"A day in the life of Jackson & Stone..." : Gulf Shores/Mobile, Alabama

Gulf Shores/Mobile, Alabama - 2012

We got to spend the long Memorial Day weekend on the Alabama coast! We spent the first part of the weekend in Gulf Shores (where Jackson got to experience the beach for the first time) and we spend the rest of the weekend in Mobile for Megan and Bell's wedding!

Here's what happened!
(I know. I know...there are a LOT of pictures...but I really did only post the best ones!) :)

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Thursday:

We headed out on the long (7 hour) drive to the coast! Jackson was a trooper!
We made it to Gulf Shores just in time to have supper at Lambert's and get checked in the hotel before bedtime!

Note: the hotel SAID they provided a crib for the baby, but when we got there the did NOT have a crib! *sigh* So...Jackson got to sleep on the fold out couch. Well, at least that was the plan. He fell asleep in our bed and then we transferred him to the fold out bed, but about 2:00am he woke up, got himself off the bed (without making a peep), walked over to Jason's side of the bed, and said "Daddy!" So needless to say, he slept the remainder of the night with us! It was too cute...how do you turn that way!? :)

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Friday:

BEACH DAY!
We got up early and hit the beach before it got too hot and before the crowds got there (remember it is Memorial Day weekend and all)!

Jackson in his "Little Swimmer" diaper...getting ready to go! :)

We lathered Jackson (and ourselves) up with some major SPF sunscreen and hit the beach!
Needless to say...Jackson L-O-V-E loved it! He threw sand, ran from the waves, found sea shells, splashed in the water, played with seaweed, chased sea gulls, built sand castles, and rolled in the sand! He had a blast! And we had such a good time watching him! :)

Throwing sand!
It took some effort to get him to even make it to the water because he was having so much fun playing in the sand. I think he would have been perfectly content to just play in the sand the entire trip! We had to coax him down to the water! :)

But, once he made it to the water...he had a blast!

Splashing in the waves!

He refused to smile! He wanted to get back to the sand and waves!

He would just say, "Weeeeee!!!!!" and chase the waves when they came in! It was so stinkin' cute!

Riding a wave! :)

Sand castle time!

Attempt at a group picture... :)
Jackson is still building sand castles...he could care less about my picture attempts.

He got him a sea shell! (Can you see it in his hand!?)

My beach bum! :)

Chillin' in his beach chair! :)

Toes in the sand!

Throwing sand!

So, Jackson found it hilarious to chase the sea gulls at one point. And boy did he chase them!
I had to chase after him as well...and that is a work out let me tell you!

He runs better in sand than I do! Except he had one little miss-step, and rolled in the sand! :)

He was one SANDY baby! :)
But he didn't seem to mind!

One last look at the beach...

Check out the HUGE sea shell his daddy found! It's as big as Jackson's hand (which is saying something!)

Daddy says "Two thumbs up" to the beach! I think it was a success! :)

Side Note: After we left the beach, we went back to the hotel for showers and Jackson had an amazing amount of sand inside his "Little Swimmer" diaper! It was impressive the amount of sand he brought back with him. :) So we bathed the baby, Jason put a diaper on him, and I got in the shower. Jackson was just running around the hotel room and watching a little cartoons while his daddy was getting our bags packed to leave, when I heard Jason holler! He ran into the bathroom (I'm in the shower remember) and says, "You are NOT going to believe what your son just did!" Seems as if Jackson took his diaper off (by himself) and was running around naked in the hotel room! But if only the story ended there....he not only removed his own diaper, but then he proceeded to take a poop on the floor and he pee'd on the curtains!!! I kid you not! We are probably not welcome at that hotel anymore! :) Oh my....

After the "hotel incident", we did a little sight seeing, got some lunch, and spent a little time shopping in Foley (Jason did not enjoy this part!) before we left town...

Here are the traditional pictures in front of the shark at Souvenir City!

Watch out Jackson! There's a huge shark behind you!

