We're Going To The Beach!!

"We're going to the BEACH!"  This was Aaron and Lila's chant the entire day of May 12th.  Not only was this Lila's actual 4th birthday, as well as Mother's Day, it was also the first family vacation Lila will be old enough to remember and our last vacation as a family of 3.

We had high hopes for this trip and we were not disappointed!  We flew into Pensacola, FL (Lila's 2nd time to fly, but 1st that she could remember), then drove the 45 min into Gulf Shores, AL.  The beach was beautiful and the weather was perfect!  We spent several days just playing on the beach and a few days filled with adventures to an alligator farm and a dolphin cruise.  It was the most relaxing vacation I think I've ever had and was the best way to celebrate all of the change going on in our lives right now.  We will definitely be planning more trips like this one!

Patiently waiting for our plane to arrive.

So excited for take off!!

I couldn't have timed this better.  I told Lila the alligator was going to eat her and this was her reaction.

  

Our 1st morning to wake up at the beach.

Lila's alter ego this week - Surf Girl!

Aaron and Lila were buried in the sand at least twice a day.

Chasing sea gulls

Doing cartwheels, hand stands and flips on the beach

Lulu's Restaurant (Lucy Buffet is Jimmy Buffet's sister - very fun restaurant!)

Aaron & I didn't have many pics taken together, so Lila took this one for us!

One more morning I was up before sunrise, then my body finally figured out how to sleep in a little bit!

Alligator Alley

The sign said these pigs were friends not food, but then at the live feeding they pulled pig legs out of a cooler so I'm not 100% convinced the alligators weren't eating one of their "friends"!

We stopped a few times at this little local ice cream shop.  I'm not sure who likes ice cream the most in our family!

This dolphin cruise was awesome!  It was an hr and a half long and we saw close to a dozen dolphins.  Aaron and I agreed it was more fun than Sea World San Diego!

Our last day on the beach and these were the most clouds we saw all week.

I truly hope Lila remembers this entire trip.  I know it meant a lot to Aaron and I.  We're so glad we got to spend this 1:1 time with our sweet girl before our new baby girl arrives.

The End!