Dauphin Island 2020

We left for Dauphin Island after a half day of work.  We dropped Emma off to be boarded for the FIRST time in her 12 years of life, packed the rental van, and headed out. 

We waved goodbye and thank you to Mickey Mouse as well pulled away!. 

We stopped at a hotel in Alexandria, LA for the night. 

And Brody had lost another tooth so he was super excited when the tooth fairy found him at the hotel!

The boys were excited to see LSU's stadium.  It was just at a distance but it was good enough....we had somewhere to be!

Finally in Alabama. 

We had never been to Dauphin Island but knew it was a tiny island!  

This is on the bridge driving over. 

We pulled up just a few minutes after the other Brower clan.  As soon as we arrived, we also found out the house was ready.  Perfect timing.  This was the view from the lower deck. 

We threw on our bathing suits and ran out there. 

The kids were soooo excited to see each other. 

The island is just a strip of land.  The gulf is on one side of the street and the bay on the other.  The island is just a long row of houses on stilts.  There are two restaurants, a seafood market, and a family owned grocery store.  

The boys just started digging a hole and worked and worked on that hole. 

Check out the shrimp boat in the background.  We saw multiple shrimp boats every day!

Talk about the perfent spot to social distance....

Cousin love. 

Shrimp boat

Moms and the first borns. 

We spent all night out on the beach that day.  We had so much fun. 

Our neighbors fed this bird every day.
He was not afraid of us and hung around the entire weekend. 

Spike Ball after dinner and baths. 

The kids were also begging to go crab hunting.  We all set out on the adventure and we immediately spotted the BIGGEST crabs.  We go crab hunting every year and have never seen crabs this size and just running around freely.  If you are into crabs and birds, this is the place for you....

First EARLY morning.  That house had so many windows with so much sunlight.  We were all up when the sun was up. 

Ready for another day with his bucket hat the boys got him on the cruise. 

I love this picture. 

Trouble

We got even more boogie boards at the local grocery store. 

Its as super windy on that small island.  Our Ole Miss tent broke the first day. =(  

We bought a couple of umbrellas.  

Perfect set up. 

We played lots of football.

And lots of boogie board rides. 

We had lots of girl time. 

As well as Brower time.  

There was hardly anyone in site!

Back together again. 

Pizzas and watermelon for dinner. 

And nap time. 

We took a few family pictures on the beach. 

This picture makes me laugh.  Brody had no clue that wasn't Mason standing next to him.

Love my people.

Another early bird morning.

We had the best weather.

These rascals enjoyed getting out on the beach, then loved running back inside to change into dry clothes and play.  Then they would put on another suit and run back out.  We went through lots of shorts and swim trunks!!!  But it was awesome that they could just run into the house themselves!

We had a sand castle competition.

I entered in but was disqualified because it was a dolphin (but looked like a whale) and not a castle.

Mason and Brody would spend hours jumping those waves!
No matter how tired they got!

Becca found the little boys sitting on the lower deck together.  The lighting was perfect for a few pictures.  I hate I forgot to take Mason over there and grab a couple of shots.

 The look we get constantly.

 That is a lot of toothless grins.

Making sure they are 6ft apart.

John working on his vertical.

 Reese and I were not the best at throwing or catching the football but I think we improved as the day went on!

 The girls started our mornings off on adventures to the store and we ended the nights watching the sunset!  We walked down to the end of the island where the bay and ocean meet.  It is such a unique place.  We also found an empty lot and were finally able to walk over to the bay.  It was AWESOME.  All those houses have beaches as well (and a calmer bay).  It would be awesome to rent a house on the bay side as long as you had access to the boat/dock.

The sun setting on the bay.

We got back and hooked up the projector.  Look at these guys.  It was breezy out there so they cuddled up with blankets and watched Transformers.

They also ate s'mores dip.

Just living the life.

They also worked on throwing and catching the baseball.

Ain't that the truth.....especially for 2020.

Happy Memorial Day.

The sky was beautiful for our last day but it was WINDY.  I mean every day was windy but this was REALLY windy.  Waves were huge.  The boys played tackle football in the ocean, we all rode the monster waves, and then we ended the day on the deck to avoid getting sandblasted.

Splinter injury.

Ready to sumo wrestle.

This was on our backdoor balcony overlooking the bay.

We paced up early Tuesday morning and left for Texas.  We did that trip in one day and it wasn't the worst.  We had to get home to return the rental and pick up Emma.

John ordered the kids Sonic.  You always have to say meat and cheese only.....not cheese only.  You will get a grilled cheese.

We had the BEST time!  It was just what everyone needed.  John had been working WAY too much.  Our life had been crazy.  It was wonderful to get away and forget about the Coronavirus.  I mean it completely escaped our minds.  And once we got home, life was about to get insane again.  Whenever else will there be a time we all aren't playing soccer or baseball?!?!?  This may be the only time we are together for Memorial Day weekend for years but it was perfect!

The kids sure won't forget it!