We took off on Sunday morning after their breakfast. However, it was a little later than anticipated because we (well, Billy) had to load up the car. We ended up hitting the road around 10:30 a.m. The kids were fine for the first couple of hours. They played for a while, babbled, and then fell asleep. However, when they woke up, they wanted to eat. We had to push through to Montgomery to find a decent place to eat with them. They cried for about the last 30 minutes.
In Montgomery, we went to Cracker Barrel. Yes, this is a "decent" place. Suck it if you think it's not. It's Alabama, people...slim pickins. They had a few minute wait so I set the kids up outside in a shady, grassy area and fed them lunch there. It was their first picnic! I saved their dessert for when we sat down because I knew we would have some down time between when we ordered and when our food arrived. Feeding them is a perfect way to keep them occupied.
Inside the restaurant, everyone stared at us and commented on our "3 boys." Abby and Marie have earrings! Why do people think they are boys? Okay, so their hair doesn't do them any favors, but still, c'mon now.
Billy and I took shifts taking each one to the bathroom for diaper changes. Then, we each took a turn going to the bathroom. They behaved beautifully through the whole meal. They are such fake angels!
When we got back in the car, they played for a while again and then fell back to sleep. When we were about 45 minutes from the beach, they started to fall apart. I only had a few toys in front with me, and every time I would give them something, they would throw it. I was giving them anything and everything to keep them busy...my watch, Billy's watch, empty water bottles, my cell phone, etc. Anyway, we made it there, but we were a bit frazzled.
As soon as we arrived in our condo, we trashed the place. Basically, we unloaded all of our baby stuff, and it was everywhere! It was like Babies R Us had exploded in there. It made it so much worse because it was all crammed into a small space.
That evening, we went down to the "lily pad," which is a little area with water fountains and very shallow water. Abby took to it immediately. She was all smiles. Will liked it fine, but Marie had a meltdown. She started twisting her ankles and wrists and making the face where she lifts her top lip, crinkles her nose, and sniffs air rapidly.
As far as the beach went, we only made it out there once with the babies. It was such a production! Billy set up a tent for us. Then, we had to get the babies in their swimmer diapers, put them in bathing suits, spray them with sunscreen, pack their beach bag, and get ourselves together. Needless to say, we didn't make it out to the beach until a little after 10 a.m., which is their nap time. Will and Abby are a bit more flexible about their sleeping, but Marie NEEDS her beauty sleep. After all, her nickname is little bear because she loves to hibernate.
Abby and Will played in the baby pool that we brought down to the beach, but Marie just cried. We started to get worried that Marie was going to have to spend the entire vacation indoors because she was so deathly opposed to all bodies of water. I just couldn't understand because she LOVES her baths.
It turned out she was just tired every time we took her to play. After one of her marathon naps, Billy took her to the pool alone. He worked hard to get her used to the water slowly and before long, she was happy playing in the water. Way to go, Dad!
Not only did we get some good times with the babies, but Billy and I also got some good date time. Mems took care of the babies so that Billy and I could go out to dinner together. She also watched the kids for us a couple of times so that we could go to the beach and relax. It was great having her there to help us so much. However, she had a rough vacation. Sorry, Mems!
Here are some pictures of our adventures:
Abby relaxing after a morning at the pool.
Our condo full of baby crap.
The babies having lunch.
Will playing in the lily pad.
Staring out the window of our 18th floor condo.
Dad and Abby were exhausted after a morning at the beach.
Family fun!
Will looking cool at dinner. We took the trio out to dinner one night at the beach.
The baby pool at the beach. Abby proceeded to dive out of it when she was all wet, which was super nasty because she got covered in sand. She also tried to eat sand a few times. Yummy.
Marie finally relaxing in the water.
Marie and dad out on the balcony.
Everyone in the pool on their floats. Marie loved the float with the turtle. She would hold on to that thing and peak around it's head. Will and Abby just floated along peacefully. 
Will and Abby are having fun splashing at the lily pad, while Marie is being held by daddy.
2 comments:
I am tired just reading that! So glad you guys got to see your little ones on their first beach vacation...even if it was exhausting for Mom, Mems, and Dad!
How did you possibly get all that stuff down there???
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