The Phillips Fam: Jack's first beach vacation!

A few months ago we decided that we'd use our Christmas money we saved to go on vacation with our friends to Gulf Shores, Alabama. We thought it would be a fun and relaxing getaway with our good friends the Hatley's! We packed up and headed out on our 9 hour drive. I packed the bare minimum so that we could take all of Jack's equipment! You'd think we were moving to Gulf Shores by the amount of stuff we took for Jack! He needed his pack 'n play, booster seat, swim gear, toys, and the list goes on and on. I didn't want him to feel like his routine was too mixed up so we tried our hardest to keep him on track and show him all that the beach had to offer!

Jack did great in the car. I packed some of his toys that I'd held back from Christmas and he was all excited to check those out! We did some feeding in the car and crazy stuff but, he did awesome. He slept probably half of our drive. We were so thankful that he rested so he could play once we got to the beach.

The place we stayed was great. There was a pool in our back yard and the beach wasn't too far. We lubed Jack up with sunscreen and took Jack to the beach right away. He loved it! I was surprised that he wasn't one bit afraid of the ocean. We stayed out at the beach for an hour or so then hit the pool for a bit. He was so into kicking in the pool. It was so fun to wag him around and let him experience the water.

We were concerned about the oil spill in the gulf but, we lucked out and the oil didn't harm our trip. We had great weather for the most part and were lucky to not get too much sun. We played at the beach as long as Jack could handle it then went back to our house to put him down for naps. We were back and forth a lot but, it was so fun!

We cooked at the house a couple nights and went into town to eat at Lambert's cafe. The cafe was pretty great. Jack loved this place and somehow was able to steal some food off my plate. His reach is getting really good! ha. We had real home cooked food and even had sweet tea in giant co-pilots. It was delish. The gave Jack a balloon and he was in heaven.

It was a pretty low key vacation and we really enjoyed getting away with our friends. They are expecting a baby in August so it was fun to just all relax and play before their lives change again! Sadie didn't come with us but, stayed with Bess for the week. We were so thankful she agreed to keep her. I'm pretty sure Sadie was spoiled rotten and was quite exhausted when we got her home! I think she got worn out chasing squirrels! Thanks Bess!

Here are some pics from our first vacay with the little man. Hopefully we'll get to do more fun things along the way with him. He was a great little side kick!

Our little family at the beach