Beach trip

We spent a few days in Orange Beach last week.  My family had been looking forward to this trip for a LONG time! The weather was perfect and it was a much needed break for all of us.   I love being with my whole family, and it was great to see how Ben fits in so well.  A family with all girls got a taste of what it's like to have a big brother.  

Our first stop was lunch at Sea n Suds.  Dad had been looking forward to these oysters for months.  Jen, Jamie and I decided to try a raw oyster. 

Here Jen and Jamie are about to take the bite.  Jen looks nervous and Jamie looks like we are crazy for letting her do this.
And here Jen spit it out.  Right by my face.  Lovely.
After lunch we headed straight for the beach.  Ben and Jamie took advantage of the floats in the condo.  Something about the beach makes Ben act like a 5 year old.  Trust me, SO fun to watch.  He gets a big goofy grin on his face and actually giggles.  
He was entertainment for all of us....
The Martin (now Martin/Calvert) family crabbing tradition.  We mean business.  

We start out with nets, but then get frustrated and use our hands.
Jen and Jamie look so hardcore right here.  Ben was our designated flashlight holder and he did awesome.  
We only caught a few, and we were getting frustrated.  Then a 7 year old kid runs up to us to show his bucket of crabs.  He had at least 30 in there!  It was a little embarrassing that one kid caught all of those crabs when there were 6 of us.  Oh well.
We rented a kayak one day and it was lots of fun.  It was a 1 person kayak so we took turns going out there.  Jen and I tried to fit both of us but we were sinking.  My favorite person to watch out there was mom.  She wanted a good workout for the day so she was going pretty fast!
All the girls...
My 2 favorite men!
Jen and I both got crab legs on our last night of the trip.  They were HUGE!  
It was such a fun trip, and I am thankful for the time we got to spend with our family.