Dolphin Island 2015: The Beach

Easily our favorite thing about vacation (other than the people...more to come on that) is the time we get to spend at the beach.  There are a lot of reasons for this.  Shawn and Lilah are fish.  They LOVE the water.  Brian loves anything outdoors so he's happy at the beach.  And I love the sun and the noise the ocean makes.  It's that perfect "white noise" that keeps me from thinking.  And I can use a week each year where I don't think. 

My favorite pictures of my kids (aside from the ones our pro Cynthia takes) are taken at the beach.  I love how Brian turns into a brown, brown baby and Lilah's hair gets blonde highlights and a few more freckles appear on her nose every day.  I love the looks of excitement on their faces when the waves splash and how happy they are to be carefree for a whole week. 

I had to convince Lilah to come above water for some pictures.  This is pretty much what she looked like in the water the entire week.

We met a sweet family one day and the kids were thrilled to have playmates.  Landon loaned his boogie board to Brian and he had a blast learning to use it!

Being the amazing big brother that he is, he made sure Lilah got her fair share of turns.

Dauphin Island 2015: Dolphin Cruise

For Brian's birthday we decided we would do a Dolphin Cruise over in Orange Beach.  I may have been just as excited about getting to go as I was about getting to tell the kids ;) 

The cruise was absolutely amazing.  The company we went with uses two boats and they create a wave between the two boats for the dolphins to play in.  OMG we saw SO many and they were so close!!  The kids LOVED it.  I may have too...

The man who was working on the deck of the boat did a fantastic job of keeping the kids (ours and others) entertained during the trip.  It was an hour and a half so there was some downtime where they got a little antsy.  They had a cooler on board stocked with fish and a crab and let the kids "fish" with nets.  Brian called it a, "magical box."  LOL!

Snow cones before boarding!

This picture is deceiving.  She was actually LIVID about the life vest the entire ride.

Ferry boat ride back to Dauphin Island

Dauphin Island 2015: Estuarium

We have reached the last day of our week on Dauphin Island.  Usually this day is bittersweet because as much as we like vacation, we miss our friends and family back home.  Don't get me wrong, we do miss the people back home, but this time I know I'm heading back to get my wisdom teeth removed, so I'd be perfectly fine staying put for...eternity!

One of our favorite things to do on the island is visit "Whitney's work."  Whitney actually works at the Sea Lab, but the Estuarium is part of the sea lab and the kids think its where she works.  We had a great time exploring again this year.  Thanks, Whitney!

Fish!

Baby turtles!

Gator!

SEVEN

Photo by Cynthia Schoettker Photography.

Dear Brian,

You turned SEVEN yesterday!!  I usually write these posts on your birthday, but we had a busy day yesterday!  You said that it was your "best birthday ever."  I think you say that every year ;)  But we did have fun on our Dolphin Cruise!  We saw a ton of dolphins and I loved surprising you.  Your Lego cupcakes from the Lighthouse Bakery on Dauphin Island were pretty awesome too.  I know you enjoyed opening your gifts that we brought along and I know you are looking forward to opening more at home.

You have grown up a lot this year!  You learned so much in first grade and I  love, love, love watching you discover new things.  You ask a trillion questions every single day.  You don't do it to be annoying.  You really want to know the answers.  You want to know everything there is to know.  You read SO well.  I love hearing you read and hearing you talk about what you've read. 

You started taking piano recently and really enjoy it. You've always been very musical, so I'm excited to see if you keep at it.  I'm learning a lot helping you!!

You are incredibly funny.  I LOVE that when you say something funny, you look at me and  say, "funny?"  You love to make sure I'm getting your jokes.  You can also be very silly which is just your age.  Sometimes it can be over the top, but I know I'll miss the silliness when you're too cool for it.

You continue to be a wayyyy better big brother than your sister sometimes deserves.  You play with her, look out for her, read to her and often give into her.  She loves you endlessly and has a hard time when you aren't around.  I hope you always love each other this way.

You are also a wonderful big cousin to Patrick and I'm excited to see your relationship with him grow as he gets bigger and is able to interact more with you.  I've made you into a crazy baby person and you just adore Patrick and all babies!

You can be so, so sensitive.  Things scare you easily.  Yet you can also be super tough and brave.  It's interesting to see which you will choose in each situation.  You're a lot like me in that way.

I can't wait to see what your seventh year brings.  You will start 2nd grade at a new school.  I know you are nervous, but trust me buddy, I am way more nervous than you could ever be.  You will start Cub Scouts, which I know you are excited about!  You'll have Spanish class and Religion class during school.  I think you're going to love getting out of school a whole hour and a half earlier each day.  I know I will love it!  You may not be so crazy about the start time though...!  You have adapted well your entire life and you have had to adapt constantly so this will be no different.  I can't wait to see what wonderful things you will accomplish! 

I hope you know how very much you are loved by your family and all of our friends.  You are our "little man" and always will be.

Photo by Cynthia Schoettker Photography.

Happy 7th Birthday Brian Thomas!
Love,
Mommy

Downtown

I keep saying how lucky we are to be raising our kids in a time when it's "hip" to revitalize urban areas.  We have had a blast visiting Findlay Market and playing at Smale Park and Washington Park this summer.  With the All Star Game coming in July there are all kinds of exciting things going on.  We can't wait to search for the mustaches!  Of course, there is a growing concern about safety downtown which is really, really scary and sad.  Why can't people just keep areas like this safe?  It's frustrating that places that are so nice can also be dangerous. 

Here are some pictures of the kids enjoying downtown...

The new carousel at Smale Park was a huge hit!

The flying pig!

Note Mr. Redlegs on the building in the background!