{spring break: orange beach, al}

mom and dad took us to orange beach, al for spring break.  trent and jen also came.  we stayed in a condo right on the beach.  it was actually a double condo and had two kitchens, living areas, washer/dryer, etc. it was nice to have so much space since there was 10 of us all together.

we ran into some traffic on the way down but it wasn't terrible.  we left right after school and drove until we could find a hotel.  we had some trouble and stopped in three or four different cities and tried 3 to 4 hotels at each city.  we finally found a dump of a hotel and took the last room they had.  it only had two beds so we had three to a bed.  it was quite a night.  thankfully john got the sleep he needed and was ready to go the next day.

everyone else arrived at the condo before us and it had not been cleaned.  trent had been up (and did most of the driving) for almost 48 hours so he was not in a great mood.  i called the owner and she got on it right away to get someone to clean.  unfortunately we didn't know how much luck she'd have on a saturday evening so we started washing sheets and cleaning.  she finally got someone there around 9 and they finished cleaning at 10:30.  we were all so tired and just wanted that day to be behind us.

sunday was cold and rainy so we went out for breakfast at brick and spoon.  it had some delicious food.  when we got back, the owner had sent some pastries, muffins, juice and some drinks for the inconvenience.  we laid low and didn't do a whole lot since the weather wasn't great.  we took advantage of the indoor pool and played some cards. that night we went to docs and had the best grilled shrimp  it was also mom and greyson's birthday so we had fun celebrating them.

john and i took the boys to an alligator farm on monday.  we had fun feeding the gators and the boys all held one.  we also went to buc-ee's the best gas station around.  we had been to one in tx and knew we had to go to this one.  kenna didn't want to go with us because everyone else was going to the outlet mall.

we spent the day at the beach and pool on tuesday. john and i snuck away and went to fishers, a nice restaurant on the bay, to celebrate our 14th anniversary.  i had the best scallops.  it was a nice restaurant and the boats around it were gigantic.

wednesday we also spent the majority of the day at the beach and pool.  it was the warmest day but it was also very windy.  the boys loved playing football and splashing in the water. we went to moe's a bbq place many had recommended.  it was really good. tom and john took chloe and kenna on a dophin cruise.  they loved seeing the dolphins!

thursday the boys headed out to the ocean on a fishing charter.  unfortunately, the weather wasn't great so they had to come back into the bays/channels.  they only caught 3 fish the entire time and they were catfish.  they had to end the charter early because of the storm that was coming.

the girls all went back to the outlet and did a little more shopping.  we decided to leave late thursday night and drive through the night because it was supposed to rain all day friday too and we knew the traffic would be much better.  i took the kids to an arcade so the drivers could sleep

we took some photos before leaving.  we were all in our travel clothes so they aren't anything fancy but no one thought about it until then.

driving through the night was nice because the kids slept so much but it was also horrible because john and i had to switch every two hours. we were struggling! we arrived in indy around 7 am and went to breakfast. then we went to toby and jenn's house and met tate and saw bexley.  we stayed a few hours and then make the final trek home.

we had so much fun with the family and are grateful for the the opportunity to go on vacation.  while orange beach weather was chilly, i'd go back there again.