Monday, August 20, 2007

The Beach!


Well, we're back from the beach. We had a great time relaxing and enjoying God's beautiful creation. And most importantly, we survived the plane ride. Lily actually did great. On the way there, she almost gave me a nervous breakdown as she kicked the man's chair in front of her during take off. (He made it very obvious though that he could feel it but thankfully never said anything). After that, Missa and I passed her back and forth, tried to keep her interested in the Elmo DVD and stuffed her full of crackers. She'll do ANYTHING for a graham cracker. Once we arrived in Mobile, my parents, who left the day before, picked us up at the airport and we comically packed into the minivan (it was a rental; not the gold mini for those who are wondering). You've never seen so much stuff. I guess I learned my packing motto from my parents: better to have brought it and never used it than to wish you'd have brought it. Our beach house wasn't available for a few hours so we had some time to kill. We stopped in Foley, AL at Lambert's Cafe for lunch. Lambert's is the home of the "Throwed Rolls". It was like Cracker Barrel on Steroids. Tons of people inside and out waiting for a table. The place was huge and they really did throw the rolls across the room. Here's Missa catching one:



Lily got a big kick out of it.

Uncomfortably stuffed of comfort food, we packed back into the minivan and drove to our final destination. It was a nice change being in a beach house rather than a hotel because it was so quiet and private. The only people on the beach were our neighbors, and they didn't come close to utilizing the beach as well as we did. Another Jeffrey (my maiden name) motto: be on the beach from sun up to sun down. And we were most of the time. I must say this trip was a little different than other beach trips now that I have a toddler. There wasn't quite as much time to just veg out by the ocean and read my heart out. Don't get me wrong, everyone was great to help out so I could have free time, but there were still those moments of self-sacrifice that come with motherhood. And I just had to let go and ask the Lord to make me more selfless.

Once we were on the beach, we were all glad that we had brought so much stuff. There was never a dull moment with the rafts, innertubes, frisbees, boogieboards, footballs, baseballs, tennisballs, bocceballs, and even golf. It was a blast just playing like little kids and laughing hysterically at one another. Here's Josh and I riding a wave:

James and Dad playing catch

Here's the view from our deck:


and of the house from the ocean:

Lily loved the water, but she didn't care for the sand. She was happy to sit in one of our laps under the umbrella and eat some crackers.


The highlight of her trip was the little pool we set up on the covered deck.



the view from the upstairs deck at sunset:



In the evenings, we'd either go out and eat fresh seafood (yum!) or stay in and cook our own meal. This place called the Shrimp Basket had all you can eat shrimp, so of course, we ate their twice! Then we'd come back to the house and watch movies and play games. The favorite game this trip was Balderdash. That's the game where everyone comes up with their own definition of the word and you try and guess the correct one. Man, we laughed so hard.

Oh, and remember Josh's foot fetish? Well, here's yet another example: Josh taking a pic of his feet

and then one of mine and Missa's feet

Does this call for an intervention?

(One more, because I couldn't end on pictures of feet.

12 comments:

Kentsten said...

Wow, it looks like you guys had so much fun. Lily is getting cuter and cuter by the moment. And the answer is yes, Josh does need an intervention!!!!!

Brittani's Holding Little Hands said...

What a great trip! So glad you could have some r&r with family and little Lily is beautiful. I loved what you said about praying for God to make you more selfless. Sometimes that is so hard for me, but motherhood sure is giving me opportunities to grow in that area:)

Sunni at The Flying Mum said...

I love the beach pictures! It's beautiful! And what would we do without graham crackers?

We took Ava to the Gulf coast when she was 3 mo. old for a wedding of one of our friend's in Seaside. Then we rented a house in Seacrest Beach with Tiffani and Tim. It was my first beach vacation with a child, and wow, it took some getting used to. But thankfully, as mothers, God does make us more selfless.

Tiffani said...

What a BLAST! Looks like everyone had a great time & the pictures of Lily are too cute! I just love a good family beach trip!

Them Chandlers said...

How fun!! We missed you guys a bunch. Glad you had a good time but also glad you're back!

Lauren Williams said...

aw so fun! yes, watching my prego sister in law Sarah handle her toddler at the beach seemed exhausting! it's apparent you moms are getting super-natural energy! if you are missing the beach like i was when we came home just give me a call and i'd be glad to come over and throw a roll at you! haha!

Sum said...

that first picture of Lily is so cute, i want to squeeze her little face! looks like you guys had a great time. next time I see you I'll pretend I'm not jealous. ;)

Andrea "The H family" said...

So fun Natalie. Glad you posted.
Big hugs...!

Andrea Bowman said...

you guys went to lambert's?? the first one is in missouri...actually i didn't even know they built other ones...but we go there like every time we visit my parents. i always make eric catch the rolls though cause i get scared (and sometimes they're hot!)

holly said...

that could be the cutest bathing suit i have ever seen(Lily's)! you have the sweetest family.

the corsos said...

Precious!! So glad you had a great time with your family. Especially at the beach! Remind me to tell you about the GI bug that found Landen! I know you'll appreciate it. :)

Bex said...

i'm jealous! it looks like you all had a blast!