Gulf Shores, AL

When we drive in the RV, one of the kids sits in the front seat and the other sits in the seat behind the passenger seat. Because of that. I have never sat in the front seat while we were driving. The front seat is the best. There is that huge windshield and you can see everything. Well, lately, Judah has taken to watching DVDs while we are driving, and Beans falls asleep as soon as we turn on the motor. I decided that putting them in the front was just a waste, so Mark took down the kitchen table and strapped Judah's seat in at the bench seat. He loved it, and I got to sit in front! The drive was beautiful and I was so excited to have a full view of it.

We had not called ahead to Gulf Sate Park. They have close to 500 sites, so I didn't think we would have a problem getting in. We got there at about 1:15 and they told us that we would have to wait until 2:00 to see if there was a spot for us. We put out names on a waiting list--we were number 19--and then we were corralled into a holding lot. Well, we waited and waited and everyone seemed to be going somewhere except us. Finally, at about 3:30 I found someone and asked what was going on. It turns out I was supposed to go back to the office at 2:00 and wait for my name to be called. I had obviously missed that. By the time I got to the office they were on the last people on the list. But we still ended up getting a spot. They claimed that they only had two spots left--in the ritziest section--but after almost three hours of waiting I was willing to take anything. So we paid $80 for two nights (which is way over our budget) and headed to our spot. It was right on the canal, and beautiful. Mark got out right away to look for alligators. No luck.

After all of that waiting, we were starving, so I made lunch and we ate it on the picnic table. 

Then we just hung out at the park. Due to circumstances, Judah hadn't gotten a nap, so he was crabby. He and S chilled and played while I cleaned the RV and Mark cleaned out the car and took pictures of the sunset.  

Then I watched American Idol while Mark reorganized the toy situation, which had recently gotten pretty out of control. 

The next morning, Mark kicked it with the boys while I went to the activity center (the only place with internet) to work and blog.  

When I got back, we walked to the beach. It was a white sand dune beach, and it was spectacular. 

Beans finally got brave enough to stand in the waves. 

And then he and Judah spent a ton of time playing in the sand. 

There were a bunch of workers with nets walking the shore. Mark guessed that they were picking up oil debris, but I didn't see any. 

After awhile, I needed a nap, so we packed it in and headed home. 

The kids and I napped for a bit. When Judah woke up Sawyer was still sleeping, so J and I went to check out the nature center. He got to see a baby alligator, touch some turtles, and even pet a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach. 

When Beans work up, I made dinner. Now that I am pregnant, I am starving all the time. Plus, I am already sick, so I need to eat a little bit every couple of hours to ward off the nausea. We eat often. For first breakfast we had cereal, for second breakfast, oatmeal. For first lunch we had mac and cheese, for second lunch, egg salad wraps. For a snack we had dried cranberries, then for dinner we had tofu and veggie fried rice. I make it all from scratch, so it is probably better for me than is sounds, but packing in all the protein, veggies, etc, that a pregnant and nursing mama needs takes a lot of food. That said, Sawyer was a 10 pound home birth. I would prefer if this one didn't top that, so I have to make sure every bite is purposeful.

Anyways...we wolfed down dinner because it was getting late and we still had to get to the grocery store and back before the girls started singing on Idol. It was close, but we made it. Then the boys played while I vegged.    

After a bedtime snack of almonds, we hit the sack. Today we we woke up, had first breakfast (oatmeal) and I came here to work. As soon as I get back we will get locked and loaded and head to Florida. More sandy beaches, here we come!