Change of Plans

Secretly, I am glad my daughter is only (about to be) four years old. Because a four year old mind can remember and hold on to certain things you tell them. As in, they honestly and truly never forget. But their understanding of time (when you say "a long time" or "a few years") isn't really developed yet. So when I announced back in May of this year that our family was planning a trip to Disney World next March, that was before Bryan and I began to dig into how much a trip of that magnitude would cost.
And also the fact that our now one month old son would only be seven months old. And how much fun could a seven month old (or his parents and older sister) really have at Disney World when he'll probably still be taking two naps a day and can't really ride anything? So when I found out last December I was pregnant and then discovered I was due in August, Bryan and I talked about a beach trip. Specifically, a trip to Gulf Shores. We discussed making the trip while I was on maternity leave, because my aunt and uncle have a condo on the beach. But then some other things happened and we didn't end up making that trip.

So instead of spending half of our income tax return to take two children to Disney World next March, we are looking forward to a week-long vacation to the beach. Even if it's too cold to swim in the ocean, the condo we are looking to rent has an indoor pool. Plus this will be our very first official family trip - just the four of us. I even ordered James a pair of swim trunks on clearance! I can't wait to see how cute he'll look wearing them!

We are looking at cutting our vacation cost in half, and this will give us some time away from our lives at home just to enjoy ourselves. I like to start planning super early and it gives me time to look at all kinds of things - restaurants to eat at, things to see and do, etc. So if you've been to Gulf Shores and you have small children like I do - give me some suggestions! We've only been once, and we spent most of our time at the beach. Right now we're looking at the zoo, a dolphin watch, and maybe some other fun family activities. I'm excited already and our trip is still months and months away!