There was more to the beach than just sand...

While we all had a great time at the beach in beautiful Gulf Shores, AL, we also did a few other things on our vacation.  Since we all live in different states miles away from each other,we all had a great time just being together no matter what we were doing.  Our non-beach time included a little swimming at the pool and relaxing, and like all Bitler gatherings there was a great deal of eating, drinking, and just having fun!

I love our crazy family, and I loved having the time to spend together.  While we don't get to see each other as often as we like, every time we do get together we are reminded how much we love each other and how we can't wait to see each other again!

 (Hanging out in the water was always fun!)

(Near the pool was also a great spot for some relaxing!)

(Some of us wanted to do more than relax...the boys wore themselves out with a little scuba diving!)

(We went out to dinner one night...a great chance to dress up and head out!)

(While Benny looks cute, I don't think he should have grabbed the croc there!)

(Aunt Karen also joined in on the festivities.)

(There was cooking...)

 (...and eating...)

 (...and drinking...)

(...and more drinking!)

 (But the best part was all the hanging out that we got to do as a family.)

 (There were lots of hugs.)

 (Lots of smiles.)

(and a little bit of of computing)

(It was all a little bit tiring, but what a wonderful trip!)

Beach Time

Now here's what everyone's been waiting for, what everyone is expecting on a beach vacation: the actual beach!  Our little family headed down to the beach once or twice a day for a little fun in the sun.  Although it was a bit hot, once we got down to the ocean, there was a nice breeze and the ocean was beautifully calm.  We had our tent when everyone needed shade, the sand for castle building, and the ocean for lounging and wildlife watching.

Our usual beach activities usually went as follows.  Half the crew would drive town to the beach in the golf cart with a wheelbarrow in tow.  The other half would walk and meet us there.  Then we would head down to the ocean and take a look.  We would play in the sand, find some seashells, dig in the sand, or build some castles.  Then, when we would start to get hot we would head to the ocean.  Or in Jack's case, he would immediately head for the ocean as soon as he saw it and barrel in head first, life jacket or not.  He loved the water.  Evan on the other hand was a bit more cautious, but he would let us pick him up and take him out into the water so he could watch the crab holes and fishies nibbling at our toes.  Benny was somewhere in between.  His true love was when someone would build a pool of water on the sand he could grub around in.  We had one future sailor, one future zoologist, and one future mud wrestler. 

(Our ride to the beach)

(Evan was happy to arrive at the beach.)

(Ben loved the sticks at the beach.)

(The boys are ready to explore.)

(Jack was a bit hungry for some sand.)

(My two little digger crabs.)

(Great-Grandma Dot and Aunt Karen watch the ocean.)

(A whole family of beach bunnies.)

After our playtime in the water, the boys would start to tire out.  Then, one by one they would head up to the tent for a little snack in the shade.  The adults liked this relaxing time to chat as well.  We would spread out a blanket and watch it be covered with goldfish and sand, and relax.  After that there was usually a little more playing and getting dirty. 

(Audra finds a way to make the beach even more comfy.)

(Ben takes a little time out.)

(Jack takes a break too.)

(Ben and Evan face off over a drink.)

Once we were all good and tired and covered in sand and salt water, we would trek back up the beach and head up to the pool for a little rinse off and cool down.  What a great way to spend a week!

 

 (Grandma and I take a walk on the sand.)

 (Sisters and their boys)

(Mom and her girls)

Dolphins!

While we were at the beach, we actually decided to leave the beach for one outing.  While we were on the beach, we would occasionally see dolphins playing out in the waves, but only from a distance, so we decided it would be fun to go for a dolphin watching cruise.  Even though Audra has had not the greatest luck in marine mammal watching so far, we wanted to try again and see if the dolphins would come out for her this time.

We called the dolphin cruise boat on Wednesday morning to see when we could get a reservation and they said our only good time was that morning.  It's amazing to see how quickly 10 people can mobilize when the need to.  (Aunt Karen decided to stay home because her and boats don't get along.)

