The Grand Hotel

Two days after Joel and I got back from North Carolina, we all hopped in the car again and drove south to the Grand Hotel in Fairhope for the weekend leading up to July 4th. We had gone the year before, but only for a night, and could not wait to get back down there again! This was such a fun little 3 day weekend trip! There is so much for the kids to do. They never got bored!

 

Smores are always a big hit! Some lady caught herself on fire and that took this night to a whole new level of fun! Ha! She was fine by the way! :)

We had to dodge a few rain showers here and there, but we made the best of it. The kids were really into playing "family UNO" this summer, so we played a few rounds of that while we waited out the storm.

And of course the staff at the Grand Hotel is always prepared for anything. They had crafts for the kids when it rained and other fun activities the entire weekend.

I have to document Harrison going down the slide, because it was the only time he was able to do it all weekend long. They are serious sticklers about the height requirement for the slide and Harrison was just a small smidge below it. He tried mightily with several different life guards throughout the weekend, and he finally found one that would let him go! Unfortunately, right after this, they did a life guard switch and the next one wasn't so nice. This is the only thing that is completely ridiculous at the Grand. It really is not a big slide.

 They still had a lot of fun at the pool!

 We also rented a sea doo one afternoon and ALL the boys had fun with it!

The shooting of the cannon was the highlight of Hudson's afternoon every single day.

We had some good meals during the weekend too. We stayed on the property some and left the property as well. Breakfast 2 of the days was at Warehouse Bakery & Donuts. Seriously, the best donuts I have ever had! I think Birmingham needs one of these for sure!

It was a great weekend trip! We can't wait to go back!

The Rest of June

We had a fun rest of June after our beach trip. It rained a lot, and I was in Atlanta for work for a week, so there aren't a ton of pictures, but we did have some pool days and several trips to get ice cream, and the boys had a fabulous week of Vacation Bible School.

 

We also had some fun days and nights with Roo! The boys just adore her.

 

 Selling lemonade to raise money for church!

 The Reeds took the boys and I to see Fiddler on the Roof. It was Harrison's first "more adult" play and he absolutely loved it. I was worried, but he was wanting to go see it again the next night!

Then at the end of June, on a whim, Joel asked me if I wanted to accompany him on a work trip for 3 days to North Carolina. It was a lot of driving, but it ended up being such a great little break for us! We drove through the mountains and took the scenic route, and saw some beautiful views along the way!

 Nantahala Lake was such a beautiful place! We want to go back!

 We spent a day in Asheville and saw the Biltmore! This was an amazing place to visit.

 Had some wine along the way...

 And had some of the best food I've ever had in Winston Salem, NC!

My mouth is watering just thinking about that meal!

Back to update July soon!

Summer Beach Trip

Going all the way to the first week in June, we headed to the beach with Joel's family. We did not have a great week for weather. It rained most of the trip, but looking back at these pictures you would never know! We stayed in Carillon for the first time and it was really nice!

 

Of course we had to make a stop at the Alys Beach donut truck. Wouldn't be a Reed family beach trip without it! :)

Since it rained so much, the boys spent a lot of time in the hot tub, which was covered. Harrison loved looking like a football player!

It was Lilla's first time to the beach and she loved it! She had no fear of the sand or the water!

 Red Bar was a must as well! YUM!

Below is one of my favorite pictures even though it's a little grainy. The boys sure do love their little girl cousins! This was taken at an outdoor concert one night at Carillon. So much fun (and then the bottom fell out and we all got soaked!).

This is Hudson and Joel's cousin's son, Graham. Does that make him his second cousin? I don't know, but they are a month apart in age and both got the double jointed gene! Don't know too many people that can do that with their legs--gross! Side note, they also BOTH got the teeth coming in sideways gene so I can blame that on Joel's side too and thank them for the extra set of braces we are currently enduring! Ha!

We had so much fun with Joel's extended family who we don't get to see very much. The kids played together so well!

 They are all around the same age!

 Sweet Lilla enjoying the pool!

 Carillon really is a beautiful place when the weather is good!

 We went to the house that Joel's aunt rented one night for dinner. We had the best grouper I have maybe ever had there!

 Love seeing a backyard full of kids playing!

 This one needed a break!

 We went crab hunting that night with all the kids. They had a blast and were just picking the crabs up with their bare hands! They were all insane in my book!

 Digging holes with Nolen!

 And then one final dinner out at The Great Southern! Nothing like walking into a restaurant and asking for a table for 30! They looked at me like I was crazy! :) But, they came through and it was only about an hour wait, which I say is pretty normal for around there!

 Joel and his brothers...

 The kids did so well at dinner. Thankful for screen time to get us through (and all of them sharing!).

 And naturally, the day we left was the most beautiful day we had, so we packed up all of our things and then headed down to the beach for a few hours to enjoy one last little bit.

What a fun time at the beach! I'm already wishing for another trip soon!