New Years at the Beach

As you probably know, our little family loves the beach!  So, what better place to spend New Years?  They say what ever you do on the first day of the year is what you do the rest of the year.  So, I guess we'll be spending a lot of time at the beach and eating at Doc's!  That's certainly OK with me!

Daniel, John McRae and I left a little after lunch Thursday on our way to Orange Beach, AL.  We had a nice ride, and John McRae slept about an hour.  He wasn't fussy at all, he's such a trooper!  We arrived at the beach, unloaded at the condo, and then went to eat.  Ahhh, those 4 lbs I gained were so worth it. :)  Of course, we had to take a trip to Target for supplies.  Gosh, I wish Meridian had a target.

Friday, Gran & Papaw came to spend the night with us.  The weather was nasty so we stayed in most of the day, but that morning we were able to squeeze in some shopping in Foley.  We had lunch at Lambert's and it was really good.  John McRae got a little freaked out by the man talking on the loud speaker.  So, he got in my lap and went to sleep.  It sucked that he got spooked, but he was so sweet sleeping on my chest. That evening, Daniel and I went back to Foley for a little more shopping for John McRae.  I just love all of the children's outlets, especially Carter's.  We went by Publix and picked up a few finger foods for New Years.  We all fell asleep around 11pm, after the ball dropped in New York!  I actually woke up right at midnight, because John McRae woke up crying.  When I got him settled back down, I looked at the clock and it was 12:02am.  I hope that is no indication of our sleeping for 2011!

Saturday, we spent most of the day inside the condo watching football!  GO STATE!  We did manage to get out for lunch, and again, it was great!  John McRae had fun playing all day.  Gran and Papaw left out about 3pm in the rain.  Daniel, John McRae and I went to Waffle House for supper, and really enjoyed our meal.  Can you tell our whole trip revolved around eating!?!  We went back to Target, and then looked for John McRae a T-Shirt from the beach at the store with the shark out front.  They didn't have any in his size that weren't girly, though!  He'll get one next time...maybe March. :)  John McRae tried his best to get sick the entire time we were gone.  He coughed and had a runny nose.  Saturday night was spent mostly wide awake.  John McRae decided he was ready for every one to be up at 2am.  Mama and Daddy weren't ready to be awake, but there we all were...playing with Barney flash cards.  We went back to sleep a little after 4am. 

We woke up Sunday morning, and for the first time our entire trip...THE WEATHER WAS BEAUTIFUL.  Oh well, at least we had nice weather to drive home in.  I wanted to go get some pretty pictures at the beach, but didn't want to risk getting John McRae out in the wind after the night we'd had.  We went for breakfast at the Pancake House and boy was that interesting.  We probably won't be going back there, but the food was delicious!  We came straight through Mobile without going to the Flea Market or going to see my grandma.  We did stop in Waynesboro for cough syrup, though!  We got home and crashed.  Vacation can wear your out! :)

Thankfully, John McRae had a good night last night.  So, hopefully we'll stay out of the doctor's office this week.  He was a sad baby boy this morning when I dropped him off at daycare.  He wasn't screaming, he just had big, sad tears and was hugging me.  So sad, but I know he is having fun now with his friends. I'm already prepared for a clingly 27 lb toddler on my hip this evening, but that's perfectly fine with me, too! 

So, as the new year starts, I'm on a diet from my splurging over the past 4 months, and looking forward to 2011. 

Happy New Year!
The Benefields