Another first for Justus....a weekend trip to the beach for us all

On July 2nd, we hit the road....Orange Beach bound. We have never been to Orange Beach before and honestly, it was not looking likely that would occur this year. At the beginning of June, I was joking with our social worker that Trevis had been saying, "If I come up missin...don't look for me in Clearwater." He LOVES Clearwater and all that it's beaches have to offer, but with no vacation time left at work....a weekend was our only option. The social worker said, "you should look on VRBO (vacation rental by owner) and see if they have anything for a weekend...

So, I checked it on online and lo and behold there was a condo on the beach for the weekend of July 4th--actually July 2nd and 3rd to be exact at Orange Beach...and she had it for a special price with cleaning fee included on the beach....Did I mention it was ON THE BEACH?!? We have never been to Gulf Shores/Orange Beach.....so.....I was stoked but trying to contain myself. I have never stayed at anything on the beach my entire life....We have had to drive to get anywhere...

I contacted her and she told me how rare it was for only 2 days to be available and how she couldn't figure that out how that happened. I knew it was a God event and we had to pop on it.....

Here are some shots of the inside:

It had been recently renovated and upgraded so I enjoyed features that I don't have at home called "stainless steal appliances, granite countertops, shaggy feel so good carpet, and a balcony overlooking the beach".

It was FANTASTICO! A quick trip to good ole Publix for groceries and we were ready to roll for the weekend....Here are some pics of the kids. I took some of the kids on my camera which I have not uploaded but here are some pics I took with mom's camera.

Spencer spent most of his time looking underwater at fish and for sand dollars. Natalie spent a lot of her time searching for the perfect shells...Justus....well, he did it all...played in the sand, swim with  his floaties, got shells, etc.

The waves were the bomb....We all got in and played in them...It was like a big wave pool...one after another....

The 2nd night we were there I thought we should have someone on the beach take some family shots of us...I didn't really plan with matching clothes or anything for the family when I packed so I just took what we had and went with it...The boys are really the only ones coordinating, but the opportunity was there, so we went with it. We asked this lady who was really sweet and here were some pics she took of our family. I LOVED them!!

I took some more of the kids while we were at it...They were ready to ring my neck, but you know.....a beach trip is something to remember, you know?

This next one of the boys is one of my all time FAVES!

This one of Natalie I love too...Her cheeks are sun-kissed:

After taking pics, it was a little windy and the sun was setting, so we decided to fly the kites we brought (from the Dollar Tree). This is the first time Justus has ever flown a kite and he was a pro from the start....

 Look at the concentration.....

 Spencer got in on the action too.

The kids were ready to hit the sack after a little sand-crabbing....So after Trevis and I got them to bed.....we went out to the balcony and watched fireworks from a nearby fancy condo....It was beautiful....and on the 3rd of July....How great was that?!? It was like a 20 minute show...

We were so thankful to have such a wonderful 2 days playing on the beach in such a nice place...I learned that staying on the beach really does rock!

With Much Love,