2013 4th of July Beach Trip- Part 1

Be prepared for some long posts--mostly of pictures.  

For several months, we anxiously awaited for July to come because we had a week long beach trip planned with my family.  Originally we had hoped it would be a trip for the entire family.  However, as it drew closer, my mom realized she wasn't able to take off work for the initial part of the week so she couldn't meet us down there until Wednesday.  My sister and her family weren't able to come because of my nephew's baseball tournaments and my grandparents had to cancel because of other plans.  Fortunately, my brother and his family did get to drive over and meet us throughout the week which was extra fun since we don't get to see them often. Even though it didn't quite pan out as we had originally planned, Ben and I were still so excited.  On Friday before the 4th, we loaded the car and headed south after work.  Mary Hyatt pretty much thought that the long car trip was for the birds...and she spent most of the her time like this. 

We got to the condo late Friday night.  My dad had already arrived  a few hours before us.  We pretty much went right to bed as soon as we got there so that we could prepare for our next day of fun in the sun. Since it was just the three of us we figured we would take it easy and spend the day at the pool and would wait for everybody else before going to the beach the next day.

Mary Hyatt absolutely LOVED to swim.  She was completely fearless and within minutes was jumping off the side and going under completely independently.  

It was a beautiful day full of relaxing.

Cool girl!

After a few hours, Mary Hyatt and I headed back upstairs for naps. 

Dad, Ben, MH, and I ate dinner at a restaurant on the Bay.  We were so excited that my Aunt Tamyra and cousin Owen were still at the exact same resort for the night.  They had been at the beach the week prior to us and were planning on leaving the next day.  They met us for drinks and we got to spend some good quality time catching up with them.  Of course, MH saw the carousel while we were walking through the Village and we couldn't leave without a ride..

The next morning we were greeted bright and early by my brother and his family.  Though the weather didn't look promising, their time with us was limited due to work, so we decided to try to head to the beach.  

Of course, as we were walking down the pier the rain started. The sky was practically black.  It wasn't just a little summer shower, it was a huge storm.  We sat under an awning for a while hoping it would past.  Eventually we gave up and just headed out in the rain.

The rain didn't seem to bother Mary Hyatt! She was all smiles the minute her toes touched the sand!

We pretty much just went ahead with our day on the beach as if it wasn't raining.  We put up a couple of umbrellas and I sat under them for a while and tried to snap some pictures while trying so hard not to let my camera get soaked.

The kiddos had a blast and didn't seem to care that it was raining or that the sky was black.

They dug in the sand and built sand castles..

They swam in the ocean with GIANT waves...

They rested and snacked..

And luckily by the end of the day the sky started to lighten a little and the rain stopped.  In hindsight, we were kind of thankful for the weather that we had because it kept it cool for the littles, didn't allow for sunburns, and practically gave us the entire beach to ourselves for most of the day! :) 

Stay Tuned!

Family Homecoming Part 2

 

The next morning after we woke up and ate breakfast my mom and I thought it would be really fun to let all of the little cousins take a bath together. 

 As you can tell by the pictures, that idea backfired and Cole was not a fan at all.  But look at sweet little Abby.  She was trying to comfort him while Mary Hyatt seems oblivious. :)

 So, my mom quickly got Cole out of the bathtub and we let the other two stay in for a while.  Look at this pitiful face...

 After their bath, my sister and her family along with my grandparents all came over to visit and to bring them their Christmas presents.  It was kind of crazy and rushed because my brother/family had to get on the road to head towards New Jersey and didn't want to leave too late.  We still mangaged to squeeze in a little fun though!

 My sister will probably kill me for putting this picture on here... but I think it's cute! ;)

 I love my grandparents!!

 Mary Hyatt loves her Uncle Mark aka "mak" as she calls him. He kept her by himself for about an hour a couple of weeks ago until my sister got home and apparently they did some pretty serious bonding because she's a big fan.

 Chase showing Cole his present... his first train!

 My brother and Tiffany

 My grandmother got the kids these little dolls.  They wobble back and forth and sing a song.  Abby thought they were really funny!!

 I know I'm biased but I really think she is such a beautiful little girl....Love her!

 Precious Cole.  He had to be thinking "what in the world is going on?" haha

 Abby was also a big fan of this Hello Kitty pillow! She is all about Hello Kitty these days!

 Cousing picture!!! Love it!!!

 Sweet Cole..I hate not getting to see him grow during these baby stages!

 He loved his train!

 Tiffany's mom also came over to share in all the fun.

And just like that, they were gone.  It was such a quick and short trip but we are all sooo thankful that they were able to stop in Decatur and we were all able to get together.  We sure do miss them, but are excited for all they have going on! It sure does make all of these little moments extra special though.  We can't wait to see them again!!

My Brother's Family Homecoming

I know I've mentioned before on this blog that my brother and his family moved down to the Mobile, Alabama area back in the summer.  My brother had gotten a job down there and they ended up really liking it.  It was tough at times though because we were all so use to seeing them and their precious kiddos ALL the time.  With them being far away and my brothers intense work schedule, they weren't able to come home often.  It had been over 5 months since we had seem them.  They were suppose to be able to come home for Thanksgiving but unfortunately that fell through because my brother had to work the day after, which meant that driving to north Alabama and back in one day just wouldn't be worth it, especially with two babies.  Long story short, my brother's company offered them the opportunity to move to New Jersey due to an increase in help needed due to Hurricane Sandy.  After some thought, they decided they would do it.  We knew with them moving that far (funny how we thought Mobile was far now!) and him starting new work opportunities, we are pretty sure that they won't be able to come home from Christmas.  They did however plan to stop in Decatur one night to see all of us on their drive from Mobile to New Jersey.  You can only imagine how excited we all were to see them!!!  With such a big move, they weren't able to head out as early as they planned and didn't make it to Decatur until about 9:30 that night, but we were all still up and waiting to greet them!

Warning:  Lots of pictures on these next 2 posts.  With such a special night, I think all these pictures are warranted.  Not to mention, this is the best way for my family to get the pictures from me to print on their own.

First time to see them as we greeted them on the front porch!

 Yea, I know I'm looking a little rough but it had been a long day and was late (for me considering I'm usually in bed by like 8:30 these days) I was totally shocked at how big Cole had gotten!! He wasn't a tiny baby anymore! 

And Abby too!!! I swear she had grown a foot since I had last seen her.  Not to mention her little personality seems so grown up! 

 They had had a long drive and I'm sure this little boy was thrilled to be out of that car seat!  Is he not the cutest thing ever?!

 Oh how I've missed these kiddos!!

 I use to keep Abby all the time when she was a baby.  She even came to spend the night with me in Birmingham several times while I was in graduate school.  I love those memories and can't believe how big she is getting! She will be 5 in February! :(

 My mom and dad with my brother..all smiles! :)

 Ben and I went ahead and let the kids open their Christmas presents from us because we weren't sure if we would see them in the morning before we headed back to Birmingham.  We got this little walker for Cole.  He is 8 months old and getting close to walking.  We hope this little toy will help him get the hang of it! He seemed to like it that night!

 We got Abby this little drawing board.  She loved it.  She kept showing me how she had learned to write her name, or draw a flower, or draw different shapes.  Again...she seemed so big and so old!

 Mary Hyatt loved getting to play with her cousins!!!

And of course Pappy got in on some of the fun!

 And he was definitely their best friend since he was holding and distributing the puffs snack!

 We then all went to bed since it was getting late.  Stay tuned for day 2....