Vacation Part 1

I've been trying to post this for a week but blogger and I have not been getting along well.  I think I got it fixed now though.  YAY!

So last friday evening we left for a week in Gulf Shores, AL.  We drove part way and stayed with friends in Clarksville, TN.  That was an awesome start to the week away!  When we left for the beach on Saturday morning (after an amazing breakfast made by my friend Amanda), it was so cloudy and it stayed that way till monday afternoon.  Yet we still had a great time!

Before I get to some pictures of the first day or two....I wanna tell a story that brought tears to my eyes and made me so happy.  For anyone who has driven long distances with 4 kids (or any number of kids) in the vehicle, you know that stops are a necessity.  I will say my kids were SO FABULOUS and the only stops we really had to make were for bathroom breaks.  At one such stop at a gas station somewhere, we had all gone to the bathroom and the King had gotten gas (for the van) and we were ready to head out of the gas station.  A woman walked up to me with $5 in her hand and said "can you do me a favor?"  I just looked at her blankly.  She smiled and said "Your boys were waiting outside the restroom in such a gentlemanly way.  I was hoping you'd buy them all a treat for me."  It was unbelievable.  And it made me day.  I am tearing up typing it out right now.  And I did then too.  She smiled and said "You guys are doing something right.  Even when it feels like everything is going wrong, you are doing a good job."  I said thank you over and over and over again, looked at the kids, and said "pick out some candy guys!"  Now for some pictures of the first few days.

Finally getting settled after a long day in the car.  This is the room where the 2 middle boys slept.  And we learned that they will NEVER ever ever have a tv in their room.  Ever.

If I ever were going to build a house, I would have a breakfast bar like this one.  We ate 2 meals a day in the condo and this is what it looked like each time.  (Well, the princess wasn't always pouting).  Only once or twice did the boys slide their glass over to me (Western movie style) and almost slide it right off the counter.  I don't have those bartending skills apparently!

The "balcony" at the end of the outdoor hallway in the condos we stayed at.  Our private balcony overlooked a parking lot which they incidentally ran a sump pump in ALL night long because it was raining SO hard!  :) 

Finally got to put our feet in the water late on Sunday....

The little building in the center is the condo where we stayed.  This picture was taken later in the week as can be seen by the blue skies.  :)

More pictures will be coming.  I just don't want to add too many at once to the blog.  My internet might totally go bat crap crazy if I do.  :)