Our Trip to the Beach!

This summer has been a summer of traveling for the Parnell's! Last week, my parents treated all of us to a vacation in Gulf Shores, Alabama. This was Nathan's first experience at the beach so we couldn't wait to see what he thought. We all left on Thursday: Carrie, Wayne, Nathan, and I took our car. My parents, my sister Jennifer, and her kids all rode together in Mom and Dad's minivan. My parents were going to drive halfway, spend the night, and let the kids swim a bit, and then finish the drive the next day, arriving at the beach around 3:00. Our plan, on the other hand, was to go as far as we possibly could that day, spend the night, sleep in a bit, and then have a leisurely drive the next morning. Since Nathan was such a good traveler, we didn't stop much, and we took turns driving, we got all the way to Mobile, Al. which is only about an hour away from Gulf Shores! That next morning, we took our time getting ready, had breakfast, and then headed to the beach in time for lunch.

We ate at a cute little restaurant called the Pink Pony Pub. It's right on the water. Seeing everyone in their swimsuits coming in for lunch made us all want to hurry up and start enjoying the water!

"Mommy, is this an appropriate place for me?" How funny is this picture?! I didn't even realize what was in the background until later on!

After lunch, we took Nathan onto the beach for his first experience with sand. I love the sand here because it's so white and soft!

After getting a little wet, we then hit a few souvenir stores, bought an inflatable boat, a few t-shirts, some toys for Nathan, and even had time to get some ice cream before the rest of the gang got there. As soon as everyone else arrived, we went to our condos, changed into our suits, and headed to the beach.

Nathan was still a little unsure about the sand and water. It was so funny to us how inquisitive he was!

Alexandra and Robert took his hand to show him what the water was like. Nathan wasn't too sure about the feeling of the waves coming up to the shore and pulling the sand out from under his feet. It was like he was stuck in quick sand and couldn't move! He would just stand there and cry a bit for one of us to hold his hand or pick him up :)

We also had to get him used to brushing the sand off of his hands or just leaving it and going about his buisness. He was walking around like this with his hands held out and fingers spread for the longest time!

Now he's getting the hang of it!

Woo Hoo!!!

"Give me time, Mommy...I promise I'll run and splash in the waves and dig in the sand like the other kids."

"Just hold me for now :)"

"Or Allie can hold me...I don't really care who holds me...just don't let those waves sweep me away."

After playing in the water for a while, we went back to our condos and got unpacked. Then we headed over to Mama and Papa's condo for a dinner of boiled shrimp and corn on the cob. Nathan loved it all, especially the corn!

After dinner, Wayne, Carrie, and I took Nathan to our condo to get ready for bed. He was so exhausted! In fact, I've never had him almost fall asleep while putting his pajamas on, but that is what he did. He could barely hold his eyes open while I changed his diaper!

Nighty night Nathan, get ready for another big day tomorrow!