 3-hour nap-time...
Night #2 on the beach I put both of the boys in khaki pants and white shirts to get a few photos of them and they turned out really well...enjoying watching the waves crash at his feet...
Mama and her first born...
Mama and her boys...
Heart. Melting.
Brothers...
Love these little guys...
Beautiful beach sunset...
Day three started out with a little morning shopping for mama...and RF got a new "super cool" hat...
Ellis enjoyed riding in the stroller...
It's always a great day when you get to drive a bulldozer...
Fourth of July night beach-time fun...
SO excited for the fireworks!
Such a big kid...
Digging, digging, digging...
RF found an "adorable little fishy, mama..."
So big...
Flying his Star Wars kite from Meme...he was SO PROUD...
Ellis flew a kite, too!
He was excited, as well...
I don't know...
I REALLY don't know...
???
Look, ma! NO HANDS...
FIREWORKS - HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!
Our drive home included a pit stop at Krispy Kreme for a HOT NOW doughnut...
We had a great trip, but were so excited to get home to see RA. We spent the next few days detoxing (so much good food along the Gulf Coast...), resting (vacationing with two kids is exhausting...), and catching up on laundry (SO.MANY. CLOTHES.). :-)
