Sorry I've been gone...it's been for good reason, though!

With the help of antibiotics and rest, Iliya kicked his pneumonia...and for this past week, we've been on Spring Break. So...what does any self-respecting person do for Spring Break?

They go to the beach!

Well...okay, so that's a stretch. Not every self-respecting person goes to the beach for Spring Break, but when they get an invitation to go, they find it silly to turn the invitation down!

Seriously, Iliya & I were both on Spring Break this week, and since we did receive the invite to go to the beach, Nathan went ahead & took off a few days to go. We figured we needed a quick vacation.

Here are the (very quick) highlights:

So Sunday morning, after church, we loaded the car (including my brother & his luggage) and headed to Gulf Shores. We met our friends, Jarred & Ashley, and my sister & her boyfriend and stayed for 3 nights. It was Iliya's first experience with the beach...and he had a great time!

When we got there on Sunday, we went to the pool, since it was late in the afternoon. The pool was cold, so we didn't stay in long. We went inside to the heated pool and swam for just a few minutes. We took it easy that evening, and took a walk on the beach. Iliya wasn't sure about the ocean at first, but he certainly warmed up to it and wanted to walk in the water, by the end of our walk. It was a bit chilly, so we didn't walk for long...we came in, went to bed, slept a good 12 hours...

...and were ready to go to the beach the next morning!!

Of course, it was a decent temperature outside, but the wind was blowing fiercely, so it seemed much cooler than it actually was. Iliya enjoyed playing in the sand and water...but then started shivering, so we took him inside for lunch & a nap. That afternoon, we went back outside, but it was so cool that we wore long-sleeved shirts - Iliya was NOT happy about not being able to get in the water.

Monday evening - St. Patrick's Day - we went to eat at LuLu's (Jimmy Buffet's sister's restaurant in Gulf Shores). The food was good - and it was fun to eat in a very loud place, where Iliya could express himself loudly and not bother anyone!

In the evenings & on "beach breaks," we played my brother's Wii. I had never played one before, but it actually ended up being a lot of fun, and I'm so very not a videogame kinda gal. Iliya even picked up a few moves with the Wii controller. It was pretty funny.

Tuesday, the weather was absolutely perfect. The temp was in the low 70's, the sun was high in the sky, and there was a nice breeze. We played for a few hours, until it was time for lunch and a nap (and believe me, the one to have a nap was not thrilled about leaving the sand and water). After nap, we came back out for a couple hours.

When it was time to go back in, Nathan & I were a little sad, because we knew we wouldn't be back out on the beach again to play on this trip.

Wednesday, the weather was cold & rainy. We decided that it's nice to leave the beach on a nasty day, because then there are no regrets that we could've been on the beach enjoying the sun for one more day. There was no sun to enjoy...only rain...so we were fine leaving.

We got home and - though we missed the condo - we were glad to be in our own beds.

Thursday, Iliya & I played while Nathan went back to work...and we're doing the same today.

You probably won't hear from me again until after Easter...so to keep you until then...here's a video of Iliya's first beach experience. Enjoy!!




And just in case... a LINK.