Jackson in front of another souvenir shop! Cool wall, huh?

Then we had lunch at the original "Oyster House" on the Boardwalk

(Look at his expression! Priceless!)

Jackson enjoying his kind of "seafood"! :)

....and he did enjoy his Key Lime pie! :)

Exploring after lunch...

On the boardwalk.... checking things out!

"There is too much to see Mom...I don't have time to stop and pose for pictures!" :)

After lunch, we shopped around for a little while...then headed out to Mobile.

Another Side Note: While shopping in the Nike outlet (Jackson's foot is way to chubby for Nike's by the way), Jackson needed a serious diaper change, but they did not have a public restroom. The sales lady was nice enough to let us use their personal bathroom, but once we got in there, I realized there was NO changing station! Luckily, they had those paper toilet seat covers, so I used several of them and made a little spot on the concrete floor to change him! It was not comfortable for him, and not easy for me to change him to say the least! I was just glad I volunteered to change him, because Jason would have had a fit if he'd been the one in that bathroom! :)

On the way out of town, we stopped in at Sonic and Jackson got his very own "mini" milkshake!

It was so hot outside and that milkshake hit the spot! :)

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Mobile, Alabama

When we were kids, we spent our family vacation in Gulf Shores quite often and one thing Patrick and I always got excited about was going through "The Tunnel"! :) I felt like a little kid again when we went through it!

Bankhead Tunnel - going under the Mobile River.

Jason just hollered, "Hey Jackson we are under water!!" the entire time we were in the tunnel, but he didn't really seem that impressed! :( Give him a few years and he'll realize how awesome it is, right Uncle Patrick? :)

Saturday:

We got up Saturday morning and went to the Battleship Memorial Park and toured the USS Alabama battleship.

Jackson took a power-nap before we got there!

The USS Alabama battleship (comissioned in 1942) served its country in World War II in the Atlantic and Pacific. It was officially retired in 1962, and was placed in the Mobile Bay in 1964, when the Battleship Memorial Park was established. The park also has tanks, airplanes and helicopters, and a submarine on display. Really a cool, historic place to visit if you ever get the opportunity. (Maybe don't take a baby just shy of 2 years old :) if you want to really learn about the battleship!) You can learn more about the park at this website: http://www.ussalabama.com/

Jackson in front of a huge propeller!

Exploring the deck!

Shooting a machine gun! :)

"What's that?!" :)

"Driving" the battleship!

Jackson and daddy inside the battleship.

"What's that?!?!"

Going down another level inside the battleship! Lots of stairwells!

Captain Jackson: At your service! :)

Taking a "sippy cup break"! It was hot!

Happy boy! :)

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We spent the remainder of Saturday and all day Sunday taking part in Megan and Bell's wedding! See wedding post to follow....

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Monday:

Happy Memorial Day!

Another side note: on Monday before we headed back home...we ate breakfast at the hotel (with just about every family member I've got!) then Jason went upstairs to get our luggage to start packing the car. Jackson and I were still hanging out in the lobby with several "Stones" when Jackson made himself $7.00. How did my sweet baby earn seven bucks you ask? The story goes like this (and I have witnesses....) We were walking to get on the elevator when this guy and two girls were waiting to ride the elevator too. When we walked up, the guy started talking to Jackson (who ignored him by the way). They guy started saying he could tell Jackson was a "cool dude" so he pulled a handful of cash out of his pocket and put it in Jackson's hand. He said, "This is for you 'cool dude' courtesy of so-and-so RAP INDUSTRIES!" I kid you not! Then he kept telling Jackson, "Keep doing what your mama and daddy tell you to do!" I said, "Can you tell him to START doing what his mama and daddy tell him to do!" :) So...Jackson impressed himself a rapper and got himself a little spending money! It was too hilarious! I was so glad to have had witnesses, because I looked around at my Uncle Dennis and said "I'm so glad someone else was here to witness that with me!" Pretty crazy, huh? Wish I knew who he was though....