The Traveling Dowells: Gulf Shores Edition

I should be doing laundry and unpacking and cleaning up my house and making grocery lists, but I'm not.

My parents save everything.  I rode in the same boat in the Gulf when I was a kid.

There were times when I wondered if driving halfway across the country with a van full of stuff and two little girls was crazy.  It may have been a little crazy.  But it sure was fun.

This is Madeline's don't-take-my-picture face.

Hanging out on the pier.

If you can spend a week in a beach house with all the grandparents, I'd recommend it.  That was a little crazy, too.  But fun.

We celebrated our anniversary surrounded by our family.  It was great.  And we got to go out for a quiet dinner and walk on the beach.  Also great.  

We did some tourist-y stuff.  Visited the zoo, walked the fishing pier, saw the Blue Angels practice, and went to an alligator farm.  And we spent long afternoons hanging out at the beach.

Madeline thought the Blue Angels were a bit too loud.

Walking in the water, thinking about how vast the ocean is and how small I am.

Laughing on the beach with my mom and my mother-in-law as the waves came crashing at us.

Watching Madeline build sandcastles with Dad and Grandpa.

Searching for seashells, going crab hunting, and digging in the sand.

Eating a nice dinner out with my husband on our tenth wedding anniversary.

Reading a book during a quiet naptime and not worrying about cleaning my own house or doing other chores.

It's a good life.