Our Family Vacation

We just got back from our first true family vacation.  We spent the week in Destin at one of our favorite resorts and we had such a nice week!  It is rare that we get to spend more than 2 days together at a time as a family, so we soaked up all of the sun, sand and togetherness that we could.  Since hurricane Isaac was coming through right before our trip, we were nervous about the weather, but we ended up having 2 days of rain and the rest was perfect sunny, breezy, beautiful Florida weather!  We were there for a full week and we made it down there last Sunday, right at 4 o'clock.  We unloaded our stuff and headed straight for the beach.  It was so nice because both boys loved the sand and water.

Davis loved smashing sand castles, so I gave up quickly on trying to build a big castle for the boys.  He had a little love/hate relationship with the water.  He would run up to it and then run away.  He was okay being in it if I was holding him, and would crack up when the water came up to his toes.  He got lifted off of his feet one day from a small wave which freaked him out for the rest of the week, but I have to say, I think that having a little fear of the ocean is a good thing, especially for a 2 year old!

Harrison also loved riding on the boogie board.  The ocean was pretty rough so I was impressed that he could hang on!

Our condo was right next door to The Back Porch, so we walked over for dinner one evening.  They had to get a picture in the big chair

One of the themes of the week was "the boys side of the table".  It would always start out as "the big boys side of the table", but Davis would inevitably want to sit on his daddy's lap so he could be "one of the boys" as well.

(On another note - this is a great resort to stay at with boys b/c it is really close to Destin airport so planes would fly right over our buildings as they were landing.  It is a busy little airport, as you can tell from the boys getting side tracked at dinner!)
The best decision I made in packing for the trip was to bring the wagon!  Our condo was right on the beach, but with the kids, it took a lot of "stuff" to make it the beach and pool each day.  This wagon was our life saver, and thankfully I had a little buddy to help pull!

The next 2 days were rainy, but we found ways to entertain ourselves!  We hit up one of my favorite breakfast spots - The Donut Hole

 After breakfast, we went over to The Emerald Grande to look around at the marina and all of the boats.

Davis loved it, but the lack of fencing around the dock made us a nervous wreck!

The rain cleared up long enough for the boys to practice some fishing skills.

Davis started coming around to the water on his own...

On our way to dinner that night, Davis was cracking us up, walking around with one hand in his pocket.  Such a cool dude.  Sorry, its a little blurry!

 

We hit up my fav restaurant, The Red Bar since we couldn't enjoy too much of the beach due to the rain.  Harrison said he needed to wear his hair spikey that day because a little boy at school wears his hair like that.  I couldn't resist!

 And Davis wanted to make a funny picture like his brother...

The next night, we opted to pick up some steaks and just eat at the condo.  I think it was our favorite dinner of the week!  The weather was beautiful, and we didn't have to worry about keeping the kids contained at a restaurant!

The next day, we went over to the Baytown Wharf for dinner and got to see a gorgeous sunset over the bay

We got a nice bystander to take a picture, but I don't think he was used to the iphone, because they all came out blurry...

They had a big grassy area for concerts and after dinner, the boys ran their hearts out.  Needless to say, there was not an issue that night getting them to sleep!

The Emerald Grande was having a big SEC football parade on the last day we were there, so we put on our Alabama gear and headed over.  First, we found a girl on stilts making balloon animals for the kids. 

 There weren't too many people there, so once the parade started, the boys racked up on some beads.  They started out with a few necklaces and were so excited...

About halfway through, I started thinking, what are going to do with all of these beads??

And by the end, Davis couldn't walk because they were so heavy!

I turned around and didn't see Harrison...not to worry, he had found a lady doing facepaint...

He told me that he was getting a tiger on his face so I had to clarify with him that it was a Cincinnati Bengal tiger, NOT an Auburn tiger!  

Here was his reaction when he saw the face paint:

And Davis needed his painted too!

They also had a juggler and a New Orleans band, so the boys had a great time!

The last two days, I decided to get up early, before the boys woke up, to sit on the beach, drink some coffee and read a book...this is the one time that I was glad that Lance is not a morning person, so I didn't have to fight over who got to go down!  I wish I would have done it every morning, because it was so nice and peaceful!

We had a fantastic trip and while I was sad to say goodbye to the beautiful ocean, I was glad to get back home to my own bed!  We made some fun family memories that hopefully the boys will grow to cherish and remember!