Gulf Shores 2012

Vacationing with kids. Vacationing with five kids ages six and under. Good times. :) We knew it would be an undertaking to drive 700+ miles with six adults and five kids. And at times, it was exhausting. But it was soooo worth it. We had another wonderful vacation in Gulf Shores with my side of the family. The last time was in 2009. (Wow the kids were so little!)

This time was a lot more fun just because the big kids could do so much more. But I quickly realized another big difference. They now have a lot more to say. The infamous "How much longer?" was asked at an alarming 10 minutes into the drive. Thank goodness for DVD players!

Everyone had a great time, but the three big kids had an absolute blast. Mimi & Grandpa bought them their own boogie boards, and that was the definitely the biggest highlight of the trip. They were in use almost the entire time. The Dads (and Grandpa) got to take the kids out so they could ride the waves in. Tate couldn't get enough, and we had to make him stop to rest at times.

Mallory & I also discovered a fun game. Sit on the float and let the waves pull you up and down the beach. We were all entertained with this one.

We loved staying at our favorite condo right on the beautiful beach. Once again, we felt like we were on MTV Cribs as our elevator opened right into the condo. It is the perfect place to stay if you have several families together. Everyone had their own space. Love my family, but it's good for everyone to have space when you're together for an entire week. :)

Some other fun memories:  the Wharf Ferris Wheel, the bean bag game, watching the Olympics, power naps on the ginormous couch, looking for hermit crabs at night with our giant Glow Sticks, Kelly & Shannon  trying to rest on the floats but being knocked over by huge waves, Will absolutely HATING the sand, Will absolutely LOVING the pool and elevator, the really gross dinner, freezing cold in the grocery store with Shannon, Will hitting a deafening scream volume at a restaurant when scary birds came on the iPhone, Sister Treat Tradition on the beach, and Morgan getting car sick in Memphis.

 

And then there were the professional family pictures. Oh my. Note to self...do not attempt beach family pictures again until all of our children are teenagers. Combine extreme humidity, toddlers, 5 kids, 1 kid who could not stand even being near the sand, and a whole lot of sweat...you get a situation where you just have to laugh. All that hard work, and I still don't have a great picture of the 4 of us. My parents and Shannon's family got some good ones. But the only picture we have of Will when he isn't screaming is when he is running away from the beach. Memories. Oh and the biggest memory of all..."Mimi, why is there sand all over your face?" "That's not sand, Mallory. That's Mimi's make-up melting off her face."  I seriously cry from laughing so hard every time I picture this.

I love Gulf Shores. I love our Oceania 10 condo. And I love sharing this place and memories with people I love.  Here's to another great trip (with NO beach pictures) in 2014!

The 911 Call You NEVER Want To Make

I try to use this blog as my scrapbook, photo album, and place to remember life. That has included both the good and the bad, at times. Even though this is one event I wish I could completely erase from my memory, it happened. So I decided to go ahead and document it, if for nothing else than a reminder to be extremely grateful for what did not happen.

The end of the story is that Will is 100% safe and sound. The beginning of the story is that he disappeared and had to be brought home by the police. Yep, Will. My 2-year-old.

When we bought this house, one of our favorite parts was the big backyard with the long driveway that was gated in. Kids have a ton of room to play, ride a bike, chalk, baseball, etc. All safe and secure with a big iron gate.

Just like we've done hundreds of times, yesterday afternoon I let both boys play outside in the backyard. Like always, I looked over at the gate and saw that it was closed. Like always, I was back and forth. Coming inside for a little, being outside for a little. While inside I was in Mom Mode in the middle of several different things: starting dinner, sorting through backpacks and folders, checking email, and even a quick break to go to the bathroom. 

At some point in the time I was inside, I heard the back door open and close but didn't think anything of it. A few minutes later, I was back in the kitchen and realized I heard Tate upstairs in his room. I look outside and see no one. I call for Tate and ask him if Will is with him. He says no. Immediately I went into panic mode.

I start running all over the backyard, looking in the garage, looking in my car. Nothing. I look at the gate. It is closed. I run to the front yard and look up and down the street. Nothing. And the absolute worst part of that moment. You could hear a pin drop. Complete silence. Will was nowhere.

So then I make the 911 call you never in a million years want to make. I can't find my child. I will say in the first couple of minutes I was calm getting the information to the operator as quickly and clearly as possible. The entire time I'm telling him our address, Will's name, what he was wearing, etc., I'm also running back and forth from the front yard to the back yard, walking up and down the sidewalk yelling for Will. Nothing. After a couple minutes of that, my calmness on the phone was gone. The reality of the situation and the what ifs kicked in.

When it was all said and done, I was probably on the phone with 911 for 10-15 minutes, but it felt like hours. After lots of lots of questions and instruction on where to look for him, I heard the operator say that they think someone has him. A few minutes after that, a policeman and incredible neighbor pulled up to our house with Will sitting in the front seat. "Ma Ma!" he happily yells when he sees me. Maybe the best sound I've ever heard.

We are the fourth house down on our street. In the 10 minutes or so before he was found, Will had somehow pushed open and then closed the gate, walked four houses down, turned the corner walking by two more houses, and then began walking toward the entrance to our subdivision, which is near a very busy intersection. A neighbor was driving, saw him, pulled over, and called 911. While I was on the phone with a 911 operator, they got the call that someone had found a lost toddler.

I have never had that kind of fear before. Adrenaline took over my body in an indescribable way, while at the same time I felt like I was going to throw up any second. And then when it was over, and Will was happily playing with a Thomas train inside our home, my body felt like I had just run a marathon.

So all in all maybe the entire episode was 15-20 minutes at the most. I am beyond grateful that the outcome is what it is. Will is oblivious to what happened and doesn't have a scratch on him. I'm thankful to have realized he was gone when I did and not any later. And to the neighbor (whose name I don't even know), I will be forever grateful for noticing and helping.

In my head, I know not to get wrapped up in thinking of the what ifs or the should've dones, but that is hard not to do. A Tylenol PM at least helped me get some sleep last night, so I could get those thoughts out of my head. I hope at some point I can figure out who the neighbor is, so I can give him a proper thank you, rather than my uncontrollable sobbing mess of a thank you.

I don't ever pretend to understand why this ended quickly and happily, while we often hear about situations like this that end sadly. But still, I'm incredibly thankful to the Lord that today our lives continued on like nothing ever happened.

Except our safe and secure gate is now a safe and secure padlocked gate.