I can't believe vacation is already over! I feel like summer is over and it's time to get back to the real world. We have so much fun stuff to look forward to over the next 4 months, but it scares me a little how quickly time is going!
Anyway, here are the details about the rest of our trip!
Friday Night:
We all met to eat at The Hangout. It was a super-fun restaurant where the staff danced and there was plenty to do while we waited... for an hour and a half... to be seated! My dad wasn't in town yet, but my aunt, uncle, and cousin met us there along with the rest of the wedding guests that were in town. There were 16 of us total and it was fun to meet some more of Tracey's friends.
I love this last picture because as you can see on the right side, my brother is trying to take a picture of Finley and she immediately starts hamming it up. The girl sure knows what to do in front of the camera!
Saturday:
My brother had invited Devin to go on a guy's trip to see the battleship Alabama in Mobile. It was supposed to be a morning trip, but they ran into some horrendous traffic on the way there and on the way back so it ended up taking all day. They had fun though and I was glad that Devin had a chance to hang out with my brother and get to know him better.
Even though Finley and I were on our own, I was determined to enjoy the beach together despite the fact that it was fairly overcast. I drug all of our beach stuff and Finley down to the sand where I quickly realized I either needed a billion more hands or a new plan. I thought Finley would sit on the sand and play, but she immediately tried eating the sand which mixed with her sunscreen which got in her eye. Poor girl! She was an instant mess.
Her eye is almost swollen shut in this picture from the sand!
As I was packing us back up, a sweet lady said "Ma'am, we were just going to throw this beach blanket away, but I thought you might like it for her. It's great for the beach because the sand just wipes off of it." I thanked her profusely... people in the South are so nice!, but inside I was thinking "Great... another thing to try to carry."
Finley and I moved to the pool where she had much more fun. We then ate lunch and Finley took a nap. When she woke up, I decided to try the beach again. The weather was prettier and I had consolidated the amount of stuff we took. I laid down the beach blanket and Finley had the best time on it! I could kiss the sweet lady who gave it to us! I had been putting her on the towel which only collected sand and caused all kinds of problems.
Playing on the beach blanket
This blanket was a miracle for us because the sand brushed off of it and kept Finley from getting it all over herself! We played there until Devin got back and then hung out on the beach with him for awhile.
That night we went to eat only to find that every restaurant was super-packed. We had been burned at a touristy restaurant the first night (sub-par food with expensive prices) so we weren't really sure where to go. We wanted to eat at LuLu's which is owned by Jimmy Buffet's sister, but the wait was an hour and half and it was already 8:30 p.m. We were just far too hungry for that so we ended up at Longhorn Steakhouse... even though we could eat there anytime, we were so thankful for a good meal that we didn't have to wait forever for!
Sunday:
Finley slept until 9:00 a.m.! A true miracle in my book! We met up with my dad who had arrived late the night before, my aunt, uncle, and cousin. My dad and uncle went exploring so the rest of us went to the beach. My aunt paid for four chairs and umbrellas for us and we had the BEST day! My brother and Tracey spent part of the day with us as well and it was so nice to just relax! There was a lady next to us with an 8-month-old and we really enjoyed them! She was able to get her little girl to take a nap on her so I thought I would try it with Finley and it worked great! I was so thankful that she could take her naps outside while I read, talked to my family, and enjoyed the beautiful breeze and sounds of the ocean. We were under the umbrella so there was no worry of sunburn. It was absolutely perfect! We had the most wonderful day!
That evening, Tracey's parents had a cook-out for everyone at a beach house that they had rented. It was nice to be around her family and get to know everyone better. Her two nieces just love Finley and she of course loves them! Here are some pictures from our evening!
