We took our first real family vacation last week to Destin. We were stuffed into the CRV for ten hours listening to James talk about the beach. That's a lot of beach talk. I was almost tired of the beach by the time we got there... and when we did get there, we opened the door to the condo and watched as James promptly ran full force into the glass patio doors trying to get to the beach on the other side. It happened so fast that John was still wrestling all the luggage into the room. James came away with a bloody nose and a split lip - and was still talking about the beach. John's dad and brother Will met us down there for the week which was wonderful. It was great to see them and spend time with them. James and Madeleine were in heaven having his Papa and Uncle Will to play with all week.
James was all smiles on the way down.
Every morning James would run outside to the patio and look out - it was like he was making sure the beach was still there.
John, Will and Steve on the first day - the waves were great for body surfing.
When the tide was out, there was like a huge puddle left behind that was perfect for the kids to play in.
Madeleine and her Great Grandma Dolores.
James was trying to explain to Papa how to play his LeapPad.
Grandma Dolores brought lasagna for Madeleine's birthday dinner, but we also ordered a pizza since that is the Birthday Girl's favorite thing to eat.
The first night we were down there, we went to the local grocery store and ordered a quick simple birthday cake to pick up on Madeleine's birthday. They even made her a little smash cake. It was actually very good and worked out perfectly.
James helped blow out his sister's candle.
And he snuck in a taste :)
It was a long wonderful day and she was knocked out at the end.
It rained on July 4th, so we were not able to see any fireworks. Instead we went out to dinner with some family friends who were also down in Destin and the guys ate "all you can eat crab legs". It was impressive.
After three days of rain, the sun came back out and we were all able to get back to the beach.
James wanted to ride the waves like John so he would play in the surf and basically let the waves knock him down and then he would roll up the beach. He thought it was the best.
Our last dinner was at a place called The Back Porch. It was right on the beach and had fantastic seafood. It was a restaurant that John and his family went to whenever they went to Destin and so we had to carry on the tradition.
The ride home seemed even more painful then the ride there since there was no beach anticipation - but we promised James he could play with his friends once we got home and that seemed to mollify him. Madeleine was just her normal happy self most of the way, she really only was cranky when she was hungry - she takes after her Mama that way :)
It was a very successful vacation. Lots of laughs and wonderful memories. It seemed very daunting with two small kids, but now that we have done it and everyone came out with a smile - I can't wait until the next one!
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