A Peach Park and an Orange Beach

Even with Amiee slated to move to Richmond for 2 months and Brad heading up to DC for half of July, we were able to coordinate a beach trip with all of us Brassarts/Boswells. Wonder of wonder, miracle of miracles. We left Johnson City on a Thursday and headed to Orange Beach on Saturday. Given that it took almost the whole day (a mere 36 hours after the 5-hour drive between Boswell and Brassart homes), the girls did quite well. We let them swap between Daddy’s truck and our van a couple of times and kept an endless supply of snacks and movies flowing.

Brynn meeting Elphie and Winnie for the first time after arriving in Alabama. This was the beginning of Elphie's deep affection for Brynn. We're pretty sure that Elphie decided Brynn was her kitten.

Hanging with Bo the night before heading to the beach!

Amiee has always been great at getting selfies with the girls.

Heading out!

Amiee was Brynn's seat buddy for the first few hours.

Brynn was so excited about that!

We made our annual stop for ice cream at the Peach Park. (Note: this is a must-do activity if you’re near Clanton, AL. Chilton county is known for its peaches, and the Peach Park has an incredible caramel peach ice cream.)

Same spot, 2017

I seriously can't handle this. Please don't expect me to be able to talk about how little they were/how much they've grown.

Once we got to the beach, we had really great weather, with the exception of a couple short rain showers, the whole time we were there. The downside was that our visit coincided with a jellyfish takeover. And yes, both big girls got stung. That was very unfortunate. But, the water was beautiful, the sand was fun (for the littles), and the pool was a nice break when the sun got too warm. Brynn enjoyed napping in her bouncer over and over and over. She did not, however, enjoy wearing a hat. Bless.

We also got lunch at Lambert’s, and Claire and Lily caught their rolls VERY well.

Lambert's!

Amiee got some really great pictures of the girls (and mom) that we all loved, so please enjoy:

Litany of things that happened to Lily while at the beach:
1. Stung by a jellyfish
2. Cut 4 molars
3. Had the roseola virus

Y’allllll. It was so bad. She had such a tough time. She made the best of her situation and had as good a disposition as she could, but when our water-loving girl asked to go back to the condo rather than play on the beach, we knew she felt BAD. It was really sad. PRAISE THE LORD we were with my pediatrician dad who knows things. Thanks, Daddy! By the time we were headed back to Madison, she was doing better but was BEYOND cranky. I mean screaming, spitting, throwing things, “NO!”-ing everything…the whole nine yards. I fed her absolute junk and let her watch movies all day just to get through it all. I kinda wanted to yell and cry and spit and throw things.

A rare car moment during which she wasn't yelling or throwing things, courtesy of Cars.

We made a stop at the Peach Park on the way back, too. In part for the ice cream but also to see our dear friend “Gannell” and her daughter and son-in-law. Lily was…ok-ish while we were there. Until she fell and tore her knee up. We’re talking blood gushing down her leg, looking as though she actually lost her leg. It was just a really hard week to be Lily.

Claire and Gannell

It was a longggg drive back with a miserable 2-year-old, but we made it. I wasn’t sure we would, but she rallied enough for me not to fully lose my mind.

And overall, it was a great trip. Thank you, Nana and Poppy for a fun time and sweet family memories!