Vacation, Happy to get away!

We had the best vacation over Christmas break. We traveled to Alabama---I mean the "Gulf Coast" to stay in Ken's grandparents' condo. They stay for 2 months and we made it lively for their first week so they can really appreciate the peace and quiet of Orange Beach.

The condo is right on the beach with a wonderful view from the balcony. We walked onto the beach and none of the kids were scared of the waves (last year all of them were). We played games like jumping over the wave, running from the wave and dunking in the water. Grace and I buried Luci and gave her a mermaid tail, then Luci and I did the same for Grace. Daniel kept digging in the biggest hole on the beach. Later the girls buried Ken. I was also able to go jogging on the beach 2 days of vacation. Tough, but awesome. We also picked shells from the beach.

The pool was a big hit with the kids. We swam every day. The condo had floatation toys which the kids loved.

One day we took a boat trip along the canal leading to the Gulf. This is where dolphins hang out. We were guaranteed to see dolphins and we did. We first saw them swimming and I thought, "Oh that's neat." But then the captain got the dolphins to follow the boat. They followed for about 3/4 of our trip and were jumping and weaving the whole time. It was great.

We visited some awesome restaurants, and some not so great. The Original Oyster House is our favorite with all you can eat shrimp and flounder and the best salad bar. One pizza place advertised warm beer and lousy pizza. I thought this was just a joke, but it wasn't, and the service was pretty slow too. Grace loved it though. And the entertainment was good (a one man guitar/harmonica show playing party time favorites). We also went to Hooters, Gulf Shores with Susan, Corinne, and Ryan and had a blast.

Another meal that was great was the one after my 4 mile race. Florabama is a shack of a bar that sponsors a 4 mile to raise money for the fire departments in the area. The after race meal is red beans and rice. It was fabulous! It's served with garlic toast and 2 beer tickets. This year the condo was only 5 buildings from Florabama and everyone got to cheer for me on the way past it. That was motivating. I beat my goal time and was very happy.

For New Year's Eve the kids, Ken and I went to Lulu's for a NOON Year's Eve party. Lulu is Jimmy Buffet's sister. She owns a Restaurant by the marina. There were hundreds of kids at the event along with crafts, face painting and sand everywhere complete with sand toys for a sand castle contest; Judged by Lulu herself. The winner got to help let the balloons go at noon. There were also kid friendly firecrackers at noon. The staff rolled out bubble wrap. At noon they counted down and the kids stomped on the bubble wrap. Most kids were very disciplined and stayed off it when told to, even when the countdown was delayed until 5 minutes after noon. However, Ken saw an elderly snow bird doing a dance on it, not behaving. Our kids were awesome and really loved it, especially Grace.

Ken and I were free to do activities we wanted to with Grandma Brenda and Susie staying with to help with the kids. That was really the best part of the trip. I got a massage and 2 nights we watched the sun set from the outside hot tub. (Setting means the sun is going down as Luci would point out every time.) The crazies from Illinois also dipped their feet in the outdoor pool. And when I say crazies I mean Grace and Luci! Well Ken and I did also for therapy, my after race leg pain and his lower back. We used it to hot-cold our injuries (cold pool-hot tub). But the kids did it just for fun--and before we did! Susie and Corinne also had the lunies and went in at least once each.

When asked what the best part of Alabama was, Luci said all of it. As we were getting ready to leave we were all sad to go. Grace said she was staying a had to be carried away from the condo. One of the best vacations I've had. We did so much that I'm sure I forgot to mention something (like the great meals prepared for us every day) if anyone wants to add more to the comments that would be great.