It took me a couple weeks to sort through my pictures from our vacation. I guess since we checked into our condo exactly one month ago today, I shouldn’t put off posting about our trip any longer.  If I wait any longer, I might not talk about it at all. And this place, my blog, was created 4+ years as a place to compile family moments and memories, good and bad.

Vacation was great- who complains about their vacation, right? I’m not going to complain here but I will say that, sadly, at least some portion of my vacation memories include seeing a side of Theo that we didn’t always enjoy. Ultimately, my memories of vacation are great though. It’s hard to not feel relaxed and happy when your feet are in powdery soft white sand and the sun is warm on your face.

Saturday October 11th: We arrived at our condo in the early evening and had just enough time to quickly unload our car and unpack our suitcases (somewhat) before rushing down to the beach to watch the sunset.  This was the boys first time seeing the ocean (okay, the gulf).  Like idiots, we said to them “don’t get wet! We aren’t going swimming right now – you don’t have your swimming clothes on…”  Yeah. That lasted all of 2 seconds. We shrugged and laughed and agreed it was a good thing we had a washer and dryer in our condo unit.

These are a combination of DSLR and phone pics.  After changing clothes, we were all pretty hungry and hit the closest local shrimp shack for some delicious seafood with the sound of the waves in the background.  Ryan and I were like this: “Aaaaaaaah. Vacation.”

Sunday October 12th:

We were really excited to lounge around, eat breakfast, and then hit the beach. Build sand castles. Jump in the waves.  To my surprise, one thing I was not overly eager about was taking pictures. For one thing, I didn’t want to drop my camera or phone in the sand.  Also, I didn’t want to take away from the relaxation that was going on – mine or anyone else’s.  And finally, beach pics kinda start to look the same after a while.

  A little “me” time while they took a nap. Their only nap in the condo all week.

I was excited to treat them to their very own fancy mixed (juice) drinks, which were way overpriced. They prefer apple juice, as it turns out. #fail

Monday, October 13th: A storm was on it’s way and it was super windy on Monday. The water was extra choppy. We could barely let go of their hands in the water. The normally crystal clear water was murky and it just isn’t what you think of when you picture the Destin area, or “Emerald Coast,” known for it’s gorgeous clear and turquoise shores.   The fishing pier that was within walking distance from our condo.   Monday night we had a Buccaneer Pirate Cruise booked and waited, watching the weather, for them to cancel it. But it never did rain. It was very windy but we cruised anyway! Unfortunately, the boys protested nap and REALLY needed one. We had fun on the cruise but they weren’t the best or most cooperative participants on the ship. We didn’t push them to do anything they didn’t want to, but I think if they were well rested, they (we all) would have enjoyed it even more.   After our cruise, we quickly decided to eat at Margaritaville at the HarborWalk.  For some reason, I wasn’t excited to eat there because I knew it was a chain and was looking forward to more unique experiences during our trip. This place surprised me – it was one of my favorite settings and meals. We had this great table with harbor views all around us. It eventually got too windy and they had to close the windows. One thing that makes me sad about our vacation is that THIS is our only family picture:

One nice person offered to take our picture while we were eating at Margaritaville. I never ask anyone because there’s a 99% chance that my kids won’t cooperate anyway and it turns into an embarrassing fiasco that yields poor results anyway. I hope when they are older they will be more cooperative.

The storm held off until just after we finished eating and we dashed from the restaurant to the car in the pouring rain!  Instead of our usual bedtime stories and songs routine, we let the boys choose a movie from the collection we brought with us and we would snuggle up with them in their beds for a few minutes as they fell asleep. Cherishing those moments and memories right this minute.

I think that’s it for tonight- I will write 1 or 2 more posts about the remainder of our vacation in the next few days!  Anyone ever visited the Destin/Ft. Walton beaches? We LOVE it there!

xo,

~C~