FLORIDA

After 10 days of sick-o's around here, we needed a vacation! Luck for us it was perfect timing! Ricky was the last person to get it on Friday (Somehow I was the only one to not get the flu. Don't know how that happened as I was the one in the middle of it all! Lucky me!) and we were leaving on Saturday. We decided to leave at 6am to get a head start on the day, plus we had to stop at my parent's house to pick them up. We left their house around 8 for the long drive to Destin, Florida. It took us about 14 hours to get there with stops. Not bad for 7 people! The kids did great in the car.

It was raining when we got there and the kids were already asleep, so we just took them to bed. Mom and I headed out to get some groceries, but we had to stop by the beach just for a minute. It started pouring rain on us, so we just touched the water and ran back to the car.

Sunday morning, we went to church for the first hour and then headed to the beach. The kids could hardly wait! Ethan kept saying, "let's just go to the beach already." I guess we taught him patience. The weather was a little cooler than we like for Florida, but the kids didn't mind at all! There was a red flag, but we still put our feet in! Later on, there were 2 red flags out. We didn't notice until the Sheriff came over and told us we would get a ticket if we were in the water. Ooops! The water was so clear and beautiful!

This is how Ethan spent most of the week. He wasn't too sure of the waves and the water was a little to cold for him. He was much happier just playing with his dump truck in the sand.

We spent every day at the beach! Some days were around 60 degrees, and others a little warmer, but we were determined to spend all 6 days at the beach! We went on walks, played in the water, played in the sand, and just LOVED every minute of it! The water was about 65 degrees, so it was kinda chilly but still awesome!

  Tuesday was chilly, so we went shopping in the morning. We found this cool shark at the Bass Pro Shop. The kids thought it was cool.

Of course we had to spend the afternoon at the beach! 

 

 

 There was a company making this sand sculpture on the beach. It was really cool.

 

Tuesday night, we went to Fudpucker's restaurant for dinner. They have live alligators you can feed and watch. The kids loved it there! We got to hold an alligator for a picture and then we ate alligator tail for dinner. Dylan said it tasted like chicken, but he really liked it. It was a night that Dylan won't be forgetting for a long time!

Live alligators

After dinner on Wednesday, we went back to the beach. Of course no one stayed dry! Ethan was so cute in his little jeans rolled up!

Dylan found tons of little clams. He kept trying to open them. Boys!

Lauren being a little cutie! She was not afraid of the water this year, YEAH! She loved it and wanted to spend all her time in the water! I'm so glad she has grown up and loves the water as much as we all do!

Thursday at the beach

Thursday night we went to dinner for my mom's birthday. Luckily we went early and didn't have to wait (there was a 2 hour wait when we left!). We went to a restaurant on the beach, so we had a beautiful view for dinner. The seafood was really good, although my taco salad had chopped up jalapenos on it, yuck. It was so nice to spend the evening celebrating my mom's birthday with her.

 After dinner we headed over to The Track. They had go carts and bumper boats and rides for the kids. It was awesome and the kids didn't want to leave! We rode on the go-carts that went up 3 stories high. I wasn't sure how Ethan would do, as he was about an inch over the line to ride it. As you can tell from the picture, he LOVED it! So much fun!

 

 

 

Friday, we went to the beach to try to fly our kites. It wasn't as windy as the previous days, but it was still fun. Ethan and Lauren just played in the sand and Dylan had a blast!

Walking to the beach.

 

 Flying a kite

 

 After lunch, we spent the entire afternoon at the beach. It was 75 and sunny! The nicest weather we had all week! We made sure to soak it all up before coming home to 40 degree weather.

 

 

 Friday night, we went to the beach to watch the sun go down. It was beautiful and the kids were cooperating! Always a great time at the beach!

The kids with grandma and grandpa

The long drive home wore them out! I love this picture!

It was such a fun, relaxing week.  It was so nice to spend time with my parents and family. We had an amazing condo with 3 bedrooms, so after we put the kids to bed, we played games all night. We took turns sleeping in and just had a great time. I just hope next time we go to Florida the weather is a little warmer!