The Zoo with Mady

Over the weekend we went to the zoo with Ally, Kevin, and Mady.  It was so fun to get the girls together and see them enjoy the animals.  We loved spending time together and laughing for the afternoon!  They'll be best friends one day! 



Looking at the monkeys

Silly Daddy

Sweet Mady

Ayla's very interested in the monkeys

We love zebras!

Fingers with Ainsley, Landrey, and Abby

Mandy and Ali were in town for a couple weeks but we only got to see them once because we were on vacation for the first part of their trip.  When we finally did see them though it was awesome because we got to go to Grandma Jody and Grandpa Bob's house to eat fingers.  Eating fingers is a tradition that all of us kids remember.  We LOVE the homemade breakfast.  Getting our own cup of syrup was always so fun.  And I'm happy that Ayla finally got to experience it too!  We played around the house for a while and laughed with each other.  There is nothing like continuing a loved tradition with family.

Marion County Fair Fun

We took Ayla to the Marion County Fair for the evening Monday night.  We thought she would enjoy seeing all the rides, tasting fair food, and maybe even riding a few rides of her own.  She really did have a great time.  We took her to see the animals where she got to pet baby pigs, goats, bunnies, and cows.  She could make all the sounds at them and it was so cute.  Then we grabbed a couple tenderloins, some cheese fries, and a couple Pepsis and enjoyed dinner together.  She loved everything, even the Pepsi (which was the first time she had it).  She would gulp a huge amount of Blair's drink and then say "MMMMMMM!"  It was pretty hilarious.  She could only ride a couple rides, but she enjoyed them anyway.  She rode the Merry-Go-Round (of course) twice.  She was able to ride a dinosaur teacup ride with the both of us at the same time, a little hot air balloon ride that took you up into the sky twice, and she also went down a big slide sitting on a potato bag with Blair twice.  She seemed to really enjoy it!  The last thing we did was let her do the choose a duck game.  She gets to pick up three little rubber ducks and then choose a prize.  She chose a little stuffed duckling.  I'm glad we took her to the fair.  It was a lot of fun and something I remember doing myself as a kid!  I love those kinds of memories.

 

She went right up to this little piglet and held out her arms to it like it would let her hold it.  Then she oinked at it and pet it.  So cute!

She loves her merry-go-round rides!



Pick a Duck game



Hot Air Balloon Ride

Orange Beach Family Vacation

The drive to Orange Beach was pretty good.  We stopped about 1/2 way and stayed at a hotel.  The next morning, we got up and drove for a while.  Then stopped at a McDonald's at got Abe a Happy Meal.  She loves those cheeseburgers!

The day we got to our condo, we decided to relax and soak up some rays.  Nini and Pappaw weren't there yet, so the cousins and in-laws relaxed and went to dinner at Sea 'n Suds.  Ayla was completely exhausted and threw a fit at dinner.  It was the worst she has ever acted at a restaurant! lol

The girls played in a huge blow up boat a good chunk of the time they were in the water

I just love those little teeth that she is now showing while smiling

 

While waiting for dinner at Sea 'n Suds, Ayla made a new friend.  She totally flirted with him and gave him tons of hugs.  But why wouldn't you want to hug a cute little girl like this?!

 

Ayla's first time to put her feet in the sand....and she was definitely  NOT a fan.  She would stand with one leg in the air begging for you to pick her up.

Kinsley, on the other hand, was interested in all the seashells she could find!

The baby pool is so cute because it's got a waterfall in the middle of it.  We thought Ayla would be afraid of it, but she wasn't!

So cute

We would count to 3 and then run under the falls.  They we'd run back.  She loved it!

The entire trip...and I mean the ENTIRE trip...we would have to stop what we were doing if we saw a birdie and look at it.  She loved them!  She would say "bubee!"

Showing off Blair's new photography skills - weirdo...in some ways he reminds me of my father

Giving each other some cousin love

Dork Dad and his mamma

I don't know what it is about our child, but lately all she likes to do is pick up objects bigger than herself and see if she can haul them around.  It's pretty hilarious to watch in person

Another "bubee" I'm sure

Look at that belly

We'd take a cooler down to the pool each day and have snacks and drinks.  I'm pretty sure that Ayla now associates a pool with snacks and drinks.  On the other hand, notice her cute little ear plugs?  We didn't want to risk her getting her ears wet and having an ear infection on the trip - with the tubes and all

Mother Daughter Selfie

Silly Cousins getting ready to go to dinner

We ate at the Oyster House this night - It was a 45 minute wait, but it wasn't a problem with all the entertainment we had there.  A balloon man made Ayla a turtle bracelet and a fishing pole.  She also got 2 suckers!  (The second one because she ran up and stole it out of his bucket while he wasn't looking) lol

After dinner we went to an ice cream shop - she got her own little bowl of chocolate frozen yogurt.  YUM!!!

