Gulf Shores Part 1 -- Condo Time

It didn't take long for our annual Morgan family Gulf Shores vacation to become the highlight of our summer! For the 2nd summer in a row, our entire extended family returned to our favorite condo resort in Orange Beach, Alabama to enjoy a week of family fun. My parents graciously gifted us with this amazing trip, and this year it coincided with their 44th wedding anniversary. Wow! We are so blessed by their example over the years!

Mom and Dad on their 45th wedding anniversary

Mom, Dad, and their 4 kiddos -- So amazing to be all together again like this!

Our Gulf Shores vacation was so AWESOME that I just wouldn't be able to fit it into a single blog story. So I've decided to split it into different sections. Plus, I'm the family photographer so it's my job to make sure these photos get shared with everyone, ha! My apologies to the non-family members out there...these next few blog posts will be HEAVY on the family photos! :-)

First up, our Condo Time! Last year was our first time to visit Gulf Shores, and we had a LONG list of requirements. We wanted multiple condo units for our big crew, large enough to house 21 people this year! We also wanted easy beach access, awesome outdoor pools with slides and lounging, lazy river, indoor pools and activities, and even onsite café if possible. We found an amazing resort, Caribe, that met all of those requirements and then some. So we couldn't wait to get back for our 2nd visit.

This year was even better than last, because Jeff was able to join us this time. We stopped at a hotel on the way there, just to break up the drive and make sure we could arrive early for check-in the following day. Our kids LOVE staying at hotels -- are most kids like that?

Connor and Kaitlynn in our hotel on the way to Gulf Shores.

The following day, we arrived early to our resort and had lots of time to explore the condo, get our grocery shopping done, and meet up with our cousins. We were all on Cloud 9 -- so happy to officially be on vacation with our family!

This year, our extended Morgan family included Ben's wife Charlotte's parents, Regina and Charles. We were so happy to have them join us. With our crew of 21, we stayed in 3 separate condos. There is SO much room in these units. One of the condos is a 4-bedroom unit with a HUGE wrap-around balcony and tons of kitchen/living space. We all congregated in that unit most nights for a group meal, and we took turns being in charge of cooking dinner. It worked out great!

The two musketeers, Kaitlynn and Marissa.

Renee, Connor, Ryah, Makenna, and Madison.

Jeb and Alli.

Charlotte and Ben.

Jeff and me.

Regina and Charles.

Michelle and Chris.

Two of our condo units were side-by-side to each other. One of them was designated for the early-to-bed, early-to-rise crew, while the other one was for the late-night, sleeping-in crew. (Mum's the word on which condo we were in, although anyone who knows me would know that answer!) Each morning, the early-risers would congregate for breakfast and cousin time while the late-sleepers were given extra beauty rest.

This is how Connor and Kaitlynn slept each night. I took this pic at 5:20 a.m., the room flooded with light already!

An early morning game of Uno with Granddaddy.

Uno tricks.

Relaxing in the condo.

Relaxing on the balcony.

Our adjacent condos were on the 11th floor this year, so we spent a lot of time in the elevators this trip. The kids, of course, didn't mind that a bit! We had some fun with all those elevator rides.

How many cousins can we fit in 1 elevator car?

More elevator fun.

Uncle Jeb showing us how happy Marissa was at the moment ;-)

Morgan cousins.

Ready to head out for some sun and fun!

Ready for their next adventure.

 

Headed out to the pool.

Headed to the pool this time.

Back inside the condos, the kids really enjoyed the downtime with each other each evening when we congregated for dinner. We took turns cooking and always made sure to include dessert! ;-)

Marissa and Kaitlynn enjoying dinner.

The rest of the cousins lounging while waiting on dinner.

Pre-dinner balcony time.

Balcony selfie.

More Uno, this time on the balcony.

Another family favorite, Dominos.

Kaitlynn with Granddaddy.

Ben and Charlotte enjoying a beautiful evening on the balcony.



Connor and Renee enjoying some Minecraft.

Charlotte and Regina cooking dinner.

Only part of our crew, waiting on dinner.

Me and my brother Ben.

These two!

Such a sweet friendship they have.

The condo resort is just so perfect for our gang! We had such a great time and truly enjoy the accommodations there.

But this post only showed the fun we had in and around the condos; there's so much more to come, stay tuned!

One of our beautiful condo views.