We headed down to the dolphin cruise dock, and it was a pretty hot wait for the boats to board.  Once on, however, the breeze cooled us off.  We were going to watch the dolphins with a tour group on two 50 ft. boats.  The boats search for the dolphins in separate areas and once they find some, the boats come together so the dolphins can play in their wake.  It's really a pretty unique set up. 

While we waited for the dolphins, everyone else was having fun, but Benny was not to happy.  He's not a fan of life jackets and he got a little overheated.  It took him about halfway through the tour before he finally decided the whole boat thing was okay.

After only about 5 minutes, a dolphin showed up.  He got right up in between the wakes of the boats and started jumping and playing.  It was amazing.  Then, a couple more times during the tour the dolphins came back, as many as 5 dolphins were all jumping in the wake at the same time.  I've never seen anything like it.  Everyone thought it was wonderful!  The boys even got to "drive the boat" at the end of the trip.

What an amazing time with my family!

 (One of the boats)

 (Ben the grump and I)

 

 (Grandma, Grandpa, Great-Grandma Dot, and Evan wait for the dolphins.)

 

 (The Mhire family)

 

 (We've spotted the dolphin!)

 (playing duo)

 (leap frog)

 

 (Jack and Uncle Tommy drive the boat.)

(Evan and Grandpa take their turn steering.)

Sweet Home Alabama...

...well, at least it was our home for a week, and what a great week it was!  Last week we were fortunate enough to head down to Gulf Shores, Alabama to spend an entire week lounging at the beach with the extended Bitler clan.  It was a long 16-hour drive to get down there especially with two toddlers in tow, but it was well worth it once we got there.

We arrived at about 4pm on Saturday afternoon at Martinique on the Gulf Resort after our very long drive, and Grandma and Grandpa were waiting for us with open arms.  Our house was called Martini Hut, and it was lovely. We all scoped out our bedrooms, waited on the arrived of the Mhire clan from Louisiana, and then headed down to the beach, of course.

One of the best parts was the golf cart that we were able to use to drive down to the beach each time, including that first time.  The boys loved it, and Evan had to sit on the lap of whoever was driving and "help".  He frequently requested to go the long way home just so he could have a little more golf cart time.  One of his favorite driving styles was "flooring it".

So, we drove the golf cart down to the beach and walked down the boardwalk to the white sand and beautiful blue ocean.  It was a beautiful evening with a cool breeze blowing, a great start to the week.

Evan and Ben immediately rushed onto the sand and began to play having experienced this whole beach thing earlier in the summer.  For cousin Jack, however, it was his first time to the beach, so he didn't quite know what to think.  At first, he simply held his feet up, refused to put them in the sand, and kept repeating "No mommy, No mommy, No mommy, Yuck!"  But eventually he got used to it and set about exploring the sand and the surf.

It was great to get our toes in the ocean and great to finally be together with my family that all lives way to far apart from one another.  More family would arrive the next day and many more adventures would happen as the week unfolded, so stay tuned...

(Grandson monkeys hang on Grandpa before our excursion to the beach.)

 (No Mommy...yuck!)

 (Benny would walk straight in if he wasn't held back by Grandma.)

 (Evan enjoys the waves with Grandpa.)

 (Dangling grandsons)

 (The Mhire family enjoys their stroll on the beach.)

 (Dads try to capture some pictures.)

 (Grandparents and their boys)

To Infinity and Beyond...

So, Evan is just getting old enough to really enjoy movies.  As we told you about earlier, he went to his first movie in the theater in June.  For his birthday, we got him several movies to watch at home including Cars, Finding Nemo, and Toy Story.  He loves Cars and Finding Nemo and only hides his eyes at the tractor tipping and barracuda parts.  However, we tried showing him Toy Story once, and he wasn't that into it. 

However, I think it's a really cute movie, so I was determined for him to give it another chance.  Last week, we sat down and watched it, and he absolutely loved it!  He kept talking about how Buzz Lightyear could "fly without a rocket".  It's so much fun to listen to him watch it because he just belly laughs, and I've never really heard him do that with a movie before. 

So, Evan's been playing Buzz Lightyear recently and flying around the living room.  This morning Benny joined in the fun.  Here's my two little space cadets with their fashionable helmets.

 (Evan in his space helmet)

(His lovable sidekick Ben)