Cute little family huh!  Too bad she's got chocolate all over her outfit.  Family pictures BEFORE the ice cream next time! :-)

Now that's a good looking couple!

After dinner, we went to a little amusement park and played some games/rode some rides.  Ayla got to take her first Merry-Go-Round ride.  She completely loved it! So much that we had to take her on it a 2nd time.  And when she had to get off, she bawled her little eyes out.

Blair, Lesley, KK, and Craig did the bumper boats.  Lesley didn't realize that you could squirt people with water until a couple seconds into the ride, but by then, it was too late.  :-)

I love this picture because it looks like Craig is having the time of his life!

Ayla was too little to ride the boats, but while waiting on the others she spotted the most ugly pig ride in the world.  She couldn't contain herself and just HAD to ride him!  I can't believe how excited she was about it!

Just look at that face!

Ayla and KK rode a smaller merry-go-round as well.  And when they got off this one, Ayla threw a complete fit!  We knew it was probably time to get her home and to bed.

....but not before riding her pig one more time.

I love these pictures of Nini and Pappaw reading books to the girls.  The loved it!

You cant beat pool time with daddy!

She got so comfortable with the water while we were there.  She was excited to go in every day!

This night we ate at LuLu's.  It's a restaurant that Jimmy Buffet's sister owns.  It's got so much for the kids to do while they wait to be seated.  And it's also got a really cool souvenir shop.  We got Ayla a t-shirt there so that she could remember the trip.

Do you not just LOVE her?

I love this family photo

Ayla finished her dinner early and was begging someone to take her outside to listen to the band and watch the other kids play in the sand - Of Course Pappaw volunteered!

We died laughing at this photo because they are making the exact same facial expression.  If we ever really wondered if she was a Huff.....

We still had a couple points left on our card from the amusement park, so we went back to spend them quickly.  I love this picture of KK

And this time Daddy took her on the merry-go-round

Little sweetie

Cheese!!!! 

One day while we were getting ready to go out the girls were begging to get into Ayla's pack 'n play.  So we let them!  They had such a good time.

Family photos by the ocean are the best.

She might be a little angel sent from Heaven....I'm not sure

Ayla and Daddy

Ayla and Mommy

This picture of Ayla and Pappaw is so Awesome

I never realized how hard it was to get a descent photo with two kids in it.  They were never both looking or smiling at the same time!

By the end they were both turning their heads away from the camera - but we'll just say we told them to look at the ocean. ;-)

Nini and Pappaw

Ayla had gotten into the habit of waking up at about 6 am every morning down on vacation.  So on the last day we decided to get her out of bed and take her down to the ocean for the last time.  She actually walked on the sand for a few minutes and listened to the ocean waves crash on the shore.  It was a nice, peaceful, just the three of us, moment.  I'll cherish it for a long time!

Nothing a little nose picking couldn't hurt!  Not many people were out yet that early in the morning! 

The last day at the pool was nice and relaxing

The girls sported their matching beach hats that Nini and Pappaw bought them - so cute

We hit the beach ball back and forth and Ayla cracked up the whole time

Nini steals a kiss

A little Cousin Snack Sharing Time

This picture cracked me up because I looked over just in time to see Ayla pulling Blair by the shorts, leading him to the gate to go inside for a nap.  What can I say?  The girl knows what she wants!

A little Mommy Ayla moment

Her first little "ouchie" ever.  My poor little girl!  Good thing we had Hello Kitty band-aids for her sent by Fancy

This night we waited to be seated for dinner for a very long time - she got to eat a sucker while waiting and it made everything better!

The balloon man made her a turtle bracelet - so cute!

Little flower in her hair

Nini, KK, and Ayla



Silly girl finally broke into her Fruit Loops bowl from Fancy on our way home from vacation.  She did so great!

The trip was so nice and it's completely full of memories.  I love that we got to take Ayla to the beach for her first time just the three of us.  It's a small memory that we'll have of just us.  Before too long we'll have another little puddin' riding along with us!  And I'm sure we'll keep on building those memories as they come.  Until the next family vacation!!!!

Here are a couple last minute photo additions that I pulled off my cell phone. 

First picture of the vacation - we stopped at the bank before hitting the road.

Wearing Daddy's shades at the hotel on the way down to Orange Beach

Trying to keep her entertained...we were almost there!

An early morning at the pool - drinking juice and relaxing!

I think this picture is just so adorable. - little booty in her bikini and sun hat

As close as she got to the ocean the entire trip!  Maybe next time will be different