A Day in the Life of the Dodd's: Orange Beach 2010

Well we just returned from a mini vaca to Orange Beach. It was an extra special trip because we got to go with some great friends of ours, April and Jimmy http://www.aprilandjimmyhope.blogspot.com/ and did I mention it was Briley's 1st vacation! She LOVED every minute of it. She is such a water baby anyway, but never had I imagined she would love it as much as she did. She only got a little cranky on the way up there one time. She was a little ill off and on throughout the trip, i'm guessing it was a mixture of lack of sleep, teething, and being in a new place but all in all it was great.

The day we arrived, we went to the pool. We got Briley one of those floatation swimsuits...big mistake! 1) it was uncomfortable, 2) it didn't work, and 3) it was a nightmare getting off. I do not recommend these to anyone! Anyway, the boys went to the grocery store after pool time and we grilled out that night.

The next day we spent at the beach! Briley didn't know what to think of the sand at first but quickly warmed up to it! Of course she loved the ocean (as she calls it the pool). We really enjoyed finding seashells together! I am so happy we decided to purchase a large umbrella and a tiny pool for her to sit in. These things came highly recommended by people I know. We were able to keep her in the shade practically the entire time and she loved being able to sit in the little pool. It kept her cool and she could splash! That night we went to dinner at Lu Lu's (Jimmy Buffet's Sister's restaurant). I will say I loved the ambiance but what I ordered was not the best eventhough the menu read "bestseller". Whatev!

The next day was spent at the pool. Again, another awesome day! We ended up finding Briley some floaties in her size the night before so she was able to float a little bit on her own. We tried to teach her how to jump into the pool but she didn't quite catch on to that. After a long day at the pool (and when I say long I mean 3 hours because that was the max we could stay out with her) we took some pictures on the beach and made lasagna and strawberry pie for dinner! We were fortunate enough to run into a beginner professional photographer on the beach who wanted to take some photos of us (mainly of Briley). She should be sending us a CD in the next few days so hopefully they turned out well.

The next day we had planned on going to the tanger outlet mall and then to the beach but it stormed for most of the day so we only went to the mall for a little while. We ended up sitting in the room most of the afternoon because of the rain but we were able to go out to the beach and pick seashells and let Briley get in the ocean one last time. After that we met the same photographer lady on the beach for a few more pictures of Briley (she specializes in children) and then went to dinner at Cotton's (I think is the name). It was a seafood and steakhouse. Pretty good and pretty pricey but it was nice! After that, it was time to head back to the condo and pack everything up. We left around 6:30am the next morning and arrived home Sunday afternoon.

It was defiantly sad leaving because I love the beach so much. Life is so carefree when your on vacation and there really isn't a schedule. It was also very sad because I know it may be a while before we get to see April and Jimmy again and that makes me super sad :o( I think we will be making a trip to see them very soon! Briley has been calling for April everyday since we returned home (sounds more like apple). Its so sweet! I was so impressed with how well she did with them. she has been crying everytime Michael or I leave the room but she didn't do that once while we were there! It was amazing!

The only downside of the vacation is we all ended up with terrible congestion the minute we got there. Not sure what brought it on. Despite feeling horrible most of the time we were there, we all tried to live it up and have fun. I know I wasn't letting anything get me down! And #2 Briley didn't sleep well at all, minus the 1st night we were there. Not sure what the reason was as she typically does fine when she sleeps in the room with us. The last few nights we ended up putting her in the hallway right outside our door. It helped some but she still didn't sleep sound.

The trip was a much needed getaway and I can't wait to start planning our next vacation!! Enjoy the photos!