Well, June has been wonderful with Birthdays, vacation, friends, and family! We started out our vacation with our annual trip to Montgomery, AL to visit the Hixon Family. It has began to be a tradition that we all look forward to! Claire and Mary Grace were in the same orphanage together in China, and we continue to reunite with them every summer. They are so gracious to have us all in their home for the night for great food and friendship!
On to the beach! Jesse, of course, could be found in the sand.....
Lance gave it his best at his 1st, and from what I've been told, his LAST deep sea fishing outing! When he wasn't curled up in a ball sick on the floor of the boat, he reeled in a few! Thanks to Tommy, Ben, and friends, for helping Lance with the fish and lots more!
Well, of all the years we've been coming to the beach, this year had the biggest waves ever! We were under a red flag warning all 7 days of our trip! We only let the kids out when Lance was with them, and with vests on also. Claire was a trooper in those huge waves, and had a blast, until one just knocked her for a loop (as seen above!) Lance was exhausted, but continuously took those kids out to the waves over and over again!
Jesse and Uncle Pat feeding the gulls!
Lance, Jesse, and cousin Keri heading back after the current took them way down the beach. This year we had the pleasure of Mr & Mrs Hollingsworth and cousin Keri for a few days on the beach. They all had a great time and Keri loved those waves as well!
The Hollingsworth Clan at the pier, which was a blast! We saw a spinner shark, a giant king mackrel, a 7 foot sting ray...in only 30 minutes!!!
On the way out of Orange Beach, we decided to stop at the USS Alabama, which we always pass coming into Mobile....we are so glad we did! The kids enjoyed running through the different areas of the ship, and maybe gave them a little more appreciation for how good we all really have it!
Well, lots going on soon, so I promise to post again soon! We are so grateful for friends and family to share our vacation and memories with!!!
Love, Gretchen