Monday:
Though the wedding was that night, we still had most of the day to enjoy the beach. Unfortunately, Devin had gotten sunburned the day before so it was quite as enjoyable to just layout, but we still enjoyed the beautiful day out by the beach. Finley never warmed up completely to the salt water, big waves, or the sand so we didn't get as many photo shoots in as I had hoped, but in the end, we still got some good shots. Finley took a great morning nap on me, but by around 2:30, she had had enough of outside. She wasn't really cranky, but I think just tired and hungry. We went inside and ended up staying there until it was time to get ready for the wedding.
The wedding was absolutely beautiful. I have never dreamed of a beach wedding, but it was perfect for them. Very intimate. Like me, my brother tends to be more private and doesn't like to be the center of attention so I honestly envied the nature of the wedding. It was so exclusive to them and for such a personal event, it was just so fitting.
My brother was the first person to the church on the day of my wedding. He was so happy for us and I found out later had carried pictures of our mom in his pocket. I wanted to honor mom at his wedding as well so I took apart one of mom's necklaces and made it small enough for Finley to wear. I also wore her anklet and strung pictures of her onto the bouquet that Finley carried along with pictures of my grandparent's. (The flowers each represented my grandma, grandpa, and mom.) I know that she would've been so a part of this day and I'm sad she wasn't there, but know that God's plan is always better than our own even if we can't always understand it.
Fixing my hair ended up being pointless because it was so humid that it ended up a big puffball... I tried pulling it back, but I don't know if it helped. I am afraid to see the pictures! Thankfully, they are having an inside reception at the end of this month so I will have to try to get better pictures then!
At the reception after wedding, I was nominated to give the family toast... by nominated I mean forced into it five seconds before giving it. I wish I would've been more prepared because there was so much I wanted to say, but Devin assured me that I didn't sound completely crazy and my family approved and was grateful for my little speech. God's timing is so incredibly amazing. Tracey is 38 and my brother is 37... neither of them have ever been married and I can just see God's hand in bringing them together. It was so nice to hear how much her family and friends love my brother. So wonderful to know that he will have a family in them as well. I am just so happy for both of them because marriage has been one of the greatest gifts in my life and I want everyone to experience it!
Tuesday:
Flying back, we ended up on the same flights as my aunt, uncle, and cousin. My Aunt Sharon just loves little Finley and was so helpful the whole time we were there. It was nice being in the airport with several extra hands and thankfully Finley slept on both of the flights home so we had an easy time of it.
When we got back into town, we went by Grandma Jan's to pick up our dog and to see Great Grandma Lorrie who was visiting. Finley was beginning to show signs of a breakdown so we didn't stay long, but something VERY exciting happened while we were there. Click
here to read about it!
We finally arrived back at our house and I could tell Finley wasn't feeling well. I had washed laundry at our resort and the laundry soap gave Finley a horrible rash on her tummy and back. She had also been drooling quite a bit and sure enough I can feel a bump on her top gums. Traveling, uncomfortable rash, and teething equal a very sad little girl. She would just lay in my arms or on Daddy's shoulder. We gave her tylenol and put her down for a catnap. I think she could've slept until the next morning, but I woke her up for supper and she stayed awake until I finally got her down around 9:00 p.m.
She slept all night and took a great morning nap so I think she is feeling a lot better today. As much fun as vacation is, I am happy to be getting back to a normal schedule and to the luxuries of a highchair... the one thing we really missed on our trip!
To see more pictures of our trip (there's a lot of really good ones that I am too lazy to post individually!), click on the album below:
And if you're wondering how many swimsuits a nine-month-old needs, it's one, but somehow Finley ended up with 3!!!! I bought the orange one with matching hat at a consignment sale for $10! I just fell in love with it! The bikini was a must as soon as I saw it at Baby Gap, but I waited until it went on sale. It was 6-12 months and I was hoping it would fit by the time we went on this trip, but it was still too big so I had to take it up quite a bit. The last suit, the blue with pink flowers on it, I found the day before our trip at Old Navy for $2. I couldn't resist it and it ended up being my favorite because I could tie it in a bow in the back so that it would fit perfectly... it also brought out the blue in her eyes!
