Beach Bum

Catherine Ellis LOVED the beach this past weekend! She is officially a beach bum this summer and has 2 more trips planned before August is here. For Memorial Day weekend we ventured down to beautiful Gulf Shores with our friends Corrie & Jamie and had a fabulous weekend.

We started the trip with a 5 hour drive ahead of us - and LOTS of traffic. I must admit we were pretty nervous about the ride down and the stay - the last time we ventured to the beach Catherine Ellis was 5 months old (Labor Day weekend) and she quit sleeping through the night (of course the beach didn't make her stop, but we feel like getting off schedule probably did!). So after lots of prayer, we headed out Friday holding our breath ...... and she did BEAUTIFUL!

Here are a few pics from our ride down:

Pulling out of the driveway

Hour 2 - reading Wonder Pets - our new favorite book from Meme

Hour 3 - Happy Baby

Hour 4 - when can I get out of this thing?

Hour 4 and some of Hour 5 - Sleepy baby

Hour 5 - we're almost there, got to get my snack on

We went out to dinner Friday night and had to wait a while so we decided to reintroduce the beach while we waited - it was love at first sight!

Wow - this is the biggest bath tub I've ever seen....

What is that thing coming near me and making all that noise?

Beach walking with Daddy

The first day on the beach was perfect - it wasn't too hot and the water was calm - she loved riding in her duck float in the ocean and even played Frisbee with her Daddy and some other guys - she thought that was hysterical. We had a great set up with a tent and a little pool - she would play and play and play in her pool and then she'd want to get out and sit in a beach chair like all the adults were doing.

Glamorous Baby

Looking good..

It took us about 5 minutes to cross over the road to the beach because Catherine Ellis had to wave at every car that passed and even blow kisses at some - she got a lot of honks - we thought it was hysterical and she loved every minute of pretending like she was a queen!

Sitting in a big girl beach chair

Climbing out - we never stayed more than a minute or two at each destination

I need to get the set up just right...

Playing in my pool..

Headed to my next adventure...

That night we met our next door neighbors who were also down at the beach out and had a great time catching up - Catherine Ellis loved the atmosphere and the music and just danced her little heart out.

Catherine Ellis and Uncle Matt

Sweet girl

On Sunday some of our great friends from Pensacola drove over and joined us for the day - the rain moved in late in the afternoon but that didn't stop us - we headed out to eat at Wolf Bay and had a 2 hour wait and it took all 6 adults to entertain Catherine Ellis, and she did great until we finally got seated and then she lost it - she had played her heart out. It was so great to see Erica and Brock - I wish I had more pictures, but it's just hard to entertain a baby and take pictures at the same time.

Admiring boats with Daddy

Acting like a silly monkey

Walking away

Playing with Uncle Brock

Monday we headed back to Birmingham and she was a great traveler again! We are so blessed to have a child that loves being on the go as much as her parents do! We had such a good time are are already looking forward to our next trip! Welcome summer - we are so glad you are here!

Yay for summertime!