Midsummer trip to Alabama

My Grammy passed away in June. It was unexpected, as she wasn’t really sick or ailing. We had already been planning to make a trip to Alabama for a quick beach trip with my family over 4^th of July, but we ended up heading down about a week earlier than we anticipated so we could be there for Grammy’s funeral. It was very sad for me, especially knowing that Grammy was my last grandparent and that she never got to meet Lily. Lily’s middle name is Catherine, which was also Grammy’s middle name, and she was so excited about her little namesake. We also learned how difficult it is to explain death to a 3-year-old. Goodness. We’re actually still talking about it on a fairly regular basis.

I’m very glad that Claire remembers Grammy a little bit and that we can talk about her. She was a truly lovely and loving person, and I’m happy that I can share that with Claire and Lily. It's a wonderful legacy to pass on to them- the really beautiful and graceful way my Grammy lived her life.

One really positive feature of a trip home was being able to introduce Lily to some good friends! One of Amiee’s lifelong friends is a teacher in Ethiopia but is home for the summer. We pray for her regularly, so it was very fun for Claire to spend time with her in person. We also saw lots and lots of friends from church/folks I’ve known for most of my life. At the visitation, Lily was literally passed around the entire time by friends and family. Honestly, I think there’s something kind of nice and comforting about having a baby and a 3-year-old at a funeral; Lily was pure sweetness, and Claire was happy happy joy. Claire put on a bit of a show for everyone who was waiting in line. Bless.

I’m grateful that we could be there for the funeral, and I’m also really glad that we already had a beach trip planned. It was nice to be able to go spend time together at the beach after a very busy and hard week.

My family pretty much always beaches in Orange Beach, AL, and this time was no different. The element of this trip that was different, though, was that we went over July 4^th, which meant CrAzY crowded beaches. And restaurants. And outlet mall. People everywhere. Despite that, we had a really nice trip. Claire is quite the beach baby and LOVES a good beach trip. There was an added element of fun on this trip: a pool. The beach house we’ve stayed at in Topsail on Boswell trips, while fabulous in every other way, does not have access to a pool, so Claire was very excited about the condo pool. She called it “the puddle.”

We were only there for a few days, so we don’t have quite as many pictures this time around, but we do have a few!

Family tradition to get peach ice cream at the Peach Park in Clanton!

Brad and I aren't usually great at remembering to take pictures together, but he did a good job of snapping some on this trip.

And then Claire needed to get in the shot.

Sweet visit with grandparents.

There's a carousel at the outlet mall in Foley, and Claire just about could not contain herself with the excitement of a ride. When Brad took her over for her ride, she chose, of all things, the bench. Who would have thunk? But just look how happy she is.

Snuggles.

The first time she was "buried" in the sand, and she was thrilled.

Happy Independence Day!

Happy beach baby

Watching fireworks from the front balcony.

A rare Claire-and-Mommy shot.

Breakfast at Tacky Jack's before heading back home.

Brad making sure we have pictures. Well done, sir. And look how patriotic we are!

An additional attempt at a grandparent-grandchildren shot, hoping for Claire to cooperate. She *sort of* did.

Lily Lou!

Amiee snapped this shot, and it's a favorite!

Lily on the beach!

Laid back and looking around.

Dropping Amiee off at the airport to head back to Tennessee.

Claire loves her Bo!

It was a long week with lots of ups and downs, but it was great to end the week spending time together at the beach. Going home was a little less fun, but it's a long way from the Gulf Coast of Alabama back to North Carolina. The girls were quite good, given the duration of the trip and the captivity of car seats. We had an incredibly unfortunate Claire bathroom situation occur at 11:30 pm in middle-of-NOWHERE North Carolina where NOTHING with a bathroom is open that late. I'm still a little scarred from the experience. *shivers* But, we made it home and were able to salvage all articles of clothing + the car seat. Victory is ours!

Many thanks to Mom and Dad/Nana and Poppy for the lovely trip to the Gulf. We had a marvelous time!