I saw the ocean.

Eden's First Beach Trip - October 3-5
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Growing up near the Gulf, I'd be remiss if my daughter did not grow up knowing the sights, sounds, and smells of the beach. And, with Ashley going to the beach nearly every year of her life (with her grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousins), she had been thinking of this trip for a long time as well. So, when Eden's Granddaddy and CC planned a birthday weekend at the beach for the whole family, we said yes immediately. Waking up to the sound of seagulls and going to sleep to the sound of crashing waves ... almost nothing better.

Of course, one can't go to the beach on an empty stomach! So, on our way down to Orange Beach (the Pheonix X high-rise condos next to the Florida-Alabama boarder to be exact), we had to stop and make sure Eden was well fed. Here we are outside the Mississippi Welcome Center on our way from Louisiana.


It wasn't until we were driving into Orange Beach that Ashley really realized what was happening. She was actually bringing her baby to the beach with the grandparents and the family. She almost cried.

On Saturday morning, Eden could hardly wait to get on her swimsuit and head down to the blue umbrellas (one of her Momma's favorite sights in the world). In fact, she had somewhat of a restless night - getting up at 3 a.m. for a little while and at 6 a.m. for the day.


Unfortunately for her, not everyone in the condo shared her enthusiasm ... so she had to wait until around 10 a.m. to finally get to the beach.

Before we left on Friday, I stopped by Target to grab something to shield the sun from her easy-to-burn skin. They had LOTS of stuff on clearance ... imagine that (in late September). This baby pool came complete with a sun shade ... I did the traditional blow-up-the-inflatable-toy bit (and got a little dizzy in the process). Here's our little bathing beauty taking in the beach for the first time.

It wasn't long before she decided to try and catch some rays (well, z-z-z's) ...

... just like her Aunt Whitney.

It was a funny scene when she woke up. How many people does it take to show Eden the ocean for the first time?

She did not like the water as much as we expected ... of course, the water was quite cold (although the air was in the 80s ... with a breeze ... a pretty perfect day).

On Saturday night, we celebrated a number of Jones family birthdays. Eden's Granddaddy turned "40" on Saturday (at least that's what he said), and her Uncle Boston and Aunt Whitney had birthdays coming up later in the week. Her Aunt Courtney couldn't be there for the weekend, but we wished her an early happy birthday as well. Ashley was too busy enjoying a delicious dinner of fresh gulf shrimp to remember to take any photos.

On Sunday, we woke up early to take Eden down for one last hurrah on the beach.

And to make sure that we let her feel the sand between her toes.

We hope to make beach trips a family tradition, like Ashley and I had when we grew up. We hope she enjoys the sounds and sights of the Gulf as much as we have.