New Family Tradition - Gulf Shores, AL

Ah the beach... That was fun! 

Yep, its been a while.  Life gets in the way of  blogging quite often.  We have had a ton of great times since the last post and we will try to catch up.  In August (yeah, we know and we acknowledge we are way behind) we took a family vacation to Gulf Shores, Alabama, a place none of us had previously been.  Along for the road trip were Ryan, Brittany, Brittany's boyfriend Chris, Sherry and our crew of three.  After a long drive from Arlington we hit the beach where Abby had her first encounter with SAND!  After about ten minutes she figured out she pretty much hated it.  She lasted long enough for the some good photo ops though.

The Tettleton's

Abby & Momma

We had a great time at LuLu's!

The girls favorite part was going to the "Little Zoo that Could" Gulf Coast Zoo in Gulf Shores.  The had a lot of interaction with the animals which they loved.  While the girls were at the zoo the guys took a quick drive across the border into Florida to play golf.  Each group got back before they got soaked in the rain.

Abby & Grammy Sherry

Steph & the goats

Lemurs!

Stephanie, Lemur, and Brittany

We got out a few evenings to check out the area and had some quite a bit of seafood.  The surrounding area of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach were great for what we were looking for; a little relaxation, some good family time, the beach, and some great memories.

Abby-gator

Another touristy place but hey we have no problem with those.

Can we go to the pool already?

Abby & Uncle Ryan

While Sherry and Abby stayed on shore the rest of us ventured out to sea for some fishing.  The seas were pretty rough most of the time so this wasn't quite what we had bargained for.

Ominous clouds might tell you a little about the results.

We caught a few Vermillion snapper and the deck hands pitched in quite a bit.

The clouds cleared for a while on our last full day and we had a chance to get more beach time in.  All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our trip out to the Gulf Coast and would love to make it a new family tradition.

So fun!

Ryan, Chris, Brittany, Abby, & Stephanie. Our condo unit was in the building behind us.

Our pretty girl

Summer Fun!

Summer is here and we have been out and about quite a bit so here are some miscellaneous pictures of our summertime excursions.

We headed to the Fort Worth food truck park one Saturday afternoon to see what all the fuss was about and we enjoyed ourselves and the new experience.  We tried the Butcher's Son and then got some cupcakes from the Red Jett Sweets truck.

Abby also had a good time riding along for errands like shopping - especially when they have fun carts to ride in.

So I get a prize?

Another Saturday we took Abby to a splash park here in town and let her and her daddy get soaked.  There were a lot of screaming kids around that made her a little tentative but she definitely had a good time in the water.

Pretty happy as long as dad's right by my side.

We signed Abigail up for a music class once a week and she has done fairly well.   Just about any song will get her trying to snap her fingers or clap her hands with the beat.

Getting ready for Music Class!

Dad joined in on the fun one day

Pat your knees.

Time to move the mattress down lower we have a active one.

Cooper is also ready for the day to start.

We celebrated Independence day at the Levitt Pavilion Tuesday night for live music and fireworks.  After a late night, we still made it out to the parade in the morning then to a cookout in the afternoon.  It was a short but sweet time spent with our little girl. 

Having fun at the Levitt.

Petting Zoo!

Fireworks!

Lolly, Abby and Mom

Abby and Mom.

We have been richly blessed.

Go Rangers!

Over the past few months we've enjoyed some great days at the Ballpark.  We took Abby to her first Ranger game in May with our friends the Mitchells and she did great.  She loved the music in between innings and the players walk-up songs.  She also loves sharing mom and dad's nachos (sans jalapenos and cheese). 

Jessie, Kaitlyn, Stephanie, Abby and Lauren

Abby and Mommy

Abby and Daddy

Snapping to the beat!

Worn out!

We also got to celebrate Father's Day at the game and we had a nice spot in the shade.

The family on Father's Day

A few days later we returned and made it through the sweltering heat for another Ranger win!

Trying out our shades!

Mommy showing me how its done!

We had some company too! The Edwards and their daughter Ella.

The next time out we had great seats! Thanks Mr. Hewatt.

Grammy keeps me entertained.

Right before I was on the Jumbotron.

Nachos please.

The last time daddy went he didn't even bring a real camera, all he had to show for his great seats were phone pictures.  He sure did have a good time though and he and his friend Zack got on tv too.

Its been so much fun introducing Abby to baseball and the stadium atmosphere.  We have had a pretty darn good summer so far and so has our team.  Of course, we hope to be rooting for the Rangers in the World Series again this year!