Beach Report

We just returned from a nice little vaca to the gulf coast! We were a little nervous about the condition of the beaches, but we were so desperate for a get away that only a hurricane would have kept us from going and possibly not even that. Just kidding. A friend of ours was nice enough to loan us his beach house for nearly a week. It was so comfy and cozy and perfect for us. We can't thank him enough!

I'll start off with the condition of the beaches because that has been the big question. We arrived Thursday. Thursday and Friday the water and beaches were beautiful! Here is a photo from Thursday: It looked very normal.




Sometime in the night Friday night the winds changed direction and started sending the oil directly our way. This is what we saw on Saturday and Sunday: with every wave that crashed onto shore it was nasty, dirty, water. The ocean looked orange.










Sometime in the night Sunday the winds changed direction again and no longer saw any oil or any traces of it. CRAZY! Monday-Wednesday we saw sparkling blue water and pristine white beaches once again. They even raised the yellow flags and gave the public the green light to get in the ocean again.

Nothing but sea shells here.

As beautiful as I've ever seen it on Tuesday.

Some things we saw a lot of on Saturday and Sunday when the beaches were at their worst were these:

(clean up crews reportedly being paid $14/hr by BP)

and this:

(tractors, tents and potties for the workers about every hundred yards.)

My other concern was how Hudson would like the beach this year. Last year he really hated it. This year, he's a big fan! He loved the sand and was intrigued by the ocean. The first half of the trip my sister and her family were down. The day they left, Lantis' family arrived. So not only were we able to get away, but we were able to have some family time as well. Here are a few more pics of us enjoying our trip with my sis and her family:

Bailey, Grayson and Hudson in the pool

How cute is this sandy hiney!?

Hudson practicing safety first by wearing swimmies in the baby pool.


The boys playing in the sand.

Hudson and "day-day" playing in the sand.

Ready for a dive mission I suppose.

Sassy britches enjoying a snack poolside.

Me and my sis.

Living the good life.

Bailey and her Malibu Barbie photo shoot.

Of course we had a picture night. Who's shocked? Didn't think so...

Hudson and me with news reporter hair...which brings to another topic: what the beach weather does to my hair. OMG! Scary!

Hudson and Daddy

The classic beach family portrait. What's a beach trip without the family sitting in sand dunes like its a completely natural thing to do.

I'm losing him. He's zoning out.

I heart this little boy!

I heart these kids too!

On Sunday Angie and her family and left and Lantis' family arrived.

Hudson showing Bebe the ocean upon their arrival.

Later that night we went to The Wharf. Home of the largest ferris wheel in the world. I don't know that to be a fact, but its the biggest one I've ever seen, so that makes it official, right?

We rode the ferris wheel at sunset. Pretty.

The big wheel.

I took a pic of a moving object at night. Quite an accomplishment for those of you who don't know!

The big trees I like so much.


This picture cracks me up! If you don't find it funny then you need to stop reading right now. Kidding. Poppy was taking a pic of us posing for Bebe's pic. Hudson's FACE!!! He's captivated by this ride we're on. Ha!

Bebe and Poppy on the wheel with us.

Checking out the wheel. And/or breaking his neck.

I think I would like a giant palm tree in my yard...to remind me that I'm unfortunately not at the beach every day. Jokes aside I love the trees at the Wharf!

My handsome men.

Ironically we went to the Hangout where they freely throw up the hang 10 sign which Hudson loves to do. Had to get a pic of him by the hand throwin' up his sign. Look closely or click on the pic to enlarge. There's a little Hud sized hang 10 in there.

...and us and Emma by the hand.

...and just us by the hand.

Hudson LOVED the Hangout! This place is genius. You can let your child run loose like a maniac and watch them play in the sand and tunnels and foam. We were there when the live music cranked up and they passed out 25 cent margaritas for the parents. We all had a good time!

Hudson watching the band. He was dripping in sweat because prior to this photo he had been cutting a rug in front of the stage.

Playing in the sand and tunnel. I imagine he's saying "I'm gonna watch what this big kid does and copy it."

It was a great trip and I was not ready to come home. Hudson was however! He told us the night before he left that he wanted to go to "Huddy's house". The first thing he did when we got home was run up to his room and crash onto his bed. He had a good time at the beach, but he was happy to be home!