Beach weekends

I don't think it's a surprise to anyone by now that we have been spending lots of time at the beach.  Cameron and I are definitely water people.  One of the vets I work for has started teasing me about how many beach trips we make.  But when we live so close, how can we not take advantage??

A couple weeks ago, we spent the weekend at the Gill family condo in Gulf Shores.  Our friends, Nate & Christin, came with us.  We grilled out Friday night, then headed to The Gulf for the best mojitos ever.  Saturday morning we took the boat out and decided to hang out on Robinson Island.  We'd heard about some concert happening there, but had no idea it would be such a big thing.  We got to the island early and thankfully beached it on the opposite side of the island because this is what the craziness looked like...

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Some rich guy decided he wanted to bring in a barge, have bands play all day, and call it Gumbo Key.  Definitely fun, but definitely crazy.  My first time listening to a band while standing in 4 feet of water!

Sunday, we laid on the beach in front of the condo.  It was a gorgeous day with beautiful water.  One of Cameron's college friends and his wife were in town too, so it was good to catch up with them.

The last weekend in June we had a relaxed weekend around the house so we'd be sure to be ready for our long weekend at the beach for July 4th.  Last weekend, we headed back to Gulf Shores for the madness that is Independence Day at the beach!  We stayed at our friend Harry's house on the lagoon, along with Elliott and Darla.  Friday was a beach day - another day with beautiful water! 

so masculine

for some reason the boys were determined to fit 2 people on this float

Harry really liked my beach hat

 
We headed in a little early so we could get cleaned up for an evening boat cruise.

We stopped at Cobalt's for a delicious dinner then decided to head out into the gulf since it was so calm.  We waited for sunset, then from where we anchored, we were able to watch the firework shows up and down the beach.  Really, there is nothing like it!

When we were deciding where we wanted to spend the 4th, we were torn between our annual Gulf Shores excursion and Dauphin Island, where we had multiple friends staying.  So Saturday we got up early and took a boat ride across Mobile Bay to spend the day at Sand Island.  One of our friends recently purchased a Maui Mat - a really big piece of foam that floats on the water and can support multiple people.  I'm sure it's meant for little kids, but these grown-up kids loved it!

Steve being a good daddy

when the Edmond/Whitfields show up, they do it big!

Ellie was a hit

We made it back to Gulf Shores just in time to watch the sunset from the deck on Harry's house.  Perfect ending to a great weekend!