Since I have been employed by the doings of baby Nate for the past 9 weeks, Todd thought this was the perfect time to take yet another summer vacation. I resisted at first, as my definition of vacation includes the word 'relaxing' and this did not at all sound relaxing. But, after listening to how horrible his work has been lately, I showed a wee bit of sympathy. 10 seconds following this wee bit of sympathy, we had a condo booked. So, last Friday we loaded up the Putnam mini (have I mentioned how much I LOVE my mini) with 4 bags and 4 humans, a pack and play, a double stroller, a bouncy seat, a inflated kick board, a wagon full of beach toys, a cooler, a box of diapers, beach chairs, a beach tent, and much more...and still had room for another average-sized human. We made the trip to Orange Beach in record time (for us)...just under 8 hours...not bad for chauffeuring two kiddos. The weather was PERFECT! Nice, since from what I'm told, it continued to rain constantly in Memphis. We agreed to eat lunch at the condo (to save some $ and our sanity) and dinner out. I think I'll pass on pimento cheese sandwiches for a while...I've had my fill. We went to our 2 favorite places there...Cobalts and the Oyster House...and both did not disappoint. I believe Todd and I consumed close to 100 oysters over the week and Presley consumed probably as many crackers. I even got a "I'm impressed" by a waiter. I was so proud. Anyway, we beached it from 8-11am, then 2:30-5ish. Unfortunately, the warmth of outside made Nate's naps a little longer than the norm...therefore, his nighttime sleeping was a little less than the norm. So...Presley, Nate, and I were usually up and at 'em by 5am. One day he let us sleep until after 6, but another he graced us with a 4am wake up call. Thanks, Nate. But really, I liked getting at the beach early...not too hot and not too crowded. Presley only had one bonafide meltdown when I chose to stay in the condo one afternoon to give Nate some playtime. Gosh forbid I spend any time without her...and even worse...with Nate. Poor deprived child. We were packed up and headed back home on Wednesday at 7:15 (again, thanks to Nate). Presley provided some entertainment singing her 2 new favorite songs...the classic "Roxanne" and the Pitbull's "Hotel Room Service" (soon to be a classic, I'm SURE of it!). The overall trip was great...but, not at all relaxing. I think I'm going to have to change my definition of vacation for few years. Thank goodness I still have 3 more weeks at home to relax after my vacation.
