Our Spring Break was busy. After returning from Little Rock for Brea's biopsy we unpacked and repacked and headed to the beach for some much needed rest and relaxation!
Our first stop was Gulf Shores, AL where we met up with our friends from Michigan. Their daughter Samantha was Brea's cribmate at the orphanage and we all traveled to China together back in October 2006 to adopt the girls. It was great to see Brea and Samantha together. The Howard family has grown since we last saw them with the addition of another beautiful daughter from China. Their new daughter Sophia and Bailey are about the same age and they became fast friends. Of course their oldest daughter Shelby and Brooke and Baker already knew each other and wasted no time finding fun things to do to keep themselves occupied.
Bailey didn't really care for the water at the beach but she loved the sand! I'm pretty sure we brought at least half of the sand from Gulf Shores home with us along with shells and other little treasures that the girls found on the beach. Brooke and Baker LOVE the beach and we couldn't keep them out of the surf. As for Brea...well, she rarely left the waters edge. She loved running from the water as it came in and on several occasions I saw her just standing and looking out at the water with her little arms stretched wide open as if she were trying to soak it all in. I would love to know what she was thinking at that very moment.
Our time in Gulf Shores passed way to fast and we were then on our way to Pensacola to meet up with Danny's cousin Steve and his family from Indiana. Brooke and Baker love spending time with their cousins Sarah and Nick and they were even able to get Nick out in the water for some body surfing. The little girls loved the pool at the Hilton and it was like pulling teeth to get them out of it. On our last morning of Spring Break the big kids went parasailing. They had a blast and Baker is already asking if he can do it next time we go to the beach.
We are home now and things are back to normal. The big kids are back in school, Brea is back in preschool and Bailey is back at Mothers Day Out two mornings a week. I can't believe it is already April and school will be over in just a few short weeks. Where has the first part of this year gone?
Enjoy the pictures!
